#I wanted to practice bgs this time round

[toffeebrews]

With Halloween coming up, I just had to combine my two (currently) favorite undead things :)

[taurasiscntybun]

Bite Bargains pt 1

-Vampire DT x reader

-DARK romance 18+ minors dni

- 2,900 words

-Warnings: Mention of murder, adult language, morally dubious

-Warnings for the series as a whole: murder, gore, morally dubious, dubious consent, public sex, adult language, graphic description of sex, bdsm, dom/sub dynamics, impact play, breath play, blood play, oral sex, bondage, strap on, temperature play, praise/degradation

-Thanks to my editor as always @taurasicomplex



Diana’s Pov

Tonight was an exciting night for Diana, it was her night of indulgence. She paced the length of the locker room, her cool skin buzzing with excitement. Tonight she’d choose her next victim, although she hated to call the girls that. She’d had the same routine for nearly a decade now, ever since she was turned in Russia; year round she only drank the blood of animals but it wasn’t enough to sustain her so once a year she chose a human to drink from. Diana nervously protracted and retracted her fangs as they practically ached in hunger. She always chose a fan and tonight was no different, she’d meet and whoo a young woman, give them the night of their life and then feed from them; while she never relished in the idea that she was technically a serial killer, it was something she just had to do.

“Calm down Dee, you know you shouldn’t get so worked up before the game, that’s what got you ejected last year.” Called BG; she was the only person that knew Diana's secret and now she begrudgingly kept her best friend in line, even if it meant helping her dispose of bodies on occasion.

”It’s been too long, I waited too fucking long.” Diana snarled and slammed the locker door, the metal dented where her hand gripped it.

”You’re the one that wanted to wait until after the Olympics.”

“Yeah well you should have told me it was stupid, I’m going fucking crazy, I can smell all of you, even your fucking blood smells good right now.” Brittney raised an eyebrow, unconcerned by Diana’s words, while it was never particularly safe around a vampire, BG had been around Diana long enough to know the last person's blood she wanted was hers.

”Maybe I should be flattered then since you usually feel the need to fuck someone before drinking.” BG took a long sip of her Gatorade and started lacing up her shoes.

”I don’t have to fuck while drinking but it’s usually arousing, makes me feel like I’m on fire.” Diana started her pacing again, already dressed and ready for the game. She wasn’t wrong, Diana liked to play with her food. Nothing was sweeter than a woman’s blood right after an orgasm.

”I wish you wouldn’t, I'm a little sick of finding you naked and dripping blood, I mean you could at least put a towel on before you call me.” B snorts a laugh and stands up from the bench with a languid stretch. Diana just scoffed in response and snatched up her water bottle.

“Are you going to be ok to play Dee? I mean for real?” BG crossed the locker room to stand beside Diana and wrapped a hand around her arm, the freckled skin cold to the touch. Diana took a breath, while technically she didn't need to breath it helped her look more human. She hadn’t changed much from the transformation, at least looks wise. She was still slightly tan and freckled, the few lines and wrinkles she’d earned in her decade in the Arizona sun had stayed but no new ones formed. To the world she looked like an impeccably aged forty two year old but really she was still in her mid thirties. Diana took another long breath and closed her eyes to compose herself.

”I’ll be fine, I just need to get this game over with and find someone to take back to the hotel, I’m glad we get to stay in Chicago a few days.” Diana jumped up and down a few times to get the nervous energy out. She liked to pick her victims at away games, especially in a city with a high murder rate. Chicago was excellent for that, and lucky for her they had two games in Chicago this week, meaning they got to stay the two days in between.

“Did you get the extra sheets and trash bags?” B said casually as if discussing the weather and not disposing of a corpse.

“Yeah yeah they’re already in my room, I paid the extra to have my own room this time so I’m not sharing with you, you're welcome by the way.” Diana shot her a smile and started for the door, she’d already been away from the rest of the team long enough; her and BG had said they needed to talk privately but the rest of the team was nosy and she knew they wouldn’t wait much longer before looking for them. B walked out after her, a grim resolve on her usually cheerful face. It upset Diana the most that Brittney was so affected by this, after her transformation Diana had lost parts of her humanity, while she knew killing people wasn’t right there wasn’t much guilt with it, only guilt that BG was involved. Diana had kept most of her personality although she was quicker to anger and always simmered with an undercurrent of menace. She always had so much pent of aggression and energy, it probably came from her being half starving all the time but she had promised BG she’d only kill one person to eat a year and she held herself to that promise even though she didn't know what difference a few more would make.

“You have me a key though right? For if you're.. uh.. not in a state to answer the door?” Brittney asked her as they walked to meet the team in the bigger locker room, they only had a little more than an hour before the game and they were going to warm up’s soon.

“Yeah of course. Waiting for you at the front desk.” Diana answered and her demeanor shifted. She rolled her shoulders and everything changed, she looked approachable, friendly; not like the predator she’d looked earlier. Diana waved to everyone as she jogged out for warm ups. While still friendly Diana had retreated from meeting with as many fans, while the team used her health as as excuse the real reason was Diana’s quirks. She was cold to the touch, her skin usually around room temperature, her breathing was usually irregular and most unsettling her lack of heartbeat. The less people that touched her or spent long periods of time with her the better. At games she finally felt free enough to interact with people, the heat of the arena making up for her lack of heartbeat. Tonight she was extra friendly of course, she’d pick a fan, someone alone, and someone enamored with her. This was part of the ritual, part of the chase, finding and hunting the perfect girl seemed to quell not only Diana’s thirst but also some primal instinct. Diana made her rounds speaking with fans, as the away team there was always less but Diana could count on a few at every game. She glanced beside her and saw BG mingling with fans as well, she felt a pang of grief for her friend, knowing B was there to check on her. After Diana took a few more pictures with fans she turned to the bench. Her eyes zeroed in on the woman looking for her seat courtside.

“Oh it’s going to be you.” Diana grinned

Reader pov

“One two three four five six seven!” You say softly and sit in your seat. You push your purse under the seat and look around grinning. You’d saved up for courtside tickets, as a Phoenix fan in Chicago you didn’t get many opportunities to watch your favorite team play; so you’d happily paid the money for a front row view.

“Holy shit!” You exclaim in a hushed voice, you reach into your pocket and pull out your phone; excited to show off your seats.

“Nice jersey!” You hear someone say and you glance up from your phone to see Diana only a few feet away. You look down at the jersey you’re wearing, it’s hers from her rookie year, the famous red era; you’d hunted eBay for months to find it.

“Oh uh thanks, personally I think you guys should go back to the little collars.” You adjust the small collar detail on your jersey dramatically, hoping to make her crack a smile.

“Oh but I don’t miss the polyester.” Diana huffs a laugh. “I have to say I’m shocked any of those jerseys are still around.” You look down at worn Jersey; it definitely showed its age, the numbers and lettering were starting to crack.

“Well it wasn’t easy to find.” You look and and blink in shock at how close she’d gotten so quickly. Diana stood directly in front of you, an easy smile on her face.

“Why’d didn’t you just buy a jersey from the store?” She leaned on the scorers table to your left and watched you; and you couldn’t help but feel like prey under her gaze.

“Oh I wanted a special one, I don’t want the one everyone has, where’s the fun in that?” You huff in response as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“How bout I give you a real special one? After the game you can have this one.” Diana says and tugs up the corner of her warm up tee to show you the white jersey underneath.

“Wait what seriously?” You ask and laugh excitedly, unable to keep the giddiness from your voice. Diana just grins at you, her gaze almost predatory.

“Meet me around back at the players entrance after the game and I’ll give it to you, I’ll have a security guard show you.”

“Oh wow, uh thank you so much Miss Taurasi.” You say and bob your head.

“Please just call me Diana, or Dee, Miss Taurasi makes me feel like a teacher or something.” Diana stuck her tongue in mock distress.

“Thank you so much Dee.” You amend and she nods.

“Well I’ll see you after the game Angel, enjoy.” Diana smacks the scorers table and stands up straight, she shoots you a wink and jogs onto the court.

“What the fuck.” You mutter and stare down at your lap in shock. You watch them warm up with rapt attention, your eyes drifting to Diana of course; she was moving with a lethal grace tonight, each of her shots dropping through the basket like a bullet. You tried to not be so obvious in your staring, but your eyes always seemed to be watching Diana’s muscles ripple under her freckled skin, her precise control over her movements. She was breathtaking to watch, like standing in front of the cage of a tiger as they paced. You decide if you’re going to get through the game tonight you’d need a drink. You bend down and rummage through your purse, pulling out your wallet; you shove it and your phone in the pocket of your skirt and make your way through the budding crowd to the bar. After a successful cocktail purchase you head back to your seat. During the rest of the warm up you feel Diana’s eyes on you whenever you look away, her gaze feeling invasive as she studies you. You know she’s looking, you turn your head in time to catch her but she doesn’t turn away, she just grins, her slight dimple poking out.

“Shit. I’m in trouble” you laugh to yourself softly and take a long sip of your drink. For an away game, Diana puts on a show. She’s not hogging the ball, but definitely asserts herself. For her age, she’s wiping the floor with Chicago, putting up a solid 18 in the first half, and every time she scores you get up on your feet, laughing and cheering for her, and her team, of course. Front row tickets were a mistake, you were so close to them, a sideline throw in was practically in your lap.

“Fuck.” You mutter as Diana sinks another three, sticking her tongue out cockily to celebrate. You squirm in your seat; it wasn’t that you hoped Diana had a bad night, just rather an average night, it was wrong, but watching her dominate the court made you horny. Diana and BG are almost masterclass worthy tonight, despite it being somewhat close. But Diana really shines. She seems more aggressive tonight, each movement sharp and each basket a dagger. BG seems to be almost calming Diana after she starts on a ref. You watch excitedly, leaning in to hear some of Diana’s legendary trash talk, instead you're greeted with BG’s gentle tone.

“Diana this is how you got thrown out, stop it, calm down, put them away, it’ll be over soon.” B says and crowds Diana’s space in front of the cameras and the ref. You strain to hear Diana’s response but her tone comes out in almost a low growl.

“I know it will never really be over but you’ll have relief tonight, breath Dee, you’ve done this for a decade. And put those away before someone sees.” BG stands in front of Diana for another moment before stepping away and Diana looks like another person, her demeanor noticeably happier. You can sort of make out Diana’s words this time something ending with taste. You frown and sit back in your seat, not listening anymore. There’s a whistle and a time out, you slump in your seat slightly and take a long sip of your cocktail, the dangerously fruity drink soothing your nerves.

Diana’s pov

She was wet, Diana could tell. Her nostrils flared after her three and she was momentarily stunned, with her heightened senses Diana was used to smelling more, she could smell the blood in people’s veins if she was hungry enough. This was her favorite smell though, the smell of arousal. After a rough play the ref doesn’t call a foul and the frustration in Diana snaps.

“That’s a fucking foul! She grabbed my arm!” Diana snarled, her body taut with simmering anger. Before the ref could even respond BG was on Diana, her body blocking Diana from everyone.

“Diana this is how you got thrown out, stop it, calm down, put them away, it’ll be over soon.” Brittney is placating as her deep brown eyes bare into Diana, she wraps a large hand around Diana’s bicep, soothing her.

“She’s fucking soaked, she’s sitting there courtside and her fucking panties are dripping, B I’m gonna rip her throat out I fucking need her. I can’t do this anymore, I’m so hungry all the time” Diana says in an almost unintelligible growl, her fangs bared.

“I know it will never really be over but you’ll have relief tonight, breath Dee, you’ve done this for a decade. And put those away before someone sees.” BG shoots a look down to Diana’s dripping fangs, luckily at 6’9 Brittney could basically completely cover Diana from prying eyes and cameras when needed. Diana blinked a few times and rolled her shoulders.

“Cover for me at half time, I’ll be controlled, but I need a taste.”

“Are you sure?” Brittney asks as they walk to the bench for a time out.

“Oh I’m sure.” Diana sniffed the air and grinned. “She’ll come with me, she’s so fucking wet B, fuck I can practically taste her.” She subconsciously licked her lips and flopped on the bench next to BG.

“I meant are you sure that’s a good idea, can you… uh… control yourself?” B whispers to her and shoots water into her mouth. Before Diana can answer, the other players gather around and coach grabs the clipboard.

The other girls on the team knew Diana had quirks but it had been explained away as a health condition and anxiety. She was still friendly and the other girls loved her but it was almost a sixth sense that told people she was dangerous. By now everyone was aware that sometimes Diana needed alone time, that she had a condition that caused her to be cold, and she didn’t eat at team dinners because of a special diet. No one could complain much when she was still one of the top scorers on her team. Diana had to consciously hold back most nights, it would draw too much attention if someone “her age” dominated the court, so she settled for still being starter material but not flashy. She was faster, stronger, and if well fed she didn't tire; she could play in the league indefinitely but of course couldn’t do that, already the oldest in the league Diana knew she could get away with one maybe two more seasons. She half listened to the play, she already knew it, and instead focused her attention on her prize on the sideline, the curve of her neck, the smell of her blood pumping through her veins and the arousal that coated her inner thighs. Diana leaned her elbows on her knees and bent to the side, to everyone it looked like she was intensely listening to her coach. She strained to hear only the girl on the sideline, blocking out all the loud arena noise, Diana smiled as she singled her out, the clinking of ice cubes in her glass, her elevated heart rate pumping her sweet blood through her body, the click of her boots on the hardwood as she fidgets. Diana licked her lips and felt BG’s hand on her back grounding her. She straightened and looked at BG, giving her a nod in thanks. Diana refocused herself and listened to the end of her coaches words, the play forming in her mind. She was sure now, she couldn’t wait until after the game, Diana needed a little taste of her sweet prize at halftime.

[lansplaining]

One story floating around about Langya List is the author posted fourteen chapters of the first version in a danmei forum. When the author saw that the novel got popular, and/or when she wanted it to get more readership, she deleted the m/m parts and published the story officially on a mainstream platform. Afterwards the author has been very resistant to this story being linked to danmei or interpreted with an m/m lens, which has led to bad blood with BL fans

Another variant is that when the author started publishing officially, she had parallel BG and BL versions. It was supposedly a common practice back then, because BL works have no defence against plagiarism (e.g. see what happend to Peach Blossom Debt by Da Feng Gua Guo). Eventually the BL version was deleted because the BG version had more readership. The BL readers started to read and comment on the BG version, and the other readers did not like the BL interpretations brought to their novel. Alternatively, the BL readers disliked that like the author used them to get traction and then abandoned them. But so started the first round of bad blood between LYB vs BL readers.

As for the Mei Changsu's love interest, I have seen both Xiao Jingyan and Xiao Jingrui offered as the most common answers; Jingrui would have had most screen time in the early chapters that would have existed for the danmei versions, and Jingyan is very prominent in the main story. Supposedly the forum version was even more over-the-top with MCS's Sue-ish traits and everyone fell in love with him; some even say it was intended to be a harem/NP story with multiple love interests.

I haven't seen any receipts for any of this and this was years before I was on Chinese internet. But if this has been repeated enough it should also qualify as lore?

Fascinating, thank you!! Both versions make sense to me, just based on what you've said... and it makes sense why there are so many hints about Jingrui (and some tiny inklings of ones for Jingyan, though he hasn't shown up as much yet) in the early chapters!

[artistic-endchamber]

Fran you're giving me a little too much freedom he- OKAY!

These are all the drawings I have of her so far... ( I started rewatching Naruto a Week ago.)

I haven't made an OC Profile yet, but here's some BG info: - Momoko Rurizawa

She was born and raised in the mist but shortly after her mother died her father found some work in the Hidden Sound village Because Orochimaru Was willing

Her dad later finds out Orochimaru was actually interested in making Momoko his test subject because of her Keki Genkai (Found on her Lore Page)

Her dad gets killed, blah blah blah, she doesn't know who did it and is raised by and elderly woman who lives just outside of the village

She enters the Chuunin Exams with Two other people from her team (Who hate her guts atp in time), Tohru and Kenzo, and meets Team 7 in the woods. Her teams hates her guts so she was left alone when she met them

Usually girls fangirl over Sasuke but she instead rushed over to Naruto so fast she practically tripped and died.

She and naruto form a great bond, she's basically a sister to Sakura, and She and Sasuke greatly help eachother improve; and this is all due to the fact she and her team got transferred to the leaf after the Chuunin Exam's knockout round.

She leaves with Sasuke to train under Big scary Snake man (Guess who) because A) Sasuke asked her, B) Sakura asked her to go to keep Sasuke safe, and C) because she wanted to find out more about the man who might know something about her Father's death

Sasuke and her have romance, but he becomes cold in his search for power; and this is right when She find out the Orochimaru was the one who ordered her dad to be killed.

She goes to Sasuke to tell him but this is when he decides to Join the Akatsuki, and thus he snaps at her so she says "Fuck you man" and dumps him

Goes back to the leaf and practically faints out of exhaustion into Sakura's arms (She and Naruto were on guard duty)

Naruto refuses to talk to her for a While, as a social custom Tsunade puts her in Jail for a moth or two (Luckily she never actually killed anyone so we good)

Has Bromance with Lee and Sakura

And Sasuke makes up with her at LAST (This is after he goes on his redeeming mission) and they proceed to fall in love again only momoko swears she'll kill him if he pulls the revolution shit again.

ANYWAYS She's the same age as Team 7, and she uses Ninjutsu and Genjustu!! Her stamina level is as high as Lee's because well. for a long time she only knew how to use the Bo-staff technique and not her Keki Genkai so she trained her ass off, she Has Blonde hair with a streak of red... and she will murder you if you hurt any of her friends! :]

hmmm how are you interested exactly?? :0

Anything about your Naruto OC. Go ahead :D

[fandomscombine]

Heartbroken Wingwoman

BG: You were hoping that your best friend, Cedric to ask you to the Yule Ball. Instead you were roped into helping him ask Cho out. It broke your heart, but at least this way while helping him out you could pretend that he was doing all the sweet things to you. On the other side of the picture, Harry was too heartbroken upon learning that Cho is going out with Cedric. 

Angst. Cedric Diggory x Reader, Harry Potter x Reader (Platonic) [Or maybe more, if anyone is interested for a part 2]

WC:1383

a/n: We weren’t given names of Cedric’s friends so let’s pretend that one of them is called Lucas okay? Good!

I wanted to get all the angst fics out of the way before I post fluff pieces for the holidays.

Plus it is my first Cedric fic so feedback is really appreciated.

>>>MASTERLIST<<<

>>JOIN MY WRITING CHALLENGE!<<

~

Seeing him pursue another girl hurt.

Let alone helping him pursue said girl.

That’s right you are helping your best friend ask out one of the most popular girls in Hogwarts, Cho Chang.

You didn’t want to be in this situation. (Who in their right mind would?) But if it means spending more time with him, you would again and again.

Cause who would fall for their childhood best friend who already have pictures and memories of each other in their diapers. (Oh right you would!) Sure, this situation you got yourself isn’t ideal. You had seriously thought it was you Cedric was referring to, but alas it was not.

At least in this way, when coming up with romantic ideas to woo Cho, you would pretend that he was doing them to you.

You were once again silently scolding yourself for going through this agreement. Sighing, you leaned back against the tree truck, pleading for the voice inside your head to shut up.

Peace and quiet only lasted for a moment. A thump had cut through your relaxation and the next think you knew, a weight could be felt in your lap.

Opening your eyes, ready to unleash your irritation on whoever disturbed you. ‘WHO THE FUCK DARES-‘ Oh boy, here we go again. The very problem you were trying to forget was now laying  face up, directing his brilliant award-winning smile at you- everything seem to melt away, you could spend forever just having him stare back at you lovingly and that wouldn’t be even enough. Stupid Cedric Diggory and his ability to make you forget about everything.

Cedric was saying something, but whatever that may be, sounds like cotton. If was as if the rest of the world is in a distorted underwater chamber when you were gazing into his eyes ‘shesaidyes,y/n! Cho-‘

And just like that with one word, the spell is broken. You were cut off your dreamlike state, sent back into the painful reality.

‘hmmm? Sorry what?’

‘I said.’ Cedric rolled his eyes. But even your inattentiveness, did not put him off his cheery mood. In fact, Cedric was more than happy to say the words out loud again. ‘Cho said yes!! She’s gonna be my date to the Yule ball!’

‘That’s… great ced…. really great..’ You tried to mask your pain. Unfortunately, the deliver was no great and you’ve only manged to pull yourself together to give a crooked smile.

‘Wait there’s more!! We’re officially together!’ Fortunately, Cedric was too busy being head over heels for Cho, had failed to notice your odd reactions.

‘Seriously y/n you’re a life saver!’ Cedric kissed your cheek. ‘With all this love advice, I can’t believe how in the whole are you still single?!’ He was baffled by this conundrum. ‘You sure you don’t fancy anyone?’

‘Oh believe me he doesn’t see me that way.’

‘Well his lost then, to not see such a wonderful beautiful woman.’

How this boy ruins you, without realising that his efforts to cheer you up is bringing up down.

‘Oh and by the way, how you got someone to take you to the dance?’

‘No why?’ You run your fingers through the grass, praying that he would get the hint that a date to the yule ball is the last thing on your mind.

‘Perhaps I could set you up with someone, you know as to pay you back for all you’ve down for me.’ Cedric adjusted his seating so that now you were shoulder to shoulder. ‘I bet by now you’re tired to be pretending to be interested in me just so I could practice asking Cho out! Oh I know I’ll ask Lu—'

Immediately your hand covers his mouth. ‘NO!!! No!!! I would rather go alone or with a group of friends

Taking your hand away he asks ‘What why? Why what’s wrong with Lucas?’

You sighed. ‘He’s a really sweet guy Ced, but he’s just not my type—A FACT I told me like a billion times already, yet he still tries.’ Poking at his shoulder to further drive the point home.

