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constantlyunlightening · 4 years ago

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Convincing

Kinktober Day 4 : Gunplay w/ Chisaki Kai

Other kinks/Trigger warnings: squirting, degradation, submission

This is not the fic I was originally gonna write for Kai. I actually had something a L O T worse in store and it’s an idea I’m throwing on the backburner for either another day of kinktober, or for a fully fleshed out fic after. Not sure yet. I just watched a compilation of Chisaki moments and this scene manifested itself, so here we are. :)

And it may not be as dark as the original fic I wanted to write, but keep in mind, Chisaki is a villain and I do write him as such. My portrayal of his relationships are not healthy ones. This particular one isn’t as bad as it could be, but still.

Disclaimers: Read/interact only if you’re 18+. Characters are all 20+ Keep in mind this is fiction and does include dark content - so stop/take breaks if you need to. This is not something to enjoy in real life but enjoy it as a story if you’re interested. :)

"Convince me, then."

Those words played over and over again in your head. The curse he had put on you now becoming your own personal mantra. You wanted to convince him. You needed to convince him. Every nerve within you pleaded for his touch but your germaphobe of a significant other needed convincing apparently.

If that had been said to you in years previous, you would have had a fit. Having to convince your so-called lover to touch you was a red flag. Any other man before Chisaki Kai and you wouldn't have so much as entertained the thought. Zero tolerance.

But for him? Within the last hour since he had told you to persuade him, he had gotten you to undress and fall to your knees before him. Oh but you weren't just sloppily down in front of him - that just wouldn't do. No, you had to have form. As his lover, you were an extension of himself who must keep herself clean, proper and worthy of a yakuza's lover at all times. He made that clear when he had agreed to commit to you. You were to obey every command, every order, every whim. And because it was him, you agreed.

So, for him, you weren't just on the floor like a dog; you were kneeling- like a proper submissive. Legs tucked straight underneath your body, toes pointed, back straight and your arms folded behind your back. At some point when your position was right, Chisaki had thought it appropriate to pull a gun out from underneath his jacket, which was promptly held in front of you, the muzzle of the gun tapping your lips.

Your newly found mantra rang in your ears as you obediently opened your lips without so much of a word, letting him slowly push the barrel into your waiting mouth. Maybe you should have been more worried, especially with his finger toying over the trigger. You had seen Chisaki kill people before. But the thing was, if he had wanted to kill you, he already would have. His quirk was scarier than this gun was.

Besides, if he did shoot, poor thing would have a mess all over his office.

"You must be desperate if you're willing to put a weapon in your mouth," his voice came out slow, calm. As if this were simply another task among his daily objectives. "Are you really willing to risk a bullet through your skull for the sake of me putting my hands on you? Rather pathetic. You don't even know where this gun has been and yet you're putting it in your mouth?" There was that beat of disgust - only a mild disgust but present nonetheless. You felt a little sick for the way your core heated from his words.

You had overheard Kai preaching to one of his subordinates over "the carrot and the stick method" before - find a balance between the reward and the punishment. For someone who sat there and lectured someone about it, Kai was a lot more stick. Oh, but did he do mean so well.

You popped your mouth off of the barrel but only in order to let your tongue lick up the bigger trails of saliva for a response. You may not know where the gun had been, but it was his. You were positive he kept his gun the cleanest around. And even if he didn't….

You would do it if you could convince him.

The mask he wore on his face didn't do much to conceal the way his face started to twist at your display. Positively filthy. But, he had been the one to prompt the action, knowing you would follow his command. Filthy as it may be, it was surely within his wishes even though his marigold eyes were boring down on you with something akin to repulsion.

You met his stare head on as he pulled the gun out of your face and instead dropped to a squat in front of you. His knees were spread out a bit while he rested his elbows against his thighs, lazily poking the gun into the skin of your legs. "Get up on your knees more and spread," he stared simply and like you were under a spell, your body obliged. Your body shifted so your weight was brought forward onto your knees and your rear was no longer resting on your calves. A sharp push of the gun into your inner thigh helped urged your legs to space apart.

"Yes, sir."

His eyes shifted to meet your gaze at your words and he quirked a brow at you, making you wonder if he actually wanted you to speak. He didn't comment though, instead opting to push the barrel of the gun against your folds, watching your slick coat over the metal. The metal was warmed from the heat of your mouth but it still sent a shiver down your spine. "You're sick." In some ways, you agreed. You just didn't care. You already loved a villain. You were sick and he was your disease.

His nose wrinkled again at the way your body seemed to react to the words. He pulled the gun away, only to see the sticky coating connecting the barrel to your heat. "Really sick."

You bit at your lip, deciding against defending yourself and after hearing a sigh, Kai stood up, pinching the handle of the gun between his fingers. He snagged a tissue out of the box on the table of his office and placed the sullied gun on that to put it aside for now. And when his gaze came back to you, you swallowed hard under the intensity. Hard to mistake him for anything other than in control.

"Stand up."

You scrambled to your feet at the words, trying your best to stay poised but the desperation in your movement was obvious. Had you pleased him? Surely he wasn't about to tell you to leave - you were completely naked.

"Spread your legs."

Another scramble to get yourself propped open and you could feel the adrenaline course through your veins as he took off his jacket, draping it over the back of the couch before moving in closer to you. Closer. Closer. He stopped inches before reaching your body and your breath got hitched with his simple proximity. You really hoped you had convinced him…

You had convinced him.

Finally you got the fucking carrot to the stick.

Before you had the chance to realize he had moved, his hand had dove between your legs and two gloved fingers were entering your core. You were seeing stars. It had been much too long since you've felt something there other than your own hand. It was still just fingers inside of you, but somehow him scissoring you open felt immensely better. In an effort to get your balance from the sudden intrusion, you were grabbing onto the fabric of his shirt as you focused on keeping your legs open. His nose crinkled again and you almost thought he was going to push you off him, but he kept his fingers stretching out your insides, the fabric gently scratching against you.

"The more I touch you, the filthier you get," he stated as his motion switched from a stretching sensation to a pumping one, moving in and out of you, causing you to mewl. "And here, I should be your cure. Maybe you're beyond saving, hm?" Cruel words but you were too wrapped up in your victory to care. You struggled to quell the urge to rock your hips - you didn't dare to push your position and ruin your chances. "You claim to be a Yakuza's partner but you're acting more like some common filth standing at a corner somewhere. A whore."

His hand moved to contour around your body like he was grabbing you from the insides, and he punctuated his insult with a yank that made you bounce up onto your toes for a moment as his fingers rammed up deeper inside of you. The sudden speed and strength may have been enough to hurt but when he moved his clothed thumb to your clit, any complaints you may have had died out. It was just gentle grazes of that sweet spot, but combined with the way his fingers curled, pressing up against your walls, it was a killer combination.

Quiet moans and whines escaped your lips as your legs trembled more and more every time Kai started to pick up speed. Faster, deeper… Your hands were tensing in his shirt and you tugged, earning you a heavy glare. "What happened to all that posture from before? You look like you can hardly stand," he commented and without bothering to actually get a response from you, he managed to find a spongy little spot inside your body and he found a rhythm fucking his fingers into that targeted spot. All you could manage was a cry as your eyes practically rolled back into your skull.

"I'm starting to get bored with this," he droned on, despite the way he was now jabbing his fingers straight into your g-spot with a force that had you barely able to keep still. "If you're seeking satisfaction from this, you better find it quickly. Otherwise I may just leave you to fend for yourself." He could talk all he wanted but it wasn't going to take you much more. You felt a coil in your stomach ready to snap. Actually, you were starting to feel like you had to pee - which by all means should have been a danger sign for you considering your clean freak partner, but the euphoria of it all was making you forgetful.

Jab. Jab. Jab. When he returned back to your clit with his thumb, this time giving it a more thorough breed of attention, that's when your coil snapped. Your orgasm hit hard. It hit sticky and wet and squirting. Your chance to cum around his fingers was gone because as soon as he heard your wild cry, his eyes widened a fraction and his hand whipped out of you just fast enough to avoid the onslaught of your gush. You hardly even registered your hands being yanked off his clothes, until he released you and stepped back. No sympathy for you or your shaky legs. He let you fall to the floor in your messy pleasure and leveled a glare at you as your afterglow hit you while you sat in your self made puddle.

A whimper rose from your lips, dissatisfied at the loss of touch but a bit too blissed out from the orgasm to form any coherent sort of protest. A click of his tongue had your blurry gaze dragging to meet his visage. He looked annoyed for someone who had just made you squirt - how had he even known how to do that? "You made a mess," he stated bluntly as he used his clean glove to discard the one now covered in traces of you. He plopped it on the same kleenex with the gun before he grabbed his jacket. What was he doing now?

As he started to walk away, that's when you realized he was simply leaving you here. You were sitting in your own filth. Of course he was choosing to leave. You didn't think your legs were prepared to get up and run after him effectively. He took a last glance back at you as he got to the doorway. "Get yourself together and clean up in here. I can't stand looking at such a wreck."

And then he left.

#chisaki kai #overhaul #bnha smut #chisaki x reader #kinktober #listen #i try to write things in characters to an extent #but for the sake of kinktober im writing them all as if they know what theyre doing #if i were to write chisaki as in character as i thought he should be #he probably wouldnt touch you actually #but even if he did #i dont think hed have a clue what he was doing #this man breaks out in H I V E S #little turd would have an allergic reaction to the g spt

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pillowbelphs · 4 years ago

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The Exchange

Genre: Fluff

word count: 1.2k

@kkawsomsomesauce546 asked: don’t know if you’re still good for headcanons, but if it would okay could I request a headcanon? >w<. Maybe like a Beel one? A one of how he would be shopping for gifts and he would have zero clue what to get his s/o then he decides to make the gift himself?😣 I really don't know how to ask for stuff like this. I apologize for this. If is too hard to do I understand.

author’s note: this was so cute, my heart just aches at the thought of beel sitting down making gifts :3 i hope you enjoy!

xoxo moon

Though they didn’t celebrate it often down in Devildom, Beel knew how important Christmas was to humans. He could tell that you were getting excited for the Christmas season as soon as the weather got cold—he thought it was cute, and loved to see you happy, so he decided to help you celebrate. Though Lucifer didn’t want a huge tree to sit in the common room, Beel had convinced him to allow you two to get a little one, made of plastic, that came with tiny ornaments and even a set of lights to go on it. After seeing how happy it made you, Beel had decided to go a step further, getting black and red stockings for you to hang above the fire place in the common room; stockings he spent hours sewing your names into. He even bought you a Santa hat, and him a matching one.

you had posed the thought of exchanging gifts, and though Beel knew it would be fairly easy to shop for him, he had no clue on what to get you. He went to the shops once or twice after school in the weeks leading up to Christmas, and nothing screamed “you” to him. He knew you were going to like whatever he gave you, but it wasn’t just about liking it for him — he wanted it to make you happy, as happy as you made him. He wanted it to be special for you.

He knew you cherished the memories that you two had together, whether it’d be when you two decided to cook together, whenever you two walked to school together, went shopping, or even just when you two just stayed home and cuddled; he really cherished those moments alone with you, too, and he wanted to incorporate those things into a gift, but nothing that he could purchase in stores allowed him to do that.

“My love, you’re going to get wrinkles if you keep furrowing your eyebrows like that,” Asmo hummed, poking the space between Beels eyebrows, which he had admittedly been furrowing for a good portion of fifteen minutes. “What are you thinking about? Satan already said we’re ordering for dinner tonight.”

“(y/n) and I are exchanging gifts for Christmas, and I don’t know what to get them,” he sighed, “I know they’ll like whatever I give them, but I want it to be perfect.”

“It’s very cute that you’re thinking so hard about it,” Asmo smiled at his younger brother, “And I suppose that you couldn’t find anything in the stores?”

Beel shook his head.

“Well,” Asmo hums, “Why don’t you make them something? That way it’s not only gift, but it’s personally made by you. I know they’d love something like that, especially coming from you.”

Beel’s eyes lit up at the thought of making a gift. Though he wasn’t the most creative, the option of making the gift gave him so many more roads to take when thinking of your gift.

“Thank you, Asmo!” Beel said, shooting up and hugging his brother, before heading to Satans room.

As the day approached, Beel felt more and more nervous to give you his gift. He stayed up late working on it almost every night, and somehow he was able to keep it a secret from you. It was hard, because you were so inquisitive and he never wanted to lie to you, but he was determined to keep his gift a secret until the day you exchanged them.

As he waited in the common room on the night of the exchange, he looked down at his fingers, now decorated in band aids that he had borrowed from you.

“Beel!”

He turned around, smiling as you made your way over to him to give him a hug. he returned your gesture by giving you a peck on the forehead.

“(y/n),” he said back, watching as you pulled away, “are you ready to exchange gifts?”

you hummed in response, pulling out a small bag from behind your back. “You open yours first!”

Though Beel had an idea of what it could be, he opened it with excitement nonetheless—he understood why humans loved this little tradition of exchanging gifts with the one you loved so much.

In the bag was, of course, vouchers for all you can eat at some of his favorite restaurants, but at the bottom of it lied a cute little cellphone strap of a pudding cup.

You proudly held up your phone as he took the cellphone strap out of the bag, showing off your matching strap, “Look, we match! You always talked about wanting to get couple things like this, so when I saw one of a pudding cup, I knew I wanted to get it for you!”

He smiled, holding the little cellphone strap between his fingers. He took out his phone and quickly secured the strap to it, now holding his phone beside yours. “They’re cute,” he hummed, looking at you as you leaned up and kissed his cheek, “Thank you.”

He felt his heart race as he remembered that he still had to show you his; he wrapped it nicely, with the help of Asmo, in purple wrapping paper, with a little bow on it. He handed you the gift, watching as your eyes lit up.

“I didn’t know what to get you, so…I made you something.”

You smiled up at him, holding the gift just as tightly as he had.

“That’s so sweet, Beel….Knowing you actually put time and effort into something already makes it so special.”

He shifted from foot to foot as you carefully ripped the wrapping paper to reveal his gift; a small photo book, adorned with fluffy stickers and messy stitches. You felt your heart race as he peaked over your shoulder while you flipped through it.

“You always told me that I took lots of pictures of you and that I would have to delete them to save space one day. So I put some in this photo book so we would never forget them.”

Your heart fluttered as you turned to the first ever picture that he took of you, a picture that had a very cute bubble next to it with the words “My favorite picture of you,” in Beel’s messy handwriting. As you flipped, you saw all of the memories you had made with Beel in the Devildom, including ones as recent as last month, when you two had found a stray cat and hid it from Lucifer in Beel’s room. You knew that he often took pictures of you, but the way each picture illuminated you as the soul focus of it made you feel so special.

“Beel, this is so lovely,” you said, touching each picture individually as you flipped, “did anyone help you make this?”

“Satan helped me print the pictures out, but I did all of the stitching and writing myself,” he smiled proudly, “Nothing I saw in the store felt good enough to give to you. I wanted to give you something I knew would make you happy.”

“Well, you definitely succeeded,” you said, closing the book and holding it tightly to your chest. “I love it, Beel..Thank you so much.” You leaned up and pressed a kiss to his lips, causing Beel to smile as he wrapped his arms around your waist. Soon, he was thinking of even more gifts that he could make you.

#obey me #obey me imagines #obey me headcanons #beelzebub #beelzebub x reader #beelzebub x mc #beelzebub imagines #beelzebub headcanons #beelzebub obey me #obey me beelzebub #obey me beel #obey me beelzebub headcanons #obey me beelzebub imagines #beel x reader #beel x mc #beel imagines #beel headcanons

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gayenerd · 4 years ago

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I just realized I didn’t post that 2007 Rolling Stone article I posted about here.

Billie Joe Armstrong

The Green Day leader talks Bush, Britney and being a middle-aged punk for our 40th anniversary.

DAVID FRICKE

Posted Nov 01, 2007 8:19 AM

You have two young sons. What kind of America will they inherit?

This war has to finish before something new blossoms. There's no draft — that's why none of the kids give a shit. They'd rather watch videos on YouTube. It's hard to tell what's next — there is so much information out there with no power to it. Everything is in transition, including our government. Next year, it's someone else in the White House. There's no way to define anything. It's Generation Zero. But you gotta start at zero to get to something.

Is there anyone now running for president who gives you hope for the future?

Barack Obama, but it's a bit early to tell if this is the guy I like. I get sick of the religious-figure thing. People don't question their rulers, these political figures, just as they don't question their ministers and priests. They're not going to question George Bush, especially if he goes around talking about God — "I'm going to let God decide this for me. He's going to give me the answer." The fear of God keeps people silent.

When did you first vote in a presidential election?

In 1992. I was twenty. I voted for Clinton.

Did you feel like you made a difference?

Yeah. The Eighties sucked. There was so much bullshit that went along with that decade. I felt like Clinton was a fresh face with fresh ideas. There were times when he was dropping bombs, and I'm thinking, "What the fuck are you doing?" But he became a target. We have this puritanical vision of what a leader is supposed to be, and that's what makes us the biggest hypocrites in the world. We got so inside this guy's sexual habits. Now we have a president going around, killing in the name of what? In the name of nothing.

What did you accomplish with your 2004 anti-Bush album, "American Idiot"? He was re-elected anyway, and the war in Iraq is still going on.

I found a voice. There may have been people disenfranchised by it. People have a hard time with that kind of writing: "Why are you preaching to me?" It does sound preachy, a bit. I'm a musician, and I want to say positive things. If it's about self-indulgent depression or overthrowing the government, it's gotta come from my heart. And when you say "Fuck George W. Bush" in a packed arena in Texas, that's an accomplishment, because you're saying it to the unconverted.

Do you think selling nearly 6 million copies of that album might have an effect on the 2008 election? A kid who bought it at fifteen will be voting age next year.

I hope so. I made it to give people a reason to think for themselves. It was supposed to be a catalyst. Maybe that's one reason why it's difficult for me to write about politics now. A lot of things on that record are still relevant. It's like we have this monarchy in politics — the passing of the baton between the Clintons and the Bushes. That's frightening. What needs to happen is a complete change, a person coming from the outside with a new perspective on all the fucked-up problems we have.

How would you describe the state of pop culture?

People want blood. They want to see other people thrown to the lions. Do audiences want rock stars? I can't tell. You have information coming at you from so many areas — YouTube, the Internet, tabloids. Watching Britney Spears the other night [on the MTV Video Music Awards] was like watching a public execution. How could the people at MTV, the people around her, not know this girl was fucked up? People came in expecting a train wreck, and they got more than they bargained for.

She was a willing conspirator. She didn't say no.

She is a manufactured child. She has come up through this Disney perspective, thinking that all life is about is to be the most ridiculous star you could be. But it's also about what we look at as entertainment — watching somebody go through that.

How do you decide what your children can see on TV or the Internet? As a dad, even a punk-rock dad, that can make you conservative in your choices.

I want to protect them from garbage. It's not necessarily the sex and drugs. It's bad drugs and bad sex, the violence you see on television and in the news. I want to protect them from being desensitized. I want them to realize this is real life, not a video game.

The main thing I want them to have is a good education, because that's something I never had. Get smart. Educate yourself as much as you can, and get as much out of it, even if the teacher is an asshole.

Do you regret dropping out of high school?

