#I was fully like ‘can you point me to the lobby so I can speak with my contact before I head out?’

[clowndensation]

just got cask of amontillado’d folks.

[one-idea]

I love your wado ichimoji pov posts! Your only in whisky peak and show devotion well in an inanimate object well "my dumass son" (affectionately) *less than 2 weeks after starting to travel with others, the captain still believes after them losing badly*: I have 2 to protect now my son and a little king. What I'm really looking forward to 1. resignation at some point is that Sandai Kitetsu is going to continue to be here 2. the treasure trove of Timeskip on Mihawk's creepy would produce 3. sibling time with enma (Christ they have been made by the same person but wados going to be the only voice of reason between the 3).

Thank you so much!!! Sorry this took me a hot minute to respond to.

I really love that au and I want to work on it more.

As I am only in Thriller Bark I can’t speak in earnest about all of your ideas (yet) but I can hit one.

1. Wado excepting that Sandai Kitsune is here to stay.

They come to a begrudging understanding at the end of Whiskey Peak. Wado still doesn’t like Sandai and hopes Zoro gets ride of it, but at least Sandai has respect for the captain now.

It’s Alabaster where Zoro learns to cut steal when the two finally start to have a smidgen of respect for each other. After all Zoro uses all three blades to cut steal, if Sandai was truly a weak blade she would have broken by now.

Through Jaya and Skypia all three blades are focused on protecting Captain and crew. Gaining respect for some of the other crewmates (namely Robin) though throughout it all Wado is still waiting for Zoro to find a better sword.

It isn’t until Water 7 and Enies Lobby. When all three blades are in unity fighting to save one of their own. Because their King and Master wants the Archaeologist back. Because the King has lead them to an incredible fight, a test of their Skills. Because their King keeps asking them to do the impossible with total confidence that they can, they won’t let him down. (The sea train is going to be fun)

It isn’t until Yabashiri is destroyed that Wado realizes she wasn’t ready to lose either companion.

It’s been so long since she had traveled with companions who had voices. These were the first blades Zoro had, besides her, that had distinguishable voices. To hear one of those go out rattles both Wado and Sandai.

The rust man could have grabbed any of them but he grabbed Yabashiri. Her voice was gone. It takes sometime for both Wado and Sandai to come to terms with that.

While Wado is still annoyed with Sandai and her violent tendencies, she’s mellowed under Zoro’s care. Her bloodthirsty now matches his own. And while she does occasionally cry out for blood, it’s normally because of a threat to King or crew. She no longer calls for the blood of just anyone, only outside threats. Problem is those threats haven’t always attacked them yet. (Sandai’s more of a if we kill it before it can attack it can’t hurt them, sort of protector)

Wado and her still butt heads, but Sandai made it this far as a Grade blade, she’s not going anywhere soon.

Once in Thriller Bark, once they gain Shushi, another one of the 21 Great grade blades, a fully realized black blade, and Wado’s sibling to boot. Things get shaken up again.

Where Wado is motherly and protective of her dumb son’s dreams and loved ones. Aligned with Zoro in dream and crew, knowing him the longest and living up his values.

And Kitsune is Zoro’s bloodthirstiness. His violence but also protective fury. Zoro changed her from pure bloodshed to reflect his own violence. She reflects his more aggressive side.

Yabashiri was quite. One to follow Wado’s lead but still had its own personality. In that offered caution. She reflects Zoro’s observation. The ability to tell what is and isn’t a threat and when to act.

Shushi is different. Shushi already had a master take it to the full extent of its power. He is stronger and more durable. Increasing Zoro’s strength and forcing the others to rise to his level. Zoro cannot take this blade farther, rather he must rise to meet its strength and durability. Harding himself and his other blades to become the strong unbreakable protector of the crew.

Wado and Sandai are not (yet) black blades they can still grow and rise with Zoro’s power. Shushi is both a greatly needed boost and a challenge to rise to. He often thinks back on his prior master and compares Zoro to him. (He is quite pleased to be wielded by a descendent of his beloved Shimotsuki Ryuma)

Once I get to Zoro training with Mihawk I’ll talk more about them. But it’s going to be really fun to write all three swords interacting with Yoru. But it’s also going to be hard on Wado. Up until then Zoro favored her as his one sword style blade. But after his time with Mihawk it switches to Shushi. A stronger more durable blade. While the switch makes sense, I’m sure it was a hard transition for both Wado and Zoro. And I’m excited to write on it.

I am so excited to get to Wado and get Enma. It’s a needed change for Zoro to push forward. While Enma has great power on its own, it’s not yet a permanent black blade. There is still room to grow and strengthen along side Zoro. Shushi couldn’t grown anymore. Zoro had mastered it, he rose to the challenge and surpassed it. Now he needs to bring his own blades to the top.

(I really hope one of his blades becomes permanently black by the end of the show. I want it to be Wado)

Right now I’m in Thriller Bark, but the platform im watching on only has the show up to Marineford/ASL adventures so once I get through all of that, I will either rewatch all pre-time skip and start writing my Wado Ichimoji POV au and Reverse Strawhats while I wait for the platform to put up more episodes or I’ll crack and get a new subscription to watch post time skip. Only time will tell.

[huffle-dork]

Swap Beyond the Crystalverse Chapter 5: Shift AU

Co-written with @crystalninjaphoenix Read Swapboys | Read Crystal’s AUs

Other Multiverse Stories: SITCV | SATCV | GITHV

Alt feels that short fall, and arrives in a familiar location. This is a hospital hallway. But not the section of the hospital devoted to wards where patients stay. This is the part you visit if you need a checkup. There's a nice waiting room visible at one end of the hallway. The floor is covered in short gray carpet and the walls are painted white on the upper half and wooden wainscotting on the bottom half. 

Alt shudders a bit seeing the hospital- even if it looks nice. So does the lobby of Hope Water… in the brief moments he’s been in the lobby. 

Anti speaks from his phone. "I looked at the IRIS database. They call this world UA-1027019SF. I'm making a note of it in your Notes app in case you want to visit here some other time. Or in case you don't."

Alt blinks down at Anti and pulls out his phone to snicker, “Thanks, personal assistant, Anti.”

"Ha ha," Anti says in a deadpan tone.

Alt laughs, “C’mon man you gotta admit you sounded just like one!” 

The nearest door opens up, and a man walks out--walking backwards, still looking into the room. "Next time either of you come here, I'm knocking you out, strapping you to a gurney, and wheeling you down to a doctor who can actually help," the man snaps. 

"Oh, c'mon, don't be like that!" A voice says from the inside of the room. The man rolls his eyes. 

Alt blinks up at the conversation, chuckling at the playful violence of the doctors threat. “Woah-“ he whispers to himself.

The man glances at Alt, noticing he's there. "Hey." Then he looks away again--only to comically snap back to staring at Alt. "What the...?" This man is wearing a white coat over a black button-up shirt. He has brown hair that sticks up in natural spikes, blue eyes... and a faint white scar across his neck.

Alt stares back at the doctor as he does a double take and his eyes widen. “Oh woah-“

"Uh. You looking for someone?" The doctor turns to face him fully. Weird, the pupil of his right eye is shaped strangely. Like a keyhole, not a circle. 

"Someone show up?" Another man leans out of the doorway. He's wearing a red vest and a button-up with a popped collar and rolled up sleeves. There's a bruise forming on his face and a brace on his left wrist. "Oh, hullo. Are you one of Anti's relatives?"

 "I don't have family," the doctor says.

“Uhhh-“ Alt says- very weirded out. Never thought he’d find a world where’s he’s a doctor. “Not exactly? I’m uh- lost- trying to find my way around.”

"Right. D'you have an appointment with someone?" Dr. Anti asks. "I can probably point you in their general direction." 

The man in red walks out. "Don't be business as usual, Anti! This guy looks just like you! Except younger, and not permanently grumpy. Don't tell me you're going t'brush that off!" He smiles and waves. "Name's Jackie, Jackie West." 

Another man appears in the doorway, looking back and forth between Alt and Dr. Anti. He has neat brown hair and a mustache, and is wearing a blue t-shirt hoodie over a long-sleeved white shirt. 

Alt is- getting increasingly more weirded out. “uhhhhh- nice to meet ya? This is… so weird-“ He coughs then shakes his head, “Might as well just rip off the bandaid then- uh hi- I’m Alt Brody- but I’m also known as Anti… which is why I look like you. I’mmm from a parallel universe. One where I’m a magician.” He opens up his palm and lets a few green electric sparks rise into the air.

The other three all stare at him as he says this. 

"...huh." Dr. Anti blinks, unsure how to react to this. 

Jackie looks excited. "Oh that's wicked! You're like Chase! But you're Anti!" He reaches out to touch the sparks. 

"Hey. Don't be a moron." Dr. Anti grabs his hand before he can get too close. "That could be dangerous. And this could be a trick." 

The man with the mustache--oh, might as well call him by his name, he's obviously a Jameson--shakes his head slowly. I think he's telling the truth, he says in sign language. 

"Why?" Dr. Anti asks. 

Because if he was trying to trick us, he'd come up with something more believable. 

Alt barks out a laugh at Jameson’s reply. “yeah I- truly can’t make this shit up!”

Dr. Anti looks at Jameson. "You're serious, Jackson? You're really going to trust him?" 

Jameson nods. He looks at Alt and smiles. You can understand me? That makes this easy. Call me JJ.

Alt blinks at JJ and smiles, “Yeah I know sign! One of my best mates is deaf- another goes non-verbal sometimes. Nice to meet ya, JJ.”

Alt then looks down and processes, “…wait a second did you say like Chase?? When talking about my magic??” He emphasizes as he looks at Jackie with wide eyes. “…there’s no fucking way-“

"Yeah, Chase is a magic man!" Jackie says cheerfully. "It's fucking amazing, mate. He does all sorts of light shows." 

Dr. Anti nudges him. "Jackie. Seriously." 

Alt makes a concerned face, blinking slowly at Jackie. “…that is one of the most unbelievable things I’ve encountered so far… right up there with me being a doctor-“ 

"Heh." Dr. Anti smiles, a bit smugly. "I'm not just a doctor. I am an anesthesiologist. It's a highly specialized field." 

“Oh- so I’m a smug ass here too-“ Alt makes a face at Dr. Anti. 

"It's a deserved smugness, though," Dr. Anti says, unbothered. 

JJ rolls his eyes and shoves him lightly, then looks at Alt and smiles. Don't mind him. He's always like this. Do you need help with anything? We're happy to help... even Anti here.

Alt blinks at JJ then smiles, “Uh well- I need to look for something here… our multiverse traveling device got broken and one of the pieces fell into this universe. I have a way to find it just- gonna be kinda hard not knowing where stuff is.”

"Huh." Jackie blinks. "A world traveling device? That's fucking wild." He looks around. "Do, uh, those exist?" 

Not that I know of, not in here. JJ frowns, thinking. 

"Well, you're in Blue Lake Hospital right now," Anti says. "City's called Mirton. The hospital's near the center. Jackson knows the city really well, if that'll help." 

JJ nods. Like the back of my hand.

Alt grins, “Convenient! Sick- here lemme check where it could be…” He pulls out the tracker and touches the pupil quickly.

In this world, the TRVLR piece is in a building at the address 223 South Project Street. 

"Oh, more magic!" Jackie gasps. "That's a glass eye of some kind, right?"

“It’s a tracker actually- kinda like a scrying orb.” Alt replies before stuffing it back in his pocket. “You all know what’s at 223 South Project Street?”

Dr. Anti stiffens and narrows his eyes. "Why do you want to know?" 

Obviously because the thing he's looking for is there, JJ says. But he also looks troubled. 

A moment passes, and Dr. Anti slowly says, "That's an old office building. It used to be owned by PUPIL. But not anymore. They cleared it out. You're not going to find whatever you're fucking looking for there."

Alt narrows his eyes back at Dr. Anti, “PUPIL huh? Dealing with a lot of SCLERA shit aren’t we?” He mutters to himself then shakes his head. “well this thing hasn’t steered me wrong- I know it’s there. So if you wanna be all pissy about it- I’ll just go find it on my own. I gotta find my brother anyways-“ He snorts, glaring a bit at Dr. Anti before he starts to glitch further down the hall. This guy was even worse then eyepatch Anti was when they first met! Just being around him made his skin prickle.

Jackie gasps and hurries after Alt. "Wait! Hang on! Oh, that's amazing." 

JJ gives Dr. Anti a disapproving glare and also runs to catch up. 

After a moment, Anti goes as well, trailing behind. 

They reach the waiting room, and Jackie reaches out, putting a hand on Alt's shoulder. "If you're looking for something, we can totally help! We're quite tough, you know? Skin thick as steel." He grins. 

Alt blinks as the others follow him. He turns to look at Jackie properly, though he does roll his shoulder to get Jackie off. Not unkindly though- just a little nudge. “I mean- only if you wanna. Don’t wanna interrupt… whatever it is you were doing.” 

You have a brother?" JJ asks, curious.

Alt looks at JJ then smiles, “Yeah, my older brother, Chase Brody. Back home though, he’s a superhero called Bro Fantastic. He came here with me- we usually travel to other worlds together.”

JJ blinks. He smiles. A superhero, you say? Sounds fun. Do you have any way of contacting him? Or knowing where he would be?

Alt blinks at JJ then pulls out his phone, “oh yeah lemme see if I can call him… it’s really hit or miss if our phones work sometimes-“

JJ chuckles. Yes, calling would be a good idea. 

"Oh, also you aren’t interrupting! I was just getting my wrist checked out by the doc here." Jackie points at his wrist brace. "It's been feeling weird for a couple days, must've yanked something out of place during the last shoot. I'm up for anything!" 

"S'long as you don't sprain your wrist some more," Dr. Anti mutters, standing a bit apart from the group. 

“A shoot? Oh! Do you do YouTube?? That’s just like my Jackie!” Alt grins. “Ha he’s pretty clumsy too-“ 

"YouTube? Ah, so you have that video webbedsite where you're from too!" Jackie laughs. "No, I do small films, mostly independent studios, mostly local stuff. I'm no actor, but I can do the stunts." 

“…oooh! You’re like Henny!” Alt grins, “Neat-! God- he’d love to meet you.” He says as he puts the phone up to his ear.

The other end of the phone is ringing... 

 —————

Bro feels that slight jolt, and when the darkness clears he's standing in an apartment living room. There's a kitchenette by the front door, pale wood and white appliances. Three doors to the left of that, all ajar to show glimpses of a closet, a tiny bathroom, and a bedroom. The walls are painted an off-yellow, and the carpet is short and gray. But there's a nice fuzzy white rug to make up for the carpet's shortcomings. 

"What the hell?" 

"Whoa!" 

There are two men in the room. Bro has appeared right between the two of them, next to a coffee table. One of them was sitting on the sagging sofa in the living room and now shoots to his feet. "Where did you come from?! I thought my wards were good!" He's wearing a long-sleeved pale yellow shirt (sort of matching the walls), a pair of ripped jeans, and a snapback cap. 

"Uh--don't--please leave?" the other man stammers. He's standing in front of one of those wheel-able cork boards, which seems to have been pulled in front of a TV stand. His long wavy hair is pulled back in a messy ponytail, and he's wearing a brown leather jacket over a blue t-shirt.

Bro blinks at the bright setting then yells in surprise as the two men exclaim, jumping into and then floating in the air. He blinks rapidly then waves at them from above, “uhhh hi! Didn’t mean to intrude on… whatever this is-! Didn’t meannn to come here at all actually! Total accident! Sorry!!”

The man in the cap blinks. He points. "Wait a moment! You're—you look like me! But you're flying?!" 

"The fuck is this?!" the other man shouts, looking a bit freaked out. "Are you trying to trick us?!" 

"Y'know, I don't think we know anyone who can both imitate people and fly," the first one comments. "But—but—I thought the wards were good???" He leans over to the coffee table and picks something up. A white mask in the shape of some sort of animal with pointed ears—not a cat, the snout is too long. There are green and yellow designs on it, and a drawing of a sun in the middle of the forehead.

Bro blinks even more, “Ohhh! Other me!!” He quickly lands next to the man in the cap and tilts his head, “…wards? Ha- you’re talking like you’re a magician or something-“ he laughs like that’s the craziest thing he’s ever heard.

The other him blinks. “I… am? Are you not? You just fucking flew into the air!” 

“Chaaase, what’s happening?” The other man says, looking at Bro warily. 

“I dunno Marv, but I don’t think it’s him.” The other Chase tilts his head back, eyes flashing yellow for a moment. “He doesn’t have that weird signature.”

“I’m not magic- no matter what Alt tries to tell me,” Bro huffs, crossing his arms, “I’m a superhero! And also- I’m you from another universe, surprise!” He grins. 

“ …From another universe?” Chase says slowly. 

“Is that possible?” asks the other man—a Marvin, evidently. 

Then, Bro lets his expression fall to something more serious, “…who did you guys think I was?”

“I don’t know for sure. But I guess it’s not the weirdest thing we’ve seen?” Chase shakes his head. “I’d ask for proof but I don’t think that’s easy to come up with.

As for who we though you were… could be a couple things. Some PUPIL shit, the Magic Circle looking for me… I still haven’t ruled either of those things out, but at least you’re not Shattered.” 

“Unless he decided to pull someone else out of time,” Marvin grumbles.

Bro blinks at the two of them and tilts his head, “…PUPIL..? Shattered? …god everything is all shifted around here huh…?” Then he laughs. “I think the proof is kinda staring at you in the face, dude. But alright- To prove it- I’m Chase Brody, also known as Bro Fantastic. I can show you my ID if you’d like,” he jokes. 

“An ID wouldn’t be that helpful, actually, that could be faked,” Chase says. “But you offering is a good sign.” 

“Unless he’s just really prepared for this deception,” Marvin says. 

“For fuck’s sake, Marv, you’re being paranoid. Honestly, you’re less trusting than Anti lately.” 

“Oh really?! Hmm I wonder if there’s a reason for that, hmm?!” Marvin stares at Chase with wide eyes. Actually, he looks a bit frazzled, with some dark shadows under his eyes. 

Chase sighs, and softens. “Sorry.” 

Bro looks between Marvin and Chase with wide eyes, “…are you all in trouble? Or someone giving you trouble? This.. shattered guy? Which must not be Anti since you guys said his name like that-“

“Anti’s fine, a bit,uh… abrasive but good when you get to know him,” Marvin says. “You’re right, it’s the Shattered guy who’s clearly to blame. He—” Before Marvin can continue, Bro’s phone starts to ring.

Bro jumps a bit and blinks in confusion, “Oh uh sorry mate- it’s my brother… he’s also here-“ he answers the phone and puts it on speaker. “Yello?” 

“Oh my god you nerd,” Alt snickers. “But good to know our phones work! Who did you end up by?” 

“A Marvin and other me- dude he’s a magician??” Bro stage whispers, like Chase can’t hear him. 

“I heard- super weird. Almost as weird as other me here being a doctor-“ Alt replies. 

“What the hell?!” 

“Anyways I’m at the hospital with bizzaro me, a JJ and a Jackie- …not sure what their deals are exactly but Jackie is giving off Henny vibes-“

“Henny vibes?” Jackie repeats, loud enough that Bro can hear him through the other end of the phone line. “What’s that?” 

Dr. Anti nudges him. “Volume control. This is a hospital.” 

“Oh sorry,” Jackie whispers. 

“Oh Henny’s our friend-“ Alt says before giving Anti a look.

“I can hear you, by the way,” Chase says to Bro. 

“So you’re this other Chase’s brother?” Marvin asks. “You sound like Anti with more life in his voice.” 

Alt barks out a laugh at Marvin’s comment. “Ha! I’ll take that as a compliment~” he giggles. 

“He used to sound more dead inside,” Bro snickers. 

“Hey! …anyways, Yeah I’m Alt, where you at bro?” 

“I think it’s one of these guys’ house…?” Bro says looking around. 

"Yeah, this is my flat," Chase says, gesturing around. 

“How ‘bout you?” Bro continues. 

“Hospital, called Blue Lake. The TRVLR piece is at 223 South Project Street. The guys here say that this… PUPIL company used to be there.” Alt says. 

“Hmm… PUPIL seems like this world’s IRIS or SCLERA-“ Bro muses. 

“Seems like it- what’s with all these creepy companies calling themselves stuff after eyes?? Real TMA shit if I’ve ever seen it-“ Alt mumbles. 

“You can’t make that reference with me alt I haven’t listened yet-“ 

“Well you should! Jay and I loved it!” 

Marvin inhales sharply. "What's a TRVLR piece? Why do you have to go to a PUPIL place to find it?" He looks visibly nervous.

“That’s why we’re here actually,” Bro explains, “We used to go to other worlds with the TRVLR- it’s like this little iPhone thing that helps us travel around. But it got broken and the pieces were scattered across other dimensions so now we gotta find them.” 

Alt sighs, “Believe me if we could just skip going to this obviously sketchy science bullshit we would but… not getting these pieces could cause… so many more problems down the line.”

"Hey, uh..." Dr. Anti clears his throat. "If Marvin's freaking out, tell him that PUPIL isn't there anymore. That should help reassure him." 

JJ nods. I can imagine why that would cause problems... well, like I said, we'd love to help. 

"Yeah!" Jackie grins. "These PUPIL guys are huge arseholes, anything we can do to fuck them up will be grand." 

Alt blinks at Dr. Anti then smiles, “Yeah… can do. Hey Marvin, Anti says don’t worry- PUPIL isn’t there anymore.” 

“Oh! Well that’s good,” Bro says. 

Alt grins at Jackie and Jj, “Jackie and JJ say they wanna help too.” 

“Sick!”

Marvin visibly relaxes. "Oh... good." 

Chase pats his shoulder sympathetically. "Yeah, we can help, too," Chase says. "I can, uh, use my magic. It's of some help." 

"Some help?! You're a great magician!" Marvin reassures him. "It'll be a big help!" 

"Hah." Chase smiles a little. "And you can help, too." 

"I can?" 

"Yeah. You can drive us." Marvin rolls his eyes. "Oh ha ha. Okay fine. If your brother and our friends can get here, I can drive everyone to this... address."

Alt looks at JJ, Jackie and Dr. Anti, “Have you guys been to Chase’s flat before.” 

All three of them nod. All the time, JJ adds. 

Alt grins wickedly. “We’ll be right there, Chase,” and hangs up. 

After Alt hangs up Bro sighs and puts his phone away- “You guys might wanna brace yourselves.” He tells Chase and Marvin. 

“Lemme guess—he’s gonna appear out of nowhere just like you did,” Marvin says. 

“Sounds like it,” Chase agrees. 

At the Hospital, Alt offers his hand to Jackie and Jj, and glances at Dr. Anti. “If you all wanna come with- grab on. I can take us to his flat-“ 

Jackie immediately takes hold of Alt’s hand. “More magic?” He says excitedly. 

One second, I left my backpack in the room, JJ says, hurrying back towards the room. 

“Is your—” Dr. Anti glances at Alt, “—spare set of clothes in there?” JJ nods before going down the hall. 

“Seems important to keep that with you, then,” Jackie comments. 

Luckily, JJ soon returns, a dark blue backpack sling over his shoulder. 

Thanks for waiting, he says, and then takes Alt’s other hand. Dr. Anti quickly grabs onto Jackie, looking a bit hesitant about all this.

