#I’m deeply sorry for putting it places that aren’t relevant

[articwolfclawartist]

My thoughts on the AI art debate

I think what upsets me the most about the “AI art vs artist” thing is that AI users don’t understand why we’re upset, or at least don’t understand what the main issue is.

You can argue back and fourth over ai lacking soul or heart and argue about technological advancements all you want, but you can’t deny this: someone’s intellectual property is being stolen and sold without their knowledge and, most certainly, without their consent.

In a culture that hates plagiarism to the point that people get death threats over tracing drawings, I find it hard to understand why straight up theft is being forgiven and implored.

(Of course this isn’t always the argument artists make, people have many different upsets and concerns over it because people are different and feel different things, but their feelings are still valid.)

And for the argument of “if you didn’t want it being stolen you shouldn’t have posted it” falls flat, because that logic proves moot when applied to a thousand other things “if you didn’t want your kid to trip on the sidewalk you shouldn’t have brought them outside” “if you didn’t want your boss to take credit for your idea you shouldn’t have said anything” or, maybe a more direct comparison, “Van Gogh shouldn’t have painted the Mona Lisa if he didn't want people to try to vandalize it”

Don’t blame people for the actions of others just because they wanted to share something they made. And let people be upset that something they’ve dedicated their lives to is being ripped from their hands. Someone being sad over the current state of their career is not valid reason to harass and belittle them

[kanerallels]

For my 501st follower celebration, as requested by @accidental-spice, a chunk from the Wraith Squadron being trained by Vos and Ventress au! (A little context: Sierra is a Jedi OC of a.spice's who can see the future. You'll see how that's relevant in a minute)

The Wraiths were relaxing in their lounge. Which, of course, meant that a low scale form of chaos reigned. Shalla and Donos were having a push-up competition, at which Shalla was winning with ease while Runt, Tyria, Wes Janson and Dia were placing bets on who’d win. Piggy and Face were playing Dejarik at the board in the corner, Kell was messing with something that looked suspiciously like an alarm clock with several things of dynamite strapped to it, and Phanan was sitting back with a glass of whiskey and watching the whole thing unfold.

Oh, and distracting Face from his game from time to time so he’d lose.

Leaning over a little, he slurped from his glass loudly right next to Face’s ear, and the former actor threw him an annoyed look. “Could you not?”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Phanan said innocently. “Is this—” he slurped again, louder, from his cup— “bothering you?”

Face let out a long, aggravated sigh just as a loud whistle caught Phanan’s attention. He turned to see Vos strolling into the lounge, carrying a large crate under one arm, a duffle bag hanging from the other, and propelling another crate with its anti-gravs turned on with his foot.

“Attention, Wraiths,” he said cheerfully. “Donos, please quit while you’re still alive, we’ll need you in the future.”

Donos dropped to the ground, taking a heaving breath, while Shalla carried on, looking completely unaffected. Vos coughed. “Uh, you, too, Shalla.”

“Yes, sir,” she said, popping up from her position and to her feet.

“Inhuman,” Donos said, sitting up with a groan.

“Told you,” Kell pointed out.

As the Wraiths who’d been spectating exchanged money, Phanan said, “So, not to be the curious one, but my superior intellect—” he was interrupted by groans from Kell, Face, and Tyria— “can’t help but notice that you’ve got some baggage there.”

“So I do,” Vos said with a devious grin. “I’ve got another practice mission for you guys.”

Perking up, Kell asked, “Are we robbing another bank?”

Phanan sighed. “I can’t believe you sent Runt and Kell to rob a bank but not me. You two get all the interesting missions.”

“In all fairness, you’ve done some interesting things in your time,” Vos pointed out. “And they had to put the money back— you did, right?”

“Of course,” Kell said.

“Absolutely,” Runt said.

Vos looked deeply skeptical, but apparently decided to move on. “Anyways, this one’s a little different. You need to take control of a large building and prevent the people inside from leaving.” Setting down his crate, he flipped it open, revealing a lot of blasters. “These are your weapons for this situation.”

“Oooooh,” Phanan said. “This is very much my kind of mission.”

Dia got to her feet, peering at the blasters. “These aren’t standard issues— these are the kind that you’d get if you were in a pirate’s crew. Piecemeal, bottom of the barrel— those aren’t even legal.”

Peering over her shoulder, Vos said, “Whoops. Those weren’t supposed to be in there.” Grabbing a pair of rifles, he slung them over his shoulder. “There, now these are your weapons for this situation.”

“What’s in the bag?” Face asked.

“Disguises,” Vos said. “You’re using the contents of these boxes and this bag—  or, for that matter, anything else you have in this room— to take over the building in question.”

“Has Commander Antilles signed off on this one?” Donos asked.

“He can’t actually sign off on it, as he’s been called off-world on an important matter,” Vos said. “Therefore, I’m in charge, and I say yes.”

A grin spread across Phanan’s face. “You planned this.”

“I didn’t not plan it, we’ll just say that,” Vos told him. “Now, everyone’s in on this one. Your goal— on the forty-seventh floor of the building I’ve had a datacard hidden. Get that and bring it to me, and you’ll have succeeded. No casualties, and no one gets caught. Understood?”

“This seems extremely illegal,” Tyria said with a frown.

“That’s because it is,” Vos told her. “If you get caught, you’re definitely going to jail. I have a safe house set up for you in the lower levels. Just head there when you’re done. Please don’t embarrass me and all go the same way—”

“We’ll split up,” Face assured him. “We’ve been at this a while now, you know.”

“I know,” Vos said with a grin. “And if anyone can pull this off, it’s the Wraiths.”

“I’ve got another question,” Phanan said. “Where are we holding up?”

Vos’s expression twisted into something half-grin, half-grimace. “Tyria, Shalla, Donos— you’re really not gonna like this.”

~

Bail Organa was strolling through the Senate Building on his way to lunch with his friend, Padme Amidala and her family. It had been a long session, but not as long as some that the Alderaanian senator had been through. It would be good, he thought, to see Padme and Anakin. It had been a long time— and he always enjoyed visiting with their children, whenever the twins were around, although that was less and less these days.

As he headed for the turbolift, he spotted Mon Mothma chatting with the young senator from Bothawui. An ambitious fellow, if Bail had ever met one, but he meant well, in his own way.

Doesn’t have the best grasp of Coruscanti politics yet, Bail mused. Perhaps I should offer to give him a hand. He reconsidered the thought quickly, however, after recalling the Bothan’s aggression on the Senate floor that afternoon. He had a feeling that any offers of help would be turned down at the least and probably taken the wrong way.

Bail keyed the button for the turbolift, and was patiently waiting when a thunderous boom shook the Senate building. Feeling himself tense, Bail scanned the room, wondering what had caused the quake— and then the door to the turbolift hissed open, revealing a large group of beings, all wearing bandit masks except for one man, who appeared to be wearing a very large tube sock with one eye hole and a mouth hole cut in it.

The leader lifted a blaster rifle up to his shoulder, and spoke in a casual tone. “Hands in the air, Senator. We don’t want any trouble.”

“Other than what we’re bringing,” added a woman’s voice in the back, and a murmur of laughter went through the group.

Hmm, Bail thought. So this is what Sierra was talking about when she told me not to panic at work today. Raising his hands in the air, he stepped back as the masked group stepped out of the lift.This should be very interesting, he mused.

[dewittwrites]

Absence.

By and large I’ve been massively absent from the app and from reaching out to find new writing partners for the past few weeks. And honestly the tall and short of the issue is simple, in that I’ve been crumbling. A lot.

I started my new job in January. January. Let that sink in for a second. Two months ago. And in those two months, I haven’t been treated very kindly by the customers who’ve been calling into the place I work. But more than that, I haven’t been supported by the people who are supposed to support me during my working hours.

I’ve been spoken to like I’m a failure. Like I’m not good enough, I’ve been told by several people after reassuring them I’m doing everything I can, “that’s not good enough”. I’ve been left feeling completely dejected at the end of my work day, and questioning if I should put myself first and hand in my notice. I haven’t as of yet, but the thought has been so very prevalent.

I’ve been idealising certain things that I haven’t touched in years. Haven’t wanted to touch in years. I won’t touch too deeply on those topics, but they are vastly unhealthy coping mechanisms. And it hasn’t been easy by any means to handle what’s going on in my head. There have been other things going on which aren’t relevant to this, but those are also a factor in my waning and dwindling mental health.

I truly want to get back into writing with new people. Finding friends who I can drag into my little circle of chaos with my best friend and our lovely beans. But I’m struggling even keeping a happy face right now, so I’m sequestering myself with familiarity for the time being. And I’m hoping that things will improve at my workplace, but I don’t hold too much hope.

sorry for the ramble. I just wanted to get it off my chest.

[keltonwrites]

Where no one knows your name

How many times is a person meant to make new friends? When I moved into an apartment in DC with an absolutely iconic girl from Craigslist, I wrote in my journal, “you never know when you’ll meet your next bridesmaid.” Charmingly juvenile, as I was 24 years old. Ironic, as I never had any bridesmaids. And embarrassing, knowing I wrote something that’s surely been embroidered on a bachelorette party t-shirt by now. My point was: you can meet people you fall in love with anywhere, anytime, assuming your heart (and calendar) are open. Now my heart and calendar are open and I am one of Elizabeth Bennet’s sad sisters, cloying and desperate for attention while everyone at the ball ignores me. Meeting people here is unnerving and hapless and eye-clawingly vulnerable. My first new friend told me she was moving away in a few months. Do you invest deeply in hopes of another faraway friendship? Do you just go back to waving as you pass on the street? I like this girl! What an embarrassing thing to have to say to someone! Do you just invite people to every and anything like a lunatic? I can’t even remember to call the people I am forever-and-ever in cahoots with. I’m also deeply bound by what I’ll call the Movie Trap: say it’s 3pm during not-a-pandemic, and you get the urge to see a movie. You look at the showings, and there’s one you really want to see at 7:15. You think to yourself, “I should make an effort,” and you text a friend. “Hey, you wanna go see This Cool Movie at 7:15 tonight?” No one ever says yes. Don’t give me an example of when someone has, because it’s always one of these answers:

“Oooh, I’m actually seeing it with Kate tomorrow - wanna come?”

“Can we go to the 9pm showing? Stuck at work.”

“Yeah but let’s see Movie You’ll Fucking Hate instead.”

Now maybe I’m just lighting flares guiding you to the worst parts of my personality, but this drives me nuts. No, Liz, I don’t want to go tomorrow. I want to go tonight. At 7:15. So I can be in bed by 10. And you’d have to drag my dead body and prop open my eyes to get me to see something like Marriage Story in theaters. The Movie Trap is a big reason I usually hang out by myself, or I make plans weeks in advance. (Don't I sound like a blast.) Just the idea of being like, “I like you! Wanna hang out in October?” makes me want to collapse into a puddle of sad adulthood. Which is why on Friday at 4:30pm, when a girl I’d met a week prior asked if I wanted to grab a drink, I just said yes. I put on a pretty dress, did my makeup, put stuff in a purse, and drove the 25 minutes to town. It was really fun! And how novel to have new contacts in my phone like “Maggie blue house” and “Jess concert friend” — a throwback to the days of “Greg guy on L train” and “Devon ad party.” The very concept of not knowing someone’s last name or even needing it, and a year from now updating their contact info and smiling at your origin story. But for the most part, no one is in our phones. In terms of phone numbers collected, here is the list:

Two friends we knew prior who thank god you guys exist.

New friend who is moving away.

New friend who is game to drink tequila and ride mountain bikes.

Neighbor-not-yet-friend who I really fucking like and am not sure how to cross hang-out threshold with.

​Not to say there aren’t any other prospects or people I’m platonically gaga over, but I don’t have their phone numbers. There are honestly a lot of people like this because when you live in a small town (and you’re from the Midwest) you say “oop, sorry” to every person/object you bump into, and you say “hi :)” to every person you see. These are the rules. If I drive by you and don’t wave, it’s because I was so deep in a daydream I probably shouldn’t have been driving in the first place. This isn’t acceptable, because in our urgency to tattoo our vaccination status on our foreheads so we can make friends, it turns out just driving by someone can be a viable strategy. A few days ago, a man was driving by our kitchen window and then our driveway, and then he reversed back up to the kitchen window and started waving. Ben went outside — it was that kind of wave. The man had seen from his car a smokejumper emblem on the back of a truck in our driveway. “Hey, are you a smokejumper?” We aren’t. But my dad was, and he was in town visiting, accompanied by the emblem on the back of his truck. The guy said we should drink sometime. Numbers were not exchanged. We’ll call that a node, because it’s not quite a connection. And it’s mainly nodes, waiting to be connected, to have relevance. But first, no matter who you’re trying to befriend, you have to answer everyone else’s Do I Care Quiz. The quiz is employed by 93% of locals to determine how they feel about you existing within their personal 50-mile radius. The first question is non negotiable:

1) Are you visiting?

Variations on this question include “how long are you in town?” or “what brings y’all to town?” or my least favorite and most insulting, “did you just finish Jeeping?” I know I have blonde hair and say y’all, but how dare you. (Also, to be clear, you can own a Jeep, customize your Jeep, mod out your Jeep, and love your Jeep, but you’re not Jeeping until you drive too fast through a tiny town so you can hurl your Jeep over a mountain pass without ever getting out of it.) So the answer to “are you visiting” is “no, I live here.” Which brings us to the next question, my favorite for how loaded the gun, kneeling in the grass, scope on, target locked it is.

2) Are you part-time or full-time?

The first time I answered this question, I didn’t realize it was essentially like asking how someone voted in the 2020 election. The judgment was cocked and ready and the palpable relief/joy/or at the very least, tolerance, exuded by answering “full-time” was like when the sun comes out from behind the clouds on a 40 degree day. I was fine, but wow that does feel better. The third question though does not have a standard hoped-for answer. This is where nodes turn to connections turn to phone numbers.

3) What brings you here?

It seems like the best possible answer would be saying you work in town, and you’re going to begin construction on displaced-worker housing to ensure the people who run this town can actually live in it. We’d have everyone’s phone number. Saying you’re a writer who works remotely and bought a house from a legendary and beloved local who could no longer afford it is really something you keep to yourself. But in the interest of making friends, I just word vomit my entire history. We might as well find out at the onset if I make your eyes roll back into your skull. Not at all threatening that all it takes is a single social signal misinterpreted to be the absolute death knell of my ability to make friends in a town of some 1400 adults. In fact, I’ll share one such interaction. I was hiking with Cooper, about 5 miles by foot away from my house. I was on a trail, crossing a sloped meadow, and a group was traversing up the hillside to the trail. I said hi, where y’all coming from. One girl answered and we talked about the trail. She eyed me up and down. “Did you just move here?” “I did!” “I served your family last week,” she said. “Oh,” that phrasing. “Must have been my in-laws.” “Heard you bought Jack’s house. Such a bummer when locals like that are forced out.” “We didn’t even know about his house,” I said. “We were looking at another house and he asked his realtor if he could get us to come see his house. We just loved it, and him!” She had no emotional reaction to this. “You moved from California?” she asked. (Dangerous question.) “Yeah, got these sea level lungs, haha,” attempting to disarm with humor was a failure, “but couldn’t be happier to be out of California.” “It’s not like this all year. Winter’s really hard here, you’re in for a rude awakening.” “Well California’s the last place I lived, but I’m not from there. I’ve lived in brutal winters. At least Colorado gets sun!” I laugh with cloaked loathing. “It’s different when you live at altitude,” she said, like no human aside from her had ever been literally anywhere. “Are you trying to go around?” She indicated the path behind her. “No, y’all go ahead, just gonna wait to give you your space. I’m sure you’re faster than me.” “K, good luck making it to the lake." Maybe she was thirsty. Maybe she was hungover. Maybe she just has vicious delivery, but it felt like every blade of grass was leaning against the wind to listen. She was with four other people and not one of them said a word. I left that interaction not wanting to see another human ever again. But that interaction, and her intimate knowledge of exactly which house I lived in, made me want to decorate like we lived in a gingerbread house, all candy canes and plum drops, screaming to any passerby that we’re friendly. One of the mayor’s first questions to me was “what are you going to do to the house?” There are rules here about what your house can look like, and I kept emphasizing we bought the house because we loved it, not because we wanted to change everything about it. And now, instead of wanting to decorate the interior, I want to put up shades so we don’t contribute to light pollution, I want to hang a sign by the water spigot saying “grab some if you need” for hikers and mountain bikers, I want to paint a sign for the wild mint by our door that says, “I mint to tell you to take some,” because our neighbors were openly panicked they wouldn’t be able to just grab mint from the cabin’s garden anymore. Without question, COVID makes things harder. Dinner parties feel like dares. Dropping cookies off at someone’s house feels invasive. Grabbing a drink feels like the ultimate sign of trust. But at least we have nodes who can connect who can think to invite us and who can see that despite having lived in California, we’re not all that bad. In the meantime, I’ll be painting signs about water and mint, hoping to garner the benefit of the doubt from the so beautifully, earnestly, and waiting-to-see-if-you’re-worth-it doubtful.

Subscribe to the newsletter at tinyletter.com/keltonwrites — high altitude relocation and renovation in a tiny mountain town.

[sisterspooky1013]

The Perfect Gift by SisterSpooky1013

2931 words, rated E

Read it here on AO3

Adult content immediately after the jump

He trailed kisses down her sternum, stopping to lavish each nipple with the rough brush of his tongue before continuing to her belly button, dipping into the shallow well of her navel and eliciting giggles from up among the pillows. He smiled against the skin of her lower belly as he rubbed his second-day stubble on her flesh, delighting in more arousal-laden tittering. The amount of play and laughter in their newly-blossomed sex life had surprised him; someone who was generally as serious and task-focused as Scully didn’t strike him as the type to make a joke while he was breathlessly driving himself as far into her tiny body as he could get, but she did, and often. He nipped at the hem of her panties, snapping the elastic with his teeth, then ran his nose down the damp gusset of the thin fabric, smelling her arousal. He wanted desperately to taste her. Tentatively, he ran his tongue along the seam of her thigh, slipping millimeters into her panties. His hopes were dashed, yet again, when he felt her hands on the sides of his face, pulling him up.

“Come here, Mulder,” she breathed in an intimate whisper. “I want you here.”

After they had each found their release and lie sated and sweat-damp on her bed, his head resting on one of her small breasts as though it were a pillow, he surveyed her face to gage her openness to a real conversation.

“Scully, can I ask you something?” He queried.

“You just did, “she replied smartly, brushing her fingers over his scalp with a content smirk on her lips.

“Har har,” he said with a sarcastic roll of his eyes. “I can’t help but notice that you don’t seem to want me to, shall we say, go down under.” He lifted his eyebrows and tipped his head back slightly to indicate he was referring to the lower half of her body.

“‘Go down under,’ Mulder? I assume we’re not talking about a trip to Australia here?” She was making light, but he caught the slight tensing of her body when he’d mentioned it.

“Okay, if euphemisms are unwelcome, let me clarify that I’m talking about me putting my mouth on your vagina.” He punctuated the statement with a haughty little smile as her eyes briefly went big before she composed herself.

“I think you mean vulva, Mulder. The vagina is just the opening and pathway to the uterus. The vulva is everything external, including the labia majora and minora, and the clitoris.” She was averting her eyes to where her fingers were trailing down his upper arm, hiding behind facts and definitions. Had anyone else witnessed this conversation, they would not detect that she was deeply uncomfortable. Mulder knew better.

“Thank you for the anatomy lesson, Dr. Scully. But that begs the question of why you won’t let me go down on you.” He worked to keep his expression soft and open, without judgment or expectation.

She met his eye and shrugged, pushing her chin into a pout concurrently. “I’m just not a fan. Is that a problem?”

“No, not a problem per se. If you truly don’t like it I can accept that, but I can’t help but wonder if you actually don’t like it, or if you’re just not comfortable with it.” He had picked up her hand after she dropped it from his arm and was brushing his thumb over her palm. He wanted to maintain connection, to communicate that this was wasn’t meant to be confrontational. He just wanted to understand her.

She inhaled deeply and let the air stream out through puffed lips. “I suppose I would say the former, because of the latter.”

“So you’ve done it before?” He clarified. “Or experienced it, more accurately.”

She peered at him from under her eyelashes, a look of slight annoyance on her face. “Yes, Mulder,” she said as though it were the most obvious answer possible.

“And you didn’t like it?”

She sighed again, growing tired of the conversation. “I’ve just never been able to…get out of my own head, I guess. It’s just awkward, and I find it difficult not to think about what my partner is thinking or experiencing.” She picked at a patch of lint on the comforter. “I’ve honestly never enjoyed it so I’d rather just skip it.”

He absorbed this information, to which he had numerous rebuttals, but he knew that it wasn’t something he could or should push her on. “I respect that decision,” he started, “but I also think you should know, just so you’re armed with all relevant information, that I’m really good at it. Like, REALLY good.”

She smiled sadly at him. “I don’t doubt that, Mulder. But the fact remains that I could make you the best rhubarb pie on Earth and you still wouldn’t like it, because you hate rhubarb.”

He shifted so that he was lying on his side facing her, propped up on one elbow.

“Or have I only ever had shitty, underripe rhubarb? I’d have to try it to know for sure.”

“Mulder.” Her tone carried warning that he was taking it too far.

“Okay, okay. Just one more thing and then I promise to let it go.” He lifted his free hand and placed it gently on her thigh so that his thumb was resting just beside the cleft of her sex. “What if I told you that in all the times that I fantasized about being with you, which were very frequent by the way, that the thing I thought about the most was going down on you?” He swept his thumb lightly back and forth, a whisper of a touch near her clit.

“Then I would tell you that I’m deeply sorry for your loss,” she replied, bringing her hands to his face and pulling him towards her for a kiss, at the same time letting her legs fall open so he could explore her with his fingers. That much, she would happily permit.

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

Autumn had arrived in full swing, the yellowing leaves and chilly air sending them into hiding beneath wooly blankets, favoring her place for the availability of a fireplace to keep them warm. It was here that they sat on a lazy Sunday afternoon, steaming coffee cups wafting up to their kiss-swollen lips after a morning of lovemaking.

“It’s almost your birthday, Mulder,” Scully remarked, “What do you want to do?”

He shrugged. “Nothing. You know I’m not a big birthday fan. For myself, anyway.”

She leaned her head against his shoulder. “I know, but that’s because no one ever made any effort to make your birthday special. I’d like to change that, if you’ll let me.”

“I don’t want you to put a bunch of effort into it, Scully. It’s just another day, it doesn’t need to be a big deal.”

She set her mug on the coffee table and then took his, doing the same. She wrapped his cup-warmed hands in hers and looked at him with tender affection.