Life in high school sucks. I bucked the system. I also got lucky. My wife has a degree in sociology, and there are conversations she has — I don't have a fucking clue what they're talking about. College — I could have learned from that.

But I was the last of six kids. At that point, my mother was fifty-eight, and she threw up her hands — "I'm through with this parenting thing." Also, I could not handle authority figures. But I wouldn't say I'm an authority figure for my kids. I provide guidelines, not rules.

What is it like being a middle-aged punk? Isn't that a contradiction in terms?

It's about the energy you bring with you, the pulse inside your head. I want to get older. I don't want to be twenty-one again. Screw that. My twenties were a difficult time — where my band was at, getting married, having a child. I remember walking out of a gig in Chicago, past these screaming kids. There were these punks, real ones, sitting outside our tour bus. One girl had a forty-ouncer, and she goes, "Billie Joe, come drink with us." I said, "I can't, I've got my family on the bus." She goes, "Well, fuck you then." I get on the bus, and my wife says, "Did that bitch just tell you to fuck off? I'm gonna kick her ass right now." I'm holding her back, while my child is naked, jumping on the couch: "Hi, Daddy!" That was my whole life right there — screaming kids, punks telling me to fuck off, my wife getting pissed, my naked son waiting to get into his pajamas.

There's nothing wrong with being twenty-one. It's the lessons you learn. At thirty, you think, "Why did I worry so much about this shit?" When I hit forty, I'll say the same thing: "Why did I worry about this shit in my thirties?"

What have you learned about yourself?

There is more to life than trying to find your way through self-destruction or throwing yourself into the fire all the time. Nihilism in punk rock can be a cliché. I need to give myself more room to breathe, to allow my thoughts to catch up with the rest of me.

Before Dookie, I wasn't married and I didn't have kids. I had a guitar, a bag of clothes and a four-track recorder. There are ways you don't want to change. You don't want to lose your spark. But I need silence more than I did before. I need to get away from the static and noise, whereas before, I thrived on it.

Are you ready for the end of the music business? The technology and its effect on sales have changed dramatically since Green Days' debut EP — on vinyl — in 1989.

Technology now and the way people put out records — everything comes at you so fast, you don't know what you're investigating. You can't identify with it — at least I can't. With American Idiot, we made a conscious effort to give people an experience they could remember for the rest of their lives. It wasn't just the content. It was the artwork, the three acts — the way you could read it all like someone's story.

Is music simply not important to young people now the way it was to you as a kid?

People get addicted to garbage they don't need. At shows, they gotta talk on their phones to their friend who's in the next aisle. I was watching this documentary on Jeff Tweedy of Wilco [Sunken Treasure]. He was playing acoustic, and he ends up screaming at the audience: "Your fucking conversation can wait. I'm up here singing a song — get involved." He wasn't being an asshole. He was like, "Leave your bullshit behind. Let's celebrate what's happening now."

We need music, and we need it good. I took it very seriously. There's a side of me where music will always send chills up my spine, make me cry, make me want to get up and do Pete Townshend windmills. In a lot of ways, I was in a minority when I was young. There are people who go, "Oh, that's a snappy tune." I listen to it and go, "That's the greatest fucking song ever. That is the song I want played at my funeral."

Now that you've brought it up, what song do you want played at your funeral?

It keeps changing. "Life on Mars?" by David Bowie. "In My Life," by the Beatles. "Love," by John Lennon.

Those are all reflective ballads, not punk.

I disagree. They are all honest in their reflection. The punk bands I liked were the ones who didn't fall into clichés — the Clash, the Ramones. The Ramones wrote beautiful love songs. They also invented punk rock. I'd have to add "Blitzkrieg Bop" to the list.

What is the future of punk rock? Will it still be a voice of rebellion in twenty years?

It's categorized in so many different ways. You've got the MySpace punks. But there is always the subculture of it — the rats in the walls, pounding the pavement and booking their own live shows. It comes down to the people who are willing to do something different from everybody else.

You are in a different, platinum-album world now. What makes you so sure that spirit survives?

I'm going on faith — because I was there. Gilman Street [the Berkeley, California, club where Green Day played early shows] is still around. And that's a hard task, because there is no bar — it's a nonprofit cooperative. It's like a commune — this feeling of bucking the system together, surviving and thriving on art. Punk, as an underground, pushes for the generation gap. As soon as you're twenty-five years old, there's a group of sixteen-year-olds coming to kick your ass. And you have to pass the torch on. It's a trip to have seen it happen so many times. It gives me goose bumps — punk is something that survives on its own.

#article #interview #articles #billie joe armstrong

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 4 years ago

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LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

September 14, 2021

Heather Cox Richardson

This morning, the team of Democratic senators working on a voting rights measure that could meet the demands of conservative Democratic West Virginia senator Joe Manchin released their bill. The 592-page document is described as a bill “to expand Americans’ access to the ballot box and reduce the influence of big money in politics, and for other purposes.” Led by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the senators have called their effort the “Freedom to Vote Act.”

This new measure is a pared-down version of the For the People Act passed by the House earlier this year before being blocked by Republicans in the Senate. It makes it easier to vote, allowing for automatic voter registration and mail-in voting. It protects the voting rights of minorities and establishes what forms of identification can be required for voter IDs. It makes Election Day a federal holiday and protects election workers from partisan pressure. The bill also tries to slow the flood of “dark money” from undisclosed sources into campaigns and bans partisan gerrymandering.

Senate Democrats could not pass the measure without significant changes to make it acceptable to Manchin, and he has worked to craft this new measure that he has argued—without public evidence—will attract Republican votes. His hope is to pass the bill with the ten Republican votes necessary to override a filibuster. If those votes are not forthcoming, he and the rest of the Democrats will have to confront the reality that they must preserve either the right of Americans to vote—the centerpiece of our democracy—or the filibuster.

After the bill was released, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) promptly announced that Republicans would not support It. He says there’s no reason for the federal government to be “taking over how we conduct elections in this country.” This prompted Princeton historian Kevin Kruse to note that the Senate renewed the 1965 Voting Rights Act in 2006 by a vote of 98–0, and to suggest that Republicans have significantly revised their definition of federal overreach in the last 15 years.

The protection of voting rights seems more vital than ever today, as excerpts from a new book by veteran journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa revealed just how precarious the last days of the Trump presidency were. The portrait they reveal is of a man so desperate to retain his hold on the presidency that those around him thought he was mentally unhinged, while they also tried to do what he wanted so they wouldn’t upset him.

Trump tried hard to convince then–Vice President Mike Pence not to certify the electoral college votes from the states. Pence tried to oblige him, eventually turning to former Vice President Dan Quayle, who had served in the George H. W. Bush administration, to see if there was any way he could do what Trump asked. According to Woodward and Costa, Pence repeatedly asked Quayle if there was anything he could do. Quayle answered: “Mike, you have no flexibility on this. None. Zero. Forget it. Put it away.”

But Trump didn’t want to take no for an answer. When Pence refused, Trump allegedly told him: “I don’t want to be your friend anymore if you don’t do this.” He later told the vice president: “You’ve betrayed us. I made you. You were nothing.”

The account casts Pence’s role in the January 6 insurrection in a new light.

The book also says that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, was so worried that Trump’s mental state around the time of the election would lead him to attack China that twice Milley called his Chinese counterpart Li Zuocheng secretly to assure him that the U.S. would not launch a surprise attack. Milley was not the only one worried about the president: when Trump refused to concede the election, CIA Director Gina Haspel allegedly told Milley, “We are on the way to a right-wing coup. The whole thing is insanity. He is acting out like a six-year-old with a tantrum.” Haspel worried Trump might attack Iran.

Milley also allegedly told top military commanders that they should involve him if then-president Trump ordered a nuclear strike. That conversation was in part a reaction to a phone call with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), two days after the assault on the Capitol, in which the Speaker demanded to know: “What precautions are available to prevent an unstable president from initiating military hostilities or from accessing the launch codes and ordering a nuclear strike?”

When Milley tried to reassure her, she continued: "What I'm saying to you is that if they couldn't even stop him from an assault on the Capitol, who even knows what else he may do? And is there anybody in charge at the White House who was doing anything but kissing his fat butt all over this?"

“He’s crazy. You know he’s crazy,” Pelosi said, according to a transcript of the call Woodward and Costa saw. “He’s crazy and what he did yesterday is further evidence of his craziness.” Milley replied to the House Speaker: “I agree with you on everything.”

The picture the book excerpts paint of Trump is of an unhinged man screaming obscenities at his advisers, unwilling to accept limits to his power. The book also highlights the role of Steve Bannon, who urged Trump to fight the January 6 counting of the ballots.

We also learned today that Trump’s own senior advisers were warning as early as February 2020 that the nation was dangerously unprepared for the coronavirus pandemic, even as Trump was publicly saying the administration’s response to the crisis had been “pretty amazing.” A House committee is discovering information about that response from messages retrieved from the personal email accounts the advisers used.

The revelations about the former president, along with the efforts of administration and military leaders to either support or thwart him, highlight just how close the nation came to a disaster, and that the danger continues. But preventing that danger was never Milley’s responsibility alone. The Constitution provides two safeguards against an unstable leader who might, for example, launch a war simply to keep himself in power. One is the 25th Amendment, which provides an emergency mechanism for removing a dangerous president, but while there was talk of using that amendment to remove Trump after January 6, the amendment’s reliance on presidential appointees to trigger it meant that this particular president would not be threatened with removal in that way.

The other safeguard is the power of impeachment and removal from office upon conviction. Democrats did try to impeach and remove Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in early 2020 over the Ukraine scandal, only to have Senate Republicans stand firmly behind their president and vote to acquit.

The party’s association with Trump and his ilk did not help it in today’s recall election in California. As of 11:00 pm California time, voters rejected the recall of Democratic governor Gavin Newsom by more than 66%. In thanking his supporters, Newsom claimed his victory showed that voters said yes to science, vaccines, “ending this pandemic,” “people’s right to vote without fear,” a woman’s “fundamental constitutional right to decide for herself what she does with her body”; yes to diversity, inclusion, pluralism, economic justice, social justice, racial justice, and environmental justice. Californians—and Americans, Newsom said—are making choices.

Newsom’s Republican challenger has already claimed his loss was due to voter fraud.

That claim highlights the crucial difference between voter fraud and election fraud. Republicans are using the claim of voter fraud—the idea of individual corrupt voters—to launch election fraud, the overturning of a free and fair election. While voter fraud is vanishingly rare, the voter suppression measures passed by Republican-dominated states mean that election fraud is looming and likely... unless Congress passes the Freedom to Vote Act.

Notes:

Kevin M. Kruse @KevinMKruseWhen the Voting Rights Act came up for renewal in 2006, the Senate passed it 98-0. Someone should ask McConnell: if that *massive* voting measure with significant federal oversight wasn’t an unconscionable “takeover” of the election process, why is this one? McConnell throws a bucket of cold water on the revised voting rights bill that Senate Democrats (including Manchin) released today, says there’s no reason for the federal government to be “taking over how we conduct elections in this country.” “We will not be supporting it.”

Sahil Kapur @sahilkapur

1,116 Retweets4,161 Likes

September 15th 2021

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/revised-democratic-voting-bill-drops-controversial-provisions-tweaks-others-as-pressure-for-action-mounts/2021/09/14/6c59def8-150a-11ec-9589-31ac3173c2e5_story.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/09/14/woodward-costa-pence-jan-6-committee/

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/did-milley-think-trump-would-go-berserk

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/09/14/peril-woodward-costa-trump-milley-china/

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/14/politics/woodward-book-trump-nuclear/index.html\

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/09/14/trump-advisers-pandemic-warning/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/09/14/all-this-keep-trump-getting-upset/

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/14/us/newsom-governor-california-recall.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/09/14/how-much-damage-will-joe-manchin-do-new-voting-rights-push-offers-clue/

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/pass-freedom-vote-act

https://www.klobuchar.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/e/4/e448657f-914b-43a3-9153-05cabfb31c76/68440D88BF5EF1F90133FCB5AD2865D9.freedom-to-vote-act-text.pdf

Charlotte Clymer 🏳️‍🌈 @cmclymerThis is an absolutely perfect response from Gov. Gavin Newson to the results in CA tonight. It could not have been written better.

540 Retweets2,626 Likes

September 15th 2021

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#political #January 6 2021 #Letters From An American #Heather Cox Richardson #history #voting rights #voter suppression #California Recall Election

4 notes · View notes

sanieee · 4 years ago

Text

F E R N W E H

Fernweh

(a) An urge to travel even stronger than wonderlust.

Au: Mafia au (kind of)

Summary: Bored of your life as the daughter of a prestigious business man you seek to wander around the world, and that could easily be done if your mother let you have more freedom. During another tedious dance organized by some friends of your father, you meet a handsome stranger with hair red as fire who, between a commotion in the room, has the key to your desires. What will you choose? 8 pairs of eyes are waiting for your response.

Warnings: none

Words: 2.4k

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Click ,clack

'One step, two steps.'

The sound of your heels bounced from wall to wall.

Click,clack

'Lift up the hem of the dress, do not trip.'

Time was on your side, there was no need to hurry.

Click,clack

'Walk with elegance.'

But you never knew what awaited you that night

Click,clack

'Walk with your head up high. Do not disappoint your guests. Do not disappoint your parents...'

The doors to the assembly room opened and you were instantly met with the sound of laughter. The big chandelier was in the center of the room and it shined above everyone, the big windows made the room more spacious and the congregation of people made it more lively, or so it seemed. The dresses of the fine women glowed under the fake light and the attire of the wealthy men were a copy of each other. The only difference was those whose ranks were higher, wearing expensive-looking uniforms with badges and medals hanging on them like a prize for their efforts.

'Lift your dress, do not stumble.'

As you tried to walk through the multitude, faces who you did not recognize greeted and complimented your appearance tonight. With your poor sight, you noticed your father's white tuxedo and your mother's hand full of jewelry clinging on to his arm. You walked towards them,and your mother took you by the arm and you left your father's side.

"You are late, you know?"

"I am not, I recall you telling me to be here at 22:00. And I passed the doors at 21:59."

Your mother rolled her eyes, of course, she never was late to a grand ceremony like this. She then placed her arms on your shoulders and fixed your dress. It was an ultramarine blue, with laced ornaments from the hip and up, exposed shoulders, while the skirt was flowy and light. Your gown was simple, yet, it captured the attention of many people.

"You look great, darling. In no time I should see you accompanied by some lovely gentleman."

You scoffed at her, and she glared at you.

"I do not need a man to tie me down to this city. I am young and ready to explore the world. To see more than walls and fancy structures, I -"

"I do not want your mouth to spat filthy words, now. Please, save them for later, do something useful, or try to socialize so we can have more fellow workers join our company or would like to work with us."

Your mother then left you with your own thoughts so you decided to go towards the main reason why you came, the buffet table. As you stuffed my mouth, as elegant as possible, a young man approached you with a glass of wine on his right hand. His hair was red, which attracted a lot of attention to the younger female audience in the room, not that there were many anyway. You took in every feature on his face, like how his lips were pinkish, soft-looking, and his eyes were a deep chocolate-brown. He was rather charming if you may add.

"Hello, you must be Y/N."

He bowed, and you replicated his actions, nodding at the statement . He had a cute smile, and he was by far the youngest male in the room. He was tall and had a deep voice that could scare a child away, but his soft actions made him look approachable. You then took notice of his badges and medals hanging on his chest, no name tag was visible and the designs were rather unfamiliar. Something about him told you to not let your guard down while you were with him. He screamed danger in any way possible, but you were only more puzzled and wanted to get to know this man as the night progressed.

"Yes, yes I am. And who are you? If you don't mind me asking."

"Oh, no worries. My name is Song Mingi."

"Song? Interesting last name I must say."

"Thank you, but let's skip the sweet talk. Would you like to come with me to the balcony?"

Agreeing with the man you just met, you walked over to the balcony where the breeze of night welcomed the both of you. He started to ask personal questions, and you did the same. He was not the son of an important company, as everyone here was filthy rich by heredity or by getting their hands on some dirty money to be in the position they are in, but he was said to be a worker of an important organization who served just like the military. He gave no answer when you asked about his job, but he continued asking away.

"You know, I feel like you are getting to know a lot about me when I know only your name."

He laughed, eyeing you suspiciously. He set the empty glass on the railing of the balcony, leaned on it with his elbow, touching the place where his empty beverage stood and faced you.

"Well, for the most part, you are 20, congratulations, you get to know that we have the same age. Anything else you want to know?"

You simply stared at him for a few seconds, but he spoke before you could.

"No work involved. That is too boring."

"Well...Then..."

You were curious about this man, he was so intriguing, but your social skills were the same as a big fat zero. You wanted to know something personal. You wanted to know why he came so suddenly, like a predator ready to attack his prey. - "What are your near-future goals? Like, tonight, tomorrow morning, and this week."

"Interesting question right there malady. How do I answer that?" - He let his face rest on the back of his hand, the one where his elbow was resting on, and his eyes were lost looking at the moon.

"Huh... Well... I do like adventures. I like thrilling moments and I surely live one almost every day. My goals are to live a moment where my adrenaline goes up, and I get to see the fear in the eyes of a sinner."

"A sinner? Why a sinner? Who are you to choose who is one?"

A sinister smile crept its way to his lips, and at the corners of his eyes rested his pupils, staring down at you in a way you could not describe. Chills ran down your spine, his eyes were hiding a deep secret, you knew, but no more questions came out of your mouth. Your eyes were trying not to make contact with him.

"Aren't we all sinners, darling? That aside, what about you? What are your plans? Any desires to be adventurous?"

You looked up, only to see that he was looking down at you with a smug look, oh the desire you had to whip it out his perfect face. You were about to respond when some noises were heard, like doors being opened in a not so gentle way. You looked to see where the noise came from, but found nothing. When you faced him again, he had gotten up and stood as rigid and his uniform let him be.

He looked intimidating, a sudden fear had conquered over you. He wasn't just anybody, you felt it, you knew it.

"I...would like to be free."

Your voice came almost like a whisper, maybe it was because of the cold, or maybe because you felt like an ant, who knows. He leaned down a bit and stood closer to you.

"Free? Aren't you free, princess?"

You rolled my eyes at the nickname, he was throwing every pet name he could think of and it wouldn't be a surprise for you if he accidentally called you an egg because he ran out ideas. What surprised you however, was how fast he had gotten comfortable with you.

"Free? No, quite the opposite in fact. I'm tied to a reputation I never asked for. Money is the only thing flowing in these people's minds. I am done with this so-called exclusive life. I want to see more than expensive jewelry, wear something that it's not an overpriced dress, or costly outfits, and eat more than exclusive cuisine. I want to explore and see the world. But not through a car window precisely, not through some VR glasses and not through stories of wealthy people who come to my house to eat a good meal."

"Woah there, I thought you had an easy life." - He chuckled, and you couldn't help but smirk to yourself. - "Well, what if I say I will give you a chance to have what you dreamt of?"

You looked at him confused, what was he saying? You wanted to ask him how that was even possible, however, your conversation was cut short after a bloody scream came from the inside of the room. You rushed inside and by the corner of your eye, you could see Mingi walking slowly, not caring about the high pitch screams.

"Mom?! Dad?!"

After a solid 2 minutes, you found your parents, but to your surprise, your father was fist battling a random individual, while your mother was trying to liberate her arm from a man who was clearly there for the jewels on her hands. You ran to her, lifting the stupid dress, almost breaking the heels.