Alt nods, “Yup!” He smirks. He blinks after JJ and tilts his head a bit. Then he shrugs. Honestly he’d do the same. He raises an eyebrow a bit at Dr. Anti joining up but- heh. It’ll be fun to see him react to this. “Alright, picture the flat for me please!” 

In the meantime, back at the flat, Bro blinks at Marvin, “…what do you do Marvin? The Marvin’s we know… usually are magic somehow-“

"Oh, I mean... I do magic tricks," Marvin says. "In a way. I have this YouTube channel, I-I post videos where I use editing to make stuff look magic. You know... I, uh... don't know how to describe it. But that's how we met Chase, actually. Magic interests. Relatable."

“Oooh! That’s neat! And just like how I met my mate Jackie! He does superhero moves for his parkour channel- almost broke his neck but I saved him.” Bro grins. 

Then in a sharp burst of pixels and light- Alt glitches all 4 of them into Chase’s flat. Glitching feels like- pop rocks under their skin and makes their blood feel electric. The ones actually holding onto Alt feel him break into a bunch of pixels that snap back together like magnets as they appear in the flat in a burst of green light.

“Whoa!” Dr. Anti let’s go, shaking his head. “Fucking weird.” He looks around. “Handy, though.” 

“Oh hey!” Chase laughs. “Yep, appearing out of nowhere!” 

Alt smirks and waves at Marvin and Chase, “Hey there!”

"Sup?" Chase waves. 

Jackie does a little bounce on his heels. “That felt like breaking apart, but better.”

Bro laughs, “Kinda yeah!” He waves at the new people. “I’m Chase by the way but you all can call me Bro! Less confusing!” He grins. 

Alt grins at Jackie and nods, “Technically I do when I glitch- but I don’t think you all do though? Something about what happened to me when I became a Glitch-“ He shrugs.

"A glitch?" Jackie blinks. "Huh?" 

"That's a sort of mistake in a digital thing," Marvin explains. "Or when it doesn't work right, yknow? Never heard it applied to a person, though." Marvin looks at Alt. "Well... nice to meet you, then." 

Alt blinks and tilts his head at Jackie, “…ohhh you’re really like Henny huh? Like.. out of time.”

"Oh, so you know!" Jackie says. "Yeah, it was bloody confusing. One minute the year was 1927, the next it was 2017! I've been here four years now and I still find it overwhelming sometimes." 

"I can't believe you've never heard the word 'glitch' in all those four years," Dr. Anti mutters.

 "Maybe I have, but I don't remember." Jackie shrugs. 

Alt blinks then smiles knowingly, “Our friend Henrik was pulled out of time by our villain Magnificent… around the same time as you I think. About 90 years. He’s been adapting well though! I think he likes the future a lot.” 

"I really gotta double-check my wards if everyone can just fucking... teleport through them." Chase sighs.

If these two are really from another world, they might have abilities that surpass that, JJ says. Don't put yourself down too much.

Alt smiles softly at Chase, “Yeah- JJ is right. My magic is different and my ability as a Glitch also makes things a bit fucky. Like… how there’s a mistake in tech… I’m like a mistake in our world? Kinda? I broke some boundaries and now can… glitch and stuff.” He shrugs. 

"Ah." Chase nods slowly, laughing a bit. "Yeah, that does make me feel a bit better." 

JJ smiles at Bro. So... I heard you're a superhero?

Bro grins more and nods, hopping into the air to hover a bit. “Sure am!”

JJ looks up at Bro excitedly. Impressive! I've never seen anyone who can fly! 

"Well... some magicians can hover, I think," Chase says. "But that's not the same." 

Bro lands and grins, “I can do other stuff too but they’re a bit more dangerous. The usual like super speed, super strength and I can kinda shoot lightning?” 

There’s a slight pause.

"Sssso," Marvin says slowly. "We... have to go to an old PUPIL place, then?"

Alt blinks at Marvin then shrugs, “You guys don’t need to join us if you’re worried- we have a way to find these things pretty easily.” 

“But It’d be nice to learn more about you all though, if you’re open to share!” Bro says. 

"No no, it's fine, I--I want to help," Marvin says. "But we should... probably explain some things. Other Chase--Bro was asking about that before you called." 

Dr. Anti stares at the corkboard. "What fucking... conspiracy nut stuff is this?" 

"It's justified conspiracy nut stuff!" Marvin says defensively. 

"Not saying it's not." 

JJ walks over to the board and pulls off a sticky note, holding it up to Bro and Alt. On it is a drawing of an eye with a symbol in the center that sort of looks like the club suit in cards, but without the stem. This is the symbol of PUPIL. They've been causing trouble around town lately. Marvin got caught up with them. 

Marvin nods slowly.

Alt and Bro look at the symbol and both of their eyes widen. Then, Alt’s eyes darken and spark dangerously. “…just like SCLERA.” Alt looks to Marvin with sympathy, “…we get it, Marvin. We’ve been caught by our own company, SCLERA. And… others-“ He shudders.

"Hah... thanks." Marvin smiles weakly. "SCLERA, huh? What's that?" 

"It's the white part of your eye." Dr. Anti indicates his own eye, holding open the eyelids of his right eye and drawing attention to the misshapen pupil. "The protective tissue that covers everything but the cornea." 

"Eye symbolism persists between universes, then," Chase says. 

“Seems like it- freaking weird and creepy…” Bro mumbles.

"Um... course, it's not just PUPIL we're dealing with," Marvin continues hesitantly. "There's also the Magic Circle--Chase can tell you about that--and the shattered man. Normally we just call him Shattered, for convenience." He points at the corkboard again, where there's a series of blurry photographs.

Alt tilts his head and furrows his eyebrows, “mmm the magic circle is no fun to deal with sure… but the shattered man…?” He glitches over to look at the photos.

All the pictures are out of focus, like either the photographer or the subject are moving too much to get a good shot. The details are hard to see, but it's clearly a man, with bright blue glowing eyes, wearing some sort of long coat. One picture shows something metallic shining as well, thin and spindly. 

"He doesn't photograph well," Jackie comments.

Alt looks confused but… those eyes and the coat… the only one missing here is… “o-oh god…” he whispers, covering his mouth. 

Bro comes over and puts a hand on Alt’s shoulder. “Alt what-?” 

Alt grabs him and whispers into his ear, “Their villain is Schneep-!” 

Bro’s eyes widen. 

"None of us know what his deal is, but he's been harassing us for a couple years now," Marvin says while the brothers whisper. "And... recently, he--" his voice cracks, so he clears his throat. "He... I-I don't know this for sure, but he has to be the one who--" 

JJ takes something else off the corkboard. Another photograph, folded and crinkled like it's been held often. It's a picture of Marvin... and a little girl with curly brown hair and big brown eyes. She... looks a lot like him.

The brothers look at JJ and Alt takes the picture. His stomach drops. He looks up at Marvin with a heartbroken expression, “… you have a daughter…?”

Marvin nods slowly. "Her name is Skyler. She's eight. And she... went missing a while ago. S-some of the police think I..." 

They're wrong, JJ signs fiercely. And they're not very good at their jobs anyway. 

That makes Marvin laugh for a bit, but he quickly becomes serious again. "It... must have been Shattered. He's been after me in particular for a while. And then, when PUPIL took me, he fucking showed up and--got me out of there? But wouldn't explain anything about Skyler when I-I shouted at him about it." 

"My tracking spells aren't working," Chase mutters. "She has to be somewhere protected."

Alt’s eyes flash brightly with green and blue light as he grits his teeth. “…fuck finding the piece.” He growls. 

“What??” Bro gasps. 

“Fuck finding the piece!” Alt shouts, whirling around, “We’re helping find Skylar!” He says fiercely, determination burning in his eyes. “We have magic and knowledge this Shattered can’t be prepared for I'm sure- I’m not leaving a child here in danger…!”

Marvin blinks. "You... you guys would do that?" 

"Hey well--if you all have knowledge to help find where she is, we'll take you up on that anytime," Chase says. "Skyler's great, she's the sweetest little girl." 

"Shattered has this little pocket world, but we're not sure how to get there," Jackie says, running a hand through his hair. "He seems t'be the only one with a handle on it. If he has her, she's got to be in there."

Bro slowly nods, “…as much as I’m worried we’re getting in too deep into this… I couldn’t leave when a kid is lost with some dangerous villain…” 

Alt pulls out his phone and taps the screen, “Anti! Do you think there’s a way I can get into a pocket dimension? Or can you?”

The guys from this world all cluster around Alt's phone. 

"...what the fuck?" Dr. Anti whispers. 

Anti nods at him. "Long story. I'm also from another world, but a different one than these guys. But onto the question. All pocket dimensions have to connect to a world somehow. The entrance might shift, but there has to be at least one place. Or at least, that's how it works in this branch of the multiverse. There's guaranteed to be a place where this Shattered's world branches off from the main universe. I... might be able to sense where it is, but with my powers reduced like this we'd need to get close." 

"So... what, do I just drive you all around the city?" Marvin looks at the others.

“…maybe-“ Alt says, “Or… I could try glitching around but I could drain myself really fast that way…” 

Bro sighs and ruffles his hair before replacing his hat, “I take it flying isn’t a common occurrence here? So I couldn’t just.. fly Anti around-“

JJ blinks. Well... it wouldn't be the strangest thing the citizens see everyday, he signs. 

"But it still might not be the best idea," Dr. Anti says. 

Bro sighs heavily, “Yeahhhh probably. Damn.”

"Hey, uh... phone version of me.” Dr. Anti continues. “Would there be any other signs of a pocket dimension thing? Something detectable?" 

"I don't know your technology capabilities here," Anti states. 

If you're going to ask if Shawn can help, he's already looking, JJ says. He already knows it's a pocket dimension. I don't see how anything this Anti knows would help.

Alt tilts his head at JJ, “Who’s Shawn? …our J has a brother named that but- I’m assuming this guy is someone different.” 

JJ blinks. Then laughs. No, actually! Shawn is my brother--or, half-brother. 

"He's JJ's guy in the chair," Chase says. "Helps out with a lot of tech stuff. Good artist, too."

Alt and Bro blinks then Bro grins, “Yooo! It’s rare we actually get that right!” 

Alt purses his lips, “Guy in the chair? Ha- are you saying JJ is like… James Bond or something? A spy?” He laughs.

The others all look over at JJ. "Up to you," Dr. Anti says. "I wouldn't, but I'm not you." 

JJ grins widely. He takes his backpack off and reaches inside, pulling something out. And he slips it over his face. A purple hero mask--just like Bro's.

Bro makes a Pog face and points wildly at JJ, “YOOOOO?!?!?” He digs into his utility belt and pulls out his pink mask, putting it on so his hair flares to yellow green. “Same hat! Or… mask!! But instead of a hero- you’re a spy?!? That’s metal as fuck!!!”

JJ laughs. I don't know if it really counts as being a "spy" when it's just me and Shawn. But yes, I'm good at getting into places and finding information. 

"He has powers, too!" Chase says excitedly. 

"Why are you so excited? You have fucking magic!" Marvin laughs. 

It's nothing flashy, JJ says. And it's hard to demonstrate, too. Think of it like... ESP.

“Oh!! You can just like pick up on stuff!? That’s so cool! Sometimes that’s more useful than being good at punching stuff like me.” Bro laughs. 

Exactly! JJ nods. I pick up on the ~vibes~ The others smile. 

Alt grins, “That’s so fucking cool.” Then he shakes out his head, “Okay- focusing on Skyler though… you guys haven’t found anything yet so- I guess driving around is our best bet. I’m sure me or Anti can pick up something right?”

"Yep, sounds like it." Marvin nods. "I know it might take a while, but it's the best bet we have. To the van, then!" 

"Great." Chase takes off his cap and puts on his mask instead. "JJ, wanna put on your suit?" 

Can I change in your bathroom? 

"Of course." 

JJ nods. I'll just be a minute, then. And he heads to the bathroom, closing the door.

“Supersuit!! Nice!!” Bro grins, “Man- kinda wish I brought mine!” 

Alt rolls his eyes, “You’d just be showing off more than you already are-“ 

“Heyyy! I’m not showing off!” Bro pouts.

Jackie laughs. "Hey, I think it's wicked, man. Show off all you want!" 

JJ changes quickly, coming out of the bathroom in a purple-and-blue suit. The outfit is sort of reminiscent of an old-fashioned suit, but more practical, something of a classic superhero suit in its design. There's a brace-like thing on his wrist with a keyboard sort of device on it. 

"There's the Dapper Man!" Marivn says cheerfully.

 JJ rolls his eyes. I didn't choose that name, you know. 

"But it's so fitting!" 

“I can’t deny you do look very Dapper!” Bro laughs.

 Alt grins, “Looking Slick dude- we all good to go?”

"Yep." Chase nods. "Marvin?" 

"I've never been more glad that I got that van," Marvin says. "It'll make transporting you all so much easier. Good deal." 

"Great." Chase walks over to the apartment front door and opens it up. "And I've never been more glad that my flat is next to the stairwell. C'mon." 

The group goes down two sets of stairs--Chase's apartment is on the third floor from the ground, the second floor according to the numbering--and out into an attached car lot. Marvin leads the whole group to a parked van, silver in color, a little bit of rust around the edges but it's clearly taken care of.

Bro whistles as they see the van. “Nice ride! I keep telling Jackie he should get a van but he said it would make him an old man.” He laughs.

Alt glitches a bit, frowning at the car. “…this is gonna be rough-“ He grumbles to himself.

"I'm pretty sure you can all fit," Marvin says, opening up the driver's side door. "Who's getting the front seat?" 

It should probably be Alt, since he has the phone with that other Anti, JJ says. 

Meanwhile, Dr. Anti slides open the back door. "First three in have to go in the back."

Alt nods and glitches into the front seat. “Don’t mind Alt- he hates driving around- finds it’s too slow.” Bro chuckles, as he climbs into the van, okay with taking the back.

"I mean--that's fair," Chase says. 

"You all have to appreciate your autos more," Jackie says as he climbs in after Bro. "I'm all for a good walk, but it's so much easier to get everyone around." 

“Okay, grandpa,” Bro snickers. “We appreciate them! But when you can fly and glitch a car seems way slower.”

JJ climbs in next, taking the final spot, wedging in between Bro and Jackie. Then Dr. Anti gets in, and finally Chase. 

"Buckle up everyone," Marvin says, starting the car and pulling out into the street. 

As they drive, Jackie leans forward, looking at Bro and Alt. "So--what's your world like? Anything really odd out here to you?"

Alt blinks back at Jackie then laughs, “Oh… just everything is odd here for us. Like back home? Our Jackie is a dad- has 3 kids. Sweetest things in the world. He also runs a YouTube channel where he does superhero moves but like parkour. It’s pretty cool. Our Jameson is a hypnotherapist but is taking some time to learn some nursing things. And uh- we have a fellow actor friend- Henny, he’s from…1933? 90ish years. And he’s deaf which is how we know sign. And our …villain. His name is Magnificent.” He trails off after this, squeezing his necklace. 

"Oh, that is very odd." Jackie nods. "I can't picture myself raising kids or making short films like that--well, it is what I do now, but I don't do any of the filming." 

I've never heard of that hypnosis therapy, JJ says, interested. 

"It's pretty fascinating, if you ask me," Dr. Anti says. "Supposedly it can help people with sleep problems like insomnia." 

Bro nods, “Yeah Dr. J helps Jackie with his insomnia! That’s actually how they got back into each others lives! We all were in uni together-“ 

"We don't know anyone named Henny, I think," Chase says. "Unless you guys do and I don't." 

"Nope." Marvin shakes his head. 

Bro smiles sadly, “Yeah uh… I’m not sure you guys would- his full name is Henrik von Schneeplestein. Henny is his nickname.” 

"Oh? Interesting name," Dr. Anti says. "German or something, right?" 

“Yup! German and British- but he spoke more German as a lad so he still has a bit of an accent.” Bro says. 

Marvin looks a bit troubled. "Magnificent, huh...? That's uh... what my channel is called. MagnificentMagics."

Alt nods slowly, “…he used to be a Marvin… Marvin Mcloughlin… he’s not anymore. He’s been corrupted by black magic to become a… a monster. An evil puppet master who tries to steal as much magic as he can.” 

"...that's...fun," Marvin says slowly. He's gripping the steering wheel tightly. 

“I’m sorry-“ Alt says quickly to Marvin, “…it’s awful finding out you’re … so far from how you think you are in other universes. I know… just- trust me… the evil Marvin’s out there are far fewer than the evil Mes…” he sighs and curls up his legs a bit in the seat. “… but we’re different. We’re all different people. I don’t see Mag in you at all- and through all this? I think me and Chase have become pretty good judges of character.” He laughs a bit bitterly, “…that probably doesn’t mean much.. I just… I get it. God… I get it.” 

Marvin relaxes slightly. "Yeah... It's... weird to hear about. I mean, I-I can't even picture it, you know?" He glances at him and smiles. "Thanks. I... It's good to hear that." 

Dr. Anti leans forward a bit at the mention of evil Antis, but doesn't say anything. He only looks vaguely troubled. 

Alt smiles tightly, “I’m glad…” he glances back at Dr. Anti and looks- troubled too. He’s not sure he wants to get too into it. He shakes his head. “…we just have to remember we’re our own people… we write our own stories.” 

Chase shudders. "Black magic. I-I don't like that shit at all. Reminds me of the Magic Circle--though I don't think they would steal people's magic."

Bro nods to his other self, “Yeah it’s real freaky shit. Burns like hell too- made him all… not human. He’s a freaky motherfucker and I’m sooo glad he’s been leaving these last trips alone.” 

"You mean he's come with you to other worlds before?!" Chase blinks. "I sure hope he never shows up here!"

Bro laughs, “I hope so too! He’s a pain in the ass to deal with in these worlds! Gotta make sure in the future he can’t hitchhike with us- but… when we’re dealing with these rifts… he hasn’t been around.” 

“Maybe we finally found something he’s scared of,” Alt smirks.

Anti's voice comes from the phone. "Well, there's also the fact that I don't think Sam's rifts can be tracked as easily as your TRVLR use can be--to Magnificent, at least. That other me, the one following us, is probably able to detect both. Speaking of the TRVLR, by the way, I'm getting a feeling. I think it's from the next street over." 

Marvin blinks. "Are you sure?" 

"Yes. Something wrong with that?" 

"Well... we're approaching Project Street."

Alt pulls out his phone to look at Anti and furrows his eyebrows together. “You feel the TRVLR piece or the pocket world?” He asks.

"The pocket dimension," Anti confirms. "I can't sense the TRVLR piece, not by itself. It'd need to be the whole device, powered." 

JJ frowns. Perhaps... it's no coincidence. 

"We do suspect that the Shattered man has some... at the very least, some fascination with PUPIL," Dr. Anti says. "Maybe he linked up his dimension to this old building of theirs."

“…maybe both of them are in the same place,” Alt says quietly. 

Bro blinks, “That would very convenient-“

"Well, it would mean we spend less time in one world, and that's better if you ask me," Anti says. 

“Yeah… I want to save Skyler but I don’t want to lead the other Anti here..,” Alt mumbles.

Marvin turns onto Project Street, driving for a while. This area is filled with taller office buildings for various businesses. And... there's one with that symbol, the PUPIL logo. 

"...well, I think you guys are right, it is very convenient," Anti says. "Because I'm definitely getting a pocket dimension feeling from that building with the eye logo."

 Bro blinks then throws up his hands, “awesome! We save the kid and get the piece! Let’s go!” 

Alt pulls out the tracker- maybe he can see if the piece is in that building or… whatever is in this pocket dimension.The tracker tells him that the TRVLR piece is on the fifth floor of the building. 

Marvin pulls to the side of the street in front of the building. "I don't like seeing that logo again," he mutters. 

"Me neither," Dr. Anti agrees, quickly getting out of the car. "Let's get this over with."

Alt glitches out of the car and squints at the building. “Tracker says the piece is on the 5th floor. …Skyler comes first though.”

Chase gets out of the car next, and then JJ and Jackie. "well, if we know where your thing is, we can stop by after we find her," Chase says. 

Bro climbs out last and nods, “Sounds good.” 

"JJ, can you like... sense anything?" Chase asks.

JJ pauses, closing his eyes for a moment. We'll have to be careful. I think Shattered is already here. 

Dr. Anti walks up to the front door and tries it, but it's locked. There's a small card reader next to it. "Other me, Alt. Can your glitches get you in to unlock it from the inside?"

Alt looks at the key reader and hums, “if PUPIL left… why is this still on?” 

"Shattered probably has something to do with it," Jackie says, frowning. "He's smart like that." 

Alt puts a hand on the card reader and pumps it full of electricity.

The red light on the card reader suddenly disappears. Dr. Anti blinks. "I was thinking that you'd teleport to the other side and open it from there, but that works." 

Alt shrugs, “This seemed easier!” 

Dr. Anti tries the door again, and it opens up. The interior of the building is dim, lit only by the light coming in through windows. They walk into a small lobby, with a bland corporate-looking waiting area with a reception desk. Behind the desk is a directory, but many letters are missing, making it impossible to tell what departments were originally here. There's a hallway that branches off to the back and a glass door to an office-looking space to the left. 

Alt glitches inside, looking around.

"Hang on." Marvin darts back to his car, grabs something, and returns. It's a small handgun. 

Where did you get that?! JJ asks in surprise. 

"Picked it up from the PUPIL compound I got stuck in."

Bro jumps a bit as Marvin shows the gun, “Oh woah! …I mean- this is your daughter in there… I guess this is justified.” He laughs a bit nervously. 

Marvin nods. "Honestly, I think this won't do much damage to Shattered anyway. But better safe than sorry." 

The inside is quiet. The rest of the group files in, looking around. Chase holds out his hand and conjures an orb of golden light, a miniature sun the size of a golf ball. "Creepy," he mutters. 

JJ nods in agreement. He reaches into his backpack and pulls out a collapsible staff, which he extends to its full length. 

Looks like down the hallway is an elevator and set of stairs, along with a couple ajar doors that seem to be storage for files and cleaning supplies. 

Alt holds out his phone, “Anti… can you tell what floor the pocket world is on or is it just.. a general feeling?” He asks quietly, eyes darting around.

Anti pauses, static crackling from the phone speaker. "Upstairs, I think. I can't tell you specifically, though." 

"Lift or stairs, then?" Jackie asks. 

Never take the lift in an emergency, JJ says.

Alt nods, “Stairs then-“ He’s gotten pretty serious now as he glitches on and off- towards the stairs. 

“Oh Jesus- Alt! You gotta wait for the rest of us!” Bro hisses after him, quickly moving to follow.The others run after Bro as well. 

The staircase here is U-shaped, steps going up to a landing, and then another set of steps turning around and going up to another landing, that one having a door with the number 1 painted on the wall next to it--the entrance to the first floor after the ground. As the group heads up the staircase, the door swings shut behind them... and there's a strange cracking sound. Like ice in warm water. 

Jackie's eyes widen. "Watch ou--!" 

Then the wall seems to break, shards of a glass-like material flying out towards everyone. A figure lunges towards Marvin.

JJ throws his arms out, blocking the glass from Jackie and Anti but getting cut himself, one bit lodging in his shoulder. Chase tries to throw up a magical shield but the glass is too fast and slices past him, making him gasp in pain. Alt glitches quickly and slides back away from the wall, eyes wide. Bro dodges the glass with a hint of his super speed then looks bewildered. “the fuck was that?!” 