Arms up in surrender, Cedric concedes. ‘This guy you like, must really got your heart then does he?’

‘Yeahh..’ Gosh how this by be the kindest and caring human being ever yet fails to see that he is hurting his best friend. ‘Anyway, I have to go…I’m gonna be late for Divination!’ Gathering your things, you ran as fast as you can before tears fall from your face.

Leaving behind a boy not only an oblivious state but also in a confused one mumbling to himself. ‘But you don’t take Divination.’

In your haste to escape what would have been embarrassing scene with Cedric, you hadn’t released that you were headed towards some in maximum velocity.

Coincidentally, that said person also had their mind elsewhere and hadn’t been looking at where they were going.

Resulting in both of you to fall over.

‘Owww!’ You clutch your forehead, already feeling a bump forming. Though as you left go, you were surprised to see your palm bloody. ‘fuc--’

‘OH MY GOSH Y/N!!!’ The string of swear words about to leave your mouth was cut off by the one and only Harry Potter. ‘I AM SO SORRY!!!! HERE LET ME FIX IT…’

Dropping his broom aside, he directed his wand at you. ‘Episkey’ You could feel the healing spell doing its work, the warm sensation no doubt be the cut on your head closing.

‘There you go! Good as new!’ Harry exclaimed, wiping away the blood off your forehead. He noticed your tear stains, but he thought that it was caused by the collision and bit by having your heartbroken. Nevertheless, he tried to lighten the mood by joking. ‘No need to worry about a scar.’

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes. Did this boy really make a reference to himself?

Harry held out his hand to pull you up. ‘Thanks... for the patch up, though it is your fault. You did hit me with your broom.’

‘Yeah sorry about that….again.’

‘Why do you even have your broom with you? Isn’t Quidditch cancelled this year because of the Triwizard Tournament?’

‘well yea, but I thought I take it out for a ride to clear my head.’ He replied truthfully.

‘The tasks getting you in a snag then?’ You gotta hand it to him to still be working on figuring out what the second task is even Cedric had stopped. Everyone’s focused on the topic of dates or so you thought.

‘Dates actually.’

‘Dates?’

‘Yea… Don’t make fun of me but I haven’t gotten a date yet. Well you see I did went and asked Cho but turns out she’s going with-‘

‘Cedric.’

‘-Cedric yea.. How’d you know?’

Seeing that he had confessed about being rejected by Cho, you thought it was only fair to tell him your truth too.

‘I kinda was hoping he’d asked me really, but what ended up happening was me helping him ask her out.’

‘wow…..that’s gotta hurt y/n…..sorry!! That was insentive.’

‘Nah it’s fine, I’m getting used to rejection anyway.’

As you rounded the corner, out of his sight. Harry had came up with a brilliant idea.

‘Y/n! Y/n wait up!’

When he reached you, he through caution in the wind- what more can he lose? This close to the yule ball, almost everyone is paired up. Harry would rather go with someone he knew and was comfortable with, then some stranger just to satisfy the requirement of each champion needing a date.

‘I just had an idea, you don’t have to agree but since every champion requires a date.’

Your brows arch at the statement.

‘yes I know, it’s compulsory. I swear.  But I just thought being that both the people we wanted to go with are each other’s dates, I was wondering that maybe…why don’t we go together…. To the yule ball…Be each other’s dates to the yule ball?’

‘hmmmmm.’ You weighed out his proposition. ‘yea..yea! Why should we let a good party go to waste just because of them?!?’

‘Brilliant!’ Harry was smiling, Proud that for once in the past 3 weeks, he didn’t choke while asking a girl out. ‘I’ll pick you up at 7pm outside the y/h/h common room.’

~

 If the reception for this is well, I might do a part 2. tbh currenty I have 3 possibe endings, but still can’t choose wish. so comment which you’d like to see!

Can be with multiple ending.

1.       You/cedric, Cho/harry

2.       You/harry, Cho/cedric

3.       Cho/cedric. More Angst, remains platonic, you/harry both heartbroken.

Taglist [All/General]: @gruffle1​

[reogou]

Dating HCs with Kotaro Bokuto

pairing: kotaro bokuto x fem!reader

genre: fluff, nsfw at the end

warning/s: nsfw, smut, pegging, finger-fucking (?), overstimulation

a/n: this is for @janellion for her prize! I'm so sorry it took me so long to make your prize 😭! I think the nsfw was a lot longer than the sfw, just like what you wanted. i hope you enjoy this! ily bb!

credits: to @westxrlund​ for the header’s bg

SFW

Relationship with this owl is tiring but fun. For real. You will have no sleep. You will literally wake up at 3 am because he messages you to say he misses you.

3 am escapades are your relationship goals. He's craving for ice cream? He'll message you in the middle of the night that he'll be there in front of your doorstep in 15 minutes. You miss him? He'll take you to the beach and will make you sit in front of the car while he wraps his arms around your waist, sharing both of your favourite drink while staring at the sea.

But maybe if he's too lazy to drive, movie marathon in the living room while watching your favourite movie with a single blanket covering the both of you. Or if you want to, he'll cuddle you in bed if you cannot sleep.

But if there's an important event tomorrow, like a practice or official match or exam, you'll be the one to make him go to sleep or study because this man has no limits in his clinginess. Baby just want hugs and cuddles please spare him from the pain of having to study-

But even if he's clingy sometimes, he does know that school and match is important. He, after all, wants to become successful for you and your future together.

When you're inside the school, little notes and love letters are never forgotten when it comes to Bo. He'll slid in small notes inside your locker or your bag after you both finished eating lunch together. This man, despite his chaotic self, has good penmanship. And y'all can't tell me otherwise. Though there might be a few messy strokes here and there.

His notes and letters are a bit over the top but that's what you love about him. Though all the contents of it are just him telling you how beautiful you are and how much you love him or just some lame pick-up lines or vines he thought of or saw in the internet.

Mornings with him will probably consist of you being awake so early in the morning because Bokuto wants to jog with you. I swear your legs would be dead by the end of your jog because of how far this man jogs.

This guy loves to eat your cooking. May it be good or bad, he won't let the chance slip of getting to taste the food you cooked no matter how bad it is.

Also, expect music marathon with him too. You'll both be sharing a single earphone while eating chips and reading books or blasting them in the speakers while you two dance under the afternoon sunlight from the windows.

He knows you love reading so when he became a professional player, he uses some of his money sometimes to buy you books you're dying to buy. Will also bring you in a reading café so you both could read while chilling.

During summer, expect beach dates too. He will invite his friends over to go on a vacation with the both of you for a week or two. He loves barbecue so there'll be like barbecue party every two days. Will sneak inside you out on the shore to invite you over a walk by the sea.

Texting with Bo is sweet and funny sometimes. But often times, you just send cheesy text to each other or he'll just send you random funny videos or memes he saved on his phone.

You always make sure to be on his every game to support him and cheer for him. Everytime he scores, his names escapes your lips in a shout to show your undying support for him. Whenever he feels down, you always make sure to cheer him up so that he wouldn't sulk during the game. You are his energizer and personal cheerleader after all. When the game ends, hugging him has always been a ritual for the both of you. If they won the game, you always give him a kiss in the lips as a reward. However, if they lost, your shoulders are always ready for him to cry on while you calm him by running your hands on his back.

Whenever he's down, ice cream with you is always the solution for him. Sitting on the couch while you both enjoy the cold sweet treat as he snuggle close to you and become the small spoon have always been perfect for him.

But of course, there's no such thing as perfect relationship. There will always be a time where you both will have a fight or a misunderstanding, and during those times, you both try your hardest to understand each other and explain both of your sides. Bokuto doesn't like fighting with you. Because he believes it's pointless. But even so, whenever you two got into a fight, Bokuto may be pissed and you may be angry too, but a day or two of clearing up the both of your heads has always been the answer. After a day or two, one of you will step out of their comfort zone and say sorry to the other, depending on who's fault it is.

NSFW

warning/s: please be warned that after this note, nsfw content will greet you. Read at your own risk.

As calm as you both are in the outside, sex with Bokuto was never vanilla. You both always manage to spice things up weather it may be major suck as blindfold or minor such as changing positions. And you always love it. After all, this man has big d energy and you can prove it down there.

His favourite position is you, on all fours, while he rams his cock inside you. He likes seeing your sweaty back, just like how you love his back too. The way your back arc when he hits that sweet spot inside you, he loves seeing it so much, resulting to him pounding you even harder than he already is.

Most times, he likes it sweet and slightly slow. The first time you did it, he was so slow and caring that it was the best experience for you. He likes to see you squirm beneath him while you moan in pleasure, sometimes begging him to go faster. Of course, he would give it to you since he wants you to feel pleasure.

However, this guy can also be so so rough when it comes to the sheets. He'll be ramming his cock deep inside your wet cavern until you can't say anything other than chant his name over and over again. Marks and bruises would be present on your hips and neck cause why not? He loves marking you.

Overstimulation? You got it. This man can make you come almost two times just by his fingers alone. The squelching sounds motivating him to go deeper until he hits that spongy spot you love the most.

He can also be a little shit sometimes. Teasing you by brushing his fingers to your overstimulated front, giving you orgasm denial just so he can see those pretty crystalline tears rolling down your cheeks.

He loves putting hickies all over your body. So much. He will literally bite you everywhere just so he can gaze up and stare at his beautiful handiwork. He also have sensitive neck, and the first time you bit him on the neck, a loud whine escaped his lips from the pleasure.

Sexts is also an often occurrence in your relationship. When he feels horny and you're not together, he would text you in ungodly hours and will tell you how much he misses the feeling of your walls around his fat cock. You would shush him, saying its inappropriate to send horney text, but one message from his commanding you to take off all of your clothes and send him a lewd photo was all it took for you to get horny and obey him. You both end up on a video call while you masturbate and he watches you, hands palming the beast under his boxers as his eyes ogled on your fingers thrusting in and out of your hole, lewd expressions forming on your face.

He's a dom, all the way through. But he has a dirty little secret that he hides from you. He can't see you dominating him, but it's not really impossible. Bokuto hides it, but he's curious about pegging. He had so search the meaning of it in google and when he knew what it meant, he lowkey got hard when he imagined it. You, behind him, while wrecking him with tat straps of yours.

He knows how much of a sub you are, that's why he hid at most of the time. When he tried to tell you about it while you two were cuddling on the bed after 3 rounds, you were a bit shocked. You? Dominating him? Bokuto, who's a hard dom? You were stunned. So shocked that you can only nod your head when he asked you if you're okay with it.

The first time you two did it, Bokuto was so shy that you have to come out of your shell and convince him that it's okay. You both don't know what to do, but Bokuto did some research to help the both of you.

When you put on the strap, it was kinda...awkward and uncomfortable at first. Add the fact that you don't know how to put it on, Bokuto have to help you. When you get somewhat used to it, you reached for the bottle of lube and squirt a good amount on your hands.

Bokuto was lying on his stomach in front of you, his ass high up to help you somehow. When you pressed your fingers on his puckered hole, he jolted in surprise that you almost jumped to. Once he was calmed down, you started spreading the lube around his hole and slowly inserted your finger.

Bo's moan was so good, so erotic that it made your cunt wet just by hearing his moans. When you started thrusting your finger in and out, his moans got more louder from the new pleasure he's feeling. After a while, his hole started relaxing and it was now super easy to insert your finger inside him.

You tried to insert another finger, attempting to imitate his motion when he's the one finger-fucking you. And the reaction made your hole clench, your juices dripping down the strap on your hips. Once Bokuto gave you the go sign that he's already prep enough, you started inserting the dildo inside him.

As first it was a bit hard, since it was your first time and you're still not used to using the strap. But when you found his hole at last, you started inserting the dildo inside him. A loud moan escaped Bokuto's lips, one that's so erotic that even porn actors would envy. It was so erotic, so cute that you got lost in the moment and inserted almost half of it in, making him squirm below you. When he looked over his shoulder to tell you to be more gentle, his face was full of tears, cheeks so red from crying and from too much pleasure he's feeling.

You can't help but to feel so good and started fucking him, but still in a slow way so as to not hurt him any further. His moans were echoing on the four corners of the room, so lewd and so good that you can't help but to thrust a little bit faster. The whole experience was so fun and enjoyable to you even though it was a bit uncomfortable using the strap. But it was worth it nonetheless, since you get to see another side of Bo that you've never seen before.

But man, the aftermath was that your hips and legs were hurting so much as well as your back when you both finished. It was so painful that all you could do was lay on bed. Bokuto felt a little guilty but you assured him that you're okay and that it wasn't his fault. To make up for it, he decided to eat you out.

You were on your back, your legs spread apart as Bokuto dived in on your cunt and licked your clit, making you squirm. He held your thighs firmly to keep them apart and started fucking you using his tongue. The pleasure was so good that tears started forming on the corners of your eyes as Bokuto pleasured you.

Bokuto has always been so good in using his tongue that it was not a surprise that you squirted on your 3rd orgasm. He doesn't want to tire you even more so he stopped and cleaned you up before lying beside you and pulling you close to him, naked bodies locked together between his strong arms.

[daily-dose-of-imagines]

Hitmen AU! | Head Canons | 19+ [Haikyuu!!]

𝕹𝖊𝖐𝖔𝖒𝖆 [PART i] [PART ii] [PART iii]

Part 3 of the hitmen head canons for Nekoma~!! Next team to be set up will be Aoba Johsai~!

» » Admin Ko

»»————-　♔　————-««

S̷o̷ ̷I̷n̷u̷o̷k̷a̷

This precious baby-- oh my god practically Hinata’s equal in terms of energy and excitement

Like Tanaka and Taketora, the pair met on the streets except instead of brawling they had a rather--- exhilarating first meeting?

Let’s just say it ended with a broken store front and two very angry motherly figures from both respective teams

anywho, let’s get into the gritty bits. This boy, is deadass the all-rounder.

He may not be as noticed or remembered like the other members, but it definitely adds to his skill set as he’s able to easily and swiftly move throughout the field without any sort of issue. 

Once tried to teach Lev how to be sneaky and holy fuck he’s never gonna forget that day 

His main specialty is being the ‘1st Warning’ when payments are late after their services have been completed

is pretty good at holding a decent conversation with the buyers, but talks better with his fists when they become a little too... confident

A chorus of chuckles. The shaking of hands and leisure smiles were shared across the room as the 5 individuals greeted one another before seating themselves at the table. Some of them jesting at the youngest in the room as the figure could only let out a laugh before seating himself at the head of the table. 

“Greetings, I’m here as a representative for my business. I’ve been told by my senior that you all are looking to use our services?” 

The question fell quickly, as he wasn’t really here to sit and beat around the bush. That came for later, to test and see how the clients here ticked and who would be the first on his list for a visit. Of course the responses were initially normal, though as time ticked on and their demands were being placed on the table, tensions began to arise as a handful of them began to get cocky. 

Their statements running freely with no consideration to the sinister smile that began to form on the young man’s usually sweet face. Within a moment’s notice, one of the ruder clients found the ground to be their new best friend as they sputtered and choked against the heavy weight around their throat.

“Let this be a reminder to you all, that even if I am young...I know exactly what I’m doing.”

A toll baby oh my god

He has messy bedhead, but he usually styles it up since it’s easy and efficient 

Looks lanky from a distance, but is pretty well built for all that does 

he has one tattoo on his body and two basic studs

is very baby faced 

with his s/o, he honestly doesn’t show or indicate any signs of being a part of the more darker parts of the world

he’s very affectionate and cuddly with s/o too~! 

Whenever he gets into familiar territory while on a date with s/o he’ll quickly convince them to go a different route or to do something different for their date

T̴a̴m̴a̴h̴i̴k̴o̴ ̴T̴e̴s̴h̴i̴r̴o̴

Calm and collected like Kenma, he is Kenma’s student prodigy whatever you wanna call it

helps with the cyber end details and transactions as well as cyber attacks if any other organizations try to hack or expose their little corner

makes little mistakes here and there tbh, but Kenma fixes them quickly and shows him tips and tricks to counteract the problem

besides training with Kenma, he also works in the lab to make and develop more equipment for missions as well as products to sell to potential clients

doesn’t necessarily engage on the field, is usually back at base help from home

gives heads up and advice from information he sees on the dark web when handing off assignments

Skimming over the information once more. The young male couldn’t help but furrow his brows in confusion. It was odd. The coding, the message, the timing. All of it just told him that there was something more at play. That this purchase was hiding a much more bigger, sinister scheme. 

“...Odd.” Indeed it was, of course he’d run it by the older strategist when he went to collect the assignments to pass out. Yet he couldn’t help but once he brought it up a war would break out within their sanction.

He isn’t as tall as the others, nor is he the most buff but he does make up for what he lacks physically by helping create equipment and making sure his teammates will be safe on the field

definitely frequents sparring matches with the other rookies to keep in shape 

doesn’t have any tattoos but does have an industrial 

with his s/o he can be a little...secretive

he doesn’t want to expose them to the work he does nor possibly get them hurt so he can be pretty vague

like Kenma, any chance he can be with s/o he’ll do so most likely in doors and just chatting and catching up with a show in the bg

L̷e̷v̷ ̷H̷a̷i̷b̷a̷

god this child-- plz help this clutz

very mischievous and sly, when he holds conversations with anyone it always feels like he’s trying to pry something out of them. 

aspires to be an all round ace like Inoka is, but honestly is a big clutz

accidentally almost killed Inoka first day during shooting practice

Yaku deadass beat this tall boi’s ass to the ground 

he goes through the most training and the most skills 

definitely makes up for his mess on the field, despite still making mistakes here and there, he shows improvement every time he’s assigned a new mission.

Out of all the skills he’s learned, he definitely likes the skills of interrogation

he enjoys seeing their victims squirm and beg for forgiveness 

“Oh come now~. This isn’t so bad right? You just need to pay the money and let us know who your second supplier is~!” A gleeful voice echoed throughout the desolate chamber as the seated individual trembled in the metal chair. When no response was given, a sharp click of the tongue was heard as a cry of pain cut through the tense air. The clang of the metal chair hitting the concrete floor as a boot pressed the victim’s head tortuously slowly into the ground.

“I’m not here to keep playing this little game...I know you’ve been selling our information to a competitor...and honestly none of us like that. Though...it is good to say that you’re not the only one selling secrets~.” A wicked grin, and pearly whites were tattooed into the victim’s mind as the horror of their darkest deeds were being sold. Though this group wouldn’t do such a thing...right?

“I know what you’re thinking...and honestly, it’s not true~ We made quite the pretty penny~.”

the tollest boy in their group

his silver hair is usually slicked back to keep a more professional look, but tbh he has it down

has a large variety of tattoos over his body along with old and fresh battle scars and bruises

he’s more lean than bulky but incredibly toned from his intensive workouts

with his s/o he’s a big prankster and a tease

loves to hold things out of reach and steal kisses from them

is always wrapped around s/o and follows them like a lost puppy at times when he really wants affection

Y̴u̴k̴i̴ ̴S̴h̴i̴b̴a̴y̴a̴m̴a̴

The most quiet member and shyest member

rarely ever causes issues in the group tbh 

he’s yaku’s favorite since he’s the least problematic rookie

despite being the shyest member, he really wows his members by being the eyes and ears.

During recon or sniping missions he’ll be the eyes and ears for the members by updating them in real time of what the target is doing and what things they will need to notice for.

Is one of the better gun handlers in the rookie group

“Target is heading off course. Distracted by a guest in the common room.” Sharp and quick, the usually soft voice spoke confidently as brown eyes analyzed the situation and how to move on from there. An annoyed sigh left his lips as he skimmed over the live CCTV footage before updating the assassins on the field.

“High chance that enemy organizations have infiltrated the assignment. Proceed with caution. Odd amount of cars coming up.” 

Furrowing his brows, the male continued to debrief the team coordinating and helping them get through the mission with as little issue as possible before letting out a pleased sigh as the target laid dead. The assassins immediately retreating as the veteran driver grinned, starting their car and returning to base.

One of the smallest members 

isn’t too bulky or too lean but rather average in terms of build

has no piercings or tattoos, but does have a good chunk of scars and bruises from constant sparring and training to keep his stamina and defenses up

his hair is usually pulled back to keep out of his face whenever he skims over feed to relay to the others

he’s very sweet around his s/o 

taking the time to listen to them and spending as much time as he can with them

a bit more honest than the others where he’ll tell them a bit about their job

[sgnsubin]

hello friends! here i introduce to you han subin. he’s seungwoo’s ( @sgnseungwoo ) lil bro so if you guys wanna plot smth around that then i’m totally open for it! subin is back for round 2 of seongnam but i promise i have him figured out better this time, so hopefully he’s here to stay! :) 

under the cut imma put some info and plots(?) bc i didn’t write a history for him or anything bc /lazy HAHA. also here is his about page! 

also like this if you wanna plot and i’ll hop into ur ims!

some tidbits about him (that i totally did not steal from seungwoo’s bg page djksfsd)

their family owns a series of hospitals across korea but the kids stay fairly under the radar since they’re not prominently in the public eye

aka he’s fairly well off

since both his older sister (npc) and seungwoo have chosen their paths, and seungwoo is going to take over the hospital business side, subin has had a lot of freedom growing up to do what he wants

he also LOVES photography

he’s rly a happy-go-lucky kid who hasn’t rly seen the harsher side of life yet bc he was born with a silver spoon and family and friends who all adored him to pieces

despite that though, he’s also a gen z kid who has watched too many vines and tiktoks and lives on the internet so he knows the bad side of the world and is very sarcastic and is a cute brat most of the time

he wants to help those less fortunate than him tho he doesn’t know how yet

he has a lot of #Goals for the future that consist of a lot of philanthropy and (hopefully) volunteering in countries that need the help

he’s the opposite of his brother in the sense that he’s a very open book, wears his heart on his sleeve sorta kid

a bleeding heart

also Babie especially around people who are clearly older than him

he took a semester off bc #yolo and it’s his second semester at snu now 

he was forced to declare a major so he chose MIS bc he took a bunch of classes in different areas the past two semesters and computers and stuff always seemed fun

some plots/one-liners that might interest you but they’re also basic af bc i rly suck at coming up w plots pls just brainstorm with me honestly

we get stuck in an elevator together and i think we’re gonna die

maybe we get lost together

maybe track practice together? i take ur jacket home by accident and man u have some weird shit in ur pockets

you just ran into me/hit me/hurt me somehow and the first thing i did was open my twitter to tweet about it, also hey, you’re hot, so it’s okay tho if u wanna buy me coffee as compensation im not gonna say no

we were in the same orientation group and wow i never thought i’d see you again it’s be like ?? two (2) WHOLE semesters

i thought you were my friend/brother/someone i knew and i ran at you for a hug and knocked u to the ground omg i’m so sorry

Cool Sunbaes in any of the club he’s in (photography, fashion, drama, paranormal)

if u got to the end and recognize that i just used his intro from when i joined with him back in november, u get a cookie :)

[mingi-bubu]

Watch “Youth With You” with Me!