"Mom!" - She turned to you while still gripping on her jewels.

"Mom leave the jewels! They are worth nothing compared to your safety!"

You expected her to listen, to leave the goddam pearls alone, to not give a damn about them because in the end she had enough money to buy ten more pairs. But it was not like that.

"No! These are the only things we've got!"

You stood in the middle of the room, with a blank expression. The only thing we've got. Is she for real now? You looked at the abundance of rings, bracelets and necklaces a very bored man had in a bag. You felt disoriented. Were you really just a doll for them to sit still, look pretty and have a nice image for the company?

You heard laughter come from the behind, you turned around and met face to face with Mingi. He was laughing at your mother's attempts to win against the man, who was clearly not putting up a fight. The chaos around you faded when your eyes met his. He stopped, a smug look on his face once more, and came walking painfully slowly towards you.

"What do you find so amusing about this? "

"How can I not find it amusing? Women trying to save their jewels, men trying to keep a strong façade.... Why are they not trying to save what's really important? The doors are opened and no fire is caused."

You analyzed his words. You knew what he meant, why were they not trying to save themselves? Their lives? You came back to reality after hearing another voice.

"Mingi, I think we got what we needed. Knock it off and let's leave, this place is a total wreck. "

A man who wore the same uniform as Mingi spoke out of nowhere. Again, no name tag, same badgers and he had the same intimidating aura.

He had black hair, his bangs styled to the side, his visuals caught your breath and took it away, he was calm and looked at Mingi after giving you a glance, he started walking lazily towards the balcony where other men were waiting, seven of them were ready to jump from the balcony.

"You either get going alone or you take the girl with you, in not wasting more of my precious time."

You were beyond confused at this point and Mingi smiled at him, then turned around to look at you once again.

"Do you like your life?"

The question caught your eye, and you tried making up a sentence, but the only thing that came out of your mouth was gibberish. The other men were also looking at you, bored expressions and some had smirks on their faces. They clearly found the situation entertaining.

"Y/N! Stop talking with him and help me!"

You looked back at your mother. Never had you ever seen your parents in such a state. The loud cries in the back echoed in the room. You were in trance, but one of the chandeliers fell to the ground prohibiting the proximity to your parents and more screaming could be heard.

"Y/N, I have a proposal."

You faced Mingi once more, but he was at the balcony door this time. Your eyes widening, a feeling of loneliness crept over and you wanted him to stay.

"If you dare to come with me, with us, you'll get to see the world as you've never done before. I promise to take you to places you've never seen before, and corners of the planet no one knows about. "

It was tempting because you had the opportunity to have what you always wanted at the tip of my fingers. Mingi climbed up to the railing in the balcony, and the other men jumped from it. You saw him smile, his eyes telling you that this was your last and only chance to give up what you had and start a new beginning.

A sudden impulse made you walk up to him. Your mother yelled and your father too, they wanted you back in their arms, but it landed on deaf ears. You started to gain more speed and eventually ended up running up to him. You extended your arms, and he caught you in a warm embrace. Before you knew it you were falling with him from the 20th floor. He smiled, and you felt your adrenaline go up, you've never felt so alive before.

"Welcome to an adventure Y/N."

47 notes · View notes

kewltie · 5 years ago

Text

anyway, abo au where alpha prohero ground zero decides it's time to start a family of his own but he doesn't have a mate and neither does he want one so he signs up for an omega surrogate program & meet his former childhood friend who will now carry his baby for him.

izuku is a male omega w/ v v v high fertility even for his secondary sex and a strong body which make him an ideal surrogate to give birth healthy babies. w/ the program izuku contracted, izuku had given birth to several babies for various ppl over the years & babies are all happy and that's all that matter.

being a surrogate wasn't ever part of his dream but izuku is an omega & quirkless in a world that doesn't exactly appreciate either. one day when he was fruitlessly working at his 9 to 5 job, a rep from the company approached him w/ a pamphlet about surrogacy. the paid is v v good, the prenatal care & pregnancy compensation is all taken care of by the clients and his company, and he can select and choose which jobs to take. many families and ppl in the world cant have kids of their own for various reasons and izuku is HELPING THEM ACHIEVE THEIR DREAM. in his own way izuku is helping these people!!!! He may not be saving lives has a hero that he always wanted to be but he's giving them their hope and dream in a child they all want so izuku does his job proudly. the only sadness he gets from it that once it's over the baby isn't his anymore bc he's contracted to sign over his parental rights to his clients.

so he tries desperately not to fall desperately in love w/ each of the babies he had. it's... tough but he loves them all the same. the good point is that some of his clients will let him talk and meet w/ their child’s birth parent so izuku isn't deprived of that connection.

it's a quiet and unconventional job, but izuku is happy w/ this lifestyle that he had chosen even as it make DATING AN ABSOLUTE pain. how do you explain to ppl that no you're not marry yet or date anyone but you have several kids floating around all over japan in various household??? lol /o\ this made him feel terribly alone thinking how he wants a family of his own one day after seeing how he's making his client so happy w/ their new baby in their arms. happiness wrapped in a surreal sadness as he watched his babies w/ their new family wishing for that happiness for himself one day but while izuku is settled in his bubble of melancholy an solitude, katsuki BUSTED DOWN THAT DOOR when he made a requested to have a surrogate. NOT JUST ANYONE WILL DO, the best one you FUCKING GOT: experience, results, good health, strong quirk, smart, and not some fucking easy omega.

the qualifications and requirements are obscene and ridiculous lolol but he paid through the roof to get the absolute best for his future child. izuku hits every one of these markers except... for the quirk one. the program hesitate to bring the two to meet but katsuki is impatience. he had been delayed and delayed over and over again for months as they try to match up a good surrogate partner for him. every one of them he had quickly rejected v v loudly and walked out on the meeting. izuku is literally their last hope as katsuki throws another fit.

katsuki is getting older now, close to his 30s annd still stuck in singlehood while all his colleagues and friends settle down with a family of their own. his parents, esp his old hag, has been relentlessly nagging him to GIVE HER A BABY ALREADY SHE WANTS TO BE A GRANDMA BEFORE SHE DIE so w/ all kind of pressures, he said fuck it, i'll give you a fucking BABY but i dont need a mate to do it but in truth he earnestly does want a baby for his own bc the idea of raising a tiny human w/ all the trails and errors and potentially fucking up is humbling & huge responsibility. he thinks he’s up for it like the pro-stage where he's standing at the top now, he can conquered it w sheer force and effort as he does w/ any challenge that he face. Parenthood will be his greatest battle and hurdle he has to overcome and he's going to fucking ACE IT. so katsuki is 10000% in this and he wants the best surrogate for his baby.

the program finally have izuku & katsuki meet after wasting 5 months of trying to find katsuki a suitable partner that he won't reject right away. so their first meeting go something like this: multiple slam doors, a table is flipped, and a lot of yelling.

it went great because izuku is hired right away. Just kidding.

katsuki had thought it was some giant fucking joke the moment izuku had walked through that door. "Who the fuck set this up?!" he demanded, kicking a coffee table over. so furious that his hands were shaking bc the idea of the length he'd went through and hoops he'd jumped over to get here JUST SO HE CAN BE MAKE A FOOL OUT OF, he'd stormed out a sec later, slamming doors violently on his way out and they had to dragged his ass back w/ the fervent promise that no IT'S NOT A PRANK AND WE HAVE NOTHING TO DO W/ CHARGEBOLT OR RED RIOT, PLS PLS LISTEN TO US.

he came back to izuku's unperturbed face as he took a sip of his coffee and katsuki snapped defensively, "i hope you won't fucking be drinking that piss when you're pregnant with my baby."

Unimpressed, Izuku replied, "good thing im not pregnant yet bc who said i would agree."

Flustered and red in the face w/ anger bc THE AUDACITY OF IZUKU TO REJECT HIM WHEN KATSUKI SHOULD BE THE ONE TO DOING IN THE FIRST PLACE!! izuku was the one who doesn't deserve to carry his child!! but the director of the program hurriedly assured him that izuku IS THE *BEST*. he got a pages of recommendation/referral, glowing reviews, and every client of his had never been happier bc of him. all his pregnancy were carried to full term and the babies are all good & strong. izuku himself go the gym when he's not on the job, keeping a healthy lifestyle. he doesn't drink or smoke (which katsuki emphasized in his requirement) and his family doesn't have any record any genetic disorder. he may not have finish college but he test high in his IQ and he take his job v v v seriously. the only problem was... he's quirkless.

it's a thing izuku always make it point for all his clients to know what they could potentially get w/ their children if they chose him. some walked away but most stayed with bc izuku is THE BEST OF THE BEST and they want kid more than they want a manufactured perfect child.

"will that be a problem?" izuku asked, meeting his eyes dead on. "does the thought of having a quirkless child anger you?"

katsuki bristles, clenching & unclenching his hands at his side. though no much had change over the years, he's older now, not that dumbass kid anymore, misguided by his own sense of pride and arrogance and warped by prejudice and the superiority of his quirk. He had left that behind in UA, who happily beaten the idiocy out of him. now, he doesn't care if his child is quirkless or not bc they're his and he'll raise and love them all the same. if the world treat his kid crap for being quirkless, he'll teach them to fuck the world up till it bow down and kiss their ass bc they're a bakugou and they don't settle for anything less, which brought back to the point that izuku REALLY IS THE BEST THEY GOT.

so he shook his head and said, "it doesn't matter whether they're quirkless or not bc they're mine and i always take good care of what's mine."

Izuku's eyes widen and for fraction of a second his cool mask of difference crack under katsuki's heartfelt and sincere words. They havent seen each other since middle school, that’s over a decade, and katsuki truly have grown up into someone the entire world can admire and hold up on a pedestal as the no. 1 hero in the country.

"And what about you? you're okay with me?" katsuki retorted. "with the kind of volatile *history* that we shared."

Izuku paused, and then, he said quietly, "i'm not that petty to deny you a child bc of our past bc neither of us are the kids we were back then."

katsuki stood up. "get him the paperworks and have him sign it. i want him and nobody else."

Izuku jerked up in surprised. "that's it? you dont want to ask me anything else? don't you want to go through my records and background to make sure that im the right fit for you."

katsuki stared down at him and it was like pinned under glass before he said, "we may have changed, but something are still the same. you still want to help ppl even if this is a roundabout way to do it. i trust my instinct and my instinct is screaming at me to give you a fucking chance." He looked away, scratching the back of his head as he continued, "if there's one thing that is made clear to me now is that you're a good person and i was a shittyass kid for not realizing that sooner."

izuku's breath hitched. it's not an apology but it's damn close.

and with that he left izuku dizzy with a confusing cocktail of warmth, shock, and something far too nebulous and strange for him to put a finger to yet. when he first realized it was katsuki who was looking for a surrogate, he'd steel himself of the rejection & lashing out to come. izuku had spent his entire life rejected one way or another, so he was mentally prepare for this to be added to pile esp from the man who had hurt him repeatedly before. when katsuki had left for U.A. and izuku in the dust, they rarely have anything to do w/ each other after that even as he'd followed katsuki meteoric rise to the top, his blazing trajectory that placed him as the current no.1 bc despite everything, katsuki truly is amazing and deserved his place. he just never thought they would meet again in the sort of situation where a baby is the bargaining chip.

izuku was prepared for everything that katsuki would throw at him... but not his fervent agreement. now, izuku got to face the fact that for a year they're going to spend in each other pocket as izuku tries to carry not only katsuki's baby but his hope and future too. it's going to be either a total nightmare or some v v surreal dream bc it's bakugou katsuki with all that fame and temper and strong armed will and izuku is just... plain old izuku. he never had a client w/ such power and weight to throw around and so high profile that every know his name.

oh what did he sign up for, izuku thought as the door to the meeting room was slammed open again and katsuki glared at the director. "wait i want it all to be done today," katsuki said. "put my sperms in him as soon as possible."

izuku dropped his face into his hand and sighed.

the process of getting izuku impregnated is all v clinical and boring. izuku goes under a pseudo heat simulation that fool his body to think he's actually going into heat so his fertility up even more so during this period and he get artificially inseminated w/ katsuki's sperm. this is actually a process and takes several days & even weeks to prepare bc waiting for izuku's most fertile window during his heat period is v v important to have higher chance of success NORMALLY but w/ advance tech izuku can go under a pseudo heat that trigger release of eggs so they can get it all done pretty quickly and dont have to wait for nature to set it up for them.

katsuki already provided enough sperm to last a fucking lifetime bc he's an overly prepared asshole and it's three days later when they meet back at the clinic to start the process. all of this is under the watchful care of doctors and nurses to make sure everything go right. izuku had done this many times before for his previous clients so this isn't new to him at all but it's the first time that a client specifically demand to be part of the entire process.

izuku stares him down and tells him in no uncertain detail bc it's already weird enough to be the one to carry his former childhood friend's baby but to have him watch izuku get inseminated w/ his sperm?? YEA OK, no. katsuki glowers bc he just want everything to GO SMOOTHLY. his micromanagement & obsessiveness drives the clinic insane but izuku kinda finds it funny and cute?? maybe bc he's aware that it's just katsuki's nerves acting up since this is so terribly new and terrifying for him and HE DOESN'T LIKE IT WHEN THINGS ARENT UNDER HIS CONTROL.

neither katsuki or izuku is alone this bc surrogacy isn't about either them it's about the baby and the ppl who helps make it possible and that's both of them. the surrogate who carries the unborn fetus and donor who gives a part of themselves to make it all possible. izuku hesitates before deciding screw it & reaches out and holds katsuki's hand in comfort AS THOUGH KATSUKI THE ONE GETTING THE PROCEDURE DONE TO HIM. "i'll be fine," he insists. "i've done this plenty of times before and dr. abe even longer than that with 20yrs of experience so i'll be ok."

"I'm not worry," katsuki snaps, even though he squeezes Izuku's hand hard enough that izuku is afraid his bones might crack under the pressure. "i know you'll be fucking fine, wont he dr. abe?" he stares down at the doctor with the full force of his wrath that the doctor shifts nervously.

"o-of course, bakugou-san," dr abe is quick to assure him. "our best ppl is on the job."

izuku rolls his eyes bc while heat inducing artificial insemination isn't exactly a new tech but there's a risk to any kind of medical procedure. it's low though and izuku isn't worry.

katsuki lets him go and izuku just sends him a quick reassuring smile over his shoulder even as katsuki can't take his eyes off of the entire trip to the surgical room. the process takes around 1-2 hours max & izuku comes out of it mostly woozy & still under heat related stress.

he needs to rest the next few days as he lets nature and w/ the help of science takes it course. izuku rests up at the clinic that provide him 24hrs care to make sure everything is alright which is all normal and part of the procedure. what surprise him is that katsuki visiting him DAILY. he actually bring izuku's home cooked meals that are carefully & thoughtfully prepared (healthy food choices!!) that it silences him for a moment.

"you know im not pregnant yet," izuku points out helpfully. "do you want me to explain how biology work in case UA didn't go over it in their curriculum?"

"shut your face and just eat," katsuki says with a glower, and watches intensely as izuku eats every bite and not leave a single piece behind. while there he harasses izuku's nurses and doctors, asking for izuku's vital stats and probing questions about the surgery & his health.it's so annoying and overbearing, but izuku can't help the smile threatening to break through his defense bc that's just like katsuki shoving his business into everything and dominating the entire process even though it is IZUKU who is going through it all. it's dreadfully cute.

izuku is fully recovered after several days of rest as expected and he is, once again surprised, to see katsuki is right there every step of the way as he is release from the clinic. katsuki who took a short shift today just so he can pick izuku up, which IS SUPER RARE. katsuki is a total workaholic and married to his job kind of pro hero so for him to take half a day off is beyond shocking for everyone?? bc HE GOT ENOUGH VACATION/SICK DAYS TO TAKE SEVERAL MONTHS OFF w/o any worry, but he came to take izuku home and make sure everything is in order.

it's not that izuku didn't have any clients wanting to be so involve in the whole surrogacy/pregnancy process but katsuki takes it into a whole new lvl w/ how much he inserts himself into izuku's life like it's not just the baby he care about but izuku too. he delivers izuku home and make sure izuku have his emergency contacts at all time in case ANYTHING, ABSOLUTEY ANYTHING HAPPEN and he wants izuku to text him daily with updates even for stupid things. he's obsessive and demanding and nervous, and izuku thinks it's funny as hell.

so for the next several weeks, izuku flood katsuki's phone w/ commentary about his days that HAS NOTHING TO DO W/ his chance of being pregnant. since izuku full time job is just being a surrogate, he mostly spend his days wandering around the city, reading, volunteering, etc. izuku updates katsuki on his daily activities and while he doesn't always get a reply immediately but his updates are always left on read and sometimes katsuki would leave some *encouraging* word like 'yea,' or 'okay' and izuku doesn't know why but he finds them comforting all the same.

when he wanders around the city, he'll text katsuki his coordinates bc katsuki is paranoid &wants him to keep away from dangerous area or area under villain attack, he would take pictures of the heroes he see and katsuki would have a snarky comments on each & every one of them. it's in this moments that the two of them really come alive. izuku get a glimpse of the world that he could have had if he had a quirk and pursue his dream of going pro hero and insights on what it's like to be bakugou katsuki, the man standing at the pinnacle of the pro hero scene.

At this point katsuki is even more engaged in izuku's text now. he becomes interest in the books izuku is currently reading, the outreach programs izuku super passionate about esp for young and disenfranchise quirkless youths. then there are izuku's rowdy neighbors and their hilariously complicated love life that izuku is terribly invested bc of his lack of one.

"i think higa-san is going to break up with him today," izuku would update him one day, after watching his neighbors have another blow out.

katsuki texts back an hour later: "yea right, the guy is spineless coward. he wouldn't ever go through it."

izuku lets out a smile as he stares down at the text. it's the most fun izuku ever had in the middle of a job that he forget they're not friends at all but client and surrogate. this is a job for him and izuku is an end to a mean for katsuki. it doesn't mean anything. It couldn’t mean anything. Why is he even trying?

Izuku has been doing the job for seven years and carried his pregnancy to full terms five times. he knows the routine even though each client he had were different from one another and not all pregnancy are the same, but he knows what to expect and prepare. nothing truly surprised him anymore. Or at least they shouldn’t. ,his world didn't suddenly change w/ katsuki's arrival in his ordinary life. izuku is still very much the same person, but all the same he wake up everyday w/ renews energy and lightens heart, looking forward to seeing the text notification from katsuki popping up on his phone screen.

he finds himself looking forward to their interaction the most throughout his days. a glimpse into katsuki's world and what it means to be a part of his life again however temporary it is bc izuku knows there is a time limit to this. he's only allow to talk like this w/ katsuki bc he's doing him a favor, a job, an obligation in exchange of money. they're in a relationship artificially made, they're not friends or colleagues and izuku may be carrying katsuki's baby in the future but he's not a parent w/ katsuki.