“It IS a big deal, Mulder. I’m certainly grateful that you were born.” He smiled sheepishly and looked at his lap, uncomfortable with such unabashed praise. “I really want to do this for you. Think of something you’ve always wanted to do but never have, and we’ll do it together. It would mean a lot to me.”

He met her eye and felt his heart swell at how open and genuine she looked. “Okay, I’ll think about it,” he finally said, and she smiled victoriously as she retrieved his cup for him.

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

“I figured out what I want to do for my birthday.” He announced. It was October 10th, and she’d reminded him a few times that she would need at least a little bit of notice to make arrangements, depending on what he decided on doing.

“Oh good!” She exclaimed, setting the file she’d been reading on his coffee table so she could give him her full attention. “What is it?” She sat at the far end of the couch with her back against the arm rest, legs crossed.

He felt nervous, knowing that he had to do this just right or it wouldn’t work. “It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, years actually, but I’m not sure you’ll want to do it with me.” He rubbed his palms on the tops of his thighs. “Actually, never mind.” He picked up another file and opened it in his lap.

Scully stood and moved to sit right beside him, one leg folded under her so that she was facing him, and took the file from his hands. “Tell me, Mulder.”

He fought off the smirk that tugged at his mouth. “Before I tell you, do you promise you’ll do it, even if you aren’t exactly excited about it?”

“Of course,” she said emphatically, her eyebrows stitched in concern as she folded her diminutive hands around his own. He felt a little guilty, but not enough to stop. “It’s your birthday, and I’d really like to do whatever it is that would make it special for you. It doesn’t matter whether I enjoy it, as long as you do.”

“Okay,” he said, beginning to lose the battle to maintain a neutral expression, which contorted his face into an odd grimace. He looked at her and bit his lip. “What I really want for my birthday, more than anything in the world, is for you to let me go down on you.”

Her eyes widened and then narrowed as she let go of his hands and sucker-punched him on the upper arm. “Mulder!” Her mouth dropped open in a mix of surprise and amusement. “That isn’t fair, you tricked me!”

“I did not, everything I said was completely true and honest. I have been wanting to do this for years, it’s all I want for my birthday, Scully.”

She shook her head at him ruefully, but there was a soft smile on her mouth. “I’ll give you three minutes, Mulder, and that’s it.”

“Deal,” he replied, extending his hand in an offer to shake on it. He had the good sense not to tell her how confident he was that she would be begging him not to stop when those three minutes were up.

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

At the time she agreed to his birthday gift, it had been four days since they’d last had sex, and he artfully avoided being in a position for them to be intimate for the following three. Part of his plan, which was exceedingly well thought out, involved her being as turned on as possible when he finally touched her. He picked up her favorite red wine and made sure she had the opportunity go home after work before he came over, in case being able to take a shower or bath was something she’d want to do, not that he cared. He just wanted her to be as comfortable as possible, part of which included being in her own apartment.

His own excitement was palpable, his cock twitching at the idea of tasting her as he knocked on her door, bottle of wine in hand. When she answered in a knee length grey dress, the apartment abnormally warm with a fire blazing, he failed to suppress the grin that spread across his face. Easy access was all he thought, and he was hoping she had the same thing in mind.

“Happy Birthday, you bastard,” she crooned, pulling him through the door and pushing on to her tip toes to kiss him.

“Why thank you,” he returned, pulling back and holding up the wine. “I brought you something.”

Taking it from him, she walked to the kitchen and set it next to an already open bottle. “I’m two steps ahead of you,” she replied, pouring him a glass after she drained her own.

He joined her by the counter, setting their glasses to the side and gripping her by the hips to lift her up on to it. Stepping close to occupy the space between her thighs, he brought his hands to her face and tipped it up until she was looking at him. “You know you don’t ever have to do anything with me you don’t want to, right? No matter how much I want this, if you’re not into it, we won’t.”

She nodded. “I know. But I’ve made up my mind. I think I can withstand three minutes of something mildly uncomfortable for the sake of all your birthday dreams coming true.”

He smiled warmly at her. “Okay. But just so you know, my plan is that it’s slightly better than tolerable.”

She chuffed a laugh and he kissed her, a slow languid kiss that morphed into the slip of a tongue, and then the grip of a hip, until finally they were making out on her kitchen counter as he tugged her pelvis against his own, grinding into her as she hummed with desire.

He hadn’t expected them to get right to business so quickly, but he was more than happy to initiate phase one of the plan; torture her until she was practically begging to be touched. Slipping his hands under her ass, he lifted her off the counter and carried her into her bedroom, placing her gingerly in the center of the bed. He kissed down her throat, his lips brushing over the sensitive spot beneath her ear and sucking gently at the juncture of her shoulder. Feeling for the zipper at her back, he peeled it down and then pushed it from her shoulders to get at her breasts. She’d skipped a bra, and he circled her nipples with his tongue before flicking at the hardened buds. She flexed her hips, moaning softly, and he trailed his hand up her inner thigh to cup her lightly over her dampening panties; not enough pressure to relieve her need, but enough to drive her crazy with want. He moved between her mouth, neck, chest and breasts, licking and sucking as he simultaneously teased his hands around the edges of her panties, brushing close but never touching her clit. Finally he peeled her panties off and lifted her dress over her head, leaving her naked and aching before he resumed the same pattern on her bare skin. His fingertip danced at her opening, placing a hint of pressure but never going inside. He fluttered over her inner lips, hovering just above her clit and she squirmed, biting his lips and whimpering. She was incredibly wet, which allowed him to slide over and around her effortlessly with almost no pressure. This went on for a deliciously long time, until she arched her back abruptly in an attempt to force more contact and then moaned in frustration when he pulled his hand away.

He moved quickly, not wanting to give her time to pull herself out of the moment with self-conscious thoughts. Moving to the end of the bed, he shucked off his shirt and then gripped the top of her thighs and pulled her down to where he was kneeling before her. He hoped that in the future he’d have the opportunity to look and explore and taste her slowly, taking his time, but in this circumstance he instead immediately brought his lips to her swollen, aching clit and sucked it softly, fluttering the pointed tip of his tongue across it as his eyes darted to her bedside clock and took note of the time.

She sucked air into her lungs audibly, her chest rising and obscuring her face as a single, piercing “Oh” escaped her lips. He proceeded to devour her, dipping his tongue into the liquid pool of her entrance and tasting her sweet and slick, running up her seam and to her clit, when he felt her hand on the back of his head. Dismayed, he thought this was the point where she would ask him to stop, and he would without question if she asked him to. But when he glanced up he saw that her eyes were closed, her face contorted into an expression of absolute ecstasy as her other hand gripped her breast tightly and pinched at her nipple. Encouraged, he swirled his tongue around her sporadically throbbing bud and let his ears delight in the sounds of her pleasure, knowing that she was close. When her panting became quick and rhythmic, he slipped two fingers inside her and flexed them against her front wall, and she cried out in a mix of surprise and relief as he felt her clench around him, spasming under his tongue as she dripped down his chin and his wrist, wetter than he had imagined possible. He continued, slowing only as she did, pulling from her each pulse her body had to offer, not letting her miss out on a moment of it. When she shifted her hips away from him he removed his fingers and placed one last kiss to the inside of her thigh before he crawled up the bed to find her with her eyes closed, breath still quick as she returned to Earth.

“Hey Scully,” he whispered into her neck.

“Mmhmm,” she replied, eyes still closed.

“I still have 30 seconds left on the clock. You wanna go again?”

She snorted. “Happy Birthday, Mulder.”

“Thank you. Hey Scully?”

“Yes?”

“I think you liked my present.”

She opened her eyes and turned to look at him, pupils the size of saucers, a sated smile on her lips.

“That I did.”

Tagging @today-in-fic thanks!

[horrorslashergirl]

Samuel Grayson x reader where the reader is a soft-spoken, gentle and loving single mom with either a baby or a toddler who moves into Samuel's old apartment while running from an abusive ex? thank you so much!

Samuel Grayson x Reader- New Owner

Warnings: 18+ for abusive themes, gore and death

Words: 2.4k

If only things would have been different, but life doesn't let you know what will happen, because if you knew you would have never gotten into this relationship in the first place. To say the divorce went fine was a big lie, especially since you took full custody of your child.

Your now ex-husband couldn't afford to take care of your son; he was unemployed, plus he was charged with middle violence, not to mention the scandal he caused at the court, so the judge took the best decision.

Moving away from the small town and far away into San Fransisco was a big change not only for you but for your son too, but the good part was that despite being a six-year-old, he could understand the necessity of moving away.

'As long as I am with you, mom, I'm good.' Will told you when you packed the things you need to move.

Now you were at the lobby of the building you were gonna live in, waiting for the administrator to come and hand you the keys to the apartment. It was the cheapest you could find and also not one of these cramped shoe-box-like apartments in dangerous neighbors.

It was actually a pretty big one; a living room with a big kitchen, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a dressing-room. At first, you were skeptical of the price, not to mention the building was in central San Fransisco, so it was like winning the Jackpot.

The team of guys started to move the boxes to the apartment, taking the elevator and you saw a man dressed in a grey suit with a red tie, his brown hair slicked back. He noticed you and your son and smiled, walking towards you two.

"Mrs. [Exhusband surname]?" he asked and you frowned at the surname of your ex-husband, a bitter feeling in your throat.

"Not anymore. Just call me [Name]." you replied and the man gave you a sympathetic smile.

"I understand and I am deeply sorry. I am the manager of this building, Mr. Wilson, but feel free to call me Henry." he introduced himself, extending his hand for you to shake.

You gave him an assuring smile and explained that there is nothing to think about the past anymore, that you were looking forward to a neat future and to raise your son peacefully.

"I am sure you will love this apartment. It hasn't really been used that much." Henry spoke as you rid the elevator.

"How so?" you asked, getting curious.

"Oh, you know, most people now are looking for houses on the outskirts of the city. More quiet and away from the chaotic big city lifestyle." He told you, the ding of the elevator announcing your arrival on the floor.

Walking with Will behind Henry down the hallway, you noticed how everything was so quiet, save for an old lady that was wetting her plants by the door. She looked up at you and a terrified look crossed her face as you stopped in front of the door to your apartment.

"What's with the neighbor?" you asked in a quiet whisper, making Henry look at the old woman and you noticed a dark stare into his eyes like he was silently telling her to mind her own business.

"Oh! Dorota is 80 years old and she has been alone for 10 years since her husband died of old age. Don't mind her, she has a habit of starring." Henry explained and ushered you and your son inside, your eyes widening at the scenario.

It was indeed very spacious and modern, not overly filled with furniture, but enough to make it look cozy. The moving crew set the last box on the floor close to the couch, then nodded at you and Henry that they were done.

"So? What do you think? I know pictures aren't that relevant and things aren't the same in reality." Henry began to apologize, but you waved it off.

"No, no! It looks better than I thought and it's very large and I am sure Will is delighted to finally have his own bedroom." you explained and Will's eyes sparkled with joy at the information of having his intimacy.

Henry rubbed his hands together, a big smile on his face, seeing that you and your son were approving of the apartment.

"Sweet! So, it's all settled then?" he asked with a hopeful look into his eyes, and you nodded with a chuckle, seeing Will run through the apartment, gazing at every little detail with curiosity, getting aquatinted with your and his new home.

"That's delightful to hear! I will come back tomorrow so you can sign the contracts and all that paperwork." he explained, walking towards the exit door of the apartment, followed by you close behind.

He turned back towards you, handing you the keys to the apartment with a smile.

"This is now yours... with everything that is inside. Enjoy." he simply said then walked down the hallway of the floor to the elevator, getting inside, the metal doors closing.

After the man disappeared, you moved back inside the apartment, seeing Will gazing out the big full-length wall windows at the city below with excitement.

"Look, Momma! The view is so pretty!" he said with enthusiasm, making you smile and nod, looking at the city with him, happy that you finally started anew after a long time of toxicity, the thoughts of your ex-husband making you shiver and wrap your arms around yourself in an attempt at creating a little protection.

The feeling of someone tugging at the edge of your shirt pulled you out of your thoughts, looking down at Will with a questionable look.

"I'm hungry." he simply stated, and now that he said it, you were pretty hungry yourself. All you have eaten today were some croissants and a cup of coffee.

Nodding, you grasped his hand gently into yours, walking with him to the kitchen, setting him up on the kitchen counter, grateful that you delivered the groceries yesterday here.

"What would you like? Maybe some bacon, sausages, and scrambled eggs?" you asked your son who happily nodded, watching as you started to cook, not before turning the radio on for some music to play into the background.

Everything seemed so perfect, a new home, a new job, you and your son, away from your abusive ex. Everything seemed to fall right into their respective places.

After the food was ready, you served it on two full plates, eating with your son at the table, just listened to music, and having a peaceful earlier dinner. After washing the dishes, you told Will that you will be fondling the clothes and setting them into the closets. Your son nodded, telling you that he will be playing in his room.

While you were arranging your clothes, Will was playing with a remote car in the apartment, running after the toy as he controlled it with the remote in his small hands.

His brows furrowed as the toy car moved out of the apartment on its own; the front door wide open, which was suspicious seeing how you locked it, but the child was more concerned about his precious plaything.

Will was running after the car down the hallways of the last floor, not really paying attention to where he was going until he turned a corner and his gaze fell on a dog at the other end of the hallway. It was a Doberman, gazing back at him, tilting its head to the side, the car stopping at its black paws.

The little boy was ready to take a step forward, when a hand touched his shoulder, making him jump in surprise, turning himself around, and seeing you with a concerned look on your face.

"Sweety... If you want to play outside the apartment, at last, tell me. Don't run off like that." you said, crouching down in front of him, inspecting your son for injuries or bruises, a habit that was born because of your ex-husband.

"Sorry, Mom... I was playing with the car and the dog-" he didn't finish his sentence, because when he pointed to where the canine was, there was no dog at the other end of the hallway.

You sighed and rubbed your forehead.

"If you want a dog, you should have asked...Now that he is no more we can... I mean...." you stumbled over your words, remembering how Will asked one day his father for a dog and your ex just simply slapped his cheek, telling him a straight-up no without so much of an explanation.

Will hugged your legs tightly, gazing up into your eyes with a sad look, knowing what you were thinking.

"Don't be sad.... You know I don't like it when you cry." he whispered and you kissed his forehead, giving him an assuring smile.

"It's alright... Let's just go back. We can watch a movie tonight... Anything you want." you said, turning with him down the hallway and seeing the old lady that you encountered when Henry was presenting you the building.

She gazed at you two with suspicion and a morbid look, her wrinkly, skinny hands trembling. Instinctively, you pulled Will closer to you, the motherly protectiveness coming out.

"It's you... You are staying there.... His place.... He comes.... He is after you." she said in a scratchy raspy voice, making Will hide behind your legs.

Gulping down, you quickly scooped your son into your arms, walking away fast from the old lady, who began to laugh, a sound that made a shiver run down your spine, feeling sick from her words. Running, you quickly entered your apartment with your son into your arms, slamming the door behind you and locking it.

"Momma... What did she mean?" Will asked, his smaller hands clenching your shirt into tiny fists.

"N-Nothing... Don't worry... I won't let anything bad happen to you. I promise." you whispered into his hair, kissing the top of his head, hugging him tightly to your chest, not aware of a pair of golden eyes watching from the dark corners of the apartment.

So far things have been going fine for the following weeks; your working schedule was perfectly put with Will's school program, you left him at school before going to work and picking him up after the working programs, plus it was a bonus you could work extra hours at home.

Will kept telling you about the dog that he kept seeing along the hallways of the building, and you told him that it probably belonged to one of the neighbors.

Now it was weekend which meant you were free; you were currently making some dinner while Will was watching cartoons in the living room, then the doorbell rang, and before you could go and check it yourself, Will beat you to it, only for your eyes to widen when you saw your ex-husband into the doorway, Will obviously taken aback, running to hide behind your legs, the cold stare of the man making your hands tremble at your sides.

"Took me some time to find you. You thought you could get away from me with my son?" he asked, voice gruff and making shivers of disgust run down your spine, although you tried to put on a brave facade, being the overprotective mother.

"We have a restraining order." you told him firmly, wanting for this fiasco to be over, but your ex merely laughed, like you just told him a joke.

"Ya think a piece of paper is gonna keep me away?" he asked, starting to walk towards you.

You quickly told Will to run into his bedroom and lock the door, which the boy was anxious to do, mostly to leave you here with this monster that was supposed to be his father, only the little boy no longer viewed him as such.

The man scoffed, rolling his eyes and stopping in front of you, glaring daggers into your forehead.

"You know... You are starting to piss me off." he grumbled, spitting on your shoes, something he did multiple times, making you swallow the bitter feeling.

"Y-You had your chance... We don't want you... Y-You hurt us." you shuttered out, his dark aura always made you want to run, to hide.

"Please... it was only a slap." he replied.

To be correct there were too many slaps, and not only that, kicks and punches too, not to mention derogatory names that made you feel small and helpless.

Before you could tell him to leave, his hand shot up to grasp your jaw tightly, fingernails digging into the skin of your cheeks, making your eyes water.

"I think I should just get rid of you and get my son back." he whispered, pulling out a switch-blade from his pocket, but before he could use it, a big and black clawed hand shot out from nowhere, talons digging into the shoulder of your ex, making him let you go.

Your eyes widened as did your ex gaze when they landed on a man. No, he was definitely not a man. His height was insane, over 7'0, skin a sickly grey color, spikey jet black hair covering his head, clad in black clothing and his eyes of shining gold and the sclera all black.

Definitely not human.

Your ex stabbed the creature or whatever he was into his shoulder, but the entity didn't even flinch, only gazed where the blade was impaled.

"Who the fuck are you?!" your ex screamed, trying to pry his clawed hands from him.

The creature snarled into his face, black snakes shooting from the sharp-toothed mouth, hissing aggressively, making your ex scream. The scream didn't last long, for the creature ripped his arm straight off like it was nothing, throwing the limb over his shoulder, demonic dogs coming out of his back and chewing on the arm.

Your ex fell to the ground, sounds of agony leaving him, trying to crawl backwards, but the demonic being wasn't done with him, his clawed hands starting to rip him piece by piece, blood following like there was no end, the hellish dogs starting to eat each piece the creature threw at them until your ex simply disappeared.

You couldn't believe what you just witnessed, a choked cry leaving you. In an instant the sound left you pulled on the creature's attention, golden eyes meeting yours.

Before there could be any exchange of words, the sound of your son's voice, pulled your attention.

"Momma... What's happening?" he asked from his bedroom.

Gazing back to the creature, he was gone and any evidence of what happened simply vanished; no blood, no guts, not even a hint that there was any carnage.

Falling to your knees, you finally understood the old lady.

'He is coming.'

[mrs-dynamight]

Be Nice To Me 5

Part 4.

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Pairing: Katsuki Bakugou x fem!Reader, Denki Kaminari x fem!Reader

Warnings: Eventual mature content, angst, hurt/comfort, love triangle, the reader is lowkey toxic, everything will be adressed in every episode (:

Chapter warning: Swearing, steamy make out session (borderline porn but not really), mentions of other couples form 1A

Chapter: 5/?

Synopsis: You're in love with your best friend Bakugou, and you're cofessing to him but things get a lot more complicated when Denki starts to treat you different *wink wink*

Word count: 3.9k

Author's note: This is sooo long, but I loved writing it, I deeply suggest you listen to the song of the title (here). I'm honestly living my coming-of-age indie kid fantasy with this chapter, as always any suggestion is welcomed.

Chapter 5 First Day of my Life- Bright Eyes

Thank to every single Deity that my weekend was packed with internship work so I didn’t have a minute to think about the emotions bubbling up in my heart and my mind, I came to my room exhausted and directly to sleep.

I didn’t talk to any of my friends that weekend, I had a couple of texts from the groupchats, in one of them there were unresolved questions about my date with Katsuki, and on the other one were the flashes for the Fridays gig and good luck wishes to Bakugo who was going to leave the morning after the show, so they planned a goodbye party in the dorms after the gig, Aizawa surprisingly agreed but under any circumstances we were allowed to having alcohol or any other illicit activity inside the UA facilities, not like that could’ve stopped my favourite trio of dumbasses, Mina, Denki and Sero were already planning on smuggle some liquor to the dorms, that was going to be one epic night.

Monday morning finally came, and as much I would love to just spend the day in my bed sleeping and watching Tiktok I needed education, my muscles were sore of the whole weekend roaming the city with Mirko, who seemed unable to getting tired, but I stilled reunited the forces to get dressed, brush my teeth and tried to look like a decent human being, emphasis in the tried part.

As I climbed down the stairs to the common room for a bite of whatever was in the fridge, I saw a beautiful ash blonde guy drinking his usual morning juice with protein powder.

-Morning Draw, you look like shit-

-Well you look handsome as ever ‘Tsuki, thanks for the kind words of the day, you know how to make a woman start the week in the best way possible- I replied while heading to the kitchen

-But seriously what is that Bunny forcing you to do on weekends? Crack? -

I didn’t reply but instead I just blowed him a kiss and start munching on a toast with excessive amount of jam, Tsuyu and Ochako were eating cereal next to Deku, the three of them saw my whole interaction with Katsuki with those weird eyes that just screamed “marry him already”, I told them I had to talk to them, and they all agreed that lunch time with Tenya and Shoto were the gossip time of choice, I waited for the girls to finish eating and we headed class.

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-YOU TWO FINALLY KISSED?!?- Ochako screamed with excitement

-Is he a good kisser? - Asked Deku pulling out his notebook in the “Kachaan” section

-How’s that relevant to the hero notebook? – I asked Deku

-Wait, isn’t he going to another country on Saturday? –

-Well yes Tenya, that’s the other thing I wanted to talk you guys about-

Then I started to explain the whole predicament of waiting for him and his words about that.

-Wow did he really said that having a girlfriend would be a distraction? - said Tsuyu with a concerned look on her face

I didn’t really thought about that harsh phrase, but it was Bakugo, right? He always says things that hurt other people’s feelings, that’s just him

-He sounded honest, but he shouldn’t have hurt your feelings like that-

-It didn’t hurt my feelings, Shoto, I’m used to him saying things like that all the time-

-That can’t be good Y/N, you can’t just get used to people hurting you, especially if you want to have a relationship, and a long-distance one, where things usually get a little tougher- Said Ochako

-I would consider wait for him to return Y/N, so that way you can both be clear about what you expect for each other- Deku said hiding his face in the Katsudon plate in front of him

I wanted to talk to them about what happened with Denki, but I was afraid they just said that I was overthinking, we’ve always been very close friends; but so were they, why was I so reluctant to talk about me and Denki? Maybe saying it out loud could somehow make it more real.