Marvin cries out as the figure grabs onto him, pushing him up against the bannister of the stairs. "You came! I knew you would come find her!" a voice says, a strange crackling sound underneath every word, like someone using a bad microphone on a video call.

“Marvin!” Alt calls and quickly glitches to try to tackle the figure away from him.

Alt hits the figure and knocks him to the side, down onto the first landing. He's looking down at a familiar face, now distorted. The figure has messy brown hair and pale skin. His irises glow bright blue, and the sclera of his right eye is black. They stare at Alt from behind a set of glasses with shattered lenses. And... the face is... cracked. Like it's made of porcelain that was broken and clumsily put back together. 

Alt growls dangerously at first as he pushes the man to the ground, lightning and magic sparking around him. Then, he takes in his face and he can’t help but gasp. It’s… awful- seeing his friend’s face distorted and cracked and full of madness. Reminding him both of Henny and stitched Schneep.

The man grins madly. "Oh? Who are you? You're not supposed to be here." He laughs. "Get off me." Something grabs onto Alt's left shoulder, squeezing tight. 

"Alt, watch out for his hand!" Chase shouts.

Alt feels the thing grabbing his shoulder become sharp, piercing through his hoodie into his skin. He’s so unnerved that he doesn’t fully process Chase’s warning until it’s too late. He screams and crashes somewhat to his side as he tries to process what the hell just happened. 

“Alt!” Bro cries out and then bares his teeth and flies down to try to punch the new man in the face.

The stranger starts to sit up, only to have his head snapped back again as Bro punches him solidly. There's a loud, disturbing CRAK! sound, like the handle snapping off a ceramic mug. The Shattered man laughs again. "You're not supposed to be here, either." 

Bro recoils back in horror at the sound, looking scared. 

There's another one of those cracking sounds, and suddenly the man is standing at the top of the other staircase, on the second landing. He's wearing a long black cloak over a blue shirt and pants, with tall black boots. The cracks on his face seem deeper now, and more cracks cover the rest of his body. In fact, his right shoulder ends in shards, a broken-off piece. His right arm has been replaced by a skeletal metal prosthetic. The fingers of the hand are long, thin, and sharp at the end... dripping with Alt's blood. "You cannot bring more people, that is not how this should be! No, no." 

Bro looks behind him quickly as Shattered appears on the other staircase with wide eyes and a slacked jaw. “H-Hen…!” He whispers in terror.

Shattered tilts his head. "Hen? Like a chicken? You are so funny, stranger!" 

"Where the hell is my daughter?!" Marvin demands, aiming his handgun at Shattered.

Alt bites back groans of pain as he pushes himself up and stares up, “W-what the hell…?” He breathes. He then grits his teeth and glitches up, getting behind Shattered and building up a giant ball of electricity to throw at him.

But then Shattered notices how Alt disappears, and he quickly vanishes from sight, barely dodging the magic blast. He reappears even higher in the stairwell, leaning over the bannister to look down at all the others. "I was expecting you to bring friends, Marvin, but not strangers! In any case, I am only opening it up for you. Don't you want to see her?" 

"O-of course I do!" Marvin stammers. 

Chase adjusts the mask on his face and throws something up into the air--a cloud of glowing gold magic. The cloud reaches Shattered and suddenly solidifies and pulls him down over the edge of the banister. He shrieks in surprise as he falls, landing on the banister around the landing Alt's on with another CRAK! But he quickly recovers and slides smoothly to his feet. "Much more vicious than last I saw you, Magician!"

Bro staggers back, eyes wide. Alt yells in rage and glitches to try to grab Shattered again, “I can show you fucking vicious!” He snarls, building up more electric magic in his hand.

Shattered's eyes widen as he's grabbed, and then he yelps, shocked, as the magic hits him. But then he laughs. "Another Magician! How unexpected! And so angry, too." His metal hand grabs onto Alt's wrist, and the smile disappears. "Be careful, Magician. If I do not clear the way, the way will not be found." 

"H-he's right, Alt!" Jackie shouts. "He's the only one who can get people in and out of his pocket world!" 

"Hmm?" Shattered's head rolls over to look at Jackie. "Ah, how have you been, Doll?" 

Jackie flinches. "Sh-shut your fucking mouth!"

Alt bares his teeth at Shattered, his skin prickling wildly with glitches. But, Jackie’s warning does get him to loosen up a bit- until Shattered calls Jackie a doll. He yells and goes to cup his hand over Shattered’s mouth, magic sparking like he’s threatening to zap him, “S̸h̶u̴t̵ ̷u̵p̵!” He spits, “You wanna be a bitch? I’ll make you open the way then! I’m pretty good at finding what makes things like you scared.” 

“A-Alt!” Bro cries out, worried to see Alt so angry. “L-Listen to everyone else!” 

"Y-yeah!" Marvin shouts, voice cracking. "I-if something happens--w-we won't get her back!"

The Shattered man doesn't look scared as Alt threatens him. If anything, he looks fascinated. 

Alt’s eyes spark with even more anger as he recognizes the look in Shattered’s eyes. He bends down so all he can see is his furious face and sparking eyes. “I hate things like you- tearing everything apart to try to see how it works- I know that fucking look in your eyes-! You only did this to find more fucking subjects didn’t you? I’ll tear you f̷u̷c̵k̴i̷n̶g̷ ̷a̸p̴a̴r̴t̴-̵!̶” 

“ALT!” Bro yells and zips over to grab Alt off of Shattered and pull him away, breathing heavy and looking down at him with wide eyes. 

Alt screeches in protest and tries to fight out of Bro’s grip- but the older brother holds firm. “Let me go, C̸h̷a̴s̸e̶!̵” 

“Listen man I know this is fucked up but you gotta calm down!” Bro pleads. 

Alt just lets out a glitchy cry of anger, any words he’s saying crackling incoherently. 

As soon as Alt has let go of him, Shattered disappears and reappears farther up the staircase, accompanied by that same cracking sound. He doesn't say anything, just sits on a stair and looks down at the others. 

The rest of the group rushes up the stairs, joining Bro's side. JJ steps in front of Alt so he can see his signs. A-L-T, please, I know this must be hitting a nerve, but take a step back. We can't fight him now. Not while he has Marvin's daughter.

Alt breathes heavily through gritted teeth, magic sparking wildly around him as he glares at Shattered. 

Bro holds him tight and mutters calming words to him, his arms shaking, “I know… I know little bro… just- we need to find Skyler first…!” 

"We'll kill him after," Dr. Anti promises, glaring up at Shattered. 

Marvin looks up at him as well. "W-where is she?" he asks again, voice cracking. 

"Where do you think?" Shattered says in a quieter voice.

“Just answer the f̶u̵c̶k̴i̴n̷g̸ ̸ question!” Alt screeches out to Shattered. “Stop playing with us, you fuck!”

"She's in my workplace," Shattered says calmly. "Doll called it my pocket world. But I was not planning on letting anyone through but Marvin. Not Doctor, not Hero, not Magician, not Doll, and not an angry Magician and his less angry Hero." 

Marvin frowns. "I-I'm not going to be stupid enough to walk into your pocket dimension by myself." 

"Then maybe I can be convinced to let one or two others come. Not the angry Magician, though."

“B̶a̵s̷t̷a̷r̷d̶!” Alt bites out, fighting in Bro’s grip again, “Is it cuz you’re fucking scared, pussy?!”

“Alt, c-c’mon dude! Breathe!” Bro hisses, surprised he’s been able to hold back Alt this long.

"I don't like angry people," Shattered says, frowning at Alt. "They get upset and break things and things are fragile enough in there." 

"L-let's think about this calmly," Chase says. "I-if Marvin goes in there alone, h-he might not come out again. We need a couple people to go in and make sure everything works out." 

Jackie shakes his head. "I... I-I'll stay out here." 

"Aw." Shattered frowns, looking vaguely disappointed. "But I miss you." 

"It's not mutual," Jackie hisses. 

“I’ll break your F̶U̶C̷K̷I̸N̸G̵ ̴F̴A̴C̷E̸-” Alt screams, “You’re a sick psychopath for kidnapping a little girl!! I don’t care if you look like my friend I̸’̶L̸L̷ ̸K̴I̴L̵L̴ ̵Y̵O̴U̶!̸” 

“ANTI!!” Bro raises his voice then lets him go for long enough to grab his shoulders and turn him around. “Anti please- listen to me.” He says quietly, trying to meet Alt’s furious eyes, “I know this is hard- I know this is bringing up bad memories and you’re feeling so angry right now- but y-you don’t want Skyler getting hurt right? Your anger isn’t gonna save her- not with this guy.” 

Alt looks away, fists balled up so tight he’s shaking. “…I-I can’t sit here and do nothing-“ 

“You’re gonna have to now- cuz you can’t hold back your emotions.” Bro says sternly. “I know why… but now you g-gotta stay out here.. with Jackie, okay?” 

Alt opens his mouth to argue, but Bro’s eyes spark with anger too as he growls, “Okay?”

"You're not going to be doing nothing," Dr. Anti says. "We're going to find your TRVLR piece so we can get out of here as soon as possible." 

Jackie raises an eyebrow. "You're staying out here, too?" 

"I'm not leaving you al--I mean, this is clearly the most efficient way to go about it," Dr. Anti says.

Marvin laughs. "Right. Sure." 

Alt still looks furious about this and rips his arm away from Bro, anger still bright in his eyes as the brothers glare each other down. He spares one more glance at everyone else before he glitches away into the upper floors in a burst of power like a lightning bolt. 

“Alt!” Bro yells after him then he growls under his breath, “Goddamnit!” 

Marvin nods at Dr. Anti. "You go be efficient, then. I'm guessing Bro is coming with me, what about you, Chase? JJ?" 

Well of course we're going with you, JJ says. 

"Ah, three with Marvin is pushing it." Shattered stands up. "So will you choose two Heroes or a Hero and Magician?"

Bro blinks at Shattered’s ultimatum and smiles sadly at Marvin, “…it’s up to you dude- I’ll help if I can but… you all know Skyler better.”

Marvin stares back at Bro and nods. "Chase? Do you mind?" 

"Oh! Y-yeah, of course, anything to help." Chase says. He glances at JJ. "Is that okay?" 

It's fine. JJ looks up towards the upper floors. I get the feeling I'll be more helpful here right now. 

"Excellent!" Shattered grins. He moves to the side, and the air behind him seems to... well, shatter. Like it was a pane of glass the whole time, and now a hole has opened up in it, big enough for a person to walk through. The other side of the new hole is hard to see, but it's definitely black, blue, and chrome. "Careful of the sharp edges of space!" 

Marvin goes a bit pale, but his grip on his gun tightens. He takes a deep breath. "Well... let's go, then."

Bro watches this with wide eyes. He glances upwards with worry for a second before he shuts his eyes and smiles with determination at Marvin. “Let’s go save your daughter.”

Marvin nods at him. "L-let's all go together." 

"No, it's not big enough," Chase says. "I'll go first." He braces himself, and walks forward through the portal. As soon as Marvin and Bro are through, Shattered grins at the others and steps through as well. The opening immediately snaps shut. 

JJ, Jackie, and Dr. Anti all look at each other. "Well... let's go find Alt, then," Jackie says. 

I think I know where he is, JJ says, and starts up the stairs.

[tparker48]

There was a booth resting at the downtown parlor that hosted a virtual reality system. It was the talk of the town, the locals speaking about it like it was the daily news. Some in their own group discussion about the service they got from the staff, while others talked about the experience they had with the virtual attraction. Among them, would be Dillan. A guy who alway liked virtual realities. But as of late, none that he's tried seemed to bring out his sexual desires. Not even those that came with gears as he did his best to immerse into them. Perhaps...this one might be the one he was looking for.

**********************************************

Heading downtown, he entered into the booth as a tender met him at the door. Waving to him upon approach before ushering him inside "Here you'll find our virtual reality to have everything you need. Thrill, adventure, even romance if you so choose it." They buttered their voice. Guiding Dillan through the lobby.

"Really now? What kind of virtual Is it? like the Oculus?" Dillan asked.

"Even better, our state of the art virtual reality brings your very dreams to life. All it takes is a simple scan, and it sends you on your way." The tender carried on, stopping before stepping to the side of the entrance. "But don't let me tell you how it goes, try it out for yourself" pulling the curtain, the tender lead Dillan into another room. A capsule resting in the center, small bulbs sparkling around it. "You can have a seat over there" they pointed to the machine.

Dillan obliged, using the steps to lift his body inside the capsule before laying down himself down. Straps soon reaching from the corners of the capsule as they latched onto his arms and legs.

"A little safety measure to ensure your experience is secure. Now if you'd please.." the tender paused, a headset lowering from a panel above "hold still for just a moment."

Dillan nodded his head before he faced toward a spot on the ceiling. The headset Lowered down onto him, the soft cushions pressure at the bridge of his nose, Before resting fully over the bridge of his brows and forehead. Inside, letters jumbled around the rim of the headset. A loading circle displaying in the center before it digitized the digitized the room he was in. The room soon began to stretch, forming into a huge grid as the capsule remained the same.

"Preparing for visualization.." The tender announced. buttons clicking next to Dillan as the capsule closed. "Now you just might feel a slight pinch." They announced. The capsule tilting upward before the headset went dark. The grid zooming out as they dissipated into darkness.

After a minute, the area would light up, the grid changing into a prism as furniture started to materialize. The space transforming into a living room before smooth jazz started to play. Looking around, Dillan was amazed at the quality that the headset made. Touching at the cushions on the couch. It was soft..it actually felt soft. Picking a enticing smell, he looked to the table where a scented candle was lit. Fillimg his nose with its rich scent as huffed at the cinnamon scent it left in his nostrils.

"Everything feels so real." He thought to himself. Continuing to gloss his hand over the couch. But forward when a sign digitized in front of him.

"Create your own adventure" it read on the screen.

"Huh, so I can create an adventure that I want huh? Well let's see..how about this" he closed his eyes and concentrated on a game he used to play back home. Focusing on the title, it slowly came into his mind. "Dream Daddy.." He said aloud. The room began to pulse as a ring of digitize matter, trailed from the door in front him. The handle suddenly starting to jiggle before it finally opened. Entering in the room, a man with a baby stepped out from it. Standing in the middle of the frame as they looked at the surrounding area, before Looking at Dillan.

"Hello there, you must be the new roommate I heard I was going to get. Im Craig." He introduced.

"It actually worked..." Dillan muttered. Clearing his throat before he answered. "A pleasure to meet you Craig. My name is Dillan."

"Dillan huh? That's a cool name." Craig commented. Looking down when the baby started to cry. "Op, give me just a second. I gotta put this little one to bed." Tucking the baby to his arms, Craig returned to the door as it closed behind him. Leaving Dillan standing in the middle of the room, pondering on what to next.

"So it conjures up anything that you can imagine. Alright..then what shall I make for him." He wondered. He looked to his pants when a bulge stuck out from his pants. An idea popping into mind, a smile soon spread across his face. It was the Perfect time to give it a try, he thought. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on his desire when his body started to tingle. miniaturizing as he raced to the ground. When the carpet met his legs, he could see the digitized sparks in between wool. A menu soon popping up ai displayed more options.

"Choose your interaction" it read on the screen. A few sections listed below it, scaling from sexual to normal interaction.

Dillan could barely keep his excited, racing through the sections like a kid at a candy store. Clicking sporadically, he let his desired ideas run wild. Pressing on whatever might spark his taste. After about a minute of choosing. He took a step back and gazed his work. "That should do.." He confirmed. Hitting finalize as the room began to shift. The digitized ring flowing overhead before a couch rose beneath him.

Settling, the door would open and craig stepped out from the door. This time wearing gym shorts as sweat glistened from his legs. "Oh man, I don't know what was in those protein shakes" He held at his grumbling stomach "But their causing a fuss in me." He stumbled over to the middled of the room and waddled over to the couch. Dillan watched the large man hover over it, his white shorts swaying high above like a curtain. Proceeding to squat down, his glutes bulged out from the fabric, descending onto the with quick speed.

"Alright, Im digging this." Dillan said. Readying himself, he ran over to the shadow casting over the cushion. Standing near the center before raising his hands to the air. "Bring it on!" He yelled to the hurtling ass. Filling his view before the area went dim. Craig crashed onto the couch with a light thud, leaning back as he slid across the cushion. Dillan undereath him as he slipped between the fabric covered crack.

Resting there, Craig's stomach continued to gurgle. Bubbles traveling through his inside, making him twist his hips from one side of the cushion to the other. "I don't know how much I can hold on." He groaned. Light toots escaped from his rear. Pushing at his hole, hot air bypassed through the ring, frowsty air pouring into the cushion. Heating Dillan in the process as he spread eagled across the mounds.

"Not bad, it's just like the real thing. Mmm but so much bigger" he huffed. With each burst that escaped from Craig's rear, Dillan would be there for it all. Feeling the gas fume into him, its ripe aroma washed over him. Filling his nostrils the earthy scent of his inside and protein shakes. "I gotta get more of that.." Tilting his body to the side, he brought up the menu and messed with the sexual section once more. Turning up the amount of gas Craig emitted to max as he looked to the white fabric above. Gurgles becoming more audible, the cheeks vibrating from its growl.

"mmmrrghh!" Craig gritted from the outside. His glutes hugging at Dillan's side, the gurgles getting louder higher above. Beyond the fabric, Dillan felt the mounds spasm to hold back the gas. A puff of foul air spraying into his hair, before a gust rust out at once.

"Here it comes." Dillan readied himself.

Prrrrt! Gas bursted from Craig's rear, its current squeezing into a firm deep hiss as it blew into Dillan. Feeling the concentrated carbon flow his face before spreading ton. The rest of his body in abrupt roar. To think someone would be able to fart like that was unimaginable. But now, it came a lot more clearer. Pushing against his shorts, Dillan rubbed into Craig's crack. Feeling the vibrate before it spewed another burst from its depths, its aroma much now more pungent, more wet as it poured out of the hole. bombarding against his body like waves to shore.

30 minutes flew fly by as Craig sat along the couch. The cinnamon scent of the candle replaced by the giant's foul scent , a murky green smaug fogging the air. "Man I got to lay off the proteins before a workout." He groaned to himself, fanning at the air to allow his nostrils to breath. Still catching his own fumes before he finally got up. Dillan wedging between his mounds, scooped him up like a pair of tweezers as he was carried upward and tucked behind the layer of flesh and gym shorts. "ah, I got a wedgie now" Craig groaned. Fiddling with the side of his pants to adjust them. But gave up when his stomach growled more. Forcing himself to move to the back of the room. "Nrghh..I'll deal with it later."

Leaving his shorts the way they were, Craig carried off to the door to tend to his business in the bathroom. Unaware of the tiny stashed behind his rounds glutes, the bubbled muscle jiggling and grinding with each step he'd make. "I'm gonna get used to this." Dillan muttered, letting his body get loose in the giant's stride. Listening to the shorts scrunching together, while the walls morphed at his sides. Lifting him higher up the crack, he touched a more solid spot where the stride was more stronger. The erupted gas still present as its warmth lingered behind it. Kneading into it, Dillan felt its surface quiver before it clenched in place. "There you are." He said softly, rubbing into the fabric to feel the tender muscle beyond. Bringing his nose in close to nuzzle and sniff in its aroma. "You're quite talkative when you choose to be."

The flesh behind gurgled as vibrated in response, Bulgimg into Dillan as a light toot blew into his face. "I'm never leaving this place."

"Times up!" A voice pierced through the void.

"What?!" Dillan's eyes widened. The rear surrounding him forming into a grid. Its touch becoming more transparent as he floated between the lines. He tried holding onto them, wrapping his arms around the strings to pull himself back. But they easily, dissipated. sending him into a free fall as the world grew dark. "No no no!"

A few moments later, Dillan felt the capsule morph around his body, returning him to reality. Jerking in pace, he opened his eyes and through the headset. the view of the room forming as the grid faded away. "Welcome back to reality" the tender greeted him. Taking off the head and placing it to the side.

"Wha..what happened? where'd it go?!"

"Your time duration is up, which means the simulation ends. You sure had quite the time" the tender said. Noting the slim wet stain along Dillan's pants. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you-"

"Take me back.."

"Hmm?"

"Take me back!" He yelled, grabbing the tender's suit to bring him in close.

"Woah there slick, I can't just let you go back in. I've got other customer's waiting their turn"

"They can wait longer, I need this! How much is it the bill?"

"50..but you can't just-"

Dillan pulled his wallet from his pants. Forcing open the flap before ringing his fingers inside. Pulling out a $50 plus the other for the current bill and placing it onto the tenders chest. "I will give you double if you let me in there again!"

The tender pondered for a moment as he gazed at the fifty along his chest. Sighing before he finally answered. "You really seemed determined to get back in there. Whatever it was you saw must've been worth it. Fine." They responded, grabbing the fifty from Dillan. "I'll give you one more hour. But that's it capisce?" He asked Dillan.

He nodded as he calmed himself, laying back into the capsule as the tender placed the headset back on. The panels returning before the loading screen turned back on. "Alright, I'm ready" he prepared himself. The tender flipping the switch as the walls digitized again. Dillan warped back into the small living room placed on the center of the couch as he last left it. The door opened once more as craig walked through. Making his way to the couch, he stood over the edge. Turning his backside to Dillan before descending down.

"Oh those protein shakes are giving me a stomach ache" Craig groaned.

"You won't have to worry about that once I'm dome.." Dillan muttered. Laying down to let the ass cushion against the couch. The turrent of farts soon returning as green gas fumed out from underneath him.

[lovesosweeet]

better left unsaid

chapter nine

in which orion has leukemia, and calum doesn't know.

calum hood x fem!oc

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july 26th, 2018 los angeles, california orion

Even though I don't want to, I feel myself pulling away from Calum. Of course, that’s not fully possible when we live together. I just know that the more we talk and are happy in each other’s company, the more I’ll want to talk about what’s actually happening, and I can’t do that. I can’t put him through that. I'm crying the minute I'm alone every time, whether it's while he's at rehearsal or when he takes Duke outside. He can tell I'm sad, surely, but I think he just thinks it's because he's leaving.

So instead of pulling away fully, I just find myself scrolling on my phone more often while he’s home. I don’t start as many conversations and I’m less likely to initiate any kind of physical contact. If he notices the small shifts in our dynamics, he doesn’t say anything.

My heart is torn between wanting to savor our time together, clinging to him like glue, or taking a step back so I don’t have to bring myself to painfully expand upon the lies I’m building as a wall between us. It’s hard to pretend like I’m okay and happy, but I have to. I can’t let him know things are going wrong, so when he asks if I want to come along for rehearsal today, I say yes.

I dread having to see Ashton. We haven't spoken since our interaction in the hospital parking lot, but he's texted me several times saying things like "I just want you to know I love you" and "please let me be there for you if you need someone." I just reply with hearts each time.

"Do you want to grab bagels on the way?" Cal asks me while I'm in the bathroom doing my makeup.

I nod, smiling slightly. "Yeah, sure. Rosie's? Or is there somewhere else on the way?"

"Nah, let's do Rosie's."

He doesn't leave the bathroom after that, just stands in the doorway, watching me in the mirror. I'm brushing some brow gel on when he speaks again.

"Are you feeling okay? Did the sinus infection come back?"

So he has noticed.

I clear my throat and nod. "Yeah, not feeling the best."