Episode 2

and we are back with episode 2!!!

i have my water, i have my ramen, my phone is plugged in, and there is a box of tissues within reach

as marvelous mr mark lee would say, lezgeddit

again i think its so funny hes not even in my bias line but i love him anyway aldskfjas;d

oh that’s an uncomvy way to start out

ok now yixing is talking about what they need from the trainees to become good idols

i love that they’re playing cherry bomb in the background ngl it’s really funny

oh we really are gonna replay zhang pd’s whole rap speech arent we

oh my god the guy in the background looked like yangyang im quaking

oh booo i want to know more about the planet/moon mascot

i want to have the ultimate trio of good round boys if xukun’s run has a round lil dude as well

in this house we stan round lil dudes

ok back to the action

this episode is 2 hours fukc that

alsdfkjaslkdf the mentors telling yixing to chillax love to see it

this guy’s outfit is uh.........interesting

kinda baggy

akdfaksdjf chen sijian trying desperately to save his ass after yixing’s speech about rap i love to see ti

wow csj has a lot of range in what he wants to be able to perform

i lowkey vibe with his song so far

he dances like i do alkdfjaslkdj

hes good tho

that move looked xukun-esque

i really do like this song actually

he looks like he’s about to start crying which is mood

that was v good

i hope A but probably B

laskdfjds i love yixing feeling like he has to clarify everything i lvoe to see it

alkdfjasdlkf i love this kid hahaaha he’s hilarious

he got a B

i called it

omg his lil run!!!! i love himmmm

the question i still dont know the answer to yet is why the senior seniors are also here?

and im too lazy to McGoogle it

AHHHHH SHENSHEN’S GROUP!

black pearl himself i love h im

shi mingze!!!

shi zhan i sure hope that the “naughty” translation means he’s like a prank playing bastard and not a regular one UwU

imma be real with y’all even if i didn’t know unine i still think i would’ve loved shenshen and rooted for him

like if i were to go back in time and be watching it live like i am with this season

i think i still wouldve supported him

im excited for their performance

i say as if i havent also watched a fair few times

a;iodsfiadosfu hhx saying that he looks like his uncle made me choke on my veggies

i deffo think that mingze wouldve been my second tho

that man has charisma for days

hey in case you guys forgot

they are

they are bg project

my boys got D

but at least they’re all together

class D is gonna be jam packed on god

given that they only practiced the dance for a week im v proud of them for D

man just dead dropped into the splits i hate to see it

theyre just little boys

ajdfksald; “they call me hanhan but there’s a lot of trainees here with the character han so you can call me xu”

babyyyyy

i love thier matching hoodies

;aksdfjaskd to say nonstandard mandarin im weak

asdfjasd dragged by his hair im so weak

alsdkfjasldkf meeee tooo xu

i too would confess my love for yixing if given half a chance

i love their lil kickies its so cute

xu has a good voice

this song is so fun!!!

it gives me like 70s vibes i lvoe to see it

kdsfja;lskdfj xu baby boy is so cute

alsdjfsa hes just a little boy

i love him omg

yixing’s laugh i :3c

shit hes so cool

i havent seen the dance in it’s fullest before this so it’s super cool

im not married yet but xu i sure could be

i know i know the decisions of the duo’s rankings but i can’t remember

anyway i also stan xu

oh that’s right

f

i cant wait to see how they grow!!!

MINGMING TURNA FLAKSDJF;LAKSDJF;LAKJFOIWE MINGMING

YAO MIGNMING THE LOVE OF MY LIFE

HIS LIL UNEVE TOOTH SMILE I LVOE HIM SO MCUHG

SIX YEARS I LOVE YOU

MINGMING IS SO CUTE I LOVE ONE (1) MAN SO MUCH

i love how excited jiayi is for mingming’s dance

damn that’s some chroeo right htere boys

its so weird to see mingming here vs houw i see him dance later

like theres a different sort of confidence he has later after his talk with yixing

they’re both a lil outta breath but yechen seems to handle it better

i think ymm is too focused on dance

but it’s his speciality so who cares

mingming looks so cute

i hate how mingming was very not like idk confident in himself in certain aspects

i mean like i understand why but it still makes me sad

mingming got a c

yechen got a d

yechennie no baby its not yourf ault that he got the grade he did

i; just want to give these boys hugs

i am going to cry bc mingming looks like hes about to cry

is this deep voice boyo

it is deep voice boyo

i call him boyo but he graduated with a degree in biomed

that octave change thooooo

i liked it a lot

bass boy got a grade of C

i love that yao chi and jiayi are so expressive that everytime the mentors give a grade the camera immediately cuts to them

core one

huaiwei is such a sweetie i love  him

alsdkfasld xixi and jiayi

didnt the go to the same college??  i recall seeing grad pictures of them together

dorks i lvoe them

jkasdjflsd yao chi aka yao wow wow

i love him so mcuh hes so cuteeee

asdklfsadklf the facemasks im scraming

what the fuck kind of christmas songs occur in china to have it be the first thought at the sound of “mai rui” (merry)

awww they’re performing one of their senior’s songs that is so cute

BITCH WITH THE ACCAPELLA I AM SCREASCHING

XIANGHENG DAMN BOY

THE FUCKING TRILLS I

THE HARMONIES

OH MY GOD

YAO CHI YOUR VOICE BABY BOY

THE HIGH NOTES

oooh they lost the magic about halfway thru

yaochi is my favorite hype boy

KKKKKDADLKFAJSDHIS VOICE SIR MY RING IS READY AND I AM DOWN ON ONE KNEE

HES SOCUTTEEEE

ooh b to xiangheng

yaochi got a c!!!

and changhua!!!

d goes to beret boy

kaksdfjasd cast planet!!!

guan yue!!!!!

alksdfasldk yao chiiii

this definitely had to have come out of the 70s or 80s

guan yue has such a contagious smile1!!

this is so fun

everyone is dancing

except yixing who looks dead inside alkdfjlskd

hes so cute i love guan yue!!!!

awww jolin likes himmmm

fuck yixing really said no one gets an a today didnt he

guan yue got a b

his partner got a d

YUEHUERA LEETS HEEAR IT FOR THE BOYS

HANHANHANAHANAHANAAHDSFAHSD;KFJ IEWE

IMV ERY EXCITED

alsdkfsdj yangyang not bowing at the same time sent me

the younger brothers bullying hanhan we love to see it

a;ldskfjaskdljf stop bullying the baby hanhan

im so excited for this one ive watched it so many times

i feel so bad constantly for the uniq members bc their company really said you can go fuck yourselves we only want you in film not music

also we are a little like very little over halfway thru the ep

i am not going to cry at yixing clapping and getting everyone else to

OOOOOHHHHH OOOOOOOOHH

YEAH YOU’D BETTER RUN AWAY GIRL

I LOVE MONSTER SO MUCH GUYS YOU DONT UNDERSTAND

LIKE A MONSTER 

A BASTARD

GUI ZE

GOD THIS SONG IS SO FUCKIGN GOOD IF YOU HAVENT LISTENED TO IT GO AND STREAM INT BPLEASE

WENXUAN HITTING NOTES I CANT WE LOVE TO SEE IT

GOD IT’S LIKE A FULL ASS CONCERT RIGHT NOW OH MY GOD

WITH THE MF ROSE PETALS YES YOUNG KINGS

YAOCHIIII WAS SO EXCITED

i dont think they get an a tho

alfkjasdlkfjasklfjd yangyang avoiding doing rap was so cute

that’s right he ends up with a b i think bc of how he sings

i love wenhan’s voice

also this song is so 

its gonna make me cry im glad lrh said you can stop now

damn there really were no A’s in the initial rankings are there

oooohhh it’s vogue 5 from earlier with the muncher

awww yc is so hype its cute

ohhh slick with the mf drum stick catch

asldjfalskdjfkdsljf li wenhan’s face im dead

they all get c

ahhh chen youwei’s turn!!

mr 5th prince himself

hes so noodley

hes literally legs, arms, and torso

that’s it

al;sdkfjal;s he got an F what

ok then

oh gramarie

hmmm  i didn’t like it as much

the final grade was 2 d’s and 2 f’s

i hate that the 3 color boys dabbed

hanyu’s group anyways that’s who they were

asfdalskdfjasl;kdfj the accent group showed up

i love these guys theyre so funny

montage happening of different performances

 the grades were between c-f

no a

ok but you had like several candiates for that ranking but fuck us i guess

i love yixing tho he wants the best for these boys

i am not tearing up that is a false narrative

mr zhang yixing my ring is ready and i am down on one knee just say the word sir

d class is Full

like they really put a lot of trainees there

ok!!!  first task is, of course, the show’s theme song

the stage is so fucking cool guys i love it

i love the amount of bucket hats im seeing from the boys in the training previews adklfjasd

oooh it’s move in time

someone has a giant carrot and another guy has an elmo i love this

lol no elevators adfjasldf

asfsadkfjalksdf shenshen and mingze i love it

i didn’t know jiayi and guan yue were roommate

awww jiayi’s grandmothers lil knitted thing thats so cute

alkdfad hanhan straightaway bullying hanyu adkfjskdj

huaiwei and wang jiayi are roommates i

love to see it

wait how did mingze style his hair???

it took minghao 5 hours to learn the theme dance

i hate it

love the romantic music they put over minghao when he first appeared

i got distracted by minghao teaching the trainees but minghao is teaching the trainees

hes so cuteeee

he got all flustered when they clapped to thank him

class d really do got those steps in eh?

li chengyang got scared by the class above them aldkfjads babie

im not crying over wang jiayi staying so late and jiayi helping him and then minghao showing up to help him im not

i am

oh god my tears are still salty and hurty

im am crying over the ninceness that minghao his showing

not me being viciously reminded that the mentors here really do want to see the trainees succeed in their endeavors

alkdjflasdkfj his lil heart thing thats so cute

ok the next episode preview is about continuing the practice for the theme song stage, reranking, and they hint at the first stages that the trainees will go thru

and the episode ends with  the theme song performance

aksdfjasldk xixi’s tie ends up over his shoulder at one point adkfa

i love the wave motion in their choreo

i know i said this before probably

but it’s really cute and who doesn’t love a good tie moment

i hate the piano at the end tho bc it makes me want to cry for some reason

like it reminds me a lil bit of the npc run theme and how they played it at the end when the last x amount of trainees were seeing videos from their family and friends

or manybe im making things up idk its like 1:30 in the morning rn

i also just realized i was cheated out of seeing love shot which

rude

but ok then

anywayy

im tired and will probably spend a good chunk of tomorrow either catching up to @baobeejun or working on the xunario

have a good rest of your day wherever you are

stay safe !  stay healthy!

see you next time <3333

[wilsonsnest]

[w&s] taking shots

all you need to know is that i wrote about a romantic archery date and its the best thing i’ve ever done up to this point in time.

pairing: sambucky (bg. samsteve) word count: 2,787 summary: sam learns three things about bucky - he can keep a secret, might actually be a genius and takes some good shots.

“You know,” Natasha said loftily as she topped off Sam’s coke. “This could be easily solved if you all just moved in together.”

Sam avoided answering by quickly taking a long drink while Steve just chuckled next to him, bumping Sam’s shoulder companionably. If he was bothered by the suggestion, he didn’t show it. Since they had arrived separately it meant Sam wasn’t drinking and Steve was Bucky’s ride home.

“You haven’t met Redwing, Nat.” Steve answered solemnly, sliding a look over at Sam. “I think he could be a difficult roommate.”

Sam rolled his eyes and put his glass down. “Redwing is an absolute gem. You’d be so lucky to share in his living space.”

He glared at Steve, but could only hold if for so long before they both burst into laughter. Natasha scoffed at them both, but there was a pleased glint in her eye. She’d spent her share of time listening to all of three of them waxing poetic about one another before they’d figured the relationship out. The redhead glanced down the bar to see her partner leaning over the counter, locked in discussion with Bucky.

Pursing her lips she commented. “They’ve been gossiping all night.”

“We noticed.” Steve said, leaning back to look around Sam at his best friend. “Any idea whats up with that?”

“Hmm.” Was the only thing Natasha provided before sliding down the bar and slapping Clint on the shoulder. He whipped his head around an indignant look on his face. Whatever Natasha said, it made him roll his eyes and he gestured once to Bucky before waving Natasha off.

It was an odd interaction, but Clint and Bucky only spoke for a moment longer before Bucky grabbed his beer and headed toward Sam and Steve.

He looked a little tense around the shoulders, but didn’t hesitate to climb up on the stool next to Sam’s and lean in to kiss him on the cheek. He glanced over at Steve with a small smile before turning his attention back to Sam.

Then the counter. Then his beer.

Something was up. He kept glancing between all three of them, never really quite focusing. Eventually Sam looked over at Steve and the smaller man shrugged.

Steve chewed on his lip, contemplating for a moment before he slid off the barstool. “Hey, I’m gonna run to the bathroom.”

That got Bucky’s attention, his head shot up. Steve just smiled at him and turned to head toward the restroom, leaving Sam and Bucky alone together.

Sam turned to look at his boyfriend, leaning over into his space, trying to determine exactly what he needed. Red/Hawk’s wasn’t particularly busy at the moment. But sometimes after being at Stucky’s all day, just being out anywhere could be overstimulating.

Bucky took in a deep breath, putting his beer on to the counter. Sam was surprised to see him trembling, just slightly.

“Bucky—“

“Are-you-free-tomorrow-afternoon?” Bucky asked in a rush, not quite able to look up at Sam. “Around 3?”

Sam blinked owlishly for a moment, not expecting that question. “Um, yeah. I usually close up at 2:30 but I could ask Lang…”

Bucky breathed out a sigh of relief and all the tension seemed to leave his shoulders. A tentative smile appeared on his lips and he finally looked at Sam. “Great. I’ll pick you up at yours.”

“Oh-kay.” Sam wanted to ask more, but Steve announced his presence as he returned. He could see the slight shuttering in Bucky’s eyes, and it was clear that whatever he was up to, Steve didn’t know about it.

Sam wasn’t sure what to make of it. But Bucky seemed more at ease, reaching around Sam to punch Steve lightly in the shoulder. They relaxed into easy conversation and Sam tucked the information in the back of his mind to be dealt with tomorrow at 3pm.

x x x x

Bucky was quiet in the truck after he picked Sam up. Other than a short greeting, he kept his eyes on the road and let the radio play to fill up the silence. He seemed tense, reminding Sam of the first and last out of town date they’d ever been on. It was sort of making Sam nervous to be honest, because he really wasn’t sure what to expect.

Sam checked his phone, having to resist to urge to text Steve and ask him if Bucky had been acting odd lately. He couldn’t do that to Bucky though, it would be a huge breech of trust. It was obvious from their interaction last night that whatever this was, Bucky didn’t want Steve involved.

The road suddenly got a little rougher and Sam looked up, surprised to see that they had turned onto a familiar dirt road. Sitting up a little straighter, he realized they were heading toward Clint and Natasha’s place. He recalled last night, when his boyfriend and the bar owner had been conspiring together.

“We’re visiting Nat and Clint?” Sam asked, turning to look at Bucky. “Not that I mind, but…”

Bucky just shook his head, his flesh hand flexing on the steering wheel. He stared straight a head as they continued on the road as the big farmhouse got closer. Suddenly though, he turned to look at Sam. There was a crease between his brow and he looked a little apprehensive.

“Trust me, okay?” The request was so earnest. Bucky’s eyes were gentle, and pleading.

Sam could never say no to that look and he let out a long sigh and he nodded.

They pulled up in front of the house along side Natasha’s jeep. Bucky was so quick to turn off the truck and get out that he was there to open the passenger door and help Sam down. After locking up, Bucky took Sam’s hand and led him around the back of the house toward the impressive acreage that their friends owned.

Sam tucked himself close to Bucky’s side, the air crisp and his ears a little cold. He regretted not bringing a hat with him, but he hadn’t exactly been sure of where they were going.

When they rounded the corner he was surprised to see three large targets set up along the back of the house. Sam had seen this sort of thing before, large round colorful foam pads set up on tripods. Even from a distance, he could see that they were absolutely littered with holes. Someone had drawn out lines with white paint in the grass, which he guessed marked the proper distances to shoot from.

Sam looked quizzically up at Bucky, only to see his boyfriend waving in the opposite direction. He looked to see Clint coming out of a small shed maybe thirty yards away. He was carrying two bows over his shoulder and a black quiver bristling with arrows in the other. He didn’t seem to notice anyone had arrived until he looked up and saw them.

Clint waved for a second, before making his way over to them. Despite the relatively cold temperature, he was dressed in sweatpants and a purple t-shirt. Clint dropped the bow and arrows at the farthest line of the archery field before approaching Bucky and Sam.

“Hey Clint,” Sam started, but then noticed belatedly that the other man had started signing to Bucky as he approached. Sam let go of Bucky’s hand so that his boyfriend could respond as he tried to follow along.

Whatever they were talking about was far too quick for Sam to follow and before long, Bucky was patting him on the shoulder.

“I’ll be right back.” Bucky said before heading off toward the shed that Clint had just come from.

Sam nodded mutely before looking at Clint. He bit his lip a little sheepishly and signed along while speaking. “Hi Clint.”

The blonde smirked a little, but his eyes were kind. When Sam had moved to Hopeway six years ago, he’d been at a party during Lake Day and he’d mentioned that he had started learning sign language in High School. It had been six beers in that Clint and Sam had found themselves huddled around a campfire while Clint drunkenly quizzed Sam on how much he knew and tried to add words to his vocabulary that would never be used in polite conversation.

Of course, after that, Sam had legitimately asked Clint if he could help him study and he did. He had learned during that time that at home, Clint preferred not to use his hearing aid and both he and Nat mainly used sign at home.

“Have you been practicing?” Clint asked, slowing down for Sam’s benefit.

Sam could feel his face heating up and he shook his head. “No,” He paused for a moment. “I’m out of practice.”

“You need to come over more often.” Clint responded, and Sam smiled.

Eventually Bucky returned to the archery field, he was pulling a wagon, covered in a tarp behind him. Clint said a quick goodbye to Sam before going over to Bucky, saying a quick word and heading off.

Sam watched from a distance as Bucky pulled the tarp back from the wagon, unsure if he was supposed to come closer. Whatever Bucky had brought seemed a little bit more complicated than the bows and arrows Clint had dropped off.

Sam’s eyes widened in surprise as he watched his boyfriend take off his coat, fold it and then place it to the side. He only walked over when he realized Bucky was removing his prosthetic next.

“Uh, Bucky?” Sam asked, just a little concerned. Clint might walk around half-dressed in the cold, but that didn’t mean Sam approved of the same thing for his boyfriend.

Bucky flashed him a quick, reassuring smile before he placed his arm in the wagon. Sam watched as Bucky picked up a white fabric sleeve and pulled it over his nub and up his arm, and then picked up what looked like a partial prosthetic that stopped at the wrist. Sam had seen some of Bucky’s other prosthetics, old ones or just ones he used for different tasks but he hadn’t seen this one.

“So, um,” Bucky muttered, fiddling with the prosthetic. Sam could see it had straps near the top to keep it secure. “Always stay behind the shooting line, I’ll let you know when I’m done shooting. Ah-”

He sounded so nervous that Sam wasn’t about to question it. He stood well enough back, and watched as Bucky notched the arrowed in the wagon bed first before using his right hand on the bow grip and the prosthetic’s tiny hook to hold the string. With practiced easy, Bucky pulled the bow up and aimed at the middle target.

After a moment, he released, quicker than Sam was expecting and the arrow hit inside the blue area of the target. There were a million things on the tip of Sam’s tongue, but he squeezed his hands together to keep himself from blurting something out. He watched, marveling as Bucky shot five more arrows, each one getting closer to the center yellow bullseye. The last arrow made it just outside the inner yellow ring and Sam let out a slight groan.

“So close.” He said, but he sounded so clearly impressed. Bucky put the bow down in the wagon again and turned to look at Sam, his face was inscrutable and he seemed to be waiting.

“Bucky.” The name bubbled up, happy and pleasant on Sam’s tongue. He grinned wide, wanting to reach out for his boyfriend. “When did you take up archery? This is awesome.”

Bucky finally met his eyes, a small pleased smile playing on his lips. Sam watched as his hand drifted to the prosthetic, touching it like it was precious.

“Clint mentioned he put this up a while ago.” Bucky answered. “I did some research and I asked him if he’d help me out. He’s really good.”

Somehow that didn’t surprise Sam in the slightest. He looked around the field, looking at the six arrows imbedded in the target then back at Bucky. Sam wasn’t an archery expert by any means, but with only a few months of practice Bucky didn’t seem half bad himself.