We finished our lunch and headed to class, the rest of the day went pretty neutral, as well as the rest of the week, but the thought of Bakugo leaving haunted me, he didn’t said or did anything special, we didn’t talked about our kiss or our lovely words, it was like it didn’t happen at all, we came back to being just friends. Denki was purposely avoiding me, I could notice it, anytime I wanted to talk to him he just made up some excuse and leave quickly, the rest of the Bakusquad was busy with the whole party preparations and the Dekusquad was as lovely as always, they told me a million times in that week that they will be there for me no matter what I choose to do; as for me, I was just as confused as Monday morning.

I didn’t wanna go to the party, or the gig, I just wanted to go to my room, listen to sad music, and feel pity for myself until I ceased to exist, but it was definitely off limits, I promised Denki I would go with him to the soundcheck, there was only this last one class, but I wasn’t really in the mood for maths, so I decided the best for me was head back to the dorms and stop thinking so much about everything, missing a class wouldn’t kill me.

When my life crumbles down there is only one thing in the whole world that could make me feel better, and that is loud music, so there I was, headphones to the max, airplane mode on, eyes closed and mouthing every word like a prayer, I felt like every lyric was washing away my worries and doubts, reassuring me that everything was (not) okay, I was so concentrated in my music I didn’t heard the knocking on my door, and didn’t heard a certain blonde calling my name, it was until I felt a big hand in my shoulder that I realized that Bakugo wasn’t in class either, but in my dorm room, with a worried face.

-Fucking dumbass, why aren’t you in class? You’re going to fail math, again-

-I wasn’t feeling like going to class- I said with a bit of guilt, it probably sounded like a lame ass excuse, but at least it was the truth

-Not feeling like going to class? What the fuck do you think this is, a game? Math is your worst subject and if you fail I won’t be here to tutoring you, you can’t fail-

He was worried, I could tell, he just turned every emotion in pure acidic rage, not like knowing this would make his words hurt less, I didn’t want to admit that the thought of being far from him made my heart ache and my eyes water, and it didn’t help the lack of contact of the week, I was looking forward to another one of his tender kisses, or any sign that what happened last Friday was real

-I’m hurt Katsuki, a week ago it seemed like you wanted to be with me, despite everything and this past days you were acting like nothing happened, I don’t know what to think or what to do, I don’t know what's going on with you, how are you feeling, you don’t say anything, you don’t do anything, you just hide your feelings away in your cocoon of rage-

-See, that is exactly why I didn’t want to kiss you in the first place, I knew it would only lead to problems, that’s the reason I didn’t want to tell you I liked you before going away, I knew you would react like this, I told you the truth, I can’t be your Boyfriend, I’m sorry if that hurts your feelings-

And surprisingly I found myself inside his big arms in a tight hug, his face hiding in the crook of my neck, I put my arms around his slim waist and we just stayed there for a solid ten minutes before breaking the contact.

-I don’t want this to hurt you Y/N, I can’t be with you right now, I can’t give you what you need, and as I told you the other night, I don’t want you wasting your time waiting for me-

-I don’t wanna let you go ‘Tsuki- I said with tears in my eyes

-You won’t, think it like this, if this is meant to be, and I know it is, when we see each other again, in a better place, in a better time, it will happen. I don’t know where or when, but I promise you we will be together, but please don’t throw your life away waiting for me-

- That sounded as if we were breaking up-

-We aren’t, this is only the beginning, I promise-

I was being selfish, it was obvious that this was also hurting him, he was being mature and caring, thinking about what was good for the both of us, before the things we wanted, maybe he was right, this was meant to be, just not right now, right person wrong time troupe right, but with a happy ending, right?

That was one of the most bittersweets moments in my life, I was happy to know that Bakugo thought about us as endgame, just like I did, we were still young, we had plenty of time, all the time in the world, I shouldn’t have worried about his feelings, he told me I should never doubt that he liked me, and I was willing to make that compromise.

-Let’s have a good time tonight, ‘Tsuki, for what I know, tomorrow you could be kissing some European woman and forgetting our promise-

-You get jealous that easy, Draw? Already afraid you’d lose me, huh? - He said with a smirk on his face and getting closer to me

I swallowed with nervousness, but I didn’t break the visual contact

-Aren’t you afraid I fall for another guy in the meanwhile? -

-You’ll have to find someone better than me first, and we both know there isn’t such thing, and besides that, you’re not mine, I don’t owe you, I only own the feelings you have for me, and as long as those exist I’ll do everything to be with you. So, that’s a no, I don’t care about any other guy- He said with his lips softly brushing against mines -But right now, I want to be the only thing in your mind- And saying those words he kissed me.

He wasn’t being gentle like the last time we kissed, there was a hunger, a neediness within his kiss, he wasn’t being rough tho, but I could feel the burning intensity in his movements. He pulled apart and looked into my eyes for any sign of discomfort, but when he met my half lidded gaze filled with love, he slammed his lips against mines one more time, his tongue brushed my lips asking for consent to enter my mouth, to which I responded opening it just enough for him to start moving it, massaging it with my own with a rhythmic pace, his hands travelled down to my hips, it seemed like he wasn’t nervous at all, but I on the contrary was almost shaking, we broke the heated kiss with flushy cheeks and sweaty hands, I looked into his eyes and I could see the lust behind his crimson irises. A million questions started bubbling in my mind, does this means he want to have sex with me? Right here and now? He must have noticed the concerned look in my face because his next words were

-Hey, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, sorry if it was too much-

-It wasn’t, it’s just I’ve never, I mean I haven’t… have you? – I asked with an obvious blush on my cheeks

-Just once, it wasn’t bad, but I figured out it could have been better if it was with someone I loved, like you. We don’t have to do anything tho, I just wanted to kiss you-

A strange relief passed my body, he didn’t want me to give myself to him in this exact moment, and I was glad for it, as much as I loved him I felt like this wasn’t the right moment for it, but I still wanted to do other things with him, I mean, this was his last day in the UA, and my first time making out with somebody, we still had a few of hours before the soundcheck. I lead him to my bed and pushed him into it so he could be sitting.

-Y/N are you sure you want to do this? – He wanted to be sure that there was no pressure in doing anything I didn’t want to

-We don’t have to go all the way in, I just want to make sure you feel loved and have fun on your last day, and besides, we already missed math class- And just as this last words escaped my lips I sat in his lap and started kissing his cheekbones softly, his hands went from his sides to my hips as he started to plant open mouth kisses in my neck, sending a shiver down my spine.

-And what about you? You want to feel loved too? – He said against my ear, nibbing at the lobe, I nodded softly, closing my eyes and giving myself in to the feeling of his strong hands in my body, his raspy voice in my ear and the feeling of his lust between my legs.

Our heated make out session made me forgot everything I had in my mind, I was only focused in Bakugo, I couldn’t even began to explain how loved he was making me feel in that moment.

-I have to go packing, but I really like your lips, see my problem here? – He said with a sigh, after a while -I’m actually not in the mood for a party tonight, I would rather having a good night of sleep-

-You’re so boring ‘Tsuki, you sound like an old man with two divorces who is starting to get bald-

-‘Tch, would you rather seeing me drunk and staying up late and doing dumb shit I’ll regret about when I sober up like the rest of those losers? –

-Yes! Only this one time, before you have to go away, let’s get drunk and watch the sunrise, then I could go on with my life in peace-

- Ugh and being hungover in a 7-hour fly? Really, that is your idea of a last night with me? –

I tried to make the best puppy eyes I could as I just said “pretty please” in the most dramatic way possible.

-UGH fine, but don’t you forget that you owe me something for being a fucking loser in Mario Kart-

-Anything for you ‘Tsuki- I said while planting a kiss on his cheek

With a smirk on his face he told me he would tell me what he wanted right before leaving, and I was okay with that, we said goodbye with one last kiss and he went to his dorm room to finish packing. Then I remembered I had my phone on Airplane mode, as I deactivated it I saw a bunch of unread messages, most of them were from my concerned friends asking if I were okay, I answered in the dekusquad groupchat that everything was fine, and immediately they began asking questions about Bakugo and me being both missing math class, I replied a single smiling emoji and they knew we were together. Denki messaged me about ten minutes ago “Hey Y/N I can’t wait for you to come to the soundcheck with me” followed by a cursed image of someone T-posing on top of a drumset, I couldn’t help but laugh, and I replied with an even more cursed image.

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

I was in Denkis car, Katy Perry blasting through the speakers and Denki and I having a carpool karaoke singing Last Friday Night like our life depended on it, it felt like he hasn’t being avoiding me all week, there we were laughing and having a good time. The soundcheck was actually really funny, Jirou who is usually very quiet was obviously the leader, giving orders here and there, I wasn’t completely alone while the band was getting ready to perform, Momo was an official member of the band but she didn��t continue playing with them, but she never missed one of Jirous’ performances, they were obviously very much in love, I couldn’t help to notice the way she looked at Jirou the whole time, and I wondered if that was the same way I looked at Bakugo, I remembered the words that Tsuyu said to me, does everyone knew I was in love with Denki?...

Shit, my mind pictured Denki when my train of though was about Bakugo; it probably were because I was watching Denki plugging his guitar and waving at me at that exact same moment, or did I really thought of Denki when I was thinking about love? A feel of guilt started to build in my heart, just a few hours ago I was making out with Bakugo, and now I was watching Denki going different directions with cables and amplifiers and I couldn’t help but feel like I was in love with him. Momo probably noticed my worried expression because she asked me if everything was right, I just had to lie and tell her that I was okay when in reality I was panicking, I excused myself and went to the bathroom to splash some cold water in my face like the actresses do in every movie to calm themselves down, and apparently it worked, so with more confidence I walked out of the bathroom. When I came back to the table Momo and I were sharing I noticed that people were starting to arrive, I sat next to Momo again and tried to have a casual conversation about school, training, internships and just normal student stuff when I felt a well-known pair of hands covering my eyes.

-Hi Denki- I said as I chucked

-How did you knew it was me? – He genuinely asked

-How couldn’t I? -

-Hey Kaminari, we’re starting in ten- Said Jirou planting a kiss in her girlfriends’ lips

Bakugo arrived just in that exact same moment, I almost forgot he was also going to perform, I didn’t know how to act with other people around us, I wanted to kiss him, but I also didn’t want Denki to see it, I couldn’t help but feel like an awful person for my last thought.

-Hey Draw, long time no see you- Said Bakugo like his tongue wasn’t on my throat a few hours ago

I flipped him off with a smile and blowed him a kiss and continued talking with Denki about who would win in a fight between a bear and a shark, we were currently discussing how long the bear could hold his breath, I turned my head to look at Bakugo and he was already staring at us with the saddest expression I’ve ever seen, and as he noticed my eyes on him he changed it to his usual annoyed one

-You two are the dumbest persons I know- He said, giving us one of his angry looks

-Guys, we’re up- Said Tokoyami grabbing his guitar pick and heading to the stage

-Break a leg guys! - Said Momo giving Jirou one last good luck kiss

Bakugo winked an eye to me and went to the stage without saying anything, my eyes followed his figure to the stage when a sudden voice in my ear made me jump a little bit

-Keep your eyes on me- Whispered Denki in my ear before planting a kiss on my cheek

They started the show, the powerful voice of Jirou quickly caught everyone’s attention, they gotten better over the years, you could tell they were in their prime, usually my eyes were always fixed in the blonde drummer, but tonight they were mesmerized with Denkis fingers skilfully playing with his guitar chords, pearls of sweat in his forehead, a big smile on his face, and golden eyes all over me, he looked perfect.

Suddenly I began to notice everything the boy did, every time his voice intertwined with Jirous’ for a perfect harmony, every movement looked so natural and… sexy? I didn’t noticed I was holding my breath until I heard Shotos’ voice next to me, trying to be heard over the noise coming from stage

-Sorry we’re late, Tenya got lost-

I heard it, but my mind was somewhere else, it was in Denkis’ Kaminari palm. It was almost an hour of absolute bliss, without a single thought crossing my mind just the image of the boy in front of me. I heard the last song of their setlist and prepared for the usual announcement of the end of the show but instead they all waved and came down from stage, all except one, Denkis’ voice was a little shaky when he spoke on the microphone:

-Hi everybody! Thank you so much for coming today, hope you’re doing alright, now we don’t usually do this, but you’ll see, tonight is a very special night, the last one for a while because we’re going to be drummerless tomorrow morning, sooo anyways, I would like to sing a very special song for a very special someone who is here with us tonight, she’s just everything to me, Y/N this is for you-

I felt like I was on fire, the rush of blood went straight to my cheeks, I was suddenly shaking with nervousness, my palms were sweating and I swore everyone could hear my heartbeat, I didn’t wanted to look away from Denki, but I could feel my friends eyes on me. Was this actually happening? The first chords of Denkis’ acoustic guitar confirmed that it wasn’t a dream, his soft voice drowned every other sound, suddenly everything else went dark, it was only the two of us. I paid attention to the words he was saying, he was pouring his heart out, in front of everyone, for me

"Yours was the first face that I saw

I think I was blind before I met you"

This was a love song; Denki was telling me he loved me with every syllable coming out of his mouth and every note from his guitar

"And so I thought I'd let you know

Yeah, these things take forever, I especially am slow

But I realized that I need you

And I wondered if I could come home"

It was perfect, I couldn’t help but tearing up, nobody has ever done something remotely as romantic as this, he sounded so sincere, so drunk with affection, he was obviously nervous, but his eyes were fixed on me

"I'm glad I didn't die before I met you

But now I don't care, I could go anywhere with you

And I'd probably be happy

So if you wanna be with me

With these things there's no telling

We just have to wait and see

But I'd rather be working for a paycheck

Than waiting to win the lottery.

Besides, maybe this time is different

I mean, I really think you like me."

The last strumming of his guitar vanished in the air, and suddenly everything went back to normal, the people around us, the noises, the shocked faces in my friends faces, and the absence of Bakugo.

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

Wowowow this was an emotional rollercoster, but what can I say I love drama, thanks to @warrior-princess1 for proof-reading this

Taglist: @mikasalt

[icharchivist]

cries think I made my ask too long so like half of it got deleted bc I typed it right into the askbox. anyways. I come bearing a3 thoughts! at first i was gonna watch the spring/summer and autumn/winter ones and then give my thoughts on both but. turns out i had too many thoughts lol? which i shouldve expected but i actually kind of... got bored by the first two chapters of this event! so i skipped and went to the stranger. and then went back. (1/?)

and then i got to like "tsuzuru and kazunari are having a fight?" and jumped on that like a starving wolf bc helllll yeah! i rly adored kazunari in sardine search, i think he was great! hes just so nice and has good vibes. he and taichi are kind of similar i feel? but i think their respective ages contribute to a lot of difference in their characters. why does it feel like this askbox limit personally wants me dead. (2/?)

anyways! i rly enjoyed the improv scene devolving to a real fight. admittedly i was kinda surprised that the content of that improv wasnt rly too similar to their actual fight? like normally a3 has the story of the play run parallel to like the actual real character drama so i thought the improv might function as the play in this event... it was still good tho. the scene i mean. (3/?)

also i rly liked tenma ragging on them afterwards. like he was mean but. first i adore tenma. second he just felt like. a different meddling type to muku lol? like the vibes he gave me were always like... im going to be a considerate leader and watch out for the ppl under me! therefore im gonna make sure theyre doing fine! aggressively. i think tenmas also just like a friendly person who likes to take care of others in general? like im not saying hes omi or anything but just like. (4/?)

that time he offers his car ride to juza so they can go to school together like hes surprisingly open compared to his initial prickliness. also ive got thoughts abt the tenma juza SSR conversation thing i read. one day ill make a tenma and juza fic and complete a trifecta haha... but thats something for another day! back to the actual story. the way tsuzuru dives right in after kazunari! that was so nice. like its easy to see how much they care abt each other. (5/?)

to the point where like even while theyre fighting theyre like angry but still like fairly quiet bc i think theyre both at least trying to be considerate of each other. ah the moment kazunari didnt respond to tsuzuru trying to talk to him i KNEW he was sick tho. felt proud of myself for calling that one but also the reason i knew is bc i have used the "character being sick during an argument causing them both to make up with each other" trope myself before so uh. like recognizes like haha. (6/?)

anyways the cg there was fuckin beautiful like kazunari looks so sad in the middle bit but then u see his shy smile? like hes sick but hes also like. happy to be there. idk. lovely. i adore kazu i think hes just deeply sweet to other people. tsuzuru telling him "you make everyone around you feel as bright and cheery as the things you design” is so wonderful too (7/?)

now im thinking. ah tsuzuru probably feels quite drained after a script and such (i know i am when i finish any piece--its like the emotions just rush out of me) so i like to think that like yknow. kazunari dropping by his room or whatever helps him set himself back to normal! but also when tsuzurus like oh u left ur magazines here! i suddenly remembered. wait shit kazunari and tsuzuru arent even roommates. wonder how much they bother masumi lmaooo. anyways overall very good story! (8/?)

some more thoughts: itaru and citron were so cute in this event! just like. citron saying itaru winking makes his heart skip a beat and itaru quoting citrons wrong sayings (which. i am also guilty of today i told my brother "we'll jump that bridge when we cross it" so) also i love how yuki is like "thank god i wasnt partnered with that hack" but like. yuki. u could literally just not talk about him. like its so funny to me yuki is like wow i hate tenma but he wont shut up abt him haha (9/?)

i also was a lil taken aback at hearing itaru go "for the lulz" tbh... like it fits him. but im mad it fits him? anywaysss thats all i had for this one! im gonna watch autumn/winter and go say my thoughts on that soon. sorry the ask was so broken up, idk what happened!

OLA FRIEND! Glad to see your thoughts again omg :3c

tho omg the fact tumblr deleted it all + the ask limit was all so evil D: poor friend.

I'm putting my answer under a read more because. Well. *waves hand* it got long.

The non-play events can be perhaps a little harder to get into because unlike the plays events that you start with a clear idea of at least the main plot (re: "they are preparing a play, i know the leads so i know who it will focus on"), non-plays events take a little longer to first set up what event they're participating in, how to prepare for it, and then bring up the conflict and which characters are going to have something to do with said conflict. So i can understand that they're a little harder to get into when we know the plays awaits.

On top of that, the first few events still were a bit tame because since it was early when the app released, i think they didn't go too heavy at once in case some people were still stuck on earlier chapters (esp since especially Winter is hard to unlock)

ANYWAY glad that it sucked you in on the second read :3c

So glad you were invested in that conflict!

Totally agreeing with you about Kazunari, and very good point about Taichi as well! they aren't the Puppy Pair for nothing :'D (Yuki took one look at both of them together and just Knew. His suffering knows no end (lovingly)). But yeah i think they have a lot in common, they both are the really bright and friendly figure, both also started in overcompensating a bit because both wanted to be popular in some ways.

But we do have, on one hand, Kazunari who wanted that rather late in his life while Taichi always thrived for that, the fact Kazunari made friends easily and it's just that he was scared of getting to the next level, while Taichi always struggled with this quest for popularity. In a way too both of them were at least scared to share a part of them, Kazunari worrying to show his thoughts, and Taichi being a spy and all of that... which impacts them really differently considering the guilt it puts on Taichi. And then you add their age into the mix, especially the fact Kazu is the oldest of his troupe and Taichi the youngest of his, it makes them fairly similar all while being fairly different.

both are so interesting to me and i love them bothhh, so it's always nice to see them have focus.

admittedly i was kinda surprised that the content of that improv wasnt rly too similar to their actual fight? like normally a3 has the story of the play run parallel to like the actual real character drama so i thought the improv might function as the play in this event

i love how you are seeing the patterns a3 tends to do it's so neat!

It's true the fight isn't really similar to their actual fight, though i do love that they had "swapped" their personality for the act and ended up insulting each other for theirr swapped personality. Like, Kazunari insulted part of himself in Tsuzuru's character and Tsuzuru did the same?? and then the fight escalated and the way Kazunari broke character hurts bc it's really that Tsuzuru hit where it hurts. But yeah it still wasn't too relevent to their actual fight, though i think the thing is that their fight was as such mostly because they tend to clash often due to their personalities rather than just this singular reason why, so to have the play go more "it's their personalities the problem" kinda hurt lol. But yeah still agreed that it didn't reflect much on the plot itself

I was rereading the improv bit to answer correctly and man since we're going to talk about Tenma next, i just. Love that when Kazunari, breaking character, his eyes sad, tells Tsuzuru "you have no rights talking to me like that..." it then cuts on Tenma being upset. Bc like. Exactly like you say, he wants to look out for the people under him. and like. Kazunari is his friend. A friend he also snapped at once and insulted for being who he was, so he probably could have relived a bit of his fight with Kazunari seeing those two fights; Except that now Kazunari is one of his closest friend and he doesn't like that.

Also like. It was also because he could still hide under the plot of the improv but it's so rare, and it never happened before that point, that Kazunari stands for himself in a "the way you treat me is unfair"? Like again re: his fight with Tenma, when Tenma snapped at him, while Tenma was unfair with him, Kazunari took the blame, called himself annoying and all yaknow?

The fact Kazunari is starting to accept that he can take more place for himself is something the whole Summer Troupe have been trying to help him work on, but especially Tenma. Tenma is always there trying to push Kazunari to say what he means, to express his feelings, to stop hiding.

And for once, Kazunari does that in front of everyone... and it's because he's breaking because of his fight with Tsuzuru.

I think Tenma probably felt it was even more of a reason to get involved like, this is the thing he's been working on with Kazunari about, and now he's being all hurt about it, not on Tenma's watch!

And i totally agree with your take on Tenma! (and would LOVE to read the Tenma and Juza fic once you get to it :3c). I think, Tenma is really caring and is trying to take a place as a caretaker and all, but unlike Omi, he has absolutely no reference for it.

Omi is the eldest of multiple brothers and everything indicates his parents have always been lovely to him. Add to it how he ended up leader of a delinquent crew he was clearly looking after, Omi has a history of taking care of people, of nurturing them, and he knows what he's doing. Meanwhile Tenma grew up on TV sets, mostly surrounded by adults and not by people his age, mostly getting advice from being ordered around by directors i think. And his parents are distant, hyperfocused on their job, not really nursing with him. So Tenma meanwhile really didn't have a family emotional support and was in situation where he couldn't befriend other kids his age. His only reference was probably Igawa (his agent) and i think for a long time he didn't exactly see it, and Igawa remained mostly professional so there was probably the idea of it not being sincere? That Tenma had to grow out of.

So like, they're both extremely nurturing and caring, but my point is that Omi has experiences in it and is at ease with it, while Tenma has been so alone and in places were he had no support system that even if he wants to support others, he still struggles with how to do it because he has no set exemple. And that's his development in the main story arc, to learn from how Izumi shows she cares in order to care back at them all.

Like i mean the way Tenma yelled at them about their mistakes at first feel like he would have picked it up from some directors on TV set yaknow? Probably hearing them say that with no consequences on others actors, seeing it worked, didn't think "that's an abuse of power and the actors probably all think badly of their director for that" but "wow that works", tried it on his troupesmates and realized this is... not how that works. And it's spending time watching how Izumi encourages them that have him fix his way to approach it.