His eyes show some kind of emotion I can't place. "I'm sorry, do you want to stay home today? You can come to rehearsal another time. We've still got a few more."

"No, I'll come." I shake my head, offering him another small smile.

"Let me know if you want to leave, at any point. Okay?"

"Sure."

Once my makeup is finished, we head down to the lobby, hand in hand. I've always loved holding hands with Calum. Mine are small and always freezing, and his dwarf mine and are always so warm. His hand tattoos have also always been my favorite, mostly because I love the thought that his parents have a hand in everything he does. We're both close with our families, and I absolutely adore his family. We've not spent a ton of time together, but Joy, Mali, and I have a group chat that we talk in a few times a month.

When we get in the car, he doesn't let go of my hand while he drives, except when he needs to use a turn signal or something. Feeling tethered, grounded in the moment — it's a great feeling. It's helping to keep me sane this morning.

I wonder if he'd hold on tighter knowing that I'm dying.

I've placed on online order for Rosie's, so Cal just turns on his hazards in front of the shop while I run inside to grab our bagels and coffees. I always feel kind of rude hopping in front of the people in line, but it's not worth waiting when our food is already ready and waiting for us.

While Cal drives to rehearsal, I unwrap his sandwich in a way that makes it easier for him to eat while driving. He gives me authority over the aux chord, which he rarely does, so I try to make it worth my while. I play some Still Woozy, The Wldlfe, and Medium Build. Part of the reason I rarely get the power over our music is because I like to mess with him and play his own music. I can tell he appreciates today's choices.

We get to the rehearsal facility and are the last ones there, but we brought bagels for everyone, so they don't mind that we're slightly late. Luke lights up when he sees me, setting his guitar down quickly and runs over.

"Orion!" He practically squeals. "I've missed you!"

Laughing, I give him a hug, which leads to him lifting me off the ground and spinning us around. My mood is instantly lifted. "Hi Luke."

"Cal, you should bring her everyday, she's so fun to have with us."

I scoff. "Luke, I literally just sit on the couch and watch you."

"Yeah, but you actually sing along and you always bring snacks."

My feet are back on the ground, and I'm quickly met with hugs from Mike, Ash, and Matt. Ashton's hug lasts a little longer than everyone else's, and his face is sad in the midst of everyone else's grins. It doesn't seem like anyone else notices.

"Cal's the one behind today's snacks, don't give me the credit," I tell him, but he just shrugs and throws his arm over my shoulders.

"Still, you always sing along and dance sometimes. It's nice to have an adoring fan."

It is kind of funny that I wasn't a fan when I met Calum two years ago, and now I'd say they're my favorite band, and not just because I'm dating one of them. I truly just really love their music, and I love dancing, so it's not hard for me to want to dance when they're performing or rehearsing. It's not like they've been performing a ton in recent years, but that summer I remember quickly learning every song so I could sing along whenever I visited Calum across Europe.

"Wish you could come with us," Michael adds.

"Next time," I say, even though I don't know that that will be possible. I'd like to think it is.

"Can I get that in writing?" Cal chimes in.

I playfully stick my tongue out at him. "I'm gonna miss you guys." I look over at Ashton and meet his eyes instantly. He looks like he's trying not to cry, and I have to look away before I start to dwell on it.

Luke wraps me into another hug. "You're so tiny, we could just put you in a suitcase and sneak you on the tour. Your professors won't even know you're missing." When he lifts me up again, Matt decides to cut the conversation.

"All right, you've told Orion you love her. Let's get to work."

"Such a buzzkill, Matty," Michael whines, grabbing his water bottle off the ground and walking over to his guitar on its stand.

Luke still has me wrapped in his hug and awkwardly carries me over to the couch. I wish Sierra or Crystal or Kay were here to sit with me, but it's nice to be able to put my feet up on it. He ungracefully drops me onto the leather cushions before he heads back to his own guitar and mic stand.

I look over and catch Cal strumming a few random chords on his bass. At least, they seem random to me. I'm sure he's got some intention behind it. Everything music-related goes above my head.

It's nice to get to watch the set before they show the world. I've always loved the way they try to offer a different experience for their music when they perform it live. Of course, there aren't any lights or anything in this essentially empty building that's just a step above a warehouse, but that gives the music a chance to shine as what it is. Art.

Watching them do what they love reminds me that this time apart is necessary. This is what they love. This is why they do what they do. Performing, bringing their work to the people who make it all possible. I love that they get the chance to do this. I've never had resentment towards Calum for going on this tour, but still, watching them practice the set is giving the time apart an additional level of worthiness.

While I'm getting treatment, Calum will be doing what he loves most in this world with his favorite people. I'd feel so selfish taking him away from it.

I nearly start crying when Cal practices his speech for his talking break.

"Los Angeles, this next song is dedicated to my best friend, my partner in life, and my biggest fan. This is Better Man."

It's going to be fine. It has to be. He's going to go on this tour and then when he comes back he can be by my side as I continue to deal with whatever leukemia throws at me.

—

"Matty, we're gonna go to the beach after this, wanna join?" Michael calls across the room. He's the only one who calls Matt 'Matty' and naturally Matt hates it.

None of us have swimsuits, but we all agreed that the beach sounds like a good idea. It's still hot out, since it's the middle of summer, but it's not quite as hot and humid as it has been for the last few weeks. Rehearsal also didn't take too long today, so we have a lot of the day left.

"I'm tired of you guys and about to spend four months with you. I'll pass." Matt actually loves the guys, but he's a grumpy person in general, and he does have a point. "See you tomorrow." He walks off then, going through a door that leads somewhere that I've never been. I can understand finding them annoying. They can be a lot — but I love them and I love being part of their shenanigans.

We all head out, everyone hopping into Cal's Jeep to minimize beach parking chaos on a beautiful day. I offer to sit in the back since I'm the smallest and the guys are all very tall, but nobody lets me and the three of them cram in like sardines in the backseat. We drive with the windows down, and Cal even lets me control the aux again, so I just keep the playlist I'd had on earlier.

Once we get to the beach, as soon as the car's in park, Ashton opens his door and jumps out. "Last one in the water is a loser!" He screams, running full force down the wooden walkway and ripping his shirt off in the process.

Luke and Mike scramble out to follow him, also stripping their shirts and trying to kick their shoes off while they run. Luke trips, giving Mike a lead, but naturally Ashton gets to the water first. I have no hope of trying to beat them, so I've not even opened my door yet, and I'm surprised to see Calum still sitting in the driver's seat when I look over.

"You didn't want to race?"

"I know you're not feeling too great. I didn't want to leave you and make you the loser. That's not a fair fight," he explains. "C'mon, let's go after them."

I frown. "You could've gone."

"I'm about to leave you for four months. I don't need to leave you yet."

He makes my heart ache. Why is he so good to me? How can someone love me like that?

Instead of revealing how I feel, I plaster on my best fake smile, kick off my shoes, take off my shirt, and get out of the car. "Let's go!"

He follows suit, and then we walk hand in hand down the beach. The other three are already in the water, each trying to push the others to fall over, which ends up with all three of them falling over. When Cal and I reach them, they're all yelling, "LOSERS!"

"You are literal children," I tell them, wading into the water. I love the beach. Floating in the water, laying in the sun, looking for shells. All of it.

"You're younger than all of us," Ashton points out, laughing.

"Shut up," I say, leaning back so I can float in the water. I don't let go of Calum's hand, and he keeps me anchored so I don't drift off.

I can't get to a point of relaxation, because before I know it, Michael splashes water in my face, making me jump and turn upright. I splash him back, and when he splashes me again, it hits Cal. Once Cal's in on it, the other two join in, and we're all just splashing each other, squealing with laughter and squinting from saltwater hitting our eyes.

When I can't see because of all the water that's hit my eyes, I halt my splashing. While I rub at my burning eyeballs, someone must notice, because they stop.

"Man down!" Luke yells.

I feel Calum's hands grip my forearms, stopping my movements. "Stop rubbing and let your tears flush it out, babe," he says.

I do what he says, dropping my arms and trying to open my eyes, the sting making it impossible to try to look. "It burns!"

He laughs. Seconds later, I feel him pull me closer to him, hugging me against his damp torso while waves lap around us. I keep trying to blink and get the water out of my eyes, but it feels pretty futile so far.

It's kind of strange to think about this life. I'm just swimming in the ocean at a random beach access near LA with my boyfriend and his three best friends. Those four people happen to be internationally famous musicians who are about to embark upon a world tour. They're massively famous but so normal, just four more guys at a beach splashing water at each other.

And I'm just a random girl at a random beach access who happens to have leukemia. The odds that we're all here, right now, together, feels so special. The universe put us here for some reason, and I'm so happy I'm here with them. I'd say I feel lucky to have been handed this deal of fate, but I know that this blip of a moment pales in comparison to my recent diagnosis.

I try to soak in the feeling of the sun on my face and the weight of Cal's arms around me; the smell of salt and the coolness of the water. I even try to memorize the way my eyes burn. I just want to remember the way this feels forever.

We hang out in the water for an hour or so, then go back to the shore to lay out and relax. Luke and Michael are turning pink quickly, so we don't stay out too long. I make sure we get a selfie of all of us on the beach together before we pile back into the Jeep.

Calum drives everyone back to their cars, and we all get out to say goodbye. Everyone is damp and sandy, but I don't care. I give each of them a bear hug, squeezing them as tightly as I can. Luke picks me up and spins me around again, and Ashton's hug feels nearly bone crushing.

"See ya tomorrow, Cal!" Mike says, giving him a quick hug. "Bye, O. Thanks for coming along today!"

"Love you both," Luke adds in. "Have a nice night!"

"I love you guys. Let me know when you're home!" Ash calls.

Once everyone has given each other a hug and we're sick of feeling sticky, sweaty, damp, and sandy, we all clamber back into our own vehicles and head out.

"How ya feeling?" Cal asks once we're on the road.

"I'm okay," I tell him. It's not wrong. I'm okay right now, and I'm not feeling that sick. The beach was mostly a nice distraction from the heaviness that's been consuming me.

"Ice cream?"

I know he's just trying to make the last of our few days together as special as he can, but for some reason it almost makes me feel more sad. I'm lucky to have someone who makes such a big effort, but I feel bad. It's hard to put words to the idea.

"If you want ice cream, sure," I say. "But I think we have some at home, too."

He doesn't take his eyes off the road while he places his hand on my thigh. "Let's get ice cream and take a walk while the sun sets. We can get some golden hour selfies."

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[redbullcateringfiction]

Chapter 3 -

Cantata

Arabella is the executive assistant for Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff. 10 years into her career, it looks like the tide is changing, and she's beginning to question her relationship with him. Is it something more, or nothing but an idea lingering in her head?

F/M, Fluff, Boss/Employee Relationship, Romance, Pining, Love, Slow Burn

Third chapter below the cut or click here for AO3

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(Total: 12095 words thus far)

I waved down a taxi, and hopped in “Knightsbridge Station, please,” I nodded. The little bit of walking to my flat was easier to remember this way. I’m fully aware it's a bit silly to have my flat in London, but my office in Brackley. The truth is, I spend very little time in Brackley since I’m part of the traveling team. When I went to London though, it was hard to ignore my affection for Chelsea. I couldn’t resist, and it operates much more as a home base when I'm flying into Heathrow. On a race week, that one Sunday night and one Monday morning I can wake up and see a lovely garden just out my window is priceless. Then, by Tuesday, I have people staying in my flat for AirBnB. A cleaner comes in Saturday night, and then Sunday night, I’m back home. On a non-race week, by Tuesday, I’m in Brackley, where I keep the house. I leave Friday night and go back to Chelsea for the weekend. Then I wake up Monday morning, and shit, it’s race week again. 

The house is 4 bedrooms and made out of beautiful masonry, but I can’t truly appreciate it. This house means nothing to me.  I have never decorated it, or given it any love beyond the basics to maintain it. What am I supposed to do with 3 extra bedrooms? I’ve turned one into a home office, but I always go in, so what’s the point? The other two just linger. I clean them every Tuesday night of non-raceweeks. I don’t want the dust to build up. When my family comes to the U.K., which they never do, perhaps they’ll use it as a guest room.

As I arrived at my flat, I was much more excited than I should be for such a short stay. I walked in and unlocked my bedroom door. I found my closet which mostly only hosted racewear. I found my team polo and my slacks. I then began thinking about packing a dress for meeting with Jeffrey tonight and just staying longer at the event. I would have to change and do my hair and make up in the hotel bathroom…or take Toto up on his offer that I pretended not to hear. I would rather not pay for the taxi 3 times in one night. I packed my messenger bag with a dress that had thin fabric so as to not be bulky, and put on my high heels, prepared for the little bit of pain I might suffer standing for slightly too long. 

My phone began to ring, and I looked and saw it was Toto. I quickly threw my bag onto the bed, and picked up.

“Toto,” I answered.

“Yes, Arabella. Is the speech in my padfolio?” He asked. I could hear the rustling of papers on the other end.

“Should be, didn’t you read it over in the car?” I asked. 

“I did, I did. I can’t find it anywhere now though,” He sighed. 

“Probably got lost in the shuffle. Let me check to see if I have a backup copy,” I spoke, taking my own padfolio out of my messenger bag. “Ah, there we go. I’m about to head back up to the hotel. Will be back there by 4pm, if that’s alright.”

“4…4…Yes, alright. Thank you, Arabella,” I could hear him beaming through the phone.

“It’s my job,” I answered.

“Ah, well…I’ll speak with you later when you arrive,” and with that he hung up.

I admired my view for a few moments, and quickly scarffed down my favorite lunch, before running down to the road to hail a taxi. I arrived at 4 on the dot, and watched as Toto walked out of the elevator. “Here you are,” I smiled handing it to him.

“We match,” he smiled, pointing to his own polo and back at mine.

“Not to break your heart, but we all do,” I said, vaguely gesturing to the hotel lobby which was coated with Mercedes wear. Except Lewis who always stood out with his bold fashion choices. I was a bit jealous of his bravery, but then again if I were a 7 time WDC champion, I would be quite brave too.

“It was the thought,” He shrugged, glancing over the speech. I took a deep breath, feeling the dress’s fabric in my bag.

“Sorry, but would you mind if I took you up on your offer? I need to change after the event. I wouldn’t head up until 8, but…you know,” I mumbled.

“So, you did hear me earlier?” He laughed.

“Barely…but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. All my clothing was at home.”

“You know there are extras flying all over this hotel right now,” He smiled.

“Yes, but why borrow when I could just run home?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Money? Taxis? Time? All of the above.”

“Conversation over. I declare it,” I ordered. “So that’s a yes, though.”

“Of course it's a yes,” He smirked.

“Thank you. You have two hours before you give that speech. Don’t read it over too many times, or you might get the words jumbled. I have to go meet with the driver’s assistants to make sure testing is planned out correctly. I’ll meet you in the ballroom at 5:30, but I’ll be down there at 5 if you want to stop in earlier,” I explained, already taking steps back from him. He waved me away kindly, and I went off looking for the reserved meeting room. 

Walking through the hallways of the hotel, I eventually stumbled upon the room, and walked in. Already waiting was Angela and Nikola, Lewis and Valtteri’s assistants respectively. “How are we doing?” Angela asked as soon as I walked in. Angela is a strikingly pleasant woman, and just as I micromanage Toto, she micromanages Lewis. That is, however, to a much larger degree on her end. I swear, if Lewis breathes, it’s because Angela told him to. Her graying blonde hair defined her appearance, and also seemed to automatically imply that she kicks ass. His entire team runs right under Angela.

On the other hand, Nikola was much more lackadaisical. I had noticed two things about him. First, that much like me, he came with many preconceptions about his perception. Many people right off the bat assume him to be aggressive and overserious due to his Serbian heritage but instead he overcompensated and could at times be a pushover. The second thing being that he hates Formula 1. Nikola had for a long time been a personal assistant for actresses and actors. In fact, I knew him from my days at United Agents. He much preferred the world of Oscars, BAFTAs, and Emmys over watching 60 laps with a headset on. In fact, he skips 90% of the races, and instead go eats dinner in a new city. 

“I’m doing good, Angela,” I smiled, sitting down. I took my padfolio out of my messenger bag and opened it up to my schedule. “Okay, testing.”

“London Heathrow at 8am right,” Nikola began. I nodded, and thus we were off to the races discussing every small thing and ever little detai. A single mistake could mean Lewis missed an important part of his daily routine or that Valtteri missed a training session. Testing established an important precedent. Showcasing that we’re going to dominate the tracks this season is an important first step to actually doing so. 

“Time to head off,” I explained, standing up. “See you all soon.”

They all waved a kind goodbye, and I stepped out to the ballroom. I took the elevator up and walked in to see the huge room cleared of tables and chairs. Staff was running around setting up item after item. It was almost magical to watch an entire Formula 1 car be reassembled in a room for display. Each piece perfectly slotted in. Of course, just for an investors meeting we wouldn’t use any of the tech. With the cost cap being implemented this year, unnecessary movements also created unnecessary risks with no money to spare. 

“Where’s the race suit?” I asked a passing staff member in Mercedes wear. 

“Oh, um…” They began, checking their clipboard as they flipped through their pages. “Coming off the truck now.”

“You sure?” I double checked.

“Yeah, yeah. Oh, look, there it comes,” They pointed towards the ballroom door. 

“Ah, perfect. Thank you,” I answered rushing over to the suit on mannequin being carried over by a team of just two people. 

“I know we said we’d put that on the stage, but I think it’d be awkward. Can we place it next to the car?” I offered.

“Uh…yeah, but it could get damaged,” One answered.

“More than a red wine stain?” I asked. He shook his head. “Let’s go for it then.”

Following right in behind them was Toto, and he gave me a big smile.

“You think it would look awkward on the stage, right?” I asked.

“Oh, totally,” He answered. “The space looks nice.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I checked my watch. “Least we can do with all the money they give us. Uh…let’s see. Doors open in 15, go ahead and step into the little wings of the stage for me. Don’t care which, we’ll find you either way. I’m going to go over to the kitchen right quick and make sure that everything’s okay.”

He gestured for me to scurry off and I obliged, heading over to the kitchen and peeking my head in. Yes, of course they were ready. I immediately stepped up the stairs that led to the wings of the stage and found Toto standing in the stage left wing. He waved me over and I speed walked over.

“The clicker. Where’s the clicker for the keynote?” He asked. 

“Fuck, they didn’t leave one back here?” I answered.

“I suppose not. They thought you had it.”

“Me? Christ, everyone loves to pin it on me,” I took a deep breath. I quickly snapped my fingers in recognition of a good thought. “Let me run up to your room. I always leave an extra in your bag.”

He smiled, and it quickly turned into a look of confusion. “In my bag?”

“Oh, yeah. When I ordered it for you two years ago, you never noticed this secret little panel. I keep extras of everything small enough that has a tendency to go missing. Clickers, RFIDs, batteries…”

“What? Where?” He asked shocked.

“Telling you would defeat the purpose considering you would immediately take them out since you would be sure they would be better somewhere else,” I replied. “Anyway, I’ll be back.” His expression as I turned my back was best described as a hilarious combination of impressed, shocked, and slightly disappointed that I knew him this well. I ran off, heading upstairs to the hotel room.

There I found, of course, the room was incredibly clean. Toto was never the type to leave a place messy, and everything always found it's perfect spot. Of course, his bag was conveniently located in the closet next to his coat, since the two went hand in hand. Right inside the bag, on the left hand side of the interior side pocket was a tiny zipper I had removed the tag off of to prevent him from easily feeling it out and of course, inside was a USB and bluetooth presentation clicker.

I quickly turned around to leave when I suddenly saw something out the corner of my eye on the edge of the TV stand. It doesn’t count as snooping if I gave it to him right? I instantly recognized it even at the distance I was. A pen. It wasn’t just any pen. No, it was the pen I gave Toto after his 5 years at Mercedes. I was surprised he still had it. It was a nice heavy silver, and had a rollerball tip. It had been engraved with his name and had the date of the 5 year anniversary. 

“You want a pen? A fucking pen?” I chuckled to myself looking it over. I resisted the urge to look at what he had written down and scurried out of the room moving quickly returned to the ballroom. Toto awaited anxiously as I set it up with the tech staff before returning to Toto with the clicker. He gave me a soft smile, and patiently held it. I headed to the ballroom floor and found my favorite member of the team, Bono. 

“You wanna tell me why Toto called me earlier about the hotel?” He asked without greeting me. To be fair, a greeting wasn’t really necessary. Of all the team members, Bono and I were the ones with one of the closest relationships. He became a race engineer the same year I began working at Mercedes. Two years later, when Toto became team principal and I joined his team, Bono was one of the first people to congratulate me. Since then, in the quiet moments, we’re the first to find each other.

“Remember Monaco 2016?” I answered. I watched as he tried to recall. “When the hotel refused to let me into my room because they didn’t believe I worked for Mercedes?”

“Oh God. Oh wait, again?” He stumbled over his words.

“Unbelievable isn’t it?”

“Unbelievable, yeah. If they actually watched anything they’d see you right behind Toto with a headset on.”

“Too busy watching Toto,” I chuckled. 

“So did he have another moment?” Bono asked. Back in Monaco 2016, Toto had forced the staff members to walk me to my room, reclean the entire room, and then, even though the room hadn’t been used, made them upgrade my room. 

“Yes, but much more quietly, and somehow, more intimidating.”

“Toto can be intimidating?” Bono asked. I raised my eyebrow at him. “Kidding.”

“I was about to say…”

“We best quit our gabbing,” Bono nudged me, and gesturing up to the stage where Toto sat down in a seat across from the UBS representative. As he did, I turned around and saw the room was filled with suits rather than Mercedes paraphernalia. 

“Oh shit, I hadn’t even noticed the doors were open,” I sighed. Bono looked around and faked a jump. 

“They all look like slenderman out there,” He laughed.

“Slenderman, you know what slenderman is?”

“I know, I’m old. But I know things.”

“Oh, no, we really do need to shut up,” I quickly mumbled as the UBS representative got up and headed to the microphone. 

“Wait, why did you have the hotel call me, couldn’t you have just called?” He asked. 

“They never would’ve believed me that it was actually you. They couldn’t even notice my name on the booking,” I whispered.

“Oh, right. Fuck. Shut up,” He whispered to himself. I chuckled as they approached the microphone. The UBS representative introduced Toto and Toto stepped to the microphone with the clicker. As he clicked on the first slide, he found my fave in the crowd and gave me a delicate wink. I smiled back. 

“Thank you for the invitation. UBS has maintained an excellent working relationship with Mercedes AMG for 8 years,” He began. “Today, we present the investors with a unique opportunity to hear from us directly regarding the more fun part of our relationship: Racing. During the night, you can find engineers mingling about ready to discuss key aspects of the car, and answer your every question about vehicle performance. But before we enjoy the rest of our night, I want to begin by discussing the car and changes coming for the 2021 season. We especially want to discuss our plan to remain well within the new cost cap.”

As Toto detailed out every element of our car that we could discuss without risking leaks, I couldn’t help but fail to listen. It wasn’t boring. I found this enjoyable. Rather, I noticed the way Toto smiled, cracked jokes that weren’t written on the speech notes, and how he didn’t even have to look at the slides to know what they said. I watched how good of a speaker he was, and how he connected so well with everyone. Even while addressing a bunch of investors, he was also addressing the team. I was so focused on Toto, I failed to notice the way Lewis and Valterri had came onto the stage just for a brief conversation about the upcoming season. When I finally did, they were already walking off. I’ve really got to get this out my system. 