He’s an incubator.

these thoughts feel tangibly familiar to his past cases where he had carried the fetus to full term and had to part ways with his baby and the client/parents and separate himself from their lives after the birth but it had never hurt in this way like the thoughts alone would cut his heart into pieces now. it's beyond selfish to get attach and izuku tries to maintain a careful distance w/ katsuki bc they're client and an employee, but katsuki is relentless. he won't settle for just for pieces of izuku and his life. he wants it all. Izuku may be weak enough to give it to him…

he invests himself into izuku's life, his interest, his worries and thoughts. to katsuki, izuku isn't just an incubator but someone who shares the other half of his baby's genes so of fucking course he IS INVESTED BC izuku is just as important as the fetus he could be carrying right now but izuku has a hard time wrapping his head around it bc while izuku was w/ his other client they were all kind and caring to him during his surrogacy but never to this length. they weren't interest in him as a person but someone who is a means to an end, a tool to make their dream come true.

izuku isn't hurt by that regard bc he knows getting involve w/ your surrogate can be a hot mess & confusing for the baby growing up so izuku knows how to keep his distance and careful to keep his heart walled up but katsuki has a habit of breaking things. He’s so very, very good at it, especially distubring the peace of izuku’s heart.

katsuki may be relentless w/ his attention & dedication but izuku's walls went down embarrassingly easy as though he was waiting for katsuki to reach out toward him after all the years apart and shake him loose from his bubble of solitude. katsuki doesn't realize how affected izuku is by his clumsy and gestures, but izuku won't tell. He’s too embarrassed to ever bring it up because even after all these years katsuki still has such a sever effect on him.

so izuku lends himself to enjoy this upcoming months as much as he can bc once it's over they will part ways again as though they exist solely in different space and the only chance he'll get to see katsuki and the baby is through the screen of his tv. it doesn't bring him any comfort but it's manageable. izuku can deal with it. he got years to get used to it by now. It’s not gentle but it’s a blunt kind of truth that mend with time.

several weeks after since izuku did the procedure, he doesn't feel any different but izuku wakes up one morning and he could feel a strangeness settling over his body. there are a lot of old wives tales about pregnant omegas and women and most of them are false, standing against scientific knowledge but izuku been going around this block five times already, so he realizes there may be some truths to a few of them.

he gets out of bed and makes breakfast before making sure to send a text and photo to katsuki about his meals bc katsuki is ANAL about making izuku eat right. katsuki motherhenning him miles away even as he is out on patrol is still the most hilarious and weirdly sweet thing, izuku finds. it doesn't feel suffocating at all to him. sometimes he when the thought slip out of him unconsciously he thinks this is what it's like to have an alpha of his own, but katsuki isn't his by any means.

izuku forgoes his favorite breakfast meal this time and go for something he rarely eats. a food that he normally doesn't chose but it feels right this time. it all clicks. the signs were all there several days back. the frequent bathroom usage, his breasts throbbing, and cramps. he'd seen it already but this morning it lines up perfectly like it was all meant to be, like everything is built up just for this moment right here.

so with a bounce to his steps, he waits for katsuki's text back. It takes a few mins when katsuki get back from his morning run bc he got a routine and is terribly predictable in that regard. his following texts rip into izuku's choice of food bc IT ISN'T HIS USUAL at all and katsuki have colorful words about the kind of junk izuku force feed into his body and DOESN'T HE KNOW HOW TO TAKE CARE OF HIMSELF. HOW THE FUCK DID HE SURVIVES ALL THESE YEARS ON HIS OWN.

izuku smiles down at his phone even though katsuki is blasting him and everything he choose to be, but HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT ALL MEANS. it's kinda adorable so when katsuki get into a slow rant about food group and healthy life choices, izuku cuts in:

me: oh btw im pregnant :)

he didn't get any get any respond from katsuki for the next five mins so during that time izuku makes fresh cup of juice to drink while katsuki works to settle down his panic. when he comes back fifteen mins later, it's to a series of angry keymash and texts.

kacchan: a;sjdasdf

kacchan: as;dlifucccck

kacchan: fuck fuck fuck

kacchan: are you serious?!

kacchan: DONT FUCKING JOKE WIHT ME DEKU

kacchan: i'm coming over right now

kacchan: you better be sitting down

kacchan: don't fucking move even an inch

kacchan: YOU HEAR ME

me: ok

izuku sits there peacefully, enjoying his cup of juice as he waits for katsuki's arrival. one of his hand rests over his stomach carefully & though he hadn't taken any test or get his bloodwork done, he knows, instinctively & intimately that there is a life growing inside of him.

it's all very silly and unproven since there's no concrete evidence to support any of it, but maybe it's his omega instinct, maybe it's his experience as a carrier who brought five children into this world, or maybe it's just wishful thinking on his part, but he knows and this is a truth that won’t be brought down.

izuku takes his job v seriously bc people's happiness hinged on his ability to give them a child they earnestly had wished for so he of course he would want to be pregnant as soon as possible, but--izuku looks down at his stomach, this time even more so he wants it to be real.

he wants to be the one to fulfilled katsuki's earnest wish and give him the child he desired. it's as much a part of his job, his duty, but also something he selfishly wants for himself. this baby, this child will be his only connection to katsuki once his job his completed. they'll part ways after this--no more late night phone calls, morning texts, and silly anecdotes they exchange to each other everyday bc izuku is unlikely to ever see him again. their worlds are just too far apart, like the two planets stuck in orbit but never meeting but at least with this child, izuku knows there is always a piece of him w/ katsuki always. so more than anything, this child will be his gift to katsuki.

he picks up his phone & sends katsuki a text.

me: if you dont mind, could you pick up a pregnancy test just to be sure?

izuku knows himself & his body, but he wants to be 110% sure for katsuki's sake. he doesn't want to get katsuki's hope up only to crush it later. katsuki's respond back is quick and telling.

kacchan: will three do?

kacchan: do you need anything else?

kacchan: i'll get them

izuku pauses, frowning hard as he looks down at his phone.

me: please don't text and drive

me: also, try stay below the speed limits

me: i dont want you to die before you see your child.

this time it takes longer to get a respond back.

kacchan: dont fucking talk to me about the speed laws kacchan: im not a reckless idiot

kacchan: my entire job description is to uphold the law so degenerates dont fucking run amok

kacchan: ... im not driving right now

izuku's brows furrow in thought before a smile cracks across his face.

me: kacchan... did you pull over to the side just to yell at me?

me: that's so terribly cautious and cute of you :3c

me: you're already on your way to becoming a great dad.

kacchan: FUCK YOU!!!!!!

Izuku laughs, light and so tinged with joy that it feels so strange to him to be this happy about something silly as this.

me: not a chance but thanks.

me: dont forget to buy my pregnancy test and i dont need anything else. just come here as soon as possible afterward

and he leaves it that. katsuki doesnt text him back anymore, leaving izuku to wait for his arrival with anticipation. he should get up and clean the apartment so it's presentable at least to katsuki. he hadn't had a guest in a while so this would get a good change but katsuki's warning still loop in his head. getting up to clean the apartment would constitute moving around and izuku is barely into his first trimester so, it's not like he's straining his body or anything. katsuki is just being an overbearing anxious new father.

izuku had seen that before in his past clients, who constantly fret over izuku's health but they're not THE GROUND ZERO and he has the nagging suspicious that he doesn't want to test katsuki's thinning patience with him. it's fun to tease him like this but he knows his limit. so izuku continues to sit there & waits, playing w/ his phone as he scrolls through the hero news site to check any interesting updates. izuku may have long let go of his dream but he can't disconnect from it completely. it's how he stay in the loop w/o actually being a part of it.

izuku's eyes widen as he spots a tweet on the #groundzero tag on twitter that sits atop of all others: "no jokes, guys i think i just a saw #groundzero stormed into my store and headed toward the omega’s hygiene care aisle. he bought a bunch of stuff before heading out.”

it already got a several thousands likes and retweets, with a flood of comments that ranged from "what?? sounds fake lol" or "okay, who would have guess gz would be the one to secretly keeping an omega on the side" and others are filled with more confusion and disbelief.

izuku makes a face. his contract binds him to confidentially and assurance that his identity remains quiet. he never had any problem with his identity being exposed w/ any of previous clients but then again he never had such a famous client before. this--is going to be a headache. he chews down on his lower lip in thought as he shuts down his phone. he's going to have to remind katsuki to be more careful next time lest they figure out what katsuki is up to... and who izuku is to him. not his friend, not his sweetheart, not his omega but his surrogate.

just as izuku ponders about doing damage control, there is a series of loud insistent knocks on his apartment door. izuku blinks and hurriedly to the door w/o any thought who is on the other side bc somehow he knows it got to be *him*.

he opens to door to katsuki's scowling face.

"i told you to not fucking move," katsuki scolds, and pushes his way inside w/o any invite, carefully moving izuku to the side like izuku is made of glass which make izuku annoyed right away but also painfully fond in that . he's an overprotective idiot but he's trying and that's--*something*.

"how else would i let you in then," izuku retorts, rolling his eyes as he leads katsuki into apartment. "im only couple of weeks pregnant at most and you're already asking for miracles."

katsuki scoffs but doesn't argue as he hands izuku a full plastic bag. "okay, start peeing."

"I--" Izuku opens the bag and looks inside, staring down at the pregnancy tests stuffed to the rim of the small bag, all eleven boxes of them, "I dont have enough pee for this."

katsuki frowns. "drink a lot of water then," he suggests.

Izuku shoots him a glare. "that's not funny," he snaps.

katsuki's frowns deepen. "i'm not being funny," he says.

Izuku sighs and just digs his hand into the bag to grab a handful of the boxes. "i'll do only two so dont even." he throws the rest of the bag at katsuki and heads toward the bathroom.

it horrifyingly takes them all 30mins to be done w/ the tests bc katsuki v loudly insisted that he should do more than two, kept on banging on the bathroom door to let him know that. izuku gritted his teeth and took three more and really DID RAN OUT OF PEE AFTER THE FIFTH ONE.

the wait for the test results which only take a mins or two is ramped up by katsuki anxiously pacing back and forth in front of izuku until izuku grabs him by the sleeve of his shirt and drags him down to the sit next to him in the couch. "it'll be okay," he assures katsuki.

katsuki scowls and brushes off his touch, but he seems to breathe a little easier after that. the first three tests gives them a positive, the fourth is a negative, and the fifth is a positive. izuku frowns at the result. he knows in his heart that is w/o a doubt pregnant and the majority of the results support that but, he casts a nervous glance katsuki whose face is seemingly troubled, that's probably not enough for katsuki who spend a load of money to afford izuku's time, commitment, and body. Izuku is expensive but so is katsuki’s time and investment.

he definitely wants more than a dubious result that isn't 100% guarantee that izuku's pregnant and even if izuku tells him that he is truly pregnant bc izuku knows his own body, that may not go well either. "we can get the bloodwork done tomorrow to check for sure," izuku tries to assures him. Sometimes science speak louder than a parental instinct.

katsuki stares at him, eyes so intently focus on izuku that he feels like's a butterfly pinned under katsuki's gaze. abruptly, he reaches a hand out and grabs Izuku's own, giving it a quick and purposeful squeeze. "Move in with me," he says, sounding so grave and serious.

izuku gets up from his seat. "Do you want something to drink?" he asks, already heading toward the kitchen. "suddenly, im parched."

"did you hear what i just said?!" katsuki demands, trailing after him like a yapping puppy on his heels. "And sit the fuck down! let me get it."

abruptly, izuku stops and turns around to face katsuki with a glower on his face. "im just pregnant and not an invalid," he snaps, annoyance prickling at him. he had been doing this longer than katsuki could even imagine. "And i can get the drinks myself in my *own* home thank you." katsuki's eyes widen slightly at the sharp tone izuku had quickly adapted and heaves a sigh, carding a hand through his hair in frustration like izuku is the one being purposely difficult here. "I--fuck--" He frowns, face scrunches as he search for his next words. izuku waits it out, patient and silence against the inner turmoil that must now be swirling inside of katsuki.

katsuki's gaze drops to the floor, hands balling at his side. his breathing even out as he grimaces. "sorry," he finally settles on with a quiet mumble.

Izuku steps back in surprise. shock, really. "w--wait can repeat that again because i just thought i heard you apologized without any prompting."

katsuki flushes, ducking his head. "shut the fuck up. im not going to repeat myself," he rebukes, but the damage had been done.

Despite the years tempering his recklessness out he can't help wanting to poke the hornet's nest. "i honestly didn't think sorry was in your vocabulary, kacchan," he teases, grinning.

katsuki flinches back as though struck, surprising izuku once more. the words were said in jest, meant to ease katsuki into a laugh or close to it at least but something like pained flickers across Katsuki's face that immediately izuku wants to take it all back, but katsuki's expression had already closed up.

Izuku's heart hurt, thinking that he'd lost him. he'd pushed too hard. they're aren't friends, barely acquaintances really. just a client-employee dynamic that izuku should have been careful of. he always know where to toe the line of the boundaries of his job and with his client, but--they were doing so well that he'd hoped. been so hopeful because it had almost feels like they were sort of friends again.

izuku and katsuki had always orbit each other's world but childish pride, anger, and superiority had torn them apart and izuku was pushed out of Katsuki’s life. now that they're older, izuku is no longer that child blindingly infatuated with this remarkable person before him. he knows what he's capable of and katsuki had certainly earned his place at the top of the world but he won't be cowed either. so it's fine if katsuki doesn't want to fall back into a some kind of make shift friendship with him. it's fine if he just want to think izuku is just a walking incubator for his child. izuku will survive. He had survive this long without katsuki ‘s looming shadow after all.

katsuki hunches over as he grits his teeth. "fuck."

izuku blinks.

"i'm not that shitty fucked up kid anymore," katsuki nearly growl out, pinning izuku with a look of full intent. "I'm," he swallows, hesitant, wary, "i'm trying to be a better person, a friend, a son, and most importantly a father now that we have a spawn coming our way."

Izuku's heart quickens at the 'we' usage even though it probably means nothing. nothing at all. katsuki was only just opening himself to him. this is something that startling new and truly welcoming experience for katsuki and izuku shouldn't mistake it for anything else. he can't be too greedy. so he steps forward, wanting to reach out and touch katsuki to affirm of his existence, but he doesn't. not when katsuki is like an exposed wire right now--twitchy, nervous, and just a little shy of imploding from carving himself open for izuku to see all his true feelings and motives.

izuku smiles.

"If i didn't think you were a good person then i wouldn't have entrusted this child,” he touches his still flat stomach, knowing life is stirring underneath his palm, "with you." katsuki truly had grown up. he'll be a good father, izuku muses but it's a bittersweet feeling. "i still want my independence though," he continues. "i've done this many times before so you can stop treating me like i'm going to break if you breath the wrong way. thousands and millions of omegas and women have been doing this a lot longer than me and they're fine. im fine, so breathe."

katsuki's presses his lip together into a grim line. "I know that," he shakes his head, "but you dont have to this alone. i'll want to be there with you every step of the way even if it mean you need someone to run to the grocery store for some shitty midnight craving. I want to be the first person you think about when you need any kind of assistance not because you're weak or helpless but because you just need someone, so let me be that person for you," he finishes, looking on in pained after spouting such sweet sentiments.

it makes izuku want to laugh, but he doesn't think that would be welcoming right now because katsuki still got his pride after all. "I'll think about it," he acquiesce, heart warming several hundred degrees as though he's standing under the direct sunlight of bakugou katsuki.

katsuki grimaces, clearly unhappy with izuku's non-answer but he relents anyway with a long heave. "ok, ok, i can deal with that," he says like the words alone was hard enough to swallow, "but if you change your mind at any moment just let fucking know!"

Oh, no, izuku thinks helplessly. he wants to give katsuki a treat for being so annoyingly overbearing but considerate in his own clumsy ways. "well, if you behave yourself, i might even consider taking you with me to my OBGYN doc this thursday," he says casually with a shrug.

Katsuki scowls, but he stands up straighter. "I'll--" he looks away, flushed with an earnest yearning spread across his face, "be good, okay?"

Izuku quietly tucks a smile between his pressed lips before it break through even though this is terrible for his weak, weak heart.

#bakudeku #not!fic #surrogate au #hi SORRY im back now #i got distracted by uh reading some stuff so i didn't keep up with my post QQ

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taliaquinn · 5 years ago

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Turns out Marinette was worried over nothing. When her parents arrived they immediately cut off Damocles' b.s explanation. Her Maman even went on to immediately tell Alya to shut up when she started spewing her false story. They knew it was false because they were the ones who called Bruce to set up the final details for Marinette's visit. And honestly, the story was far too elaborate. They too were hurt by the implication that Alya, a girl they've welcomed into there home, was betraying their daughter so intimately.

Finally, Sabine stood up, the sudden force causing the chair to move so far back that it nearly hit a teary-eyed, who was secretly sporting a smirk, Lila.

“Mr.Damocles my daughter has always been making amazing contributions to this school and this school community. She's been getting your school the necessary funding for your clubs and arranged amazing field trips. Even as President she’s made sure to keep the school from becoming a cesspool of negative feelings.” Sabine spat out invading Damocles personal space, Tom had to pull her back but not before putting in his own two cents.

“Don't you guys think it's convenient that all her “Problematic Behavior” started from when Ms.Rossi came back from her trip?”

“Mr. and Mrs. Dupain Cheng, Ms. Rossi has people who have correlated these accusations, now we can suspend her for the time being, while we start an investigation b-”

“No”

Suddenly everyone turned towards the bluenette who has been sitting quietly while her mother argued.

“I quit, I wanna transfer out of this school, I wanna formally step down as President and I wanna cancel any field trips I had planned” Marinette finally spit out.

Lila was overjoyed. This was more than anything she could have wished for. Marinette was going to leave. Willingly. Truthfully she was a bit disappointed. It would have been better if she had been expelled. Then she could’ve spun all of her lies without Marinette being there. Her control would be absolute. Oh god, she has never been happier. Madame Bustiers Class took too so long to get under her control. All because of Marinette. Alya Cesaire was useful for something after all. Planning Marinette's Downfall took almost no effort. Damocles was clueless plus Madame Bustier wasn't difficult to fool. They just had to make sure to avoid Mendeleiev. She was able to display a bit of common sense, unfortunately. Lila was shocked at the way Marinette's parents were defending her. Last time they were quick to believe her. Eh didn't matter anyway. Right now the look on their faces was enough. Pale open-mouthed.

“Marinette sweetheart please think this through” Tom pleaded. He knew that his little girl had reached her Breaking point. He could tell by the slump of her shoulders. But he saw something. A spark in her eyes. She was planning something. She had an idea. Still, he had to make sure that she thought this course of action.

“Papa I want to, I am done,” She said finally facing Lila. As if she were declaring something.

Sabine, bless her, quickly moved behind Marinette and grabbed her Arm. Oh boy, she was in full Mama Hen mode, and God save the poor soul who tried to get in her way.

“Sweetheart, move” She gently pushed Marinette towards Tom. But quickly turned and moved towards Damocles.

“My daughter is making a withdrawal from Francis Dupont effective immediately, She's cleaning out her lockers, her desks and I expect all of the schools' files to be handled properly and transferred.” Sabine finally stated.

“B-but w-where w-would she even goes?, The other Academies aren't currently accepting any new enrollments” Damocles stuttered wide-eyed.

“Mr.Damocles that is a family issue, That we'll resolve now may we go?” Tom made sure to state.

“Yes fine, Marinette go pick up all of your school supplies from Madame Bustiers,” he said waving the Dupain-Cheng family away. He quickly turned to once a once again sobbing Lila, who was now sobbing about how overjoyed she was that her “Bully” was finally going to leave. Alya was smiling happily and patting Lila's arm, while Rose gently wiped away her tears with a tissue.