So yeah i got lost too into it but like. I feel you on Tenma i love him so much and i love his development so to see him get pissed and involved there? was really nice. even if he was aggressive about it. He's still learning.

ANYWAY back to Tsuzuru and Kazunari, totally agree with what you say next. They still care a lot about each other and yeah they're at a point where this consideration they have for each other make their anger more quiet than trying to attack one another (Banri could NEVER-). so yeah totally agree with you!

DLKFJDLKF i LOVE the reasoning on "recognizing that Kazunari was sick". Your writer's powers making you see through... *coughs* unlike Tsuzuru....

AND YEAH ALL YOU SAY ABOUT THE CG.. YEAH. Kinda crying thinking about it again now LDKJFLKDJF It's just. Everything about it is so soft and tender. The things Tsuzuru tells Kazunari are soo so sweet sobs. They're just adorable i love those kids. and also i feel you for Kazu he's just that great huh?

The whole set up about Kazu dropping by his room is so so cute! I love it! Like probably the very first time Tsuzuru braces himself because "oh no i'm not in the mood to stand mister hyperenergy himself" but Kazunari quickly adjust his energy so that Tsuzuru can just recharge without being overwhelmed. Yes it would drive Masumi completely nuts. Which i think is a plus for Tsuzuru like, hey, if Masumi gets annoyed once in a while it's a win. But yeah also i think that Tsuzuru and Kazunari should really have the Artistic Soldiarity of Students in Art school Probably Working Until Very Late To Complete Their Projects. Would love if at the end Tsuzuru gave it back yaknow?

but yeah their story was really nice i'm so glad you liked it! :D

oh god yeah Itaru and Citron were SO cute in it too, i also love the comments Citron makes about Itaru's winks. Just there flirting in front of everyone like those two embarrassing friends huh. (probably with Muku being all starry eyes considering he greatly admires both Itaru and Citron and, well, Romance.). And yeah i love how Itaru ends up so much into Citron's rhythm (and this idiom you said? is glorious actually, 10 points for you)

DLKFJDLKF what a call out toward Yuki. "yes i hate Tenma,no i won't shut up about him, also if YOU say you hate Tenma i'm going to stab you with my needles, have a nice fucking day.". I love their dynamics so much aha

And yeah Itaru is there cursing us the whole time with the fact he's the greatest nerd ever and it fits him perfectly. It makes me laugh so hard.

Thank you so much for having shared your thoughts there! it's always a blast to read through them and i dearly enjoyed it! (+ it makes me relive the event a little and it makes me soft!)

I'm so glad you enjoyed it! So glad you had so many thoughts about all of this, what a blast.

thank you for sharing, and looking forward the Autumn/Winter reactions :3c

Take care!

[bipabrena]

Because We’re Family (Kenny-Levi centred Eruri fic) Ch15

A fic where the story of Attack on Titan is rewritten from the start. Kenny regretted abandoning Levi and stepped up as a parent, eventually adopting him as his own. He, Levi and Erwin are the protagonists. One day, Erwin mistakenly comes across Kenny, the one ghost of his past, and blackmails him and Levi into joining the Survey Corps. From that point forward, it’ll be Kenny and Levi in the regiment (many subplots occur), until the 104th is introduced and all the arcs will be re-written. Kenny is the key in changing everything. Main pairing is slow-burn Eruri, Warriors and Marley are relevant from early on, Kenny will be a father figure to Bertl and Reiner, Isabel and Furlan are relevant. Give it a chance. Read it here. 

 X

“And it was so crazy!” Hange used her hands to illustrate her point. “I only did it out of anger, but when it happened… when I felt just how light it was. I mean, we’re talking about a three metre’s head! And it weighed nothing at all! I kicked it around so easily.”

Levi took a very deep, silent breath as he looked ahead at the plains. His eyes were sunken.

A little unsettling, but Hange did not let it deter her.

“It truly goes to show how little we know of titans. How can they be so lightweight? And it’s not just that. Their body structure and power source is mysterious, you could even argue they violate the laws of science. For instance, how can they spontaneously generate energy and mass when missing limbs? Why do they disintegrate when dead and why and how do they generate so much heat? Furthermore, they’re not active at night. Do you want to know what my theory for this is?”

Levi had no physical or verbal response.

“Since they’re so active throughout the day and have such a high body temperature, they require massive intakes of energy to fuel themselves. It’s likely that, just like us, they require to sleep and they choose to do so at night. But here’s the catch: they don’t need to eat. If they did, they’d be practically extinct since they wouldn’t have enough of a food source to sustain themselves. Now, you may ask, how is it that—”

“Hange,” Levi called, “aren’t you supposed to be with the mining team?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah,” she smiled, “but the iceburst stones are still being compressed. I have plenty of free time.”

“I don’t think you understand,” Levi’s tone of voice changed completely, and it was enough to snap Hange out of it. It was guttural, firm. His head slowly turned to her, and his eyes were widened. His pupils were shrunken, and devoid of light. His eyes darkened further. “You’re supposed to be with the mining team. I’m patrolling, Hange. Should you not go back to your post?”

Hange’s eyes were wide open, as was her mouth. She felt a bead of sweat form on her cheek.

Now that shit was terrifying.

“Um… hehe,” she giggled with a nervous frown, and she slowly backed away. “You’re right. I’ll go see if Moblit needs any help.”

She turned and calmly walked away, but when there was considerable distance, she made a run for it.

Levi sighed, expression going back to normal. He looked ahead at the plains again. He wondered where Kenny was, how he was doing.

It made him nervous that he was with Erwin, Flagon and Mike alone.

The three had been in the Underground.

They had reason to dislike Kenny, to have something personal against him. Were they doing anything to him? What if they encountered a horde and it was all a ploy to throw him into it and have him be eaten alive?

When Levi considered this, he gasped.

No, he was being ridiculous.

But…

Kenny had been very lenient and respectful of them despite their encounter. It was clear he didn’t hate them, unlike Levi.

So, what if they ran into trouble and Kenny risked his life for them?

No, he had to stop his wandering mind.

He had to trust Kenny.

Kenny said that if anything happened, he’d remember. He’d remember Levi loves him, that he was his family, and he had a reason to not risk himself thoughtlessly.

He had to trust his strength, and that he could handle himself.

Levi breathed in and out several times, then calmed down.

He elected to stop thinking about Kenny, and instead thought of his friends. Of Frieda. Of Guinne and Moritz.

He remembered when he’d first met Frieda and Urklyn. Their growing friendship. He remembered all the silly playing, the jokes, the laughing. The two of them had been so patient, so understanding of Levi and his total lack of social skills. Levi smiled slightly as he acknowledged he loved them deeply. Both of them.

He’ll go back to them one day. They’ll play together in the Estate again. They’ll be a trio of friends once more, and no one will get in the way of that.

Maybe one day, if the stars aligned, he may even be able to marry Frieda.

X

There had only been four titans. One six metre, an eight metre, an eleven metre and a thirteen metre.

They were dispersed and easy to dispose of.

With a spinning roll, Kenny amputated the last titan’s extremities in an X formation. Right arm, left leg, right leg, left arm. The titan fell face-first to the ground, biting its tongue in the process.

Kenny landed on one knee. He looked down, freezing for a few seconds. He then stood up, head always down. His eyes were shadowed.

He then rose his head, and he looked at the titan with sad, half-lidded eyes.

“… Hey, you,” he said as he walked towards it. The titan tried moving as best as it could.

Kenny ignored its movements. He observed it flay around and trying to raise its head, to try to bite Kenny, he presumed. But it was unsuccessful, and it seemed the titan gave up, even if for a moment.

Kenny slowly brought his arm up. He then reached out to the titan, until his palm pressed against its forehead.

The titan was completely calm as steam emanated from its amputated extremities.

It tried crawling, but it was futile. It seemed to groan in desperation.

“Never in a million years did I figure I’d feel sorry for one of ya…” Kenny mumbled. “I mean, just look at you. Those big eyes, that stupid smile some of ya have. But now…” his eyes narrowed in distress.

He knelt with a sharp inhale, his cape flowing down from the movement.

“Just… who are you?” he asked.

He briefly wondered whether this titan ever had a family of its own.

A child, perhaps.

“Just who is it… that is trapped inside you?” he stroked the titan’s forehead.

A decade back, Kenny wouldn’t have given less of a shit about whether titans were humans or not. He would’ve cut this thing before him mercilessly, laughed at it, then continued his merry way.

But now…

Ever since Levi’s love saved him, how could he?

Ever since he and Uri, ever since Urklyn and Frieda helped him become human, compassionate—how could he?

Now that he knew what it was like to cherish someone, to have a place to call home, how could he not care?

Who even knew if the small six metre he killed before had been a child once?

A child like his own?

Kenny sighed sadly as he continued stroking the titan. He closed his eyes with an inhale. He then jumped back, doubling the distance between him and the titan; avoiding its now regenerated hand. The titan stood.

He held his blades again, the left one with his reverse grip.

“I’ll put you out of your misery,” he said. “Let me end this for you.”

He jumped with a dose of gas, and the grip on his blade tightened as he went on the attack.

Why… he thought as the right arm and left leg were sent flying. Why can’t I do it?

He cut off the remaining extremities, and he landed swiftly on the ground.

He turned to look at the titan with an uncomfortable frown.

Why?

Why can’t he do it?

He already killed plenty minutes prior. Why was this one any different?

Was it… because he was alone?

He pressed his hand against the titan’s forehead again. “If only you could talk,” he mumbled. “If only you could tell me… who it is that has sent you here. Why you’re being turned into… this.”

It was then he perked up at the sound of hooves.

“Kenny!” Erwin yelled. “What are you doing!?”

Mike and Flagon, who rode to Erwin’s side, were confused when seeing the way Kenny had been stroking the titan’s head.

Kenny looked back at them, mouth open in a small “a.”

“Why haven’t you killed it?” Erwin creased his brows. “We have no time to fool around.”

They noticed the eight disintegrating extremities.

“Why have you amputated it instead of killing it?” Flagon asked, frowning in confusion.

Kenny calmly jumped on the titan’s head, then headed to its back. In one move, he sliced the nape open. The blood spurted on him, and Kenny’s lids dropped in an unspoken emotion.

He jumped off the titan and hopped on his horse.

“… You must’ve taken these down pretty fast,” Mike commented. “Why did you hang around with that one?”

“Nevermind that,” Kenny said. “What did ya find? Was it a horde?”

“We managed to lure eleven of them,” Erwin said. “We took them down, but there’s still about another twelve, some of which we’re sure are abnormals. We could use your help. If we take them all down, we could scout even more than initially anticipated.”

Kenny nodded.

They headed to the forest. Erwin and Flagon rode past it and successfully drew the titans’ attention, then lured them back to the forest. They moved in a straight line once inside, and that’s when Kenny and Mike rained down.

In one burst of gas, Kenny took down three.

It had made Mike stop in surprise for a second, but he quickly recovered. He took down two.

There were three abnormals and four mindless titans remaining. The abnormals chased after Erwin and Flagon. Kenny executed a turn as he drew forth his bloodied blades, the left one with his reverse grip. He crossed paths with Mike, his sights on the abnormals while Mike handled the other four.

Erwin and Flagon scrambled in opposite directions to make the abnormals hesitate for a moment.

It was enough time for Kenny to line up, and cut down two in one move.

He chased after the one that followed Erwin, and cut it down.

He grappled onto a tree and watched Mike, seeing if he required any help.

He didn’t. He took down the four with ease.

They reunited and elected to scout the area the horde had been in. Their horses walked, and each carefully observed their surroundings.

“Well, looky, looky,” Kenny said after a while. The other three trotted to him.

Their eyes widened slightly. They were on a hill, possibly around twenty metres tall. There was a green area below. It had several trees, and further ahead there was a huge lake. It led to yet another area, an area that was so beautiful from this distance it almost begged to be unravelled.

“… Wow,” Flagon mumbled.

Kenny observed his surroundings further. “There’s a rocky slope,” he pointed. “We could go down from there. We’d have to lead the horses instead of riding them, but it could work if we’re careful.”

“Tempting,” Erwin said sincerely. “This area truly is unlike anything we’ve seen before.”

“Then,” Kenny grabbed the large saddle. He snatched a green flag, and he stuck it right in front of them. “This is territory we can explore next expedition.”

“Man…” Flagon sighed, “I’d love to explore it now.”

They gazed at the incredible view.

“Just imagine what an adventure it’d be. Just us, going down there and exploring all this. It’d be awesome.”

Erwin and Mike looked at him, and they smiled.

“What?”

“That’s something Lutz would definitely say,” Erwin smiled. “You truly miss him, don’t you? How touching.”

“I will push you off this fucking hill,” Flagon warned.

Erwin laughed, raising both hands in concede.

“Alright, alright,” Mike intervened. “Let’s go back. We’ve been at this for a few hours now, we need to meet up with team C.”

They nodded. They gave the view a last glance, then headed back to the rendezvous point in Cantaceres.

Before they even arrived, it was chaos.

There was a midsection to get to Cantaceres, one team C was supposed to go through—one that had no buildings and only a couple of trees.

The soldiers were fighting with all they had. There were two dragging an injured soldier, while Gael and Federico distracted five titans. The rest of the soldiers fought in a desolate area, avoiding the titans’ clutches as best as they could.

“Let’s go!” Erwin didn’t waste a second.

As they rode closer, they counted twenty one titans. It was a big horde, but one that should be manageable for elite soldiers. This terrain and area, however, did not help in the slightest.

“Kenny, try to stay close!” Mike said.

“Wouldn’t it be better to split up?” Kenny was forced to raise his voice, since his words would’ve been swallowed by the hectic tumult surrounding them.

“You still don’t have enough experience!”

Kenny didn’t seem to like this.

“Just trust us, okay?” Mike said, drawing his blades.

Kenny nodded.

He followed the three of them, and he pulled the reins back. His horse stopped, and he watched how the three of them immediately stepped into action.

They were experts.

And as Hange and Dorian had said, Mike was a master titan killer.

His moves were fast, purposeful and precise. His dominion over the manoeuvring gear was nothing less than pristine, and his cuts were strong.

Flagon didn’t perform any fancy moves or spins, but he got the job done. He was quick to react, and communicated with everyone around him. While Mike was more of a loner, Flagon worked alongside several soldiers. Still, he was more than capable of taking on the titans alone.

Erwin was awe-inducing.

He was strong, he was fast, he was a strong communicator, and he seemed to ooze leadership from every pore in his body. He multitasked, flying around titans and cutting napes while verbalising plans of action, and the soldiers below would comply at once.

Kenny assessed these traits in seconds. He wasted no time to jump into the action.

He found Gael and Federico trying to evacuate some injured soldiers.

He galloped towards them.

“Mister Kenny!” Gael yelped when he was close enough.

Federico rose a brow at Gael, then looked at Kenny.

“What’s the situation?” Kenny asked.

“We encountered a massive horde and got split up. We lost the titans and eventually we regrouped, so we tried heading to Cantaceres but these fuckers came from out of nowhere!”

“Some of them are injured,” Federico said. “We’re trying to evacuate them to the rendezvous, but these bastards aren’t making it e—titans!” he yelled.

Kenny looked back to find four titans running to them.

“You help out the injured, I’ll hold them back!”

“Yeah!” they said. They wasted no time.

Kenny sprang into action. He lured the titans towards him, and thankfully they followed him.

No abnormals. Good.

He grappled on a ruined watchtower, waiting for them to come closer. There were still titans surrounding the area. If he could simply manage to draw all of their attentions, or at the very least some’s.

He looked down at his waistband.

Worth a shot, he supposed.

He grabbed his flare gun, loaded it and fired at one of the titan’s eyes.

The titan immediately screamed, its howls of pain drawing the attentions of both soldiers and titans nearby. A sizzling sound accompanied the howling, and the red smoke emanated from its socket.

It seemed to do the trick. The sound and red smoke lured three titans closer.

“Huh!? I didn’t expect it to actually work!” he told himself.

He now had seven titans on his tail, running to him with stupid smiles. Rather, running to the howling titan, but they soon noticed him.

“Oi, oi, oi…” he whined as these giant fucking things came closer.

Alright, time to move. He jumped off and flew away, drawing their attentions. He lured them to a desolate spot, and Erwin noticed.

“Mike!” he called mid-flight, and Mike, who was in a battle of his own, looked. He dodged a titan’s hand. “Go help Kenny!” Erwin pointed.

Mike looked at the flying Kenny and the seven titans on his tail.

Mike manoeuvred around the two titans he was fighting, and he flew towards Kenny.

Satisfied with the distance, Kenny executed a move that plummeted him to the ground. He landed swiftly, and rather than flying he skated through the ground, and he cut up the heels of two titans in one move.

They immediately stumbled and lost their balance. They fell to the ground.

He had to be extremely careful. It was a desolate area, but there was nowhere to grapple on. It drew seven titans away from his comrades, which he thought was worth the risk.

Still, since there were five standing titans, he considered them three dimensional objects he could use to latch onto.

Without the freedom of grappling and re-grappling, his body had to struggle harder to stay in flight, and maintain its balance. He could feel the work in his lower body.

He carefully manoeuvred by grappling onto the head of the fifteen metre in the middle, and cut the heels of the other five.

By the time Mike arrived, he’d already cut down three napes.

Kenny noticed Mike arrive, but he said nothing. He simply allowed Mike to help him.

When they were done, they gave each other an acknowledging nod, and headed to the main fight. Mike scattered to help out two members from Erwin’s squad.

Kenny galloped by, trying to find someone to help.

It was then he heard a horrifying scream, a piercing, earth-shattering scream he’d never heard before in his life.

His head shot to the sides, until he found a massive seventeen metre with a small person in its hand. It was a soldier from Lutz’s squad, and he screamed maniacally. He swung his blade at the titan as he came closer to its mouth.

Kenny made a run for it, trying to fly to the titan as fast as he could.

The soldier screamed again. One arm was inside the titan’s mouth, and he used the other one to press his hand against the titan’s nose. He tried pushing himself off, but the titan’s grip was strong. He screamed as his arm was being munched on.

The pain was unbearable, but the pressure suddenly lifted off his appendage.

The titan fell down, and with it so did he. He felt a strong arm latch below his chest, and he looked to find Kenny holding onto him. They landed safely on the ground.

“You’re alive,” is what Kenny said. He looked at the soldier’s half-eaten, dangling arm, and the alarming amount of blood dripping from it. “But I need to apply a tourniquet so ya won’t bleed out.”

The soldier trembled in pain and cold.

“What’s yer name?” Kenny asked, taking off his cloak.

“I-Immanuel,” his teeth clanked.

As soon as he finished saying his name, he let out a throat ripping scream.

Kenny had cut off the dangling, useless arm.

“Sorry,” he apologised, ripping off a piece of his cloak and applying a tourniquet with it. “That’ll do for now.”

He carried the soldier and flew, though he wasn’t sure where.

Gael and Federico were nowhere to be seen.

Read the rest of the chapter here.

[vanne-whump]

whumptober day three

no. 3 - sticks and stones may break my bones but…

taunting | insults | “who did this to you?”

OCs: Kay Edwards, London Friar

Content: Injury Description, Past Trauma, Police Mention, Death Mention

He dried himself roughly, the towel rubbing his skin red. He dressed quickly in clothes borrowed from London, simply glad to be out of his blood-soaked garments.

Soaked with his blood. It had to be. At least it didn’t seem to be recent. Kay’s skin was void of open wounds, for what seemed like the first time in months.

Bruises, though — they dotted his skin like spilled watercolours. Over his side. Splotched under his right eye. Deeply-coloured — unforgiving.

Even after a shower, he looked a state. The short sleeves of the t-shirt bringing the uneven lettering on his arm into full view. The writing, with all of its uneven edges and wonky letters.

Even with the harsh visibility, nothing would convince Kay to change back into his own clothes.

Kay was silent, heading down the stairs and sitting on London’s couch. Finally showered, hair dripping cold water onto the borrowed shirt.

He could hear London in the kitchen. Doing — something. Kay wasn’t sure what. And he daren’t be ungrateful and ask.

Minutes later, London reappeared in the doorway. After Kay had spent almost an hour in the shower, he hadn’t expected for London to do this for him.

Even if it was just grilled cheese.

“Thank you — I needed that,” Kay smiled faintly, “A lot. I — uh — wasn’t sure where to put these,” he held up the dirty clothes, wrapped in the bath towel.

“The clothes? I don’t think you can salvage them.”

“Probably not…”

“You can put those in the trash, and the towel can go into the washer under the stairs.”

Kay nodded quickly, getting to his feet and slipping past London into the kitchen. He returned, moments later, empty handed and with his arms crossed loosely over his stomach

“You probably need something to eat — and to talk. Otherwise I’m not going to be able to be much help,” London said, with a soft bluntness, as he handed Kay the plate of grilled cheese.

“Talk? I — I’ve told you everything I know,” Kay evaded the question tactlessly.

“You said you were engaged — had a fiancée. What was her name?” London started, clinging to the one thing he already knew about Kay. It was a start.

“He — uh — he was called Halden.” Kay responded with his mouth full. “… Sorry.”

“So, Halden? Tell me about him?”

“I mean, he was great. We’d been dating a while and things were going well — last time I saw him was... uh... right before...” Kay trailed off vaguely.

“Where were you?”

“We were at a concert — Anarbor I think?”

“Yeah, I’ve heard of them,” London nodded. Common ground. This is what they needed.

“We had plans to go away together. We had a deposit on a place in Salem,” Kay offered London a faint smile. “It would’ve been nice.”

“You were running away with him?” London’s brow furrowed. “Was that a good idea?”

“Obviously not!” Kay snapped. “Because something went wrong,” he smiled bitterly and shook his head. “Because I’m here, not —.”

He dragged his left hand through still-wet, still-tangled hair and let it fall limply at his side.

“Are we done? I — I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be. Sore topic, I get it,” London smiled faintly. And then he spotted the burns pressed unevenly into Kay’s arm. His understanding was stopped in its tracks.

And he wanted to continue the conversation — pretend he hadn’t seen the block letters. Pretend he wasn’t concerned. Pretending wasn’t something London did well.

“Kay? What the hell aren’t you telling me?” He snapped out his words before he had even a chance of restraint. “Who did that to you?”

“What? I — oh...” Kay trailed off once more. “It doesn’t matter. I — I’m not hiding anything. He — he let me go.”

“He? Who?”

“It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. I — I’m not dragging you into this too! It’s over. I’m sure it’s over.”

“Irrelevant,” London responded, reaching forward and picking up his cell from the table. “You need to start talking. Right now.”

“Halden — he got involved in some sketchy deals. But that’s it. I swear, I never did anything.”