As Toto finished, and the UBS representative had a conversation with him, I tried to think of other things. The hors d'oeuvres I had helped to plan, the drink I would order from the open bar, and the tartare I would order from Angler. Oh, right, I do have a date. Maybe that would help me get this out of my system. 

As soon as the presentation was over, I ran over to the open bar. On an empty stomach, it was sure to help my rising anxiety. “A Vesper, please,” I asked the bartender. I watched as the drink was stirred and handed to me. I could see Toto head over to the car to prepare for questions and interactions from the various investors. He waved me over, and I took a deep breath as I stepped towards him.

“This is my executive assistant, Arabella Lazaar,” He introduced me to the crowd of investors. I put my hand up for a cursory wave, and took a relatively large sip of my drink.

“Yeah, what do you need?” I asked him kindly. He handed me the presentation clicker, gently placing it into my hand. 

“I thought you’d want to hide it back in my bag,” He smiled. “What’s that?”

“A Vesper,” I answered, trying to casually sip it rather than down it. 

“Oh…” He shivered. 

“Yeah, I know. No one likes my drink,” I shrugged, taking another sip. 

“Also, this gentleman,” Toto suddenly spoke to the group and gestured to a gray haired man in the middle of the group. “He’s looking for an executive assistant. I don’t know if you know someone.”

“Uh…no one who doesn’t have a job,” I giggled. “But the wonderful people at Souters have plenty recent graduates who need options. You can also mention if you’re looking for specific spoken languages and they’ll let you know what available.”

“Thank you,” He answered. “But I’m looking for someone more experienced.”

“Oh, well-” I began, nearly scoffing as I spoke.

“Thanks, Arabella,” Toto smiled gently placing his arm around my shoulder and turning me around. “Before you say anything, yes, I know. ”

“More experienced? I doubt he’s even high up in the company,” I answered.

“Thats what I meant I know. He’s not, he’s brand new. But you know how people are,” He finally took his arm from around me. I took a deep sigh. “Nevertheless, I had to stop you because right next to him is the president of Asset Managment. If you run into him without her though, you’re welcome to tell him exactly what you’d like to say.”

“Fine, Toto,” I sighed again. He chuckled at my behavior.

“Besides, Bono was looking for you. He’s by the stage,” He said.

“Oh, thanks,” I smiled, heading off. I finished my drink and handed it to a server collecting dishes, and grabbed a tiny little sandwich on the way. Damn, I picked good.

“Oh, look, there’s the disappearing act,” Bono laughed as I stepped towards him. 

“Sorry, needed a drink,” I shrugged.

“Well, where is it?”

I gestured to my body in general, and Bono laughed again. He was surrounded by the engineering team. We all had a wonderful conversation and soon enough it was almost 8:00. I said my goodbyes and let Toto know I was leaving. When I re-entered the hotel room, I found the bag and slipped the presentation clicker into the secret pocket. I opened the door to the connecting room, which was directly next to TV stand where the note stared me in the face. 

It wasn’t any of my business, but I wanted to look. I could just barely see the writing through the paper with the light against it. I quickly went into the connecting room to prevent myself from satiating my curiosity. I took a brief shower and avoided getting my hair wet, or I dared to face the wrath of curls that refuse to dry. I slipped on my little black dress and looked in the mirror. I wasn’t an especially thin woman. I enjoyed the way dresses like this could hug my delicate curves. I took some oil from my bag and slicked my hair back into a neat ponytail. I then applied my makeup. Just a small amount. If I were in the paddock, it would be no different. Those tight rooms can get very hot, and I refuse to sweat off any of it. I applied my eyelashes and looked in the mirror at myself. Great job, and only 5 minutes early. I took the hotel elevator down to the floor of the restaurant, being sure I had grabbed everything out of the room. As I approached Angler, I could see Jeffrey. 

He looked just like his picture. A solid 6 feet tall, bringing me in my heels to 2 inches shorter than him, and short salt and pepper hair that was thinning just a little bit on top. He looked exactly how you would imagine a lawyer would look, with just the slightest bit of stubble coming in. 

“Arabella?” He asked as I approached. I could hear he had a thick Manchester accent. “You look gorgeous.”

“Ah, thank you,” I said, gently brushing my dress in the nervous manner women tend to do when complimented by their date.

“Oh, where are you from?” He asked.

“The Netherlands. You’re from Manchester, yes?”

“You must be able to hear it,” He laughed. He had a slightly high pitched laugh that seemed to ring through the room. “Well, let’s get our table.”

He approached the desk, and they guided us to our table, sat shockingly close to the front of the restaurant. We could see out into the hotel, and I watched as various Mercedes staff wandered about. Being closer to Brackley than usual meant that much of the staff who wouldn’t even be expected to attend, could and did. 

“So, how are you tonight?” He asked.

“I’m quite good,” I nodded. 

“How was the UBS event? Anything interesting?”

“Oh, well, I think it was quite nice. I hope at least. I helped to plan it. So, let me know if anyone complains,” I joked. He laughed and got more comfortable in his seat. We continued to chat about small little things for a moment until we ordered our food. He took the break as an opportunity to ask me about my job. 

“So, do tell me, what’s it like working in F1?”

“How you would expect,” I shrugged. “Lots of traveling. Drama. Drive to Survive is quite fun to have around.”

“I don’t really know what I expect, if I’m honest. I know only a little bit about F1. I’m much more of a football guy.”

“Oh, I just assumed since you knew Lewis,” I answered.

“I know enough. Team principals, drivers, a little bit of the drama. Outside of that though,” He shrugged. The plates came to the table as did my glass of wine. I began to snack on the tartare as he spoke. “So as you said, traveling quite a lot. Nice hotels, the high life, all that?”

“We fly private when we’re outside of Europe, but other than that, commercial. There’s really no point. If the drivers want to waste their money on flying private to a place that has cheap flights, they’re welcome to. But the hotels are always great. They’re not included in the cost cap so I doubt that’ll change.”

“The cost cap, now that I’ve heard about. Mercedes feeling the squeeze?” He asked.

“We are cutting our budget into a third of what it used to be. So…yes,” I laughed. “It could be much worse though.”

“So, you must work for Toto Wolff?”

“Huh?” I questioned, nearly spitting out my food. “How’d you know that?”

“Judging solely by the fact he’s walking over here,” Jeffrey shrugged. I whipped my head around and watched as the 6’ 5” man powerwalked over to the table with a look of determination. As soon as he saw my face, it quickly switched to a smile with a wave.

“Oh, fuck,” I groaned, putting my head into my hands.

“Arabella, I thought that was you,” He smiled approaching the table. “Oh, sorry for interrupting. Toto Wolff.”

He stuck his hand out at Jeffrey, and I watched as Jeffrey reached his hand out to shake it.

“Jeffrey Martens,” He answered, shaking his hand. 

“What’s up, Toto?” I asked, looking up at him as they released their grip.

“Did you leave anything in your room? I know you talked about going back to your place, but I wanted to make sure if you left anything I grabbed it for the flight tomorrow, but since you’re here, I can just hand it to you.”

“You could’ve just texted,” I groaned.

“I was going to and then I saw you. Is that a yes?”

“No. It's a no. I didn’t leave anything,” I tried to smile at him. 

“Alright. Sorry for interrupting again. Is this the same guy you brought to the Christmas party last year?” He asked. 

“Nope.” If I didn’t know any better I would think he was purposefully sabotaging my date. 

“Apologies. I should probably go now. See you in the morning, Arabella,” He patted my back. “Bye, Jeffrey.”

Jeffrey looked at me with a hefty smirk. “Never thought I’d meet an F1 Team Principal,” He laughed.

“I’m going to kill him for that move. So you might’ve just heard his last words,” I sighed. Jeffrey laughed even harder. I smirked back at him. We continued our conversation, discussing Jeffrey’s line of work, trying to pretend like Toto hadn’t even stopped by. As dinner ended, and he paid the check, he began walking me out of the hotel.

“This was very fun,” Jeffrey smiled.

“It was, yes,” I answered.

“You’re a really interesting woman. An F1 Team Principal’s assistant, a bit of a hard ass, and totally hilarious,” He smiled. A bit? I strive to be the absolute worst. So, that’s offensive. 

“Thank you. You’re…interesting too,” I lied. He was certainly at best a curiosity. His life was quite boring. Dad was a lawyer, so he became one too. Now he works at a bank.

“Oh thank you. I hate to end the night here,” He spoke quietly. “Would you like to come to my place?”

“Absolutely.”

Time to get this out my system.

Tags: @daddyslittlevillain

[monkeymindscream]

6, 8, 10, 12, 16, and 23. SALT FOR SALT, UNLEASH THE BEAST.

YES. YES. THE BEAST IS OUT!

6. Which ship fans are the most annoying?

Overall, I pray every night that I will never again be placed within the vicinity of more shippers who are anything like Starco shippers. Skin me with a cheese grater over that.

But that's not especially topical for me at the moment (and anyway, I've barely touched the Star vs. fandom since its finale, so for all I know they've calmed down since then). So in terms of a group I've encountered more recently that's gotten my nerves:

Lunter shippers.

I've been dipping my toe into the "toh critical" tag lately, for my own mental health. It's been a very cathartic experience for the most part, save for the slew of anti-Huntlow sentiments. Most of the people I've noticed decrying Huntlow are Lunter shippers. Which, I'm sorry, puts a massively different spin on any arguments they may try to dredge up against it.

Which listen. I fully acknowledge that Lunter is, thematically speaking, 100% the superior ship. And I don't just mean that when compared to Huntlow, it eclipses Lumity by a green mile. Like - yes Lumity is a massively important milestone, culturally speaking, yes it's very cute, no I'm not trying to lobby that the show would have been better without it or whatever, but I'm sorry these are the facts. Luz and Hunter had better chemistry as enemies than Luz and Amity did, and once they were on the same side they confided in each other more than Luz and Amity did. The payoff of them getting together at the end of the series would have been better than the Lumity payoff we got. ("They're siblings-!" fanon likes to interpret them as siblings; they don't share blood so this argument holds no water.)

All of this is course coming from a purely objective standpoint, you understand, because I'm very firmly Team Huntlow. Which, getting back to the point at hand, Lunter shippers apparently are aggressively against. I'm not saying they don't have valid points to their arguments (because lord knows this show turned into an incomprehensible mess by the end), but I resent that they frame those arguments as objective when they're obviously grasping at whatever they can to justify why their ship is superior. (On this note, I don't think it's a coincidence that most of the anti-Lumity sentiments I saw in the critical tag were also primarily from Lunter shippers.)

8. Common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

(Hollow Knight!)

The amount of people I see out here acting like it's even feasible that the Pale King went through all his offspring, one by one, and then chucked them into the Abyss when he deemed them "failures" is staggering. It is honestly the stupidest fucking take I've ever seen. That pit is filled with husks. There's thousands if not hundreds of thousands of them. How much time do you think this motherfucker had?

Also, he's a gotdamned bug. Who was married to someone who had to chain herself up to prevent her urge to breed. How has no one come to the conclusion that he placed their eggs in the Abyss to imbue them with Void, and then Hollow was chosen to be the vessel for the Radiance because they're the only one (seemingly) who managed to fight their way back out? That getting out was the first test they had to pass to prove their worth?

(This shit-opinion is so prevalent that it was stolen for another piece of media, and it makes just as much if not less sense there.)

10. Worst part of fanon

(Rise!)

Donnie is fucking everywhere and is used for moments that would better suit/make more sense for his brothers.

12. The unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

Considering the prevailing attitude in most of the fandom spaces I've fallen into in the last five years seems to be "if they've done something bad then they're horrible characters and don't deserve any time in fanworks unless they're getting dunked on/being a complete piece of shit!" I'd say most if not all of my faves fit for this? Soo lightning round!

Emperor skekSo: Is he one of the worst of the skeks, if not THE worst? Yes (which is a con for you people, for some reason). Does he also have some of the most humanizing motivations out of all of them, is actually very effective at redirecting the group as a whole towards a mutual goal, and unarguably has the best design? Also yes.

Pale King: First of all, what the fuck would any of you have done in his position when faced with an entity that wanted her subjects to be eternally, blindly obedient, and who then wanted revenge when you took that away from her? Even though he made untold amounts of mistakes and less than stellar decisions in his efforts to protect his kingdom, his intentions were good. Tragic, morally-grey, haunting-the-narrative characters are wonderful, actually.

Krangs 1, 2, and 3: They get absolutely no love in fanworks, but they should. They're collectively badass, their personalities and entire dynamic with each other is really entertaining and interesting, if you give it even the barest amount of effort, and the implications of what we can infer of Krang culture from them is wildly fascinating.

Philip Wittebane: Honestly at this point I think everyone should like him just because the irony of the fandom-puritans constantly shitting on him (an actual Puritan) for essentially fulfilling his role as an antagonist has long worn thin, and I'd like to make them uncomfortable.

KIKIMORA: KIKI IS FANTASTIC ALRIGHT?? She's a funny little guy, she's ruthless, she's got an abusive family (or at least mother based on the snippet we got), she'd sell you to Satan for one cornchip, she has one of the best designs in the whole show-

(Also she's proof that people are shallow as all fuck, because if she was conventionally attractive/more human-looking, she'd be a fan-favorite and have people writing essays to defend her. That's how Lilith got away with everything.)

16. You can’t understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

(Cult of the Lamb!)

Having Narinder need to apologize to the other characters. He's the only character I see people taking the stance with. Which is especially egregious when it involves the other Bishops. It's usually something to the tune of him needing to make up for the injuries he cased them.

I'm sorry, how did the entire fandom manage to leapfrog over the fact that he only injured them because they were actively trying to imprison him?? I'd be cat-scratching at people too, no pun intended. If people are apologizing I don't think the cat should be the one made to head the line.

Also, in regards to the Bishops, I never see art/fic of the Lamb being salty towards them when they join their cult, but I see loads of art/fic of Lamb being a sadistic fucking bully to Nar over their whole debacle. And it's presented as either just a silly joke or totally justified and what Nar deserves. Fuck y'all.

23. Ship you’ve unwillingly come around to

(Rise!)

I didn't plan on falling head-over-heels for Leuno. I even resisted a little once I first felt it pulling me down. Didn't last. Look how that turned out.

Also John/Rhi, but only by virtue on not wanting to like John at first

[waitmyturtles]

All The Liquors. The show doesn’t need full review treatment so far, it’s definitely a light one, but I’m surprised by how much I’m enjoying it (my kids peeped my watching it last night and started saying NOM NOM NOM at all the food scenes lol). Anyway -- cute boy Jiyu (who’s out, YAY, with out friends, double YAY!) who REALLY likes to eat and DRANK (like a LOT lot) tries to woo a handsome chef into a contract with his beverage distribution company (I think that’s what Jiyu does? Whateves). 

Handsome chef Kihoon refuses because he doesn’t want to be associated with booze, and doesn’t sell alcohol at his restaurant, which makes him the target of online critics. (One point to make, though, is that I think Korea is the drinkiest country of Asia -- so I think any criticism about Kihoon NOT serving alcohol would likely be more culturally deep than I as a Westerner would catch.) Handsome chef needs help at his restaurant, Jiyu sweeps in to help, Kihoon notices Jiyu, Kihoon signs the contract, ostensibly to spend more time with Jiyu, and like, I dunno -- Jiyu gets a little grumpy about it because of the way that Kihoon is treating him? Kihoon kind of becomes a pursuer, but it’s not, like, fully-fledged yet? And he’s sort of awkward about it, but there’s no reason given yet?

This is another show by the production company 1012, which I know very little about, except that they produced Individual Circumstances, which I was underwhelmed by. And even talking about this reminds me of an excellent conversation that took place last week about the obstacles that Korea faces in making more great BLs consistently, including politics, the conservative Christian lobby, a lack of funding, a late start to the industry, everything. 

Again, I’m enjoying this show -- I absolutely can’t help myself around plates of fried chicken, spicy squid, all the hwe, Korean pasta, all the banchan, all the soju, and a freakin’ ending plate of stir-fried ramyeon, omg (BL x mukbang, gimme more.) But at the same time, my heart does break a teeny bit, because I could come around here and say, wah wah, the script needs to be better, it needs to rely less on the grumpy uke/clumsy guy/drunky guy tropes that K-dramas love. 

BUT -- if a script relies on these tropes.... make ‘em work. (And dang it -- a lot of K-dramas make these tropes WORK, to great measure -- these exact tropes are what make me LOVE K-dramas.) 

I get it. 1012 likely does not have funding for great scripts. They’re doing their best out here in the Seoul streets, I can see it. I think the casting, especially for Jiyu, is lovely. But there’s a lot of dead air in the show, a lot of non-speaking segments that I think are supposed to demonstrate chemistry and developing attraction between the guys, that just fall flat (à la the scenes in Individual Circumstances where the camera kept panning to that one guy with the tent car, and then back to the author, and like, those scenes didn’t end up really going anywhere either). 

I so did not end up meaning to complain, but I guess I’m in a mood, ha -- but honestly, this is better than Individual Circumstances, if I’m comparing the two. And if you like Korean food, you do have to watch this, because this is my first BL x mukbang crossover, and at least the delish shit is making this watchable!

[fadewalking]

I would prefer to stay on anon since I feel I will be attacked if not. But honestly JK was never going to be hurt by a boycott, only everyone else that's worked on the game. She's a billionaire that's going to be set up for life. I don't like JK any more than the next person but I'm also sick and tired of being miserable and I fully intend to play the game because the HP universe is something I enjoy in this miserable negative existence that has become the human race, and yes even as a queer person. I'm sure I'll be called the enemy by people here but I'm too freaking old and tired to care about if things make me uncomfortable anymore. I like HP and I will continue to love the world even if I don't like the writer. in fact there's plenty of medias I love without having to agree with or liking the artist, so yes I do intend to play it. Everything I've seen on it has been extremely positive outside of the fact that JK is a bitch which we all know already.

The only thing I will push back on here even a little here is the boycott point. because while you're absolutely right- as I said in response to someone else, even if the game sold 0 copies, she'd still be rich. But that's not the say that I think the boycott was inherently useless at it's conception. It's important to speak up about things and people who are blatantly problematic, as she is. Issues within the game aside, if people want to boycott the game solely because of their feelings about her, I think that is extremely valid. We should absolutely be discussing and thinking about ethical consumerism, but it's the trying to force people into the boycott where all hell has broken loose.

I think you and many other people like you (queer HP fan) are perfectly exemplary of the consequences of what's happening. We are in-fighting, we are fatigued, and eventually that will make people callous to even thinking about the issues altogether. Life is short, enjoy the game, or don't. Ultimately, even though there are issues with it, playing the game is not the end of the world. It's just not. There are other ways to show support, and there is no ethical consumption under capitalism.

Unless you (not you, anon) can confidently say that you do or own nothing that supports a corrupt entity (shopping at Walmart if you don't need to, owning a smart phone, buying/playing/owning any other blizzard/activision games, shopping at hobby lobby, or amazon, eating at chickfila, or starbucks, the list goes on and those are only some of the most popular ones), and you are also attacking people who choose to play the game, I think you need to really evaluate what makes the issues behind all of those things less important to you than this one. We all have to decide for ourselves what choices we're going to make. Some will be out of necessity, some will be out of convenience, or whatever other reasons you may have. But we should only be making those decisions for ourselves, not forcing others to make the same ones.

[andrew37109]

Airport.

In the bar painted yellow sits a man in a grey shirt. Above him are strange triangular lights. They dissipate thin angular lines on the walls.

A woman walks past. She speaks a language you do not know to some companions. She stops momentarily to put something in the bin. The wrapper falls from the overflowing can. But she does not notice. She is already three steps away. Moments later the attendant arrives on a motorised scooter which trails an even bigger trash can. He scoffs at the mess and cleans up. No one else seems to notice. Maybe no one else has noticed…

The man at the bar has made a friend. Though from this distance it could be an enemy. Conversation takes place. Pleasantries… most people gaze at their phones, their fifth limbs. I do the same. I content myself with writing this nonsense, supercilious to these other humans. Are they real? Do they think as I do about what they see around them?

I read somewhere a theory that only some people are awake to reality. Only some people are embodied characters, truly possessed by a soul. The rest are NPC’s of a sort. Perhaps the former are the artists. Perhaps that is pretentious. Or we are all awake. All one in the same. Ignorant in different realities.

Next to me sits a woman. She sits for a while not doing much. She raises her boot onto her knee, scrolling the endless streams of the online world. And there, in the gap between boot and Jean, is a tattoo. It’s a clam shell. Beautiful. Evidence that she is indeed a customised playable character. A few metres across from us two older companions sit. They share chocolates and laugh a little. An anecdote from a life I’ll never know. Even if I were to approach, to ask what they were just discussing, it would make no sense to me. Even if it was in English.

Now there is a boy, straight ahead. He is plugged in fully. Headphones glued. Laptop on knees. Fingers tapping. Maybe he is creating. Maybe he is doing what I’m doing. I think the beauty is I don’t need to know. His jumper is oddly cream coloured. For some reason that bothers me. His eyes flutter. It’s not my style I suppose…

The player lobby grows.

One man sits at a pedal powered electric port. He types while eating an apple. Points for style. In the forefront a well dressed Asian man pours over something on his device. Emails perhaps from his expression. But that could be just his face. I wonder who he is. How are the family who await his return with loving anticipation… or dread.

The grey shirted man at the yellow bar has made another friend. Maybe he is a player. Or perhaps he is a quest giver…

A pretty NPC walks past. Bright coloured jumper in a dreary airport lounge. A spark of colour in our grey non social environment. Strange. So many people. So little conversation. Not so strange… I look up.

Blue eyes. Piercing. A wonderful sign of life. A smile. Slight. Eyes dart away. We may be discovered. What a rush.

Weirder is the attendants. Players in jobs in the background of the pre game player lobby. The ones who keep the lights on and the coffees pouring. Some are friendly. Some are just getting on with it.

It’s late nights working in the lobby.

For a moment I stop. And when I do I hear a man sneeze, like the way you impersonate an elephant for a child.

Time to board.

[starlingsrps]

no one's ever had me, not like you.

sid is in the lobby when her train arrives and if dorey didn’t know any better, she’d assume he was tired. it’s well into july and this is the first time they’ve one whole free day line up together, not that she hasn’t been embarrassingly eager for this since the invasion. that it’s also the same day she’s due back in london for her parents anniversary party tomorrow can’t be helped and really, since jessa is supposed to pick her up at victoria at seven, it’s really more like a few hours than anything else. 

speaking for herself and fully planning to take it to her grave, she couldn’t bear to wait any longer to see him. 

“nice dress,” he says with a wolfish smile that makes her want to roll her eyes. it’s the same red one from their date a few weeks ago, her best one at this point. she’d debated but she could be an adult if he could be - and frankly, she doesn’t know what she expected. “looked better on the floor.”

now she does roll her eyes. “that’ll do, major.”

he sweeps her up, swinging her once to make her laugh before setting her on her feet. still, she doesn’t let go yet, not quite ready to do so. he sighs into her neck, hands skimming down her sides. she hadn’t realized until now how much she missed him or how happy she’d be to see him in one piece. it mortifies her and staggers her at the same time but still, she squeezes just a little harder. there’s a relief when he squeezes back. “it’s just really good to see you,” she murmurs. 

his lips brush against her hair. “it’s really good to see you too.”

just a moment longer before they split apart and move down the platform like it didn’t happen. “i thought we could walk around newnham for a bit and get lunch?”

