#I'm glad that the stuff makes people feel welcome in my office though :)

[diredeliverance]

It's kinda funny having BG3 prints in my office because this makes me very popular with students who assume I'm a big fan of what is probably the only RPG most of them know (no shame, we all start somewhere, it's in that DA zone). Like, I do like the game. I like it enough to have enough shit about it I post or reblog it seemed like a good idea to separate it out to not overwhelm my queue on main. I'm very much a Dark Urge fan, at the least. But it's definitely not my favorite RPG lmao. And I definitely do not have the intense passion for the core companions that a lot of folks do. Beautiful for them! Just not really me, and very much not me around the romances considering I ended every one I actually started.

[marvels-bitch-boy]

The Scarlet Spiders:

Word Count: 2.9k

A/N: I was gonna wait until I had the 10th chapter finished but I couldn't wait to give you guys more

Masterlist , Chapter 4: Something Amiss

Chapter 3: Cracks In A Web

Just to end everyone's overwhelming concern...-just pretend to be- I made it back to the city unscathed. I refuse to go back to Feast. I did however find some access to a laptop... hack some stuff and was able to confirm a transfer spot into the Queens High School for the Sciences, had to at least get my spot back.

- - -

Walking into a school office he once knew made Degan feel empty. He didn't have any connections he once had, he was alone in a place that he felt was his second home. Sitting in a chair outside a principal's office he'd never met before. Staring at kids who wore uniforms he'd never even seen before. His knee bounced up and down as though it was a perpetual motion machine. One of the shortest questions Degan has heard in his life snapped him out of his head. "Mr King?" his head spun towards the voice and he scanned the man's face as fast as he could and produced a smile. "Sir, it's nice to meet you Mr Morita" he held out his hand for the man. This took the man aback for a moment before he produced a smile of his own and took the hand, opening the door even wider for the boy to enter. "Mr King, your record so far looks impeccable." he closes the file in front of him and looks at the boy curiously "I do have to ask why you suddenly decided to transfer?"

Taking in a large breath he racked his mind, thinking over the following days "I realized I wasn't being challenged enough at my last school, science is my passion and I want to make sure I'm at the best place for it" giving a nonchalant smile he turns his head towards the window that looks out at the hallway with students walking around. "It already feels like I belong here" Principal Morita gives him a warm smile before getting up and making his way to the door. "Well, I'm glad." the door opens and a smiling face greets Degan from the doorway "Hopefully you'll feel even better once you get a tour," gesturing to the girl smiling "this is Chrissy, one of our welcome members on the student council".

"Hi! You must be Degan!" she waves and he feels his eyes widen and brows raise. This was not something he expected. "You don't have a uniform yet, but that's the first stop." Degan opens his mouth to object but is quickly shut down by the bright girl shining her smile at him "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll look great" getting up he hesitantly followed the girl.

- - -

Shit Shit Shit. Not only do I now need a uniform but I also have to get a tour and talk to someone... something I hate. She kept smiling and waving to people. So much friendliness.

- - -

Stepping out of the changing room he begrudgingly put on the navy blue blazer. Catching his reflection he felt like he was seeing a stranger, his wavy hair had begun to straighten itself, and his eyes felt sunken in more than they usually did. He tugged on the collar and forced a smile once his tour guide turned to him. She squealed and his face went from uncomfortable to eyes wide in fear. "You look perfect. Like actually perfect" She stood up and opened the door out into the hallway and beckoned him to join. "C'mon, You have Wells for your first class." walking to the door in the most uncomfortable shoes possible, in a tie that feels more constricting than any time he's been choked by Scorpion. Stepping into a hallway he's walked a million times felt like amnesia, the colour of the lockers was the same, and the student's faces passed by unlike any he's seen before. As he walked he felt a spidey sense go off in the smallest of proportions he thought it was simply a phone vibration. Taking one step forward he then collided with a flurry of dirty blonde hair that almost fell backwards. Catching her by her arm he just stared at her and helped get her back up to her feet. Not saying a word and just avoiding her gaze he continued on with his tour. Scurrying away he could only hear a small "thanks" as her voice left his ears.

"Here's your locker, you can put your clothes in for after school" focusing back on the face of the girl in front of him, he noticed more of her appearance. She had fluffy brown hair that matched that of cocoa, and dimples that flashed every time she spoke and smiled... so they seemed to appear often.

"Thanks" shoving the pile he had tucked into his side now into the large metal locker. Turning around he found the girl with dirty blonde hair eyeing him up like a prize at a county fair. She had a smile on her that was skewed to one side, her eyes were green and they held a certain glint to them. Degans eyes followed up and down as she surveyed him too, seemingly understanding what was happening as they kept the focus on each other. "Okay, well I'll save you a seat...in room 9" his attention was now on the brown eyes that followed the smile and dimples as they turned and walked away. Looking back at the blonde, he found her to be making her way towards him. The smile on her lips didn't change at all and the glint in her eyes only seemed to get brighter.

"Where did you drop in from?" her voice was one that screamed mischief from a rooftop. Degan only cocked a brow and turned back to his locker. she leaned against the lockers next to him and stared intently into his eyes. "C'mon, let me thank my hero somehow"

"I'm okay, I'd rather you pretend I don't exist" closing his locker and walking away he could feel her eyes tied to him as he walked.

Keeping his head down he didn't even need to ask for directions on the way to his first class, he'd already memorized the layout on his first day... his other first day.

His head perked up for only a moment when a voice pierced his ears. He knew who it belonged to from before he even saw the back of her head. Before he saw her giant curls of chestnut hair. Before he saw her turn around and face him with a smile that he had missed for ages. It was the smile that he was greeted with after almost every patrol, the smile that he found himself wanting to be near every day after resenting it for over a year. A small smile perched at the corner of his lips before this reality came crashing down on his brain as it seemed to always do. "Pete!" she called out. Fuck. His head fell and his lips almost crumbled off his face onto the linoleum floor beneath his feet that propelled him forward. He continued until he almost bumped into the blonde from earlier. She caught his hand as she manoeuvred around him. How is she doing this? They landed in a position that interlocked their hands and ended with him leaning against a set of lockers that decked out the hallway. "Look who it is...," her voice purred in his ears, she looked down at his hand with that mischievous glint and gave it a small squeeze "you sure you want me to pretend you don't exist?" pairing her eyes with a smirk it was almost difficult for him to break away from her. Almost.

Tearing his hand from hers he had a thought 'What if MJ saw?'. That was before he forced himself to remember the situation, she would never see. She would never see him here. She no longer thought of him. No longer searched a crowd for his face, never searched the police scanners to hear if he was alright, never texted him about a new recipe for date nights, and never was a part of her world. He found his eyes drifting away from the blonde in front of him back to the sandy brown and matching curly hair girl who he just so happened to also catch her eye. "No, no lover boy, that's Parker's girl... more like Parker's her boy actually. Either way, she's off limits..." Using one of her fingers from her perfectly manicured set to shift his gaze back on her with the smile she gave him when they first locked eyes. "Me on the other hand...I'm Felicia," taking his hand once again she practically dragged him off and through the door, he was just heading towards. "You'll be next to me" she took a seat that wasn't too far away from the front to not appear like she wasn't paying attention, but not too close as to draw too much attention to herself. She motioned for the seat next to her but instead, he rolled his eyes and moved to the seat directly in front of her. If he was going to last here without MJ he would need someone assertive but he also wasn't going to let her boss him around like he was her toy.

A few seconds later Chrissy walked in with a binder that had papers sticking out of it like a mad scientist had been the previous owner. Taking notice of Degan she huffed and picked up all the items that had been organized on the desk 3 rows over and sheepishly moved them to be next to him. "I told you I'd save you a seat..." she seemed rather embarrassed and blue. The sound of a small laugh coming from behind him caused Degan to shoot a rather testy look at Felicia. He turned back to the bright-eyed girl who seemed to be trying her best to make him comfortable and welcomed -in her mind, he'd never faced the horrors of a new york magnet school...- he softened his eyes and gave her an apologetic smile "I'm sorry, this bobcat seemed to be gunning for me and pulled me here," he snuck a glance at the blonde and then back at dimples that now seemed to appear with a grateful smile "Don't worry, she only looks like a bobcat... inside she's a little tabby" Felicia didn't have to say anything but the roll of her eyes themselves was enough.

During this interaction, other students had been slowly trickling into the room. Degan kept his head only slightly up as he waited for class to start and his eyes caught the same hair from the hallway, the same smile and eyes that used to be so familiar. She took a seat near the back, and the boy who she was smiling at in the hallway took the seat in front of her. She'd never let him do that, he'd always sit next to her or behind her.

- - -

What the fuck, who is this Felicia girl? Why the hell is she so interested in me and forcing me to be her friend? Also, my teacher already gave me a giant packet of work to do... not that I can't do it but it's not science, it's god damn AP World History. I'm great at it but I hate doing the work... Anyway now though I have a second class of the day and that is mathematics -specifically calculus. I can sit in the back and figure out the whole reason I'm here, or even how I got here. Finally peace.

- - -

The fluffy brown hair appeared in his peripheral vision and placed itself right next to our spider. Keeping to himself Degan had chosen a seat all the way in the back, he knew it would put him at risk of losing any class participation but he could ace this class in his sleep. He wasn't worried. As the sound of his music beats on in his head, he began to think about the words that Bruce had said

"I'm sorry to say this but we currently have no way of getting you home. The only theory right now is to wait for another one of those multiversal sinkholes... to well open up again. I'm sorry"

"No way of getting you home."

The greatest mind he's ever known doesn't even think he can get home. The man who taught him pretty much everything he knew was left with no answers. This whole experience was starting to feel like some kind of cosmic joke on him. He was finally happy with MJ, they were talking about colleges, possibly even a full-time Avengers spot. But that was all gone now. The chances of them coming back were almost slim to none. The music in his head began to fade as he thought for longer. It seemed to mould into his thoughts.

"You have lunch?" Degan felt his consciousness fling back into his body like a slingshot. Looking at the brown-haired girl with confusion he shook his head no. "you can have some of mine, we can sit together" he seemed to be deliberating this option in his head and as Chrissy waited for a response she brought out her packed lunch and set it on the table. "Doesn't have to be in public, just here if you want?" This made a small smile appear on degans face for the first time since getting here, the other smiles were all for appearance, this one was as real as a soldier trapped in time. The two of them sat there for a moment and she began to open the bag and spill the contents across the small desk. There was a sandwich cut in half, a bag of chips, Oreos, and two granola bars. She handed Degan one-half of the paper bag and placed exactly half of the meal on it. Neither one of them had more or less than the other.

"So, tell me about yourself. What do you do for fun?" she took a bite of her sandwich and stared at him with interest. He felt like he was being interviewed for one of the lamest talk shows. "I like to watch movies, see art, and sometimes I like to cook," he hesitantly took a bite of his own food "Not really a lot to talk about". He could tell by the look on her face that it was indeed a lot to talk about. "Excuse me! You can cook and you like art?" he nodded at her question "Would you cook for me someday?" he let out a small chuckle at her request.

"No -sorry I don't cook for other people..." he thought of the nights he'd spend hours perfecting the recipes that MJ would send him, sometimes they tasted awful but that was part of the fun of it. "What about you? What do you do for fun?" shifting the conversation away from himself he decided to get to know his new friend. Her eyes lit up when he asked her and she had to straighten her posture before speaking "I love to just lay on the floor sometimes, staring at the ceiling," it was obvious by how she was answering that she doesn't get asked this a lot "it helps me think... -especially when I get stuck on homework".

Degan didn't mind listening to her, he didn't mind if she was the only one who talked. He hated talking. Except when he was patrolling, that's when he was his happiest. Swinging around the city his mind was free, and he gets to think. It's his variation of laying on the floor. He understood what it meant for her, especially finally having someone to talk to about it. So he let her. She ended up talking for the rest of lunch. When the bell rang she quickly finished her food and said her byes. Degan stood and gathered his bag, leaving the room he walked down the hall and felt a pair of eyes stuck on him. Looking around he couldn't find the eyes until he made a complete one-eighty and his eyes landed on a pair of brown eyes that he once recognized but still carry a warmth that will forever hold a place in his heart. Seeing her, he found himself stuck in place unable to move his heart began to speed up, and the pace that his mind reached felt inhuman. She wasn't his and she had never been his here, she averted her eyes from him and went back to talking to the shorter boy in front of her. Degans eyes focused now on the boy, taking in his stature and the way he comfortably talked to the girl in front of him. He seemed like a friend.

- - -

Maybe if I had been born in this universe he would be my friend... Maybe I'd actually have friends. To be honest, MJ was one of my only friends. I had one other though... his name was -well I think you know his name, currently, he goes by "Nova". Sometimes he's a prick and can't tell when someone hasn't spoken in hours because he's too busy talking about food or some kind of sport. Now that I think about it... he's a lot like Chrissy but less sweet and she can't blow up a whole RV by accident on the annual road trip... I AM STILL NOT OVER THAT!!

-sorry. Too emotional but I can't help it. I don't exist in this universe... honestly what if I don't exist in any other one but my own. I hope I do... I hope I'm different in them. I hope that she's with me, I hope that I'm not alone.

[feuqueerfire]

A Killer Paradox Live Blogging

Might be ill-advised to start this right now because there are 2 days and a few hours left of March and I'm someone who wants to finish series that month I started them/not have carry-over. I also have a bunch of stuff to do this weekend, so might not be able to watch 8 hours of show rip.

I've been anticipating this since early last year back when it was Murder Dieary and I heard about it on Certified Noonas 2023 show releases where they mentioned it's by the same director of Strangers From Hell, which I really liked. I've heard meh things about it though, so I'm trying to keep my expectations low and hoping to be surprised lol

Ep 1 (Mar 29)

I too feel directionless and aimless is life <3

ah, parallels before he hammers that man's head

the blind woman walking by and not realizing why her dog is behaving strangely since she can't see the dude or the dead body was really good

fun to make him be a cheater and a thief who's used to getting away with his misdeeds or crimes

oh, another person died that night? is it the old man?

are we gonna have a killer and a detective sort of dynamic? Love that

so the dude that our guy Lee Tang killed first hit that old man in the head with a brick or whatever? Makes sense since I think the synopsis was that Lee Tang can tell who is evil or something

ohhh Lee Tang killed a serial killer mans. I knew that from the synopsis but didn't expect it to be some guy with a hidden identity lol

I was not expecting to see sex and topless woman in here

that was so disgusting with the hands

dog and hammer

So the insect over the hammer meant that the detective didn't see Tang take it out right?

Ep 2 (Mar 29)

hearing people be glad that the man he killed is dead, even hearing his mother say that the murder was "God's retribution" oh

omg ?! so the girl with the dog wasn't actually blind and indeed was Lee Tang and the murdered guy?

Is he gonna kill her?

Detective Jang is trying to find the police officer who killed his father (I'm guessing his dad was a cop too?)

So that hammer is with the woman, I was wondering what's up with that but I guess she came back and picked it up?

oh, she's so fucked up and fun, I love her

ah, as expected, he aims to kill her

but extremely little planning my guy, doing this in broad daylight and leaving evidence like fingerprints in blood. that's not surprising though, he's clearly in a tight spot

she was doing research on Lee Tang, ig it'll help the Detective make the connection

and she also had a body in her backyard wowie (as the synopsis said he had a knack for killing evil people)

I like all the little scenarios of him imagining different situations or him seeing his victims' faces/bodies

ah, dog licking over all the blood really saving Lee Tang's ass rn ig?

ahh the other friend did know Tang stole his iPad

he killed the two teenagers by himself and dragged them to that pit or what?

oh somebody else helped him? Telegram OnlyForHeroes?

I read some people's opinions and people were saying it's slow and also gets sadder + some other old guy is introduced? idk but so far, I'm quite liking it and it's not that slow for me for now (esp cuz I'm watching 1.1-1.2x speed lol)

Ep 3 (Mar 30)

Yeo-ok backstory woah

oh, those fuckers who Tang killed raped that girl who then committed suicide? and his mother godddd what a fucking useless pos, was making a scene at the girl's funeral? kys

plss not the female part-timer being like yep Tang broke the "welcome!" sound thing at the door when she even told Tang that if it breaks one day, know that she herself did it loll

how does the detective who quit and his family relate to this? Also, Nan-gam? Is the name of this show smth Nangam?

oh this Telegram Heroes was also helping the girl's father to kill these high school fuckers?