“The guy that did this, who is he?”

“I don’t know! He — he only ever gave his first name!”

“What is it?”

“You have to promise that you’re not going to do anything.”

“What am I going to do with a first name?”

“Then why do you want it?”

London hissed out a sharp breath. “Just give me a name, Kay,” he sighed, “What’s his name?”

“Isaac.”

“Thank you. He did that?”

Kay nodded.

“Why?”

“Fun.”

“Fun?”

“He was just... like that,” Kay responded. “I don’t know why. He just — had something to prove, I guess.”

“I’m sorry.”

Kay nodded at the apology, though struggled to work out why. What was London apologising for?

“It wasn’t your fault,” Kay fumbled. “I think... I just — He wanted to get at Halden and I was an easy target. But he never made sense.”

“How do you mean?”

“Sometimes he wanted me to tell him where Halden was, and sometimes he wanted money. Sometimes he said that it was nothing to do with Halden. That it was my fault, or to do with my family. Or — I don’t know. It was different every time we talked.”

“Do you know anything else about him? Anything at all?”

Kay shook his head.

“Kay, please don’t lie to me.”

“He was a cop — but that’s it! That’s all I know.”

“You’re sure?”

Kay gritted his teeth and nodded. No more questions, please. He dared to hope that London was done asking. Done prying and pulling apart all of Kay’s secrets.

His hands shook as he put the empty plate down on the coffee table. Tears bit at his eyes as he waited for London’s next barrage of questions. They didn’t come. Just one singular question Kay didn’t have a coherent answer for.

“Why didn’t you go to the poli—”

London cut himself off as he answered his own question. Of course Kay didn’t want that.

“You still deserve justice.”

“I don’t want it. I just — maybe a couple of weeks to track down Halden, you know? Get on with my life. I don’t want to let Isaac win.”

“Win?”

“If — if I don’t — I — If he knows, he wins.”

“I don’t know what you’re saying.”

Kay just shook his head.

“No, Kay, I want to understand. What do you mean? Sit down and explain what you’re thinking.”

Kay slowly sat down on the couch, silent as London sat beside him. Silent until London prompted him again.

“So? Tell me, why will he win?”

“He’ll know he got to me. He — he’ll know he hurt me and — and that means — it — it means he got what he wanted,” Kay’s voice caught in his throat. “I — he can’t win like that. I — He took months from me and — and I can’t let him win too.”

“Okay, thank you for telling me. I mean that, thank you. Do you want to stay here tonight? I only have the couch but —”

“You’re sure?” Kay fumbled, interrupting London. “If you’re sure — I — I’d be really grateful,” he wiped tears from his cheeks. “If you’re absolutely sure.”

“I am. I’m completely sure. It’s the least I can do.”

“Thank you — for this, and the shower, and food — I don’t know what I would have done if — if you hadn’t...”

“Don’t worry about it — really. I’ve got the house to myself for a while. Vilde is away at the convention, and Ferris is tied up with classes for several weeks.”

“Vilde? Your girlfriend, I met her at the airport,” Kay nodded. “And Ferris? He’s your roommate?”

“Boyfriend. But he’s studying in North Carolina at the moment so we don’t see each other all that often.”

“You’re... with both of them?”

“Yeah, they know about each other. Vilde has a fiancé in Norway and he knows about me. It’s — It’s not underhanded.”

“No — I didn’t mean that, I just — didn’t know,” Kay shook his head. “That sounds kind of nice...”

“It is. You know, no pressure for them to fill each other’s every need. It’s unrealistic most of the time.”

“Most of the time,” Kay agreed softly.

London could tell their conversation had hit a dead end — Kay was beginning to look like he was struggling to stay awake. Eyelids flickering closed, suppressing yawns and he just — just looked exhausted.

“Do you want to get some sleep? It might make you feel a bit better,” London offered. “You look exhausted.”

“Yeah, sleeping sounds... Nice.”

London gathered up their plates, slipping through into the kitchen. Leaving Kay alone. He took his time washing up, doing his best to process the information thrown at him. It felt impossible to make sense of all this. A lot of what Kay said made very little sense — all of his inconsistencies were difficult to ignore.

When London returned to the living room, Kay was already asleep. It was unsurprising. London grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch and laid it over Kay. His attention was caught by track marks scattered up the kid’s arms.

It wasn’t something that would warrant waking Kay. Instead of making a big deal out of it, he just gave him the blanket and headed upstairs with his laptop. He left a very brief note on the coffee table, reading: 'Didn't want to wake you, I’m just upstairs. Let me know if you need anything.’

Once upstairs, London pushed aside a pile of textbooks and loose papers, before slumping down in the chair. He woke his computer, pulling up a blank internet browser. His fingers hovered over the keyboard until he typed in his first search term: ‘Kay Missing Persons’. It brought up pages and pages of information — information London didn’t have the patience to sift through.

London tried various combinations of words, an article finally came up in his search results. One that looked relevant, at least. It fit the timing, at least. The attached image sealed the deal. London stared at it, just to be sure. But it was Kay.

He looked younger — brighter — in the photo, but it was him. He was with someone else, too. The image was captioned with Halden’s name also.

London skimmed through the article, throat tightening as he read more — more about where Kay disappeared from, what people had seen, how he’d left with someone. A public video — as close to a hostage tape as you could get.

Morbid curiosity — London pressed play. It was only a clip, not even a minute long. But he couldn’t make it to the end. He closed the video and scrolled past, unnerved by the proof of Kay’s story.

When — before, there was doubt. Doubt that anything had happened. That Kay was telling the entire truth — or even that Kay remembered it correctly. But the video proved everything. The beginning of the next paragraph only worsened the deal.

“The body found was identified via dental records and DNA. The funeral will be a private event for close family only. The details have remained private.”

London read the last paragraph over and over. It didn't make sense. Whoever Kay had gotten tangled up with, they had pull. They were more dangerous than Kay had made them out to be. Or more dangerous than Kay realised.

Did Kay know about this? That, legally, he had died months prior? London wasn't about to be the one to break the news to him.

With Kay’s full name — Aeon Kaine Edwards — London pulled up a new search window. It took only moments to find a private Instagram account and public — very public — Facebook account. Seemingly endless photos of Kay and his fiancé. At events; promotions for a pharmaceutical company. And he looked happy.

Anything recent were posts from friends and family. Wishing him well. Rest in peace. Condolences to his family. The posts made for a chilling read.

He’d gotten sucked up into this. Too sucked up. All he’d wanted to do was verify that Kay was who he said he was. That seemed fair, right? That in itself hadn't been a problem, but one glance at the time told London that he was bordering on obsessive territory. He’d been trawling through articles and social media for hours.

He hadn't heard anything from Kay, so he guessed that he was still asleep. It wasn't like he didn't need it. London decided that he better get some sleep too. Tomorrow would be… difficult. How was he supposed to tell Kay any of this?

Anyone who had been in his life before would have moved on.

@whumptober2021 @whumptober-archive

[willsimpforanyone]

this is like a really stupid idea but how would bucky react to see his + readers future child (but reader and him aren’t together)

definitely not a stupid idea hun! now, i think i’m gonna go with either loki or wanda, bc they can fuck with people’s heads... NO wait the reader can kinda see the future. okay i think i have an idea. we gon make bucky suffer for a hot second, but that’s okay (sorry, i like writing out my thought process)

tw: slight mention of violence

___________________

Sweat was dripping from his body. Glancing at the clock beside his bed, Bucky realised it was 6am. He’d gone to bed at 10pm. He’d spent 8 hours lying awake in bed. Ridiculous.

He knows it’s ridiculous, he should have gotten up, maybe tire himself out with some midnight training. He could have put some music on, hell he could have got himself a glass of warm milk, but he didn’t. Every time his eyes closed, screams and visions of blood and merciless gunshots would return, keeping him awake and tense. 

Shit, he thought he could deal with it. But with each memory that dragged itself back into his head, he couldn’t help but feeling like he deserved to suffer. What were sleepless nights, when there were people who were now asleep permanently? What was the point in trying to find ways to sleep when it would only bring the next day faster, bring closer the future he didn’t deserve. The future he wasn’t convinced he had.

He sat up, running his fingers through his hair. Shower, a shower would be a good idea, get the sweat off and hopefully the images out of his head. Soon enough, Bucky was under the water, running his hands over his face in a forlorn attempt to wash away the feeling of hopelessness that was nagging at his heart. 

Even being clean, dry, and in fresh clothes didn’t help, and a glance at the clock showed him that only half an hour had passed. Almost mechanically, Bucky found his way to the kitchen, with half an intent to get some food- cereal, maybe. Cooking was really not an option today. 

To his surprise, the scent of slightly burnt toast wafted its way from the kitchen. He must be really off today, he normally would have recognised instantly that someone else was up and about this early. To his surprise, he saw you, pyjama t-shirt and shorts, cursing quietly at your aforementioned burnt toast, blowing slightly on your fingers to ease the faint burn as you transferred the toast from the toaster to your plate. 

Bucky leant against the doorframe, unwilling to impose himself on what he presumed to be a relatively quiet and personal moment. He noticed perhaps the moment wasn’t as peaceful as he thought, as he saw you drop the butter knife and clutch your head, wincing. He coughed lightly, and you spun round to see the super soldier making his way to the centre island in the kitchen. You smiled at him, still with one hand to your head. 

Bucky’s voice was low, unwilling to break the gentle lull that happens when it’s early and hardly anyone is awake. “Are you okay? Did the knife hurt you?”

You shook your head, leaning down to where said knife had landed, a little way away on the floor. “No,” you said in an equally quiet tone. “Just... the future visions are scatter-y, nothing clear, it’s like getting ambushed with memories of useless nonsense I haven’t had yet.”

“Scatter-y?” Bucky chuckled, and you nodded sheepishly. You turned back around, wiping the knife on a kitchen towel before continuing to use it.

“Yeah, it’s like they can’t decide who’s future to show me or which part. Like, I know Tony is gonna lose a spanner, but I don’t know when or how relevant that is to... anything.” You sighed, and took a bite of toast, carrying your plate over to the island and sitting across from Bucky. 

He nodded, and covered up a yawn. Your brow furrowed, suddenly aware of how tired the soldier looked, the bags under his eyes purpleish. “How much sleep did you get last night?”

“...I didn’t.” Bucky decided that there was no point lying, he didn’t need to see the future like you to know that lying would do no good. “Couldn’t, even. Kept hearing... things...” He covered his ears and bowed his head. “So loud... so many lives... so many futures cut short...” 

You gently reached across the surface to place your hands on his, and he realised he’d been gripping his head tightly. Relaxing his hands, he let you pull them down and hold them. “I just... I took away so many people’s futures, I shouldn’t... I shouldn’t get one,” he whispered, just loud enough for you to hear him. 

He felt your grip tighten, and looked up. You were looking deeply at him, and in his fragile state he almost felt intimidated. “Bucky,” you squeezed his hands again. “You do deserve a future. You were under someone else’s fucked up control, that was barely you. You have a future, Buck. I promise.”

Eyes lighting up, Bucky squeezed your hands back. “Hey, would it help if you had a future to focus on?”

You straightened up, and considered. “Maybe?”

“Could you... if you’re up for it- could you look into my future? Just a few years?”

You carefully made your way over to him round the island, already concentrating on him. You held out your hands, and he placed his in yours, surrendering his mind to you. 

There was a build up in your head, a pressure that wasn’t exactly pleasant, but if it would help Bucky, you were prepared to deal with it. 

All of a sudden, the pressure released. A white haze fogged your eyes, and you knew the same was happening to Bucky. It felt like static, like gentle pins and needles, and it took a second for the colours swirling in the haze to solidify into a scene.

You knew instantly that you’d overshot Bucky’s request of ‘a few years’ by... a few years. There was Bucky, looking about ten years older. And another figure, significantly smaller, running around the room they were in. A living room? There was certainly a sofa, and a couple armchairs. You felt Bucky’s shock at realising that oh shit, that was a child. That was... Bucky’s child. You knew it, you felt it, and Bucky felt it through you. 

You couldn’t get any clear sounds, just garbled nonsense and something that might have been laughter. Future Bucky grabbed the- five, six?- year old child and lifted them into the air, resting them on his hip.

There was a third figure coming into view, carrying... clothes? You focused on this new figure, and as they became more solid, you realised with surprise that the mysterious figure was you. You were in Bucky’s future.

You felt Present Bucky’s hands shaking, gripping yours as you allowed him some control over what to focus on. Immediately, he focused on Future You’s hands, specifically the left hand. Even more specifically, the ring finger, which had a shiny ring on it, a small diamond with amethyst set either side. He switched to Future Bucky’s hand, where a similar ring sat. You felt a jolt of emotion as you and Bucky realised, at the same time, that you were married. 

That would mean...

You gently took back the reins from Bucky, and panned over to the child still in Bucky’s arms. They looked alarmingly like a combination of you two, and to your surprise, you felt a huge wave of affection coming from Present Bucky. The vision began to fade, and a wave of dizziness swept over you. Bucky caught you just as you were about to fall, steadying you on the stool you were on.

“Thanks...” you murmured, touching your head. The pressure was gone, and after a few minutes of recovery, you were fairly sure you’d be fine. Bucky hadn’t said anything, just stared at you in wonder. You flushed as you met his eyes, deep and intense. His hands were still holding yours.

“Well... that was interesting.”

_________________

if that was ANYTHING like you had in mind, i’ll be amazed. i tend to get sidetracked from the actual request... thank you so much for requesting, let me know what you think? i’m sorry idk how to end fics 😞it’s late and i should be in bed why do i do this to myself <3

[masterthespianduchovny]

I’m going to shake the table a little bit. 👀

People who abhor metas, critiques, and head canons where Mulder and Scully have a healthy relationship want MSR to be unhealthy, dysfunctional, and toxic.

Some of these folks hide under the guise of “that’s how they were in the show” as if 1. That means they stayed that way 2. Chris isn’t inconsistent with Mulder and Scully’s relationship 3. Developing a healthy/healthier relationship undermines their relationship.

Maybe I’m build different, but I’d like to believe that two people who were friends and partners fom seven years, went through some rough shit together, chose to be together, had kids together, ran away together, etc learned to effectively communicate and deal with their problems like adults.

I guess that’s just me.

If what these people believe about MSR is true, why would anyone want them together?

Why would that be someone’s OTP and these same people fawning over their romance?

It doesn’t make sense to me.

Whenever someone critiques Chris’ handling of MSR and his constant need to have them fight, then make up/break up, it’s “you just want them to have babies and live happiness ever after. Of course they’d have issues and break up!”

Well, for starters, they already have babies.

And I’m not going to apologize for wanting Mulder and Scully to have stability with each other.

How dare I expect to adults who will literally put their lives on the line to talk about their shared abduction experiences? How dare I think two adults who agreed to have a baby together to sit down and discuss what this means for them romantically, their partnership, and work in general? How dare I think their relationship problems were bullshit?

These two already have rough, fucked up lives, why in the hell would they choose to be with a person who added to that unless they got off on it.

Like, it’s still possible to have relationship drama without it being on the verge of a break up with every argument. At least make the stakes makes sense. Have the drama be something we can understand and get behind.

No. Mulder and Scully have non sense arguments and break ups with no clear defined reasons it and alleged makes sense and wanting to understand it detracts from the show.

I’m sorry, but Mulder and Scully’s relationship is the driving force behind the show and why the show maintains relevancy the way it has. This doesn’t just refer to romance, but their partnership and friendship.

Whenever Mulder and Scully are in a tough place emotionally, they struggle. We saw this professionally. Somehow, they’re supposed to brush off relationship drama and investigate as case as if they didn’t break up after being together for years???

This may seem like noromos had it right the entire time and if you think they do you aren’t listening. My point is: regardless of what Mulder and Scully are fighting about and why, it’s detrimental to their relationship overall. We cannot expect them to shrug off a romantic relationship just because Chris says so.

It is utterly ridiculous to me that people think Mulder and Scully would not only enter a full blown relationship without ever having meaning conversations, but that they would also be in a deeply committed relationship for years and just not talk about real shit.

Or that their work relationship is even like that for that matter.

That’s what my post about Mulder and Scully’s relationship being alien conspiracies and vibes.

Never mind the fact that Mulder and Scully low key have made love declarations and said why they fell in love with each other.

Never mind the fact that episodes like Quagmire alluded to them having casual and meaningful conversations, until small potatoes said, “wouldn’t it be funny if they didn’t, so Eddie could pretend to be an attentive Mulder to get into Scully’s pants?”

I don’t know if small potatoes changed the perception of their relationship, but neither one of them are entering into no damn relationship with each other off of shared trauma and vibes.

Could you imagine Scully having that father figure conversation with Mulder??? Him taking her for drinks because he feels something’s been bothering her and she opens up after a few beers? The scene could’ve been just as long, but we see Mulder and Scully try to tackle an issue in their partnership.

Or Scully being suspicious of Eddie as they talk and discreetly gets her gun. As she tries to take Eddie down, they tussle then Mulder breaks in?

Of course they’d have their friction. Being around someone all of the time. At times not feeling like your own person, however, the idea that they don’t talk and never talk is something I can’t fathom.

Mulder is the first person she confided in about her cancer. He supported her through the Emily saga. He supported how she handled her abduction and didn’t treat her like this fragile thing. And these two aren’t fucking talking???

Scully knows about Mulder’s trauama surrounded Samantha, has defended him on and off the record, and Mulder even traded his sister for Scully, yet they aren’t fucking talking?

These two had shared hullucinations, ghosts playing mind games on them, has been in quarantine more times than I can remember—month long ones at that—and these two aren’t having meaningful conversations.

Partnered for seven years and countless stake outs and, somehow, hashing shit out in a Taurus never occurred to them.

I can’t speak for anyone else, but myself. For me, Mulder and Scully are more than just their romance. However, we can’t ignore the romance or the implications of Chris’ decisions and claim it detracts from the show. Every facet of their relationship is important. Their partnership informed their friendship which informed their romance. All of these things built off of one another and fed each other.

If what others think is true, there is no way these two would stay together.

No way.

And if they had a major break up, it’d be one.

How in the hell do these two fight to stay together at all costs at work, but break up for any reason in their personal life even if the reason isn’t clear.

I know their relationship is flawed, however, I don’t think it’s toxic like some insist it is even tho they don’t realize it.

[lightsandlostbells]

wtFOCK season 3, episode 1 reaction

So! It’s a million years too late, but I decided to talk about wtFOCK season 3. 

I had fairly positive feelings about S1 of wtFOCK. It was the scrappy underdog of the Skam remakes, in a way, and what it lacked in polish, it made up for authenticity. I was very willing to overlook its flaws because of what I perceived as genuine attempts to connect with teenagers. I was really, really holding out hope that future seasons would improve on its flaws. And ... well. (Disclaimer: I still haven’t seen S2. Sorry! I just failed to keep up with all the remakes and S2 is my least fave so I didn’t feel that motivated to make it a priority, even though I did like Zoë a lot in S1.)

Heads up - I didn’t care for this season. A lot of people did, and I would never, ever want to ruin someone’s enjoyment of something, even if I personally didn’t like it. So please take this as a warning that I have a lot of negative things to say, and don’t read if it’s going to harsh your buzz for a pairing or a story that you deeply love. However, I didn’t want to just be grumpy and angry the whole time, so I tried to think of constructive ways to fix certain problems I had with this season. No guarantees that they’re satisfying solutions, but it was an interesting exercise.

Also, I didn’t watch this in real time, and I paid barely any attention to fandom reactions and/or drama, so it’s very possible that I am missing context, or that pacing issues didn’t register with me quite as strongly, etc. If one of the actors ate a live dolphin on Instagram, and then got into a fight with fans on Twitter about their right to eat live dolphins, and now fandom has canceled the problematic dolphin-eating actor, I legit do not know, do not come at me if I’m like “This actor is doing a good job” with “Wow, didn’t know you stanned dolphin-eaters??? YIKES.” Honestly, for the purposes of just grading this season on a storytelling level, I would prefer not to know anything about the cast or crew unless it directly has an impact on the show itself.

Clip 1 - House party

OK, I did like this flashy intro shot, immersing us in the Wild ‘n’ Crazy Teen Party of Wild ‘n’ Crazy Youths.

Amber rejecting every dude in site … When Will Gay Vilde Rise. (I know there have been some f/f storylines in the remakes, but if there’s one involving an actual Vilde, please let me know.)

Luca saying “We’re not walking around in a high school drama” - you can hear the rimshot.

I do like the transition from the party up to the bathroom, that’s a cool shot. wtFOCK’s directing so far is more ambitious than it was in S1.

Robbe is clearly a mess and they acknowledge his problems at home right off the bat.

We go back downstairs. wtFOCK’s version of Magnus knocks his drink on Amber and she gets pissed. She gives him the finger and he falls in love. Still a better love story than S3 Daphne/Basile.

It’s a small point, but I don’t get why we didn’t get this moment before jumping up to the bathroom with Robbe and the others? It would be a far smoother transition, just on a practical level and also in the sense of fully immersing us in Robbe’s POV after a quick update with the other characters.

Belgian Magnus joins the guys in the bathtub and announces he’s in love. They roast him when they find out it’s Amber and start talking about hot chicks. Moyo starts grilling Robbe about his type of girl, in a crass, sexual way.

This is honestly not a bad start to Robbe’s story at all. Robbe is clearly more reluctant to get into his interest in girls than Isak was - Isak was more fuckboyish from the start, Robbe seems like he’s about to start squirming and doesn’t really give an answer to Moyo’s questioning. Which is fine! I think it’s fine to start off the POV character at different stages of performing heterosexuality, as long as it’s taken into account in the writing of the character’s whole arc. The fact that the boy talk is so crude and sexual just ramps up Robbe’s alienation.

I swear, I will never understand how the girls in this scene just go into the bathroom and pee in front of strange boys … like maybe I am just a ~prude but that seems like a recipe for disaster and I would not trust those little fuckers to not be secretly recording me on the toilet.

Her peeing is kind of a power move, like marking her territory.

Also L M A O at Robbe starting to flirt with the girl while she is pissing … like now this comes off as a kink thing. OK, Robbe. Jokes aside, this gets across the same meaning as the scene with Isak: he starts to flirt with her because he was encouraged by the other guys.

Uh, flush the toilet, lady. And use some TP.

Now this version of Emma seriously radiates some Natalie Portman in The Professional vibes.

She orders him to stand up and then starts kissing him. I get way less of a vibe of Robbe’s mad game with women (like how Isak negged Emma into kissing him) and more like this girl is the love interest out of an indie romcom, all mysterious and spunky. She kisses him like once after taking his jay and then leaves. The boys all crack up. Moyo tells Robbe it’s his responsibility to get the weed back which lmao, no it’s not, all you assholes were there and could have intervened.