“Don’t tell me you’ve been practicing for months just so you can show off.” Sam teased, smirking a little.

“No,” Bucky scoffed. “Part of it was just making this.”

He gestured to the prosthetic as though it weren’t a big deal. For a moment everything in Sam’s brain came to a halt and his eyes widened almost comically. His jaw worked open and closed for a moment before he stuttered.

“Bucky… d-did you make that?”

Bucky’s brows knitted together and he nodded. “I researched some ones other people used first.”

“Okay, but you built this. Yourself.”

“Clint helped a little.” Bucky’s face was turning a lovely shade of pink and it was not from the cold.

“Bucky, what the fuck.” Sam said, awed. “Your a genius. Holy shit, I’m dating a genius.”

“God, Sam. It’s not like it was hard.” Despite his protests, Sam could see how pleased Bucky was.

“It’s not like it was hard!” Sam barked out a laugh, grinning wide. “Oh my God, Bucky, I can’t with you sometimes.”

“But I’m glad you can most of the time.” Bucky quipped back, any tension remaining in his body quickly seeping out. He bit his lip, and shifted from foot to foot before gesturing to the bow and arrows Clint had left behind. “D’you wanna try?”

Sam nodded enthusiastically and without hesitation stripped off his own coat. All of a sudden the cold was of very little consequence when Bucky explained to him how to pick up the bow and crowded behind him to adjust his stance. Bucky very carefully went through how his arms should be held, touching Sam a lot more than was probably necessary before instructing on how to nock the arrow.

“Take your time.” Bucky whispered close in his ear, not at all helping Sam keep his composure. If he wasn’t trying so hard to focus, he would have glared at his boyfriend. “Make sure to look at the target, not the arrow.”

With Bucky’s body warm against his back, Sam pulled back, steadying himself and then released. The arrow hit the foam squarely in the black area and Bucky pressed a kiss behind his ear.

“Great job, Sammy.”

They spent the rest of the afternoon shooting arrows together. Sam improved with some tips from Bucky, and Bucky found every possible excuse to crowd into Sam’s space when he was taking his turn. Somehow, Sam was pretty sure all the touching and sweet murmuring would have been agains the rules in a competition setting.

Eventually though, the sun began to set and Clint ambled his way around to them. This time he was at least wearing a sweatshirt, though had chosen to forgo shoes. He stood to the way side while Sam finished his shots, raising an eyebrow as he watched Bucky pressing kisses to Sam’s cheek when he was done.

“Interesting strategy.” Clint signed as Bucky went to collect the arrows from both his and Sam’s targets.

“I learn better hand’s on.” Sam replied without a second thought. As soon as he saw the glint in Clint’s eye he regretted it immediately and fumbled through a few of not-so-appropriate signs Clint had shown him by the lake several years ago.

The three of them cleaned up the rest of the bows and targets, moving them to Clint’s shed. Bucky changed his prosthetic, folding it up securely before placing it under the tarp. The sky was purple and blue by time they were done and they headed around the front of the house to say their goodbyes. Clint seemed surprised when Sam hugged him tightly, but just smiled and reminded him to stop by any time.

Once they were safely in the truck, heat cranked up, Sam couldn’t help but stare at Bucky. He was sure he had the goofiest, sappiest smile on his face but he didn’t care.

“Have you told Steve yet?” Sam asked. His other boyfriend would be over the moon if he knew about Bucky’s new hobby.

“Nah,” Bucky answered quietly, shaking his head. He seemed relaxed, exuding happiness. “Wanted to show you first.”

Sam felt warmth blossom in his chest, and he couldn’t resist reaching over and placing a hand on Bucky’s knee, squeezing gently. “I won’t say anything,” He promised. “As long as you don’t tell him that was the best date I’ve ever been on.”

Bucky glanced at him, his smile bright. “I can do that.”

[leoswritingcorner]

it happened one night

i wanted to expand more on jean’s bg in 20′s au and answer that question of is she an accidental widow or did she really kill her husband? (cw for violence and sensitive subjects. but it’s not too bad. still fair warning!)

It had started out as a starry night. The full moon casting a silver glow across the sky. Gradually, however, the slow crawl of storm clouds began to darken out the shine of the stars and moon above. Thunder rumbles lowly at first, then booms loudly over New York, announcing its arrival.

Jean watches from the window of her bedroom as the rain start in easy drops until it begins to shower down in a brutal downpour. The sound echoes through the house. She leans back on the bed, and kicks off her heels. It had been another long night of a borish soiree her husband had dragged her to. With guests who he was eager to brag to, or appeal to. Guests with deep pockets and agendas that matched his.

She reaches up, and starts plucking away the numerous pins in her hair that held her massive curls in place. Jean winces, but sighs in relief at the pressure that eased away. Her husband, Vernon Adley, often requested...well, requested would be a term too soft. Demanded, was more like it. That Jean kept her hair a certain style, makeup to a certain minimum and wardrobe approved before each and every outing.

She often thought of thought of smothering the old man in his sleep. But that would be too good for him. Besides, she only had to bid her time. The annulment papers her father had drawn up and that she had signed just days ago would come into effect soon. Vernon Adley had been a thorn in her family’s side for years, and soon enough, the rug would be pulled from under him.

The storm seems to grow stronger outside, as Jean undresses. It was fashionable, a bit long, but the kind of dress that clung to her, and caught attention. The kind of attention Vernon was seeking out. Jean grits her teeth, remembering the way his fleshy hand had groped and grabbed at her all night. It wasn’t till she cracked his finger bones in her own crushing grip that he backed off. She throws the dress carelessly onto the floor, and tugs on a robe, tightening the sashes.

A loud pounding sounds at her door, before it practically flies off the hinges. Jean catches a glimpse of Vernon’s red face, and swears under her breath. “Ay que bueno.” She comments sarcastically, motioning to the crack that was made into the wall. “It’s late, Vernon. What do you want?” She asks sternly. The seventy-five year old man’s eyes are bloodshot, and narrowed on her, gripped tightly in his hand was a crumpled sheet of paper.

Jean flinches slightly when he lifts his hand, shaking the paper in her face. “What is this?” He barks. Jean closes her eyes, turning her head away from him.

“Annulment papers.” She replies simply. Vernon begins to let loose a swarm of swears, and Jean ignores them, settling onto the seat of the vanity table.

“On what grounds?” Vernon persists, slamming the paper on the vanity top. Jean glares at him through the mirror. Instead of answering, she picks up a brush, and begins to comb her hair. Vernon slams the paper onto the table again, harder this time, knocking over perfume bottles. “On what grounds?!” He repeats.

Jean shrugs, trying to keep her hands from flying out to strike the man in his ruddy face. “We haven’t consummated our marriage” She finally says, “and I never intend to do so.” Jean had made sure of that from the day they married.

There’s a wet sputtering that comes from Vernon. “Nonsense.” He gets out finally. “I want a son. An heir to-”

“You have countless sons from your first four marriages, Vernon.” Jean cuts in. “All legitimate and even some illegitimate to pick from. I will not give you any children.” She says, turning to face him. “Consider this my one act of kindness for these six months of hell you’ve given to me This marriage was to settle an old family debt.” She tugs at the wedding ring on her hand. “It’s settled, done.” She says with finality, as she tosses the ring down.

She doesn’t wait for his retort, and stands up. But before she can walk a step away, Jean feels a rough shove to her back. Vernon lands atop her, the bed squeaking under both their sudden weight. Jean struggles, turning herself around. Her green eyes wide, as Vernon fumbles with the robe sashes.

“You will give me a son.” He snarls, shoving her harder back into the bed. Jean feels a surge of fear and anger combined flow through her.

“Get off!” She hisses, scratching at his face. Her nails dig into his skin, and claw across his eyes. Vernon yelps, and Jean shoves him off. She flies out of the room, and down the hallway. She makes it to the office room, shutting the door.

Lightning lights up the room, and that’s when she sees the phone. Jean snatches up the receiver, trying to calm her breathing as the operator came on the line. “Connect me to Louis Hyes.” She whispers quickly. “Hurry.”

It’s quiet out of the room. She can only hear the storm. She wonders if Vernon passed out. Judging from the smell of his breath, he probably fell into some drunken coma. The line rings before someone picks up.

“Heath.” Jean breathes. “Tell papá to come to come get me. I can’t-”

The door flies open and Jean gasps, dropping the phone. Vernon stumbles in. His face and eyes were red, light traces of blood seeping down his face. Jean backs away, as he moves forward. “Do not come near me.” Jean snaps. Vernon picks up the phone, hanging it up. Neither of them knowing the other line had already hung up.

Jean rounds on the table, but Vernon’s form blocks her from the door. There’s something in his hand. “Come here, my darling wife.” He spits. “It’s only fair I slice your pretty face or throat wide open.”

Jean’s eyes widen in terror as he raises the knife. With a scream for help, she races to the balcony doors, flinging them open. Vernon comes close behind and the knife gleams in the flashes of lightning that cracks overhead. He charges at her, before she can scream again his hand is gripping her hair in a vice-like grip, twisting her head back.

Her body trembles from the cold of the pelting rain and fear. Her back bends as he forces her against the rail of the balcony, leaning over her. The storm practically roars in her ears, she barely hears Vernon laughing at her. Her shaking comes to a stop at the feel of the blade’s side pressing against the curve of her cheek. In one last attempt, fueled by absolute desperation she swings out her hand, hitting him in the throat, hard. Vernon gags, doubling over. A clattering sound lets her know he no longer had a hold on the knife.

He glares at her, and weakly lunges at her. Jean growls, fighting back as he pushes her once more dangerously close to the ledge of the balcony.

Their bodies twist and Jean uses all her strength to shove and push, until she feels his weight shift and slip away from her hands. The fabric of his shirt falls from her fingers. In the howling of the wind, his screams were lost. Thunder steals away the sound of his body hitting the pavement.

Jean stands there, stone still. The rain continues to beat down, the storm barely showing any sign of letting up. She dares a look over the ledge. Her hand comes flying to her mouth, muffling the sob that built in her throat. Six stories down, his body laid tangled, bloodied. He was dead.

She killed him.

That was what Vernon Adley deserved.

*

She plays along, crying and sobbing. It’s not hard to do. All she had to do was thinking of the past six months. Jean weeps, hiding into her half-brother’s chest.

The police take pity on her. The poor young wife had been bathing when her husband took a drunken fall off the balcony in the storm. His body had been there for hours before anyone even realized. They give their condolences and ask no more questions. They knew better.

Louis Hyes made sure every house servant on duty that night had their pockets and purses filled. If they played along, and kept their mouths shut and story right.

Heath kisses the top of Jean’s head, rocking his younger sister gently. “It’s okay.” He says softly. When no one else but their father is around, he adds. “He’s gone.”

“Gracias a Dios.” Jean whispers back. For the first time in a long time, she relaxes. Control. was back in her hands. Louis strokes his daughter’s hair. The storm began to lessen, but thunder still rumbled in the distance.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen, but things change all the time. Now the plan began.

[gatoinq]

it never occurred to me to write about my ii experience on tumblr, but i figured it could be helpful for those who would appreciate a lil story time like this.

essentially, to make a very long story short, i ended up getting my vip tickets at 2am the morning of my show. i had a fantastic time meeting them and an even better time watching the show! a more in-depth story under the cut, per usual.

needless to say, i was equal parts excited and terrified of what was to come. i hate last minute planning more than anything else so i really had no idea what to say, what to have them sign, what pose i wanted to do with them, etc. (yes, i’ve been a fan since 2013 and have had numerous scenarios of me meeting d&p playing in my head throughout those years but the second that that somehow become a reality ALL expectations and year-long plans flew out of my head instantly).

so to start off, i had to plan what exactly i wanted dan and phil to sign. at first, i wanted to draw something from scratch to have them sign so that it would be that little more special, but i simply couldn’t muster much of anything with the limited time and my shaken nerves, so i settled with printing out two copies of my fanart of dan and phil singing the ii song.  in the end, i figured that this piece was a lot more meaningful to have signed instead of a random fanart that i made at the last minute, and i was completely right to do so.

fast forward a couple hours, and i’m trying to get into the vip line for ii. i made a rather lengthy thread on twitter about this experience if you’re interested but again, to keep a long story short, it was quite a hassle for me! but in the end, i manage to get in.

the meet and greet starts. i’m trying to play it cool because the people i’m with start to completely freak out once dan and phil round the corner to say hi to the vips and all of a sudden the reality just runs us over like a train! what was once a distant “oh yeah we’ll get to that bridge when we cross it” became “OH MY GOD WE’RE AT THE BRIDGE WE’RE CROSSING THE BRIDGE NOW AND THE BRIDGE IS ON FIRE” for me, my big moment was realizing that, finally, after over 5 years of watching these two weird guys on the internet i was actually going to get to meet and hug them and that realization was absolutely WILD.

so, i’m at the front of the line. my sister is in tears and shaking because of how nervous she is to meet them. marianne, being an absolute sweetie, tries to comfort my sister by telling her that dan and phil will be happy to see her and that she shouldn’t be afraid of them. in a way, i kind of needed to hear those words too, so i use that opportunity to go meet them before my sister does so that she can gather herself in the mean time. marianne takes my gift to them (the other copy of the fanart i made) and i go for it.

first thing i see is phil, and wowow holy shit people are 100% not lying when they say he is 569845x more handsome in person. even worse, you can see practically every freckle he has and his eyes are so vibrant!!!! in a way, i would describe it as being used to seeing a pixel art of a character to all of a sudden seeing an 8K render of said character. i knew what i was in for so i immediately dive into phil’s hug before i stare for too long, and i’ll say for sure that the information overload of not only seeing phil in person but also getting to feel how he hugs you made my brain short circuit and i blacked out in phil’s arms for 0.01 seconds so i don’t fully remember exactly how his hug felt like. (UNFORTUNATELY!!!! AHHH) also at this point the first thing i say to them is “oh my gooood y’all are so beautiful!!” whilst squealing incoherently. i don’t know if they said anything in response to that because, again, information overload!!!

next i hug dan, and that goes perfectly fine. he greets me with a big smile and that’s about as much as i can remember of how he looked like. from this point on i’m too scared to look at them in the face so i settle for looking at myself through my selfie camera that i already had prepared or through the middle distance of them lmao.

i’ll say that for the m&g, dan 100% took charge and was the person who responded to me. i give them my art to sign and they both ooh and ahh enthusiastically while signing. dan in particular goes high pitched with his praise and said “this is so good!!”. i explain to them that i’m an animation student and that they are one of my biggest inspirations in art. dan looks up at me and thanks me. once they’re done signing, dan hands back my art to me and compliments my outfit, “i noticed that you’re matching the show’s theme, i appreciate that” and i tell him something along the lines of “yes of course i had to i’m an artist” but like. i think i flubbed my words and it came out mumbly so idk if he heard me try to be funny dnfvjscs

next, i hand my phone to dan and he and phil immediately go into their standardized meet and greet pose. i had to quickly interject because I PLANNED OUT THIS POSE RIGHT WHEN I GOT THOSE TICKETS and i told them “hey so i have an idea for a pose. basically y’all take a cute selfie and i’m in the bg looking pissed”. i swear i didn’t even get the chance to finish my request because both dan and phil seemed to telepathically know what i wanted and they go into the pose no questions asked and i had to scramble to catch up with their efficiency. we take the picture and dan says something along the lines of “okay now lets take a cute selfie”. we do the normal pose and i’m beaming like a mfer because phil’s holding me and his chin is on my shoulder???? what the heck i stan one man who didn’t talk to me at all during the m&g kdfjcnkjdsncjkdsc (obvs no complaints phil owns my entire heart and soul)

of course, now because i’m a little delirious from phil holding me and dan’s kindness i say “thank you so much” and try to leave so that i can actually breathe but before i go dan stops me (like. he legit looks at me straight in the eyes right as i’m about to walk away and i FREEZE in my spot) and says “keep it up with your art career” and me. kind of extremely shocked that he would be so pointed with his encouragement towards me goes “okay thank you!!” and fucking BOOKS IT.

the only thing after that is, of course, ii. i won’t go into too much detail about the show but i’m so so so so glad san diego got one of the special versions of ii with the phil bucks and phantastic phacts included. by far the best part of the show was the getting real segment though, as phil lester himself walked to the edge of stage RIGHT WHERE I JUST HAPPENED TO BE SITTING IN FRONT ROW and sits there for a good 5 minutes. needless to say i took this time to freely stare at phil so close to me and i truly felt blessed for the allotted amount of time. i love phil a lot.

(the next day, my sister drops the bomb on me that during her m&g she pointed me out to dan and phil and they gushed about me to her saying things like “aww yes you two are matching her art is so good she should keep it up!” just aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa)

so yes, ii was absolutely one of the best experiences of my life and i could not be prouder of dan and phil for being able to pull off a second world tour that is, in my opinion, so much better than their first. i adore them so much. heck.

[rqs902]

qcyn ep 8 aka the loss of some real talent..... (but also, thankfully, some needed recognition was given as well)

psa im probably gonna be posting stuff involving some spoilers soon, so ill tag them as #qcyn spoilers and you can feel free to block those posts if you dont want to see them!

awwwwwww shi mingze helping mingming get people’s attention is the cutest friendship!!! mingming is so quiet... i love a supportive mingze!!! also thank you iqiyi for giving him more screentime!! i can notice it already!

LOL sun zelin in this rap heavy group..... but this group is already the most fun group hahahah omg ye ziming talking about the fact that he knows he’s not likely gonna make it so he needs to help those kids who are more popular get better......... UGH WHY DO PEOPLE NOT RECOGNIZE THIS AMAZING CHILD. oh my goodness this is so sad.... the fact that THE KIDS WHO KNOW WHAT THEYRE DOING had to make a club dedicated to helping the kids who dont.... bc they know theyll make it instead of themselves....... that just means that they all know the next elim is gonna get rid of a whole lot of real talent. thats so messed up.... this whole montage is like iqiyi being like “thanks for helping our kids look nice on stage, once you’re done, you’re gonna be forced to leave. byeeeee” 

OMGOMGOMGOMOGMOGMOMGG LIN MO IS A CANDIDATE FOR CENTERRRR YESSSSSSSS I CANT BELIEVE!!!!! AMAZING!!!! also look at all the tyger members together aww

LOL lian huaiwei is just so funny just talking LOL. wait. so about that clip of lin mo helping chaoyuan and youwei that came out earlier this week. chaoyuan and youwei arent even in his half of the group. that means lin mo went out of his way to help them even tho he hasnt been practicing with them as closely as like huaiwei. wow he not only helped his own group but he went out to make sure everyone in their larger group got special help, AND youwei still called him “teacher” which means lin mo is probably regularly helping him. wow. man,, they didnt show any of lin mo’s group’s practice wtf........ i swear iqiyi is about to drop jia yi or something bc i thought theyd at least wanna show some of him.... but the small bit we saw of their dance wow lin mo is gonna do sooo well ahhhh he looks so good already, even in these lumpy practice clothes, im so excited to see him on stage

lol yaoyao (yao bolan) is in the super cute grouppp hahahhaha but ahh him talking about every faking their happiness really.... shows how observant and sensitive he is to his friends’ feelings, which is aw....

OMG THEY JUST SKIPPED ANNOUNCING the lower ranks ???? i mean i get u gotta be time efficient, but thats a little too efficient??? omg but sun zelin!!! and wu chengze!!! and wu zelin!! omg wang jiayi dropped so much. iqiyi has seriously just dropped him like a hot potato wow. CHEN SIJIAN WENT UP WHOOOO lol the creativity is real in this one hahahaha his speech

ok im sorry but wtf how did these three (14-16) get in front of lin mo, excuse me???? sigh.... oh well, at least hes still within top 20, i just want him to at least make it to top 20... lol they only let like 3 kids talk...... this is just too efficient yall.....

omgosh........ shi zhan and yaoyao........... ahhhhhhhhhhhh my heart ;;;;; yaoyao’s smile......... another bg project boy is gonna leave ahhh 

yao chi’s speech omg..... the child has seriously been through a lot of mental trauma look at how much he’s shaking goodness

omg i cant believe jia yi dropped so much...... wtf.......... are people blind???? iqiyi is really about to drop him omg i really think they havent been giving him enough screentime alskdjlk wow way to randomly cut off jia yi’s thank you to zhan yu.... wtf i need more jia yi + zhan yu time.... zhan yu is like jia yi’s favorite gege.... omg zhan yu’s tears ahhh zhan yu may say that he wishes he could be the maknae but he honestly cares so much for jia yi, even tho he’s not much older than him, its so aw.....

omg i just looked up ye ziming on weibo and hes friends with guanguan, changbin, zhu zijie and zhong yixuan??? omggg fandom clash wowow 

this segment with these kids with disabilities........ i dont know how i feel about this...... it feels problematic to me....... the trainees dont know what theyre doing, so how is this benefitting these children? if anything its just to make the trainees look like theyre doing some great charity work or something, but i dont appreciate the attitude some of them have towards these kids... i get theyre frustrated and werent properly prepared to interact with them, which i dont blame them for, but its like why is this segment even a thing, iqiyi??? theyre just coming in and using these kids as a backdrop to make themselves look nice, and not actually doing anything sustainable or meaningful to help them... what good is it to get these kids to like them and get familiar with them just for them to leave within a few hours? its just another person who came and left........ 

omg guan yue is second omg good for you, child!!!!!!!!!!!!! good good good im glad, he deserves it!!!!!!!

lol they better show the other rounds of this basketball tournament in the extra clips..............

these ads are getting more and more ridiculous im ??? cowboys ??? ?

NOOOOO ZHAN YU!!!!!!!!! 37!??!!?!!! I CANT BELIEVE THEYRE SO CLOSE AGAIN!!!!! ALSKDJLKJLK FIRST ZHEN NAN 61 AND NOW ZHAN YU 37 AGHHHHHH ok but i cant even be mad at yuzhi bc i know he deserves it too.