The times where the reality blends with imagination or memories is so good

The bag with hammer and evidence got thrown into the river by the thief?

I stopped watching this last night with like 8 mins left of the ep lol

nooo man don't kill yourself, you're supposed to give Tang answers

oh the pit was just on the other side

whoo is this batman/hero telegram guy

Lots and lots of shows have a story of a young girl being raped, not seeing justice as the law is useless, and committing suicide and then having a (usually male) relative take justice into their own hands (most recently, the Sign with the brother aiming to avenge her). I get why they do it, it's a scenario that's very easy to empathize with and the first part of the scenario (girl is raped but the perpetrators get off scot-free) is very common but it's so sad every time.

Also... I wish the girl wouldn't kill herself every time... like the pattern being that she's sympathetic because she was innocent/pure/naive and also died too soon is like yes true, but girls and women who are sexually active/not "pure" or "good" still deserve empathy and the only action after being raped isn't that they must take their own life

Ep 4 (Mar 30)

I read 1 line about ep 4 from the on-air and it's that the detective gets fired or smth

Heroes killed some office dude, I guess he'd done something bad

wait what? the batman shirt guy, is it the same as guy who was wearing glasses + batman shirt during convo with the father? but he was doing a broadcast discussing the cases or whatever, I don't think the real Heroes dude would do that... who is this guy and how does Detective Jang know him?

what does Detective Jang know about this batman kid?

So much mystery around Batman and Detective

and is the helmet guy with Batman in any way related to the helmet guy who stole Lee Tang's bag? don't remember his face

next up on this Batman's hitlist: Detective Jang wtf this beating

but also Detective seems to know about Batman getting other people to do murders? (like urging the father to kill those boys)

lol hidden cameras

He says he's Roh Bin (Robin) but he's posing more like Batman

Lee Tang has already met the second person who worked with Roh Bin (the father? he's dead now tho) and he says they should hope to never meet the first person...

he's just talking around with the OnlyForHeroes sweater?

oh this is kinda fun, I didn't realize it was actually Lee Tang who killed the prosecutor in the beginning of the ep but I guess he's listening to his powers now

bruh, wait, was it Lee Tang who came to Roh Bin's house with the helmet? I'm so bad at recognizing faces since he didn't have his hair down the same way...

oh I just rechecked and indeed it is him...

so Jang is kicked out (what's his first name even) and also he has the dog who might lead him somewhere

and Lee Tang is going around killing people

Song Chon cop - I guess this is the new guy people mention when being like they didn't care about the old guy's story in the second half

So I'm guessing the first person who worked with Roh Bin is also the person (cop?) that Detective (well not anymore) Jang is searching for

I feel like the story in the next 4 eps is just supposed to be about Lee Tang murdering people, Jang doing some shady stuff to chase him because he's no longer a detective + also trying to uncover the cop who maybe did something bad to his father (he's bedridden in hospital now), and ig Song Chon is also pursuing Lee Tang from the cop side (unless idk, Song Chon is the missing cop who was Roh Bin's first partner and is the dude Jang is looking for). So idk how it goes sideways enough for people to say it's bad writing or whatever. we'll see ig

Ep 5 (Mar 30)

oh same florist girl as before?

is she paranoid that all the men have seen her video online?

what's gonna be her place in this story? Is she the one who got pregnant with the prof or was that a diff person? Is the person/people who are putting up her video gonna be murdered? Is she gonna be a love interest?

my facial recognition is so bad bruh, so the guy who was writing in the diary is the same guy she saw today (+ is he suspicious... idk). is the fiance of the dude who he was on a date with the same as Lee Tang's sister or anything? i guess not since he's having dinner with her in Busan while Lee Tang's sister was giving some info to the cops in Daejeon or wherever

so is this friend really also having his videos spread? is he being genuine? i'm suspicious of him...

ah, indeed, seems like he's got some other motivations aghhhhh

I hope Lee Tang's gonna kill him soon, please, I can't deal

Lee Tang being more and more haunted by his murders

noooo "fall in love" ?!?! D: Gyeong-a no

auughhhhhh fuck

that motherfucker killed her fr?!?!

parallels of opening the doors and such but also can't believe the other 2 cops just let Song Chon just walk past them when he must have exited out of the apartment they just came out of, like what???

Ep 6 (Mar 30)

there are just so many open threads, like Lee Tang (+ Roh Bin) vs suspended Detective vs ex-cop and the guy in the elevator as well

this Song Chon isn't like as fun to follow because he's just a dickhead, like why is he terrorizing the rude teenagers like that, they don't deserve this

I guess the point of him is that like we're gonna want to take him down more than we hate either of the other 2 main characters?

Who are the people Roh Bin is working with? people granted by the grandfather of the girl who was killed?

oof, Lee Tang crying, saying he's scared

what even happened this ep? I'm okay with a slow ep where we explore the characters more or find out more but it feels like we barely learned anything except for Song Chon's tendency to just murder ppl and like i don't care about him enough, you know

Oh, now I get that the book is apparently significant because the mosquito drank blood from the prosecutor and Lee Tang killed it in that book (+ probably has his own fingerprints in that book?), so the prosecutor and Lee Tang would be connected that way. I wouldn't have realized w/o the r/kdrama on-air comment tbh.

Ep 7 (Mar 31)

Song Chon is arrested but will he remain that way? like idk what the actual point of this show is, is it too early for him to be dealt with? bc the focus is so much on him, I can't tell if they want to bring him back later for most Song Chon vs Detective or if we're supposed to finally turn out attention back to Lee Tang

nvm, he's already evaded the cops as expected useless fucks

agh, I get why the story now has the two of them as Wanted in relation to Song Chon but it's still frustrating

the way i like don't care about what's happening like this storyline just isn't the reason I came into the series for and although that can be fine (story doesn't have to focus on only 1 aspect or character), this isn't hooking me

Ep 8 (Mar 31)

It just seems like Roh Bin is gonna die and I saw a comment in the on-air that Detective hides Lee Tang's location or something

so did Detective end up shooting Roh Bin? Or was that Song Chon's gunshot?

lol good thing Song Chon killed the Detective's dad what an evil pos

0.1 second of Roh Bin mourning

woahh Roh Bin you're my fave character and what a mastermind after all, fr had plans A - Z

Lee Tang's luck to have a blank shot him

Ah, poor's Roh Bin corpse getting caught up in the fire

Lee Tang's luck that the book with his fingerprints also burns away

Ah, Lee Tang got cleared

oh, Lee Tang's back to killing?

Pretty good last episode actually since all the storylines merged and a satisfying enough ending.

Overall:

Really enjoyed the first few episodes (up to ep 4), then eps 5 - 7 were kinda meandering and it felt like not much was happening (that I cared about anyway), then ep 8 was engaging again. In the second half, we focused a lot on Song Chon and his story to me wasn't as engaging as Lee Tang's and we also strayed away from Lee Tang and his thoughts.

I liked the fun shots and the imagination scenes, it was interesting.

I feel like the show didn't have many twists and turns, like it was all a bit anti-climactic, which dampened it.

From a comment on the On-Air thread, I learned that apparently he's also part of the Wooga squad and I searched up the rest of the people and I've actually watched 1 thing from each actor: Choi Woosik (A Killer Paradox), Park Seo Joon (Midnight Runners), and Park Hyun Sik (Happiness). I didn't watch Hwarang so technically haven't seen V act but I did stan BTS in 2017 so I'll count it. Don't know who Peakboy is though lol

Had high hopes because of the concept + Strangers From Hell director but that show was a lot more atmospheric and insular and the character focuses were more engaging.

Rating: 6/10

[dontwritemeoff]

I'm genuinely so happy to see another trans man also be really dissatisfied and weirded out by the heteronormativity of A6- genuinely happy in a way that I feel validated, defs not happy that queer people have to experience a cishet experience wearing a dollar store rainbow pin to brag about "inclusivity"- if you don't mind me asking though, and it's always completely within your right to deny me, would it be alright for me to ask about the drama with the creators? I've heard little whispers but they always gets quickly silenced when theyre anywhere on A6 offical stuff and I don't want to end up believing something false while trying to educate myself on what is happening :( I want to be able to make my own judgements when I have the fullest picture I can have- I'm also totally fine with dms if you don't feel comfy talking about this kinda stuff on your blog! I don't want to intrude on your safe space! Either way, thank you for taking the time to read this!!! :D

hello and welcome! glad to be someone who you can relate to!

and the short of it is: I'm not super sure! I'm not currently on the A6 discord anymore since I didn't renew my Patreon sub with them, but from what I know the creator, specifically the writer, is just......really weird about people making a6 content or talking about backstory? I can remember a couple specific incidents, but to my knowledge the broader drama is that she's just a very defensive person who can't take criticism that her writing is bad in certain ways lol

I think in relation to how we feel weird about the thinly veiled heteronormativity, some people have expressed this to her and she's gotten extremely defensive about it (typical white woman behavior) and so it's also not really a safe space to be in as a queer person with thoughts lol

but feel free to stay here! im all for turning established characters into my little oc guys haha

[blackkatmagic]

I'm seeing a lot of Cg and Fox stuff on your blog....

....what do you have planed, oh Queen Of RarePairs?

;)

For the first time in her life, Padmé is unmoored, untethered, and it feels good.

Her steps ring through the Senate’s halls, all but empty at this hour, but she keeps her chin up, her eyes forward. Perfect poise, perfect determination, perfectly pleasant as she inclines her head to Mas Amedda without pausing. His eyes linger on her, his footsteps falter for just an instant, but Padmé doesn’t stop, just heads for the lift just as it reaches the main floor. A handful of aides slip out, but Padmé passes them and steps in, offering the only remaining occupant a smile.

“Commander Thorn,” she says politely.

Thorn has his helmet off for the first time that she’s ever seen, is holding a large box balanced on one hip as he tries to keep four cups of caf steady with his free hand. When he sees her, he stiffens, twitching like he’s going to try to salute. “Senator Amidala! Sorry, ma’am, I—”

“There's nothing to be sorry for,” Padmé says, and reaches out, meeting his eyes. “May I?”

Thorn blinks, and his gaze flickers from the caf cups to the deep red of her dress. “That’s not necessary, Senator, I don’t want to trouble you—”

“You're not,” Padmé says firmly, and can't help but smile. “I'm not in a hurry, Commander, and I’d be happy to help you.”

There's a pause, and then Thorn smiles, quick and a little warm. “Well, Senator, if you're sure you wouldn’t mind. The Chancellor is staying late, so the Guard stays too.”

Padmé knows perfectly well that Palpatine is still here, and plans to be here for at least another few hours. She doesn’t say as much, just reaches out to take three of the cups, balanced between her fingers, and then steps back to keep the trailing, gauzy fall of her sleeves out of the way of Thorn’s boots.

“You're all very devoted,” Padmé says quietly, and it’s something she admires, that even with no Jedi to follow, even with nothing but cruelty from the Senators and the Senate Guard and the people of Coruscant. “I wish more senators cared for the Republic even half as much as the Guard does.”

Thorn flushes, wedges his box against the edge of the lift and rubs at the bridge of his nose with his newly freed hand. “We’re just doing our job, Senator,” he says, and the curve of his mouth becomes something a little wry. “We were made for it.”

Millions of soldiers, created the same way. Made to die. Padmé doesn’t have proof of anything, but—she knows what she suspects, what she’s sure deep down in her bones is true. The reminder steels her, and she takes a breath, all too aware of the weight of the slim case hung over her arm, the blaster strapped to her thigh. It’s not a weight she minds, particularly with Thorn right in front of her, avoiding her eyes.

His hair is long. She didn’t know that, because he’s never taken his helmet off in front of her. It’s long and all tight curls and the bottom half of it is bleached pale gold. Pretty, Padmé thinks. Different than any other Guard she’s met. That’s likely the point of it.

“You were,” she says, because there's no denying that. “But the way you care can't be manufactured, and I'm deeply grateful to you for it.”

Thorn huffs, quietly pleased but still a little flushed. “Thank you for saying so, Senator,” he says, and then, like he’s desperate to change the subject, “Is General Skywalker coming to meet you? If you're waiting on him, I can always find a couple of the Guard to see you home.”

Padmé curls her fingers a little tighter around the cups, but doesn’t waver. The Knight who escorted her on her last mission, what he’d said—

But Tae Diath isn't the reason for this. Anakin isn't the reason for this, either, even if it feels like she’s woken up in ways she can't quite articulate.

The Jedi Council will receive her message in the morning, with all the information about what happened on Tatooine and what he did to the Tuskens there. Whatever action they take, it’s out of her hands.

And before that, she has something else she needs to do.

“No,” she says evenly. “Anakin is not welcome anywhere near me right now. I'm here for my own reasons.”

Thorn slants her a startled look, but nods. “I’ll pass the word along,” he says, and when Padmé pauses, surprised, he smiles. “We’re the Coruscant Guard, Senator. No Jedi. If he’s bothering you, he’ll get tossed out like any other civilian.”

Padmé can't help but laugh, just the image of Anakin getting ejected from the Senate building enough to make her feel lighter. It would be far harder in practice, but—she appreciates the thought. “Thank you, Commander. I’ll take that as permission to hide behind you if I see him coming.”

With a grin, Thorn balance the last remaining caf cup on top of the box, then raises an arm, flexing showily even though any potential muscle is hidden beneath his armor. “Any time, Senator. I’ll keep him away.” He pauses, smile fading into concern, and then asks, “Can I…did he do something to you, Senator?”

“I don’t think he meant to,” Padmé says, because she truly believes that. Anakin isn't usually cruel. Just…thoughtless and self-centered. Easily driven to rage.

A murderer, she thinks, and closes her eyes. She told him it was all right. She told him it was Human, to feel that kind of rage. Bile turns in her stomach, and for a moment she can't even breathe.

“Regardless,” she says, and forces herself to open her eyes, to smile at Thorn. She’s fixing her mistakes. It won't make up for what she did, but she’s trying. “He did it, and I disagreed with it, so we’re officially divorced.”

It’s only a slight exaggeration. They were, technically, never officially married, and when she contacted the priest who officiated, it was to find he had no memory at all of the ceremony. Anakin muddled his thoughts, left him without any recollection of the wedding, and they’d used fake names, hadn’t registered the union anywhere.

If she’d known what he’d done to the official—

Except it likely wouldn’t have mattered at all until Tae wiped the influence from her mind and left her thinking clearly once more.

Tae had thought it was the Sith who did it to her, but Padmé knows better.

There's a pause, startled, and Thorn frowns a little. “I didn’t know you were married,” he says, and then winces. “Sorry, Senator. Not to say we spend a lot of time thinking about your personal life, but—”

Padmé can't help but smile. “That’s quite all right, Commander. I didn’t advertise it, because of Anakin's status as a Jedi. The Order asks that its members be free of other oaths, and he wasn’t.”

Thorn’s gaze is sharp as he studies her, even if the slant of his mouth is softer than she expects. “We’ll keep him out of your way, Senator Amidala,” he says again, but there's more weight behind it this time. “If you're headed somewhere dangerous, just let us know. We’re always glad to accompany you.”

That likely won't be something she has to worry about after tonight, but the offer is kindly meant. “Thank you, Commander,” Padmé says, and when the lift comes to a stop, it’s on the floor where the Chancellor’s office is located. The main office for the Guard’s command, as well, and nerves curl in Padmé’s stomach, but—

She knows what she has to do. She knew the moment she left the port, ignoring Tae's pleas to see a mind healer or at least speak to the Council.

The Council will get her message, but Padmé is the one who set this in motion. She’s the only one who can stop it.

[chibinekochan]

Hi, I'm new here but I've read some of your work and I have to say it's amazing 🥺🥺💕 Can I make a request? What if the MC woke up suddenly and has the ability to read minds? When the MC would pass the brothers, they could listen to everything in their head. What would be on their mind if they are alone with the MC? 🤔

Welcome to the fandom! Thank you so much and of course.

This is really interesting so let's do this.

Mammon

You notice it right away when you go to class with Mammon. 

He thinks about pretty common stuff, like how annoying it is going to be, what he will eat for lunch. 

How much money he can save by asking you to share your lunch with him.