“sounds good.”

they walk over to newnham, hands brushing occasionally but he never takes it, no matter how much she tries to will it into happening. newnham always makes her feel more like herself. it was the first place she felt like she fit in perfectly and passing through the gates immediately puts her at ease. she points out her old dormitory and lecture halls before they turn into the gardens.

“i’m too stupid and poor for this place,” he says.

“i wish you wouldn’t say that.”

“that i’m poor? baby, i’m sorry. i thought you knew.”

“now you tell me. i thought all americans were rich cowboys.”

he laughs. “i mean, i’ve worked for those guys. that close enough?”

“you’re not stupid.”

“i can be pretty stupid. don’t you have to know those old greek bastards and shakespeare and shit to get in here?”

she shakes her head. “yeah but-“

“and there’s letters in your kind of math, dore.” he shakes his head. “i can’t do that.”

“and my type of math is very useless.” he gives a derisive snort and she slaps at his shoulder. “yes it is. you can fly and fix anything.”

“most things.”

“i could teach you math with letters. i nearly burned down the house to last time i tried to fix our heat pump.”

“i like you being the brains,” he says, his hand slipping into hers now. “sexy.”

“should have known you were always harboring dirty tutor fantasies.”

he kisses her on the neck, the brim of his hat bumping her. “only with you.”

“then let’s get you to the library so we can get started.”

“lead the way. i might learn something yet.”

[delicrieux]

☆ﾐ 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚊𝚢 “𝚘𝚑”

PART 13: ...O-OH?

it’s the night of the big stream. y/n uncovers a strange, albeit deep, bond with charlie. corpse interrupts her garden date with sykkuno quite unceremoniously. tensions are high as ever; proximity chat reveals internal monologues and stray thoughts. y/n’s “batshit insane” energy affects everyone. this is, quite literally, the best game of among us bretman has ever played.

─── corpse husband x reader, sykkuno x reader (if you squint, it’s very one sided)  ─── soc. media + written fiction! ─── word count: 6.1k oops ─── ❥ reqs: sum people requested some interaction w bretman + jealous corpse + flirty sykkuno

author’s note: guys....GUYS WE’RE ON THE 3RD “OH” hope ur excited cus i am!!! this was rly fun to write, but then again, everything is better than writing an essay lmao! this is extremely chaotic and a bit seggsy but like a minuscule bit u wont even notice it i swear xx there’s not much social media in this one, mostly written lol. as always lmk wat u think n thank u for all ur kind words n sooo manyyyy ideassss!!! love u lots

ultimate masterlist.  ҉  myso masterlist   ҉   previous. ҉   next.

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It’s happening, you think, picking the discreet, angelic white color for your astronaut - with a halo and all, truly, you are a seraph that stepped through the gates of heaven and descended onto earth to grace these morals with your presence...quite literally, you’re not only donning white in game, but also in real life, cute as a button or more like as a bunny. Cat girls are overrated - cat boys, on the other hand, you’ll ardently defend till your last breath - but bunny girls...Safe to say, your chat had been going feral. Your endless ego is fed well. You even swore on your heart that no devilish trickery would follow in this game - you had left your snake ways behind you.

No one believed you. The Roaches know you too fucking well.

The influx of new subs, however, do not. Look at this cute girl! She wouldn’t hurt a fly! You chuckle at the compliments. At the exact same moment, Rae pipes up on the discord call, “Y/n is leering and cackling evilly. No one trust her.”

Demon woman herself must be watching your stream before starting her own. You pout, all adorable and innocent, but your eyes gleam slyly. Truly, a mastermind of manipulation! Look at you go! The chat is swooning. The viewer number steadily climbs past 16K and you hum happily, welcoming all that decided to join your little clan, “Don’t listen to Rae. Wifey is mad because I said I’m not bringing her back a souvenir. Well guess what, bitch, I’m the gift.”

Your perfect image does not quite align with your tone, nor the affectionate nickname you call your roommate (bitch, not wifey). The new viewers are none the wiser though, just like your new stream mates.

There is laughter from people you don’t quite know. The lobby is almost full, but not everyone has trickled in yet.

“Filing divorce papers right now.” Rae mumbles, but you hear the smile in her voice. It makes you crack a grin, too. 

More hello’s and shy introductions to the people in the lobby. Sykkuno’s green astronaut pops in with a upbeat, “Hey, everyone! Hi, Y/n!” as his character circles around yours. A collective awww echoes in your stream chat as you, quite breathless at the wholesomeness, reply with a “Hi! Hi hi!” as well.

Corpse is next to join, mysteriously ominous. The discord call is pure chaos, everyone screaming over the other variations of his name while stressing different syllables. Silent as a grave, he just stands there, his black astronaut seemingly eyeing everyone in the lobby. 

Alas, when the noise dies down, he utters, “Whaddup, baby.” and it’s pandemonium all over again. You are screeching/laughing along with the rest. His astronaut swiftly glides to Sykkuno, still circling around you, “Hey, Sykkuno.” He says. The latter abruptly stops. The game hasn’t even started, and already - betrayal! Sykkuno starts circling around Corpse now, leaving you in the dust.

“Hey, dude!”

“Yo,” You interrupt, “I’m like here too, yeah?”

“Fight, fight, fight!” Pokimane jeers. You can’t see her, but you’re certain she’s pumping her fists in the air. 

“Let’s leave the bloodshed for the game, yeah?” Dream offers past her laugh ridden urging.

“No, fuck that, let’s start this shit right now,” Charlie declares - his monotone is strangely pleasant to the ear, and you lean back in your chair with a thoughtful hum. Something about his energy just clicks with yours instantly, but perhaps you’re judging too quickly- “Got my fucking knife ready to slit some throats. You can all pretend you aren’t ready to kill on sight, but that’s not me. I’ll teabag your dead fucking body.”

-yeah, no, your initial estimate had been correct! What a pleasant surprise, you feel like you and he will get along beautifully. 

“Way to be subtle, Charles.” Rae snorts.

“Subtle doesn’t make an interesting game, Rae,” He’s quick to bite back, “and if I’m Impostor, you bet your fucking ass I’m going after you first.”

“Noooooo!” She shrieks, rushing to your astronaut, which is still just standing there, abandoned, like the equivalent of that one emoji, “Y/n, protect me.”

“Of course, baby.” You purr. 

There’s mumbling in the discord call, though it’s barely audible. Corpse seems to be repeating the word to himself: Baby...Baby?...Baby...

“You’re gonna stab me in the back the first chance you get, won’t you?” She questions, already painfully aware of the answer.

“You know it!”

“Finally, someone that’s not fucking cowering in their boots and flaunting their real nature.” Charlie says, “Y/n, form a Big Dick Alliance with me.”

“Oh for sure, man.” You agree immediately, trailing to his in game figure, “Let’s show these virgins how it’s done.”

“This is going to be a mess, isn’t it?” Sean’s voice rings with a cheerful laugh, making you flustered. Yes, you’re actually playing with THE JacksepticeyeTM. You still haven’t fully wrapped your head around that part, “I’m very excited to see where this will go.”

“Nowhere good.” You say with unparalleled sincerity - every word you speak to him, the icon, the legend, the one of the few youtubers you actually actively follow, must be genuine. You doubt you can lie to him. He’s too good of a person. You admire him too much. Stuck between wanting to be a shady bitch and an absolute saint, you refrain from addressing him more - you are simply not worthy.

its the y/n trying to act like a normal person in front of jack for me

ikr she looks ready to join the monastery

each day we stray closer to gods light???

Your viewers are snide as always. Gosh, you love them.

The last player pops in, fashionably late, “Hey, y’all.”

“Hey, Bretman!” The call choruses somewhat harmoniously.

“Hi, daddy.” He’s speaking to Corpse now, a smile in his voice - you can hear it even past the static of his atrocious mic. Your eyes widen, eyebrows shooting up. Your friends are cackling, but confusion refrains you from doing the same - were you not the only one Corpse offered, seemingly so long ago!, to be his sugar baby? 

One betrayal after the other. You’re glad for the Big Dick Alliance. The name has a nice right to it, too. 

Corpse laughs, “...Hey, Bretman. How are you today?”

Damn, two sentences for him, but not even a word spoken to you!? You’re already scripting a very melodramatic paragraph you will text him after the stream. With poorly masked discontent, you mutter, “Wow, thanks for such a warm welcome, Corpse, my day’s going great, yeah, loving the company.”

“Now now miss girl,” Bretman chimes, “we can’t be all daddy’s favorite.”

“Careful,” Charlie drones, “I think you just got yourself onto Y/n’s shit list.”

“Right next to Corpse Husband and Valkyrae.” You agree, “Sykkuno!” You suddenly call him.

“Uhm-Uh-Yes?” Is his nervous reply.

“You’re safe.” You state coldly, “For now.”

“You are not going after Sykkuno on my watch.” It must be a belated holiday miracle because Corpse finally decides to address you. His words seem to awake something in him, “Hey-Hey-Hey-” He swiftly glides to you, standing right next to your minute virtuous angel, “When are you coming back to Cali?”

corpse stop acting weird challenge

literally omg lmao

he does bring up a good point y/n y u not in cali yet?!

^pack it up corpse simp he disrespected the queen when he didnt say hi

“Back off, buddy,” Charlie interjects, “this spot is for Big Dick Alliance members only.”

“I’m never returning.” You inform him, your voice cold like the Arctic snow, and the look in your eyes is no kinder. You feel like you’re having a stare down through screen. 

Silence stretches. Is this an intimidation tactic? Because if it is, it’s a paltry one. Your conviction to be petty is stronger than any vulnerability you might feel.

“Then I have nothing to say to you.” He admits and fucks right off with that. Fine, go join Sykkuno and Rae in their little corner of betrayal! Friendship ended with Corpse, now Charlie is your best friend.

“Okay, guys, guys, guys-” Toast, noting this is going to spiral any minute now, tries to catch their attention, “Let’s start?!”

You look into your camera, and the roaches know what you’re thinking. You’re twins like that, communicating telepathically. You are taking back your tender promise of not being a conniving bastard. It’s fucking on. You will destroy everyone in your path, starting with the guy you have a stupid crush on - maybe?! Feelings are confusing, you’d rather just not think point blank period.

With no objections from the cast, the counter ticks away seconds and, for the first round, you’re stuck as CREW MATE.

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Charlie is a gift. Truly, you had not expected such a sudden, wonderful relationship to bloom. How have you not known of him sooner?! It’s a crime that you hadn’t spoken to him earlier. You are a 100% certain if you had found him before you started streaming, he would’ve been a big inspiration. 

The two of you do your silly little tasks and curse like sailors, commenting about this and that thanks to proximity chat. You wouldn’t have been able to stand the claustrophobic silence if it was just a normal Among Us game - to think, missing out on all his foully worded quips! It almost springs a tear into your eye. He’s just as unhinged as you.

worried about this dynamic 

its a trainwreck lol i love it plz collab more plz

Caught in a headed discussion in Electrical - TikTok trends, or audios specifically - you defend the app the best you can. Charlie thinks it’s super cringe, and you insist it’s part of the charm as you connect wires.

“I mean, have...-do you know that one audio, the one that goes, like,” You’re spilling your words, heated, frustrated that he’s so dismissive of the app that literally saved 2020, “it goes like, uhm,” You clear your throat, prep your voice - even take a sip of your favorite drink. Drawing the syllables, you try your best to make it drop an octave - it must sound like you’re doing an atrociously bad and nauseatingly scratchy Corpse impression with an extra dramatic flair, “My assssssss, your cockkk, you do the mathhh.”

“Did-Did I just-” You freeze hearing Corpse’s voice, finally done with your task. Charlie is muffling his laughter behind his palm; Corpse’s astronaut stands in the doorway, “What the fuck did I just walk into?” He seems genuinely confused, though a strangely winded. You’re mortified. Your shoulders are shaking. You look at the stream chat but it’s going too fast for you to follow. Manic laughter bubbles in your chest and you squeeze your eyes shut, mouth split into a toothy grin, lowering your head and trying to hide the blush dusting your cheeks.

“Hey? Guys? What the fuck are you talking about?” He questions again.

“Honestly?” Charlie chimes, “No fucking clue. TikTok, I think. Ask Y/n.”

You can’t reply. You’re crying. You cover your face with your palms, muttering a soft oh my god before bursting into a full blow laugh, throwing your head back, the motion accidentally knocking your headphones off.

“Y/n.” Corpse calls you, “Fuck was that?”

You’re howling. Your stomach hurts. There are literal tears in your eyes. You think Charlie might be laughing too, but you can’t really tell over your loud screeching. Hastily fixing your headphones, you wipe away the tears stuck to your lower lashes, heaving, “S-Sorry, I-” You stutter, breaking into another fit of giggles. Corpse patiently waits you to calm down. Catching your breath, you start again with a sniffle, “TikTok, yeah.” You idly fix your hair, trying to bite down a smile, “It’s an audio.”

“What- What kind of videos are you watching?”

“The good kind.” Your reply is instant, merciless, “Also, why are you here? We’re having a BDA meeting, you know.”

“I-I...” He trails off, “I...I heard people talking and...I just came here to check it out, but...I’m regretting it.” There’s a lilt in his voice, and you know he doesn’t regret jack shit. You bet he’s smiling. You wish you could see it.

“Bitch, then leave!” You huff. You aren’t sure what is with him today, and you don’t want to stick around and find out - his playfulness makes your stomach flip at the most inappropriate times! Like when you’re trying to sound threatening. You must retreat posthaste, “No, wait, I’ll do it for you.” You say, brushing past his character. Charlie follows after you.

“Dude, you’re so fucking lucky neither of us are the Impostor because you’d be deader than I’ve been feeling since I was 10.” Your favorite companion comments. Charlie is truly a modern wordsmith. You’re pretty sure you adore him, because you’re nodding your head, so quick to agree with him that even you’re surprised. 

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A meeting is called. You spare a glance at your fallen crew mates. They will be missed. Sean most of all, God, why does heaven always take the good ones?! The game feels emptier without him, even if you really only passed him once on your trek to Cafeteria with Charlie.

You may or may not have been avoiding him, afraid you’d accidentally say something horrible and he would hate you. It’s a silly fear, though a deep one. And with Charlie keeping you company, you had not uttered a single objectively  good, or even coherent, sentence. Your parents can’t watch this stream once it’s uploaded onto your Youtube channel. They know you’re barely keeping it together in most of your videos, but here, now? Yeah, no. Charlie is already hard to listen to on his own for sensitive viewers, and hearing you agree with literally everything he says with your own chaotic ideas? Your dad would stumble into an early grave.

Mom probably wouldn’t mind too much, but you’d have to explain your relationship status again. She is under the assumption that everyone you collab with is your significant other. You’d say it began with Sykkuno, though the exclamation of “Finally! My daughter isn’t pathetically single! We need to celebrate.” had started with Rae. Truly, a scandal.

Speaking of which, Sykkuno is gone, too, but you had time to mourn him already. You found his body roughly ten minutes ago; so torn with the fresh agony of heartbreak, you could not do anything else but cry. It was Charlie, bless his heart, that reported it.

“Someone killed Jack,” You say, voice dripping with venom, “court is now in session. I’m ready to vote the fucker out.”

People speak all at once. Toast roars over them, “ORDER! ODER IN COURT!” as he slams his hand onto his desk repeatedly. That seems to work, though briefly.

“I think it’s Y/n.” Corpse says. You stare at him, hand gripping your heart, mouth falling open in surprise.

flame him

corpse boutta be a corpse fr

beat his ass queen!!!!!

“Pardon my french,” You grumble, “but nani the fuck?!”

“It’s definitely Y/n, I found her and Charlie conspiring in Electrical. Surrealist experience of my fucking life, but it’s definitely her.”

“Dude, we’ve been over this,” Charlie sighs, shushing Rae who was about to comment something - knowing your luck, it was probably in favor of the man throwing you under the bus, “we would’ve snapped your fucking neck the moment you walked in. But we didn’t.”

“Yeah, we didn’t.” Corpse notes, “I said nothing about you, I’m just saying it’s definitely her. She probably didn’t kill in front of you because of your stupid alliance-”

“Someone sounds salty because he wasn’t invited.” Pokimane snickers.

“-or possibly she did tell you and you won’t betray her for the exact same reason.”

“That’s some big brain logic you pulled there, genius,” Charlie says, absolutely unimpressed, “sure you didn’t have an aneurysm trying to connect all of that together?”

“Well,” Rae pipes up, “Y/n and Charlie did say they will kill right before the game started. If you ask me, it’s not unbelievable. And Sykkuno was sorta on the shit list.”

“I’m writing down your name twice, Rachell.” You spit.

“Not helping your case at all, Y/n...” Dream worries, “And Rae makes a good point. Charlie and you have professed desire for murder. I’m just saying! It’s a bit suspicious, you know?”

The next words to leave Corpse’s lips sound incredibly smug, “See?” He drawls.  The pressure is getting to you - you don’t understand where this beguiling talent of his to convince literally everyone comes from, but it doesn’t inspire any confidence. Your fist suddenly feels incredibly lonely, so useless - oh, how you long to swing at him, “It’s definitely Y/n.”

“I dunno...” Toast mumbles.

“It’s Y/n.”

“Corpse-” You try, but he's ignoring you - shocker, as if he hadn’t been doing that from the very start of this stupid game - and chanting your name like it’s a fucking mantra or something, a smile in his voice, knowing, relishing in the fact that he’s grating on your nerves, “FIRST OF ALL,” You scream into the mic, successfully cutting him off; catching your breath, you exhale, and continue, calmly, lowly,  “get my pretty name out of your mouth.” 

There’s a pause full of tense silence. 

Then, there’s a sound, seemingly stuck in the back of his throat, “...O-Oh...?”

“Second of all,” You continue, words like honey dipped in arsenic, “This is the clearest smear campaign I have ever witnessed. By how hard you’re trying to frame me for fuck knows what reason, I’m led to believe it’s you that killed them. You’re the Impostor.”

“Corpse wouldn’t kill Sykkuno, though.” Rae comments, skeptical.

“Then the other Impostor did it.” You counter.

“Maybe you’re both Impostors.” Pokimane chirps.

“Y/n would never betray the Big Dick Alliance like that.” Charlie states.

You grin, “Charlie, I literally love you.” 

“Wait hold up now,” Corpse seems to get his bearings together, “what’s this about love I’m hearing?”

“I have none for you, dick.” You snap, flipping him off. Your chat cheers. While he can’t see it, you hope he senses it through the screen, “I officially hate you.”

“No, wait-”

“Boo, Corpse, you suck.” Toast laughs.

“Y/n, please-”

“Let’s all vote for Corpse Husband, okay?” You say it like it’s his full official name with an encouraging smile and multiple soft nods. Sykkuno can’t be here to nod, so you’ll do it for him. You eye the rapidly decreasing timer before clicking on Corpse’s figure and voting for him. The VOTED icon instantly pops up beside your adorable astronaut.

“Baby, I-” It slips past his lips so easily, as if he’s not even thinking about it, like it’s only natural to call you that and a spike of anxiety shoots up, making you glare. It’s only halfhearted. You try your best to ignore the rapid and uncoordinated pulses of your heart. Replace unwanted feelings with anger and hate - works like a charm, every time.

“You are not allowed to call me that.” You hiss. The chat spams snake emojis. 

“Wait-” Bretman chimes, “Hold up, y’all, slow down a minute. Why does Corpse never call me baby?”

“Yeah!” Pokimane agrees, “I want to be baby, too!”

Pokimane may not have been called baby, but you just single-handedly decided her nickname for her - Target 4. Welcome to the shit list, she is officially your public enemy number 1. You aren’t sure why the thought of Corpse ever referring to anyone else as baby makes you sick to your stomach (you actually do know why, but brain no think at the moment), but you wish this whole conversation never happened. You don’t like it.

20 seconds left. More VOTED icons appear by your friends. Corpse is the last one to cast his ballot at, you assume, you, as the rest wait for his quick explanation before everyone (or not) returns to the game, “...Because she’s my baby.”

Goodbye. Life had been sweet, and there was sorrow, though the amount of embarrassment you feel now is worse than when the internet found your cringe worthy high school pictures on your mom’s Facebook. It’s a mixture of dread and excitement - the pleasure of being noticed, cherished even, though anxious from vulnerability. Someone is screaming a very prolonged “WHAAAAT?!”, or maybe multiple people are, you aren’t sure, your ears start to hurt from the loud, conflicting cacophony of voices as you stare blankly at the screen. You received two votes, just like Corpse, Charlie got one, the rest skipped. With no one flung out, you all find yourself back in Cafeteria again.

Baby. My baby? My baby. My baby. The sentence is playing ping-pong in your mind, reverberating louder each time. You’re actually speechless for the first time in your life; your chest hurts, your heart beating so fast your hands start shaking. Had he meant it? Or was this a some joke? Was he trying to get a rise out of you again? You might just go insane from so many questions. My baby. Holy shit, this is a heart attack, this is what a heart attack feels like, dear God, you figured you at least had ten years before you get one!

  ✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

First round ends with IMPOSTORS raining victorious. Your sixth sense had been working wonders since, true to you previous estimate, it had been Corpse. His companion was Pokimane. For absolutely no reason what’s so ever, you change her name once more from Target 4 to Target 1. Normally, you’re all for girls supporting girls. Men don’t deserve anything, really, but now you’re so flustered and still reeling from what you are 80% sure was cardiac arrest that you genuinely don’t care about your established morals.

Round two starts without much deliberation. You get CREW MATE again; the game must sense your growing bloodlust, making sure that once you do get IMPOSTOR, you will not hold back. True power is granted to those who are ready and strong enough to wield it. You wait for your moment with bated breath.

Charlie is taken from you too early. The two of you were once again caught in a discussion - God knows about what, Minecraft, hentai, oh! your server! - as you tried to card swipe for the umpteenth time. The lights blew out and you just knew one of you was getting murdered there and then. Charlie’s voice abruptly cut off, and you think a part of you died with him.

It’s a cold meeting; with your new best friend being the first to go, everyone decides to skip. You proclaim you seek vengeance. When the meeting comes to an end, Sykkuno is the first to offer his condolences.

“I’m sorry, Y/n.” He says, and while he’s not in Brooklyn, you somehow feel him patting your back. You feign a sniffle.

“There’s nothing to apologize for...” You murmur sadly, “Unless...” Your voice turns sharp as the knife that was surely twisted into Charlie’s back, “It was you?”

“NO!” He exclaims, “I would never-you gotta believe me! I would never kill him. I know he’s important to you. I wouldn’t do that, I swear.”

“He was like a brother to me.” You admit, solemn, “Charlie, if you’re haunting me right now, know I will avenge you. I will not let this go.”

Sykkuno hums, circling around you, “Hey, I have a task in Greenhouse. Would you, uh--Would like to, uhm, join me?” Despite the shaky start, he finishes on a firm, pleasant note. He’s trying to cheer you up. Having lost your closest friend, he’s offering you his company. You accept with a soft smile and a cute “Yes, please!” and he releases an airy little laugh. The two of you make your way to your favorite place in map MIRA.