OMG WHY THE FRICK WOULD YOU CHOOSE WENHAN /?!?!??? AGAIN!??//!? THEY SHOULD BE PICKING KIDS THAT NEED TO GET PICKED!!!!!! WENHAN IS THE LEAST OF YOUR CONCERNS GOODNESS GRACIOUS ALSKDJLASKJDL 

omg boyuan!!! they really like boyuan hahah but he deserves it too and zhuo yuan being so so happy for him is the sweetest ahhhh and junjie crying ahhh i love these 3 roommatesss

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS ZHAN YU!!!!!!! YESY YESYEYS YES!!!!!!!! YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?!??!? THAT MEANS WE HAVE A CHANCE TO SEE ALL 3 TYGERS ON THE SAME STAGE!!!!!!!!!! ALKSDJLAKSDJLAKSJDLJK YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS OMGOMOGMOMGG THANK YOU SO MUCH i was thinking “they really like zhan yu hahhaa they picked zhan yu last time, maybe theyll pick him again”---- THANK GOODNESS AHHHHHH ok but im kinda disappointed they literally didnt show lin mo’s reaction... only jia yi’s.... which i feel like is bc they enjoy playing off of jia yi’s emotions more.... which makes me feel (again) like theyre using the other tyger members as backdrop for jia yi, rather than respecting their friendship and group as a whole? like theyre all really amazing friends and people, theyre not just “jia yi and his friends”, if you get what i mean... but jia yi being so so happy i love!!!!! im so so so happy for them ahhhh yessssss you go zhan yu, you are amazing!!!!!!!!! get that recognition!!!!!!!

omg zhuo yuan being so happy for his friends is honestly the cutest. im sad that he didnt make it... yao chi and mingming being so happy i love!!!!!! good for yechen! his voice is honestly really nice and very unique!

frick i cant believe they didnt notice ye ziming.... and su yuhang.... they deserved better......... cheche crying ahhhh li you and kou cong deserved better too... ahhh seeing guan yue crying more than cheche or mingming crying more than kou cong, or ye ziming comforting others... its like the kids who are left are so sad for them, the kids who were actually eliminated.. this friendship is ahhhhh

man, i was just getting to know and like yaoyao and cui shaopeng too...

this is so sad for zhuo yuan and jiahao tho, like all the kids around them, physically and also in the ranking, went up, but not them.... i wonder if jiahao had been given screentime during his last stage, he wouldve gotten more votes... but bc of the hair thing, he got cut out of the ep even tho he was center......  

man, fangzhou is the last core one member left........

oh my goodness.......... that ending................. oh my goodness.................. why does this have to happen to huo zhong.................... oh goodness thats gonna be such a drastic change from huo zhong to the super cute song...... i hate to say it, but i feel like none of them would want to go there LOL ahhhhh how will guan yue choose???? laskdjlaskjlk ok im hopeful that he at least wont choose zhan yu (because hes not cute LOL) but i really really hope lin mo can stay too oh gosh.......... ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh guan yue....... (i know ding feijun is also there but im guessing guan yue is gonna be the main decision maker) but if hes smart he wont choose kids who will have trouble learning a whole new dance, which means.... he is likely to take more skilled trainees....... UGH IM SO WORRIED. but tbh i guess.... even if lin mo goes from super cool handsome center to a super cutesy backup dancer.... i guess... he’ll get to challenge himself and try a new style.......... which i guess... isnt terrible........ he’ll be cute, im sure.... so as long as he can still make it into top 20, i wont be terribly distraught. honestly i feel like im being rather reasonable as a lin mo stan, like I’m not asking for him to get as much screentime as like wenhan, just at least enough so that we can tell that he exists and was there (COUGHepisode7COUGH), and I’m not asking that he be center every time or that he get into top 9, i just want him to get recognition, respect, and into at least top 20. I think he can do it!!! hes working so so hard, despite being injured, and hes helping so many other kids..... i just wish his work can be acknowledged. 

oof now thats its down to 2 votes a day... its time we see who people’s real biases are... im guessing theres gonna be some drastic changes in the rankings from here, bc the kids who are just well-liked by everyone but not actually “biased” will be dropped like crazy. i know who im gonna vote for, but im sad it means i wont be able to vote for some kids who i know will really need votes too..... but i believe you can kinda tell which kids are “bias” material and which are more just generally well-liked. that’s all im gonna say about it, but for everyone who’s voting, just choose wisely bc some kids will need your votes more than others, just saying.... 

lol guan yue’s psa to eat more fruit..... okay guan yue, okay hahahahhaha

wow i cant believe chen you and li you both got clips in the ending credits and also ye ziming even got 2 clips......... i swear they only started giving ye ziming screentime after it was too late??!!!? like they finally realized hes super funny and talented and #amazing and felt bad but ITS TOO LATE IQIYI laksjdlaklklk ill say it again ye ziming deserved better. on his weibo he says he’ll be coming out with new stuff soon tho!!! so im super excited and will def be keeping a lookout bc im sure itll be legit c: 

[fandomscombine]

Exploding Stink Bomb

Platonic!Weasley Twins x Reader

BG: Chaos ensues when the twins steal your latest prank invention. How much worse could it be when innocent people are caught in the mess?

WC:1744

Entry for @feetoffthetable​ 's 500 writing challenge. A week late I know-sorry! Cause I lost the initial draft. (Note: Do NOT trust auto save that much) So I had to rewrite it.

The prompts are taken from Random Prompts List No. 4 and No.11. (Are in bold in the text)

4. “…Are they dead?” “I don’t know! Why don’t you ask them!”

11. “You’re being remarkably calm about this.” “Thanks, it’s the shock. Give me fifteen minutes, the screaming will happen.”

>>>MASTERLIST<<<

Fred Weasley, George Weasley and Y/n L/n, also known as 'The Pranksters Trio' of modern day Hogwarts.

It is the winter of senior year, and your stress levels are increasing by the day. NEWTS are to be held in a couple of months and you have managed to procrastinate completing your mock papers. At this rate, you would get a passing grade but in all honesty you know that wouldn’t cut it, you know your abilities. If you actually put effort in your subjects you can bump a level up.

You've made a deal with your parents that if you had completed your practice papers, you could spend the last week of the Christmas holiday with the Weasleys.

Which you are; 3 days in, 4 days left till school.

'What your parents don't know won't hurt them...' You mumble to yourself as you stir the bubbling green mixture clockwise.

See you haven't finished the potions assignment yet. Your parents thought you did last week, but in reality what you were working on was a little fantastic smelling concoction that could contribute to the twins' upcoming new joke shop merchandise lineup!

During the journey to King’s Cross, Fred had come up to you and asked if you could help brainstorm a new product that would blow people's minds away. Of course you agreed, a multitude of ideas already brewing, you would do anything to help out your friends.

That night, it was all you could think about. Naturally you are itching to get started, before the thought flies away. Pushing your potions textbook aside, you got to work. It took 18 hours of no sleep but it paid off. The product was now in your hands.

A shiny burgundy shimmering marble-like sphere. The final product was smaller than the blueprint- the amount of ingredients you had on hand in your muggle household were limited- you do a mental note on raiding the potions supply closet once back in school for dragon hide.

But when you do finally have all the resources, the sphere should be the size of a baseball.

For now, at 30% of the ideal size, this mini test sphere could stink up a small bedroom. Which is enough to do damage but also has a small enough impact that you fix if anything were to go wrong.

BAM! You knew the quiet was too good to last.

“y/n/n, my dear!” Greeted Fred, waltzing into Ginny’s room.

“Are you--” George placed his hand on the door, stopping it from slamming back to his face. “Oi! Why’d you have to kick the door so hard? You could have ruined my handsome face!” He shouted to his twin.

Dropping your quill back into the ink bottle you sighed. “Nooo, how many times do I have to tell you? I’ll be finished when I’m finished. Most likely tomorrow, the earliest.”

“Why can’t you just let US test it though?” voiced George.

“Because I came up with it and it’s the only one we’ve got!” You reasoned. “I wanna see it when it explodes!”

Right then, the boys’ eyes lit up.

“IT EXPLODES?!?!?” They exclaimed in union.

“SHIT!” It was too late to cover it up. The secret is out.

The twins shared a look, you don’t really believe in twin telepathy but in the case of your 2 best friends and mischief, they almost always are on the same page.

You are sent flying sideways off your chair and hit the air mattress. “Offph! George! Let….me….go!” With all your might, you try to push George off you but to no avail. The muscles built up during quidditch training are to his advantage.

In the other side of the room, Fred is rummaging through your trunk, eagerly looking for the mysterious and highly sought after invention.

Although he may not know what it looks like, Fred is still one of your accomplices in sneaking prank items to school, meaning he and Geroge know all the secret compartments in your trunk. As do you with their trunks.

This setup made sense, it was a precautionary method devised so that in a matter of incoming danger or when suspected of something, the others could easily get rid of any incriminating evidence.

The system is perfect! Well expect now when it backfired on you.

“AHA GOT IT!”

Your face snaps to the direction of the voice. Cursing internally, right there, raised high above Fred’s head is the prized Exploding Stink Bomb.

“WICKED!” cried George. While the twins are reveling in their success, you took the chance to push George off you and launch towards Fred.

While George was caught off guard, Fred had the few seconds in which you got up to process what was happening and sprinted towards the door.

“IMMA GET YOU FRED!”

“LET’S SEE THAT SMALL LEGS!”

“GOT YA! AHHHHH--” One moment you had your hand on Fred’s shoulder, next you felt a tug on your waist. “GEORGE LET. ME. GO”

“No can do y/n/n.”

His hold wasn’t enough to hurt you, but it was certainly tighter. “Learned from your earlier mistake eh” You teased.

“Just caught me off guard” George reasoned.

Fred walking backwards, bids his farewell. “See you Suckers!” He shouted, taking a bow. With that he disappears round the corner.

A THUD.

“Ginny!”

You and George shared a look of confusion, what was going on?

Arriving at the scene, you are not surprised to see a sneering Ginny.

“That’s what you get for going in my room!”

What you’re more surprised to see is a frantic Fred. You knew that Ginny is fully capable of being terrifying but this was all in good fun right?

Slowly George walked up to his brother. “Freddie what’s wrong?”

“The ball… it slipped”

Eyes wide, your heart starts to beat faster. “Where…?”

You barely had gotten the question out, the answer is given.

As if on cue, you hear shouts coming from your right, Ron’s room.

Ginny being the closest, beats all of you to the door. When it opened, you catch the faint bit of purple smoke before it completely clears away, no other evidence of the stink ball in sight-you smile at the result, hard work does pay off.

‘Now is not a time to be happy y/n’ you told yourself. Your gaze reached the unconscious bodies on the two beds. “Well that’s…..uhh... new...”

Here are 4 guilty looking teenagers looking at the scene of the crime.

Ginny gingerly poked Ron’s side, keeping a fair distance away just in case he jolts back. “…Are they dead?” she asked, breaking the silence.

“I don’t know! Why don’t you ask them!” George paused his pacing to point his finger at both you and Fred.

“Hey! I am not the one you had thrown the stink bomb into the room!” You said defensively. “Besides I told you to test it when I’m ready! BUT NOOOO… you two wanted it now WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING IT’S FULL CAPACITY AND RESTRICTIONS!”

“I…..I…” When George couldn’t come up with a come back, he changed tactics. Turning to Fred he challenges. “You’re being remarkably calm about this.”

Fred, who was still standing rooted at the entryway, replied. “Thanks, it’s the shock. Give me fifteen minutes, the screaming will happen.”

“What the heck happened anyway?” asked Ginny.

“Yea, I thought it was just a stink bomb that could explode!” added George.

“It is just an exploding stink bomb!”

“Then why are they unconscious?” George’s panic becomes more evident as in addition to his pacing, his voice is now an octave higher.

“I think that the stink bomb was too powerful for such a small room.” Sighing, you gestured to the closed windows. “There’s no adequate ventilation too. Must have cause them to inhale a larger concentration”

“How long will they be out?”

“I don’t know Ginny…really.” You shrug. “It could be hours, one to two at best.”

“TWO HOURS?!?” The twins say in union despite one clearly in utter distress while the other scarily unmoving.

Fred gripped his hair, placed his head in between his thighs and let out a scream that could rival a lion.

George now having lost hope of his brother functioning, took charge. “Mum is gonna be back any second now. What are we gonna do?”

“Well, first…we’re gonna check the boy’s condition again for progress” You suggest, dragging Ginny to check on hair while you check on Ron.

“Then..we’re gonna say..”

“GOT YA!” You 4 shout, finger guns at the ready.

“Wait.. WHAT?!!?? WHAT’S HAPPENING?” George looks at Harry and Ron- who are surprisingly alright and laughing their heads off, to you and GInny looking very smug.

Fred tilts his red face up to the commotion.

“YOU JUST GOT PRANKED! SAY CHESSE!” You announced, indicating to Ginny with the camera.

“Cheeseee” murmured the twins in defeat.

~

“How’d you do it?”

You knew that they would be back with questions. You keep them on the edge as you finish up your potions essay.

"You lot are predictable."

"Predictable?" George scoffed.

Tidying up the study table you continue "Mhhhmmm hmmm. Predicted that you would test it out on Ron, knew that you would try to steal it from me cause you both are very impatient- especially you Fred."

"Heyy!"

"But how did you wake up Harry and Ron?" Piped George. "We shook them but they were still unconscious!"

"Ah George ever the curious. It's simple really." You lay on the bed with hands behind your head, enjoying this moment of outsmarted the boys. "Your siblings were all very tired of been pranked so when we saw an opportunity to have you taste of your own medicine we grab them chance."

You glance at them.

"The time of you setting off the stink bomb is unknown but we were ready. I've made a nose blocker chewing gum while I was tinkering with the foul smell of the stink bomb."

"No sense of smell, no effect." stated Fred.

"Exactly, the rest I'd just improv and acting! The boys weren't actually unconscious, just a temporary numbing spell which Ginny and I reversed when we checked on them."

Sitting back up, you continued.

"What I didn't predict was how crazy you with react. I've never seen you two gone off the rails scared shirtless like that before." You admitted. "Priceless."

"And now you have a photo of it" grumbled George.

"And video too!"

"WHAT?"

Taglist [All/General]: @gruffle1

HP Taglist: @onlyfreds

[ldoesanartthing]

Hiya! You're art is really good! I was wondering if you could show your drawing process? I'm trying to develop some tips and stuff, heh.. thank you!!! - ♡♡♡

Well for starters, thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoy my art! But I’m very sorry if this isn’t as in depth as one might hope, I’ve been in a bit of a rush this morning, so my apologies (also please forgive my uncropped screencaps)

To start off, I either sketch it out on paper and take a pic, or sketch in krita. I typically use krita for almost everything I draw digitally. To start, my default canvas size is around 3300 x 3000, and if I’m not feeling lazy, I fill the canvas a nice grey. I don’t know why, but it makes the drawings nicer.

I like to start off with a basic idea of what posing I want, with a loose crosshair on the head to figure out where the character is looking, in this case, the weird floating thing we got here

Next, I start putting in shapes and finalizing our pose. most drawings of mine are built with shapes (usually most obvious with DKtDW Michael, he’s very rectangular.) For hands I use that pentagon shape, this helps me plug in the thumbs and fingers. Our character here is very slight, so i used sort of a tube, ect, ect,

next, I refine the crosshair. Most artists who use a crosshair only have a line for the bottom of the eyes, but I never got the hang of that one, so I have it for the top and bottom (also I gave her a tail. Because.) And then I place the face stuff on. Eyes I like to do “anime style” (sparkly, only the top and bottom lash line are lined, ect, ect,) unless it’s robots, and by exenstion animatronics. One thing I’ve learned is a good idea is if your character has pupils, sketch the iris first, then the pupils. This will work better for you and gives you a nice ratio of iris to pupil.

Next, plan the hairline. I usually have two hairlines I apply, rounded, and widow’s peak. This will help you plan the hair out easier, which is beneficial for short and long hair.

I’ve never known how to describe the way I draw hair, but generally, make it flowy if it’s long. Hair tends to be curlier with shorter hair, because it’s less weighed down, and please, practice different hair textures and styles, I may go into that more if anyone wants me to try to do a hair tutorial.

Next, move onto clothes, and refining other details. I like to make skirts flowy, flowy is fun, dynamic, and interesting, visually.

uhhh let’s refine that glowy thing, right? Let’s make it a crystal. Crystals are fun.

Next, let’s give her a background.I wanted to draw space, so we’re drawing space now. I gave her a planet.

Line the background! I use Basic_tip_default on weighted smoothing for almost all my lineart. Don’t be afraid to use the line and circle tools. They’re helpful, and denying yourself the tools that the program comes with is dumb, and limiting.

Rad, the lineart’s done on the background!

Next, let’s line the character. For hair lining, use gentle strokes, it creates a feathery and light feel

For lining around the eyes I turn off weighted smoothing, and feather ‘til it looks like eyelashes

lineart complete, nice

Next, let’s lay out some background colors. Try not to make them too overpowering compared to the character, or you’ll the character as the focal point. I’ve chosen my main galaxy colors, and my color for the planet. The balcony will be a sleek white. I’ve been taught not to use pure white or pure blacks and greys, but you do whatever makes you happy, don’t let anyone boss you around unless you’re paying them to teach you, or they’re paying you. I use pure black for lines, and pure white for eye shines, but it’s important that you work out what makes you happiest. Art isn’t about what’s the standard of the time, it’s about what makes you happy. If neon ponies is what makes your heart soar, then make all the neon ponies you could ever dream of, you beautiful soul.

Next, fill in the bg’s most prominent color with either the fill bucket or a large brush, this is my galaxy base.

I like to airbrush the other colors, but sometimes it’s too sharp, so let’s

b l u r i t o u t. I used the 99 x 99 radius to get it absolutely dreamy

star it up baby, bc you’re a star. my favorite brush for sparkles and stars is FX_splat_starfield, it’s lovely

next the planet, I airbrushed some darker and lighter teals for detail, as well as gave it a haze around the edge for because.

Then we’re all colored!

shade it up, babey. In this piece’s case, our light source is the planet, so we shade accordingly. the shades in the ref docker are my go-to’s. Good rule of thumb is the warmer the light, the warmer the shade, but my default is the purple-ish blue color, i set it to multiply and the opacity to 40%

Next I block in the character’s colors, I only do this if this is my first time drawing them, if not, i use the previous image or the character’s ref sheet

flats are done, and she looks spiffy, let’s shade her

cool

close up of the hair shading. i always take my lining brush, and make it thinner for hair shading, it looks fluffy, and nice. this is also the beginning of the eye shining process, for fancy eyes like hers, i take white and lower the opacity, that way no detail is lost, and it’s still nice and shiny, for plain eyes, i just up the saturation and lightness

next, over the lineart, put pure white like this, it make the eyes have lots of depth. and an option if you have a light source that’s a different color, a shine of that will really tie it together.

nice, she’s shaded and highlighting. but now we need some… glowies

much better. if your light is especially bright or your character is pale, some reflection goes a long way. i use the airbrush for glowy stuff and these reflections on matte surfaces

Now we shade in a way that effects bg and character, i call envo shade. I went ahead and took my airbrush set to erase where stuff glows, but now it looks too sharps, so…

We blur it up again. Perfect.

Never forget to sign and date your work. Dating is so you can look back and see how much you’ve improved, and signing is just good practice, but i won’t get into it. i tend to watermark my stuff after it being reposted so many times, but that’s something you can decide on. Again, please keep experimenting and trying different things to develop how you draw, and if you ever use these methods, feel free to send me the link so I can see ^^, have a lovely day, and if you need me to explain anything further, shoot me another ask.

Commission info

[blooblooded]

BG story part 2

Yes this sucks. Last 30 pages, the first half was definitely better. Cynthia is good for like 3 lines at the end though.

I wondered why I was so fixated on BG trying to make excuses for Lady even though he knows exactly what she does. Then I figured it out lol.

BG vs Empathy

Fucked up events were now snowballing. Destructive blood magic groups were becoming more organized. Terrorists were all over the place. The creatures that Dot was related to teemed beneath the Colony in the sewers and Lower levels. Social unrest grew as factions like the Prospases, Voorsts, and Agapamas gained more power and control. It seemed like some new awful thing happened in the Colony every day, and there weren't enough secret police agents to take care of them.

Up until that point, the unrest only happened outside of the secret police.

One event put an end to that. And of course it did. The individual at the center brought nothing but chaos and unrest in life, why would he be anything different in death?

He and Lady relaxed on the couch of the common room on their floor. Some kind of commotion had been going on earlier in the day, but for once they weren't a part of it. It felt good just to chill. So many agents had been killed recently that everyone was overworked. There was no better remedy for stress than laying around and doing nothing.

Lady was falling asleep. She curled up on the couch with her head resting on one of BG's legs. From time to time she would drift off and BG would feel stabs of neural pain until he shook her awake again. It wasn't her fault. She was just so exhausted. He liked to have her close to him like that because he felt like he could keep a better eye on her. With every day that passed he could feel her drifting farther away from him and closer to whatever black hole had opened up inside of her on B-Day.

He tried to keep her awake. "Hey. Want to hear a joke about a piece of paper?"

"Hm?"

"Never mind…it's tear-able."

"Ugh." She yawned and stretched her long thin legs. She was wearing BG's clothes and was practically swimming in them. What was with the squad and stealing his clothes? At least he never had to worry about Bizo, since she burned right through anything that wasn't made specifically for her. While Echo liked to wear other people's' clothes out of comfort and familiarity, BG was almost positive that Lady did so because her brain was so rotted she had forgotten who owned what. "You're very very bad at jokes. You're not funny."