“Ms.Rossi I hope you’ll find that the school's environment will be much kinder ,” Damocles said in a soothing voice.

“O-of C-c-course I hope to lead the class in a more positive direction as well as a more effective direction,” Lila said, she knew it was now a perfect opportunity to take the class president role. She could take the role, make Alya her deputy and push off all the work on her. Simple as pie.

Madame Bustiers Class

Paris, France

9:15 am

“Come on Guys, That is Marinette we’re talking about, the probability of her doing what Lila and Alya claimed is practically at a Zero” Max stated. Juleka sat beside him quietly, Ever since she broke up with Rose she has been more vocal, however at the moment, she felt that she should let Max take the reins. H knew that Marinette wouldn’t do that. Chloe was currently arguing with Alix, Juleka could practically see the steam coming out of Chloe's ears. Sabrina quickly went ahead and steered Chloe away towards a corner.

Suddenly The Door to the Classroom opened In walked in a quietly sobbing Lila and Alix immediately scuttled towards her ready to give Alya a helping hand. The air seemed to grow thick with the tension.

Right behind them, Adrien shuffled in. Seeming to sense the tension he glanced up and saw a group of Lilas allies seated together to one side and Everyone else seated to the other side. Admittedly Lilas group was bigger.

He considered that before deciding to sit in the back but on Lila's side nevertheless. Chloe couldn’t believe the nerve of the guy. Honestly, he was as spineless as Marinette once told her as she sobbed on her. Making up her mind she decided to go ahead and approach Adrien and try to force some sense into Adrien.

“Adrikinsssss~~~ what the heck are you doing sitting there?” Chloe said while plopping down next to him but leaning towards the other side.

“Chloe just sit and don't start anything also whats Lila crying about now ?” Adrien furiously whispered.

“She’s claiming that Marinette assaulted her and Alya, She’s risking expulsion ”

“Come on Chloe, this is Marinette this is like the 5th time shes been at risk of suspension, she’ll figure a way out like always”

“D-do you HONESTLY expect me to do nothing?” She sputtered out of pure exasperation. Honestly, this boy needed some serious rewiring.

“Just don't start anything with Lila and don't go involving your dad” He recommended. He felt bad, He did, but he had faith in Marinette. They have to take the high road and avoid conflicts.

“I'll have you know what I do to help my friend is none of your business, also how can you defend Lila and Alya?’’ Chloe finally stated while leaning into Adrien's face.

Truthfully? He understood why he did it. He trusted Alya. He didn't trust Lila. But based on what he's witnessed Lila wins for a bit but soon Marinette comes back and things go back to normal. That's the cycle he's used to. And that's the best cycle everyone comes out happy.

“She’ll come back” He finally bit out slightly annoyed.

Abruptly Chloe turned to face the front. Looking up he was startled to see Marinette stroll to the front of the class.

“Actually She won’t” Marinette finally said.

#maribat #miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #damian wayne #dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #marinette deserves better

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gemstoneconstellations · 5 years ago

Text

Angel with a shotgun Final

part 1| part 2

wordcount: 3466

A/N: Real quick thanks to @nankri @fukyouthink @terrifying-testicles @domtamaki who made suggestions to me! It really helped me finish this! Thank you!

“Alright, let’s go Blasty,” Kaminari panted to himself as he practically dragged a half-aware Bakugo down the street.

He wasn’t drunk enough to not shoot back with an insult though. “You are weak as shit, Drooly.”

This was just not Kaminari’s night; instead of picking up chicks after a night out with his bros, him caring for a drunk, heartbroken Bakugo. “Well, not all of us can lift a building over our heads like Midoriya or Sato.”

“Drooly.”

He was in no mood to deal with anyone’s shit, especially Bakugo’s. “Stop insulting me and just focus on walking.”

“Kaminari,” Bakugo spoke in such a serious, broken tone that he couldn’t help but to stop to look at his friend. Kaminari stared at Bakugo, anxious to hear what he had to say. Maybe he was about to drunkenly open up to him like he did to Kirishima, finally admitting that they were best friend—

“I’m gonna throw up.”

Or not. Kaminari began to panic as Bakugo slammed a hand over his mouth. “Ah, not on me! I just bought this jacket! In the bush, man! In the bush!” Kaminari supported Bakugo as he spilled his guts into a poor plant. Looking around, he saw that there was a convenience store across the street. “Okay, stay here while I go into the store to get you some water.”

Kaminari was inside the store for five minutes. Just five short minutes.

“Bakugo?” Kaminari dropped the bottle of water on the ground, frantically looking around for his struggling drunk friend. The ash-blonde was long gone. “What? How?! He can’t walk five feet! I was just— five minutes! Ugh!” He yelled at the empty street, yanking at his hair. This is why he shouldn’t be in charge of Bakugo!

Pulling out his phone, he called the only person who could get Bakugo to do anything. “There better be a fucking villain on a rampage.” Kirishima growled into the phone; someone giggled in the background.

“I lost Bakugo.” Kaminari didn’t feel bad for what he had possibly interrupted. That’s what they get for dumping the drunk on him.

“How do you lose a half-asleep drunk? I’ll send you Bakugo’s location.”

“You have Bakugo’s phone chipped?”

“Trust me; it’s been useful in the past. Call me in the morning when the sun is up. Where do you think you’re going?” Kirishima hung up, abruptly but not before Kaminari heard his wife squeal.

Gross; he had a pretty good idea of what his bro was getting into now. “Man, I need to find a wife…not a drunk Bakugo…” Following the coordinates that Kirishima had sent him, he found that Bakugo had wandered off only three blocks away. That wasn’t too bad.

“Angel! Open the door! I know you are there! ___! Please!” He’d spoken too soon. As he approached an apartment building, Kaminari heard Bakugo screaming.

There he was, in all his drunken glory: Bakugo Katsuki. Ground Zero, the number seven hero, banging his open palms against a door, shouting and trying to look through a peephole, all while struggling to stand up straight.

“Dude!” Kaminari tried to pull Bakugo back away from the door, but despite being drunk, he still had his strength and was holding onto the door handle. “Bakugo, come on— you can’t! Ugh!”

Bakugo shook his head, pouting like a five-year-old. “No, I want to see her.”

“Oh no. You’re really gone, aren’t you?” Bakugo had only gotten like this once before, when he first started drinking. He had been hugging everyone and refused to let go of Mina, who was moving to an agency further away. All night, he cried that he was going to miss her. Mina was ecstatic while Bakugo was so mortified by the fact he’d spilled his true feelings; he refused to hang out with anyone for weeks. “We need to go.”

“No!” They continued to play tug-of-war till the door opened and the two of them went tumbling down to the ground.

You love sleep. It’s one of your favorite pastimes. After the week you’d had, sleep was exactly what you needed. When you are in a low mood and not producing any of the needed chemical for your quirk to work, you are left in a depressed state, causing a lot of stress on your body. So being woken up at two in the morning by someone screaming and banging on your door did not exactly put you in the best of moods.

“Oh my god! What are you doing?! Shut up before the cops come, dumbass!” Slamming the door open, your eyes went wide as you saw Bakugo sitting on his ass with another blonde man standing behind him, his arms hooked underneath Bakugo’s arms.

“Angel!” Bakugo smiled at you, his voice sounding oddly cheerful as he pushed the other guy’s hands away.

“Bakugo, wha-what are you doing?”

You blinked as Bakugo began to crawl on his hands and knees towards you, giggling. “Angel is grumpy when she wakes up.” You looked up at his companion, completely confused, but were only given a shaky smile and shrug as a response.

“Are you drunk?” Bakugo was now standing on his knees, hugging you. You could smell the alcohol on him. It was like he’d taken a bath in cheap beer. “I thought you couldn’t drink while in therapy. Let go.”

You tried to push the oddly clingy Bakugo off; you looked to his friend for help, only to see that he wasn’t standing there anymore. You turned just in time to see blonde hair disappearing down stairs. “Hey! Get back here and take him!”

Arms tightened around your waist. “I wanna talk…”

“No, you said you needed time, well so do I. You accused me of faking our whole relationship. My quirk is not strong enough to even do that. All I can do is make people relaxed and content, but that isn’t special. Anyone if they are close to you can do that for you, there is no need for a quirk like mine.” The two of you struggled in the hallway; you kept trying to push him off but his hands clung to your clothes.

“I realized that and—”

Your voice broke as you spoke. Why won’t he just let go of you?! “You don’t. Many people have misconceptions about my quirk. I told you from the beginning what my quirk could do and I thought you understood. Then you stopped talking to me, cut me out, because you made assumptions about me. Like everything meant nothing to you.”

“No.”

“You didn’t bother to ask me and just…I would have talked to you…” You whimpered, arms starting to giving out, no match for Bakugo’s strength.

“No, I need you!” Bakugo held you more tightly against him, causing your knees to buckle slightly. He buried his face into your stomach as he pleaded. “Please Angel, I can’t do this anymore! I miss you! Even the fucking singing, you can sing “It’s a Small World” over and over and I’d be over the fucking moon.”

Instantly, you stopped struggling, hands resting on his shoulders. “Katsuki…you hate my singing…”

He leaned harder into you, the two of you awkwardly scooting into your apartment enough to close the door. “I don’t…I hate that song, but I love your voice. I could listen to you reading the street signs for all I care, as long as I can hear you.” You could feel his hands shaking as he gripped onto your shirt.

“You do things to me. I can’t even describe it. You completely fucked me up inside. I dated and fucked around out of boredom in the past. I never understood how Kirishima or fucking Deku could feel so intensly for one person, but I get it. I fucking get it now.”

He sucked in a shaky breath. “I need you in my life; you came into my world and made it a goddamn mess. You not in it makes me a mess. I’d do anything to keep you; I babysat Kirishima’s kid for free for a fucking month and a half just to see you! And it freaked me out.” His shoulders quivered under your hands.

Katsuki pulled at you; you let him pull you down to the floor. The desperation in his eyes took your breath away.

“You…you’re just too perfect. Everything was too amazing. My mind was looking for fucking anything to explain why. I never get exactly what I want without effort or any issues. There had to be something wrong with you. Something always goes wrong and it ends. This time, it was me; I fucked everything up. It was my fault. I should have been out celebrating getting reinstated today, but all I could do was bitch about how fucking stupid I was losing you.” He kept you close to him, hugging you so desperately you were practically in his lap, his face shoved into your neck and a hand in your hair to keep your face next to his.

You only noticed that your neck was wet when he pulled away to look at you. Bakugo Katsuki was crying? Even if he was drunk, it was shocking. His hands engulfed your face, thumbs rubbing at your cheek and wiping away your own tears. “The first time I saw you, you fucking captured my attention without even trying. You fucking little thief stole my heart while I was frozen in the doorway, listening to you read a shitty kids’ book. I was nowhere near you for your quirk to even affect me in the slightest. It was all you, baby.”

You chuckled awkwardly for the first time in weeks, a small smile on your face. “Sounds like you fell in love with me at first sight.”

“I did.” He answered seriously to your joke, eyes looking straight into yours.

“W-What?”

Katsuki sighed, leaning against your door and taking you with him, your body between his legs and head against his chest. “I did. I won’t say it outright while drunk. I don’t want you to doubt me, not after all this shit I put you through. Just know I feel it.”

It was your turn to cling to him; gently, you wrapped your arms around his waist as he ran his fingers through your hair. “Katsuki…even when my quirk makes me overly emotional and react violently?”

“Have you fucking met me? I’ve done way worse. Besides, you’re pretty sexy when you’re angry.” You sat up to glare at him, smacking his muscular chest. The stupid jerk just smirked at you. “Though I do prefer you glowing and not throwing plates at me.”

“Your fault, do it again and I’ll kill you. Also you owe me new plates, asshole.”

“Love it when you talk dirty. Deal.”

“Miss __? Why aren’t you doing the glowy thingie?” You looked up from your lunch to see one of your kids. It’s been a week since you seen Katsuki. The morning after his drunken fiasco, he made you breakfast while acting completely shy and embarrassed about what he’d said the night before, and then he asked if you two were back together. He looked so nervous, you couldn’t help but to mess with him, not speaking as you ate a couple of bites before smiling at him. He smiled back at you and it was peaceful again. The two of you were okay. It was nice to sit with him, eating his cooking, and just talking like you did before. But the little bubble around you two had to pop when he had to go to work, full time hero again.

Text messages and random quick calls in the middle of the night was all the time he had. He had to do some publicity stunts to get the public’s attention again since he’s been out of the game for so long. He was furious when he saw that the hero Deku had gone up in ranking. So now here you were, moping from not being able to talk to your now official boyfriend and making children worry about you. “I’m sorry; I usually glow when I’m really happy. I’m not feeling okay today…” You patted the child on the head when she nodded and leaned against you.

“Look! I colored a kitty for you!” Another little boy came over to you, jumping up and down while holding the drawing over his head.

“Oh, I’ll draw something for you too!”

You giggled as multiple kids started drawing pictures to help cheer you up. Bless these children, they give you hope for the future. “Um ___, there’s something for you in the front.” A co-worker of yours came into the room; it looked like she was trying to hold back a smile. You just gave her a nod and let the kids know you’ll be right back.

As soon as you made your way to the front of the daycare, a bouquet of orange and red roses were dropped into your arms. It was so large that you had to hold it with both arms wrapped around it. “What in the world?” You thank the delivery man and looked at the information card.

In the language of flowers, red and orange roses symbolize love and passion. Eighty-eight roses are to express that they are sorry from the bottom of their heart.

You snorted, sliding the card in your apron pocket and hugging the flowers to your chest, inhaling their scent. This was just too much. What a dummy. “Miss ___ is glowing again!” The kids were peeking around the corner of the doorway, all of them voicing how pretty the flowers were.

Running to the breakroom, you placed the flowers down and made a call. He answered within two rings, as though he was expecting you. “Katsuki!”

“Speak of the devil… or should I say angel?”

You shook your head at his joking tone. “Katsuki, stop.”

“I assume you got the flowers.”

“I did. You didn’t have to, you know? You already said you were sorry.” You played with one of the rose petals, feeling its soft, velvety texture.

Katsuki chuckled into his phone, his deep voice sending a shiver down your spine. You could picture the suggestive smirk on his face. “I wanted to. For you.”

“You didn’t have to do so many; I can barely hold them all.”

“I don’t half-ass things. Besides, I can hear you glowing, so it’s worth it.” It was true; your quirk was fully active right now. Much better than just a few minutes ago. All thanks to him. You heard someone yell Katsuki’s hero name distantly, talking to him urgently. “Yeah, yeah, I fucking heard you.”

You tried not to sound disappointed, your lower lip jutting out. “You gotta go?”

“Some fucking interview; going to let the public know about my arms and stuff. PR said it would be a good way to get my ratings back up. I’ll call you when I’m off work.” He let out a heavy sigh, letting out a frustrated groan. There has been a lot of Ground Zero on the radio and news lately; he’d mentioned having to do a modeling gig and a commercial for some random product soon. “I miss you, I love my job but I’m actually kind of disappointed that I won’t get to spend all day with you.”

“I miss you too. And you still owe me plates.”

“We can go shopping on my next day off.”

“Yeah, that sounds nice.”

“It’s a date. I’ll call you later, Angel.” You sighed happily, holding your phone to your chest for a moment before going back to work. By the end of the day, your arms were full of drawings and flowers. You were glowing brighter than the street lights all the way home.

Breaking news: Ground Zero is in love?! The explosive hero has recently returned to hero work and disclosed that he was on medical leave due to a four-man villain group who terrorized the Tokyo four months ago (read more here). During his interview, the host started probing the hero on what he did while on leave and about his love life. GZ refused to provide any information about his personal life, but earlier the hero was caught backstage on the phone with an unknown person, making date plans for his next day off. When questioned and faced with video evidence from the staff, you wouldn’t believe his reaction! Click here to read more.

Today, you were helping out in the infant room; there were a few upset teething infants that needed constant calming. Your quirk came in handy to soothe them. You were feeding one of the infants when you heard the door open. “Psst. Psst. Ms. ___.”

A familiar black-haired boy poked his head out from around the corner, a red bandana over his mouth and wearing a Red Riot shirt. “Fujio, what are you doing—?”

Fujio held up a hand, pressing his finger to his lips and loudly shushing you. “No! You can’t use my suvillian name. I in hero mode, like Daddy; I can’t call him daddy when he in hero mode. I’m a hero on a super-duper top secret mission from Ground Zero.” He reached into his shirt and pulled out a note.

Standing up, infant secured against your shoulder, you took the small note from Fujio. “Oh thank you, hero.”

“Mission accompished! Now I must return before anyone notices I’m gone.” He saluted you and then turned to run back to his class, arms behind him. Once you knew for sure Fujio was back in his class, you looked at the note, which had Angel written on it. What does that silly man have planned now?

“You’re still using Fujio to see me.” You fed Katsuki a piece of sushi over your shoulder. You were currently sitting between his legs, his arms wrapped around your waist and you leaning completely into him. The huge, super-secret mission that Katsuki had given Fujio was inviting you to the sushi place you’d gone to when the two of you had first met. He’d booked a private room for the two of you and had a huge spread prepared for when you arrived.

Katsuki hummed, resting his chin on your shoulder. “Hey, I thought you would like that cute romantic shit.”

He reached over to grab a cup of saki, but he’d already had a couple cups. Quickly, you took the cup from him and placed it back. “Ah, no more drinking. I’ve had enough of drunken Katsuki. As adorable and cuddly as he is, it’s much harder to get him home.”

“Hmm, fine, but only because my guardian angel told me to,” he purred into your ear, kissing the junction of your neck. You roll your eyes; who would have thought that Katsuki would be someone who liked wordplay?

This man was much sillier than you expected him to be, giggling as he opened his mouth for another piece of sushi. Not to mention clingy and needy. Relaxed Katsuki was so entertaining now that he wasn’t busy thinking stupid things. “I’ve already forgiven you; you bought me some nice plates after all. You don’t need to keep doing stuff like this.” He had been putting in so much effort, it was hard not to forgive him.

His arms tightened around you, pulling you closer. “Don’t give a fuck. I want to, so I’m going to.” He pulled one hand away and placed an envelope in your lap before returning his arm back around your waist. “I got you somethin’.”

Another gift? Flowers, dates, desserts delivered to your home, and surprise dinners. What else could he possibly have up his sleeve? You opened the envelope and pulled out the small items inside. “The happiest place on earth…Tokyo Disneyland? You got tickets to Disneyland?” You looked back to Katsuki, a slight blush on his cheeks. “You hate Disney.”

“You don’t, so I’ll go.” His eyes didn’t waiver from yours.

“Is Fujio going too?”

“Fuck no. Just you and me. Only kids I’ll be willing to take there is ours.” He snorted but then quickly squinted at you. “You must save a lot on your electricity bill.”

You covered your face with the envelope, trying to hide the stupid grin on your face that wouldn’t go away. How does he just say things like that? There is no way you will be able to stop glowing for hours now! “Shut up. You said something so adorable, I can’t help it.”

He hummed again, pressing light kisses on the back of your neck. “___.”

“Hmm?” What else can he possibly say now?

“I love you.” Your quirk wasn’t needed to tell just how happy you were that night.