This scene is perfectly fine and even effective! Not entirely the same vibes as OG, but it still has a purpose and some obvious cause-and-effect, and there are some nice stylistic choices.

Clip 2 - Party pt. 2

Robbe is now making out with mystery girl. We already have a divergence in characterization from OG. Isak was being performative about making out with Emma and shut it down once the guys left. Robbe is making out with this girl because he wants to be straight, I guess? If it’s not to appeal to his friends, it’s likely that this is for himself. Again, I have no real problem with this change if it’s incorporated into Robbe’s overall arc and characterization. My thing is, if you’re writing this scene, do you realize the differences in characterization? Or do you think this is interchangeable from what happened with Isak? The latter is where you run into problems, because then the writing shows lack of nuance. I bring this up here because, well, you can guess how I feel about later events. 

Luca seems rather aggro about the mystery woman, which I assume is because she still has the hots for Robbe?

It makes me laugh that we got this first-person POV as Robbe leaves through the garage, because of the “Smack My Bitch Up” song being played in the last clip (the song had an infamous music video, banned from MTV in the ‘90s, that was from a first-person POV). But again, WTFock is trying harder with the cinematography and direction, good for them.

Robbe ditches the cops by jumping on the bike with Belgian Emma. OK, I get it, Belgian Emma is too cool for school. 

I have kinda mixed feelings on that, actually. I mean, I’ll be honest - I don’t see why any Emma has to be made into someone more palatable. Definitely don’t demonize her or present her in a misogynistic way! She deserves sympathy and dignity as much as any character on a Skam. But … it’s fine if she and the Isak aren’t like, amazingly compatible except for his sexuality. The Even character is supposed to be the one who really shakes up the Isak’s world! The Isak is supposed to be lost and confused and drifting and then Even comes in and is someone he can really open up to. Not just because he’s another guy who’s into guys, but because Even’s personality meshes with Isak’s so easily while still challenging him and introducing him to new things. In a way, it does kinda diminish the effect of the Even if the Isak meets ANOTHER mysterious stranger who’s an awesome person. Or at the very least, it lessens the feeling of the Isak’s detachment from everything.

And again, this could work if the writing realizes it. You can totally craft a subtly different arc from the pieces of Isak’s season. It’s just that (speaking from the future) I do not feel this is what happened.

Clip 3 - Tagging time

I don’t think it’s necessary to break up all the parts of a longer scene/set piece into a bunch of different clips. If you start a scene at 16:00, it’s OK to have the clip take place over several hours. You don’t need to chop it up unless there’s a reason why this pacing might benefit the story. Honestly, if you’re watching in real time, I think this method is often less effective at building tension/emotion/etc. But wtFOCK is not the first remake to try this tactic.

... this part where Robbe and Noor put on masks sure hits differently in 2020.

Belgian Emma’s name is Noor and she takes him to a warehouse, or something? It’s very secret and Cool Kid. And IDK, it’s fun, but again… I think making the Emma that much of a fun mysterious cool exciting person is very much diminishing the effect of Robbe’s isolation. We had a good start with establishing that alienation while he was in the tub, but now his reactions to her rad hipness feel way too sincere and act against the major character conflict of his season. He seems nervous to go with her, but not because he’s with a girl, just because it’s a risky scenario.

Noor hands Robbe a spray paint can and leads him to tag a wall. There’s  a guy taking pictures. So I’m assuming one of the guys in masks is the Even? The POV seems to shift to the photo guy briefly, like we’re seeing Robbe through his eyes. And even though I’m not a fan of POV breakage, I do think this is a cool way to introduce the Even without really introducing him, you know? If that’s him. (EDIT from the future: Ummm, so that wasn’t Sander, right? I’m rewatching and it doesn’t look like him. Soooo that part has even less relevance than I originally thought. Got it.) (EDIT from the future beyond the future: @hellswolfie tells me that this actually was Sander, so I am just bad at recognizing people, lol.)

Robbe and Noor take off their masks briefly to kiss. Uhhhh, did the scene really just … cut off there? Because L M A O what a weird choice. We don’t get to see what Robbe creates on the wall, which could be a great way to establish his character, AND we end with him on a smiley, contented note which does not boost his POV at all. It legit just makes him seem like a guy who’s into this girl, and sorry, even if that’s his public persona at this point in time … that’s not what we, the audience should be getting at all. 

Clip 4 - Boy squad morning after

Robbe skateboards to meet up with the guy squad. Again, the directing is far better IMO than in S1.

Robbe got the weed back so that conflict is over, I guess.

He gets a call from his mom and stops laughing with the guys and gets serious. He walks away to take the call. Then he starts to open up to Jens about his mom freaking out, and then Moyo spots some girls so they all ditch Robbe to go chase girls, and WOW, Jens, please turn in your Jonas card. 

Don’t love that we didn’t hear his mom on the phone. There’s no reason not to let us hear what she’s saying since it would be in Robbe’s POV AND as it turns out, they just tell us about the situation with his mom right off the bat, anyway, so it’s not like there’s much point in hiding it. 

This was effective in a sense to establish how girl-crazy his friends are, as well as setting up Robbe’s isolation, which I was worried wouldn’t come across as strongly after meeting Noor. But I think they could have NOT mingled in his mom issues to make this part more effective. Like if the goal was to show more of Robbe being alienated because he’s gay, then that’s not entirely successful, because there are non-gay reasons why Robbe wouldn’t join his pals on the girl chase. I mean, even a horny hetero Robbe might not want to chase girls with his bros because talking to his mom is a downer, so it’s not necessarily because of his sexuality. Plus he just found a girl he liked in Noor, so apparently, he’s not on the prowl. What this part IS communicating that the Belgian guy squad doesn’t have much interest in their friend’s family struggles, which ... ehhhh, maybe not great in the grand scheme of the storyline? These guys can be flawed, for sure, but we do need them to care about Robbe’s well-being. And Robbe tried to open up here, so the flaw is not in him, it’s in his friends. I’m going to let it slide because Jens was offering to help Robbe in the first clip, so it’s not like he’s been a totally insensitive friend this whole time. 

Clip 5 - Phone call from Robbe’s dad

Noor jumps on Robbe and they make out. She shows him the garage and they talk about the tagging world or w/e. Again, not sure why they are portraying Noor as like … a legit love interest. I don’t get much of a sense of discomfort from Robbe. Isak was just not into Emma and was uncomfortable when his bathroom flirting came back to haunt him. And I don’t think it’s TERRIBLE not to follow that route, but you can’t just make this huge change if you don’t account for it in future episodes and Robbe’s overall arc. (EDIT from the future: Which I don’t think they do, otherwise I wouldn’t care.) Every scene should count in furthering Robbe’s character, especially this early in the season where we’re just getting to know his particular struggles. If Robbe is trying to convince himself to like girls, then I want to see definite vulnerability in how that’s portrayed.

I blame the directing/writing more than the acting for the lack of discomfort, since I sensed Robbe’s lack of comfort just fine in the bathtub scene.

Makeouts get interrupted when Robbe’s dad calls. Again, not sure why we aren’t hearing both sides of the conversation? Because we’re in Robbe’s POV. Why wouldn’t we hear them? This seems like they just want to create some suspense or mystery over the situation with his parents. But it’s perfectly possible to do so while still letting us in on the phone calls. In fact, it’s arguably more intriguing to let us listen to some phone calls where we get some vague details but nowhere close to the whole story. It’s not like Robbe’s dad is going to explain the whole situation to his son in an exposition dump. We can get some crumbs to tease us, while still keeping us in Robbe’s POV and not feeling like the show is cutting corners.

Robbe gets mad at his dad and tells Noor he needs to be alone. Closeup on Noor as Robbe walks away. OK … why? Why on her and not Robbe when it’s his POV? Why the focus on Noor’s feelings when we really need to be establishing our protagonist’s mindset in the beginning of this season? I’m not saying her feelings don’t matter, I’m saying that well, this isn’t her story. It would be better to see Robbe’s pained reaction as he leaves.

Clip 6 - Robbe’s dad drama

Jens comes running up while Robbe is being sad. Robbe says that it may be necessary for him to stay with Jens because Robbe’s mom has been committed to a mental health institution and Robbe doesn’t want to stay with his dad. Ah, so I guess we’re hearing that right away. Which honestly makes not hearing his phone calls to his parents even funnier - like you lock us out of his POV arguably for the suspense, but then you end the suspense anyway by just telling us what happened a scene or two later? All right. I guess there’s suspense in that we don’t know exactly what’s up with the mom, mental health-wise, or the root of Robbe’s problems with his dad.

It occurs to me that maybe they just didn’t want to hire people to voice Robbe’s parents? Or put in the time to film both sides of the conversation? I have a hard time believing either of those because it’s so lazy, but. 

I mean, just turn the phone conversations into text conversations if you’re not going to let us listen to Robbe’s parents on the other end.

They go and play football without really resolving the situation. Sad music plays while Robbe joins in. Also, someone was calling Robbe, and I assume it was his dad, but it’s not shown.

These clips are VERY short and choppy so far. You could easily combine the last two, so Robbe is with Jens instead of Noor when he gets the other phone call from his dad, leading into this conversation.

We know immediately about Robbe’s mom’s situation instead of it being a mystery, like with Isak. Which, again, isn’t inherently wrong, but then I want them to DO SOMETHING with it. 

Clip 7 - Jens and Jana

Oh hey, Jana got her braces off! IDK if that happened last season or this one, but it was something I liked, seeing a teenage girl with braces on a teen drama. That rarely happens unless it’s a joke or a plot point.

OK, they really need to film Robbe’s phone so I can actually see who’s calling…

Jens tells Jana about Robbe’s parental situation. I’ll note that first she asks if something’s up with Noor, so news of the Robbe/Noor relationship must have traveled really fast since they’ve only just gotten together. Like Robbe and Noor are clearly dating, going off Jana’s comment, and not just hooking up. Then Belgian Magnus wants to know about hooking up with Amber. Meanwhile Robbe is having a conversation off screen with his dad? Guess it wasn’t important!

And that’s the problem, obviously. It’s his POV season, anything you decide to show SHOULD be important to his storyline. 

Also … it’s fine that we’re focusing on Robbe’s shit home life since that’s relevant to his story, but almost nothing in these clips has set up Robbe’s attraction to men, and only slightly his lack of interest in girls, which was negated by him seeming very interested in a girl afterwards. And knowing how long this season takes to get going with the Even character, it’s a pretty glaring omission.

So we don’t see Robbe’s phone call with his dad, but he gets snappy about it when Jens asks. One of the boys (I can’t tell who) says that Robbe’s on his period.  Gonna be real, I don’t care for this squad so far. 

What was the point of this clip? We already know Robbe is having problems with his dad, which is the most relevant part to the plot here. We shouldn’t be wandering from Robbe’s POV so much, but even taking that into account … we already know Belgian Magnus likes Amber, so that’s not necessary to establish. And we didn’t need to see Jens tell Jana something we already know. I assume he tells her so Zoë can find out and offer a room, but there’s no reason to see Jens tell Jana this, so. Filler clip. 

Clip 8 - Zoë and Robbe at the lockers

Yeah, Zoë offers Robbe a place to stay here, but again, we didn’t need to see the news travel down the Jens-Jana pipeline. It could have been condensed more efficiently.

Robbe doesn’t want to because he says his dad wouldn’t approve. Zoë says she hopes things get better with his mom and Robbe at first snaps and tells her to leave it, then says thanks. This is an actual good interaction, writing-wise, kudos.

I liked Zoë a lot in S1 and I like her here again. I really should watch her season despite my Noorhelm allergy. The scene of them kinda smiling at each other across the hallways reminds me that this is probably the strongest relationship in the whole season, tbh.

Why was this clip so short? So many of these clips could have been combined into one. I mean, Zoë could have said, “I heard from Jana who heard from Jens...” without us needing the previous clip. Although, did Robbe really want anyone else to know about his home life? Lol @ Jens just blabbing Robbe’s private business.

So I guess they didn’t set up the Eskild situation in S2 that would lead to Eskild offering Robbe a place to stay? 

Clip 9 - Robbe gets roommates

Robbe is in Zoë’s room. He sees her “everyone you know is fighting a battle” quote next to the mirror, which is a detail I actually quite like in context with the rest of this storyline and Even’s condition. It’s a good Skam thesis overall.

I guess Zoë met with Robbe’s dad. Zoë calls him a tough cookie. Robbe doesn’t want to speak to him. They bond a little over their parental problems. Again, a nice detail.

Belgian Eskild appears and teases Robbe a little before announcing that Robbe’s dad has agreed to let him stay in the flat. Yay!

Oh, so Senne is staying there, too? At least they didn’t do a pointless Noorhelm breakup in this version.

Milan (the Eskild) tries to go in for a hug and Robbe isn’t cool with it, so at least that’s something with Robbe’s issues with men. (I think? The thing is, Robbe also does not really know Milan, so it’s not as weird that he’s not ready to be affectionate with a near-stranger.)  (EDIT from the future: Keeping the S2 almost-kiss that’s referenced in the next clip in mind, I can rationalize this moment as a continuation of that awkwardness from Robbe’s POV.) 

They chat with Lisa (Linn) who wants to direct Robbe on what he is and isn’t allowed to touch in her room, heh.  Milan and Zoë have cute interaction, and Robbe looks happy. I do like the flatmate vibe so far, they seem fun.

Clip 10 - Robbe and Milan

Senne and Zoë get cute. I haven’t seen S2 so I can’t give my opinion on their version of Noorhelm, but I did think a few things about them were less creepy in wtFOCK’s S1 than in OG. Milan talks about how they’re a Disneylike couple and Robbe laughs.

Then Robbe apologizes for something that evidently happened in S2, where Milan tried to kiss Robbe at a party? Again, I didn’t see the scene. Milan says he’d never try to do that. He offers Robbe a hug, which he accepts - tbh I don’t know if Robbe SHOULD accept based on where he is in his character arc, maybe he should have more skittishness? But it’s a nice character moment, at least. They really have to make up for lost time with the Robbe-Milan relationship, so I can get that they need to establish some closeness fast.

Not being in the wtFOCK fandom, I kinda wonder if there was backlash to that scene from before and this is damage control, LMAO.

I feel like you could’ve tweaked this to be more representative of Robbe’s issues, like have him stress here that he’s not gay, because it’s a sweet scene but again, I don’t feel like this episode built up Robbe’s internal dilemma very well. You could make this not just about smoothing over whatever bump there was in this relationship, but also about setting up some internal tension with Robbe’s sexuality issues. Multi-tasking - it’s great!

EDIT from the future: OK, I tracked down the S2 scene, and yeah, while it illustrates some of Robbe’s internalized homophobia, I really think you needed to carry this through to this clip. Because that was a very public situation, and they made a point of emphasizing onlookers’ reactions. I feel like you need to show that Robbe’s internalized homophobia isn’t just about external reactions, but internal struggles, because ... so far, that’s what it is? Like what is he doing with Noor otherwise? 

Clip 11 - Housewarming party

Party is underway. Yasmina is there and is friendly with Robbe. It sounds like they’re working on a school project together. Aaron (Magnus) and Moyo are talking about hot chicks again.

Noor arrives and the boys tease Robbe about how far he’s gone, Robbe looks pretty chill and happy until Moyo says Robbe’s getting laid tonight and you can see the nerves and reluctance take over. Okay! A character detail that actually works for his arc! Yes!

Partying, makeouts with Noor … sorry but they are wasting a lot of time with this relationship. ROBBE ISN’T INTO HER. Here’s the thing: I don’t want to demonize any of Evak’s female “love interests,” right? It’s pointless anyway because Evak is the endgame pairing, Sonja and Emma aren’t “threats” in the end, but also because they’re not bad people just for wanting to date these two guys who happens to want each other instead. And I think you can do interesting things with Sonja and Emma as characters. I’ve read Sonja fanfic that’s really good!

But when it comes down to it … this is not the story of Robbe/Noor, and there’s a point where it feels like there’s too much development for something that is really intended to be a speed bump in Robbe’s journey. 

I guess it’s a pet peeve of mine when gay stories devote a ton of time to het relationships, to the point where it begins to overshadow the main gay relationship. Love, Victor did this to an absolutely ridiculous degree. (I actually made notes for Love, Victor reactions, but hesitated to post them because 60% consisted of me typing I DON’T CARE ABOUT THESE STRAIGHT ROMANCES.) And I GET it, this is an experience many gay kids go through in their coming out journey, but also, less charitably… you don’t need het romance to dominate everything. You don’t need to make this about how a gay person being gay hurts a straight person. I genuinely appreciate that once Isak kisses Even, it’s fucking over with him and Emma, that plot thread is done. 

Anyway, Noor tells Robbe he’s so fucking hot and Robbe looks more uncomfortable, moreso when she wants to see his room and he goes off like he’s headed to Mordor.

Aaron checking out Amber … okay, again with all the het. I don’t care!!! This is not important right now!! 

Noor pushes Robbe onto the bed, ugh please don’t have them Go There.

She takes off her top and Robbe touches her boob like he’s sticking his hand into a porta-potty. We see his discomfort so at least this part is effective and relevant to Robbe’s arc. Noor is taking off her bra when the boys come into the room, wanting the weed. Okay, you dumb fucks, you’re teasing your bro about getting laid and yet you think it’s cool to enter his room when he’s with a girl? I mean, that’s a lucky break for Robbe, but his friends are extra stupid.

The mood is killed, Robbe goes hunting for weed. Episode ends.

HOW I WOULD REWRITE THIS EPISODE:

Lmao, some of my changes sounded a lot like “be like OG Skam S3.” Because Skam S3 was well-written and made sense. But I tried to think of edits that worked with what wtFOCK was presenting, not just repeating OG.

(I’m also repeating a few things in this section that I said above, btw)

While this episode doesn’t make me angry or anything, it’s got a serious problem with dithering. The first clip is a solid start to the season, but afterwards, so many of these clips feel like filler. There’s a lack of substance to them. It was hard to write about them because they ended up feeling like two minutes of nothing. 

Did we need to see repetitive mentions of Robbe’s troubled relationship with his dad? No, it’s an important plot detail but we could have established that more concisely in fewer clips. Did we need to see the process of how Robbe comes to stay with Zoë, Senne, and Milan? No, not really. Or at least not dragged out over at least three clips. 

I don’t feel like I’m in Robbe’s head to the extent that I should be  so far. Some of this is because the show just flat-out locks us out of his POV, like not showing the phone call in the Jens-Jana clip. But a lot of it is also because of the narrative dawdling. There’s just not as much to analyze unless I bring in Skam season 3 and project what we know about Isak onto Robbe. And that’s not a good way to adapt a story.

The framing of Robbe/Noor needs to change. Combine the bathroom intro with the aborted sex scene - the boys are sitting in the tub, teasing Robbe about getting laid, so he makes out with Noor and they go into a bedroom where he’s clearly not into this, and then Moyo and Aaron come in asking for weed because Robbe still actually has the weed from the bathtub at this point. Or do what Skam France did (can’t believe I’m referring to Skam France) and have the arrival of the cops interrupt the makeout/sex session and Robbe takes his cue to exit.

But frankly, it’s not great to have Robbe acting or looking too cozy with Noor, like this is a legitimate romantic arc except when it gets to the sex. The point is that this isn’t a romance. Even if you want to show some cuddly, non-sexual scenes with Noor, you have to show more of Robbe’s reluctance and fear throughout. 

Show Robbe’s fucking phone conversations with his parents!!!! Good Lord. He’s not ordering a pizza. These are important aspects of his story. Capitalize on that family tension, show us what a bad place Robbe is in at the start of this season. 

Now, about the lack of Even in this episode. Not introducing Even is a bold move, but not necessarily a smart one. Even’s introduction in Skam is not just the intro of “the love interest” - he’s the catalyst for almost everything in Isak’s story. Consider that in episode 1, Isak is seen mostly unhappy and bored - he’s distraught after kissing Emma, he’s checked out of his friends’ lunchtime girl talk, he zones out staring at his teacher’s boobs, he doesn’t want to be at kosegruppa. Isak is actually very passive and just going through the motions, doing what people tell him to do. But once Isak meets Even at kosegruppa - well, that’s when Isak wakes up. In the next few clips, we see Isak taking action. And sure, they’re small actions, searching for Even online, watching the Even video over and over, asking Vilde if there will be more kosegruppa meetings. But we can see that Isak now cares about something, he’s paying attention. Of course, Robbe’s story doesn’t have to follow the same arc. However, it does the season a huge benefit to get him intrigued by something at this point, so we the audience are not just sleepwalking along with him for a few episodes.

There’s also just the simple fact that we have only 10 episodes to establish a love story and make us care about the Even character, and it’s a very risky move to waste too much time. If you are really killing it with the rest of Robbe’s arc, this could still work, but ... well, that’s not what’s happening here.

If they didn’t want to full on introduce the Even directly, one thing they could do is subtly and indirectly find ways to include him in the narrative and create some mystery. Let’s say Robbe sees the Even’s artwork somewhere and is like whoa, that’s cool, and we can tell that it resonates with him. Or he admires Even’s graffiti, or it makes him laugh, whatever. Basically Robbe has some kind of emotional reaction to a thing the Even has created or done, which helps to set up that relationship even before we officially meet the Even.

If we want to add a little more, perhaps Robbe sees a mysterious dude in a mask tagging a wall, but they get interrupted by the cops or something and have some kind of brief but intriguing interaction with each other, and Robbe’s like, who was that guy in the mask? Or Noor takes Robbe to the tagging place, the police/security bust them, Robbe and Noor get separated, and Robbe gets helped out by the Even so he can escape. So it’s an important moment, lots of adrenaline, we can frame it like there’s a sudden ~charge~ between them (ooOOOooo the Even helped Robbe stand up and their hands touched like this was a fanfic, etc.), but he doesn’t learn Even’s name, maybe he doesn’t even see his face because Even has a mask on, so Robbe spends part of the next few episodes trying to figure out who that guy is, casually asking Noor if she knows a guy like that, keeping his eyes open. Maybe we have some fakeouts where Robbe thinks he sees the Even again but it’s just a false alarm. He’s on edge, eager to know more about that mystery guy, and so are we. Bam, we have “awakened” Robbe from his deep sleep. 

If you’ve seen Netflix’s The Get Down, there’s even a scene like this where Jaden Smith’s character gets caught tagging by the cops, he runs and flees with another young dude, and they have a moment where they recognize each other as graffiti artists they admire. While watching that scene for the first time, without any context or spoilers, without even knowing if there would be LGBT content in that show, I immediately thought, “This guy is his love interest.” Not even because it was overtly romantic. Because the way it was written and shot told us that this meeting was important. Because they had an instant connection. Something similar could have worked for Robbe and his Even. But in any case: it would have been best to establish something between those characters, even if it wasn’t an “official” introduction.