BG scratched Lady's head. She had just shaved it again and the black stubble was soft. "I'm funnier than you are."

"I don't really need to be funny, do I." She exhaled heavily and closed her eyes. BG tapped her on the shoulder to keep her from falling asleep. "Quit poking me, I'm awake! I'm just bored! Where is everyone?"

Boredom and Lady were a dangerous combination. BG heard someone scuttling past the common room in the hallway and he whistled to get their attention so that Lady could have someone else to entertain her. When the person didn't stop, he teleported out into the hall so that he could stop them. BG was also deathly bored. He had not interacted with anyone but Lady since breakfast; Echo and Bizo were out on a mission together.

The person who was scuttling past was one of the worst agents to teleport in front of, on account of her jumpiness and violent temper. However, when BG suddenly appeared in front of Creedo, she barely flinched. Creedo was a tiny woman with narrow eyes and patches of discoloration across her black skin. Always yelling. Always fighting. As a telekinetic, she often levitated several inches off the ground in order to appear more threatening than she really was. Whenever she and Smiles had their spats she always levitated at eye level with him before attacking. At that moment however, Creedo was still and quiet. She regarded BG blankly, with her mouth slightly open as if she was in shock.

"Uh," said BG, staring down at Creedo. "You good?"

"What?" said Creedo, as if seeing him for the first time. She had patches of angry looking blisters on her dominant hand, the one that she used to direct her abilities.

"Are you ok?" asked BG. For some reason he felt anxious. He gestured at her hand.

Creedo touched the blisters and then winced. She swallowed. "Oh. I'm on my way to the Infirmary. It's not that bad. I just--I had to-- I don't know."

Behind her, Lady crept out of the common room doorway. She tiptoed when she walked, like she always did. Luckily, Creedo did not turn around, because Lady was not a pleasant sight to behold. With clothes hanging off of her bony frame, green shadows blooming beneath her eyes, and skin that had almost gone white, she looked more dead than alive. She cocked her head to one side, watching Creedo.

Something was wrong. Creedo wasn't talking. It was abnormal. BG's heart beat faster.

"Uh," said the little telekinetic at last. She licked her lips. She cradled her injured hand. "Have you heard anything?"

"About what?"

Then, Lady's terrible eyes went very large and black. She stood up straight, suddenly filled with strange energy. "About Smiles," she said in her high-pitched voice. Creedo startled when hearing it and turned around, but did not react violently like she normally would. Instead she drew back half a step and watched Lady dumbly. "What do you know about Smiles?"

Creedo took another half step back. "I don't know anything," she said. She turned to look at BG again, since he was the one she interacted with the most, but for good reason kept glancing back at Lady. "I don't feel too good, I mean if he-- I don't know. People are saying he got Retired this morning. I had to take Pete to solitary before she-- before she realized what was happening. She knew though." She took a deep breath that should have been calming but it sounded like she was about to hyperventilate. "I don't think I ever seen her cry before. It's got to be real."

Time seemed to stop.

It was impossible. His nemesis, dead? Smiles, the guy who had been in the organization forever? No, no, no, no.

"Ha!" said Lady, loudly.

BG shook his head. It wasn't happening. They would never Retire Smiles. If Smiles was gone that meant anyone could be gone. They couldn't just get rid of a squad leader like that without setting up the next steps for his squad. That would be like-- well, it would be like getting rid of him and leaving his squad to fall apart. It was cruelty. It was impossible.

He was only vaguely aware of how fast his heart was beating and how dizzy he felt. His mouth was completely dry and when he swallowed he just became more parched. Did Creedo feel the same way? She looked lost. Of course she did. She was 27, almost as old as Smiles. It was only a matter of time.

He needed proof.

"I have to go," BG mumbled. He inhaled and teleported away, leaving the girls to do whatever it was they did when he wasn't around. He re-appeared outside of Smiles' dorm room. For a second, everything seemed normal. The door was open like it always was. There were scuff marks on the floor outside from Smiles stomping around in his precious boots. It was easy to imagine that everything was like it was before and that BG would bust in to find Smiles ready to bubble him. Except it was too quiet. The only sounds from inside was a woman's low talking.

He paused for a long time outside that door. He wondered if he would be happy if it was true. If it was something to be happy about then why did he feel sick inside?

BG walked into Smiles' dorm without knocking. And why should he? If Smiles was truly Retired and if Pete was in solitary, then what did he have to worry about? He could do whatever he wanted to Smiles' room and Smiles' things and Smiles' team without facing any repercussions. Thinking about that did not make him happy either and he knew it meant that there was something wrong with him. He'd known he was going soft for a while now. The feelings in his gut only confirmed it.

Inside the dorm, it was just as Creedo said; devoid of A-Class agents. Nickels and Johnny were sitting on one of the lower bunks, the bunk that BG knew was Smiles's. They did not notice BG come into the room. He watched them like some kind of voyeur of grief. Nickels talked quietly and rapidly, pausing every now and then to sniffle and wipe her nose with the back of her hand. Johnny sat cross-legged and perfectly still without making a peep.

“We’re OK,” Nickels was saying. “We knew this was gonna happen one day, right? He always told us how to survive this. I’m OK and Pete’s OK and you’re OK too.”

BG cleared his throat. Nickels whirled around to face him and jumped out of Smiles’s bunk to stand defensively. BG always thought that Nickels was pretty. She was soft and fat and had a round, expressive face. Somehow she remained bright and had avoided the haggard, exhausted look most psychics developed from overwork. Now however, she was not pretty. Her skin was red and blotchy; hey eyelids were swollen from what he assumed was crying.

“Get out of here,” said Nickels harshly. “Out.” She pointed at the door. As a B-Class psychic, it was abnormal for her to be giving him orders like that.

BG didn’t move. All he could do was look at her and know that what Creedo said about Smiles getting Retired was true. His heart had not stopped beating fast and he didn’t know why. “I, uh, heard that something happened. To Smiles.”

Nickels clenched her hands into fists. It was disturbing that she favored physical fighting over her psychic abilities. That was all Smiles’ doing: he didn’t like psychics. Every time BG ever saw the guy training with Nickels, he was forcing her to fight him physically. As powerful as Lady was, if she had to face Nickels without the benefit of her abilities, Nickels would snap her in half like a glowstick. Hell, Nickels could probably beat him in a fight if it came down to it. She was scary.

He didn’t know why he said what he did next. The only explanation he had was that he was getting weak and soft. He cared about people who hated him because his brain was trying to get him killed. After everything he had been through lately, it was impossible to exist with the same casual cruelty that some of the other agents did. Some of the things he saw Lady doing lately disgusted him and he knew he didn’t want to be like her, as much as he loved her. He didn’t want to hurt people who were weaker than him. He didn’t want people to get Retired. All he ever thought about now was how Echo had told him how much they hated this place and wanted to leave before it was too late. At this point in his life, BG was starting to feel the same way.

Looking at Nickels in her state of grief was terrible when he knew what she really was like. He felt bad for her and didn’t know what to do. “Are you OK?”

It looked like she wanted to attack him. She brought her fists up in front of her chest, realized what she was doing, and put them down again. “No!” she said, loud enough for anyone in the rooms next door to hear. “Would you be OK if you were me? Get the fuck out of here!”

Over on Smiles's bunk, Johnny looked over at BG like he was just recognizing that he had come in the room. He wasn't moving or reacting; usually he was all over the place and friendly to a degree that provoked irritation. His eyes were so wide that the whites showed all the way around. Apart from that, his expression was completely flat. He had his arms crossed tight across his chest like he was hugging himself for comfort.

After the time that Johnny flipped out and bit him, BG had maintained his distance. He watched Johnny cautiously, since something like Smiles getting shot in the head could easily precipitate an episode. But judging from his movement and his expression, he wasn't all there.

"What's wrong with him? Are you doing that to him?" BG asked Nickels. It's what he would have done if he was her.

Nickels turned red. She moved her chunky body so that she blocked BG's line of vision to Johnny. "You think I'm like Lady? You think I just fuck with people?" she asked savagely. The anger and grief inside of her was not being contained properly and it showed in her wet black eyes. She roughly wiped at her face with her sleeve. "Smiles told me not to get in peoples' heads without asking, especially not people I care about."

"Oh." Smiles and his whole asking for permission thing. Recently BG had considered bringing psychic consent up with Lady-- at least as it applied to Echo and Bizo. It would go completely over her head and she would end up ignoring him. What was the point.

It made him feel like he was not as good as fucking Smiles.

"Did you need something?" asked Nickels from behind clenched teeth. She sniffed and tried to turn it into something tough. "Are you gonna leave us alone anytime soon?"

"I--I wanted to see if you were OK," he said helplessly. He missed the days when his conscience was quiet. "I kind of try to do that now, you know."

Nickels turned away from him and stomped back to Smiles's bunk. What used to be Smiles's bunk. She sat down and got as close as she could to Johnny without touching him. "What a saint," she said, and sniffled again. "You know what's going to happen to us with Smiles fucking dead and Pete in perma-timeout? Everyone hates us because of him and now he's gone." She pried Johnny's arms down from the hug he was giving himself and forced his hands down into his lap. The physical contact did not jar him from his unsettling trance. When she let go of his hands, he put his arms around himself again and did not move. Nickels slumped her shoulders. It was clear that she was doing her best not to cry.

The two of them made a seriously sad picture together. BG could not stop feeling anxious. Was this even real? It was like something playing out in front of him on a screen. Any moment now Smiles was going to pop in and kick his ass.

It was real. Creedo knew it was real and knew it was going to happen to her one day. And BG? Well, Silas assured him and assured him that he was special. She revealed that sometimes she allowed the agents she thought were special to re-enter society as civilians. They didn't get Retired, not ever. They were able to live out their lives and have families and be normal and shit. Doc was one of the special ones, she had said. The first day she met him she had known that she could never kill him. She said that she felt the same thing about BG.

The thing was, that Doc might have been out of the agency, but he wasn't truly Free. Why did he come back and work in the Infirmary 3 days a week? Was that it for him, forever?

BG could not trust Silas anymore and it killed him. Not after how cold she had been about Echo.

“I want to help,” he said. He wondered if he was overstepping boundaries. “I’ve been thinking about how all of us need to start sticking together.”

Nickels didn’t answer him. BG wasn’t sure what he wanted her to say. Would he be able to keep her from being forced to work Upstairs and torture people in the same way Smiles had? Probably not. Would he be able to protect Johnny from his own choices and toxic desires? Another no. Would be be able to advocate for Pete? He did not even know where he would start.

"Will you just get out of here and leave us alone?" Nickels said at last. She still did not look at him. "We just need to be alone."

"Ok," he said. "I'm sorry about what happened." He left. What else was there to do?

Smiles was dead.

Smiles was dead. They'd roll his body into an incinerator and that would be the end of that. Maybe they'd take Pete out of Solitary if she behaved, maybe they wouldn't. It all depended on whether or not her value to the organization outweighed the possibility that she would try to burn it to the ground. Nickels would get treated like a real psychic without Smiles to protect her all the time. They'd assign her work Upstairs and force her to hurt people and eventually her brain would turn to mush. Johnny no longer had Smiles to reign in his behavior; he was going to cross a line and then he would get Retired as well. It was the end for Smiles' squad and all it had taken was the death of one person.

Was that what would happen when he was no longer there for his squad?

Intermission II

Every night he had dreams that his left arm began to operate outside of his control and in those dreams it squeezed the life out of him.

BG vs The Worst Thing that Ever Happened to Him

The day that BG's life went down a path he could not turn away from was more dreamlike than any of his dreams. It was more nightmare like than any of his nightmares.

It was only a few months after Smiles was Retired. He could never have seen it coming.

Bizo, Dot, and himself all had been exercising in a rec-room for several hours that morning. It was something nice they did together. BG sometimes felt like he neglected Bizo. He was impossibly close to Lady because of what they went through together, and Echo was his best friend so there was no competing with them. Every week he tried to put a little extra time into his relationship with Bizo because of this. She needed to know how important she was to him and how valuable she was to the squad. She spent so much time by herself already.

Spending time with Bizo meant spending time with Dot. The two came as a pair. Dot was an ugly little creature but since the time Bizo found her, her intelligence had increased exponentially. Even though she was a sentient hairy ball of black slime that was usually only about as big as a cat, Dot called herself a girl. Most of the time she had 12 legs, dozens of eyes, and mouths all over her body. Her prickly black shed all over the place and was hard to explain. She could change her size; sometimes she was small enough to fit into a boot and other times she was large enough to cover Zoey like a blanket of pudding. Dot could talk a little bit, but mostly she mimicked Bizo's breathy snorting laughter.

One of the primary jobs secret police agents had was to hunt down and exterminate the creatures like Dot that infested the Colony. Only people with abilities could see them, but they latched onto civilians and brought misery into their lives. It was strange that Dot was so different. She had latched onto Bizo, but the relationship between the two of them was like a friendship. For some reason, Dot was intelligent, friendly, and not interested in hurting humans. For that reason, BG and his squad protected her like she was an important secret.

Protected by the closed doors of the rec-room, Bizo was able to scoop Dot up in her arms and hold her like a baby. She had her greasy brown hair tied up in a pony-tail to keep it out of her face (BG had told her time and time again that shaving her head and following hygiene regulations would make her life easier but she just would not listen.) Bizo's ugliness was charming. She had a dumpy body and tan oily skin covered in freckles; these qualities made her seem froglike. BG and Bizo used the open space of the rec-room to goof off in.

"Wicker was acting weird today," said Zoey, referring to one of the Elite psychics. She talked about everyone as if they were all her friends, even though 99% of the secret police avoided her like the plague because of her behavior and the nature of her abilities. Nobody could touch her physically without risking chemical burns; it was one of the reason she loved to hold Dot so much. "He looked funny at breakfast, like they fried him or something."

This wasn't a huge surprise to BG, since Wicker had parts of his brain cut out and only ever interacted with other psychics. That was an agency recipe for creating someone with all the rebellion potential of a boiled shoe. He nodded anyway as he sat on the floor doing butterfly stretches to keep himself limber. It was important to him to encourage Bizo when she talked, no matter how dumb it seemed.

"He had glue stuck on him."

"Lady has glue stuck to her all the time." It was from where they stuck the electrodes to their temples when psychics had to monitor their brain patterns during high intensity work. Lady complained about it constantly because it made her delicate skin break out.

"I guess. I still think we should do something nice for him because it looked like he felt bad."

This was what was wrong with Bizo: being trapped in Isolation for 6 years had stunted her so badly that talking to her was like talking to a 9 year old when in reality she was Creedo's age. She was nice. She was thoughtful. She didn't like hurting people, even when they had hurt her.

This was what was wrong with BG: he was starting to think she was the only sane one in the agency and he wished that he was more like her.

Dot crawled up Zoey's chubby arm and nestled beneath her chin. "Felt bad!" she said, in a voice that was scratchy and small. "He felt bad." Bizo tickled her and she changed her shape, expanding with happiness.

Someone knocked on the rec-room door and all three of them jumped in surprise. Dot shrank herself and slithered into Bizo's clothing like an eel. "We still have 90 minutes in here," BG shouted crossly. Probably a dumb C-Class rookie who didn't understand the rules. You had to sign up for time slots and Elite agents got first pick.

The knock came again. Bizo laughed. BG sighed and got to his feet. He had barely done any stretching. Usually when he hung out with Bizo he was able to get several lengthy yoga flows in. He touched his toes, reached his arms up towards the ceiling, then went over and punched in his ID number to open the door.

Of all people to be standing there, it was Nickels. When he saw her, BG felt his stomach drop to his feet and he didn't know why.

In the months since Smiles' Retirement, Nickels had been forced to work Upstairs with the other psychics. She had probably lost 10 pounds and she no longer had the funny, expressive face she used to have. She looked tired and unhappy; instead of the comfortable sweats she usually lived in she wore the heavy black pants, long sleeved black shirt, and rubber gloves that all psychics wore when they were on duty Upstairs. This uniform differentiated them from field agents. While field agents dressed in helmets and protective uniforms for the benefit of civilians, agents who worked within the Capitol building only needed to be clean and effective. When the doors opened, Nickels made a face like she didn't want to be there.

"Hey," she mumbled, not making eye contact. Whatever they were doing to her to re-train her up there was destroying her social skills. "I'm working but I really needed to talk to you."

"To me?" BG's voice sounded high in his ears.

(Alone,) she said telepathically. BG flinched. The voice in his mind sounded exactly like Nickels, while most psychics who spoke telepathically sounded like they had static over their voices. She was talented, a more talented telepath than Lady could ever hope to be. So she had given up on asking for consent before going into people's' minds. How long had that taken? (I'll intercept your thoughts, you don't need to talk. It'll just freak her out.)

(What's going on?) He felt panic.

Nickels looked at her feet. They had taken her boots away and given her the same kind of little black flats Lady always wore. (I'm sorry. I shouldn't be here but you were nice to us when Smiles was Retired. I wanted to repay that. You need to get Upstairs right now.)

"What?" BG almost shouted it. Adrenaline surged through his body as he realized what Nickels was talking about. His legs began to shake as if he had just run a long distance. There was no reason for anyone on his squad to get Retired. They were all hard workers, efficient agents. Unless one of them had committed an act that was unforgivable."Lady?" His eyes stung at the unthinkable.

Nickels shook her head no. (I just thought you'd want to see their body. For closure. Nobody gets that here.)

For a second, BG saw red. His blood was hot, he could feel every heartbeat. He could not move. He could not think. He could not breathe.

Behind him, Zoey took a few shuffling steps forward. "BG?" she asked, extending a hand out to nearly touch him, as she did when she was nervous. "What's wrong?" In that moment BG was so scared and reactive that he shoved her away from him with his right hand. His skin met hers and it instantly blistered. The pain brought him back to the issue before him and he clutched his hand over his heart.

Usually he could spring into action without hesitation. BG opened his mouth but no words came out. It was like he was a fish dying on the shore. He tried to focus enough to teleport but nothing happened. It took three more attempts before he was able to do so. He left Bizo alone and didn't even care. Didn't even take her feelings into consideration. All that mattered to him was getting to Echo.

The jump was not-- for lack of a better phrase-- well executed. He knew the Upstairs layout perfectly. He knew where the small concrete room with the grate in its floor was. He knew how to navigate the sterile halls above the dormitories, with all the twists and turns, the laboratories and confinement rooms. Instead of appearing right in front of the room where Retirements happened, BG crashed into a desk in a laboratory. A couple of white coated scientists jumped back in surprise. BG stumbled, then teleported again. If he was not careful he was going to lose his other arm or worse.

He appeared in front of the Retirement room but didn't stick the landing. BG tripped and almost fell to his knees. In front of him, directly in front of the door, leaned Crossfire, the agent in charge of executions. When he saw him, he jumped to his feet.

Crossfire regarded him with his heavy-lidded, half-open eyes. He put the communication device he was tapping on back in one of his pockets. Like Nickels, he was dressed in the simple black pants and black shirt that all agents who worked Upstairs wore. Unlike Nickels, he had a firearm strapped to his belt. "Woah there friend," he said. He was so universally hated that he had to sleep on a bed in one of the labs so that nobody shanked him in his sleep. It came with being in charge of Retirements. "This isn’t ideal."

BG seized him by the arm and shoved him away from the door. He flung it open without considering the consequences. What was worse, seeing your closest friend’s body or never seeing it at all? That philosophical question did not exist in BG’s mind. There was only the mission: get to Echo. Find Echo. See Echo. Be with Echo.

Did he love them? There wasn’t any doubt.

There was nothing inside of the room. No body. Only a wet little puddle of blood on the floor that was slowly draining into the grate. It seemed too small to be the only thing left of them.

All he could do was stand there and tremble. He could not process organized thoughts. The world was not moving around him. This was a dream. This was a nightmare like the ones he had every night except it was worse.

Crossfire leaned against the doorframe behind him. “Your teammate was nasty, you know,” he said. BG slowly turned to face him. His blonde lashes and eyebrows made him look hairless and repulsive: a monster. He had a hand lightly on his firearm. “Their ability. They didn’t look the same after they died. ”

BG’s left hand clenched into a fist.

Did you want to see them?" The executioner curled his upper lip. "I wouldn't. You know what a bullet does to a head. Messy." The way he said it made BG gaze down at the blood on the floor again. It was very red. Had he ever seen Echo bleed before? They were so careful and avoided injury. Images of skulls being obliterated by bullets filled his mind and he hated himself for knowing what it looked like.

Had they been scared?

Of course they had been fucking scared. There had been no warning. No preamble. They just got dragged Upstairs and shot. He'd seen Retirements happen before. They made you stand with your hands raised, your face to the wall. A Handler, a psychic, and the person who took the shot were always present. Sometimes others if backup was needed, if it was expected that the soon-to-be terminated person would put up a fight. A lot of people tried to fight. Allegedly Smiles had bubbled himself for nearly a day before they got to him. In the end that's what always happened. No one escaped.

He held the image of Echo's face in his memories. The last time he talked to them had been when they parted that morning after showering. Echo had been so upset about a single zit that had sprung up near their nose. BG had laughed until Echo tried to get him in a chokehold so he had flipped them over and didn't let them get up. It had been so funny because they were so mad. What a stupid final memory. That was it, forever. No more jokes, no more wrestling around. No more missions. No more waking them up in the morning. No more Echo.

They had been taken away from him.

BG couldn't look into Crossfire's eyes. He wanted to kill him; this creature that existed only to take the lives of others. That's what they all were, really. Their function was to kill and destroy. Echo had been right to want to get out of this place and now they never would.

"Who authorized it?" he said in a voice that he did not recognize. It came from far away. "Do you know?"

Crossfire shrugged lazily. "I just follow orders." He scratched his nose with his non dominant hand. The other never strayed far from his firearm. "I'll tell you though. For a price."

"What do you want?" He stared at his gun, unable to look away from it. He imagined the way he had held it before firing.