How nice it would taste if you were to cook for him. 

Mammon is also more honest in his thoughts. 

~"You look so great today but if I say it I will be the idiot if you feel ugly today."~

Then a moment later he will say something completely different. "Oh, today you have umm clothes on."

Usually you would roll your eyes at this, but now you know what Mammon meant. 

So you give him a smile. "Thank you, Mammon."

He is confused since you would usually scold him. ~"Oh, that actually worked? Am I getting better at talking?" ~

"Haha naturally you like a comment about yourself made by me the great Mammon." ~"Yeah just like that Mammon be smooth."~

You can't help but giggle at his thoughts. "Yeah of course, I love compliments by the great Mammon.

"It's so unfair to pull moves like that." Mammon pouts in his voice and his head.

Later you use the chance when you are alone to get completely honest thoughts about you when you are alone with him. 

When Mammon steals glances at you. ~"If they would just look at me."~

Of course, you turn to him. 

Mammon blushes. ~"Oh no you looked at me. Now what? Oh yeah, just casually talk smoothly."~

"Nice weather today huh?" Mammon just seems to say the first thing that crosses his mind. 

"Yeah it's pretty nice." You smile, slightly amused that even in his head he plays the cool guy. 

~"That went pretty well now I just gotta stay focused, darn hard when you look like that at me. Ummm so what next… GeGetting closer to you… How am I going to do that? Think Mammon, you are a smart guy. Who am I kidding? I'm not. You don't need to know that though."~

"You know it's a bit chilly here." You decide to throw Mammon a curveball. 

"Ohhh haha yeah, I guess I should crank the heating up hold on a second." Mammon gets up but then realizes ~"Oh wait I think I just messed that up. I'm so stupid I should have offered myself as warmth. Stupid Mammon. What am I going to do now? Oh, I know. I will just say the heating is busted. Brilliant you got it after all."~

You shake your head slightly, but Mammon doesn't see it. 

"Oh, what a misfortune it's broken. I guess I have no choice but to keep you warm myself." Mammon says it in a way that you know it's an act, even without reading his thoughts, but you want to cuddle so you let it slide. 

"Alright Mammon. I will take that offer." You smile at him and giggle a bit when he gives himself a mental high five. 

Lucifer 

You notice when you are at a student council meeting that you can read his mind. 

Lucifer's thoughts are filled with all of the things he has to say. 

His workload on the desk in his office, the meeting with Diavolo. 

Lucifer sighs after all of this. 

You feel a bit bad. 

Later you go over to him with some fresh coffee. 

You hear his thoughts before you enter his room. 

Lucifer sounds tired even in his head. 

~"So I have like 100 of these left and then I can stop, no wait I still have to check my brothers homework. Then there is the speech for tomorrow I should practice.. "~

You knock on his door. "Coffee delivery."

"Come in." Lucifer sounds tired too. ~"Coffee is just what I needed. I need to thank you for this."~

You open the door with a smile, and see his workload. 

You fill his cup and sit on the other side of his table. "Can I help you with anything?" 

Lucifer takes a big sip of coffee and looks at you. ~"I can't burden you with my work. I'd much rather just relax and talk to you for a while."~

"Thank you for the offer I think I can handle this much." Lucifer politely refuses. 

"Alright how about a shoulder massage then at least?"

Lucifer smiles. "That sounds great."

You get to work and hear how much he enjoys it in his thoughts. 

At least you can do this much for him. 

Leviathan 

His thoughts circle around anime and games. 

Levi's mind is full of references and scenes from various media. 

He often complains in his mind about Mammon. 

Levi sees himself as pretty cool or very bad, there is no inbetween. 

Whenever you are close you can hear him trying to come up with something cool to say, but never quite manages to say it out loud. 

Then after failing Levi will scold himself for that. 

If he manages to talk to you normally he will give himself a mental high five. 

Sometimes you can hear Levi cheering when you respond positively to him. 

At least once you hear him thinking that your love meter raised. 

You aren't sure if you should kick or kiss him for that one. 

Asmodeus 

Much of his mind is focused on himself. 

How great he looks, how good his outfit looks, how great his hair looks.  

Also if others are noticing his perfection. 

Asmo is very pleased when they do, especially when it's you.

Occasionally you hear a few insecure thoughts creep in. 

Asmo seems to doubt himself, as if people like him or just his looks. 

Asmo is more than just a pretty face, he has do much to give. 

Sometimes he thinks of stuff that will make his beauty shine even more. 

Asmo also seems to be obsessed with his social media account, and you hear him thinking about his likes and notes. 

You later ask him to help you with decorating your new phone. 

Of course he is delighted to help, you hear in his thoughts that you are the only person who would ask him for help with this. 

It sounds a bit lonely to you, especially since you know how creative he truly is. 

You plan to ask him for more creative ideas soon. 

Maybe you can make some outfits with Asmo soon. 

Beelzebub 

Unsurprisingly he thinks a lot about food. 

What he ate earlier, what he will eat later, this looks pretty tasty. 

You look pretty tasty but he will not eat you because you are precious. 

Beel thinks about dinner and lunch and waits for the next break while in class. 

You never knew how hard it was for Beel to concentrate until now. 

He tries but is interrupted by his stomach more than once. 

You can hear Beel trying to make himself focus on the lesson but it's hard. 

You feel bad for him and smuggle something sweet to him. 

Later when you are alone with Beel you notice his thoughts shift to you. 

Not once does he think about eating, maybe it helps that you made him an extra big dinner. 

All of his thoughts are focused on you. 

Most of it is how much he likes having you around. 

Sometimes he thinks about Belphegor and then there are a few times when Beel thinks about Lilith. 

He seems to get somber in these moments, you always have suspected that this is the reason why Beel seems down sometimes. 

Now you know for sure and take his hand to show that you are here for him. 

Beel is very glad about that. 

Satan

His thoughts seem to be on random things and all at the same time. 

Satan thinks one moment about a story he read and then the next moment he wonders if he will see a cat today. 

It's pretty amazing to be honest. 

Satan has like 2-3 thoughts on his mind at the same time. 

Even when he reads you can catch him thinking about something else or you hear him thinking about whatever the other people around him are talking about. 

Satan also often has plans in his head to make life hard for Lucifer. 

You can hear him yelling at or about Lucifer in his thoughts all the time. 

The only time Satan focuses his thoughts is when he is with you or petting fluffy animals. 

You aren't sure if that means that he likes you or that you are somehow seen by him as fluff. 

Belphegor

He often thinks about sleeping. 

It's of course not a surprise. 

Belphie seems to be tired the whole time. You never realized how hard it is for him to stay awake and focused. 

His mind often wanders off. 

Belphie thinks fondly about his next nap and struggles to think about anything else. 

You can hear his relief once he finally drifts off. 

What keeps him from thinking of his next nap seems to be his brothers. 

They either annoy or amuse Belphie. 

You can hear him making snide comments about Lucifer, he is strangely awake and passionate about being mad at him. 

The only other people that get that much energy from him are Beel and you. 

Of course you know that Beel is very important to Belphie. 

You are surprised that you are on the same level.

Check my Obey me! Masterlist for more content

[spicycreativity]

Howl - Ch 2

Chapter: 2/10

Add'l Notes: As usual, fic is like 6 chapters ahead on my AO3, WizardGlick

Chapter Content Warnings: N/A, ask to tag

Trying a new thing where I force you to read the first paragraph by not including it under the cut 😇

--

Virgil slept soundly and woke up unharmed in his bed. The relative cold of the morning air bit into his face, the only part of him that wasn't buried under his duvet. Still laying down, he wriggled into his hoodie and got up to make coffee. He mentally checked himself over while he waited for it to brew, staring blankly at the French press with stinging eyes. Damn, he must not have gotten all his vampire makeup off. Ah, well. His own absentmindedness was not a curse. Maybe he had escaped unscathed. Nothing hurt, save a normal soreness in his legs from standing around watching the Halloween parade, and a quick look in one of the many ornate mirrors decorating his walls revealed nothing abnormal with his face (well, except for the smudgy remnants of last night's eyeliner).

Despite this reassuring examination, he still spent the morning jumping at shadows. He rode his moped extra slowly and took time adjusting the straps of his helmet to make sure it fit perfectly. He examined the hanging sign ("Mystick Earth: ephemera for all ages") outside his workplace to make sure it wouldn't fall and kill him. He even took high steps on his way to the register to make sure he wouldn't trip over anything unseen.

But nothing bad happened.

In fact, nothing much happened at all until just past noon, when the brass bells on the door jangled and Logan stepped in, wafting the smell of warm bread and something sweet in with him.

Virgil didn't even realize he was smiling until his cheeks began to ache. "Hi," he said.

"Hello, Virgil." Logan wasn't looking at him; he was focusing on the paper bag hooked around one wrist and the drink carrier balanced in his other arm. "Forgive me for not asking first, but I wanted to surprise you."

"Here, you can set that on the counter." Virgil already knew what Logan had brought: banh mi, pho, and bubble tea from Sunrise, Virgil's favorite café.

Before he could talk himself out of it, Virgil pressed his hands on the counter and levered himself up to give Logan a kiss. He had always known that Logan was courteous and sweet under that somewhat stiff exterior; this wasn't even the first time he had done something kind for Virgil out of nowhere. But Virgil never could get used to being doted on. "Thank you, Logan."

Logan dropped his gaze, one hand coming up to fidget with his tie. "You're quite welcome."

The bells chimed again. Virgil looked up and caught sight of Roman, who had frozen in place. Catching Virgil's gaze, he straightened as though offended. "Well," he said, "I just came by to make sure Count Virgila survived the night, but it looks as though Casanova here beat me to the punch."

Logan turned. "Roman. I hope you've already eaten, because I only brought enough food for two people."

"I can take a hint," Roman said. Virgil raised his eyebrows at him expectantly, but Roman only raised his own eyebrows back, strode over to the counter, and stole a sip of Virgil's milk tea.

"I thought you said you could take a hint," Virgil said.

"I can," Roman said, "but I'm choosing not to."

Logan sighed through his nose and passed Virgil his sandwich. "I see no need to insist upon politeness if Roman is not going to return the favor."

Roman bumped Logan with his hip. "Really, I just came by to make sure Virgil's okay "

The bells jangled. Virgil looked up again, half-surprised and half-annoyed to see Janus, clad in the extravagant tailcoat he had to wear for work, pretending rather transparently to examine the display of tarot card-themed posters by the door. "Hi, Janus," he said, making no effort to hide his annoyance. Maybe this was the curse, to never get any alone time with Logan.

"Let me guess," said Roman, "you're here to check on Virgil."

"Of course not," Janus said, now pawing through the discount t-shirt display. Ugh, Virgil had just finished re-folding those. "Virgil's a big boy; he knows how to handle himself."

"Oh, yeah?" Virgil raised an eyebrow. "For all the money in the register, tell me what you came to buy and what you plan to use it for."

For the brief moment that Janus hesitated, Virgil allowed himself to hope that he had gotten one over on Janus. In all their years of friendship, he had admitted to being wrong exactly once. Virgil kept the date saved in his phone calendar and made sure to send Janus a card on the anniversary. But a moment's hesitation was all the satisfaction he got this time; Janus faced him properly, adjusted his tie, and said, "I don't know. I'm looking for a gift for Remus."

"Nice save," Virgil said. "We'll see about that."

"Oh, I don't know why you bother trying to hide it." Roman beckoned Janus over to the counter. "Look with your own eyes: he's fine."

"I combined like five different rituals last night," Virgil said. "And I'm doing another one once I get off work." He had already paid for the bottle and the string, knowing he had a hand trowel somewhere in the depths of his spider-infested shed.

Roman quick-drew his phone from his pocket and had himself posed for a selfie with Virgil almost before Virgil could process what was happening. "Smile," he said. "Patton made me promise I'd send him a picture."

Virgil flashed a peace sign. It was better to just go with it. Despite his bravado, Roman got his feelings hurt easily, and it was never fun to try to bounce back from that. "Are we done now?"

"Pardon us for caring about you," Roman said, sticking his nose into the air. It was such a Remus thing to do that Virgil nearly laughed, but he managed to hold himself together.

"Yeah, yeah, my friends love and cherish me, blah, blah, blah."

"Also," Roman read from his phone, "Patton says to tell Janus to come over soon so they can make cutting boards together."

"He was serious about that?" Janus looked helplessly at Virgil. Ah, yes, Patton had made the invitation last night and Janus, leaning back on social niceties, had agreed. "I thought he was just being nice."

"Nope." Virgil leaned forward across the counter and grinned. "Not only is Patton gonna make you make yourself a cutting board, you're going to enjoy it."

"We'll see about that," Janus said. He shook up his sleeve so he could glance at his watch. "Well, I should get back to Bienvenue. Those suits won't sell themselves."

He turned on his heel and made for the door so quickly that Virgil knew he was forgetting something. Ding. "Wait, but weren't you going to buy something for Remus?" he called.

"Sorry," said Janus, one hand already on the door. "Can't hear you, bye." And he was gone.

Roman bounced on his toes. "Alright, alright, I'll leave you two to it, too."

"Thank you kindly," Virgil said, metering the sardonic bite in his tone so that Roman wouldn't get offended.

Roman tipped an imaginary hat first to Virgil, then to Logan, and sauntered out.

"Finally," Virgil sighed. He looked up to find Logan staring at him with evident concern. "What?"

"Are you alright?" Logan asked. "I know you take this kind of thing seriously and I would hate for you to feel like I'm not supporting you just because I don't share your belief."

Virgil couldn't help but smile as an unfamiliar feeling spread from his stomach to his chest. Ah, the warm fuzzies. He couldn't even be mad about the damage to his dark and brooding image. "I'm okay, Lo. I did my stuff."

Logan smiled back: a small, shy thing. "I'm glad."

They were quiet for a moment. Virgil took small bites of his banh mi, careful to keep one eye on the door. It had been an unusually slow day, especially given that it was the day after Halloween. The denizens of Vaillant were superstitious enough that Virgil was rarely idle behind the counter of Mystick Earth. A few groups of people paused by the door, some even going so far as to peer in through the glass storefront windows, but no one came in. Virgil relaxed a little. "How's work? Catch anyone embezzling?"

"Not yet," Logan said, pushing his sleeves further up his elbows. Virgil tried not to stare at the few additional centimeters of skin this action exposed. What was he, a repressed Victorian? "I did notice a discrepancy in the amount we spent on office supplies, but it was only because someone had miswritten a 'seven' as a 'two.'"

"No office drama?" Virgil ribbed him. "Nobody stealing pens or making out in supply closets?"

"Unfortunately, we are a building of professionals." Logan paused, straightened his tie. "The light above my cubicle went out and I had to put in an email to maintenance to get it fixed."

"Man, I could never work in an office," Virgil said.

"Did anything interesting happen to you this morning?"

"Eh, I had someone looking to curse an ex, and I had to explain why that's not acceptable. I won't bore you with the details." Virgil took another bite of his sandwich and bounced the toe of his shoe against the floor. Was he doing this right? It had been so long since his last real relationship, and everyone knew what a disaster that had been. He liked Logan, liked being with Logan, but… Well, maybe he was freaking out over nothing. He just had to remember how to do it right, and then everything would be okay.

"Ordinarily, I would challenge the notion that you could ever bore me," Logan said, "but I do have to leave soon."

"Finish your pho," Virgil said, smiling. "I can tell you later."

They finished eating and Virgil again leaned up to give Logan a kiss, balancing his weight on his hands. His heart wasn't in it, his brain a few seconds ahead. Should he come over the counter and walk Logan to the door? What should he say? ‘I love you’? Should he grab Logan's ass?

"Did you hear me?" Logan asked.

Virgil feet hit the floor, the impact driving tingles up to his knees. "Huh?"

"Just saying goodbye," Logan said.

"See you soon?"

"Let's make plans."

Logan left. Virgil stared at the door for a while, happiness ebbing away into loneliness and doubt. A small, childish part of him wanted to insist that Logan stay. Forget work. They could go to the movies and get ice cream, have a proper date. And Virgil would find some way to communicate just how much he appreciated Logan.

--

Virgil: Thanks for lunch, Lo

Logan: You're welcome

Logan: <3

Virgil hadn't gathered up the guts to respond to Logan's text message yet. It was really pathetic, how a single emoticon heart had him blushing and panicking like a teenager.