Stop focusing on Aaron/Amber when it’s not in Robbe’s POV. Reverse the scene at the beginning with Aaron videotaping and Amber getting spilled on. She gets pissed, he falls in love, and then we follow him upstairs and we meet the boy squad. That is a very obvious, very clean transition that doesn’t interrupt Robbe’s POV as it technically hasn’t started yet. So IDK why they didn’t do that, lmao.

Some changes with the Milan relationship:

Tweak the apology scene to be more representative of Robbe’s issues. Have Robbe apologize while still stressing that he’s not gay. Have Milan be chill and not question that statement, but maybe Robbe is so defensive that it comes across as unconvincing. 

Then have Milan be the one instead of the boys to interrupt the Noor almost-sex scene. Milan wanders in acting drunk, haha Milan, he’s wacky. Robbe doesn’t realize it (though the viewers do if they’re paying attention) but Milan is only pretending and is “subtly” rescuing Robbe because he realizes, based on the earlier scene, that Robbe might be struggling with his sexuality and he wants to give him an escape option. (Although I still think it’s best to combine the not-sex scene into the opening clip, but this could work, too.)

Basic questions we need to be asking, clip to clip: what is the conflict? Where is Robbe’s head right now? Why is this scene necessary? How did this scene come to be - what’s the cause and effect here? How does it advance Robbe’s story? Is it redundant? How do we tell this story in a narratively economical manner? 

[writertd]

The Writer - Chapter 2

Summary: Where a mystery writer, whose real identity is not known to the public, becomes a murder suspect for the BAU's current case and ends up helping solve the case.

Chapter 1 <- read ch 1 first!

Pairing: Spencer Reid x OC

Word Count: 1140

Chapter 2

In a room in the New York precinct, Emily, Tara, and JJ sat scattered. Evidence and casefiles littered the table and floor as the women worked to establish major pieces of evidence and waited for Skylar Daniels to be brought in by the rest of their team.

“So, the only connection that I can find still seems to be the mysterious women all of these people contacted. Other than that, they didn’t run in the same circles. They all had different jobs, lived in different neighborhoods, they didn’t even frequent the same stores.” Garcia explained through the slick black phone resting on the table. The three women in the rooms looked at each other knowing that they had to be missing something, and hoping that Skylar Daniels would be able to shed some light.

“ Keep searching Garcia, there has to be something we aren't thinking of.” Emily spoke continuing to flip through the stack of papers she currently held.

“ I will do my best!” The phone call ended with a click, sending the room into silence for a moment, until the door to the room was pushed open by an officer.

“ They’re through here”

“ Thank you.” came the steady voice of Luke, as he, Rossi, and Reid, entered the room followed by the young women they had been sent to retrieve. They all filed into the room, greeting the others, before the womens’ attention landed on the other women in the room.

“ I presume, you’re Skylar Daniels, is that right? And why isn’t she in an interrogation room?” Emily directed the first question to Skylar and the second to Luke, Rossi, and Reid. Skylar stood near the door fiddling with the end of her jacket sleeve and mumbled a small ‘yes ma’am”

“ The case has gotten more interesting since we last spoke,” Rossi began, “ Ms. Daniels here, actually happens to be an acquaintance of mine. Though until earlier, I didn’t know her as Ms. Daniels but rather as Annalee Graves.”

“ The writer?” Tara, Emily, and JJ asked in unison.

“ Exactly. We’ve met a few times at book releases and similar events over the last few years.” Rossi sat across from JJ as he spoke. The three women looking between the two writers. Everyone shared a look making sure they were on the same page.

“ Ms. Daniels, please, if you wouldn’t do you think you could have a seat so we could ask you some questions?” Emily gestured to a seat at the table, bringing her hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose. Skylar did as she was asked, being extremely aware of the papers around her and moving in a way so that she wouldn’t disturb them.

“ Yes, of course, anything I can do to help.” She spoke as she took her seat. The room of profilers looked at her, assessing her tone, body language, and searching for anything that could help.

“ Ms. Daniels, over the last few months, you’ve been in contact with all four of our victims, John Fords, Harry Bradstone, Ross Thornton, and Paisley Main. Exchanging emails and phone calls with all of them multiple times. In fact, the only connection the victims have to one another, that we can find, seems to be you. Would you explain how you knew all of these people?” Tara explained to Skylar why she was here. At the mention of their names, Skylar sat up straight, obviously in shock by finding out that these people were dead.

“ Wha- wha-what do you mean? They’re all.. All of them are… they’re all dead?” at this point Skylar had paled a bit, hands raking through her hair as she tried to form coherent thoughts. JJ shared a look with Emily and Luke.

“ We’re sorry that you had to find out this way, Ms. Daniels, but we really need to know why you were contacting these people.” JJ gave you a soft look, one like a mother would offer a child in comfort.

“ Yeah, I’m sorry, I didn’t…” She ran her fingers through her hair again. “ They were helping me, um, I’m researching for my new book and they were giving me information on an event that they all went through.”

“ An event?” questioned Reid from his place next to Rossi and Emily. “ What event could they be giving you information on, the only connection they have is you?” He flipped through his file as if he had forgotten something he had read, which was not likely.

“Um yeah, they never contacted each other but they all had gifts left anonymously at their houses around the same time, a single dahlia in fake blood. I have a deal worked out with the mayor and a few different police precincts. They let me come in and look through the petty crime calls and reports, minor things, the police reports claimed it was all just a sick prank that some kids had done.” Skylar explained to the group, talking quickly, trying to wrap her mind around everything. The team sat quietly waiting for a few moments to give the women to to process.

“ Skylar,” Rossi said calmly, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder “, why were you looking for this information?”

She gave a kind smile to the italian man before continuing. “ I write true crime fiction, Rossi, I have to research things to get accurate information.” she sighed, looking down.

“ True crime fiction?” A confused Luke asked. Just as Skylar opened her mouth to speak she was cut off by the young doctor.

“ True crime fiction is a relatively small genre of writing. Just recently it has started to become more popular for young adults. They are books or stories that use a crime that was actually committed as a base for the story, but the other elements in the story are made up, characters, settings, events, etc. They are quite entertaining as a light read but usually the changes are done well enough that you can’t even find the original case that is being used.” The room stared at the doctor as he gave his explanation with an awkward tight-lipped smile once he finished. He glanced at the younger writer in the room to see that she was giving him a grateful smile, relieved that she didn’t have to give the explanation herself. He sent a small smile back.

“ Exactly, I find something interesting in case reports, and create a story from it, but never anything other than small or interesting petty crimes at best. I just thought that the flower in fake blood would make for a really cool mystery novel.” Skylar sighed again putting her face in her hands and breathing deeply.

“Skylar, we are going to need every piece of research you have regarding these people and anything else that’s relevant that you can think of.” Rossi explained gently.

.

.

.

Note: This will slightly follow the storyline of S1: Ep18- Somebody's Watching of criminal minds, but like very minimally and the team dynamics match more to season 12 after Hotch has left but before Walker joins the team. There will also be similar plot points to episodes of Castle and NCIS.

Taglist:

@thatstupidgirll

@notebookgirl30

[what-a-messsss]

1x10 rewatch

Ok, let’s get back to Walt Longmire: Disaster Boi of S1 and finish this season off with a...something.  Pleading look to the heavens, maybe?  

How do I keep forgetting that Lizzie is a thing, even after our decision to find her some nice Smitten Cowboy to be with?  Holy hell, but why are you still keeping your dead wife’s ashes in the kitchen?  At least you kept Lucian in your fucking truck.  In a coffee can.  What is with you and breakfast beverages??  We all know you need lots of therapy, but this seems like a kind of niche issue.

“Trust me, you don’t, uh, you don’t want that tea.”  Buddy.  

Poor Lizzie.  She really is so nice.  And he’s such a fucking disaster.  “You seem weird,” she says, in reaction to him going bug eyed from having to convince her not to drink his dead wife without her realizing that’s what he was doing.  Sweetie, you have no idea.  And she really does like him.  

This is.  So.  Gloriously awkward.  And Lizzie’s there in her bare feet.  And all we need is for Branch to show up and we’ll have a full house, and aaaaahahaha, Walt is so trying to freeze time with the power of his brain.  Staring off into the Not Here place with his mouth pressed just so...  Awwwww, suffer.

I had forgotten that Ferg was the one who actually did the body work on the Bronco!  Even did the paint work, because that old truck has never looked so good.  I know Omar loaned Walt his truck while the Bronco was “in the shop,” but I like that the writers gave Ferg the skills to do that.

“If anybody... has something they want to say, I suggest you think twice about it.”  We don’t need to say anything; we’re too busy laughing at you.

Oof, and then Lizzie hearing Martha’s voice still on the message greeting.  She’s really quite a good actress.  Lizzie isn’t a terribly subtle character generally, but she gives her these really fine microexpressions that give you occasional glimpses that there is more going on under the surface, and she’s not just an open book.  : (  Making me actually like her and feel bad, not just cringe when she comes on.  Dang iiiiiiiit.

Ok, that does NOT look like Sharpie.  I’m sorry, but that looks like a paint pen or lipstick more than it looks like a Shapie on the dead kid’s forehead.  Even if it were one of the jumbo Sharpies, they don’t write like that, they aren’t that colour on skin, and the thickness of the lines are all off.  Which is not really relevant, but it buuuuugs meeeee.  Pedantic little shit that I am.

Ope, Branch is basically past the angst about Walt not liking him and straight into just giving him nothing but attitude.  Which, while I can hardly blame anyone for giving Walt shit, does get old pretty fast.

Walt, you are So Bad at talking to people, even when it’s for the damn job!  Yeah, it’s fine to have Ferg fill Vic in, but at least acknowledge that she’s there, damn.  Honestly it would have been good for both Vic and Ferg for Walt to tell her to follow Ferg’s lead on this one.  He knows the case, the local history, the players, the situation, and probably more about archery than her, and she could stand to take the reminder that working 5 years in big city homicide still doesn’t make her the senior deputy and that she needs to be ok learning from even Ferg.  Shit, I keep finding more and more reasons to be annoyed at Walt.  Is he even really that good of a sheriff?  I’m shaking the ol’ Magic 8 Ball here, and signs point to frickin’ NO.  Ugh.

Five HUNDRED dollars says that he didn’t check with Mathias before going on the Rez for official police business again.  Jackass.

Can’t really blame Viho for being super bitter.  And Ayasha is so sweet.  This whole family dynamic is so well done.

Aw, Ferg is so excited about the gum wrapper.  “Still minty!”  How are you such a sparklebunny?  Bless.

Detective Falessssss.  His opening line is so great, but uuuuuuuhg, he’s as bad as Walt with his singlemindedness about the case.  

“Talk to Ruby.  She runs my life.”  She runs the department, bucko, and you’d be lost without her!  Lost, I say!  But you treat her like your personal social secretary, and that’s crap.

In Fales’ dubious defense, you were just super weird about that whole encounter.  

Omar!  You creepy little lecherous jackass.  Why am I still fond of you?  It’s really rather galling that I enjoy your character at all, but I doooo.  Thank gods he has the beard now; cleanshaven was just wigging me out.  “Vickie’s never shot before--”  “That is the second-to-last time you will ever call me that.”  And I chortle myself to distraction to the point that I have to rewind to catch the lines that I missed.  With her horrible plans when she gets drunk (I’m still cringing at that flashback of her with Travis) and her obvious thing for older men, I’m honestly kind of surprised she didn’t end up having a deeply regretted something with Omar at some point.  They do have good chemistry in an antagonistic way.  And he does so enjoy tugging her pigtails.  ...ew.  Why is my brain like this?  

“A little bit of practice, even a girl can make that shot.”  Aaaaaaand we’re back to kick him in the nuts.  Not that we ever really left there.  Such a butthead.

Boy oh boy, it sure is great the tone that all these shitty rich white people take saying “Indian.”

“That is what a normal person would do in your situation.”  Henryyyyyy, I love you so much.  Why can’t we spend more time with him in the early seasons?  Why are you drinking a Rainier?  Nooooo, please have better taste in beer than your boyfriend!  You have expensive tastes in bourbon, why can’t you have decent taste in beeeer?

Walt, what is the point of practicing darts when you are FIVE FEET from the board?  Seriously, you’re supposed to be like...  (a google later)  7 feet 9.25 inches away!  That’s...  That’s an oddly specific measurement.  Wtf.  No quickly apparent reason for that specific measure.  Resisting the pull of this particular rabbit hole to continue the ep.  

Aaaah, that’s right, this is still when Walt thinks that Henry may have killed the guy for him.  And BestDad Henry talked to Cady after the blow up about Branch, and he is a wonderful human being.  “It’s really none of your concern.”  Hoooooow dare you.  It is clearly a function of being bffs with that butthead that Henry just smiles (somewhat bitterly) at this instead of tripping him into the bar or shoving his head into the cigarette machine.  (Is that a cigarette machine?  Wtf is that thing with the yellow lit up portion towards the top? [14:05])  

“What a rich inner life you must lead.  From time to time, you should consider sharing some of it with the rest of us.”  The sass!  Swoon.  Henry.  Marry me.  

“I’ve got other problems.”  Buddy, you are other problems.

I wonder how many people/places Ruby just has on speed dial so that she can zoom through her list of “Where the hell is Walt now” to get in touch with him.

Aaaaand we’re back to Branch getting a bit big for his britches.  Whee.  Better fight about it like Big Boys.  Ffs.  “Go ahead.  Give me your best shot.”  ::Pat Benatar starts playing in the background::  Oh holy shit, I wish so damn much that I had any know-how about making vids.  I would be beyond amused by a spoofy hate vid of Walt and Branch being assholes to “Hit Me With Your Best Shot.”  Ooo, oo, or “Hit Me Baby One More Time!”  Aaaahahaha, these fucking losers and their fragile masculinity.  Get rekt.

Children.  Childreeeeen.  Stop it, or you can’t go to Timmy’s birthday party next week.

The irony of Vic being the one who is actually calling them on their shit and getting to do their damn jobs.  Well shit, they actually have a warrant this time.  Will wonders never cease.

Damn, Viho is smart.  Politically savy, pointing out the election coming up.  He’s got the wrong end of the stick this time, but the fact that he’s seen these angles and considered a bunch of things about the consequences already is telling about how smart he is.

Ruby is so pleased to see Henry.  She sounds tired (dealing with Walt and Branch and the sheer volume of bs that is accumulating in that office, no wonder) but still fond.  And the look she gives him.  I love her so much.  She puts up with so much.  And I love Henry continually calling Walt and the department on their shit and just being a dedicated activist for his community.

Fuck right off, Branch.  “Woah.  I know you’re Walt’s friend, Henry, but you don’t have any particular rights here.”  You are sliding into being a full on trashbag of a human being so fast, Brancheroo.  Reminding a young man of his rights and helping him avoid getting railroaded by your biased ass isn’t a bad thing, you rusty wingnut.

Ok, it might not be Glasses!Henry, but cowboy boots!Henry with the glow of righteousness upon him is also quite A Look.

Aaaaahahaha, for once Vic’s unholy yelling saves the day.  Being able to shout over a mass of raucous teens is usually reserved for teachers, camp counselors, and stage managers.  Looool and using detention as the threat.  And then jail.  Heeeh.

This is soooo weeeeeird: I’m starting to genuinely like Lizzie.  She just showed up and I remembered that it’s for dropping off that present, and then Vic is such a butt about it, and this poor lady is just trying to date a guy that she really likes and even gave him about 5 different outs that morning and he pointedly didn’t take any of them and dammit, Lizzie deserves better, too.  Fuck, Walt, you are such a disaster zone.  And Vic is a whole other disaster area that’s looking to, uhhhh, share a border.  Yike.

The present is definitely more Lizzie than it is Walt, with the wrapping and everything, but it’s still a sweet impulse.  AND THEN VIC, who told Walt how many times that he should call her?? gets all up in her business?  Poor Lizzie trying to figure out what the fuck this has to do with Vic or how it is even on the same planet as any of her business.  She does have some issues from her previous marriage, but she owns them.  And her BS meter is actually pretty finely tuned.  Sure picks up on Vic’s awkward boner for Walt in no time flat.  Not that it’s particularly well hidden, damn.

This kid is a rapist and a murderer and The Bad Guy, but at the same time, he is a high school kid, chances are he’s a minor, and Walt is talking to him alone in his office without any parent, much less a lawyer.  What the fuck.  

“Because Ayasha Roundstone told me so,” is a good line, solidly so.  And Walt’s all in The Righteous Hand of Justice mode or whatever, with the gravelly voice and standing over the kid, staring him down.  Effective.  (But where are that kid’s parents?)  Ah, that’s right, his dad is taking a shot at whatshisnoodle to make it look like he’s the killer.

Awww, Cady.  Honey, how long have you been waiting for you FailDad to show up?  Fuck.  Right.  This was how she found out that Martha was murdered.  He lies to her so much.  He manipulates her so much.  He passes all of this off on it being Martha’s wish, but he even acknowledges that Cady had a right to know and he chose not to tell her.  He denies Cady her own agency again and again.  He makes decisions for her without ever giving her a chance to choose for herself, and punishes her when she makes a choice that he doesn’t agree with.

It’s not “protecting” her from the pain.  “Protecting you from the pain,” is not a father’s job; it’s to teach their child how to manage it, help them live through it, and how to grow past it.  You’re damaging her.  Into the suuuuuuun, Walt!  Into the fucking SUN.

But fuuuuuuuuuuuck, her delivery of that same line, “Well, let me relieve you of that burden,” is sooo good.  You done fucked up, buster.  And you just keep fucking up.  I would say in new and exciting ways, but it’s generally in the SAME DAMN WAYS, dammit Walt.

This flashback is really difficult.  

They’re right about that technically being kidnapping, too.  Wyoming  § 6-2-201 specifically includes defining kidnapping as unlawfully confining another person, with the intent to “facilitate the commission of a felony; or Inflict bodily injury on or to terrorize the victim or another,” with unlawful confinement defined as “accomplished (i)  By force, threat or deception; or (ii)  Without the consent of a parent, guardian or other person responsible for the general supervision of an individual who is under the age of fourteen (14) or who is adjudicated incompetent.”  Meaning that not only could Walt charge Jake with the kidnapping of Rich, but also probably of Ayasha, since she was ruled an unreliable witness and would more than likely be legally considered a “mentally incompetent person” according to the states’ legal definitions.  

Not... that I have the Wyoming State Criminal Code downloaded on my computer.  >_> Certainly haven’t skimmed about 80% of it trying to figure out what charges would most make sense to be levied against Jacob at the end so that I don’t have to deal with him going in to a Federal prison on RICO charges.  <_<  Or what Cady probably should have been charged with after that mess with Tate and Catori.  Nnnnnnope.  Sure don’t, didn’t, haven’t. o_o

This is about the only time I can remember there being a legitimate reason for Walt not to have backup.  Since they’re off checking other locations.  Also, damn, that was some classic Old West quickdraw shit, Walt!  Noice!

“Why did you stop me?”  Because you have to testify, you little shit.  HE is not terribly bright.

Ooooooo, somehow I forgot that it was Branch who went to Jacob.  But that makes total sense; I can’t really see Jacob seeking Branch out, but once he walks himself into his office, Jacob will certainly play those new cards for all they’re worth.  Ooooooooo, and the Hotamétaneo’o headdress!  I’d forgotten about Branch seeing it, too!  Nice call back and foreshadowing to finish off S1!

“You will not find a chili cheeseburger of this caliber anywhere in Colorado.”  And now it’s 4:30 in the morning and I want a chili cheeseburger.  Thanks, babe.   Some daaaaaay, I will figure out which is my favourite Henry, but it is not this day, because godsdaaaaamn, the red checked shirt with that vessssst, is *chef kiss* a wonderful thing.   And the director knoooooows it = that pan down Henry’s back as he turns after saying, “I said nothing,” for noooo reason other than to have Henry’s ass on screen.  Seriously.  He says his line, it pans down, we get a primo shot of his jeans, and then it cuts away.  Solely a pan for Henry Butt.  Who directed this, and where do I send the fruit basket?  Dang, it was Nelson McCormick, and this was the only ep of Longmire he directed.  Huh.  In S1, there’s only one repeat director, who did eps 1, 3, and 7.  Interesting.

Focus, kid.  You are less than 3 minutes from the end and you’ve had it paused for over 5 minutes to wander around IMDb.  No wonder it takes you three flipping hours to watch one of these episodes.  What a mess, indeed.

“We all process grief in our own way.”  Buddy.  You have not processed.  You are a human <BUFFERING> screen.  You’re a walking loading symbol.  Walt, he gives you some basic vital statistics on the guy, but...  You haven’t even asked who it was.  Walt, you are so bad at this.  Fffffffff---  And there’s season 1.  lawd.

[haro-whumps]

Box Boy Plurality: 02

Second whumpee won the poll. Be warned, this chapter’s a longer one

CW: Dehumanization, slavery, creepy + intimate whumper, brainwashing, manipulation, illegal business practices

Tag List: @thatsthewhump​ @whump-it​ @ashintheairlikesnow​ @fairybean101​ @finder-of-rings​ @comfortforthepain​ @shameless-whumper​ @that-one-thespian​ @burtlederp​ @castielamigos-whump-side-blog​ @raigash​ @im-not-rare-im-rarr @spiffythespook​ @whumps-the-word​ @frnkieroismydaddy​ @whumpity--whump--whump​ @michelleswhumpyreblogs​ @jo-castle​ @newandfiguringitout​ @lumpofwhump​ @infested-with-blood​

Masterlist

Ren looked up from their work computer, eyebrow arched. It wasn’t time for Yanni to come in and complain about the broken clasp on her phone charm, which Ren would ever-so-generously offer to replace for her. She wasn’t due to notice it until her midafternoon coffee break, since she wasn’t overly invested in checking the thing during work hours. 

It wasn’t Yanni, unsurprisingly, but it also wasn’t anyone Ren could say they recognized. Oh, sure, they’d seen the man’s face around before, but they’d never spoken with him, and they weren’t even sure what department he worked in.

“Mx. Pavlish, is it?” he said with a friendly, though nervous smile. He was an okay actor, though. They could only discern his nerves due to their practice at it.

“Hello,” Ren said, carefully, pleasantly neutral. “I’m afraid I can’t recall us ever meeting.”

“Ah, we haven’t spoken,” he said, taking the somewhat-cramped office chair they kept available for visitors and dragging it over to their desk. “My name is Mike.” 

He offered his hand for shaking, and Ren inwardly cringed at the feeling of his sweaty palm against their own. They took a squirt of hand sanitizer immediately after, and Mike chuckled with a self-conscious little rub to the back of his neck.

“So, Mike, what brings you here?”

“I work in security,” Mike said, and Ren felt every nerve in their body become immediately alert. “I know, uh, about your little ploy.”