#bakugo katsuki #bakugou katsuki #bakugo x reader #bakugou x reader #bakugo katsuki x reader

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tentoriwrites · 5 years ago

Text

Set Adrift: The Charbee Remix

For Charbee week day 4 for the song Back to Life by Hailee Steinfeld

I always played around with the idea of there being multiple factions of Cybertronians with specialized tasks/functions. I really latched on to the scientists/engineers because someone had to develop all that super advanced tech. But also they would have so much drama because both sides would want them. I found a great way to write in 2 of the main characters but never had a great way to bring in the third as she was completely a non-combatant. ENTER CHARBEE!

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

Bumblebee’s optics went wide as he thought back on the time he stuck his finger in the outlet at Charlie’s house. He looked away embarrassed by the stupidity of the action. Little did he know the ramifications of such a simple act would be so widespread and… ongoing…

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

Prologue:

The universe is full of innumerable stars. Rotating around those stars are even more planets. What makes this one so special? At first I didn’t understand, but then I finally went there. It was full of organic life and energy. I knew the moment I landed it would be perfect for the experiment. So, I released them: enough nanobots to make thousands of Energon batteries. Enough to power a Cybertronian colony for far more cycles than would ever be necessary. This whole system was a proof of concept. No matter where we Cybertronians went, we would always have a source of Energon.

As soon as the nanobots were released on this pale blue dot the results were immediate. I was extremely optimistic. I left the experiments to run as I retreated to the observation bunker established on a moon in the far reaches of the system. I went into stasis to conserve energy and woke up periodically to check on the experiments and receive reports from home.

As you might imagine I missed a lot existing like this. But I knew about the war and that it was escalating at a frantic pace. The war and my experiment seemed to be poles that could not coexist. The better my experiment went, the worst things seemed to go at home. The transmissions kept coming until one day they spotted altogether. I denied it for as long as I could, but I understood what that meant. The Prime Constructors was gone and the only reason for that was denying the Decepticons. I took precautions against those who would try to use my experiments for their own ill deeds. In my processors I said I was neutral, like all Constructors, but in my Spark I hoped the Autobots would win. that hope to hold on to, I went to sleep for the last time.

A bot tall and slender in frame but devoid of all the color floated gently up and down in a cryo-stasis chamber. The frost on their silvered metal panels tinkled as it melted away. It was time for the annual check on their experiment. They had created a countless number of nearly imperceptible nanobots and flooded all the planets of this solar system with them. It was a first of its kind experiment for the Cybertronians. Each bot collected energy from any and all available sources and converted it to Energon. Once the bot was fully charged, it floated towards the collection point on the planet and deposited it. Once the batteries were full, they could be collected and transported back to Cybertron.

The Cybertronian stretched out their arms over their head before floating over to the console on the far side of the room. Tiny boosters on the tips of their transparent wings gave them the propulsion they needed to move in the zero-gravity space. Once they were seated, they slid their hand against a flat space marked off by a frame on the console. It lit up with a gentle yellow glow a moment after they touched it.

“Constructor designation.” A synthesized voice filled the darkened room.

“C-377.” A less synthesized female voice answered.

“Project Identification number.”

“1284092186.”

“Hello, C-377. I hope you slept well.”

“I did, thank you.” She looked up at the screens as they buzzed to life.

“I have compiled the latest data on all 10 planets in this system.”

“I see them on the screens now. The numbers for some planets are a little disappointing, I must say. However, planet 3 has been an extremely lucrative source of energy.” She put her free hand to her chin a moment. “There has been a very large spike in the last 100 years. But then it drops off steeply.”

“Yes.”

The Cybertronian started to speak again but the computer cut her off.

“There was a huge spike in Energon detected. The spike caused the nanobots in the area to realign with the Cybertronian responsible for the spike and become unresponsive to outside communications. This caused a cascade effect until all the nanobots on the planet had become realigned.”

The Cybertronian’s purple glowing optics went huge. “W… wh… what… faction?” She was shaking so violently her hand almost pulled free from the console.

“The surge was caused by an Autobot designated B-127.”

The Cybertronian visibly eased, sinking into her seat at the news.

“The Decepticons can never have this technology… They’ll just use it to destroy ev…” Her chilled declaration was cut short by an alarm blaring. The security system was alerting her to a breach. “Activate emergency protocol alpha.”

“Understood. Preparing full transfer to remote station Beta.” The small, underground base started whirring with life.

The Cybertronian’s hand was released from the console as the computer listed each step in the protocol being fulfilled in the background. “Launch the backup and my escape pod to Earth then full wipe.”

“Understood. Preparing to launch decoys. Randomizing decoy coordinates. Power and memory transfer to ARC initiated.”

“Time to breach?”

“Irrelevant. Please proceed to escape pod.”

“But… Yes… Understood…” She couldn’t argue with the computer as power was already being diverted to a black monolith. The lights dimmed and the alarm turned off. The bot drifted into a random escape pod. The black monolith joined her in a different, random pod.

“Transfer complete. Launch sequence activated. Final shut down commencing. Creator protect you.”

The tube shook violently as it hurtled towards space. Moments before cresting the top of the tube, the screen in the escape pod started blinking errors. A camera on the outside of the pod showed fire surrounding it. Something likely set off the self-destruct trying to disarm it. While she was happy no one could get anything out of the base, she hoped against the odds the pod survived the trip to the third planet. Much to her dismay, the alarm blared on…

The sky burned as a Cybertronian pod streaked across the blue expanse over the planet Earth. Pieces broke off and burned away in the atmosphere causing a showy display of friction's power. It came to rest in a dry field in the middle of nowhere at the base of a tree. The scorched dirt pit left in the wake of the landing alien smoldered and it wouldn't be long before humans found the site. With great effort the figure rolled over and pushed themselves to their feet. The journey had taken far longer than they had thought but soon it would all be over. The mission was the only thing that mattered now.

“Halt!” A voice called with a musical quality and the figure turned around slowly.

“Auto...bot... Thank goodness...” The clearly female alien replied weakly just before falling to her knees. Any scans indicated that she had been severely damaged from the entry. She was dying before his very eyes! He immediately disarmed and moved to her side. “I have a very important message to deliver to you Autobot. I am one of the last of the Constructors and charged with an experiment put into motion on this planet... No time...” She explained as quickly as she could with her dying body.

Bumblebee dropped her and backed away. A look of disdain colored his normally genial features.

She chose to ignore the familiar coldness her faction afforded her and pressed on. “After I die the information must be pulled from me. They are on their way... Decepticons... Not sure... how much... they got out of lab...” Her optics flickered so dim light could barely be seen within them as Optimus and the others arrived.

“Bumblebee! Report!” Optimus barked as he transformed and ran up to his ally. “A neutral?” He gasped in a voice stricken with an ill feeling as he kneeled down next to the ailing creature. “A Constructor?” She nodded slowly before falling to the dirt completely.

“A Prime...? How fortunate...” A smile was clearly written on her face as her life faded away.

“Out of the way!” Ratchet grumbled as he gingerly moved between Optimus and the slain. “Her injuries are grave. I haven't seen anything in this bad of shape in awhile...” He looked her over briefly before shooting her three times with his special regeneration laser. She jumped and twitched and he quickly set to work attaching a thick cable to a port in her back. “She needs an energy transfusion... What's this?” He wondered spotting a foreign black cube deep in her back. “It's a retrofitted piece connected on a molecular level with nanomachines... It appears to be some sort of energy collection or converter... But it's been disabled.” He awkwardly reached a finger into her back and poked the unharmed box.

Suddenly, her wings spread out and became covered in a transparent film. After a few moments she gasped and her eyes shot open. “The energy converter worked!” She half shouted as she twitched back to life.

The Autobots in attendance looked at her dumbstruck.

“I need to find the monolith…” No sooner did the words leave her mouth she passed out again.

“She's not very stable at the moment... We'll have to be careful...” Ratchet explained checking her status. “Right now, that converter is the only thing keeping her functional.” With that being said he got to his feet and started hauling her away unceremoniously over one shoulder.

“All right you heard Ratchet! We have to get her back to the base!” Optimus ordered as he started to transform into a semi-truck. “I’ll carry her in the back.”

A flurry of whirring radio dials punctuated Bumblebee’s reaction as he searched for songs to speak with. “Something… you need to know… easier… if… she's… dead...” Bumblebee looked up at Optimus with his displeasure clear on his face. “Shouldn’t… we… let it be?”

“No information could be worth her life... She's been through much to get here and I'm certain once she's had time to recover, she can tell us everything we might need to know.” Optimus replied as the hum of a plane grew closer. “Autobots! Roll out!” It was clear Optimus was ignoring the callousness of the comment.

“I… will… guard… her…”

As they rolled back to the Autobot base on Earth, the being stirred weakly. “You.” There was a long pause before the Constructor went on in a quiet voice. “You are the one who started all this.”

Bumblebee tried to ignore her, but her persistent staring finally prompted a response. He cocked his head to the side. “Misunderstanding” by Phil Collins started playing.

“You have lost your voice?” She looked up at the open roof wistfully. “It must have been an accident then.” She took a deep breath. “You created an Energon surge that interfered with an experiment I was conducting on this planet. It caused the nanobots I brought here to align with your energy so they no longer respond to me.”

“That means we must protect you at all costs until the nanobots can all be removed from the planet.”

“You should rest now. You can explain yourself later when we can all hear it. But I would prepare yourself now, Constructor. Not all Autobots have a favorable opinion of your kind.” Optimus commented stoically.

“I… I can understand that sentiment.” With that she closed her eyes and went into stasis again.

After returning to the base, the newest Cybertronian was offloaded for repairs. Optimus and Bumblebee waited patiently nearby as they discussed their next move.

“What do you think, Bumblebee? Is she someone we should trust?” Optimus turned to the yellow bot.

“Danger Zone” started blaring loud enough to wake the dead.

“I understand your feelings on Constructors. However, they only did what they felt was best for Cybertron. Is that really any different than what we did?” Optimus tried to reason with Bumblebee.

Bumblebee shook his head wildly. “So, what difference does it make? It makes none.” A line by The Smiths accompanied the action.

Optimus sighed heavily. He started to say something but was cut off by Ratchet.

“Well I can safely say this is my best work...” Ratchet sounded quite full of himself as he came out with the Constructor in tow. He had replaced her missing plates with smooth steel. “She explained that box to me as well so we'll have to move her while she recovers. She needs a place with more light.” He added cracking his hands as he stopped where Optimus and Bumblebee had acquainted themselves.

“What is it?” Optimus asked looking over to him.

“It's a miniature version of an experimental system the Constructors implemented here on Earth in a closed circuit.” Ratchet explained with a smile. “It was developed on the off chance the experiment failed. She brought many unused copies with her!”

“So that's the black box we picked up not far from her crash site.” Optimus added thoughtfully.

“YOU FOUND THE MONOLITH?!” The Constructor nearly collapsed in her relief. “Th… that monolith is very important to me.”

Bumblebee’s optics narrowed sharply and “Danger Zone” started blaring again.

“Bumblebee…” Optimus chided him gently and the yellow bot huffed.

The Constructor looked a bit hurt but went on. “I am Constructor C-377. I specialize in nanobots. I developed nanobots that absorb energy in all its forms and delivers it to batteries. The batteries were to be sent back to Cybertron…”

“Cybertron… has fallen.” Arcee answered solemnly offering her comrade a comforting pat on the shoulder.

“Oh…” All of the Constructor’s excited energy evaporated like fog in the sun. “I… see…” Sparks lit up as her fingers dug into her hand. “Well then… I guess… a new end goal for the experiment is necessary.” She nodded solemnly as she walked over to the monolith. She placed her hand on the surface and it immediately lit up with a gentle purple light.

“Should this experiment yield the desired results then we will be able to build a new home planet for our race.” Ratchet began with his smile beaming wider with each word. “It is capable of converting solar energy into Energon!” The news completely shocked everyone in the gathering.

“This is great news!” Arcee cheered in uncontained happiness.

“It’s not that easy.” The Constructor injected quickly. “The nanobots are designed to seamlessly integrate into whatever they are gathering energy from. So, they can become anything. If you cannot see why that might be a problem then you had better reconsider your intelligence level.

“We should give you a code name.” Wheeljack finally interjected.

“Familiarity with me is not advisable. I will only be on this planet long enough to remove the nanobots and any threat they may cause. My association with this planet will only serve to endanger it further.”

“She is a true Constructor...” Ironhide shook his head bitterly. “I've never met one but I would bet they're all just like this. Loners who don’t think they need anyone and don’t care about anyone.”

The Constructor deflated a fraction, but it was still enough to be noticeable. “I will need an energy sample from B-127 so I can start reprogramming the nanobots. Please place your hand on the monolith.”

“No sugar tonight.” Blared through Bumblebee’s radio.

"I don't think you understand what's at stake here." She started with hurt in her voice. "The nanobots can be reprogrammed to do anything... become anything. Power supplies, weapons, defenses..." The meekness in her voice faded as she spoke, replaced the a genuine passion. "If the Decepticons get a hold of them, they would be able to destroy anyone who opposes them!"

"Why would you put such a dangerous experiment into action at a time like this?" Ironhide voiced his suspicions openly.

A perfectly logical question she gave an honest answer to. "The experiment was started before the war." She started to deflate once again. "Had I known it would come to this... I... never would have..."

Just before her voice faded into nothing the monolith whirred loudly before disappearing completely. Her optics went huge and she started shaking. The plates of her body clinked gently, but audibly. "A Decepticon is here..."

An uproar immediately erupted from the Autobots. Some went on the defensive, seeking out the enemy. Others went on the offensive against the Constructor.

"I knew she couldn't be trusted!"

"Constructors only care about their experiments and creations!"

"She probably is a Decepticon herself!"

"She must have led them here!"

"I'm not a Decepticon!" Though she was quick and vocal in asserting this, she deflated quickly again. "But I may have led them here without meaning to." She shrank away from everyone, clutching her arms around herself.

"Enough!" Optimus's resonant voice silenced all others. He placed a firm hand on the Constructor's shoulder. "We will judge her guilt based on evidence after we eliminate the Decepticon threat."

The familiar whir of a plasma gun charging and firing in the distance ended any further discussion. Optimus did a quick head count and looked confused.

"The threat has been eliminated." The Constructor whispered looking over in the direction the sound came from.

"How can you be so certain?"

"My monolith is back." She pointed toward the source of the shot. Sure enough, one could see a peek of the monolith floating lazily in the air. Closer investigation revealed a small, smoking crater with the remains of a small Decepticon spy at the bottom. Her whole countenance grew grim as the monolith wafted to her side. "I warned you the nanobots are dangerous. Now the Decepticons likely know B-127 controls them."

“Your monolith is made of nanobots then?”

“Yes.” She answered quietly. “But they only respond to me. They cannot be overridden like the ones on this planet.” She turned to look at Bumblebee resolutely. “The Decepticons will stop at nothing to gain every advantage they can. If you will not help me save the experiment here. Please help me shut it down. The nanobots can be ordered to permanently fuse. Order them to fuse into batteries and all of you will have a viable source of Energon for the foreseeable future. Once it’s done, I’ll leave and never come back.”

Once again, Bumblebee pulled away.

“They will stop at nothing. The place where your Energon surged was a residential area. They will start there first.”

Bumblebee’s face instantly snapped back to hers.

“They will take hostages and once they do, those hostages will die. It doesn’t matter if you agree to help the Decepticons or not.”

Bumblebee looked visibly distressed now. His optics swiveled around for a moment before he shoved past the Constructor and turned into a bright yellow car with black stripes. As he did, the monolith disappeared again.

“We have to protect him at all costs!” The Constructor yelled and she took off after him on foot. A moment later she spotted an old, beat up truck from the 40s roll by. She quickly scanned it and used it as her cover. Following a faintly iridescent line of nanobots, she was able to follow Bumblebee even if she could in no way keep up with his reckless driving. Eventually she pulled in at a house at the end of a cul de sac. Bumblebee was honking his horn trying to get the attention of someone in the house.

“I wondered who could possibly be honking so much!” An older women excitedly declared as she rush out of the house. “Charlie’s going to be so excited to see you when she gets back, Bumblebee.”

Bumblebee struggled through finding the right song lyrics to convey the urgency of the situation. Seeing him struggle so, the Constructor spoke instead.

“Where did she go and when will she return?”

“Oh? A girl…” The older woman gave Bumblebee a knowing smile. “I’m so glad you found someone special, Bee~~~ I was just telling Charlie it would be nice if you found you a nice lady bot and settled down. She didn’t seem to like that for some reason.”

“It’s not that kind of arrangement. I am in need of his assistance.” The Constructor answered simply. “Where did Charlie go and when will she return?”

“She went to the store for me and should be back anytime now. Is… Is something the matter?” The woman was clearly worried now.

“No. I simply wanted a name. Bumblebee said Charlie gave him his name. She might select one for me as well.” It was pure fabrication to minimize collateral damage.

“Awe… That’s so sweet! I’m sure Charlie would be so happy to meet you and give you a name!” The older woman bought the explanation wholesale as a smile crept across her face that spoke to how adorable she thought the situation was. “There she is now!” She flailed her arms in a wave.

The pair of Cybertronians backed around to see a red car coming down the street. An arm reached out and started waving wildly. Suddenly, a shimmer on the air caused the view to be distorted.

“That vehicle…” The Constructor whispered.

The vehicle came to an abrupt stop causing Charlie to slam into the steering wheel. Bumblebee revved his engine in a hostile display. It was clear he already knew what the Constructor was about to say.

“That vehicle is a Decepticon.”

Bumblebee’s engine revved loudly again.

“B-127 if you would like this human returned unharmed you will come to the coordinates indicated on this tracker.” A map shot out of the glove box and fluttered to the ground, almost comically slow, in front of the Decepticon. With Charlie still inside, they turned into a plane and flew off.

Bumblebee shifted out of car form and pointed his plasma gun at the retreating plane. He quickly thought better of it since Charlie could get hurt if the Decepticon crashed or jettisoned her.

“We should regroup with the Autobots and plan our next move. There… there has to be a way to get her back safely without putting you or the planet in danger.”

The Constructor tugged on his arm but Bumblebee pulled himself free once again. Punctuating his disdain with a glare, visor still down. The radio blared static and it got the point across aptly.

“I lost everything and everyone I cared about.” She said quietly as she clenched her fists, metal scraping on metal showing just how tight her grip was. “I don’t like fighting, or war, or the Decepticons. If we’re being perfectly honest, I don’t really like any of you Autobots either because YOU’RE the ones who were doing all the fighting!” Her feet ground into the pavement causing it to crack and chip.

There was a long silence as Bumblebee stared at her taken aback when confronted with the fact there isn’t just one side in a war.

“But…” She started more calmly now. “Even though you couldn’t save all the innocent lives lost in this war…” She looked up at Bumblebee with determination. “You aren’t the ones who deliberately put them in danger to begin with. I could stop you from going. I could imprison you with my nanobots because you would be doing the EXACT same thing as the Decepticons. Deliberately putting all the innocent lives on this planet in danger for that one human. Are you prepared to bare the burden of responsibility if we fail? You and you alone?” She gave him a challenging poke to the chest.

His optics darted back and forth rapidly as he tried to process his response.

“Why do you fight, B-1… Excuse me…” She shook her head. “Why do you fight, Bumblebee?”