He swung one leg over his moped, but kept his weight mostly on the ground. Hating the way his heart pounded, he pulled out his phone.

Logan: <3

Virgil: <3

Before he could freak himself out any further, Virgil got on his moped properly and nearly peeled out of his parking spot. He rode home in silence, shivering a little in the wind chill and dodging potholes.

The sinking sun lit up the thunderheads on the horizon until the whole sky on Virgil's left was blue-gray and luminescent. He stared, admiring the bald cypress and tupelo trees silhouetted against the dying light, until the road turned and faced him toward the darkness. By the time he got home, it was full dark. He parked his moped in the carport and settled in for a lonely evening of curse-breaking.

Virgil wasn't usually lonely. As an introvert with several boisterous extroverts in his friend circle, he usually jumped at the chance for some alone time. But suddenly Logan's absence felt like loss in a way it never had before, and Virgil longed to have him near. Even if he just sat quietly and watched while Virgil put his own spin on constructing a witch bottle.

He went to bed early that night, earlier than usual, unable to stand the emptiness of his old house. Even the creaks and groans, even the ambient sounds of outside, even the ticking of his mantle clock, seemed to fade away into intolerable lonely silence. So Virgil crawled into bed before midnight, clutching his hoodie to his chest.

He didn't sleep well.

Strange visions haunted his dreams, almost primal in their intensity. He was rage, he was fear, he was power. He knew the earth beneath his feet, knew the deep, rich smells of the forest. He knew the moon above. It was bright but waning, pale silver struggling through the clouds that smelled of rain. So unlike Virgil, whose strength was eternal and agonizing and all. He howled.

He woke up all at once, all his senses alight. Even without opening his eyes, it was obvious: He was outside. Not only that, he was naked in the dirt.

He opened his eyes and rolled over, sitting up slowly to examine himself. Clammy soil clung to his exposed skin. He brushed it off with a shaking hand. His nails were stained with it too, all muddy and broken. And he was sore, almost as bad as the time he'd try to go jogging with Logan.

Virgil let the panic wash over him and pulled his legs in close to his chest, wrapped his arms around them. Wrong, wrong, wrong, he had nothing, knew nothing and he was all alone in the woods.

He crested the worst of the attack and clenched his trembling hands into fists, resentful of the adrenaline still ruling him. At least he seemed unharmed; his skin was free of bruises and scratches. He was just dirty. He raised a shaking hand to his left ear, feeling along the back of it for any strange marks. Finding nothing, he checked his right ear. The skin seemed wholly undisturbed, but he would see about that later. Right now, he had more pressing things to worry about than potential alien abduction. For one, there was the matter of his clothes… He got to his feet, covering his groin with his hands despite the solitude. All that surrounded him were the early-morning birdsong and the rustle of the wind in the leaves.

Spinning in a circle, Virgil found a place where branches had been broken and the underbrush had been thoroughly trampled by something much, much bigger than he. With no other leads, he steeled himself and followed the trail. It was difficult going. He had to keep his head down to make sure he didn’t step on anything sharp, and his heartbeat remained sharp and painful and panicked, beating out what-ifs beneath his skin. What if he couldn’t find his way home? What if he got arrested for public nudity? What if he tripped and broke his leg and got stranded? What if something attacked him?

The morning breeze picked up and made him shiver, drawing him out of his panicked thoughts. He just needed to keep walking. He might not even have been that far from home. He lived on the edge of the woods, so it made sense that he was within walking distance of home, right? Well, maybe not, but the belief was all he had. So he believed that he was close to home, believed that he would be fine, and continued to tread the path of destruction through the woods.

He was closer than he’d thought. Soon, the sound of tires over asphalt reached his ears and he picked up the pace. Crossing the road was a nerve-wracking endeavor, not least because the speed limit was 55 mph. He hadn’t seen any of his clothes on the trek. What would people say if they caught him darting naked across the road like some kind of feral mountain man? Traffic was sparse, it was true, but with Virgil’s luck, a pickup full of country boys would plow into him and leave him in the ditch. What a pleasant thought for a Friday morning. Pushing his fear aside, Virgil sprinted across the road as fast as his abused feet and sore muscles would let him. The trail of trampled bushes and broken branches led directly to his house, as he had feared it might, and the destruction didn’t stop there. His front door was open, bugs buzzing around the light over his kitchen sink. Several of his end tables had been knocked over and various trinkets from his many floating shelves littered the floor. His ceramic incense holder lay in pieces by the magazine rack filled with his collection of old tabloids-- the tabloids were okay, thank goodness.

“Hello?” Virgil called. No one answered, and the house was silent. He crept into the bedroom. Ah, there were his clothes. The t-shirt he slept in had split at the seams and his boxers hadn’t fared much better. At least his hoodie was okay. He pulled it on and slipped into a new pair of boxers, exhaustion finally catching up with him. He needed to deal with this, like, really needed to deal with this, but his bed…

He face-planted into it, not even bothering to straighten out or pull his legs onto the mattress. Sleep now, unpack terrifying potential supernatural encounter later.

[marauder-exe]

Sick of it- Aaron Hotchner x Reader

Request: I’m not sure if you’re taking requests rn...but I would love to see a fic with hotch where maybe he has feelings for the reader who’s in her 20s and she gets injured on the job, leaving her deaf. She’s able to continue working with the BAU but can’t do any extensive field work. She just gets sick of everybody questioning her capability of doing her job.   Sorry if that’s too much lol 🤷🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ Word Count: 1.1k

Warnings: bomb explosion, loss of hearing, angsty but happy ending kinda.

A/N: Welcome back to: Reid loves cliffhangers (in actuality she can just never finish fics)

“Hotch I've told you I'm fine, We got everyone, we detonated all the bombs. Morgan and I are doing a last clearing of the scene, then we’ll be on our way back” You spoke into the phone while continuing to search the area. “Okay, I just-” He hesitated. He couldn't let you know about his feelings. “Your one of the greatest agents this team has ever had, we need you.” He decided to say instead. He always covered his feelings with business. He sighed on the other end of the phone. “Thank you, Aaron” He could've sworn his heart skipped a beat every time you called him Aaron. “i am fine though I prom-” Your words were soon cut short when an ear-splitting explosion echoed through the receiver, quickly followed by a scream of your name from Morgan. His heart dropped. There was a deathly silence. “(Y/N)! Morgan! Whats going on?” His heart clenched at the thought of anything happening to you. He had gained feelings for you around year ago. You had been transferred from Interpol, and quickly proved to the team that you where everything you got cracked up to be. The day he realised it, he felt so guilty. You were 24, he had feelings for a 24 year old. You where old enough to be his daughter. He couldn't do that to Hailey. He tried to repress his feelings. Push so much stuff down on top of them, so he couldn't feel them any more. It never worked though. He turned around to the startled faces of his team, confused by his shout. “Hotch? Whats wrong?” JJ asked, taking in his pale face. “Its-Its (Y/N). i-i heard an explosion and then Morgan shouting her name and then-and then nothing” He dropped the phone he was holding, as if the shock had just knocked him back into action. He ran from the small police room that the team had set up into his jeep. Turning it on, ignoring the shouts of his team, he sped off down the street. “JJ, update the sheriff, me and Reid will go after him” Emily said, loading into her jeep.

The wait was horrendous. It was perhaps the longest wait of his life. Or at least it felt like it. He sat in the uncomfortable hospital chairs, his knee bouncing rhythmically. He was surrounded by the team, it was clear him and Morgan were the most affected though. Morgan having been there when the bomb went off. He thought about everything. The time you shared together. All the days off that were sent together. The laughs that were shared. The tears that were shed. He thought of it all. He also thought about how he didn't tell you. Didn't admit his feelings for you. And no you might die thinking that no one loves you. It was bitter torture, watching the doctors walk in and out of the waiting room, none of them for you. Until finally, a young male doctor approached the team. “uh, Mr Hotchner?” He asked towards him. His head shot up as he immediately walked over to the doctor. “Thats me” “Shes stable. But she did suffer extensive injuries, im aware the bomb was directly next to her?” He nodded. “Shes lucky she survived, but he did. There wont be much permanent damage. Although we don't know to what extent, we imagine she suffered massive hearing loss. We've assessed her and right now she cannot hear anything, she's completely deaf. We don't know if that will improve in the future” The young man informed Hotch. His stomach dropped. He couldn't believe he let this happen. It was all his fault. He let you go. He didn't even come with you to the scene. He could've stopped it. He completely derailed your life. You where 24. You had so much more that you could do. “You can visit her now, she's lucid so she should be fine” The team sprang up to go to your room. They carefully entered the room, hoping not to startle you, Although you already looked panicked. They assumed the doctor told you about your condition. Your head perked up when you saw your team coming through the door. Tears still streamed down your face as Hotch rushed over to you. “Hotch-Hotch, im deaf, im not- im not gonna be able to my job i-” You sobbed as he cradled your face into his hands. He knew you knew sign language but he didn't. He looked around as his teams sad faces. Prentiss looked at him. “I- I know sign language” Emily stepped forward next to your bed, and began explaining everything.

“I can do my job Hotch! Just because I cant hear any more doesn't mean im less able than anyone else out there” You snapped, gesturing to the room full of profilers. It had been a hard 6 months. You had recovered perfectly well, you hearing, not as much. You weren't aloud to do field work any more. You were constantly stuck doing paperwork, or in some stuffy police room. An ignorant comment from a police officer on your recent case had caused you to snap. “i know you can” He tried. Since the explosion, you had mastered lip reading, as well as gotten a hearing aid, as it was more convenient. “So why! Why has everyone been baby-ing me for the past months? Im so sick of everyone, even people I don't know, treating me like im unable to do the job Ive been working for my entire life! Im sick of it” You burst out, glad for the soundproof room. “No one is babying you” He returned. You scoffed and raised your eyebrows. “no ones been babying me? Okay. Dont act stupid Hotch. You see the way everyone acts around me. Constantly stepping on eggshells. I may of lost my hearing but I still have my profiling skills. Even you Big bad boss Hotchner has gone soft, something I never thought id see” “I haven't gone soft” He insisted. He had gone soft. Well he had always been soft for you, but now he showed it. “No? So whats all of it for? The driving me home, checking my place everyday, bringing me take out, making me dinner, bringing Jack around more often, Whats that for then?” You threw your arms around angrily. He was gonna say it. He couldn't stop it. “Its because I love you! I recognised you need help, now I finally have an excuse to do everything ive wanted to do for the last year.” He snapped back. He couldn't believe he had just said that. And by the look on your face, you couldn't believe it either. “What?” You whispered, heart race speeding up.

[oopcio]

henlo! I'm asking from my main but i have an ask for the arcana. How would the Main 6 react to an MC that's a Fae, like how would they see them as a person? would they trust them? I'd like to know! you don't have to do this immediately, you can take your time! - alegna-thefool

hhhhhhhh oh please yes this is so adorable tysm!!!! 💖💕💜✨🥰✨💜💕💖

ps i’m picturing this as the fae from wiccan/pagan folklore 👉🏻👈🏻

asra:

his first impression is wary, since he’s been told all his life that the fae aren’t always as friendly and kind as they seem, and that they cannot be held to human standards. maybe it started out as something as simple as losing a charm he uses often, only to find it a few days later in the backroom where he reads cards, a place he often visits. he had to be cautious while expressing his thankfulness, seeing as he didn’t want to unknowingly put himself in a contract with the fae. however, the first time he actually found you, looking around the shop at all of the potions and the crystals, his heart stopped. he spent days and weeks talking to you about all the stuff in his shop. “yes, i actually made the cards myself! ah, you really think so? why, thank you!” it was only a matter of time before he found himself thinking that maybe he could trust you, if none of the other fae. it was quite obvious to him that you weren’t like the others, you were not looking to make contracts and gather offers, you were interested in all the things that decorated the store. soon enough he wasn’t thinking of you as a fae he had to pick his words carefully around, you were just another person intrigued in his knowledge of spells and tarot. he even started to leave you offerings, even if you explained you didn’t need/want them. he’d put cute little shells, small flowers, pretty rocks, tiny crystals, pretty much anything that was small and reminded him of you. “yes! i saw this when i visited the market the other day, and i thought it’d look so adorable on your offering table. oh, please, just accept it! i got it just for you.” sure, he’d went against everything he was ever told about the fae, but he quickly realized he had no regrets about doing so, and he’d do it all over again if he had the choice.

nadia:

nadia is the type of cautious that you’re unaware of. she’s so careful in displaying her apprehension that she does it in a way you wouldn’t notice, and, the way she sees it, anything other than such would seem rude. “milady! someone is in the palace!” a servant would alert her, tension in all points of their body, proceeding to tell her that they were spotted heading into her quarters. she advised them to calm down and sent them away, claiming she’d handle it. she headed into the baths, and, sure enough, there you were, letting your legs dangle in the water as you take in the view. her intuition had immediately told her that you were no threat. in fact, she knew exactly what you were as soon as your eyes met. “i can’t seem to recall having business with anyone in my private bath,” she smiled, watching as you stride towards her. you were definitely charming, but that was to be expected. she easily loosened her stance, with her newfound peace of mind. you grab her hand gently and place a jade necklace into it. you explain that this was merely a impromptu visit, as you were here to return the necklace that rightfully belonged to her. all the other fae were far too scared to come return the pendant once they had realized that what they’d taken belonged to the countess, so you came in their stead. needless to say, nadia began to trust you almost immediately, and she even let you clasp the necklace around her, as well. “why, thank you. i apologize for all the commotion you must have faced as you tried to come into my quarters.” you told her it was certainly no trouble at all, and that it was all worth it for this moment. “i’m glad to hear that this feeling is mutual. after all, i quite enjoy your company. shall i leave offerings for you, should you wish to return?” no matter what you tell her, it will become a daily routine to have her servants place only the finest jewelry and gems as offerings for you. even if you ask for something simple, she will insist on spoiling you. “well, i’d like for you to know that you’re welcome in my quarters at any time,” she adds, the faintest blush covering her cheeks.

julian:

he’s been quite interested in things like the fae and whatnot ever since mazelinka would mention them when he was younger, and it really sparked again when asra would sometimes make a passing comment about them when they used to work together. but the poor thing is oblivious, so when his pens and notebooks start to disappear and show up again, only a few days later, at a place he frequently went to, he figured it was just himself simply misplacing his belongings and forgetting where he put them. it was nothing too worrying. well, not until he seen somebody with an incredible energy surrounding them in his office, about to place one of his medical notebooks in his drawer. “who are you? how did you get in here?” but it didn’t take long for the dots to connect in his mind - in fact, it was almost like the moment he seen your eyes, he knew what you were. but, he still had to be careful; that much he knew. you held up the notebook, lightly waving it around in answer. he let out a quiet ‘oh’ and simply took a seat, waiting with his hands outstretched for the book. you pull it back and watch all the blood rush to his face, patiently waiting for you to give it to him and hoping that you don’t open it. all hope was quickly lost, though. you open it in search for one specific page, and once you find it, you show it to him with a proud, mischievous grin. it was a drawing of a fairy, albeit not correct at all, with plenty of notes and scribbles. there was a lot of care on this page, especially, you noticed. “h-hey! i know what you’re trying to imply, but!... i’ll have you know that is... a medical... diagram...” each word got quieter and quieter, and eventually, he gave up on the explanation. you simply giggled and placed the book back in his hands, done with the teasing. “how am i supposed to make a diagram if i didn’t know what a fairy looked like until now?” he huffs, a blush spreading over his cheeks to the tips of his ears. you grin, leaning back against the wall as you seat yourself on his desk and offer to help him with his diagram. and, well, it ended up looking more like you than a general fae. hey! it was the betterment of science and medicine... and it also didn’t hurt to have you keep coming in for health check-ups.