Crossfire smiled. It was not so much an expression of happiness or smugness as it was an act of him moving the corners of his mouth up to mimic normal human behavior. "The name of whoever went down and leaked confidential information to you."

If BG told him that Nickels had told him about Echo's termination, Nickels would be subject to swift and severe punishment. Everyone who worked Upstairs operated on a different level than the rest of them. Not too long ago, BG would not have cared what happened to Nickels. When Smiles was still alive, he would have relished the idea of landing her in the kind of trouble that left her in pain just because it would have pissed Smiles off. Now the idea of hurting other agents made him sick. He couldn't do that to her.

"Lady," he lied. Nobody could touch Lady. As far as he knew, she had never faced repercussions for anything she had done. She had killed 3 agents accidentally over the years while working on them in the re-education rooms and got away with it. She hurt people just for the hell of it. She was childish and incompetent in the field because of how rapidly her mind was failing her. Why should she care? Lady was Elite and nobody could touch her. There was not a single agent who was not terrified of her, himself included. "She intercepted what was happening by accident."

"Aw." The smiles that Crossfire was aping faded away like he was disappointed that he was not going to get to hunt some poor sucker down and hurt them. "OK. The termination order came straight from the Executive Director. It wasn't proposed by a Handler or nothing. Guess your pal personally upset her, I dunno."

Silas.

Statue-like, unreadable Silas. Silas, who he had loved for so long and had only just recently started to fear and resent. Smiles had been right about her. Of course he had been. Smiles had been right about everything.

BG wanted to throw up. He wanted to die because that would be easier. Of course it came back to Silas. She had never liked his connection to Echo. She had never liked how much he talked about them, and now they were dead. All he could do was stand there helplessly. His metal fist began to rise. The rest of his body was frozen in place. It was like he was already dead.

Crossfire noticed his aggressive stance and clenched fist. He did not change his, as if he was confident that BG would not dare to attack him. He was one of the oldest agents there; as old as Smiles had been. Silas had told BG once that it was hard to keep agents in that position because they became so hated. Soon he would be executed by someone else's hand. "What's the problem, man?" he asked mockingly. "You angry at me because I terminated your little girlfriend? That's so cute. Wanna hear something funny? They refused to turn around and face the wall so I shot them in the face. Let me show you. You snuck up here to see them, right?" He manhandled BG out of the Retirement room and down the hall. They were evenly matched strength wise, but BG felt as weak as a kitten. He let himself be pulled down the Upstairs corridors because he couldn't come up with anything else to do.

They passed by more researchers, who inhabited the many laboratories Upstairs. BG took no notice of them. They all wore white coats and detached expressions. Dr. Y-- or Yancey Atwood-- passed by with a canned energy drink. He did not recognize BG. Dr. Y was an unremarkable man with a wide, smiling mouth and sneakers that did not match the usual uniform of a scientist. It was hard to picture what he looked like away from his presence but as he passed, but BG tried to commit his bland face to memory. He did not look sad. He did not look interested in anything at all. A man who had...worked with Echo for nearly 10 years, and he didn't even appear to care about their death.

For most people, this was just work. They got to go home to their loved ones and forget all about what they had done. It wasn’t fair.

Crossfire pushed him into another room. It was small, windowless, and more than 10 degrees colder than the rest of the Upstairs. The only thing inside was a stainless steel table in the center with a connected shelf and bright lights overtop of it. Like a Re-education room, only more sterile. One wall had several small square metal doors. BG had never been inside but he knew it was where they kept the bodies before they tossed them into the incinerators. If an agent was not Retired-- that is to say, if they died of natural causes or were unlawfully murdered-- then this was where autopsies were carried out. Agents who were Retired were not further mutilated after their deaths. Everyone knew how they died. That was a blessing at least. Echo would not have wanted to be cut up.

BG supported himself by leaning on the metal table. He was dizzy, he was not grounded. He was watching himself from outside of his body.

"I'm so tired of you people sneaking up here to try and see the bodies. I keep saying nobody wants to see that shit, but no," Crossfire was saying. He wrenched one of the little metal doors on the far wall open. It opened with little difficulty and a smaller metal slab rolled out. The thing that had been inside and laying on top of the slab was not even covered. BG was quick to look away. He didn't want to see. Did he? "All your little friendships and connections-- who does that really serve? Nobody. And then a few months back, when that girl Pete was fighting her way out of containment because she thought she could get to Smiles, who did that serve? Nobody. She screwed herself because of her connection to the guy. Now here you are, so intent on seeing your partner after their brains have been blown out because they were on your squad. All this does is make you people feel like shit. Is it really worth it? Go on, I've taken you this far. Look!"

Against every instinct in him, BG looked at Echo's body lying there. Their expression would have been peaceful, had it not been for the wound which had taken their life. The left eye socket and cheekbone were entirely caved in into red nothingness. Totally obliterated. Gory. He stared at the bulletwound for a long time. This was where people were supposed to cry and wail and tear at their clothes out of grief. What was wrong with him? What was wrong with him? He had seen other people go into paroxysms of grief when their teammates were taken from them. BG was numb. He kept staring at what was left of Echo's face, and from far away he thought about how much they would have hated it if he saw them like that. He looked away and his eyes were unable to move from the gun at Crossfire's hip.

He raised his fist like it did not belong to him. "Hey man," he said from around a tongue that had gone thick and useless.

The executioner looked up from his handiwork. His lazy, uninterested expression did not change because he was like Lady in his arrogance; so far gone that he did not view anyone as a threat, even if they were right in front of him ready to do harm. "What?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

Without answering, BG started hitting him in the face with all his strength. He used his metal arm with its terrible capacity for violence. He did not stop. It was easier than he imagined it would be, but at close quarters Crossfire's ability was useless. After two good hits, BG had him on the tile floor. After four, he had crushed the cartilage in his nose and the blood began to spurt in heavy bursts, splattering across BG's face and getting into his eyes. Crossfire's skull felt like a wet melon under his fist. He was aware that he sustained a couple of blows, but did not feel them. He was aware that the other agent was yelling for help, but did not hear it. In the moment, his body was a beastly automaton with a singular desire: to kill.

He saw Crossfire's eyes roll back in his head and he still didn't stop.

He wasn't even mad at him for shooting Echo. He wasn't the one to blame-- just following orders, after all. But he was the only person close enough to punish.

The yelling attracted people. It must have. BG felt himself pulled up and physically restrained. It didn't hurt, not yet, although he knew that someone had tased him because he saw himself convulse. He kept fighting back without thinking about how futile it was. All he wanted to do was cause harm to anyone who played a part in doing this to Echo, and for all it mattered, everyone had played a part in that. It did not occur to him that he could teleport to Silas' quarters and end it all for good. Not yet.

They got him on the floor and tased him again. Two Handlers: October and someone else, he couldn't quite see them. A gaggle of researchers had gathered behind them, observing in their frightened-rat way. BG thrashed and rammed his shoulder into the legs of the Handler he couldn't see, sending them crashing to the ground. October kicked BG viciously, then stomped down on his elbow.

"Aw shit," said October. "I guess it was only a matter of time before this one lost it. Yikes. Hey can one of ya'll check if he killed that other guy? Jesus, what a mess."

BG tried to free his arm and October tased him a third time, not letting up until BG lost control of his bladder. He was sadistic, even for staff. The other Handler got up (upon closer inspection, she was the one known as Wednesday) and once she was clear, October stomped down on BG again even though he lay still. "Yeah, have fun laying in a puddle of piss, smart guy, because you're gonna be in Solitary for a week."

One of the researchers stepped over the urine and the blood with his sneakers to stand over Crossfire's body. BG was so far removed from what was going on, he could only recognize the white coat. The researcher bent down to check the pulse. "Unconscious," he said in an unremarkable voice. Still mostly obscured from view, BG saw this researcher pause by the open metal slab that held what was left of Echo. He gently rolled it back into the opening which held it and closed the door so that Echo and their ruined face could no longer be seen. A small act of kindness. An unheard of action. "No real harm. I'm sure whatever this young man's punishment is, it needn't be so drastic. He's upset about his friend."

October snorted. "No offense, but you have no idea how to treat these kids. If you aren’t harsh they’ll rip you to shreds."

The researcher leaned down over BG and smiled at him. Black hair, black eyes, completely and utterly bland. It was evident that he recognized him. Yancey Atwood. If BG had not been so incapacitated, he would have....well, he would have done something. "You're the professional," said Yancey pleasantly. He gave BG a cheeky little wink, which he interpreted as mockingly malevolent. "I just think this big fella is upset about his poor friend with the big hole in their grey matter over there. I know that I sure am."

Things were much worse than BG could have ever imagined.

Interlude III

Later, he thought about how he could easily teleport to Silas and kill her, but even in his anger he would not dare. There were parts of him that still loved her.

BG VS Lady

Months passed. Life became tiresome. Day in and day out, it all boiled down to the same thing: violence. They all perpetrated violence. Out in the real world, they perpetrated violence against civilians. Inside the dorms, they perpetrated violence against each other. It did not end. It would never end. It was not only the secret police who were engaged in violence. A strange and horrible Outsider came to Eden and brought with him his appetite for blood. The terrorists who had fled the Colony a year and a half ago were back and causing trouble. More Outsiders came, and Silas executed their leader herself. Cyberterrorism got worse by the day, which led to riots. There were lots of riots. There were even reports of a family of cannibals, which was actually kind of weird, even for Eden.

BG was sick of it. He woke up every morning feeling nauseous and haunted by every bad thing he had ever done. And yes he had done bad things, he had liked doing bad things. He had taken kids away from their families who loved them. He had chased innocent people down and killed them. He had liked it all, because his convictions in the agency were so strong. It wasn't just about being ordered to do bad things. Anyways, it wasn't a good enough excuse. When Smiles was ordered to do anything that crossed the boundaries of his moral fortitude, he refused until they really forced him.

He started helping people whenever he could because he could no longer stand the violence. When weaker or lower-level agents got bullied, he stepped in. When he saw people breaking the rules, he looked the other way. He stopped being complicit. He gave advice. People like Pills and Nickels, girls who had once hated his guts and attacked him, grew friendly with him. The solidarity between him and others strengthened.

But BG still couldn't sleep well. His dreams upset him too much. He would wake up in the night beneath an empty bunk. At some point he would have to find someone to take Echo's place. Recruitment wasn't for another 5 months, and he did not think he could stomach choosing some freshly tortured 14 year old. He wanted to petition to put Nickels on the Squad, since hers had been dissolved the second Smiles kicked the bucket. Lady would never go for that. Staff would never go for that either; what was the point of having a Squad with two psychics?

He hadn't stopped thinking about Echo. Sometimes he talked to Nickels about it, since she could understand what it felt like to lose a teammate. Hell, Nickels had essentially lost 3 teammates: Smiles got a bullet in his brain, Pete was locked up Upstairs having unimaginable things done to her, and Johnny was so still so hurt and angry that he had started hanging out with people who treated him poorly. Nickels said that she just missed the way things used to be, and she screwed her plump face up but was unable to cry. It made BG feel even worse.

BG contemplated these things as he slowly walked back to the dorm after an exhausting mission where he had done nothing but try to hunt down the little terrorist group that had come back. They really did not want to be found. Good for them.

The door to his room was closed, but he didn't think anything of it. It was mid-afternoon and the girls often liked to take naps when they weren't working. BG swung the door open and stepped inside. "Hey, I'm ba--" That was all he was capable of getting out before he looked about the room and froze.

Lady sat cross legged on the floor, her posture and focus as rigid as a dancer's. Beside her, Bizo lay on her back, unmoving. This tableau could have been normal, but BG knew what was happening immediately. He knew because there was blood at the corners of Bizo's mouth like she had bitten her tongue. He knew because Lady did not move or react when he entered the room since she was so focused on what she was doing. And he knew because Dot had congealed into a still black puddle on the floor nearby. Every few seconds, Lady's beautiful hands twitched like she was directing her psychic ability, and more blood came out of Bizo's mouth. Lady was smiling.

"Hey!" BG shouted. No reaction. His instincts kicked in and he crossed the room to seize Lady by the shoulder. Her skin was cold to the touch. Her big eyes were so black he could barely see any whites in them. When he grabbed her, she still did not leave her sadistic trance. Her terrible mouth kept smiling and smiling. On the floor, Bizo's expression was frozen in one of terror. She had gone so pale that the freckles on her face looked like they had been painted on. She was so trapped by whatever psychic horror show Lady was inflicting on her that could not even blink.

"Lady!" BG said loudly, shaking her. "Stop it!"

She did not stop, and she wouldn't be able to unless he jarred her from the way she was locked in. A while ago, he would have hesitated or tried to wait it out. He would have made excuses for Lady, like he always did. Oh, she had brain problems. Oh, she had  good reason for doing what she was doing. Oh, he couldn't criticize her because she had saved his life. Oh, he loved her. Excuses, excuses. Now, BG could only think about one thing: he was going to be sick if he stood around and watched as she hurt even one more person.

The Lady problem was something that he should have addressed a long time ago. He would always feel guilt over the way that he knew she treated Echo and that he hadn't stopped any of it. He would always feel guilt over the way she treated everyone except him, for that matter. But it was better late than never.

BG slapped her across the face with the open palm of his right hand. He did not use much strength in the slap, because he didn't want to actually hurt her-- she was so fragile. When his hand connected with her head, Lady made a noise that was in between a gasp and a growl. For a split second, before she lost focus, she lashed out at him with her mind.

In all his years as an agent, BG had never been psychically assaulted. He was too privileged, too important. Not even during these last couple of months of acting out had anyone dared to confront him. The last time a psychic got into his head was B-Day, and she had ripped his potential out from where it hid deep down inside of him. Now, Lady pulled out other things that he had shoved away. Her specialty was trauma memories and luckily BG did not have too many of those floating around. For those few fleeting moments, he re-lived the pain of losing his arm, and had to grit his teeth to keep from crying out. The heat and the blood seemed unbearably real. He tasted copper. The air, however, did not smell of smoke and fear like it had on that day. It smelled soapy and clean, just like Echo used to. That was what really got to him. The psychic pain merged with the pleasant memory of his friend and became something unbearable.

His eyes grew wet.

Then it ended. BG steadied himself and shook his head to clear it. He looked at Lady, who clutched one hand to her face. A red mark bloomed across her pasty skin. Her expression was one of shock and betrayal. On the ground, Bizo started to wheeze and cough. She rolled over to her belly and spat out a mouthful of blood. "Oh no," she whimpered. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" BG knelt to try and help her up, but her skin glistened with corrosive oils. She cried in the way that a little kid cries. Beside her, Dot began to solidify into her usual form. The little monster also made terrible noises as if she was also crying. Dot oozed over to Bizo and let herself be clutched.

"You hit me," Lady said in disbelief. Her lower lip quivered.

BG ignored her for the time being. "Are you OK, Zoey?" he asked Bizo. He wanted to hug her so badly.

Bizo shook her head as she buried her face in Dot. The creature was slowly growing back the prickly black hair she liked so much, and which had been lost when she had been...puddle-ified….He had not known that Lady could affect the alien creatures. Maybe it was only due to Dot being smarter than the rest of her kind.

"You hit me!" Lady said again. Her fine black eyebrows furrowed to contort her face.

"I'll smack you again the next time I catch you hurting Bizo!" BG said fiercely. Lady shrunk back from his anger, but her expression darkened. "That goes for anyone else here too, but especially for her! What the hell is wrong with you? What is wrong with you? She is our teammate!"

Lady's gaze slid over to Bizo, who kept crying and crying. Her curled lip revealed her belief that Bizo was something less than human-- a belief that many agents shared due to Bizo's disability. Once, BG had believed that Bizo made it out of all those years she spent in Solitary without being damaged. Spending years alone in the dark made her wilt. She was not intelligent, she was not emotionally mature. It showed in her naïve, trusting eyes. It showed in the way her mouth gaped open at all times. They'd slammed her into a dark little room when she was only 8, when her mind was still plastic and learning new things. It damaged her irreparably. Maybe if she was not in this place then she would have a chance to heal. Healing was a luxury no agent was privileged enough to get.

Dot's hair bristled and moved like the legs of countless spiders. She was back to her usual size, just a little bit bigger than a housecat. 5 narrow yellow eyes popped up in various places on her body and they all stared at BG. One mouth filled with sharp triangular teeth opened in her middle, close to Bizo's face. "Hurt!" The teeth gnashed in anger but the voice was scared and quiet. "She--she made me see the home that is beyond the stars! She made me remember we can never go back!" She grew several short legs with appendages that were not quite hands but not quite paws. Even smaller mouths opened in the center of these hand-paws, with tiny tongues that Dot used to gently lap up Bizo's tears.

"Talk to me, Zoey," said BG pleadingly.

Bizo kept shaking her head and holding the little monster close. She never opened up to him. Just like Echo. Never opening up, never actually saying the thing that was the problem. Never putting a name to the problem. In this case, BG knew the name. Lady.

Of course they hadn't felt safe talking to him about her. He always took her side. He defended her. BG felt nauseous and it wasn't just the sight of the blood at Bizo's mouth.

"I'm sorry," he told her and he knew that his words were cheap, that only his actions could start to make up for it all. He looked at Lady, who still sat on the ground but whose expression had changed to confused rage. It was not yet clear who that rage was directed towards. If it was at him, well, he didn't let himself care. "Lady," he said, keeping his voice calm even though he wanted to yell at her some more. Even though he wanted to shake her. "Why did you do that?"

"What?"

"Really? What do you think?"

Lady gingerly put a hand to where he had slapped her and winced. It made his heart twinge but he no longer let himself feel bad for her. There was no more room for that in his heart, not after he had been filling it with things like trust and collaboration with other agents. He looked at her and saw how sick she was. The culmination of nearly a decade of being used to torture others-- to torture kids-- had made her into a monster. She was not beautiful like he used to see her; she had grown unspeakably ugly. Every inch of spare flesh had withered from her body, her olive skin had turned colorless. Even her teeth had become translucent and gray. She was probably dying slowly. Her brain hadn't worked in years, and her body would soon follow.

"Are you mad at me?" Lady asked him. She slowly got to her feet and her knees popped. On her feet were the little flat slippers that they gave out to agents who worked inside of the building, and she padded a few steps away from him as if she anticipated that he would strike her again. "I do this all the time. I just get bored, I can't stand being bored. You know how it is, some people can just be so annoying!"

He tried to stay calm and tried to not clench his hands into fists. "You can't do that. Zoey and Dot are our friends."

"Bizo is retarded and we kill stuff like her pet literally every week," Lady said dismissively. She sniffed. "And I was thinking that like, now Echo's gone it would be easier for us to downgrade to Partners instead of having to get a new teammate. Then it would just be me and you, and wouldn't that be totally so much nicer? Just me and you, just like back on B-Day."

BG felt icy horror fill his body. Lady was smiling at him like she had come up with something novel. The implication alone made him want to do something drastic.

"What do you think?" she asked him.

He stared at her and knew that the girl who had brought him back from the brink of death on B-Day was dead, and the person who lived in her body now was a stranger to him. He had closed his eyes and ears and ignored the way that she had changed because it was easier for him to pretend like she was the same as she was. He knew that she loved him in her own twisted way but he wished she didn't. He loved her too, even then. He loved her more than he could even explain and knowing what she really was made him want to rip his hair out.

How was it possible for someone to be bad, even though he loved them? BG did not want to reconcile with something like that. It would be so much easier if everything was black and white, like it used to be. A couple of years ago, he knew for a fact that Smiles and his Squad were his enemies. Now he pitied Smiles for dying in such a humiliating way, and had grown close to Nickels. A couple of years ago he knew for a fact that the agency was always just. Now he thought it might rip him apart.

Bizo kept crying her snuffling tears. She was so vulnerable.

At length, BG said, "I think you need to walk away because I'm so angry right now I don't know what I'll do if I keep talking to you, and because I love you I really don't want to hurt you. Get the Partners thing out of your head forever, I mean it. I love Bizo too." When he said that, Bizo finally stopped mashing her face down into her alien friend so that she could look at him in a way that was so shocked it almost broke his heart. Of course she believed that he loved her less. Why wouldn't she? He had to make up for that somehow. He had to let her know that he loved her entire greasy awkward being, that he would kill and die for her. Echo would have done anything for her too, back when they were alive. Bizo was wonderful and kind and she was loved so much.

Lady cocked her head like that helped her better comprehend what he said to her. Like she couldn't read his body language. She probably couldn't. She blinked stupidly and did not stop smiling. "Ok, I'll take a walk, only because you asked," she said. She turned to soundlessly go for the door. Without looking back, she said, "Remember what I said about the two of us though. Just me and you."

She closed the door without making a noise and left.

He knew that it was too late for Lady and that he would never be able to help her. She was too far gone.

BG VS THE FINAL SHOWDOWN

There was nothing BG used to like to do more than chase people down.

Now it depressed and repulsed him.

There he was, in the middle of the School District. Not on top of the buildings, or creeping through the alleys at night, but inside of the actual high school. Like a civilian. For this mission he was even dressed like a civilian. The armory had doled out jeans, red sneakers, and a t shirt that said "peach time", whatever that meant. He was supposed to blend in, but even with his youthful face he could never pass as a high school student. He was too old. And he stood like a soldier. The act of dressing up anyway made him feel uncomfortable.

The mission itself was uncomfortable. Abnormal. 3 days of surveillance on the target, concluding with her extraction. The target was some 16 year old girl named Cynthia Tariq, who was a low-grade psychic. Normally she would be yoinked out of her bed while she slept, but for some reason that had been deemed an impossibility. She was special in some way so Silas wanted her to be monitored before bringing her in. This may or may not have had something to do with the fact that the suspicious Infirmary nurse Doc was her father, and her other father was part of the terrorist cell that had been causing so much grief lately. BG hadn't even blinked when he learned that snippet of information. Nothing could surprise him anymore, it was all too fucked up.