That single question seemed to harden his resolve. His optics focused on the Constructor before he nodded his head, radio whirred through stations until it spelled out his reason. It didn’t blare loud for all the world to hear. It was quiet and sincere.

“In that case,” She smiled slightly. “I’m not asking you to trust me, but let me help you.”

Bumblebee looked down at her outstretched hand and hesitated.

The Constructor smiled ruefully. “It is asking a lot, I suppose. Let’s go before it’s too late.” She glanced off where the Decepticon had gone briefly. “Please lead the way.”

Bumblebee shifted back into car mode and peeled away. Unlike the last time, he made sure the Constructor could nominally keep up with him. Traffic gradually gave away to open roads as they sped down a nearly abandoned access. After turning down a rough access road, the forest opened up to an abandoned mine. Standing cockily at the edge of the pit mine was the Decepticon. They bent over and picked up Charlie from where she sat bound in chains on the ground. They rattled ominously as the Decepticon held her in the air by the waist. Bumblebee’s radio whirred wildly as he skid to a stop by changing into his bot form. He was clearly worried for Charlie.

“We have come as you requested. Please release the human as agreed.”

“The agreement was for B-127 to cooperate with us. I have no use for you.” The Decepticon sneered as a needle shot up from the end of a slender digit. “Let’s make this interesting…” He stabbed the needle into Charlie’s neck.

Charlie let out a momentary scream of pain before gritting her teeth. “Don’t, Bee. Don’t help them.”

The Decepticon snickered before yanking the needle out. “Those are your Nanobots, C-377. The imperfect ones you left behind, but they’ll still drain this girl of all her energy.”

Bumblebee immediate bristled at this comment. His visor locked into place and his plasma gun primed.

“Ah… none of that. Shoot me and you won’t be able to stop the nanobots.” The Decepticon wagged a mocking finger at Bumblebee with a wicked grin.

Bumblebee lowered his gun rather begrudgingly.

“You are not in this alone.” The Constructor whispered encouragingly. “I will be very convincing.”

“So, what’s the verdict?”

Bumblebee sighed deeply and started walking forward with his hands up.

“B-127…” A sharp voice from behind him made him stop. “Would you really sacrifice all other life on this planet for one?”

Bumblebee spared her a sharp glance over his shoulder. It was then he noticed the shimmer and remembered what happened the last time her monolith disappeared. He gave her an understanding nod before focusing on Charlie again.

“Then you leave me no choice.”

Bumblebee didn’t look back again. One slow step in front of the other he marched towards the Decepticon. With his sole focus on Charlie, he missed the unsettling way they behaved. The Decepticon was very excited every time Bumblebee took a step forward. They did a happy little jig, jostling Charlie in the process.

The Constructor watched careful from behind until she noticed something. She soon noticed the Decepticon was only looking at the ground. That had to be important…

“Bumblebee! Do not take another step forward!” Using his real name signaled to him to stop. “It’s a trap! There’s something in the ground!”

Bumblebee looked around but didn’t see anything immediately in his path. He picked up his foot and set it down in a slightly different place. That slight movement was all it took to spring the trap. A burst of electricity rippled through his body overloading his circuits and sending a huge Energon burst out.

“BEE!” Charlie screamed desperately as she watched her friend fall to his knees. She kicked and screamed but couldn’t free herself.

“Perhaps you should start concerning yourself with your own situation. Your value as a hostage has been spent after all.” The Decepticon jeered as they eyed Charlie with a wicked jeer. Without a second thought, they tossed her into the pit.

Bumblebee tried to call out to her but his radio just bogged down and flickered like a car trying to start when there isn’t enough power. The last thing he saw before blacking out was Charlie disappearing over the edge.

The words of the Constructor echoed in his mind. “You are not in this alone.”

“I trusted you… That was a mistake.” The warnings flashing on his screens suddenly stopped. His optics snapped open. Before his very eyes, Charlie was levitating in the air, bounds removed. A faint shimmer covered her whole body and he realized she was covered in nanobots. He looked around wildly and saw the Constructor kiting the Decepticon around as they fired at her. She was fast, but extremely clumsy in her movements. He knew it was only a matter of time before she got hit.

He staggered to his feet, sensors still not fully recovered, and stumbled towards Charlie. After just a few steps, an electric jolt shot up around him. He prepared for another frying, but the shock never came. Instead, the electricity seemed to be diverting around him then disappearing completely.

“The nanobots can take any kind of energy and turn it into Energon.” The audio played back in his head. His gaze darted to the Constructor quickly. The horrible realization settled in: If her nanobots were helping him and Charlie, she was truly defenseless.

“I’m fine, Bee. I’m fine.” She smiled brightly for him as she looked up into his optics for a moment that seemed like an eternity. The trance seemed to break for both of them at the same time and they both collapsed into a hug. “I missed you so much…”

Bumblebee nuzzled her cheek as if to say he missed her too. He finally pulled away when a nearby explosion caught his attention.

“You should help her. I’ll just go hide over there.”

Bumblebee nodded stoically as his visor clicked into place. He turned towards where the Decepticon had the Constructor pinned to the ground. He fired his plasma gun to break them apart before charging forward.

Charlie watched for a moment before heading towards the cover of the trees. It quickly became apparent something was wrong as she had to push harder and harder just to move. All her limbs felt sluggish and heavy. The tiredness quickly started spreading to her mind as an overwhelming urge to sleep took her. The last thing she saw before darkness consumed her was the tree line and a fistful of leaves in her hand.

“Now how did you get free?” The Decepticon pondered as they squared off with Bumblebee. “Was it my vacillating former colleague?” They glanced down at the Constructor as she tried to drag herself away. “You are just full of tricks, aren’t you? But I think you’ve used them all up now!” They gave her a swift kick that sent her rolling towards Bumblebee.

“I will… take care of Charlie.” She pulled herself up and started retreating towards the fallen human.

With no other distractions to come between them, Bumblebee focused on the Decepticon. “You have a codename now too. My codename is Doppel. I have a twin named Ganger.” The Decepticon went on to explain they used to be Constructors too but now they work for the Decepticons.

After a few moments listening to Doppel’s prattling Bumblebee started firing.

“Didn’t anyone ever teach you manners?!”

If ever Bumblebee wished he had his voice back it was now. Unable to deliver any sort of retort, he just kept firing. Unlike the other Constructor, Doppel clearly had some combat experience. Only some. This was not going to be as easy as he hoped, but still doable.

“Miss Charlie. Please wake up.” C-377 gently lifted Charlie into her arms.

“Just 5 more minutes…” Charlie muttered absently as she swatted at the air.

“Well she still has basic functions…” A quick scan revealed a glimmer of hope. “These nanobots are very old and extremely inefficient. It seems her body’s energy generation is outpacing their ability to absorb it as long as she is in maintenance mode.” The Constructor gave Charlie a troubled look as she tried to shut down the nanobots. “Not them too…” Her gaze shot up to Bumblebee.

“STOP! Don’t destroy him!”

Bumblebee looked back at C-377 incredulously.

“We need him to shut down the nanobots inside Charlie!” She scooped Charlie up and started walking toward the fighting pair. “You have control of my nanobots. Order them to isolate a sample of his Energon.”

“Like I would ever let that happen…” Doppel jeered from his place under one of Bumblebee’s feet.

Suddenly, Charlie let out a bloodcurdling scream.

“He overloaded the bots. We have to hurry or they’ll drain her dry then blow up!” She was frantic now as red warnings flooded her screens.

Blood red optics glared down at Doppel as Bumblebee grabbed his neck with a crushing grip. A long, thin needle grew out of his knuckle. He jabbed it into Doppel’s chest with far more force than was needed. The needle took on a red hue quickly as it filled with Energon.

“It’s not going to be enough…” Doppel jeered as he fell back to his knees. Those were the last words he ever said.

“Bumblebee! Hurry! I have to use that sample to hack the nanobots before they explode!”

Bumblebee turn and saw Charlie encased in the monolith. The monolith was taking on a red glow. C-377‘s expression became increasingly grim. “I… not enough time. Preservation protocol Alpha!” An explosive flash of light momentarily blinded them both.

“The nanobots created a pocket dimension where time moves at a fraction of what it does here.” C-377 explained as Bumblebee’s optics locked on the glowing sphere before him. “As you might imagine, that requires a large volume of energy. I need your help keeping it stable for a few more moments while I finish disabling the nanobots.” To emphasize this point, her energy collection wings were spread open wide and Energon coursed down her arms into the sphere.

Bumblebee tentatively reached out to sphere and solid plates former beneath his hands. Even before his hands touched the plates he could feel his energy to be pulled to his hands. He hesitated for a moment before pressing his hands to the plates. Instantly, the Energon started to drain from him in massive waves. His sensors indicated an eminent shut down in a matter of moments but he focused on Charlie. Suddenly, she was no longer obscured by the veil of energy and nanobots.

“Charlie?” He started at hearing his own voice.

“Who’s there?” Charlie spun around quickly. “BEE!” She ran up to him happily.

He scooped her up in an embrace. “I’m glad you’re all right.”

“Same, buddy. But… where are we and what’s going on?” She looked around confused by their surroundings.

“You were infected with Nanobots that were draining your energy and then were going to explode. That other Cybertronian put you in a pocket dimension while she shut them down.”

“Oh. No big deal then.” She seemed to take that news in stride. “And the Decepticon?”

“Destroyed.”

“So… I guess we just have to wait for her to finish and we’ll get out of here.” She sat down and patted the place besides her.

“Probably.” Bumblebee answered opting to settle in behind her and hug her midsection.

“Probably? You mean you don’t know?” Charlie looked a bit alarmed as she gripped Bumblebee’s hand.

“I’ve never worked with her before. In fact, we just met earlier today. I’m still not entirely convinced I can trust her.”

“She saved my life.” Charlie said simply. “She said every life is precious.”

“You trust her then?”

“I have no reason not to.”

“Then… I guess I can trust her too.” Though he said this begrudgingly still.

“How long have you been able to talk, by the way?” Charlie spun around to look him in the eyes again.

“How long have I been in here with you?”

“Does that mean you might not be able to talk once you get out of here?”

“Yeah.” Seeing the disappointment she was trying to hide made him regretful. “But I’ll always have the voice you gave me.” He tapped the radio gently.

“That’s true.” She seemed content with this as she settled her back against the plates of his chest again. “I don’t suppose you can pick up any stations in a pocket dimension, can you?”

“Probably not.” He sounded amused as he answered. Still, he gave the dial a spin anyways.

“B-127!” Familiar voices flooded the space. “I mean Bumblebee! Listen you have to let go! Your Spark is being absorbed!”

“That sounds bad.” Charlie mirrored the Constructor’s worry.

“It is. Our Spark is the thing that gives us life and makes us who we are.” He paused to look around. “I don’t know how to go back.”

Charlie immediately jumped to her feet and put her hands on his shoulders. “Bee! You… you have to find a way to go back! Your soul… Your soul is here and if you can’t get back your body you’ll be gone forever!” Tears streamed freely down her cheeks.

Charlie doesn’t cry for just anyone… She only cries for the people she really cares about…

“Don’t worry!” He wiped the tears from her cheeks with gentle thumbs.

“What did you do to C-377?!”

“I’m not going to leave you.” He took her hands from his shoulders and wrapped her in a warm embrace.

“I didn’t do anything!”

“No matter what…” He nuzzled her head to his chest.

“Who else could have done this?!”

“I’ll always be with you.” A barely audible whisper.

“I think… he did this himself.”

“Because I…”

The arguing voice over the radio faded to static all at once. A blinding flash ripped through the space and then, nothing. It took a long time for Charlie to resister the cold feeling of metal on her limbs. But once she did, her whole body went into hyper-drive. Her eyes snapped open and were greeted with the Autobots weapons drawn and pointed at her in the distance. In foreground was the blunt end of some very sharp looking spikes floating in the air. She spun around and saw the very haggard looking Constructor looking back at her with barely glowing eyes.

“Wow! What happened to you? Oh yeah a fight! If we go back to my garage I could fix you!” It was all one word spoken at an almost incomprehensible speed.

“Miss Charlie.”

“We could give you an awesome paint job too! OH! What kind of vehicle do you turn into?! I bet it’s some snazzy sports car!”

“MISS CHARLIE!” C-377 grabbed her by the arms carefully. “I need to focus right now, hard as that may be.” Her voice was failing and the glow in her eyes flickered. “Everything Bumblebee ever was, is, or will be is inside of you right now.” The Constructors cold hands slid down Charlie’s arms making the human focus on herself for the first time. Her whole body was glowing blue.

“His Spark?”

“Yes. You are the only one who can bring him back now.” She gestured to Bumblebee’s lifeless body beside them.

“You big idiot.” Charlie whispered in exasperation as she crawled up next to his head. “When you said you weren’t going to leave me, did you really think I’d be happy with this?” She rested her hands on his faceplates and put her forehead to his. “If you’re not here, what’s the point?” Her whole body started to glow brighter. The glow travelled up her body and grew brightest where she touched Bumblebee. Once all the glow had faded, there was a long moment of uncertainty.

Radio static broke the silence and Bumblebee’s optics slowly lit up. A collective sigh of relief filled the air, none louder than the Constructor’s. She slumped over on her side and rolled short distance away as the spikes her nanobots created melted away to nothing. As the revelry around her reached a fever pitch she tried to summon up the strength to form her monolith again. The transparent wings on her back flickered dimly but could not generate any power.

“Overheated…” She muttered bitterly. She let out a tired sigh. “Bumblebee.” She called out to him but he couldn’t hear over the celebration. “Bumblebee.” A bit louder this time. “BUMBLEBEE!” She yelled as loud as she could finally garnering the attention of the others. The looks were not entirely kind but she endured it anyways.

“I cannot access my monolith at this time. You are the only one who can shut down the experiment on this planet.” She reached up weakly and offered him a small stick made out of nanobots. “This has all the instructions you need to order the nanobots to permanently fuse into Energon batteries. I suggest having them coalesce in a secure location. It will take quite some time for all of them to fuse.”

Bumblebee was quick to shake his head.

“You still don’t trust me. I cannot blame you on this.” She replied defeated.

He quickly shook his head. The radio spun through countless stations and static but nothing of use for what he wanted to say came up. Now it was his turn to sigh. Then his head quirked up and he looked a bit disturbed.

“Please speak your mind now.” C-377 said wearily.

“Hello?” Bumblebee spoke tentatively. Everyone looked shocked. “You… should be the one to finish it. See this through to the end. That is… one of the principles of the Autobots.”

“You have shown yourself an ally. I hope in time we can come to some kind of better understanding.” Optimus spoke clearly and definitively.

“With all due respect, Master Prime, I have no interest in siding with the Autobots or the Decepticons. I would like to try to remain neutral. However, it is clear the Decepticons and I do not share one important core value.”

“Every life is precious.” Charlie answered quietly.

“Yes. Hate me if you must, but I refuse to be a tool of destruction.” She clasped her fingers around the bar in her hand. “That’s why I have to shut down all the experiments.” She dropped the bar into Bumblebee’s hand. “And why I can’t join you right now. Please finish this for me so I can move on to the next planet.” She gave him a wry smile. “Besides, they won’t respond to me anyways.”

Bumblebee looked suddenly bashful, perhaps because he remembered why they would only respond to him. Still, he took the stick this time. With that out of the way, the Constructor shut down.

“Couldn’t she at least pick a 40s streetrod or something? No. She picks a rusted out… Something…” Charlie groaned as she wiped the sweat from her brow. “But she cleans up great once you give her a nice buff and shine.”

Bumblebee beeped with approval from the driveway.

“Do you think she’ll ever wake up?”

The chorus to “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey started playing.

“Yeah… It’s only been a few days.” Charlie wandered over to Bumblebee and climbed in the driver seat. “How about you? How long are you going to be in town?”

The chorus to “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell started playing.

“Yeah. I figured you could only stick around until she left. Optimus filled me in on Constructors and how they got their bad reputation. Not siding with anyone made a lot of people think they were turning a blind eye to all the death and destruction. I bet some of them were just scared of getting used to do bad stuff.”

“Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie started playing.

“Why… is there so much noise?” There was a loud thud and the pair looked into the garage. The Constructor was in bot form ducking to keep from hitting the ceiling seemingly for a second time.

“She’s a wake!” Charlie beamed hopping to her feet.

“It would seem I have been repaired as well. Do I have you to thank for this, Miss Charlie?”

“Looks like you picked up some country when you scanned that pickup. What with the Miss Charlie and all.” Charlie poked fun of the Constructor with a fake Southern accent.

“I suppose my speech patterns were slightly altered. I will correct them.”

“Nah, it gives you character! Like all those, uh, dents and stuff!” Charlie vaguely motioned to a large dent on the bot’s posterior.

“I see. I did just scan the first vehicle I came across.”

“How about something like this?” Charlie showed her a full spread of a street rod in a magazine.

“It does have a certain aesthetic appeal. However, it will have to wait for another time. I must leave now and complete my mission.” She looked to Bumblebee grimly. “Did you?”

“The battery thing?” Charlie looked between them quickly. “Yeah there are already so many of them!”

Bumblebee turned around and popped the trunk to reveal two batteries. The Constructor reached down and took one out. A faint smile came across her face.

“I’m glad to see my proof of concept was valid. But in making the nanobots so adaptable so they could gather energy harmlessly… I created something truly terrible. I cannot apologize enough for all the danger I put you both in.” She carefully put the battery back in his trunk.

“So how many more experiments do you have to shut down?” Charlie asked looking to the Constructor.

“Nine. But they can be shut down remotely assuming my back up bases weren’t found and destroyed by the Decepticons. Then it’s just a matter of collecting the batteries.” A desolate air settled over her. “Though, I have no idea what to do with them now that Cybertron has fallen.”

“Collect them for the day when we reclaim Cybertron. Or, for when we make a new home for our people.” The brightly painted and ostentatious Semi tractor said from the street.

“Master Prime.” The constructor looked startled for a moment but quickly regained composure. “I will look forward to that day.”

She took a few steps forward and turned back into a truck.

“Hey wait!” Charlie grabbed her tailgate to keep her from moving. “You need a codename! That way you can communicate and no one will know it’s you!”

“A codename? Like Bumblebee?”

“Yeah!”

“I wouldn’t know how to decide on such a thing. Please call me whatever you wish, Miss Charlie.”

“Then I’m calling you Seraphim!”

“When I return, you will have to explain to me it’s meaning and why you chose it for me.” With that she pulled away and followed Optimus down the road, a faint shimmer distorted the air as she went.

“Aren’t you going with them?” Charlie looked to Bumblebee expectantly.

“Push it” by Salt-n-Pepa started playing as Bumblebee slowly drove towards her. She backed up into the garage with a confused expression.

“Do you know what that song is about, Bee?” He didn’t answer as the garage door slid down. “Don’t you tease me, Bee.”

#transformers #charbee #bumblebee #charlie watson #charbee week #day 4 #back to life #fanfic #fanfiction #i'm not dead yet!