It’s difficult to stay sad for long when Sykkuno’s so sweet; the atmosphere of the Greenhouse is strangely calming; your problems seem to be left behind the shut doors. If you tried hard enough, you could imagine being in an actual Greenhouse - the warm, damp air clinging to your skin, the unmistakable smell of earth and vegetation, the pleasant silence broken only by yours and his hushed voices and clumsy footsteps.

The two of you are talking. Mainly about your choice of attire. Cat first, Sykkuno ponders aloud, doing his task as you watch the plants grow, now bunny, what’s next? You affirm that you will most likely dress up in cow-print next, or as an adorable sheep. He laughs, admitting you’ll look good in anything before he trails off. His awkwardness is really endearing. 

“Or!” You chirp happily, content with being locked away with him for the whole game. The idea must be playing in his mind, too, because he seems in no rush to leave, “I could, like, dress as someone from My Hero Academia. I watched the stream you did with Stella, the one where she made you look like Todoroki. It was really cute. You were really cute.”

“Oh, uhm-well, uh, thank you, thanks, I, uhm-” He clears his throat, and despite his stutter, you hear the smile in his voice, “I-I think you’d look better, though. Not as Todoroki. Or, probably as Todoroki, too. But, uhm, what character are you thinking about?”

“Maybe Momo?”

“Momo!” He yeps, “Momo is good. Yeah, she’s great. You’ll-uhm-you’ll look amazing. Really. Momo is awesome. Very pretty. Just like you.”

You are blushing. A stupid, toothy grin makes your cheeks hurt. Your eyes flicker to the chat, but again, it’s going wild. Giggling, you thank him for his sweet words, so giddy it’s honestly embarrassing. Why can’t you stop smiling? This is incriminating. You hide your lips behind your palm.

“...What’s this?” Corpse question. You had failed to note his sudden appearance, too busy gushing. “Am I interrupting?”

“Hey, Corpse!” Sykkuno greets. For someone so awkward and shy, he sure is good at hiding it when he wants to. Perhaps it’s all an act and you had been deviously tricked! Probably not, but you can’t help but narrow your eyes suspiciously, finally able to calm down. You definitely underestimated him, you just haven’t figured out how yet, “Not really! Y/n was sad Charlie died so I took her here.”

“You interrupted our date, dipshit.” You deadpan. 

“...Fuck you say?” Corpse dares, his voice low and somewhat menacing - for someone who exclusively portrays his emotions through only his voice, he’s incredibly hard to read. This is payback. Your love for wreaking havoc resurfaces suddenly. Serves him right for pulling all this ignoring shit at the start. Maybe you’ll make him say oh again.

Your sly smirk is promptly wiped. Fuck. He said oh, he literally said oh out loud. The Teruhashi fangirl in you is screaming. You had been so caught up in defending yourself you didn’t even register it at first. Alarmed, you look at the camera, then at the chat. First oh, then my baby. There’s no way he had been teasing you, and this proves it. Holy shit. You mouth the words “HE SAID OH!” for your audience only.

now she notices

snail pace baby we’ve been loosing our shit for the past hour 

corpse x y/n saikik au enemies to lovers 500k words slow burn im here for it

opening wattpad rn^

Your heart races in your chest - it might be considered an Olympic medalist at this point; flustered yet again, you wish you could cave into yourself. You should’ve brought your bright blue wig with you to Brooklyn. Turns out it would have been perfect for this stream. Yes, yes thinking about unnecessary details always works in distracting you from the butterflies throwing a fucking rave in your stomach. 

“I guess it is a date!” Sykkuno admits, “Kinda after a funeral, but still.”

Corpse hums. You’re still too stunned to say anything. The black astronaut with adorable cat ears approaches Sykkuno. 

“It’s not.” He states. Your mouth falls open in shock as your date, your companion, the Shoto to your Momo is murdered in cold blood right in front of you. His lifeless body, cut in half, lays on the tiles by the growing flowers, right beside you, “You didn’t see shit.”

“...I didn’t see shit.” Is all you can utter, breathless and terrified.

“Thaaaat’s fucking right, baby.” Corpse coos, “Now I’m gonna report it, and I’ll say we found Sykkuno together. Better stick close to me after the meeting, got it?”

If Sykkuno is Shoto, then Corpse is definitely Dabi. 

why is that kinda hot tho omg

didn’t know i needed dom corpse since now but i do

y/n looks like shes boutta throw up lmao 

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You follow him around like a lost puppy - because what else is left for you to do!? You’re helpless in this situation. He’s got you in the palm of his hand, successfully eliminating everyone you had previously interacted with. First it was Charlie, then Sykkuno, even Sean, who said hello in passing, was shot instantly. Real Sangwoo behavior. You almost want to scream warnings at everyone to not approach you. You cannot mourn another lost crew mate, you don’t think your conscience can take it. But words fail to form. You’re too weak. You fake cry to your audience. They’re quick to remind you to stop acting like a little bitch.

“Mean.” Is all you say, eyeing the comments.

“Hm?”

“Was talking to the roaches.”

“What are they saying?”

“That I should betray you.”

“...Better not.”

A shiver shoots up your spine and you half believe he will bust down your door and drag you into his basement for real. A nervous laugh slips past your lips, “I won’t, I won’t.” You reassure him, “Don’t worry, I’m sticking with you. I haven’t seen shit.”

“I like that you listen to me. You always this agreeable?”

“You’re kinda not giving me a choice right now.” You grumble, vending yourself a drink while he looms behind you, protecting you. From who?! Himself?!

“Oh my fucking God, finally,” Bretman exclaims, “girl, I’ve been running around the whole map trynna find someone, is everyone like, dead?”

You’re scared to reply. Corpse does it for you, “Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, maybe? Not sure. Where have you been?”

“Oh you know,” Bretman grins, “doing tasks, talking shit, the usual. You two are not, like, Impostors right?”

You shoot a look at Corpse, but he obviously can’t see it. Biting your lip, you murmur, “Nope.”

“Just your regular crew mates doing regular crew mate things.” Corpse says, no, purrs. Because that’s not suspicious at all. You’d recommend Bretman to run, and not only because that sounded shady as fuck. But he seems to enjoy danger, or he just doesn’t care.

“Hmmmm, crew mates, sure. Miss girl Y/n,” He’s addressing you now; you smile anxiously, “How come every time I see you, you’re with a different man?! Like damn, leave some for the rest of us, for real!”

You like Bretman. You like his high-pitched whine and drawl. You would like him even more if not for the complex situation at hand. You fear for his life. Chewing at your bottom lip, you snicker, “Sorry, Bret. I can leave you Corpse if you want?”

He laughs, “Girl, I’d say yes so fucking quick, but I know he wouldn’t want that. Normally I wouldn’t care, but y’all are such a cute couple it’s making me not want to be a shady motherfucking bitch. Changing my ways, embracing the lord. Love it.”

 Corpse doesn’t correct him that you are, in fact, not dating. His lack of reaction unnerves you slightly. Does he...? No! No think! Only exist! You catch that train of thought and steer it away from forbidden territory. Looks like it’s up to you to clear the air, and that is exactly what you do after trying to swallow down the lump in your throat, “Uh, we’re not together, actually. We’re just really good friends.”

“Bitch, then move over,” Bretman says snappily,”go like, back to your other boyfriends. Or find another one. I think I saw Dream near Navigation.”

“Near Navigation, huh?” Corpse hums thoughtfully. It’s a subtle warning, but you catch it. Yeah, even if you try running, Dream’s going to join your other ‘boyfriends’ in the afterlife. Granted, killing someone by just talking with them is kind of cool. Or maybe Stockholm Syndrome is finally kicking in, “Bret, the thing is, Y/n’s scared of dying, so she asked me to stay with her.”

It’s disturbing how good at lying he is. It is also really really attractive, as bizarre as that is.

y/n stop being in a toxic relationship with corpse challenge

making fanart of this omg her face

its the blushing for me girl get your head outta the gutter!

^she cant, it lives there

“Baby, you’re gonna fucking die if you stick with her,” Bretman points out, “have you noticed the mortality rate of her partners? Rest in peace, daddy.”

“He’s right, you know.” You mutter, dramatically looking to the side, “I’m no good, Corpse.”

“Not leaving you, end of discussion. Bretman, join us?” Corpse offers, catching you by surprise. He might still be lying, though. Creating a false sense of security before eliminating Bretman. Probably would laugh while doing it, too. Wow, he truly is evil.

Turns out he doesn’t have to do any of that, because when Dream strolls into Cafeteria, he kills Bretman instead. The two Impostors are finally revealed. You promised not to snitch on Corpse, but you didn’t say shit about not exposing Dream. You press the REPORT button and say just that: “Dream just murdered Bret right in front of me and Corpse.”

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

The last meeting is called. Dream had been voted out with the help of Corpse, and now only you, he, and Rae remain.

“Baby, you know what to do.”

The VOTED icon pops up beside Corpse’s astronaut. Rae wheezes, “No! Y/n, it’s not me, you gotta believe me, I swear it’s not me!”

“...I really don’t know,” You murmur, “I’ve been with Corpse a lot, and...Rae, I’m not sure...”

“Please! I swear it on my Kagayama cardboard cut out, I’m not the Impostor, please! You know me, I’d never lie to you like this.”

“She’s definitely lying.” Corpse says, sounding pleased.

“Don’t listen to him! Remember, during the first round, when he tried to convince us that you were the Impostor? He’s doing the same shit to me!”

“I also remember you agreeing with him.” You remind her.

“I was stupid! Small dumb brain moment! He was using us to win! He’s using you right now!” She votes, “Please, Y/n, make the right choice.”

You’re silent for a moment.

“I’m gonna...I’m gonna vote for who I think it is.” You lastly say.

A slow, lazy grin makes it’s way onto your lips, eyes gleaming mischievously. You had not forgotten your promise to your brother from another mother, you had not forgotten the pride of the BDA, you had not forgotten your beautiful friendship. Two miniature astronauts pop up by Corpse’s at the exact moment Rae screeches “YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!”

“Fuck.” Is all Corpse says with a laugh.

The screen changes, informing of the first CREW MATE victory.

Your ears are assaulted with different voices as you appear in the lobby.

“Now that’s what I’m fucking talking about.” Charlie raves, “I swear to fucking God, Y/n, you even got me going for a second. Pulled some 1000 IQ shit right there. It was fucking amazing. Best back stabbing I’ve seen in a while, and I’ve seen a lot.”

“That was absolutely fantastic, Y/n.” Sean applauds, “I really thought you joined Corpse like some crew mate accomplice or something. Can’t believe you switched on him at the last second.”

“That’s my wifey!” Rae cheers, strolling to you, “Love you, mwah.”

“Hey, Corpse,” Charlie calls him, “How does it feel to be a fucking loser?”

“I’m surprisingly fine with it.”

yeah he would be lmao

mom is the best snake ever i love you sm y/n

rae and y/n’s friendship....the feeeeeels

As the rest sing your praises for another solid minute or two, the third round begins. CREW MATE again. Though, just because you’re stuck as an underpaid worker in a dying spaceship, it doesn’t mean you’re innocent. Your last round proved that quite well. You can’t help but silently snicker.

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

TAGLIST IS CLOSED!

tags (in italics is those i couldn’t tag! make sure all’s ok w your settings!) : @littlebabysandboxburritos - @fairywriter-oracle - @tsukishimawh0re - @ofstarsanddreams - @bbecc-a - @annshit - @leahh19 - @letsloveimagines - @bellomi-clarke - @wineandionysus - @guiltydols - @onephootinfrontoftheother - @liamakorn - @thirstyfangirl - @lilysdaydreams - @pan-ini - @mxqicshxp - @tanchosanke - @yoshinorecommends - @flightsandfantasy - @liljennyx3 - @bingusmode - @unknown-and-invisible - @sinister-sleep - @fivedicksinatrenchcoat - @mercury--moon - @peterparkerspjsuit - @unstableye - @simonsbluee - @shinyshimaagain - @ppopty - @siriuslystupid - @crapimahuman - @ofthedewthesunlight - @mythicalamphitrite - @artsyally - @corpsesimpp - @corpsewhitetee - @corpse-husbandsimp - @hyp-oh-critical - @roses-and-grasses - @rhyrhy462 - @sparklylandflaplawyer - @charbkgo - @airwaveee - @creativedogs - @kaitlyn2907 - @loxbbg - @afuckingunicornn - @fleurmoon - @yeolliedokai

more tags are in the comments bcs tumblr only allows me to tag 50 people max 💙

[hu5kay]

The best advice for coping with ADHD and Autism as an Adult;

Be patient with yourself

Don’t give up on your dreams, but still give yourself milestones on the way

Know your limits. If you know you’re on a hyperfixation spree and feel yourself burning out, you are. Don’t get to that point or you’ll lose all interest in that passion, trust me I still do this

Gonna sound odd but trust me, have a huge variety of clothing to change your aesthetics to get that Serotonin boost.

Do not neglect yourself to try and fit in with people, cause chances are you don’t fully like them anyways. Get those friends that’ll support you. Took me years to figure that out

Set boundaries for people AND YOURSELF. Don’t do things you know will overstimulate yourself. “Bite the bullet” or “Overcome your fear” is a boomer mindset

Explain to your friends that you may not text them back sometimes. It happens, more so with us. Explain you’re not upset with them, just sometimes you’re not mentally capable of interaction, even through texts

Do not expect Coffee to fix everything(I still do this)

When watching shows that are considered long, write your mental notes down when you stop watching. I started doing this cause I drop shows for months, want to get back into it and I have no idea what’s going on, even after the recap. Writing your personal takes and notes will stimulate your brain to reboot back to when you were watching it months ago. Don’t hold back on those notes either, the more the better

If you’re cool with people at work, ask them to politely remind through out the day what the day goals are so you’re not pushing things last minute. YES, we work will under last minute pressure but it doesn’t look good to your boss. Learned that in the Army.

Music can help you remember things. I’ve had tons of dejavu type moments when certain songs come on and I’m able to remember things better and more in depth

If you’re overwhelmed, that’s okay. It happens, and you should not be ashamed for it. Find your comfort levels and social meter

Speaking of Social Meters, it’s how long you’re able to tolerate public functions or social gatherings. Neglecting this will trigger a depression episode and feel hopeless. Don’t know why but it happens with us. As stated before, know your limits and avoid overwhelming yourself.

Use the hell out of your notes app on your phones. For what we you need, use it. Here’s why. “Oh I’ll remember that later” how many times did you ACTUALLY remember that?

MAKE A CHECKLIST FOR YOUR DAY OR WEEK. Whiteboard, in your room, do it. Trust me. Checking shit off makes us feel so good and doing this around the house and seeing the results AND checking things off, oooo baby. Walmart, hobby lobby, target, doesn’t matter, get one. While you’re putting tasks down on that, put all your bills there too. Trust me

You are not required to force a friendship. It’s a two way road and we have problems recognizing that cause we feel everything is our fault or responsibility. News flash, ITS NOT. Sometimes people will take advantage of our conditions, weed them out.

Be. Selfish. About. You. And. Your. Time. And. Energy.

If you lose friends for above, fuck them. They are not worth it I promise. To relate, I am being called two faced right now because I decided I was done with a toxic friendship. It happens. Don’t beat yourself up for it though.

I hope this helps. I want people to read this before they get to my point in life where I didn’t have any advice or guidance. And let’s be real, those TikTok’s giving backhanded advice never work and make things worse. If these come off as aggressive, I’m sorry! These are things I wish I knew back then and I just want to share what has worked for me. Thank you for your time!

[bakuhoes-dumbass]

Aberration - Chapter 1

MHA!Various x Fem!Reader

Thriller/Horror/Drama

Criminal!AU

Words: 2.3k

A/N: Yay, here’s the first chapter of my new AU! It might be a little slower at first but it’ll pick up the further we get into it. So I hope you like this!

Warnings: Yandere Themes, Mentions of murder, blood, felonies, bullying, swearing.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of MHA, just this story. In no way does this reflect the characters, writers or VAs of the show/manga. MINORS DNI.

~~~

Aberration Masterlist/Character profiles

~~~

In this world, mutations, renamed as ‘Quirks’, are abnormal. Only about 5%-8% of the world population are known to have these so called ‘Quirks’. You are a graduate of one of the most prestigious science tech schools in the country. You’ve been selected to work for a secret scientific research facility that houses some of the most notorious criminals in the nation. Besides their crimes, what makes these individuals incredibly dangerous are their mutations. After meeting these individuals, they seem to have taking a liking to you. That should make your research and search for the cure all that much easier…

Right?

~~~

Before you stands one of the largest facilities you have ever seen. You take a deep breath, attempting to calm your rapidly beating heart. Adjusting the strap on your bag, you make your way into the research center.

Upon entering, you gasp in wonder. The inside is huge, tall pure white walls that meet at a double paned glass ceiling. In front of you is a wall of security, stretching to accommodate the vast interior of the lobby. You walk up to the nearest security officer and give them your information. Thankfully, you were on a list and after checking you over, you're granted entrance to the building.

That's where you meet a man and a woman, both dressed in white lab coats and carrying clipboards. You bow your head to the two of them and they return the gesture.

"Ms. Y/N, I presume? My name is Shota Aizawa and this is my assistant, Momo Yaoyorozu." The older of the two speak.

You smile at the two. "Yes, nice to meet you. I'm Y/N, L/N, graduate of UA science tech. I am so happy to be here and look forward to working with the two of you."

The younger girl nods and smiles, gesturing behind the two of them. "If you would kindly follow us, we can get started."

~~~

"Ms. Y/N, here's the list of the inmates you will be working with from this point on."

Momo hands you a clipboard containing pictures and descriptions of each individual. Your eyes scan the information on the page in front of you, your brow raising with each word you read. "There is… quite a bit of information on these individuals."

Aizawa nods. "Considering how dangerous the subjects are, it's best to have every detail we can."

You internally cringed at the term 'subject'. These were criminals, yes, but they were still living breathing people. Noone deserves to be dehumanized, no matter the reason.

Shaking your head of those thoughts, you continue to look over the notes in your hands. One in particular catches your eye. " 'Multiple counts of 3rd degree murder by reason of insanity' and yet he's only deemed as a level 4 danger?"

The doctor looks over your shoulder at the character profile. "Ah, yes. Fumikage Tokoyami. He's an interesting one, to say the least." You wait for him to continue, but seeing as it doesn't seem like he will, you gesture for him to elaborate. "Tokoyami himself is actually fairly harmless and incredibly cooperating, which is why he gets a level 4 only. However…" Aizawa looks down the hall of the facility to a door near the end. "Dark Shadow is deemed a level 9."

Your eyes shoot up in shock. "Dark Shadow? A level 9? Explain."

"Dark Shadow is his mutation. It's a completely sentient being that he harbors inside of him. Highly dangerous, more so if there is darkness." He looks back at you. "I'll let him explain the reason why he was instituted. He always prefers to explain the story himself."

The more Aizawa explains Tokoyami's situation, the more your excitement builds up, wanting desperately to meet this man. This was such an interesting mutation and you couldn't wait to hear everything he had to tell you. You take a breath to calm your childish manner and clear your throat.

"If it's alright with you, sir, I'd like-" You look down at your clipboard once again. "'Inmate 06' to be the first one I meet with."

Aizawa nods and writes something down in his notebook. "Very well. Follow me this way please."

You follow the doctor down the long white hallway, your excitement growing with each step. Along the way, you notice each door on the facility that lines either side of the stretched hall. Each door had a narrow window towards the top and a small number engraved underneath. You don't take too much notice and keep following the doctor to your destination. However, an eerie feeling makes you freeze in your tracks.

You slowly rotate your head and look at the inmate's door you stopped next to. The color drains from your face as you see two ice blue eyes peering right into yours. It felt like your breath was stolen, a hint of fear and anxiety built up within you from this intense gaze. After what felt like hours, you snap your gaze back to Aizawa and Momo, who were standing in front of a door you were also supposed to be at.

"I would highly advise you to keep cautious while you are in this facility. While we keep all inmates in cuffs that neutralize their mutations, the technology has not been 100% perfected yet and parts of their powers may leak out. That is why we have additional precautionary measures in place for each inmate." Aizawa gives you an impartial look as you walk over. "Now. The only special precaution with Inmate 06 is the lights must stay on at all times. There are no light switches in his cell, so nothing should go wrong. But like I said, always stay cautious."

You nod your head at the doctor's words and turn to face the door. Aizawa places a hand onto the keypad next to the door, scanning his prints before buzzing and opening the door. You give the man one last nod before making your way inside the room. The room itself is bare. White floors, white walls and an equally white ceiling. Nothing was in there except a desk with a chair and a bed.

On top of that bed sat a young man with the body of a human and the head of a crow. Your eyes widen in awe at the beautiful being in front of you. Tokoyami tilts his head and gives you a curious look.

"Oh. Hello, there. I've never seen you before."

The deep voice of the man shocks you. You bow your head and give the bird man a smile. "Hello, Tokoyami. My name is Y/N. I'm the new scientist at this facility. I'm here to get to know and observe you all to help further our findings for a cure. I hope we can be friends."

Tokoyami blinks. "You want to be… friends? With us?"

"Yeah, of course. Why not?" Your smile never leaves your face.

"Well, maybe because we're all… felons? The greater majority of us being murderers?"

"I truly believe everyone deserves a second chance." You gesture to the desk chair, silently asking if you could sit. The man nods and you greatly take your seat. "Now, would you ever be so kind as to answer a few questions for me, Tokoyami? I would like to get to know you a little better." You take out your pen and notebook, opening to a fresh page.

Tokoyami nods again and you give him a smile. "Just a few standard questions first. Can you please state your full name, age and date of birth?"

"Fumikage Tokoyami, age 22, October 30th."

"What is the name of your quirk and how does it work?"

Tokoyami fiddles with the quirk-cancelling cuffs around his wrists at the mention of his quirk but answers anyway. "It's called Dark Shadow. It's a fully sentient shadow that resides inside my body. It can come out when I call call it or it can show itself on it's own. But it's always connected to me and cannot be separated. It…" Tokoyami takes a breath. "It gets stronger the darker my surroundings are. So the less light, the less control I have over it. If it gets too dark, it completely takes over me, no longer under my control."

The longer you listen to him, the wider your eyes get and the more they shine in wonder. "That is incredible! To have that kind of quirk is truly fascinating!"

Hearing your words of praise would have made Tokoyami blush, if he could. He clears his throat in embarrassment. "Why, thank you for those kind words. Though, I doubt having this...quirk, as you say, is all to be impressed about."

You shake your head. "You may not think so, but really, I've never seen anything like it." You excitedly write a few things down before making eye contact with him again. "Now onto my final question of the day. Can you please tell me the reason why you are here?"

Tokoyami stays silent for a moment, staring at nothing in particular, residing in his thoughts. You clear your throat and he looks up to you. You give him a small, comforting smile and it causes Tokoyami's heart to beat harder. For some unknown reason, he suddenly feels like he can trust you with anything.

"I've been charged with multiple counts of 3rd degree murder." He sighs, recalling that day. "I was invited to a college party on a date, by someone whom I had grown quite infatuated with. I never really was one to socialize and never really had any friends. But I really liked this person, so I went. At first it was going okay, nothing too out of the ordinary. Then, the host decided that playing truth or dare was the way to go.

 So my date dragged me to sit down and join them. Every time I was asked, I always chose truth. And everytime, their questions were about my appearance, my mutation. Laughing at all my answers, mocking my looks, talking about how unnatural I was. The more they asked, the more my anxiety and anger built up. But my stubbornness didn't want to show any weakness, so I stayed. 