muriel:

he first found a fairy ring in the forest, not too far from his hut, but he knew far better than to step foot inside of it. however, just because he knew better, didn’t mean he couldn’t accidentally stumble into it... hey, don’t look like that! it wasn’t his fault! he didn’t mean to! he just had a misstep! what he didn’t expect - never in a million years, in fact - was to come home one day (from trying to set protections against the fae, ironically) and find a fae in his hut. even when inanna tried to walk forward to greet this being (which, she never did, by the way), he was cautious. “why are you in my hut,” he would ask, doing anything and everything he could to avoid your eyes. you’d explain to him that you come to try and help him set protections against the other fae, since you knew how they could be and how to properly do so. a whole evening later, spent putting up the protections and complimenting his handiwork around the hut just to see how adorably flustered he’d get. then he realized it’d be a real shame if he had just put up a protection against you, especially with your help, but how could he say that in a way that wasn’t weird? “..........hey, um......... does this keep you out, too?..........” his eyes quickly widened. “not that i want to keep you out!.....” he huffed, getting all flushed again, and you smiled. you explained that if he wanted, he could set up a small offering table for you. you wouldn’t ask for much, and you didn’t want to trouble him. you just didn’t want this to be the last time your paths crossed. and then began a tradition! each day he’d place a small flower or blade of grass he found on a table inside the den of the hut, and when you came around, you’d sometimes help him place protections or even weave flower crowns with him. sure, he acted like he absolutely hated it, and he’d cringe when you placed the forget-me-nots on his head, but he’d always get flushed and turn his head to hide the smile that threatened to creep up on his lips. you even made inanna one to match with muriel!

portia:

she definitely had no prior knowledge about the fae. she thought they were just made up, but she was familiar with the little fairy houses some people put in their gardens, and she thought that was just so cute! even pepi might enjoy it, so, when she made one, she thought nothing of it. but as soon as she found a fae, a real one, she was caught waaay off guard. because she didn’t know anything other than the made up bits, she will definitely ask a lot of questions. “so, can you really fly around? do you carry little pouches of fairy dust around with you? ooh! can you put some on my garden?” you explain to her, telling her what is myth and what is fact. while you’re at it, you cautiously (and politely) warn her of the dangers of attracting forces you don’t know a lot about, and she takes the information to heart. “i swear on pepi i’ll never do something so silly again!” she beams at you when you do offer to help her with her garden, and you even make it a bit of a routine. you playfully take turns pushing flowers in each other’s hair until it seems there are more flowers than hair. she takes great care of the fairy house from this point on, decorating it with little rocks and plants in case you ever want to stay there. if you ever tell her, though, that it might be better if she takes it down so none of the other fae can take advantage of her kindness, she will listen to you and take it down as soon as possible. she greatly enjoys your company and soon enough, you spend many mornings drinking tea together in the cottage while the both of you cuddle and pet pepi.

lucio:

“what do you MEAN my exotic golden spoons and forks are gone?! i had them RIGHT HERE!!!” he notices that his priceless belongings keep going missing and he blames it on the servants at first, only to find them a few days later. still doesn’t stop him from damning everyone and everything he comes into contact, though. “where is my EYELINER?!” he shrieks, only to find an ethereal looking being in his quarters, placing his stolen goods back on his dresser. they look back and smile, quickly apologizing for their friends who seem to get a kick out of taking his belongings (but, like, who doesn’t?). the absolute charm and the energy this being carries has him literally swooning, bending over backwards to insist it was no trouble at all. “oh don’t worry!!! when you’re this charming you can get away with sneaking into my room anyday.” he takes great interest in the fact that there is what is known as a ‘fae’ in his room, a term he’s only heard a handful of times in stories growing up, as he’s roamed here and there. expect many questions coming your way. “do you have wings?! can you make yourself small? like, the size of my pinky?!” he’d definitely start to leave offerings of lots of gold and expensive things, even if you asked for something simple, but he’d always make note that it was for you only. he’s definitely angered the other fae by now, though. you better prepare him for many misfortunes.

(a/n: woa these ended up coming out really long, sorry!!!! i really enjoyed writing these, esp muriels 👉🏻👈🏻 hope you don’t mind!!!)

- jiah 💖

[writing-is-sexy]

Chapter One

From the backseat of this oh so familiar white sedan I watch as buildings turn into houses, until we stop in front of a small blue house with cream colored accents. On the front porch there was a bench swing, with a girl who looks to be the same age as me sitting reading a book. Susan, my case worker turns to look at me and says, "I have a feeling this will be your last foster home."

After pulling my things from the trunk, Susan and I walk up to the porch to be met by my new foster family. The husband and wife walk out the front door, greeting us with a smile. They seem nice, but they always do. The husband is tall, at least 6'3". He has dark blonde hair and dark blue eyes to match. He sticks out his hand waiting for me to take it in mine. "I'm Luke, welcome Victoria."

Wow, this is the first family to actually get my name right. I take ahold of his hand and shake it with a slight smile as the wife begins to introduce herself. Her name is Rebecca, she is about a foot shorter than Luke and has pitch black hair. She has blue eyes as well, but hers are lighter they look like spring water. Their daughter, Megan, introduces herself quickly before burying herself back into her book. Megan looks so much like her mother, but has her dad's blonde hair. Luke opens the door to the house and we all follow him inside.

The house is beautiful inside, it has an open floor plan between the living room and kitchen. This is definitely the nicest house I have been in, in a long time. I notice pictures of Megan that go all the way back to her as a baby. This house would give any who walks in it a safe, happy feeling. We walk up the stairs to a hallway with four doors. One for Luke and Rebecca's room, one for Megan's room, a bathroom, and my room. There's a door in both Megan and in my room that connects our rooms to the bathroom. Oncr the door opens I'm in awe of my new room , but I don't want to get too settled in. It never lasts long. My room has a matching bedroom set made out of dark mahogany wood. There is a white and black comforter set on the bed with scripture style wording and the Eifle Tower on it, it was beautiful.

"We're not sure what you like, if it's not your style we can change it Victoria," Rebecca says with a sweet smile.

"No, this is great," I reply honestly.

As I'm looking around the room Luke begins to speak, "We'll let you get comfortable while we go downstairs and finish up with Susan."

Susan gives me a hug before they make their way down the stairs. I put my duffle bag on the bed and begin putting my things in the drawers. When I finish there is a light tap on the door, before Megan pushes it open and makes her way to the bed and hoping on it.

"You know, I've never had a foster sibling before. I didn't even know my parents wanted to foster a kid until about to days ago," Megan informs me, which makes me anything but comfortable. "But I think this will be a good thing, I've always wanted a sister," she adds.

"Well out of all the foster families I've stayed with, your family seems the nicest." I tell Megan, she responds with a smile.

"Tomorrow morning my mom is going to bring us to school a little early so we can pick up your schedule and I will show you around school. Don't worry we don't bite." She laughs before going on, motioning for me to sit down on the bed with her. So I do.

Never has any of my foster siblings wanted to know about me and my story, but Megan did. So I began the story about how I ended up in foster care. My parents and I were your typical family, we were happy. My mom was a school teacher and my dad was a firefighter, they were married for three years before they had me. One night at about two in the morning some people broke into our house. My mom ended up emptying out a dresser drawer in their room and hiding me in it before the intruders ended up shooting my parents. A detective ended up hearing me whine and found me in the drawer. My grandparents were too old to take me in and I didn't have any other family, so they had no other choice but to put me in foster care.

Megan wipes her tears away as Rebecca opens the door to the room and says, "Dinner is done, I'm glad to see you guys are getting to know each other."

Megan and I both get off the bed and follow Rebecca downstairs for dinner. Rebecca informs me that dinner will be done typically around six pm every night and that we eat at the dinner table together. While we eat we all make small talk, trying to get to know each other a little bit more. I try to keep it light, opening up to one person was enough for me tonight. I help clear the table once we are all finished, then I excuse myself back to my room.

Picking out my clothes for the morning is pretty easy considering I only have five shirts, three pairs of pants, a pair of shorts, and a pair of two year old Chucks for shoes. I pick out a Aerosmith ripped tee with a white tank top and my dark blues jeans to go with it. Before climbing into bed I grab my copy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, that is almost completely falling apart from how many times I have read it. I pull out a faded picture of my parents holding me in the hospital room. It's crazy how you can miss someone you barely knew, but I miss them so much. Sometimes I wonder how things would be different if there were still around, I wonder if I would even be the person I am today if they were here.

The next I get up early enough to take a shower and do my hair. As I'm finishing up Megan knocks on the door, letting me know it's time to go. Megan is wearing a floral dress with a pair of white wedges to go with, her hair was up in a high ponytail. Arianna Grande would be jealous of how high her ponytail is. Rebecca drives us to school before she heads to work herself, before I get out of the car Rebecca gives me a phone.

"All of are numbers are already programmed into it for you. I know how teenagers can't live without these things." Rebecca laughs. "I hope you have a good day."

I thank her as I slip the phone into my back pocket. This was actually my first phone, my foster families prior never trusted me enough to give me one or didn't care. After we get my schedule from the front office, Megan takes it to see if we have any classes together.

"Yay! We have Alegbra 2 and lunch together." Megan exclaims.

Megan does her best showing me around and showing me my locker before the bell for first period goes sounds. Doing my best to follow Megan's instructions, I end up getting to first period a few minutes late. I hate opening the door after everyone has sat down and class has begun because when I walk in everyone looks at me and I was right.

"Looks like there's a new girl," someone says from the back of the classroom.

I introduce myself as the teacher welcomes me, then I make my way to an empty desk I notice by the window. I take out my brand new notebook and begin taking notes until class is over. Once the bell chimes again, I pack up my things and begin to my next class.

"Hey new girl!" I hear the same voice as earlier call out. I turn around and see a blonde boy who's hair may just be as curly as mine coming my way. He has chocolate brown eyes, which are surprisingly breath taking. "Who's class are you heading to now?" He asks.

As I pull my schedule out of my pocket he grabs it from my hand and reads it.

"Excuse me." I say as I try to grab it back but he's too quick.

"Mr. Harvarty, that's right next door to my class. I'll show you the way so you're not late. I'm Ben." He introduces himself, while leading the way.

"I'm Tori." I reply, grabbing my schedule from his hand before he could pull it away again.

Ben does most of the talking as we walk to class, making sure to inform me about all the best teachers and the teacher I should avoid getting on the bad side of. Before we make it to our next class Ben informs me about the football game this Friday and suggests that I should go. Making no promises, I tell him we will see as we approach our next class.

"Alrighty Victoria, this is you." Ben smiles as he points to the next class.

"Thank you, Benjamin." I say and he laughs before we part ways.

The rest of the day goes fairly quickly, when the bell goes off dismissing us from out last class I meet up with Megan by the flag pole before we go to the car. Luke is picking us up from school, which I now know is the normal routine. He asks us about our day, before he tells us about his. Megan tells her dad about the test she just finished and how she hopes she's going to pass.

When we get back to the house we go our separate ways, I assume Megan is going to do her homework like me. I put my school stuff on the desk that is looking out the window to the backyard. It's the perfect spot to get my homework done, unlike most of my foster homes. Typically if I wanted to get my homework done I would have to sneak off to the closest library. The library is the closest thing I can call home, it has given me the most peace over the years.

"Hey Tori," Megan says as knocks on the door.

"Come in," I instruct her, and she does.

"So I heard you made a new friend." Megan laughs as she raises her eyebrows at me. I give her a confused look, I have a feeling I know who she's talking about. "You knooow, Ben!"

"He just showed me to class." I tell her, boys are the last thing on my mind. Plus, I'm never in the same place long enough to even want to give anything a shot. He sure is cute though.

[helloalycia]

cheater [two] | kara danvers

summary: just when you thought you were getting over your ex, she manages to find a way to weasel her way back in and make you doubt what you thought you had

warning/s: none.

author's note: I'll be posting part 3 tomorrow (the final part) so stay tuned! I've also got a lena imagine coming up the day after! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone! :) 

part one | part three | masterlist | wattpad

Kara was becoming a frequent presence more and more in life as time went on. She was always there for me to count on, even when I didn't know I needed it, and I was extremely grateful. I wasn't even sure why she ever took a liking towards me, but I was lucky she did.

She'd come over to mine every other evening and invited me over to hers as well, and I welcomed the distraction whilst in the healing process of Anna and I's breakup.

I'd see the she-devil around work as little as I could manage, along with her new girlfriend – because of course they were dating now – but I tried not to let it affect me. Every time I found myself self-deprecating, I tried to remember it wasn't my fault. She was just a shitty person.

Eventually I stopped getting pitiful looks off people around the office. It wasn't helping with my self-esteem. Kara was a big help with that though, managing to glare people into looking the other way. It was funny after a while, how she stuck up for me like nobody had before.

I wanted to thank her somehow, for being there for me, but I wasn't sure what to do or how to even go about it. I wanted it to be meaningful, but I was never good at saying things outright. Maybe I could write it, I was always better with written words...

"...could do with a bagel right about now," Kara said, practically salivating at the thought.

I laughed, raising an eyebrow. "We literally just ate lunch. You're always hungry."

"Girl's gotta eat," she said simply, patting her stomach.

I rolled my eyes playfully, looking back to my computer for a moment. I was browsing Amazon for a new bookshelf and I asked Kara over to my desk for her opinion.

"This one," I said, turning my monitor around so she could see. "It doesn't look too hard to put together and it would fit well next to my TV, right?"

She leaned down to get a better look, nodding her head. "Yeah, that could work. Are you good at putting things together?"

I almost snorted. "No way."

"I can help if you want," she said with a laugh. "I'm pretty good at DIY if I do say so myself."

"Cheers." I smiled with amusement, watching how her eyes lit up at my dismay. Worth it.

My smile faded when I heard the irritating voice of Katy. I saw she was in our department, talking to one of the other reporters. Her whole being infuriated me and I could never control my annoyance when I saw her. She glanced at me, smirking, before continuing her chat with whoever.

"I can mix her coffee with laxatives if it makes you feel better," Kara spoke, gaining my attention. It took me a moment to realise what she said, and when I looked at her, I saw the seriousness in her eyes.

I cracked a smile, shaking my head. "You can't do that."

She mirrored my smile, shrugging. "Well, I could, but I shouldn't."

"There should be hearing aids invented that simply tune out her voice," I said, rolling my eyes a little. "She really bugs me."

"Yeah, it sucks, but at least it's a very rare occurrence that she's here," Kara said, trying to find the bright side of things.

"I guess, but– woah!"

I widened my eyes when I saw Kara suddenly reach in front of my face, catching a pencil sharpener in her hand. She looked down to me with concern and also surprise, before looking up to see where it came from.

"Oh my god, Y/N, that was totally my bad," Katy apologised, approaching my desk.

I stared up at her, surprised at the hint of mischief in her expression.

"That was supposed to go to Jack," she continued, pointing to the desk behind me. "I've got terrible aim."

Something told me only half of that was true.

"You should be more careful next time," Kara said, dropping the sharpener into Katy's hand. She was definitely not impressed as she added, "That could have hurt someone."

"Sorry," Katy repeated, flashing us an 'apologetic' smile before leaving to give Jack the sharpener.

I breathed out with relief, only just realising how close of a call that was. I looked to Kara appreciatively.

"Nice reflexes."

"Yeah," she said, half heartedly, still watching Katy with narrowed eyes, before looking to me. "You okay?"

"Thanks to you," I pointed out. "You really are my own personal hero."

Kara smiled, rolling her eyes as if to distract from the pink spreading across her cheeks. "Whatever."

I scrunched my nose, smiling at how cute she looked, before looking back to my computer. "I guess I'm buying a bookshelf. And you're gonna help me, right?"

"Right."

"Awesome."

***

Some more time passed before I realised how I wanted to thank Kara. It wasn't a big deal, nothing flashy or exciting. In fact, it wasn't the best thing ever, but it was all I could think of that didn't seem silly or fake.

I wrote her a letter. It thanked her for being there for me throughout everything, and how her being there brought us closer together as friends which I was grateful for. It said how I was lucky to have her in my life and so was anybody else who had her, too. She was gracious and kind one of those rare, beautiful souls that I couldn't let go by unnoticed without at least thanking properly.

I knew she didn't like big gifts and lavish presents, so I didn't bother. It wouldn't have felt right anyway – I wanted something more personal. So, I had the note ready to give with some flowers and a little Supergirl keyring that was soon to be explained.

I heard her knock on my door after work and that's when I readied the gifts on the kitchen counter.

"Hey," I greeted the blonde when opening the door.

She looked up and smiled brightly when she saw me. "Hey, I found those Jaffa Cakes you said you missed from home on the way here and thought I'd buy them for the movie." She held a packet of Jaffa Cakes in the air excitedly. "What d'you think?"