Blackmail, then. He was here to blackmail them. They very, very carefully sized him up. 

“And what ploy, exactly, is that?”

“You unplug the ethernet cords to Jasmine’s and Cassandra’s computers just so you can be the one to fix them,” Mike stated, and Ren’s eyebrows shot up.

“You’ve been sitting on this for a while,” Ren mentioned, “I haven’t done that in going on three months now.”

“Wait have you been doing something else?”

“Is that relevant to this conversation?”

Mike chuckled again. “I guess not. But hey, listen, I get it. We all want to impress pretty ladies, right?” He gave Ren one of those nudge-nudge wink-wink kind of smiles, and Ren tilted their head consideringly. Maybe not blackmail? His tone and mood weren’t exactly right for it, but Ren couldn’t rule anything out. “Look, my cousin’s friends with Jasmine, I could have her set you two up on a ‘blind’ date, if you want.” Mike even made the little airquotes around the word. Precious.

“And why would you do that?”

“Because I’ve kinda got a favor I’d like to ask you?”

Hm. Wishy-washy. The threat of tattling on Ren for the sabotage hung, but distantly, left on a backburner that Ren could be aware of but neither would necessarily acknowledge, while Mike offered a perceived reward instead. Ren lifted their finger to their lips, pressing it horizontally along the line.

“I’m listening,” they stated evenly, curious.

“So, I saw you on the news. And your box boy has been, ha, everywhere. And you’re kinda like, the model citizen of whumpee-ownership, yeah?”

Ren blinked slowly, and said, “I might be.”

“God, ha, kinda cagey aren’t you?”

“I prefer to know what I’m dealing with. Continue.”

“Right, so,” Mike shifted in his seat, hands moving from the armrests to scratch at the side of his nose and then back on the armrests, “the law states that pets cannot be held legally accountable for crimes they committed under past owners. The idea is that the new owners will discipline them better, yada yada, behavioral psychology babble, you get the drift. Anyway. I am in possession of a particularly… let’s say, criminal box boy. Defiant and loudmouthed and it turns out he’s been getting into trouble while I wasn’t looking. Ha, pretty embarrassing for a security guard, huh?”

Yeah, no way in hell this guy hadn’t been using his pet to do the things he was too chicken-shit to do himself. It was a smart move, though, Ren would give him that.

“So basically, I need to do some... let’s call it whumpee-laundering. Change hands before the cops get the dna work back. He’s a good lad, y’know, don’t want anything bad to happen to him, much less for him to get locked up. So, howsabout you, oh model pet owner, take him for, what, a week? Two weeks? Just long enough for things to simmer down. I’ll take him right back off your hands as soon as this whole mess blows over, and I will definitely get you a date with Jasmine. Yeah?”

Ren stared at him contemplatively. Definitely not blackmail, this guy was in a bad way, and didn’t want the cops to have custody of a defiant whumpee that would talk the moment it was taken in. He needed Ren to say yes to this deal. But contemplative silence on a man already squirming in his seat worked wonders to sweeten the deal.

“And hey, I mean, he’ll be legally yours, right? So, like, whatever you wanna do to him while he’s at your place, you can do it. I mean, as long as you don’t kill or sell him, I do want him back. But like, if you wanna, fuck, I dunno, chop off his arm or some shit? Be my guest. As long as I get him back alive I don’t care, no restrictions, right? It’ll be fun, he’s got a pottymouth but if you gag him he’s not a bad looker, all things considered.”

Ren hummed, tapping a finger up and down against the back of their own palm, hands clasped loosely in front of their chin, elbows on their desk.

“Say, Mike?”

“Yeah?” he answered eagerly, body jumping lightly in the chair, sitting up straighter.

“I appreciate the offer to set me up with Jasmine, but I actually have no interest in dating her. You’re right; it is the simple act of showing off that I like the best.” Mike visibly began to panic, and Ren took a small mercy on him. “But there is something you have that I would be deeply appreciative of receiving.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“I want full access to company surveillance cameras and audio recorders, on my devices, and no record of my permissions.”

“Oh.” Mike blinked, and then grinned. “Oh! Oh, yeah, of course, easy as pie, I can so do that for you. So you’ll take him? Tonight, ideally?”

“When I meet him, I will assess him,” Ren stated. “If I perceive that he is any threat to my own box boy, the deal’s off.”

“Oh, oh no, I’m sorry, I gave the wrong impression!” Mike said with a much more relaxed laugh. “He’s got a defiant mouth but he won’t act up. His bark is way worse than his bite, don’t worry, he isn’t a fighter.”

“I’ll see that for myself, but very well. Bring all of his paperwork with you,” Ren said as they wrote down their number on a notepad. “Text me. I’ll send you my address. Meet there at 5:30, and no earlier. Bring any disciplinary tools you own along with him.”

“Not gonna use your own?” Mike asked with a glance at Ren’s hand sanitizer. 

“Don’t own any. I have the blindfold and sensory deprivation hood that came along with my pet’s box, but I haven’t used the blindfold since unboxing him and I’ve only touched the hood to put it away somewhere in the basement.” Actually, where had they put that thing? “My pet is too well behaved for such things.”

Mike whistled. “Nice. You get an expensive model?”

“Well, he wasn’t cheap. But he was exactly what I wanted.”

“Ooo, custom?”

“In training. His appearance was already precisely suited to my desires.”

Mike laughed and extended his hand again, before seeming to think better of it and he shot Ren a two finger salute. “I’ll see you tonight then.”

Ren nodded in return with a pleased little. “See you tonight.” Ren thought of one last thing. “Oh, and Mike?”

“Yeah?”

“Have you told him that you only plan on selling him temporarily?”

“Ah, no, just recently came up.”

“Don’t tell him this isn’t a permanent arrangement. He’ll be easier to mold, that way.”

“You’re the boss,” Mike said with double pistols, and left their office.

The moment the door closed behind him, they pulled out a notebook and began jotting down a list of pros and cons. Their agreement had been deeply tentative, not that they’d let Mike know that. They would thoroughly scrutinize the concept, and then rigorously test the box boy himself once he was brought over.

The idea of having someone to yank around, though. To punish, perhaps with some of the tools Host had listed in their disciplinary video… Ren swallowed, their mouth watering. Skin that they could pinch and cut and bruise, not deeply, nothing permanent, nothing too mean. Someone they could sink their claws into and throw away in a week or two, leaving their home unblemished and perfect, just Soren and them. Just a quick little fix. Just a nice little treat.

The potential cons outnumbered the pros, but the potential pros were of a much higher quality.

They drove home quickly that night, bidding Yanni a very short goodbye, citing business that needed attending, and they weren’t even lying.

“I bet you just wanna get home and cuddle your boy,” she teased them, sticking her tongue out.

“And I bet you’re going to do the same to your babe,” Ren teased in return, wiggling their eyebrows at her. Yanni giggled and admitted to being guilty as charged, and didn’t whine or cling any longer. See? Convincing her to get her own pet had been such a wise decision. So useful. 

“Soren!” they called the moment they walked in the door.

“Exalted!” Soren called back, and they noted the sound of a hair dryer cutting off. “You’re home earlier than usual!” Soren said as he rushed down the stairs. His hair was still a little damp, they noted, as they pulled him into a hug.

“I am. I have a big evening ahead,” Ren stated, handing him their lunch bag and prying off their jacket. 

“What’s on the agenda, Exalted?” Soren asked, hanging up their jacket for them and following them into the kitchen.

“Tonight, depending on how introductions go, we will be adding a new box boy to the house.” Ren snorted, pulling down a glass and opening the fridge, digging around for their ginger ale. “Well, a used box boy. I’m taking him off a coworker’s hands.” They “casually” glanced over their shoulder to see Soren’s reaction, and he was white as a sheet.

“E-Exalted? I, I don’t…”

“Soren, baby?” they asked sweetly, pretending not to understand.

“If-If I haven’t,” Soren stuttered shakily, eyes wide and vacant, staring somewhere far past the kitchen tile, “If I’m not, pl-pleasing you, if this, is,” he raised a shaking hand to his hair, a front lock, one of the beautiful portions he might have turned into bangs, “is about, what I almost did, I’m sorry, I can do better, I can be better, please, I don’t--I can’t--please, Exalted, I just need to know, just tell me and I’ll do it, I want to, I, I need to, please, just tell me, tell me anything I’ll do anything Exalted please, please, I can be good, I want to be good! I want to, I want to be good, I want to, Exalted, I want to be good for you just tell me please I’ll do anything, I’ll do anything!”

Ren sipped idly at their ginger ale, not bothering to mask their face with concern or pity when he clearly couldn’t see them anyway. God, he sounded so pretty like this. Tears budding up in his eyes, his hands shaking so visibly, his body trembling in a more subtle, yet equally delicious way. It was all so perfect to watch, to listen to as he broke down. They knocked back the rest of their drink and set the glass down on the counter.

“Soren, angel,” they crooned, face twisted up artfully and voice sweet as honey. They gently pried Soren’s hand from his hair and placed it on his collar, which made him gasp, eyes blinking rapidly, immediately grounding him. They caressed his face, then tilted it up. Petting at the lock of hair he’d just been tugging at, they smiled pityingly. “My sweet little bird, no no. You haven’t done anything wrong, pet. I’ve forgiven you for hurting me so badly, it’s in the past my darling angel, weeks in the past. My precious, sweet Soren, shush now, shush. Nothing bad is happening to you. This will be a good thing! Just because I’ll have a new plaything doesn’t mean I’ll neglect you, Soren, sweetheart. And you’ll have someone lower than you on the pecking order! Won’t that be nice?”

“I--I--”

“Shhhh, Soren, shhhhh, shush now. It’s okay, it’s alllllll alright. You’re my favorite, darling, you’ll always be my favorite plaything, don’t worry.”

“Th-thank you, thank you Exalted, thank you.”

“There, there’s a good boy. So well mannered, saying exactly what you’re meant to.” Ren hugged him tightly, too tight, but only just a little. “Don’t forget, my pet. You will belong to me forever. You will kneel at my feet only, you will eat only when I am the one to give you food, you will never set foot outside this house without me and you will never belong to anyone else. You’re mine, mine alone, and mine forever, Soren.”

“Yes,” Soren said, sounding grateful and relieved, just like he was meant to. “Yes, Exalted, thank you, thank you so much.”

Ren grabbed a fistful of hair and kissed him, and he kissed back eagerly. 

“Soren, tell me you love me,” they ordered sweetly, and Soren beamed. 

“I love you, Exalted! I love you, Ren!” He leaned against them and they let him. “I won’t ever love anyone as much as I love you, Ren.”

“I know you won’t, my angel, you’re so good.”

And that was when the doorbell rang.

“Right on time,” Ren mentioned with a glance at the kitchen clock. “Come along, pet, let’s go interview our new potential plaything.”

“Yes, Exalted.”

Mike looked no less awkward standing up than he did sitting down, Ren thought, as they opened the door. He held himself like an adolescent trying out for theater who had no idea how to act and was in possession of limbs too long for his body. Behind him and to the side, a box boy carried his box on his back, looking very much like he was about to be crucified or somesuch.

“Come in,” Ren welcomed, “Take off your shoes.” Not that it mattered. The boy was filthy and bloody. Every room he set foot in would need to be thoroughly cleaned. Honestly, Mike couldn’t have even given him a bath before bringing him over? He really was in a rush.

“Set the box down; let me get a look at you,” Ren ordered. They observed the box boy, a young man with short (ugh) brown hair, too short to even grab efficiently. Nothing to yank him around by, and no time to grow it out. Whatever, they'd just have him wear a leash or somesuch. Brown eyes, tan skin, ambiguous ethnicity. Somewhat muscled, but half-starved and visibly exhausted, so he moved with a weakness. He let the box thunk down on the carpet, and when he raised his eye he met Ren's boldly. 

“Position two,” they said with a snap of their fingers, and they heard a pair of knees hit the floor before they saw the new boy kneel. They turned with surprise and saw Soren kneeling, which prompted them to laugh. 

“Oh no, no, Soren, angel, sweetheart, no. Both of you, position one. Soren, now, listen--haha! You just stand there and look pretty okay?” They pet his hair, admiring the way he flushed with embarrassment over his mixup. “You just stay put right here and watch. I'm interviewing the new boy and testing his behavior, alright? You stay put.” They kissed him and turned back to the boy. He was, at the very least, standing in position one, his chin tilted up just a little too high for submission but that was something that could be beaten into him. “Position six,” they ordered, and he held out his wrists with a silent glower. But, ah, to listen to his breathing, was that fear they could detect?

He was bruised and bloody and tired, in all ways just in a horrible state of disrepair. He would require so much fixing, and honestly that thrilled Ren. They took his barcoded wrist and read off the numbers tattooed underneath it. 843-902. 

“02, huh?” Ren mused aloud. “I think that’ll make a fine nickname for you.”

“Oh, his name is--” Mike started, but Ren cut him off. 

“Irrelevant.”

02’s nostrils flared. “If I'm going to buy him, and I think I will, then the creature he was before coming into my service is entirely irrelevant.”

“Oh, good, you'll take him then?” Mike asked, sounding nervous and relieved. Ren delighted in how much control they had over him, at that moment. 

“I'm not done deciding yet.”

Mike’s flash of nervous panic was so delicious, really. As was 02’s confliction. He didn’t know if he wanted to stay with Mike or be taken by Ren, aww, how cute.

“State your type,” Ren ordered, and 02 snarled. Honest to god snarled. Ren had to swallow, salivating at the thought of how much fun it would be to break that.

“Fff-” 02 choked on his own word, conditioning clearly warring with whatever it was that he was trying to do, and Ren arched an eyebrow. “Fuck you.”

They saw Mike twitch agitatedly in their peripheral, but didn’t pay him any mind.

“Position five.”

02 dropped like a rock, his forehead actually hitting the floor, and Ren chuckled. His Processors had done well with him, whoever they’d been, but not quite well enough. The image was all too clear now. Mike had bought himself a box boy, discounted for his bad mouth, and used his excellent behavioral obedience in order to commit whatever crimes he’d forced the boy into, while tolerating his naughty little words as nothing more than a background nuisance. Or, given the bruising, knocking him around for the disobedience, but never bothering with legitimate training.

“State your type,” Ren repeated, their tone taking a special quality that meant firm disappointment. Soren eeped behind them, and they got to watch 02’s chest seize.

“Combination, Ren.”

“Oh no, darling,” Ren said with a laugh, “You don’t get to call me by name.” They nudged his temple with the side of their foot and stated, “Position two.” Once within range, Ren gripped his chin and forced him to look at them. “You will refer to me exclusively as Exalted, or, if you feel I am in a particularly good mood with you, you may call me Honored One. My name is not to come out of that filthy little mouth of yours. Not until we’ve cleaned it thoroughly. Understand?”

They released his chin but he continued to hold their gaze. “Yes,” he stated, “Honored One.”

“Aww, Mike,” Ren cooed, turning to him. “He thinks he’s cute,” they intoned, sounding very much charmed, like a child had just fallen over while dancing. 

“I know he’s got a big mouth but he really does obey,” Mike assured.

“I can see that,” they said airily. “Come join me in my office, we’ll discuss price and the paperwork. 02, take your box down into the basement and stow it in the back corner of the laundry room, on top of the other one there. Take Position two in the center of the room when you are done, and wait. Soren, heel pet.”

They led Mike and Soren away from the foyer, not checking if 02 was obeying and not needing to. He might hesitate or linger, but Ren knew with full confidence that by the time they were done signing the papers and lightly harassing Mike for the evening, 02 would be exactly where they’d told him to be. 

“Actually,” they said at the door of their office, turning with raised index fingers. “Soren, baby, why don’t you go ahead and get started on dinner for us, mm?” Ren kissed him and patted his cheek sharply, twice. He nodded, worrying his lip, but scampered off to do as he’d been told.

“He’s beautiful,” Mike commented, before Soren was entirely out of earshot. “Even prettier in real life than in the ads, and I mean, wow,” he said with a chuckle, “you know?”

“I do know,” Ren said, gesturing for Mike to take a seat as they closed and locked the door. They pulled up their surveillance cameras on their computer, turned away from Mike, and got their scanner ready to make copies and digital files of the documents. “Did you bring the tools I requested?”

“Sure did,” Mike said, patting his backpack. “Retractable cane, whip, two different gags and a muzzle, which, heh, he hates so much, let me tell you. Handcuffs, too, those too.”

“And the documentation,” Ren prompted, watching him pull them out of the bag.

“You are, heh, quite the presence, you know that Ren?” Mike said as he pulled out a manilla envelope, a cheap blue folder, and some--GOD--loose leaf papers. The fucking audacity, really. The messiness, the lack of professionalism. He couldn’t have haphazardly shoved them into the cheap folder? He really had to go around carrying official legal documents loose leaf? Their BLAW405: Filing and Organizational Systems professor would’ve made a five minute ordeal of tearing this poor, poor fool a new one. Ren tried to make themself pity Mike’s incompetence, because it was just about the only thing preventing them from feeling an unseemly amount of rage.

“Like really, I’m a security guy, you know? I’m kind of hired because not a lot of people intimidate me but you’ve just got this, uh, aura, I guess? Just sorta the way you talk and hold yourself and--oh, yeah, you just, yeah go ahead,” he cut himself off as they took the papers from him and skimmed over them, sorting them into some semblance of a reasonable order to be holding these files in, and read over them quickly but carefully one by one. They were familiar with most of this--they did, after all, possess a box boy of their own--but it never hurt to be thorough.

“I have a certain way with people, it’s true,” Ren commented idly as they shifted through the papers. “Sign here. You’re quite fortunate I am in possession of a notary’s stamp and can forge an impressive signature, you know that Mike?” Ren asked, pulling the stolen (well, illegally purchased. Their mama was a persuasive woman in her own right, and there was little on the black market she could not or would not acquire for her child, at their asking) stamp from one of their locked drawers.

“Oh, fuck, we gotta get a notary for this?”

“Some countries do not require it, and I hear the American legislation on transfer of ownership even varies from state to state, but our homeland is a little more meticulous in these matters. But like I said,” they took the signed paper from Mike and aligned the stamp carefully, before bringing it down with a satisfying thunk, “you’re in luck.”

“You are,” Mike said, chuckling nervously, kind of breathy and rather high, “really something, huh Ren?” They loved his discomfort.

“Mm,” they hummed, pleased, preening a bit, but hey, they deserved to. “Sign here.”

Four signatures later, Ren tapped the stack of papers against their desk, bringing them all nice and neatly in line, and then set them into their copier. “Now, the access files I requested?” Ren prompted, extending their hand. He unzipped an interior pocket in his windbreaker and produced a thumbdrive. “Perfect. You’ll have 02 back as soon as you’re ready for him.” Their copier whirred to a halt and they took the stack of copies from the tray, then slid all of them into the manilla folder, rather than breaking them up like a moron. They held it out for Mike and flashed him a darling smile. “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you.”

“Yeah,” he said, sounding a little dazed, taking the folder like it might get up and start moving. “You, you too. Ha, wow, you are efficient.”

“It’s why I have the job I have, and why I lead the life I live.” Ren stood and ushered Mike out of their office, then out of their home. “See you next time.”

“Yeah, thanks again!” he called, and they waved with a bright smile.

“Exalted?” Soren said behind them once they shut the front door, “Dinner will be ready in 40 minutes.”

“Perfect, Soren. I’m going to go greet our new addition, you may come if you want to.”

“Yes, Exalted, I would like that,” he said, wringing his hands anxiously. They placed their palm on top of that worried movement, and Soren stilled instantly.

“Shhh, pet. Remember, you’ll always be my favorite, alright?”

Soren nodded rapidly, but did not appear soothed. Hmm. “A-are you,” Soren hesitated, searching for the words. “Are you going to punish 02 for his defiance, Exalted?”

“I am,” Ren admitted easily. Soren twitched, distress increasing. “Oh, sweetheart, you’re worried for him?”

Soren nodded. “You’ve always been so good to me, Exalted, I don’t want, um, I don’t--I…” Soren pulled on a lock of his own hair, and they shushed him again, caressing his cheek.

“He’ll only get what he deserves, my precious angel. I can treat you well because you’re a very good boy for me, Soren. I’ve rarely had to punish you; you only occasionally fuck up. But my coworker clearly hasn’t given 02 the structure or discipline he needs in order to make him good, so I’m going to have to fix him. And fixing him will require punishing him. Don’t worry, though, pet, I won’t be cruel. The punishment will fit the crime; he won’t get anything done to him that he doesn’t deserve. I promise. He’ll deserve everything that happens to him, baby, sweetheart, I promise, I promise, absolutely all of it.”

Soren nodded again, gripping his collar and relaxing, a little. It was so nice to see him keyed up and anxious. It was so nice to make Mike squirm and sweat. It was so nice, knowing that their own personal chew toy was kneeling painfully on the concrete floor of their laundry room, just waiting for them to go down and bloom a few more bruises across his skin. Perfect, perfect, all of this, perfect. Exactly what Ren deserved.

“Yes, Exalted.”

“Come along, pet,” Ren beckoned, and Soren followed them down the stairs.

02 greeted their arrival by spitting on the floor at Ren’s feet.

“Oh, disgusting little bug, aren’t you?” Ren asked mildly, stepping over the splotch. They gripped his chin again and he glared up at them. “Tell me, 02, which do you consider to be worse? Death, or refurbishment?”

02’s eyes went wide, suddenly struck with fear. Ren of course would do neither, this was a temporary arrangement, after all. But 02 didn’t know that.

“...Exalted?” 02 asked in a voice that was very very very small.

“Answer the question. Which is worse?”

02’s chest began raising visibly, rapidly. Hard to miss, with how thin he was. “D--”

“And don’t even think about lying to me, slave.”

02’s breath caught, a delightful little gagging noise escaping him. “Refurbishment, Exalted.”

“Hm. Then allow me to make something very clear to you, 02. Soren outranks you in every capacity. You will not eat until he has eaten, you will not sleep unless he has first gone to bed, you will not so much as speak if he has something to say. And if you decide that that makes you jealous, or angry, or if you just decide you don’t like my precious boy for some miscellaneous reason, allow me to make it entirely understood that if you harm so much as a single strand of hair on his head, I will personally instruct the Processors to make sure you beg for death before they put you up for resale.” They released his chin with a small flick of their fingers into the soft underside, and were gratified by the little jerk, and the way his eyes stayed on them. “Do you comprehend?”

“You--you’re warning me to keep my hands off your pet?” he asked, fearful and yet still incredulous.

“Of course,” they said, placing a hand on the front of his close-cropped hair and slowly stroking his skull, cradling his head. “Soren is my precious little bird. And you?” Ren moved their thumb sweetly, back and forth, against his prickly hair. “You’re nothing more than some worthless mutt.”

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