Finally, I decided to just choose dare instead. At that point, I decided that nothing could be more humiliating than what they've already done." His sharp, red eyes flickered to yours. "Oh, how wrong I was. They dared me to go into the closet with my so-called 'date'. We were shut in and from then, they decided to tell me how this whole thing was a set up, just to humiliate me. That anyone with mutations like myself should just disappear because of how disgusting we are." He spits out that word like it was rotten food. "Remember how I said Dark Shadow gains control in the dark? Well, with my anger rising and the fact that it was almost pitch black in that closet, I lost control of myself and Dark Shadow took control of me. Next thing I remember, I was standing in the middle of the college dorm party, blood painting the floors, the walls, and the entirety of my class slaughtered."

You almost dropped your pen in shock but regained your composure. You give the poor young man a sad smile. He sighs and finishes off his explanation. "I was arrested and charged with multiple counts of 3rd degree murder by reason of insanity, considering I was technically not in my right state of mind at the time."

The two of you sit there in silence, basking in all this new-found information. You close your notebook and set your pen down, facing Tokoyami directly. "Listen to me. There is nothing wrong with the way you look or your quirk. Just because it isn't the societal norm, doesn't mean it's disgusting or wrong. Remember that."

Tokoyami blinks in surprise."Um, thank you." Those were the only words he could say, as how shocked he was at what you said.

You tilt your head and stare at him. "If I may ask, would I be able to feel your head? I'm very curious as to what your feathers feel like. It would greatly help my research as well."

"Oh. U-um, yeah. Sure."

You move to gently sit next to Tokoyami, so as to not startle him too much. You slowly lift your hand and place it on his head, eyes lighting up as you card your fingers through his feathers. "Oh wow, they're so soft!"

Tokoyami's heart speeds up, his feathers ruffling at your touch. He gazes at you with something akin to admiration. No one was ever gentle with him like this before. After another few seconds, you retreat your hand, Tokoyami almost whimpering at the absence.

"Well, I better get going. I have quite a few more things to do today before my shift is over." You gather up your things and bow your head at the half bird boy. "I greatly appreciate your time and look forward to our future sessions. Have a good rest of your day!" You smile at Tokoyami before heading back to the door and signaling Aizawa to open it.

"Goodbye, Ms. Y/N. I look forward to meeting with you again." Tokoyami watches you leave his room. Once you're gone, he runs his hand through his feathers, imagining they were your fingers.

As the door closes, you turn to Aizawa who gives you a disappointed look.

"What?"

"You touched the inmate. Why in the hell would you do that?"

You place your hand on your hip and give the doctor a stern look. "I was curious about his mutation and wanted to see how it felt."

He sighs and runs a hand down his face. "We try to avoid any physical contact with any of the inmates, as it may trigger something deep within them. Remember, Y/N. Every single one of these individuals are dangerous and unstable. Any abnormal behavior could result in catastrophic consequences."

You sigh and shake your head, giving him a chaste nod. "Yes, Sir. You're right. I promise to heed your warning and modify how I work."

The doctor looks satisfied as he turns on his heel and walks further down the long hallway. You quickly follow to keep up. "Now, on to your next subject. Inmate 04, Eijiro Kirishima." You flip the page of your inmate profiles to see a picture of a red-haired man. "He is of a higher danger level, so make sure to keep your guard up. And for the love of God, under any circumstances…

Do not touch him."

~~~

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[If your name is bolded, I was unable to tag you.]

[sirthisisa-wendys]

D-Don't you think demon Ran (Tokyo Revengers) would be really sexy ... ?

One Night with the Demon King: Demon!Ran Haitani x Fem!Reader

wc: 1.8k

tw: violence, NSFW if you really squint

2K Follower Event Masterlist: Monster Mash

You're only promised one night.

"Sign here," the woman in front of you mutters, pointing her red fingernail at the blank spots on the contract. "And here." Another page. "And... here."

You initial quickly, giving over your worldly possessions to the company and then sitting with your fingers crossed on the table.

There are millions of people around the world who would kill to be given the chance to meet the elusive figure only known as the "Demon King". You had chanced upon the sweepstakes after a pretty awful turn of events in your life - so what could it hurt to meet the Demon King, possibly have the best sex of your life, and then be subjected to a lifetime moniker of "That Woman Who Spent a Night With the Demon King"?

Maybe you'd even get a book deal out of it.

"Since you won the sweepstakes, there are a few things you have to know," the woman sighs, stacking a bunch of yellow papers together. As she rattles off the rules of the night, you zone out, thinking of all the things that might happen afterward.

Right, a book deal. A TV show? Maybe a special on the evening news cycle? Interviews? The options are endless.

"Ms. Y/n?" Farah, the woman's nametag reads. "You have to sign an NDA as well."

Your face drops considerably, and by the looks of it, Farah knows that this is exactly the bomb that could shatter your dreams of fame.

"Wait, what?" you whisper, taking the form in your hands.

"You cannot speak, write about, record, or otherwise divulge the information you learn about Mr. Haitani or the time you spend with him."

The words on the page are so small, you swear they blur in with each other and obscure you from seeing the truth. Farah fully expects you to pull out at this point, that much is obvious. But it's too late now.

"Where do I sign?"

_____________________________________________________________

The Demon King doesn't look all that scary from behind, you muse, watching the man descend down in the glass elevator, his back towards you. He's wearing a black suit and adjusting his tie - which seems so human - but when he gets to the bottom floor, he walks off the elevator with a suave demeanor. You straighten yourself up in the empty apartment lobby, inhaling deeply and clutching your purse at your side.

This is it.

When Mr. Haitani faces you, you instantly feel the sinking in the deepest parts of your stomach.

Fuck. This demon is deathly handsome.

"Ms. Y/n," Mr. Haitani smiles, spreading his arms wide. "You look absolutely stunning."

Short black and blonde locks. Violet eyes. A devilish smile. And nothing but charm as far as the eye can see.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

"Please," he replies, putting a hand out to shake yours. "Call me Ran. You're my guest for the evening and I would hate to be too formal with you." The wink Ran gives you is almost sinful - no, it is - and he takes your hand, shaking it once before pulling you along. "Dinner is prepared and ready. I hope you like seafood."

The ride up the elevator isn't short. Ran asks you mundane questions, but you can barely seem to answer them with the thoughts swirling around in your head. The dress you're wearing now seems too plain, too boring. You feel like you're actually standing next to the sun, and if you stand too close, you'll be scorched by the heat of his infamy.

Despite all of this, you can't sense a single demon - except for the ones you met in his office - in the apartment complex with you two. You can only feel the presence of Ran beside you, which is enough to make your knees weak.

"Tell me," Ran exhales, walking out of the now-open elevator doors. "What made you enter the sweepstakes?" You can feel his violet eyes on you, surveying your expression and calculating his next response before you even offer yours.

"Um..." Do you tell him the truth? "Well, my parents died in a car crash, and my fiance cheated on me. I thought it couldn't hurt to enter something that might be interesting... something that could give me a little hope."

You look up at Ran, seeing his mouth turn down at the information.

"I'm so sorry to hear that," he breathes, walking toward a door with you in tow. "Hopefully this experience will live up to your expectations."

The inside of the Demon King's penthouse is all black and red, covered in paintings that you recognize but don't know the name of. Images of death are all around the space - skulls, black birds, even a cat that rolls down off the bookcase and decides to leave you two alone. (Or seek shelter).

A fire is crackling in the massive hearth across from the dining room table, heating the room to a perfect 73 degrees. And the dining room table is covered in a black tablecloth which is lined with various exquisite dishes, most notably a giant squid head surrounded by its own severed limbs covered in tempura.

"Eat as much as you'd like."

Your mouth waters almost to the point of drooling, and you take a seat across from Ran, smiling politely.

What would he say if you told him you hadn't eaten in two days?

It seems that the plates of food keep replenishing themselves with meats and bread and desserts - or maybe that's an indicator of how starved you really are.

And all the while, Ran watches you with a sympathetic look on his face, not daring to touch a single morsel of food as you gorge yourself on the offerings.

"Maybe we can retire to the living room once you're finished?" he wonders, raising a brow. "I don't want you to feel obliged to...." You nod slowly, understanding exactly what he means without him having to say it.

Once you're seated on the massive couch, Ran begins to take your heels off, letting them fall to the ground before massaging your feet. You're a little wary - this is so unlike his persona in the media - but you relax into his touch after a while.

"Why do they call you the Demon King?" you wonder, cocking your head at him.

"Many reasons," Ran begins, looking to the side briefly. "You'd be surprised how weak these demons are without someone to lead them."

"You sound resentful about that," you note, but Ran shrugs, sighing.

"It is what it is."

"Why did you hold the sweepstakes? Are you trying to change your image, maybe?"

"You signed an NDA," he quickly reminds you. "Even if I wanted to change the public's opinion of me..." Ran pauses, quirking his brow briefly. "This wouldn't be the way I'd do it."

"You didn't answer my question."

"I'm going to keep this card close to my chest." You look away and out of the floor-to-ceiling windows at the cityscape below. Here, Ran has everything. The whole city is at his feet, and yet... he seems so lonely. The hands on your feet go up to your ankles and massage the sore joints kindly. "Maybe I'm hoping for some kind of miracle," he finally mutters. You look back at the demon king, who now looks absolutely miserable in the light of the buildings in the distance.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't feel bad for me," he chuckles. "It comes with the job."

It comes with the job.

_____________________________________________________________

You awaken in the bed next to Ran, clothed in a big t-shirt and slightly drowsy.

But you came here to complete your job, not play house with a known killer.

You fish the crooked dagger out of your pillowcase, holding your breath in hopes that Ran couldn't hear anything change. For all he'd know, you'd been asleep when he was attacked and murdered in his own bed. You thrust the dagger down into the mattress, hitting only pillow and sheets.

Ran is gone.

"Who sent you?"

The disembodied voice swirls about you in a circle, and you swallow hard, hands shaking. You'd failed your mission.

"I said, who sent you?"

"N-no one," you exclaim, trying to drop the dagger and make a run for it. That's what Michael had told you; you had to run if things went wrong. But you're frozen on your knees in the bed, shaking with Ran's essence billowing around the room.

You're going to die here.

"That's a fucking lie."

And it is. Why would you confess? Why, when you would die anyway?

"Just kill me," you breathe, tears slipping down your cheeks. "Please."

"No, that would be too easy." Ran reappears, sitting on the edge of the bed. "You're going to stay here with me. I need the company, you obviously need the lodging. If I suspect correctly, The Company sent you." You wipe your face, neither confirming nor denying his accusation. "And that means you're in some deep shit."

You can't deny this either.

"How much were they going to pay you?"

"Fifteen thousand denarii." Ran shakes his head, turning his head around to face you.

"That's a pittance." The Demon King stands, cracking his neck. "Do you truly want to know why I'm the Demon King?" he wonders, cracking his knuckles. Your stomach rolls with fear as he approaches you, mouth drying up. "It's because I can do things like this."

His right hand reaches out to grab your forehead and everything in your mind reels from his touch. You can feel the extension of his power creeping past the borders of your thoughts, the defenses of your mind. It's like a mass of fingers, searching for what they need and want from you.

"I'll take that," you hear, and the memory of your assignment disappears. "And this." Michael's face is wiped clean. "I'll also take this one for good measure." The circumstances before your employment with The Company are taken out, switched for something a little more innocuous.

"You're my accountant and my lover, now. I pay you to run my accounts, keep my company from being taxed, and other things I need to keep my business afloat while I do my other work."

You can't fight this replacement, you can't do anything but remember meeting him for the first time, flirting with him in the break room, being bent over his desk and letting him fill you with his cum. It's real, everything's real.

You are who he says you are.

"And don't forget to come home on time. I expect to see you at my dinner table every night at seven o'clock."

A lone tear courses down your cheek as you accept your new reality, letting the old one disappear into the void of nothingness.

[deleteddewewted]

Congrats on all the followers!!!

So, for the request event (sorry I forgot what you were calling it even though I was just looking at the post lol) could I just get all of the fluff prompts with Hawks?? Jk but in all seriousness could I get an SFW fluff #24 with Hawks with a female or gn reader (either one is fine)? You’re amazing!

(If you’re not comfy writing for Hawks or any other part of my request and I didn’t notice you can just ignore this haha)

"They had us in the first half, not gonna lie" I'd love to make one with all of the fluff prompt but i think that would take me a few days to fully write since i already make "long-ish" works. I'm glad Hawks is getting more love, i usually only write angst with him, so this is a nice change of pace. Thank you anon!💜

My Favorite Employee

Hawks x Gn! Reader

Key: H/n (Hero name), L/n (Last name)

💕💜Counting Memories Event💜💕: Now Closed!

����💜Counting Memories Event Masterlist💜💕

Fluff:

24)“Dont you get it? I want you!”

If you'd like to support my work (Check my Ko-fi and Throne!)

The employee of the month was an esteemed position that many envied, at least for those who worked in the hero business. It meant a better relationship with your bosses, a bigger check, and extra off hours. The downsides, and there being only one, was overworking yourself till you collapsed. This was your issue at the moment. Your boss had you take multiple assignments, one after another, and didn’t give you any downtime afterward. He’d slap you on your back and send you out again. It was honestly becoming an exhausting affair the more you had to do it. You’re sure that hospital staff got better rest than you and that’s saying something. Speaking of the hospital staff, you’ve become a frequent patient just like that Deku kid. Your injuries were never too severe so your boss felt comfortable abusing his authority to send you back to the field. You don’t hate your job, that wasn’t the issue. You just needed the extra money since your landlord decided to raise the rent again.

“Well done, H/n! Go take a shower and come to my office. Someone wants to meet you.” Your boss gave you a wink and shooed you out of the main lobby. You took your well-deserved shower and changed into the agency’s staff uniform, heading towards your boss’s office just like he asked you to.

The office was spacious and held two couches placed across from each other. Your boss was sitting facing the office entrance while the other person present was facing him. The person was wearing casual streetwear, a bit of an odd choice for coming into a hero agency. You gestured to your boss as if asking if you should be there. He nodded at you and announced your arrival to the person.

“Ah, H/n. Thank you for coming up. I wanted to introduce you both.” You walked over towards the couch and were met with golden eyes. The stranger’s features becoming muddle as the stream of light was solely coming from the slightly parted curtain in the office. His hair was light but his eyes were heavy. Expression calm and interested focused. The stranger was handsome, the crimson wings only helping enhance what was already there.

“Hey, nice meeting ya.” The stranger stretched out his hand towards you, offering you a hand to shake. You took his hand and shook it while trying to figure out who he was. He sounded familiar, the watch on his wrist also looking familiar.

“Pleasure meeting you.” You gave your best PR smile and hoped that the person would do all of the talking.

“I’m Hawks, I wanted to speak to you about a possible transfer.” At the time you weren’t aware of who Hawks was. You did know Hawks, you just didn’t know him as a person.

He was quick and to the point. Didn’t enjoy wasting time on something menial and meaningless. You watched as he brushed aside his sidekicks and left them with the paperwork out of laziness to do them himself. He wasn’t cruel, nor mean, but he knew where he stood overall. Above them. Above you.

“Hey, H/n. Let’s get lunch.” He wasn’t a bad person to work for, he was the opposite.

No matter the cocky attitude or the constant fan service with that grin that made everyone swoon, he was a great boss. He pushed you just like your previous one, but he pushed you in a direction that prioritized your health. You were first for once.

“Sure, anything you want to eat in particular? Don’t say chicken, no.” He laughed at your comment.

“Fine, fine. How about- oh! Tai recommended this- You know who Fatgum is right? He- it’s a new shop that specializes in Thai food.” His mouth ran a million miles per hour but it was worth it. He was happy. It was an odd sight to see. He always grinned, smirked, laughed but he never truly seemed there. It was like he had to switch people up in his head. Change who was in charge.

“Yeah, whatever. Let’s just go, I’m starving.” He was sincere with you which you appreciated. There weren’t a lot of honest people in this line of work.

You both decided to walk to the restaurant and took it as a chance to talk about everything that had happened that week. Hawks naturally spoke about how boring his work was, going off about how criminals weren’t interesting anymore.

“I swear, it’s like they don’t try anymore. The last one I caught was stealing a purse with at max 10920¥ in it. What a waste.” You liked his company it was hard not to fall for him. What a miserable state you’re in, aren’t you? Falling for your boss.

You assumed that the charm he had was all show but it was just him as well. He managed to turn heads everywhere he went so how you didn’t get excited when you first saw him back at your old agency is still a surprise to you. You both talked about the transfer over to his agency for days after the meeting. You needed to know what he would want you doing, when, where, and how much he’d pay for your hard work. You explained to him that be it that your previous boss was nice to you, he still pushed you to your limits and over. Hawks promised you that he’d push you but won’t overdo it. He said he needed you to be at your best, it would be impossible to be the best if you’re constantly going off fumes. As for your rent, the pay was going to be higher than your previous agency and he even offered to have you move into one of the apartments closer to his agency.

“Anything you planning on doing this weekend?” Hawks asked. You tap your pointer finger on your lips and reflect on what you would possibly be doing.

“I think I’m just going to watch a movie. I don’t have the energy to go out.” Hawks smile at you, his eyes following your own.

“Makes sense, this job is stressful. I think I’m going to take a nice and relaxing bath, Miruko gave me these bath bomb things and bath salts. They look nice but I’m not sure what they’re supposed to do for you? Do they even have a purpose?” Speaking with Hawks was natural. He always fell into his thoughts and it was honestly adorable.

You ruffled his hair and accidentally touched his wings. He could sense your fingertips brush his wings causing them to puff up in the area you touched. He acted as nothing happened but his eyes betrayed him. His pupils widened as he took more of your image in, he wanted to memories all of the details of your person, didn’t matter how small they were. He’d be lying if he said that you weren’t an eye-catcher. How did you manage to make bruises look hot? You managed to have him throw away all of his training out the window just to have you. He knew that having you close would be a liability for him, he found you attractive which was a new feeling for him, yet he didn’t care. He tracked the agency you worked for and sent in a request to transfer you out to his agency. You weren’t just a pretty thing to look at, you were the dangerous H/n. You were a hero whom no one should mess with. He loved it.

You both had your lunch and continued the conversation from where you both left off. You both were so in tuned with each other, you just clicked and that was obvious to the people around you. Many of your coworkers would point out that you were able to “tame” Hawks. You managed to make him take things slow which was unheard of, especially when it comes to him. They mentioned that he’d look for you and that your new employment at his agency was on purpose, not a coincidence. You didn’t know if you believed it or not but you weren’t going to complain especially when you were being taken care of well.

“I know you already said that you were planning on doing nothing this weekend but I was wondering if you wanted to hang out, maybe? We can still watch a movie or eat to we’re full.” He was hopeful. For once in his life, he was hopeful about something. He wanted to spend more time with you as a person, not your boss and he’s 100% sure that this violates regulations but he didn’t care. If he could spend just a second longer with you in a setting that wasn’t so formal, he’ll take it, didn’t matter if it was just a second.

“I- sure! I’d love to hang out with you, man.” You gave him your brightest smile. If you only knew that you’ve killed him with it. You were precious to him.

“Great! Text me about what time you want me to show at.” Your eyes widened, you didn’t think that he wanted to go to your place.

The weekend came and so did your jittery attitude. You were running around moving things around to make your apartment look as clean and presentable as possible. You didn’t know to what standards Hawks kept his own, from what you heard from his PA, it wasn’t anything to be impressed with. It wasn’t like you didn’t want him in your personal space, it’s more that you didn’t want to feel judged by your boss on your decorum. Hawks, no matter how kind he was to you, always managed to make you nervous. His presence just oozed confidence with a touch of superiority so it was hard to feel completely at ease when it was only the two of you.

A knock at your door startled you and made you quickly look around your apartment, checking to see if everything was in its right spot.

“Ok, it’s just your boss wanting to hang out. No more.” You mumbled to yourself. You walked over to your door and opened it.

“Hey, Hawks! Nice having you come in.” You moved to the side to let him come in and as you were closing the door once he was inside, he used his feathers to pick you up and close the door.

“No need to do that, I’ll take care of everything from now on.” His feathers moved you to a spot on the couch and brought over bags you didn’t notice him having prior. He set them down on your coffee table and used his feather to unpack everything he brought over.

“So I brought the mochi, and naturally some fried chicken, which you shouldn’t complain about because I’m willing to share with you.” He made himself at home on your couch as he picked up the remote and started to browse the selection of movies that you had.

Idel conversation was had between the two of you and slowly you both fully relaxed in each others company. You didn’t realize it yet but you were both now supporting each other. Hawks had his wings wrapping the both of you and his arm hunged over your shoulder, pulling you closer to himself. Hawks could keep to himself, he was ready to say that you were hoggin up the blankets you had on the couch but he hoped that you would just go align with whatever this was. You were comfort and you felt at home.

“You were my shining muse. A ray of hope.” The film was playing in the background. The romantically involved characters were doing their big confession. You were bored with the premise of the film but were paying attention nonetheless.

“I hated the idea of not being with you, not having you anymore.”

“I hated the idea of not being with you, not having you anymore.” Hawks spoke alongside the movie. Hitting each mark with the actor on the screen.

“What do you mean?” The love interest became confused, the woman on the screen didn’t seem to understand what her counterpart was saying. It was a laughable performance for both of them. It wasn’t convincing.

“I want your time and I want your presence every day.”

“I want your time and I want your presence every day.” You turned to face Hawks and his talking. You were tempted to tell him to stop, that he was taking away the emersion from the film but you couldn’t. You were stuck watching him talk. He was pouring more heart into the lines being spoken than the paid actor on the screen.

“But you already get that, why do you feel like you need more? Do you feel like you don’t get enough?” You were confused. His wings were around you, holding you in a protective cocoon. It was safe, it felt safe. You were in the metaphorical hands of the perfect hero. You knew that you could rely on him to make sure you were safe.

“It’s difficult for me to put everything into words.”

“It’s difficult for me to put everything into words.” Hawks turned to face you, his face inches from your own. Those golden eyes keeping you hostage unless some external force forced you to look away.

“Then just say it!” You were desperate for an answer. Your heart raced as you waited for him to do something with the little distance between you both. You wanted him close and he wanted the same. He wanted your lips on him and he wanted his beating heart in your arms. His wings finally settled on top of your body, adding a nice weight that helped ground you to the moment you both shared.

“Don’t you get it? I want you!”

“Don’t you get it? I want you!” Hawks wasn’t as dramatic as the actor but he was as forward. He leaned into you and pressed his lips to your own. His breath hitched as he felt your warmth on him. He was living for this, this moment that he could only share somewhere private. He dreamed of the ifs and the buts before deciding to do this. He feared the rejection that could certainly happen if he read you wrong. But that didn’t happen. You reciprocated him and his feelings. You wanted him as much as he wanted you.

You both moved away from each other and stared at one another’s flushed faces. He found you too adorable to not hold so he rubbed his thumb on your cheek and pulled you closer. His mouth got close to your ear.

“I want you, be mine L/n.” You kiss his cheek and stare at him intently.

“Always.” You both settled down from your euphoric high and cuddled with each other, him having you on top of him as you hugged in that position. The two of you watching the boring movie enter its climax and its decent. It was a nice moment to share with your boss and your boyfriend.