I stepped to the side to let her in, accepting the Jaffa Cakes, and grinned widely, unable to contain my appreciation.

"Kara, these aren't just something you 'find' on the way here," I told her, looking up to see her staring at me with anticipation. "You would have had to go to some sort of special store or something. Somewhere that specialises in British sweets and stuff."

Kara waved her hand dismissively. "It wasn't that hard."

I raised an eyebrow knowingly.

She suppressed a smile. "Okay, it was a little hard."

I laughed and moved forward, surprising her with a big hug. She chuckled, returning the embrace.

"If I knew Jaffa Cakes would make you this happy, I would've brought you a lot more," she joked as I pulled away.

"I've got something for you," I said, meeting her eyes with excitement.

"Not Jaffa Cakes I hope, otherwise this is embarrassing."

"Kara!"

"I'm kidding, go on," she said, laughing contagiously. "What have you got, Y/N?"

I put the Jaffa Cakes on the kitchen counter before grabbing the three items I wanted to give her.

"Well, that's a lot," Kara joked again, but I saw the appreciation glimmer in her eyes.

"Come sit down," I said, leading her to the couch. She followed and joined me as I sat down, facing her. "This is a thank you gift. It's kind of dumb, a little embarrassing, but I want to give it to you."

Kara had a smile permanently stuck on her face as she watched me. It made me feel a little nervous under her gaze, but I kept going.

"So, I wrote you a letter because I'm really bad at saying things," I explained, holding out the envelope. "English. Saying– speaking English. God, why am I so nervous?"

She laughed and accepted the envelope.

"But yeah, that's everything. So, you can read that first," I finished, nodding.

I watched hesitantly, as she pulled the note from the envelope and opened it up. Her eyebrows scrunched together with concentration as she read, and I knew I'd written a lot but it didn't make me any less patient to see what she'd say afterwards.

After what felt like forever, she looked up with an expression I couldn't read.

"I made it weird, didn't I?" I said, chewing on my lower lip.

Kara pressed her lips together and shook her head. "Y/N... I... you have a wonderful way with words."

I breathed out with relief.

"Thank you for saying those things," she said, resting a hand on mine, sending shivers up my arm. "It was sweet. And you're welcome."

I smiled softly. "I'm glad you like it." I held out the flowers adding, "These are for you. Just a little something extra."

Kara chuckled, accepting the flowers. "They're beautiful."

"And finally, there's this," I said, holding out the little blue box. "It's kinda stupid, but yeah."

She accepted the box, too, opening it up to reveal a Supergirl keychain.

"So, Supergirl is National City's hero, right? Well, I thought it would be funny because you're, well, you're mine. I mean, you helped me through my shitty breakup, and even before then, you've always been a big help with work. I just thought it could be a little reminder that I'm grateful for all the good you do. Like Supergirl, y'know?"

Kara lifted the keychain from the box and laughed, nodding her head. "This is amazing, Y/N. I love it."

"You do?"

"Yes," she said, lowering the keychain and meeting my eyes with her excited blue ones.

"Good. I... good."

She grinned, leaning forward to give me a quick hug. I smiled to myself, glad she liked it. My hammering heartbeat relaxed when we pulled away.

"Now to find a place to put it," she said, making me chuckle. "Wait a minute..." She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out her keys, attaching the keychain onto them, joining a fluffy cat and some other keys. "There. Perfect."

"Perfect."

***

I watched as the barista put whipped cream on my hot chocolate and sprinkled chocolate powder on top, making me excited. It was a chillier day in National City today, so I was picking up a drink on my break at Noonan's when I felt a familiar presence beside me.

"Y/N, hey."

I glanced over my shoulder and swallowed hard when I saw Anna, smiling awkwardly at me.

"Here you go," the barista grabbed my attention, placing my drink in front of me. "Enjoy!"

"Cheers," I said, grabbing my cup, before turning around to see Anna still, watching me. "Er, hey."

"I see you're also on your break," she noted, nodding to the drink in my hand. "Tea?"

I shook my head, still wrapping my head around the fact that we were speaking. I'd been successfully avoiding her for a few months now, and eventually I got over her and what she did to me. I didn't understand why she was attempting to talk to me now though – surely she had gotten the hint?

"Hot chocolate," I corrected her, pursing my lips, unsure whether to leave.

Anna accepted her drink from the barista before glancing at me. "It's been a while since we've spoken. I've been meaning to have a chat with you. I know you didn't want to speak to me, but I thought that it's been a while since then, so maybe you're up for it now?"

I raised my eyebrows. "I don't really know what there is to say, Anna."

"Please," she added, her voice suggesting a hint of desperation. "I won't be long."

I felt the heat from my hot chocolate in my hand remind me that I was going to head back to CatCo, but Anna seemed like she had something important to say. And I felt like I was emotionally mature enough to finally hear her out, or at least be civil with her, for the sake of our work relationship.

"Yeah, sure, okay," I agreed reluctantly, before leading her to a table by the window.

We sat opposite each other, clutching our takeaway cups nervously, unable to meet each other's eyes. Until finally, she spoke.

"You seem well," she said softly, and I could feel her gaze on me, "since, y'know..."

"Since I broke up with you after you cheated on me," I reminded her, meeting her eyes.

She licked her lips, nodding. "Right."

"What was it exactly you wanted to talk to me about, Anna?"

"I broke up with Katy," she said abruptly.

"It wasn't exactly a relationship destined to work out considering the circumstances in which it formed, was it?"

She gave me a knowing look. "Y/N."

I shook my head. "What do you want me to say, Anna? How would you like me to react?"

She was staring into my eyes as if expecting me to know what she was thinking, but I didn't. Not anymore.

"I honestly couldn't care less if you broke up with her," I said, truthfully. "It doesn't affect me. Quite frankly, nothing you do affects me. I've moved on."

"I shouldn't have cheated on you."

I breathed out slowly, trying to contain any oncoming anger I was feeling. "I don't care anymore."

"It's nice that Kara is helping you through," she added, a hint of jealousy in her voice, making me roll my eyes.

"Sure is."

"Are you guys a thing or something?"

I stared at her dumbfounded. "You're kidding, right?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. She was deadly serious.

I chuckled with distaste. "You think I owe you an answer? After everything you did to me?"

"So you are together," she said, a little disappointedly.

I clenched my jaw. "No, Anna, we're not. We're just friends if you must know. Not that it's any of your business."

She nodded, glancing down at her coffee cup with a hint of a smile. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes once again.

"Did you wanna talk to me just to remind me of all the shit you put me through?"

"No, no... that's not it," she said, meeting my eyes again. "I broke up with Katy."

I sighed. "You said."

"I broke up with her because I'm still in love with you."

I raised my eyebrows with surprise. Definitely wasn't expecting that.

"You don't seem mad about that," she pointed out hopefully.

"I don't seem happy either," I bursted her bubble, zoning back into reality. "This ought to be good."

"I'm serious, Y/N," she began, what I think was, sincerely. "I'm in love with you still."

I stared at her, so fed up of feeling everything because of her. I didn't even know how to react – I knew I didn't love her, I stopped a long time ago. But I was so exhausted with dealing with what she put me through that my brain didn't know what to do as she was speaking.

"You remember the part where you cheated on me, right?" I asked, quirking a brow.

"You're not taking this seriously," she decided.

"You bet your arse I'm not taking this seriously," I agreed, narrowing my eyes. "You broke my heart, Anna. You went off and slept with another woman whilst we were together – you cheated. You made me feel like shit."

"I know that," she said regretfully. "I know. I was horrible! I didn't appreciate what I had, okay? You were always so nice and loving. You cared about me so much and it became suffocating, infuriating! I hated it, that we were so..."

"Perfect?" I filled in for her, feeling a lump forming in my throat.

"Exactly," she said, her eyes softening as they met mine. "You loved me too much and I hated it then, but I miss it now. I miss us. I'm here to ask you for another chance."

I pursed my lips, wondering how on earth she thought she could have me back after everything she'd done. And now knowing why she'd cheated in the first place, something I thought I never needed to know... I didn't want to admit it, but it fucking hurt.

"You just told me that my love, the way I treat the people I care about, is suffocating," I said, swallowing hard. "Why the hell would I want to be in a relationship with you? Aside from the fucking obvious?"

I pushed my stool out and stood up, grabbing my bag and hot chocolate.

"Y/N, no, wait–!"

"You know, I don't remember you being this much of an arsehole when we were together," I said, staring at her one last time before storming past her and out of Noonan's.

As I headed back to CatCo, I tried to understand what the hell just happened. I was over Anna – I'd worked so hard to get over her, and with Kara's help, I had. I was convinced that I didn't need to know why she cheated, I mean, why does anyone cheat? I didn't think there'd be a reason. But now, knowing that there was a reason, and it was because of me apparently, it hurt. That same pain I felt those few months ago after finding out she was cheating, returned, even if it was for a split second.

Was I really too much when with those I cared about? Did I care too much? Was I too kind? Too loving? I didn't think that was possible, but now... I shouldn't have believed anything Anna said, yet it was lingering in the back of my head and I couldn't get rid of it.

When I reached my desk, I sat down and tried to get on with some work, but my head was still elsewhere, processing what Anna had told me. She still loved me, okay, that didn't bother me as much. I didn't love her at all, not anymore, not after how she treated me. She cheated on me because I was too much for her, too 'perfect'... that one was still a horrible thought embedded in my mind now. I had ironically pushed her away because I cared too much about keeping her close.

I'd barely gotten any work done when I saw a message pop up on my computer screen. It was from Kara, who was probably sat at her desk on the other side of the room.

KARA: Hey, we still on for takeaway and a movie tonight at mine? I'll let you pick the food.. :D

I was about to respond with a 'yes', but then I thought about what Anna said. I hated that she was making me second guess my friendship with Kara, but if what she said was true, then the last thing I wanted to do was push Kara away because I was too clingy.

ME: I think I'm gonna be staying late tonight to finish some work off. Maybe next time?

Yeah, that would work. I just needed to hold off for a bit. Kara and I had been hanging out quite a bit lately, and after giving her that keyring we– god, that keyring! That was so stupid! That was clingy, for sure. If I kept this up, caring for her too much, she might end up like Anna – feeling suffocated and trapped. I needed to slow it down. Give Kara some space to have a life, too. She'd been there for me so much that I barely let her do her own thing. It surely must have been annoying for her. The last thing I wanted was her hanging out with me because of some obligation she felt she had.

KARA: oh, okay, that's fine! anything I can help with? I don't mind staying back with you

ME: I should be okay, thanks anyway

I saw she wrote something else, but I decided to leave it at that and get on with my work. I still felt my heart hurting a little, and I wasn't sure if it was because of what Anna said or because of my newfound fear of losing Kara at my own hand.

[manunkinda]

So, I wrote the first chapter for a RK1K (Markus x Connor) fic. I’m not happy with it at all, but oh well. To be fair, it is my first DBH fic and I tend to have some troubles writing the first chapter for anything, It’s an AU. It’s called Dirty Blues.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20101882/chapters/47616835

Chapter One: Smoke And Vinyls

Shit!”

Markus stepped down hard on the gas, his hands gripping the wheel until his knuckles turned white. He was late. His bandmates, mainly North, were going to be pissed at him being late to the venue. Hell, he was pissed at himself. He didn't care if he was speeding on the highway, he just needed to get to his goddamn location.

He knew that sirens were going to tail him. He pulled over with a frustrated groan. He rolled down his window, watching the officer approach from the side mirror.

"Sir?" Markus was suddenly confronted with soft, brown doe-eyes. "You're aware that you were going 62 in a 40 mile zone, right?"

"Uh, yes..." He replied, trying to be as patient as possible given the situation.

The officer pursed his lips, as if he was thinking about something. "Why were you in a rush?"

"Gig."

"May I check your trunk?"

The driver nodded, tapping his fingers against the wheel. He glanced at the mirror as the officer opened the trunk, discovering a guitar case. He opened the case and inspected it for a minute before closing the case. He then closed the trunk and walked back to Markus.

"Nice guitar. Sorry, the department have been pulling over cars with Red Ice stashed away."

"It's fine. I understand."

"So, where's this gig?" The officer asked, thumbs hooked in his belt.

"Magic Stick. It starts at eight-thirty. My band's a regular there."

"Ah, okay." The man unhooked his thumbs and pulled out a notepad and pen. "What's your name?"

"Markus Manfred." He told him.

"You're a lucky man, Markus. I'm deciding not to give you a ticket. However, if you speed again, ticket. Got it?"

Markus smiled slightly and watched as he wrote his name and license plate number on paper. "Got it."

"Great." He put the pad and pen away. "I might see your band at the Magic Stick tonight."

"You don't strike me as someone who enjoys rock music."

“I’m full of surprises,” the officer grinned. “See you there?”

Markus could feel his face heat up, and he nodded in return. “Yeah, see you there.”

The nameless officer got back into his police cruiser and Markus started his car, integrating with the others on the highway.

The hard case felt heavy in his hands as he entered the venue. His bandmates were already setting up.

Simon lifted his head up from tuning his guitar, spotting his friend. "Guys, Markus is here."

North rushed out from backstage, holding her bass. “Where the fuck have you been?!" She demanded loudly, clearly angry.

"Cool down, I was pulled over on the highway. No big deal. I'm sorry." Markus countered, walking towards the stage.

"No big deal?" She looked at Simon and Josh, who seemed to be neutral. They knew that not agreeing with North would make this even messier, but Markus had a point.

"Yeah, seriously. Calm down, save the energy for the show." He got onto the platform and went backstage to take his guitar out. As he stepped back onto the stage with his instrument, North threatened to hit him with her bass guitar.

After doing the sound check, the band waited backstage and had a couple of drinks. Markus eyed the clock.

Eight-thirty.

It was time.

Markus found himself in the light in front of the mic, his friends also on stage. He was previously nervous, but all his fright had disinagrated away. "For the returning folks, welcome back. For first-timers, we're Jericho." He glanced at his bandmates to see if they were ready. "Josh, hit it."

The familiar harsh kick of the drums invaded his ears, and the rest of the band joined in, including him. North's bass could be felt from the speakers, and Simon's lead work added little intricacies. His voice was introduced to the wall of sound as they all played their part, yet remained in synch.

Pause.

And the sound shattered silence once again.

The show had ended and people were leaving. Markus was chatting with his friends, discussing tonight and joking around as they got ready to leave. While Carl was doing okay, he wished he was here, and he knew that Carl wanted to come; but he would be able to tell him all about tonight when he got home. He turned when he heard his name.

It was the officer from earlier. He almost didn't recognize him out of uniform.

"Oh hey," he smiled. He didn’t see him in the small crowd, but he suspected that he must’ve been hanging out in the back of the room. "Like the performance?"

The man ran his fingers through his hair, beaming. "Yeah, it was fun. You guys did a good job."

"Who's this, Markus?" Josh asked. Simon and North were curious as well, trying to figure out who the hell this stranger, who seemed to know their lead singer, was.

"This is... Uh..." Markus snapped his fingers a couple times. "I don't think you've ever told me your name."

"Connor." The doe-eyed man responded, straightening his jacket.

"This is Connor. He's the officer who pulled me over for speeding today."

North glanced at Connor, then Markus, then Connor again. Her expression could only be described as mischievous, a playful smirk tugging on her lips. “You know, Markus... You did tell me that you were pulled over today, but you never told me the cop was cute.”

Markus bit the inside of his cheek and Connor cleared his throat quietly as his friends laughed.

“Anyway, it’s nice to meet you, Connor.” Josh said. “Glad you enjoyed the show.”

“Yeah, we gotta pack and get home. We all have work or class.” Simon added, wrapping up some cords that were in his hands. “Hope to see you around more though.”

"Markus, you should take Connor to our grub hub for dinner." North suggested.

Markus shrugged. "I mean, it's up to him. Do you want to go eat?"

Connor looked hesitant. "Uh, sure? I was thinking you could come over and we could order takeout instead."

"We can do that." Markus agreed, ignoring North's teasing look. "Just let me put my stuff away and then we can go."

Connor nodded and waited near the door. “I can text you the address.” He told Markus as the other man neared the entrance with his guitar case.

“Sounds good. I’ll just put this in the trunk. I'll see you guys later.” Markus told his friends. He gave Connor his number and went to his car, putting away his things. His phone dinged, and he glanced at the screen to see an address.