The Colony was going to hell.

The Colony was going to hell and BG was wasting his time, standing around in a high school wearing red sneakers.

He and Lady were co-leading the mission. They were unable to really interact with any of the school kids because they obviously didn't belong. Lady looked especially horrific in civilian clothes; he had never seen her wear colors other than black, grey, and white, so the orange shirt she had on looked ghastly. When staff briefed them, they had been assured that all the kids would think the two of them were college aged, or teachers. It was worse. All the kids thought they were cops, which was not far off from the truth.

While he and Lady co-lead the op from the background, four C and B Class agents did all the real grunt work. They were chosen because of their actual ability to pass as high schoolers, as well as their high levels of friendliness and charisma which were supposed to put the Tariq girl at ease so she didn't call her father before she got nabbed. Bex, Shorty, Flash, and Johnny. That last one didn't feel too good. BG and Lady had been given orders to make it look like he got killed on accident during the mission. Really, Silas just wanted him executed like vermin so that Nickels and the freshly re-integrated Smokey Pete would stay in line. BG really didn't want to put Johnny down on account of his closeness to Nickels, but it would be up to him to do it since Lady couldn't kill using her mind, and they all had to leave their weapons behind to 'fit in'.

BG sat in an empty classroom as he contemplated this. He had a piece of taffy in one of his pockets but wasn't interested in eating it. He wanted to take a nap. Anything bad that could have happened had happened during the last couple of months. That wasn't including the day he walked in on Lady torturing Bizo and Dot. Silas was one step away from declaring martial law, she couldn't control anyone. Even Commissioner Nguyen was defying her and was seen openly interacting with West Agapama. He hadn't had a full 8 hours of rest in....well, he couldn't remember when.

He was aware of a fire alarm going off on another floor because he could hear it faintly. Probably the one where the cafeteria was located, since Cynthia Tariq was at lunch that that was where the 4 dummies were supposed to nab her. BG put a finger to the side of his face, then remembered that he wasn't wearing a helmet and had to use a normal communication device on his wrist. He pressed the button that activated it and would connect him to the agent he had appointed Squad leader. "Bex," he said. "What's the situation?"

No answer. Probably because civie communication devices were inefficient and awkward to use. Bex probably didn't even know he was hailing her. BG sighed and thought about teleporting down into the cafeteria, but knew that would cause mass panic if anyone happened to see him. Which they would, crowded cafeteria and all. He decided to wait until someone contacted him for once.

10 minutes later, Lady skidded into the room. She had actually been jogging-- he knew because she panted for breath and had high points of color in her cheekbones. BG immediately popped up and teleported across the room to support her. She appeared to be shocked and amused.

"What's going on?" BG asked her, flabbergasted that she had exerted herself physically instead of just talking to him telepathically. "Is everything ok?"

"No!" Lady exclaimed, but she didn't sound too upset. There was laughter hidden behind her voice. "This is just too crazy. That girl just wiped the floor with our goons. She's terrifying, she can't possibly just be a psychic. I see why she's so special, why they wanted us to watch her. I couldn't get into her head at all from that distance, and when I tried she ran for it!" Lady really did laugh, like she didn't believe what was happening.

"She got away?" BG said, alarmed. "What's so funny about that? Locate her right now so I can jump over and grab her, what the fuck is wrong with you Lady, an untrained civilian shouldn't be able to take out four of us at once!"

"Three," said Lady, brightly, like it was the funniest thing in the world.

"Three?"

"Three. It's too good. That Artificial who bit you last year helped her, he turned on us. They ran away together-- don't worry I can feel their minds, even from here. Hiding while the girl tries to reach her dad to come save her before it's too late. It's all fear fear fear, I don't think I can stop laughing about it."

BG had to keep himself from reacting. It wasn't funny. It was awful. So Johnny had known that he was going to die on this mission. He must have known for days, must have been waiting for it. There wasn't much worse than the anticipation of one's own death. It was the reaction of a cow going to slaughter and trying uselessly to turn back. Of course Lady sensed fear. Johnny knew he was going to die and had tried to save a civilian girl anyway. And now they were both going to be hunted down easily, Johnny would die, and Cynthia Tariq would be taken away from her dads and tortured and brainwashed until she was nothing but a soldier.

He felt numb and hated himself for being a part of this.

"Where are they hiding?" he asked. He wanted to go home. He couldn't go home. He'd never had one.

"Two floors down, close to the left wing," Lady told him. She put her arms around his waist in preparation for teleportation. She was featherlight and he wanted to push her away. "Closet. Isn't it always a closet that they choose to burrow into?"

BG nodded without feeling anything but dread, and made the jump.

Two floors down, the firearm still rung. It blared in the background, impossible to ignore. The hallway was empty, all the students and faculty having scampered away to safety after seeing the fight and hearing the alarms. Since all emergency alert systems were wired into the agency, the single technopath always prevented emergency services from even receiving alerts if secret police were involved. None of them wanted the added difficulty of dealing with the cops, fire-control, or EMTs. These delays had resulted in dozens of civilian deaths, but the missions always went smoothly.

As he stuck the landing, BG noticed the red sneakers he wore. They looked ridiculous on him after all the years of wearing heavy boots, but he kind of liked them. He zoned out for a second to exist in a fantasy where he could wear what he wanted and didn't have to kill anyone, until Lady grasped his metal shoulder. Teleporting didn't make her sick anymore, since she no longer ate and no longer adhered to the same physical laws the rest of them did. She patted him a few times in excitement.

Lady loved to hunt people down just like he once had. For her it was not the thrill of the chase. It was the slow process of it all; the understanding of her prey's terrified anticipation of her arrival.

She pointed at a closed door several meters down the hall. BG followed the path with his eyes. He swallowed. "You sure?" he asked, his mouth dry, knowing the answer.

"Mhm." Lady's eyes had gone black again, deep pools of water framed by impossibly long lashes. She did not look human. She cocked her head for better focus the way that she always did when she listened in telepathically; she had no skill for it, unlike Nickels. For all her power, she failed to even be half the telepath of Smiles' B-Class psychic. "So sad. He's giving the girl advice on how to survive in the agency because he knows they're about to be caught. He’s thinking about all the bad things that ever happened to him."

BG's heart pounded. The frayed nerves in his shoulder burned as if his body was turning against him, as if it was urging him to stop participating in what he knew was wrong. If he was brave he would listen. But he was not brave. He would kill Johnny with his bare hands since he had no weapon. He would restrain a little girl and drag her out of her hiding place so that she could begin a short lifetime of participating in the same wretched things. The cycle repeated itself.

Just go, he thought to himself, unmoving. Just run away. He couldn't. He stared at the closet where the target hid. Boiler closet? Maybe. It would be so easy to stomp over there and get it over with. He had done this dozens of times before, both with Lady and without her. He could not will himself to do so.

"Now would be a good time to surprise them," said Lady. She un-cocked her head and stretched her arms to limber up. The bones in her shoulders and back popped gruesomely. "Really reaching a whaddya call it, a crescendo of feelings in there." She laughed her girlish, high-pitched laughed. The fire-alarm had not stopped. When BG did not move, she took the initiative. She covered the short distance to the door as quietly and gracefully as a dancer. BG reluctantly followed behind her and flexed his left arm in preparation for the kill.

How many people had he killed with that arm?

The closet door was one of the flimsy ones that slid open and shut, painted the same color as the wall so that it was perfectly camouflaged. There was no handle, no lock, only a small indentation where one could insert their fingers to slide it open. Lady hooked two fingers into it and pulled; BG loomed behind her like a menacing shadow.

Boiler closet. Of course it was. Like all boiler closets it was dark and cramped, with only just enough room for the mechanical beast that provided heated water and steam for the left wing of the school. Two people could not fit inside comfortably, but fit they did. Johnny stood closest to the door. He was in a fighting stance, ready to lunge. The t-shirt and jeans he wore to be undercover made him almost look like a normal kid, but that was the end of it. His face was wild and afraid; his sharp teeth were bared in a snarl but his eyes were big and wet like two runny fried eggs. The girl, Cynthia Tariq was pushed uncomfortably behind him like he was trying to protect her. She held something in her arms and gazed at the intruders in the way that civilians who have never seen Elite secret police agents always do. She had dark skin, bright eyes, and box braids that were in disarray, probably due to her recent fight. Someone must have hit her before she escaped the cafeteria, because a bruise was forming on one of her cheeks. She looked frightened, but not nearly as frightened as she should have been.

When Johnny saw Lady, that's when he must have known it was all over because he started to breathe rapidly; BG could see his chest rising and falling. But Cynthia was worse, it was like she knew Lady's true nature just by looking at her. She squeezed the thing in her arms tight and it squeaked.  As mashed as she was up against the boiler, she tried to correct her stance instead of cringing back. It wasn't that Cynthia was not afraid-- she was very afraid, judging by the way she looked at Lady like she was some hideous spider. It was that she had the strength of will in to push past the fear.

She looked so young. 16 was older than a lot of recruits were when they got pulled away into the agency. For some reason, Cynthia seemed younger. It was because she where she was supposed to be. She was supposed to be in school, doing whatever it was teenagers were supposed to do in school. BG never had that privilege. He could see ink stains on the sleeve of her pink sweatshirt and that made him feel worse than anything, though he could not place why.

"I'm surprised you guys got as far as you did," said Lady, like she was some kind of villain from a movie. BG wished she wouldn't talk so they could get this horrible ordeal over with. She didn't twitch a muscle, but was already using her monstrous ability. Johnny shook all over like a dog as she pulled things from the recesses of his memory. It could have been anything; he had suffered enough over the years. Cynthia did not seem to be affected but she grew more alarmed when she saw that..

Cynthia dropped the thing she had been holding so that she could clumsily put up her fists. BG was roused from his discomfort and self-loathing when he realized that it was one of the alien creatures, like Dot except larger. It stretched itself up into a dripping bipedal form all covered in eyes and mouths, aping a human-like shape. It wrapped several long black tendrils around Cynthia's legs and her waist. When Lady saw it, she hopped back in disgust.

"Get away from us," said Cynthia. Her voice quavered a bit but she spoke like she was making a threat. She maintained eye contact with Lady, something that most people could not do. "I'm not kidding, I know how to fight."

"Me too," said the creature. It formed what could almost be called a human face, exactly where a face should be.

This display shocked Lady so intensely that she must have let go of her psychic connection to Johnny, because he refocused and he stopped shaking. It shocked BG too. He was not aware that there were other creatures that could talk like Dot could. He was not aware that there were others that could make connections to humans. In that moment, Cynthia Tariq was more familiar to him than Lady was. She was a girl that loved a slimy little alien, just like Bizo. Someone who was like that saw the good parts of things, not the bad. This girl cared about a creature that wasn't even from her own dimension, something that deserved to creep around in the sewers eating vermin. She was not disgusted by it the way that all other people who could see Things were. She had made friends with Johnny in less than 3 days-- Johnny, a person who was harmful,  empty, and unlikable. BG didn't need to talk to her to know what she was like: Cynthia Tariq was good.

He was about to take her to a place that would squash all the good right out of her.

Lady regarded Cynthia and the creature. "Ew," she said to BG. She wrinkled her nose and suddenly the creature made the kind of noise a cat makes when it is being slowly flattened beneath a wheel. The oily black surface of its flesh bubbled like it was being boiled. Its dozens of eyes rolled wildly before being sucked back into its body. As it shrieked, Cynthia grabbed at it in sudden terror, the same way one grabs at a family member. But her fingers slipped through its body as it dissolved into gelatinous black jelly and melted into a quivering puddle by her feet.

The only way Lady could affect something was if it had complex feelings. BG looked at the puddle. He thought about Dot.

"Billy?!" Cynthia exclaimed, but she did not waste time on grief. She tried to lunge at Lady. Johnny, standing in front of her, held her back. He had that unnatural freak strength Artificials sometimes had, but even then he appeared to strain against her. What was this girl? The dossier he had read said that she was nothing but a low-grade psychic, but then how was she that physically strong? She was not an Artificial, but then why did she have strange blue eyes and a mouthful of sharp teeth? She seemed to be reading Johnny's thoughts, because she looked at him and then stopped fighting. The message was clear: it was futile to fight two Elites. But Cynthia was not resigned; every inch of her body was tense and ready to move.

"Don't hurt her," Johnny said to BG. It was the first words he had said to him since that night he had sunk his teeth into his neck. All the fear seemed to have gone out of him now to be replaced by acceptance. Who could possibly get past both Lady and BG? Nobody could evade such hunters."I know you gotta kill me, I get it,  but don't hurt her. You don't know what it's really like in there."

"I'm sorry," said BG, completely pathetic. He pictured what he would have to do, what he did not want to do. If he was lucky they wouldn't fight back.

He was not lucky.

Cynthia lunged for a second time and shoved past Johnny with a strength that should not have been possible. It was clear that she was untrained, but someone in her life had shown her how to throw a punch. She moved with the ferocity of a person who does not find it acceptable to quit. Her fist connected with Lady's face, dead center. It could have been a crippling blow, had Lady not recognized the danger she was in and lashed out psychically against it. Still, Cynthia's punch hit Lady square in the nose and shattered it with a loud crunch, sending Lady reeling back against BG. But the moment that Cynthia's skin touched Lady's, she crumpled to her knees, her body twisting in pain.

Suddenly motivated, Johnny also sprung forward to attack Lady, who he recognized as the greater threat. He moved to sweep her legs out from under her. Johnny was fast but BG was faster. He took one step into the boiler room and intercepted him, using his left arm to slam him against the wall hard so that he couldn't move. What Johnny’s Ability came down to was luckiness. Most of the time he was impossibly lucky. Other times, like this time, he screwed himself over so badly that it seemed like he had no luck at all. BG pressed his forearm across Johnny's throat and applied enough pressure to start incapacitating him-- knowing that with enough intensity, his job would be done.

He was farther from the door now, though only a pace separated him from Lady. By his feet, Cynthia Tariq's body convulsed and she cried for her mother. BG could see Lady out of the corner of his eye. Cynthia's punch had broken Lady's delicate nose; it was smashed and flattened. Blood poured out of both nostrils, down her chin, neck, and chest. The blood made BG sick to see and he steeled himself against becoming faint. Lady froze like she did not know what had happened to her. In nearly a decade, no target had ever laid a hand on her. She put a hand to her nose and then shuddered with pain and rage.

"You good?" BG asked her. Johnny struggled to free himself but grew weak from the lack of oxygen. BG tried not to look at him. He knew he had to end it, that it would be kinder to do it fast. He didn't have it in him to press down.

Lady gazed down on Cynthia, who went into another convulsion. In nearly 10 years, BG had never seen her so inhuman. Her eyes were completely black, no longer deep pools of water, but like holes in her skull. The entire lower part of her face was red and the blood dripped down onto the floor. Her trembling lips pulled back into an obscene smile. The blood was in her mouth and it stained her teeth. She crouched down to get closer to Cynthia and dropped whatever psychic torture program she was running in the girl's brain.

"Change of plans," said Lady, speaking more to Cynthia than to BG. "Looks like we failed our mission and couldn't take the girl in. Unavoidable accident." Cynthia breathed heavily and tried to get back up, but the things that Lady had made her experience had not given up their influence. All the girl could do was glare back at Lady without blinking, frozen.

Her words sent a chill through his body, like his own blood had turned to ice-water. Without knowing what she was talking about, he understood that this was it. This was the place where she really went off the deep end. Where their two paths separated forever. He had been waiting for it since the day he caught her hurting Bizo. Waiting for the moment she finally went where he couldn't follow.

Waiting for the moment where he would have to make a choice he didn't want to make.

"You can't mean that" he said, from a place that was far away and outside of his body. He forced himself to look at Johnny, who looked back in the way that people who know they're going to die do, little blood vessels in his eyes already bright and red from not being able to breathe. He didn't hate Johnny, didn't want to hurt him despite all of the things he had done. BG understood. And he wanted him to be free in a place where nobody could hurt him anymore.

BG wanted all of them to be free in a place where nobody could hurt them anymore.

"I mean it," said Lady. When she breathed, bubbles of mucus and blood came out of her ruined nostrils. She put one of her hands on Cynthia's head, gently rolled one of her braids between two fingers. "We have time. I want to slice her apart. You can do whatever you want to that guy. I know you must want to after what he did to you."

He knew one thing for sure and that was that he would not be able to live with himself if he allowed Lady to torture and kill this girl. BG used to think he was a good person, but had lost that sense of himself back when he realized that he was just a tool in the hands of someone evil. He had never been a good person. He looked the other way when people got hurt. He hurt people himself. He let people die and he let people get punished. He could not do that for even one more minute unless he wanted to blow his own brains out.

BG stopped pressing his arm against Johnny's windpipe so that he could breathe. Johnny wheezed and sucked air into his lungs, looking at BG warily, intelligent enough to know that he was being shown mercy but too stupid to understand why. When he was sure that Johnny was not going to react, BG released his hold on him entirely. He shook his head once to try to communicate the importance of not interfering.

On her knees in front of the girl, Lady was not paying attention to anything but the harm she intended to dole out. She was humming to herself, the way that she did when she was getting into 'torture mode'.

"Lady," said BG. He stepped to stand beside Cynthia and extended his left hand to his teammate. She took his hand without hesitation and allowed him to help her to her feet. Totally trusting, totally unaware. And why shouldn't she be? Over the years, BG had never given a reason to believe that he would harm her. Cynthia was frozen, and in Lady’s mind someone like Johnny was lower than dirt. Maybe she believed that he was showing her affection, maybe she believed that he wanted to tell her something important. It was impossible to say.

She was a monster and he loved her so much but it was all...wrong.

"Yes?" When she looked at him she was not really looking at him. Her terrible, beautiful, blood covered face was completely open. The cruelty and insectile anger on it faded away the moment that he spoke to her. BG had never wished to be a psychic before, but he did in that moment. What was she thinking? How was she feeling? She had no premonition of what he was about to do to her because she trusted him completely. He had watched her back for so many years. He had turned his back on what she did to others for so many years.

He cupped her face in his hands. When she brought him back after he lost his arm and he was bleeding helplessly as the bombs went off around them, she had cupped his face in her hands just like that. That was the day that he found her, but that was the day he had started to lose her as well. There was no going back to the girl she was before, the girl who he had been friends with, because that girl had been dead for a long time. The thing that was left was something that should not be. BG wanted to do the girl that Lady used to be just one act of kindness.

He should have said something. He should have said 'I love you', or, 'I'm sorry', but he didn't.

With one fast, simple, practiced movement, BG jerked Lady's head hard to one side and broke her neck. She died instantly. Painlessly. It was more than she could say for anyone who had died at her hands. One second she was there and the next second she was gone. Nothing changed. Lady looked the same as she ever did, she just wasn't...alive. She could have been sleeping. It wasn't like Echo, whose death had been concrete and violent and left half their skull blown off. BG carefully lowered her body to the floor and wondered why he didn't feel anything.

The second that Lady died, Cynthia Tariq regained control of her body. "What the fuck!" she said, gasping in pain but popping up to push past BG and Johnny in order to get to the black puddle. It was reforming itself too, the way that Dot had once. "Billy?! Are you OK?!"

Johnny did not look like he understood what was going on, like he expected the other shoe to drop and land him into an even worse situation. He had one hand on his neck and was still trying to position himself between BG and Cynthia.

The severity of what BG had done was starting to hit, but he still did not feel panic or grief. The numbness did not leave him. The fire alarm droned on and on as it had that entire time, and he thought about his next steps. He couldn't run. Running would make it worse. If all three of them ran then there would be nobody left to cover it all up. He knew what he had to do.

He would never be able to make up for all the bad things he had done. But he could start.

He would help Cynthia and Johnny escape the school District. He would go back to the Capitol building and as time passed he would do everything in his power to help as many people get out as he could. Until they caught him-- and they would catch him. It would be worth it.

BG looked at Lady one last time. He took a deep breath. “OK,” he said. For the first time in a long time, his voice felt like his own again. He felt like he was his own again. Maybe that was a start. “You two have to listen to me very carefully and do exactly what I tell you to do. I’m getting you out of here.”

EPILOGUE: MEANWHILE

When Yancey Atwood heard the fire-alarm go off from the safety of the classroom he was lounging in, he knew that the secret police kids were going after his protege Cynthia. Not that he was worried about her safety. Scrappy kid could fight! Not only had he been teaching her his technique, but the sad old lady cop and the rich mob guy had been sharing their skills as well. He had total confidence in her ability to survive, just as long as the A-Class agents didn’t involve themselves-- especially the psychic. Cynthia was a bright girl. She reminded him of himself.

No, now was not the time to worry about Cynthia. Now was the time to get the Teleporter without raising Silas’s suspicions. The chaos would make it easy to look like he had run away.

Yancey sipped on his 3rd energy drink of the day. “Hey Harper,” he said to his companion. “Let’s get this show on the road, bud. Time to grab your chubby boyfriend and blow this popsicle stand.” He wondered if he was mixing metaphors but didn’t care enough to correct himself.

Harper Malena, who was known as “Echo” to their little secret police pals until Yancey had brilliantly orchestrated their escape, didn’t say anything. So quiet. They didn’t have much going on upstairs, it showed in their blank and glazed over face. Sometimes he wasn’t sure why he had bothered with them as long as he had, but they were useful in their own way. And he knew for sure that they cared about the Teleporter known as ‘Bubblegum’ (stupid name) more than they cared about their own life.

Out of habit, they raised their hands to start signing, but then put them back down. Yancey couldn’t read sign language and always forced them to speak if they had something to say. Looked like whatever it was wasn’t that important.

Yancey smiled and sipped on his drink. He couldn’t help but laugh.

That Bubblegum guy was about to get the shock of his life.