Markus parked in the driveway of the small, one-floor home. He stopped the vehicle and got out, closing the car door afterwards.

The yard was relatively clean, although it was desperate for a cut. The grass was not quite long, but was getting there. He figured that he was too busy with his job to mow his lawn.

The musician approached the door, climbing up the steps. He pressed the doorbell, and after a couple of seconds, the door opened to reveal Connor who invited him in.

The first thing that Markus noticed were the shelves of vinyls, CDs, and cassettes that were on display in the living room.

Damn.

The second thing he noticed was that there were no pictures of Connor’s family as far as he could tell. The atmosphere of this home was a whole different vibe compared to the large, colorful mansion that he and Carl lived in.

“So, any ideas?”

Markus was forced out of observation. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Takeout.” Connor repeated. “Any ideas?”

“Uh, not sure. Just pick whatever.”

The host nodded and took out his phone. “Thai then?”

“Sure. Vegetable Pad Thai please.”

Markus’ mismatched eyes travelled to Connor’s left arm as Connor dialed a number and turned away, his back facing him. Crimson roses, cerulean plumerias, and wicked thorns adorned his entire limb from the shoulder to his wrist.

He was in awe at the complexity of the ink.

Connor ended the call and turned back around. “You know, you can take off your jacket and make yourself comfortable.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks.” He quickly took off his jacket and hung it up on the coat hanger. “Your sleeve tattoo is beautiful, by the way.”

He swore he saw Connor blush. “Uh, thanks. It was just inspired by a family friend’s garden.” Connor slipped his phone back into his pocket. “The food should be here pretty soon. Want anything to drink? I’ve got beer in the fridge.”

“A beer’s fine.” He sat down on the sofa as Connor went into the kitchen, coming back out with two beer bottles, one in each hand. He handed one to Markus and sat down.

The food arrived, and the two men dug in, chatting as they ate. After finishing and cleaning up, Connor decided to put a record on. “You know Bambara?”

Markus leaned back on the sofa. “No, actually. Never heard of them.”

“It’s a good band to get stoned to.” Connor said, rather casually.

Everyone had vices, regardless of their lifestyle. Still, he hadn’t taken Connor for a smoker. Usually, Markus was able to read a person correctly, but Connor was an exception. He would be lying if he said that the man wasn’t intriguing. “You smoke weed?”

“A little.” He replied, guiding the needle to the vinyl and turning up the volume. “For anxiety. As long as it doesn’t interfere with work, I’ll be fine.”

Markus watched as Connor opened a drawer on one of the end tables and took out a small sandwich bag and lighter, sitting back down. The music was already playing.

Connor noticed Markus watching and looked at him, opening the bag. “Want a joint?” He asked the taller man.

Markus shook his head. He personally didn’t like to smoke, but he knew people who did. He wasn’t unfamiliar. “Nah, thanks though. I’ll just stick to beer.”

Connor nodded and rolled up a joint before lighting it.

Neon glowing in the night,

Red words: Red Tide,

Shining in your eyes.

Smoke twirled in the air, the smell of burning paper and pungent leaves invading the room.

A gunshot cracked,

And streaming blood fanned out around its kicking feet.

Dead eyes staring,

Dead eyes staring.

Two bottles multiplied into four, and then eight.

“No one really leaves,”

Jimmy says through a cloud of smoke.

”Where would he go anyway?”

The sun is up and the birds are pecking

Pecking at something lying in the dirt.

Markus was sitting on the floor, lying against the sofa as he listened. Connor was draped on the sofa on his back, his legs hanging over the arm of the furniture. His red eyes stared straight at the blank ceiling, like there was something up there, or perhaps a mural. He noticed the sparse speckles of small moles, or maybe they were freckles, that were scattered across Connor’s face, neck, and hands.

Let’s make something huge and full of rust,

Rebar ‘round my handsome bust.

Broken glass like jagged flowers,

Climbing up a twisting tower.

Markus lost track of the time, zoning out and drunker than he intended to be. How the hell was he going to get home? Carl was going to lecture him on being responsible; he just knew it. The coffee table was almost covered in bottles and Connor was tired.

The town kids smoke meth and drink

Behind the scrap metal heap.

The guesthouse lies hidden...

He would figure something out.

[survivor-halsingland]

Ep. 1: "There's 100% going to be a Canada alliance." - Amy

Amy

Initial reaction of cast reveal: I’m toast But for real this can go a couple of ways for me, none of which have me seeing myself make merge lol. I’m either going to be a very early boot here or be nice and active enough to solidify a place for a while. Lots of familiar and unfamiliar faces. Hopefully the people familiar with me won’t want to immediately vote me out. I have already mentioned to Derrick that I played with DeNara before, so hopefully we can bond over that and it not be used against me. I have explicitly asked Jared to not exclusively lie to me this go haha but we both said we were more playing for the other half of our duos and just agreed to do it. I was excited to see Blue on my tribe and I also know Leanne, and have already had a good chat with Klied - but his name does have “lie” in it 👀. Honestly I want to do a quick portion of divide and conquer, I planned on chilling in a pool tomorrow and going to drag bingo with Ava. But no one has solidly chosen anything so they are really about to force me to be tribe leader and sort this out. Things I look forward to: vibes, chatting with cool people, meeting people, twists, and drama Things I will not be doing: sitting on hours and hours of video calls. Not my style. But I know several people in this game love it. Let the good times roll y’all

Kenneth

HERE WE GO AGAIN! i'm fresh off of ingary, but jay has magic powers and pulled me in to another season of a potential clown fiesta <3 but seriously, this already seems a lot more enticing and spicy because of the theme in itself and how the challenges and idol hunt are structured so i am very excited to play :) i learned a lot about my last game and i will improve on it (hopefully) by taking more risks and plays that WILL be appreciated by the jury, and not be overly attached to people, which would result to tunnel vision. the first challenges are already pretty great, and i cannot wait to play this game. TO WIN! hehe >:)destiny i’m super confused about a lot of stuff tbh but everyone on my tribe is so nice and welcoming and i’m sure i’ll get the hang of it all soon :) i’m excited to be playing and just hoping i don’t screw things up for my tribe :/

AmyThis tribe is exhausting. Challenges where I need to send a photo back quickly really hate me. My phone took like a minute to actually send the photo, but Waldo went well. Except I started in the bottom right looking with vertical transects and Waldo was hiding in the bottom left 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ Woulda been 30 seconds had I started over there. But I’m already expecting tribal so I’m just hoping I wasn’t the worst portion of our challenges haha!

Leanne

Not very much to share so far. Some people on this tribe are much bigger talkers than others, Jared, Derrick, Klied, and Amy. It’s been harder to get Convo from Jesse and Blue, and I’ve barely heard from Josh or Aubree. I wonder if other people have had the same experience. Haven’t dared try game talk with anyone yet. Hoping I’m not behind, but it’s only day 2 right? Maybe I’ll try to put some feelers out with Amy. Maybe I’ll tell her about some things in the idol hunt and see if she’ll give me anything in return, maybe try to get a partnership going. I’m glad she’s on my tribe, but also a little bit scared because I’ve seen exactly how good she is. Aside from that, the person I feel best about right now is Derrick. We’ve had some good chats and seem to connect well. Hope he feels the same way. And Moth. I’m especially nervous about them. When we played before we didn’t exactly hit it off, but I think we’re both… trying. I hope we can have a new start this time, a new story. And from what I know of them they are a very loyal allies so, here’s hoping. Also happy to see Sarah here, and my yinzer JG. Maybe he and my dad can bond over that? And that’s all I’ve got so far. God I hope I did enough in the challenge today. *whines* I don’t wanna go to tribal first!

Jared

Don't mind me making a confessional before the game even starts, call me a game changer. https://youtu.be/JFOxzamkcH8

Jared

Not one, but two, confessionals before the game even begins. Sorry not sorry! https://youtu.be/SETx-0LoI9E

Shawn

Well, things are going good so far! I think anyway. Although I like everyone on my team, I do have to say it's odd playing with someone whose older than my father is, Frank. Usually I like to take charge in games like this, I like to be the leader. Yet, with Frank, it's difficult because he's so much older, I feel like I'm a little kid around him. I don't wanna tell him what to do, because I don't wanna be disrespectful? I'm so excited so far though, absolutely loving the challenge and how we get to pick! Im not that bright so I'm happy I can do creative stuff.

Aubree

This is my first BvW confession! Idk about the other tribe, but the Mysa Tribe is super chill. Most of the conversations yesterday consisted of everyone saying hi and that they were busy and would be active later. Day 2 and the activity level is still the same, which is kind of a relief since I am much more of an introvert. I have been trying to be the first to reach out to people since I feel that is something I have struggled with in past ORGs I’ve played in. I’m usually the reserved/silently-strategic player, but I’m going to try and be more proactive for this game. Ive talked to Klied, Jared, Amy and Leanne a decent amount and have enjoyed our conversations. I know of Amy due to the games she has played with Sarah, so I am hoping that works in my favor. Amy did say that Sarah voted her out in the first game they played in, so that could work one of two ways for my game… like if it came down to a vote between me or Sarah later on?? but maybe it is too soon to think that far ahead? Lol Even though I’m an Art Teacher I chose to steer away from the Creative part to our first challenge. Tbh I’m so burnt out irl when it comes to being creative due to my job, so I’m okay with taking a step back from the creative challenges for now. I’ve enjoyed being a part of the Scavenger Hunt, even though it was a bit harder than expected. I was so stoked to have a Starry Night print, but since it wasn’t real it didn’t count… Like who the heck has a REAL VAN GOGH?? (Or quick access to one) LOL As much as I would LOVEEE to have an original painting, that teacher salary-bracket doesn’t allow for that!! Lol I haven’t had anyone directly ask to me to be in an alliance with them… so that is - interesting? I’m used to the last two games I played where it felt like everything was very paced. Now, It’s either A) everyone is just chillin’ and not wanting to rush things or B) bonds HAVE already started to form but I’m not a part of them? I guess things will spend up more after the first challenge is over and we see where our strengths and weaknesses are in the tribe. Until then! - Aubree

Moth

Hi!! I’m back again and playing with someone I know. I actually happen to be on call with Destiny as I type this but like- were vibing And also once again I’m starting off on the wrong foot, not at home when the game starts.

Moth

I don’t trust Jared Straight up And I feel like that’s fair- Twice I’ve been voted out for my connections to Kyoshi island and it’s really fucking frustrating- Jared apologized and sounded sincere but idk I trust people too easily.. Brayden, Denara, and Leanne are also all in this game All people I’ve played with Leanne I don’t trust right off the bat. I tried that before but like- that didn’t work for me. I just want to at least make it to the merge

Frank

Having fun, learning as I get going. Truly impressed by the comraderi among people whom I've never met. Old dogs, new tricks, this is cool.

Klied

The game is going pretty well so far! Everyone has been really nice and supportive of one another. I hope this tribe dynamic continues for the next rounds of the game! :>

Moth

I fucked it up I genuinely feel really bad because everyone’s so confident in me- And I’m totally going to be a target now

Moth

Ohhhhh thank god Thank god because I was absolutely going to be on the chopping block if we lost I don’t want to be first out That being said

I don’t want Destiny to be first out either

Shawn

I'm not very happy tonight with how things went. I truly believe the other team deserved the win, the video was creative and a lot of effort was put into it! I think it was a great thing. But I disappointed that we lost so many of the challenges. I'm also getting annoyed that people are being present on the chat. I feel like it's me and another tribe member that is putting in all the work. Not impressed, but whatever. I just really hope I don't get voted off tomorrow.

Kenneth

welp i bombed the where's waldo challenge and my team lost by a hair in the riddles challenge because of an advantage so rip. i really hope i don't get voted off first because i severely underperformed in the challenge akjdnsajkndkjsnd i'd be really disappointed in myself :/

Amy

Shocked. Absolutely shocked we aren't headed to tribal lol. And here I thought my 4 minutes on Waldo was too slow but it was enough. Honestly we are lucky Blue's quit disadvantage was only what it was bc they quit after 30 minutes apparently. All these advantages at play! And I'm sitting here with a disadvantage. I think I'm clearly doing the idol hunt wrong 😆 all I have is a disadvantage from poison feast food and a chipmunk named Wadsworth in my pocket. Based on how little anyone is speaking I was certain we'd be going to tribal hands down no question. So I am very, very happy we avoided it in the end. I think it would have been between Jessie and Josh though bc they aren't active. I would have voted Jessie bc Josh did the video even after saying he didn't actually want to do the creative part so that's major props to him in my book! I am very curious as to who the other tribe is going to vote off in the end. I hope it's no one I want to make it far. Oh basically I know I'm probably not making merge so I'm trying to align things to get certain people farther and get other people out. I'm rooting for a newbie to take it. Anyway woo day off and I won't be first boot. Fingers crossed it's not Ava. I wouldn't be surprised if she was targeted for her association with me. Love this game! Love this cast! Love the idol hunt! The reward challenge was the most fun bc Ava and I were incredibly intoxicated after Drag Bingo and we did better each time! The last one we went "office" and "turnip" and literally bust out laughing and both said "Nate". I would like to personally apologize to Ellie for having to witness that nonsense. Thank you to everyone! Oh one last thing. I did not want to work with jared at all but it looks like I am going to be forced to do so. I think I have to put trust in Jared and in Leanne who has voted me out of two games prior 😆 but that's me always just bonding most with the people who are active and want to talk to me.

Amy

There's 100% going to be a Canada alliance.

Aubree

Who won the first challenge?? MYSA DID! Woot woot! Even though Jared, Jessie and I didn’t win the Scavenger Hunt portion after the advantages were added in - we did win as far as how many total objects were found, so I’m pretty proud about that! To top it off Sarah and I won the Reward Challenge!!!! We both get 3 stat points to add to our Idol Hunt… which I have yet to do… I should probably do that tomorrow O_o

Avat

hings are going well i think!!! i've had a lot of fun and i sorta vibe with everyone so far on the tribe. i'm really hyped and fingers crossed we do well. i've been sorta inactive with my challenge bc of work but i'm doing what i can for now. more to come soon

DeNara

Well this is my first confessional of the game and oh my is this going to be an interesting game. Initial impressions of my tribe...... Sarah +Jodi- frenemies because they are so good at survivor Frank- I really like him. He seems like a cool dude Kenneth- Seems cool, I may want to work with him, but he seems to be playing harder than he should so early Brayden- Didn't get the best first impression, but that could change Shawn- Super quiet, then they started chatting so that helped Ava, J.G., Destiny- Really inactive so I don't really know- potential first vote I want to work with Sarah, Frank and maybe Kenneth. Jodi would be good to work with although who knows what she is thinking. Everyone else I will stay open to working with, but really don't care too much as of yet.

DeNara

The first challenge was weird because everyone just took their roles and stopped talking. I HATE QUIET. Period. The creative challenge on my tribe wasn't super creative imo, but they tried. I didn't help in the scavenger hunt as much as I wanted too so that sucks, but at least we won that part so that looks good. I am so excited for this idol hunt! It is amazing! Props to the hosts! WE LOST, DAMMIT. At least Derrick won't be the first boot. I hope I am not either or HE WILL NOT STOP BUGGING ME ABOUT IT AND I WILL DIE.

DeNara

Well it is chaos now. Shawn has made an alliance with Sarah, Kenneth, and myself. I like the safety of that. Jodi, Sarah and myself also made a Subrosa alliance (we all knew that would happen) and I feel like this will keep me safe for a while at least. Both Sarah and Jodi want to work with Brayden and potentially Kenneth so we may make an alliance of 5 with them- but that also means Sarah and I would have to talk to Kenneth about not telling Jodi about the other alliance and that could be very risky early on.... hmmm idk about that. Also, Frank is my dude. I hope he stays. I think I am going to lean towards J.G. or Destiny.

Sarah

https://youtu.be/RzlLHyHZguQ

Kenneth

I am now in 2 alliances: one with denara, sarah, and shawn, and another one with ava and brayden! i feel good about both alliances, with the first one feeling solid and loyal (for now), and the second one for the long term! i feel very solid about sarah and denara, i feel like i can last long with them as my good allies. jodi's a tricky one, because i know she's a damn good player, but it's better to keep her on my side for now until an opportune time to make a move (and i actually really like talking to her!).

Jared

me: i'm gonna try to make this concise also me: 8 minutes on the very first episode where i'm not even going to tribal oh boy

Brayden

https://youtu.be/reALs2hizjk hey everyone I'm here

DeNara

So now I am in a bunch of alliances. I guided Kenneth to make an alliance chat with Sarah and me to tell us to keep our alliances with 1. Shawn and 2. Brayden and Jodi a secret. Insert evil laugh here lol. So all together right now I should have Sarah, Jodi, Kenneth, Brayden, Shawn and Frank backing me, so I shouldn't be first boot. It sounds like we are going for Destiny because they aren't very active, which was the name Kenneth threw out first so he is getting what he wants without upsetting me.

Ava

so so so bummed about going to tribal i thought we had it in the bag especially with our advantages but alas... i formed an alliance with brayden and kenneth which i'm super obsessed with i really like both of them - hopefully this means safety for tomorrow. i hate working two jobs and the week after next ill be working just one which is just so fucking sweet fingers crossed i can make it that long in this game. anyway that's all for now

Jodi

I'm so happy to be back. This time, I promise to play a chill Jodi game as I said in my intro, and I want to relax and enjoy this twist of a season. Jared and I are thrilled to play our second season together in the actual format of BvW, and we will be playing our own games. So far, I'm glad to have Denara, Sarah, Brayden on my tribe, as we all know each other but never played before (except Brayden). I want to keep an open mind and play fluidly. Kenneth told Brayden within 10 mins of the game starting that he was scared of me, but I hope I can gain the trust of people and not play as flashy as people remember me for. Looking forward to the connections I make!

Jodi

I promised y'all a chill Jodi game and here i am, delivering it. I think. DeNara and Sarah immediately made the "The Best of SubRosa" chat because obviously that was bound to happen, but additionally, the 3 of us are in an alliance with Brayden and Kenneth called "the clock" (because of our time zones ahahahaha). This game's dynamic is so different because even though we hate going to tribal, it also means that our loved ones are safe from tribal, which sometimes, could be better. I hope Jared is doing good on the other side. Obviously I trust Sarah and DeNara but I also know Sarah will cut my throat when it needs to happen, even if she gonna be crying while doing it, so I'll just...not be blinded by that. I trust Brayden 100%, Kenneth calling me scary is not great but I guess he rather be with me than against me, for now. Y'all Ingary kids what did you say about me??? LMAOO ♥️ I did ask him why he didn't cause ruckus at 5 and whip out the superidol and he said "tunnel vision". Hey that's two of us I guess!

Sarah

https://youtu.be/RzlLHyHZguQJessie So I’m still working on making like connections and stuff but we won the first challenge so no tribal which is a very good thing . ❤️ I’m enjoying this interactive scavenger hunt and I’m totally not trying to pull a Danni from Midsommar lol.

Brayden

hey guys im in a 5 person alliance rn with jodi sarah denara and kenneth and i feel pretty good and excited bc i think ill win this whole game but sadly destiny is prob leaving tonight <\3

Derrick

First challenge done. We rocked it! I don't really have any sort of alliance at this point but I seem to be getting along with everyone. Josh didn't seem to put too much effort into our creative set up but it still worked out OK. It was unfortunate I was on my trip at the time as I could have done so much more with. I think as long as we support eachother we can rock every challenge that comes our way!joshIM SOO HAPPY WE WON! our tribe seems to be like friendly but i havent made any alliances i think so idk if im in a good spot if we lose a challenge but we didnt this time so🙃ShawnEveryone in the tribe is messaging about Destiny, and that is who everyone is thinking of voting off. I'm still thinking of voting Frank off, and I think that's who I'm going for. He's not good at technology, and this whole game is about technology! We lost the creative challenge because all we could do with him was write! Still, everyone thinks because Destiny isn't very active she should be the one to go. I'm not sure what I want to do. JGOh hey! Here we are round one. I feel so out of it playing this game. For the first time in a while, I barely know any of the other players. Which is refreshing and tough. I also feel like my social game is kind of lacking but that is kind of my brand for round 1. I have had some great one on one conversations with DeNara, Jodi, and Sarah. I've talked to Brayden and Kenneth as well a little bit less than the first three. Shawn and Ava, barely. Frank and Destiny not at all. The vote should be Destiny since we sadly lost. Which works for me. I feel the closest with DeNara and Sarah. Really hoping I can start to get my footing. If we were to lose again, Frank would probably go but I don't wanna put myself in the line of fire again. Well here's hoping things improve. Hopefully, I'm not blindsided. Here we go.blueMy tribe seems pretty cool so far, everyone is nice and seems pretty active so thats nice. Shawns going to tribal so I hope theyre gonna be safe :(((DeNara As far as I know, the vote is going to be Destiny. I feel bad for them for not getting the chance to play, and I feel really bad for Moth, they always have the worst luck in ORGs. That being said I sure hope nothing crazy happens tonight or I will cry 100% Tribal, here I come...AubreeThere is hardly any game talk (at least from where I’m standing), so I may start trying to get a feel of where people are at by asking some game-related questions in the tribe chat. Don’t get me wrong, I love the personal chit-chats… BUT I’m also feeling a bit empty-handed as far as knowing everyone’s game motives. Maybe I’m being too bold… idk. I’m not normally the one to standout in ORGs, so hopefully my tribe doesn’t take this as me prying… even though I guess I kinda am?? 😬 “Oof look at me being all dangerous and shit!” 😤🤘🏼😂blueSO here are more detailed thoughts on my tribe. Amy of course is a queen and a legend and we've played together before and have a good rapport. Leanne is so kind and so funny, and I would be super down for working with her. Jared is SO nice I get really good vibes and really enjoy talking to him. Aubree is also very nice and seems genuinely interested in my irrelevant stories 10/10 good vibes. Moth is dope as expected and turns out we have a lot of the same interests ie. witcher and the mcelroys very fun. The rest are yet to be determined.AmyI would like to start out by saying that Brayden's video during their tribal almost made me seasick thanks buddy. So today was a DAY. It was a day off and like I had a weird day at work lol 😆 and then I remembered there was the task of talking to people who h i slacked on today whoops sorry. But for half these people idk if they even noticed bc my tribe is so quiet. Did I already say I tried asking Jessie what their favorite berry was? Like that's how exhausting conversation has been most all around. I think I'm talking to Leanne, Derrick, and Jared the most. I am begging for bygones to be bygones. But anyway I was trying to do a little of the hunt throughout the day bc after seeing

all those advantages last go I was SHOCKED. Then at the end of work I made it to thevpart where I was talking to the grumpy sad flower crown man and after falling on my weak ass on a ladder I picked the lock with a bobbypin and charisma's him to make me a flower crown which got me to the maypole which had me do a scavenger hunt and I got an idol. Writing this all out is absolutely hilarious. But yeah I have an idolllllllllllllllllllll which I don't want to use anytime soon. But I have a feeling I'm going to struggle to make merge. Anyway I got this idol like directly after the other tribe finishing tribal and I love a funny timing like that. I'm glad Ava survived weee! And wow they have some very vocal tribe members haha I'm sure Denara and Jodi are working together which tracks bc I've been closest to both of them individually in prior games early on. Curious if it will stick. So next was rock paper scissors for which I have a 10% disadvantage which apparently applies to the overall tribe score ☠️ . I won my game against Brayden who was at seemingly a raging Big Brother watch party. Sorry buddy. But we've been chatting like he asked how josh was and I said Josh is great and really stepped up to the plate for the creative challenge even though it wasn't what he wanted and also he loves tom holland so I instantly trust him. Then he said everyone likes ava bc she's just so cool and yes I get it I am personally intimidated by how cool Ava is and I have to be around that cool level every day honestly I don't know why she talks to me but she's a badass. Anyyywayyyy he doesn't seem keen on actually talking game and I need to figure out if I need to just tell my tribe I have a disadvantage rn or be like what the fuck the other tribe is so mean to give me a disadvantage 😭 Anyway excited to explore the hunt some more and this game is so fun. If we go to tribal I think Jessie is most at risk tbh. Okay that's all bye ❤️

[skyfallofcybertron-blog]

Transformer Skyfall: Chapter 6. With or Without You.

We stood in what seem to be an eternity. The city moved around us. Cars drove. Planes flew. Metroplex breathed softly underneath us. Cybertron spun on axis around our star. Erion stood before me and I couldn’t tell who was more scared of the other. We both just kinda, stared at other.

I was trying to decide on what emotion to settle on. I was horrified at first. The terror quickly washed over and left a white hot fury. Yet, I knew that the disgust I was feeling wasn't going to help the bridge the void Erion created between us.

From the corner of my optic, a hulking Seeker was cautiously making his way over to join us. The khaki painted carrier was Erion’s second. Though, Herculex often acted more like the emotional center of the three; grounding the unusual trine. With the two of them here, Jetstream had to have been around. I was literally trapped between a rock and a hard place.

With a controlled breath, I raised my wings and looked up at the two mechs.

“Erion, Herculex. I'm glad to see you survived the War.”

I'm not sure if I was. Though, I don't think it was a lie either. I honestly didn't know what to think. Only time would tell.

Erion’s wings hung low to the floor. He’s posture was stiff and uncomfortable; like he was going to bolt at any moment. Herculex set a servo on his commander’s shoulder armor. Maybe it was actually Erion was the one that trapped. Herculex took point on this one; seeing as Erion was refusing to give me any kind of contact.

“We are too, Skyfall.” Herculex said softly, “We mean it.”

“What can I do for you?” I asked.

I decided to keep this professional. Didn’t want to get too personal and reopen wounds that were still trying to heal.

Herculex looked uncomfortable with my rather cool responses. You could almost hear his processor trying to calculate on how to proceed with all of this. They seemed to be desperate about something. The two of them. Yet, either of them seemed to want to be where they were standing at the moment. I flicked my wings as I waited for someone to give me anything to work with.

“Uh, well, we need help.” The large carrier started.

“It’s Jetstream.” Erion finally spoke, “She’s missing.”

After my spark nearly stopping; I invited both mechs back to my office, so they could better explain what the scrap was going on. There was so many other things that I wanted to happen today. This was honestly the last thing I ever wanted to deal with. Ghosts from my past coming back to haunt me. I had video records for that if I wanted to torture myself. Yet, I technically had to help them. I found out later they had booked an appointment with me.

“So, let me get this straight…” I started as I flipped through my files, “Jetstream has been missing since the begin of the War and you are just now filing for that?”

“We been looking for her throughout the War.” Herculex explained, “But we thought with everyone coming back that she would be in-”

“We thought that you would have seen her. Or at least had contact with her.”

My optics flickered up to Erion. To the long scar across his face. Supposedly a parting gift from his third. Jetstream was always a bot of high strung emotion. I sighed and looked back at my screens; going through mountains of information at a blistering pace.

“No. I haven’t see her...” I was surprised how sad I sounded. This did hurt a lot more than I was letting on. “But you’re in luck, boys. According to my database; she’s still registered as functional. She's also a registered Autobot.”

Beside me, a datapad started filling up with information as I quickly began typing out emails. I didn't know where my former carrier was, but my collages would. Unfortunately, a lot of the Autobot books were still closed to us Decepticons in case if there was any sympathizers working within the government. Made my job harder. Good think I know people in high places.

“I'm going to give you some contacts that might be better help then I am.” I said, rather matter-of-factually, “Decepticons can't access some of this stuff in the database.”

Both Seekers shifted uncomfortably in their chairs. Of course they would. A couple of NAILs like them would probably hear nothing, but the war crimes the ‘Cons committed during the War. If they hadn't seen it for themselves.

The air in the room suddenly felt stale. A good indication that I had outstretched a little too much. A little too far. I handed Erion the data.

“Jet seemed to be working with the Wreckers. Or at least, with one of their medics; Zephyr. Here's her contact information. I've already sent her a message about all of this. You guys well have to pick it up from there. Hopefully, Zephyr can help point you in the right direction. I'm sorry that I can't do more.”

I have expected for Erion’s optics to drop to the data pad, but they didn't. He just kept those sad eyes on me. I didn't know want more I could do. What else I could give him just to have this all blow over and go away. I just wanted him to stop.

Herculex nodded. He smiled weakly, “No. This is great, Skyfall. Better than we expected. Thank you.”

The big bot stood. Then patted his leader’s shoulder to do the same. With some hesitation; Erion rose from his chair. His servo trailed across the desk. He was trying to think of something to add to the conversation. You could see it in his optics. Yet, Erion didn’t speak apart from a mumbled ‘thank you’. I could only reply with ‘welcome’. I didn’t have any words to say.

Both mechs disappeared out of the room. I suddenly felt like the weight of Cybertron was now on me. Slowly crushing my chestplates. Not enough to kill me quickly, but just in a slowed dragged out affair. One that will eventually end me a million years from now.

With a long groan, my helm rested on my desk. The soft thunk bounced off the walls of the office. Rung was going to have a field day with this. Slowly, jitters rattled up my plating as the emotions of all of this finally made its way to the surface.

Stars above, Jetstream was missing. What was I going to do? What can I do? Why was I thinking that? She was alive. Alive and with the Wreckers. Oh sweet Solas Prime, she’s a Autobot. Jetstream would have killed me during the War. She could have kill me when-

She didn't own me anymore. Why was I so concerned with her safety? I hadn't even seen her since before the War. They sold me off for Primus sake!

I was crying into my arms when the piston on my office door hissed open.

“Skyfall,” Fireworks playfully mewed, “Did you see the two sets of wings that were in the lobby? They're not as lovely as Sweet Wings- Wheels on the ground, Skyfall what happened!?”

His servos gently settled on my shoulder plates. The racer lowered himself to my side. I sniffled. I wiped the tears from my cheeks.

“It's okay, Fireworks…”

The mech huffed, “It's not okay if you're crying over it.”

“It's…” I struggled to find words to describe how I felt, “I'm…”

“Sir…?” Pitch squeaked. The young assistant pointed out the door. “You're next appointment?”

Fireworks huffed once again. The mech plucked me from my workstation. He nonchalantly started for the door.

“Cancel the rest of my appointments; would you, Pitch?”

“S-Sir?”

Fireworks stopped abruptly. He presented me out to his assistant as if I was a lost lazerkitten. Both Pitch and I blinked at each other in confusion. Oh here we go. Fireworks was going to pull some amazing excuse out of his aft. I was kind of excited to hear what that diabolical mind of him came up. It would definitely would make me feel better just hearing it.

“Our gracious host to this planet is under emotional distress, Pitch. To keep Velocitcon happy is to keep Cybertron happy. Skyfall needs some good Velocitcon-style R&R and I will not rest until she is given it. So, by canceling the rest of the arrangements I have for today and letting me take Skyfall to the spa; you are insuring the future of our planet! Oh, and make sure that Skyfall’s bosses now that I’m taking her out for the afternoon as well, wouldn’t you Pitch? We don’t want her to get in trouble, do we?”

Poor little Pitch snapped at attention. He saluted the delegate and stammered, “Of course! Right away, sir!”

Pitch bolted down the hallway as Fireworks chuckle in amusement. He shifted me in his hold, so I was perched on his forearm. He strolled down the opposite hallway. A please smirk on his faceplates.

“Now, that we have some peace and quiet to ourselves,” Fireworks purred, “Would you like to talk about what happened? I might not be a shrink like Dr. Eyebrows, but I’m a good listener.”

I sniffled; giggling softly.

“Thank you, Fireworks. You didn’t need to-”

“Oh, sweetspark, I do.”

***

At home, I found myself watching old recordings. Back when the trine was still a trine and when I belonged to Jetstream. A lot of that old footage was corrupted now. Data I collected and stored over the War damaged most of my personal videos; from Autobot viruses, improper or rushed data rips or straight up tampering with cortical psychic patchwork. The poor scrub from Swindle didn’t help things much either.

Jetstream was a unique bot in every sense of the word. The femme’s haft Insceticon sparking always turned helms wherever she went. She was a literal Queen Bee and acted like one. She was protective of her hivemates (Erion and Herculex), high strung emotionally and never backed down from a fight.

I can see why she became a Wrecker. The Autobot special task unit lived and died by their motto; Wreck and Rule. Jetstream lived like that everyday of her function.

I hoped, deep down in my spark, that she was ok.