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danwhobrowses · 5 years ago

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AEW Double of Nothing 2020 - My Thoughts

Well that was a long night, it’s tough watching USA PPVs in the UK. But Double or Nothing is in the books and since I have free time I thought I’d talk about some stuff I liked and disliked I’ll have to note, I’m not a sole AEW fan, I like stuff from WWE, NJPW, Stardom, TJPW and DDT Pro too, dabbling in ROH, Impact and NWA from time to time and reminiscing fondly over the time Lucha Underground was great. But I say this because I don’t want people quickly pointing fingers at me accusing me of being a stan for AEW or WWE just because I like or dislike something they disagree with, I’m not playing bias I am literally working on impulse and sleep deprivation

Spoilers for AEW Double or Nothing 2020 obviously, watch, enjoy, look at some gifs maybe and come back here

The Buy-In:

Private Party vs Best Friends (Winner is No.1 Contender for the AEW World Tag Team Championship) Winner: Best Friends via Pinfall (Strong Zero to Marq Quen)

For a pre-show match it was fine, the Buy-In stream did start way too early and streaming and audio issues would plague both Fite and BR Live streams throughout. As for the match, it was a tad sloppy at times but it is worth reminding people that PP haven’t been wrestling in a while. And they weren’t terrible botches, just a few overexersions, people can’t be as crisp as Rey Fénix every match, especially since there’s more margin of error the more people involved in the spot there is. The match was very back and forth at times, and the highlight has to be the G9, PP (and Big Swole) had been wearing SG armbands in honor of Shad Gaspard, who tragically died in Venice Beach due to a rip current submerging him, I had been a big fan of Cryme Tyme (and PS4′s God of War which he did motion capture of Kratos for) when they were in WWE, so the nice homage of using their finisher was a nice touch. As for the result I didn’t mind either way, I had backed PP due to their ongoing BTE feud with Hangman Page, but the Best Friends have definitely been consistent enough to challenge and possibly even win the titles, it would be sensible for them to win it too since they have lingering feuds with TH2, Death Triangle, The Superbad Death Squad and Butcher and Blade.

Main Card:

Intermission build for Casino Ladder Match

It was mostly people explaining how and why they were gonna win, but I did have to make a separate mention for Jimmy Havoc, dressed to fucking drip. Man looks like a bond villain.

Casino Ladder Match (Winner is No.1 Contender for the AEW World Championship at Fyter Fest) Winner: Brian Cage An early point I wanna make, I think AEW are spying on me because I had much earlier thought up a similar idea of a ‘Bargaining Chip’ to work as a guaranteed contendership boon. If Tony Khan wants to pick my brain all he has to do is call, I still think all non-title ‘Double or Nothing’ matches should be worth 2 wins/losses in the spirit of the PPV name. I also didn’t mind the giant chip, would’ve been silly if it was regular sized. AEW has a winner with this format I think, the battle royale format was good for introducing a group of new faces, but in a more condensed format the Casino rules for a Ladder match work two ways, the early people have less opposition to win while the last people are fresh, the red ladders were a bit much for my tastes though. As for the match, it was still a bit messy but there were 9 people plus interferences to deal with, also since Fénix was pulled from the match we have to give benefit of the doubt in terms of the match narrative changing. It was an odd choice picking both members of SCU to start but we may be setting up Superbad Death Squad vs SCU tensions as well, adding Darby in the halfway mark was a good burst of energy but you really do wince with the stuff Darby ragdolls through. OC was his usual hilarious self, the low-effort reach attempts, the brief pause with Cabana. The frenetic energy of Janela resumed the pace from the comedy segment until the super heavyweights came in; I did find that Luchasaurus did prioritize a fight over the match itself, but it worked for his heavyweight mentality and after being undone by Allin’s sunset bomb, gave us the space for the final entrant. Brian Cage, I love that man he is just nonsense talented, his moveset is unique and malleable and his power is insane. What a way to debut as well, completely ripped apart a ladder, murdered Allin with a ‘F-5000′ (Props to Excalibur as always) and was running roughshot - aside from OC, who almost hilariously piggybacked a win - until most of the competitors basically flattened him under a bunch of miscellaneous objects and a giant poker chip. This gave Luchasaurus some time to have some fun as the ‘Big Man’ too, really did enjoy the Marko mini-ladder and OC channeling the Hurricane with the chokeslam attempt, I do appreciate that Best Friends and Jurassic Express still have that rivalry, also Janela’s running DVD to OC on top of the pile of miscellaneous objects was a great spot, but it was all leading up to Cage bursting out and squaring off with the Dino, more of this! There was a bit of wobbly knees but the powerbomb on the ladder with gnarly, and we are due a hoss match for Luchasaurus since his feuds with Wardlow and the Butcher fell through due to COVID. But this was Cage’s time, I thought Allin was gonna sneak it for a moment but then I remembered that Cage winning was much more story-based. The ladder spot was brutal and a bit too much for the finish but the result I am still quite happy with. Before Fénix was pulled I backed him to win because I felt that the world title picture needed some speed after the methodical match with Hager, but Cage does have the speed and the power to put on a good show, he’s a proven world champion at Impact and he has been on AEW’s radar for a long time, injury keeping him out.As much as one can complain that this was just a gratuitous spot fest there was storyline; the faction conflicts of SCU, Superbad Death Squad, Best Friends and Jurassic Express was apparent but the main story by the end was the story of Allin and Tazz, Tazz was angered by Darby’s hostile response to his offer of managing him after his loss to Cody, so he’s taken Cage under his wing to enact some payback. It’s a solid looking pairing too, using the legends as managers is something AEW does well and using Tazz as Cage’s manager with his promo skills and their physical similarities is an interesting combination.

Jungle Boy vs MJF Winner: MJF via Pinfall (Modified European Clutch) This was one of my favourite wrestling matches on the card. The back and forth between MJF and Jungle Boy had some great athleticism and technical wrestling. This can easily be a top tier feud between the two later down the line, they are like two sides of a coin. The match had great storytelling in the fact that MJF worked Jungle Boy’s arm, which allowed him to escape situations like the crossface and hold on to the final pinfall, MJF was pulling great heel works and trickery while trying to work Jungle Boy into the Salt of the Earth finisher, the knee injury fakeout was great. But Jungle Boy also rallied with the babyface resilience, the explosive anger in the face of MJF’s undermining and proved his strength. I appreciated the finish as well, MJF won clean but Jungle Boy looked excellent, and it avoided Wardlow ex Machina. MJF continues to look more and more like world champion material and I can see him stealing it from Moxley.

TNT Presentation with Mike Tyson

Okay, I don’t like the belt. I’m sorry, I know it’s unfinished due to COVID so there’s room for improvement but it just looks too simple on the main plate. It seems like every other belt AEW releases is a bit lacking. The World and Tag titles are sublime but the Women’s title is far too small and the TNT title just lacks detail, it’s also hard to not think it looks like the WWE Raw Tag Titles mixed with the 24/7 title, I have never been a big fan of plastering the name in BIG DISTRACTING LETTERS in the middle. Granted, I get why silver was used for a midcard belt, and not every title can be Big Gold, Winged Eagle, NXT UK, IWGP or the ROH world title, but it could’ve taken more inspiration from the IC white strap, NXT NA title, AWA Southern Heavyweight or even the NJPW US title if you’re so adamant about the bright red strap. Frankly I was just disappointed that AEW presented such a weak design.

TNT Championship Tournament Final Winner: Cody via Pinfall (2 Consecutive Cross Rhodes) The finals for the match started off impressively, Archer looking like a total monster even bringing in some poor sod to decimate in front of an entertained Tyson before striking early with his finisher on Cody. Cody fought from under Archer’s offence to get some licks into his core. Sadly not all the cuts to Tyson were great, the one that’ll dominate media being the one where he was caught yawning. Before smarks jump at it, people are allowed to yawn, it’s not always a sign of boredom, given that Tyson is 53, has been hitting the gym hard and it was past 10pm, every other time they went to him he looked like he was loving the match, especially Archer’s heel intensity. The match didn’t have enough of Arn and Jake for my liking, given what was hinted at during Dynamite, I didn’t mind them being ejected especially since Arn was playing dirty too. Cody did pull out some storied offence with the Stringer Splash and Dustin’s Final Reckoning, but the ending kinda felt like the wrong result. After Jake was scared away by a Ripped Tyson from bringing his snake to the ring, Archer just became undone by Cody wriggling out of the Black Out and nailing two Cross Rhodes (third of the match) for the W. It was a bit iffy, I mean Cody has used the double Cross Rhodes to win a few matches already, so it felt like for me if Cody was to win then he’d need to pull off something extra. One Cross Rhodes made Archer kick out at one after all. Many people will use this as ‘Cody is an EVP of course he books himself as champion’ trying to liken him to Triple H or Jeff Jarrett, but while I disagreed with the result, I don’t think it’s bad that Cody wins a midcard title. He is never going to win the world title, he’s been a consistently great babyface for the company too and put MJF and Jericho over, as a wrestler you can’t have Cody not win a title ever. But that being said, I think defeat did hurt Archer, he was so in control of the match and just came undone right at the end, there was a heavy contrast to the Archer that started the match and the Archer that finished. It doesn’t mean he’s lost his aura completely, but winning the title would’ve done him more favours than it would have done Cody at this current time.

Intermission: Britt Baker Injury Update To prelude the Ford/Statlander match, there was a small bit explaining the nature of Britt Baker’s injury. It was kinda decent to still sell Britt’s gimmick by the doctor admitting that she’s being a handful, but the 6-8 week time frame is a shame, that’s only competing though, it’ll be interesting what they do with her on next Dynamite, she may get herself an enforcer too (Nyla could work, or Sadie Gibbs since she’s due a re-debut).

Penelope Ford vs Kris Statlander Winner: Kris Statlander via Pinfall (Big Bang Theory) While Penelope only had brief involvement in the Casino Ladder Match (she did have a weird space of just standing there for a bit as OC started to use 0.5% of his full power), hers and Kip’s entrance did put a smile as Kip sold the ladder match hard, as did Kris’ booping to the crowd and the joyous reactions of Nakazawa, Austin Gunn and Suge D/Pineapple Pete from it. The match itself was okay, this stage felt like a palate cleanser if anything. Ford and Kris did work pretty well, there was a nervy suicide dive where Kris’ head almost went into the barricade but we also got some great strikes, a good hurricanrana from Ford and a solid end as Kip tried to break the pin using his crutches. Ford has been lowkey great for the women’s division, her surprise win over Riho is proof of that, but Statlander was due a win. I felt like against Britt she was due a loss but now it feels like we can expand on that feud a bit, it’s good signs from AEW’s weak spot and it just needs a bit more faces - which of course is limited by COVID but I do really miss seeing Bea, Allie, Swole (who almost every heel in the crowd seemed to wanna rile up), Anna Jay, Shanna, Riho, Emi Sakura (who streamed her reactions of the show) and personal favourite Yuka Sakazaki in the ring, as well as hoping for returns from Ivelisse, Jamie Hayter, Sadie Gibbs and Awesome Kong for the Women’s Division, also maybe bring Vickie into the fold as a manager, she was a presence in the crowd.

Dustin Rhodes vs Shawn Spears Winner: Dustin Rhodes via Pinfall (Final Reckoning) Sadly this was the weakest match on the card. Started pretty well though, Spears was heeling it up a la Booker T in KOTR when Angle wasn’t cleared to compete and still demanded that they be counted out. There was also the HBK Montreal music fake-out which was pretty good, but he did wait a bit long to pull off the smile. Brandi halted the count allowing for Dustin to pull a sneak which was made great by the camera movement but from there it started to devolve into a weak spot. Comedy matches are fine, but times and place work for it, and Shawn Spears’ continued pursuit against Cody should not have been a comedy match in my opinion. I never dig the strip bit as well, there’s only so much you can suspend disbelief and Shawn being stripped to his boxers that have Tully Blanchard’s face on them is over that line. If Dustin was to win then I wished it wasn’t this way, sadly Spears has been hit with a revolving door of gimmicks, the Chairman was good but lacked intensity, the needing a partner looked to be going somewhere until COVID limited his options (and sank Brandon’s push) and this new anti-Cody gimmick has suddenly became a joke, it’s not a good spot for him especially when he had a pretty good match with Cody in the TNT tournament. We know through MJF that he can do comedy, but the key to comedy is timing and Shawn’s character should’ve been looking towards him contending for Cody’s newfound TNT title rather than being humiliated ass-cheeks out on TV...at least Peyton has something to giggle about at home though. Pre-Match Tribute to Hana Kimura (1997-2020)

I was glad that AEW took a moment to tribute Hana’s death. After the homage to Shad in the Buy-In I was hoping that they would reference her before the women’s title match and my hopes were realised. Reading the headline of her death yesterday morning put a horrid pit in my stomach, I had always felt that Hana was one of the most talented women in Stardom, as ‘Dark Hana’ in Oedo Tai, ‘Rave Hana’ when feuding with Kagetsu, ‘Death-Hana’ when teaming with Yama and of course as the TCS leader, I easily saw her in a few years time being the face of the company, her faction was on a high, she partook in Stardom’s first ever Tokyo Dome match at Wrestle Kingdom, she had wrestled in guest entires for DDT Pro and ROH, and I also hoped to see her in an AEW ring one day (Brandi had Stardom ties after all). Her dedication to the business was palpable as she even went into a reality show to try and get more eyes on wrestling, and yet cyberbulling drove her to feel so sub-human that she likely took her own life. It was a horrible, horrible thing to read about, and I really wanted to vent this out yesterday but didn’t due to the fact that I didn’t tribute Shad’s death and didn’t want it to appear that I only cared about Hana’s death. Shad’s death was sad of course, he nobly prioritised the rescue of his son and sadly time was not on his side against the elements, it’s obviously terrible that he died and the world is poorer for his loss as well, but Hana’s death hit me harder for different reasons. For one, she was 22, 5 years younger than me, her career was bright and her smile wide, and yet anonymous sadsacks were able to torment her enough for no reason other than so they could bring a young woman down to make themselves feel better, as a person who underwent a lot of bullying at a young age - I was forced to eat dirt once in primary school - this did hit hard for me, because despite both deaths being tragic: Shad died because of the elements nobody can control, Hana died because of people, sad, despicable people and even though I never knew Hana or would’ve even been able to reach her, it sucks feeling that there was nothing we could do to help her. In conclusion, bullying sucks, and Excalibur put it aptly as many others have, it doesn’t cost a thing to be kind and if you’re struggling there’s people who’ll be there for you.

AEW Women’s Championship (No DQ or Count-Out) Nyla Rose (c) vs Hikaru Shida Winner: Hikaru Shida via Pinfall (’Three Count’ Knee Strike) Perhaps one of the best women’s matches AEW have put on, I was very looking forward to this matchup. I am not one of those people who disliked Rose winning the title, she (yes she, grow up) was a good, dominant heel and I bloody love that jumping knee strike. But I also love Shida, she’s been a consistent force in AEW, being a part of most of the Women’s Division’s best matches, also she as a person is very likeable. I have to add a note that while I’m not too familiar with Final Fantasy (Tumblr seems to think I am mind you), I did like the small Tifa Lockhart cosplay in Shida’s attire. In general the fancy entrances and attires were sadly limited by COVID, but when you did see them it did make it a little special because of its rarity. The No DQ stip was a good one, I did worry it would lead to Shida’s downfall but the storytelling revolving around Shida’s tenacity, Nyla’s brutality and the coveting of the kendo stick all really meshed together well. There were some solid spots and some proper brutal strikes. I appreciated the attention to the fact that Nyla’s arm and Shida’s leg were weakened and that came into play as they landed their big moves to a near fall. The finale though was good, following a beautiful sequence of an Avalanche Falcon Arrow and the weak-legged ‘Three Count’ at two, Shida’s resiliency proved too much for the native beast as she laid her out with a Kendo stick to the head and one more ‘Three Count’ for the eventual namesake. While Nyla’s reign was long, COVID did sadly prevent her from defending much and that was a shame, her only real defense being against Statlander, but it was the right call to pull the trigger on Shida. Like Asuka in WWE, she has been a consistent fan favourite with star aura, being No DQ also aided Nyla in saving face; Shida only won due to her Kendo strikes and out-of-ring spots, so it made her strong that it took that stipulation to bring her to her limit. I do welcome the type of storylines they’ll have to build opponents for Shida too, with Britt in recovery it gives her time before they can renew hostilities, which grants a platform for other heels to develop and challenge. Also do appreciate that the top titles were carded back-to-back, speaking of which...

AEW World Heavyweight Championship Jon Moxley (c) vs “The Exalted One” Mr. Brodie Lee Winner: Jon Moxley via KO by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) While the build to Moxley and Brodie started abrupt, one had to appreciate jumping at this matchup sooner rather than later. Both men were lacking a strong feud to go with since the Inner Circle were still involved with The Elite and SCU were being preoccupied with the TNT title. The Dark Order had gained a resurgence with the mystery of the Exalted One, and with some impressive squashes by Brodie and Preston Vance impressing as his new protegee ‘10′, things were looking decent for the faction, but this still remained a risky angle. For Brodie this would be a make or break moment for his character, he had already gotten some disdain as people compared his gimmick to a Vince McMahon caricature and questions rose on whether he was ready for this spot, if he wasn’t then the Dark Order would’ve fell to square one. But that didn’t happen. From the moment Brodie came out with his horde he exuded a brilliant amount of heel smugness, feeling as if being champion was already a certainty (I do also love how previously he had a minion carry the belt for him like a boxing entourage), the mind games already on display before the bell even rang. Moxley also looked raring to go, his usual swaying self with a bit of purpose and a lovely gold sprayed jacket as he strided to the ring, separated by a row of security to sell the animosity between the villain and the antihero. The match was very strong, a really enjoyable world title match that meshed the brawling styles of both men, the advantage going to and fro as Brodie used his power to gain advantage while Moxley used his unconventional assault - even grabbing Lee’s beard for a headbutt - and the outside of the ring with a lovely Paradigm Shift through the ramp that brought some believable (in the context of the spot) colour to Brodie’s face. The finish increased the pace in brilliant fashion as Brodie shockingly kicked out of the Paradigm Shift at one, from there Moxley looked desperately to put Brodie away before he could rally, hammering at the head wound before cleverly bringing Brodie down with a Rear Naked Choke. I was surprised a lot of people didn’t like that finish, it kept Brodie strong that he didn’t tap out and a rear naked choke is a great finish, it has legitimacy since it ends many UFC fights, it was smart as well because Brodie was bleeding, so on top of blood loss making him light-headed Moxley cut off his blood flow to his head to knock him out. You also have to appreciate this incorporation to Moxley’s moveset, adding submission means there’s a new way he can win and it comes from the MMA background of Hager, like the Gotch Piledriver adopted from Minoru Suzuki (and I have to say Kaze ni Nare whenever I see him do it), seeing Moxley adapt his moveset is a nice little tidbit that helps Moxley feel more studied in his experiences. Also side bar, god bless Leva Bates. In the past two matches she kept in-character and rescued a laptop from destruction. Her wrestling does need a bit of fine tuning but her character work is undeniably great. Overall, like Jungle Boy vs MJF, it did help the match not to have interference, it was two people decking each other to see who’s best and Moxley proved himself more ferocious. Brodie showed himself as a main event quality wrestler who looked good with the title on, pushing through assault multiple times to only be eked into defeat (unlike Archer). Hopefully his story furthers in either respecting that even he must strengthen or lashing out because of his weakness.

Stadium Stampede Match Winner: The Elite, ‘Broken’ Matt Hardy & ‘Hangman’ Adam Page via Pinfall (One-Winged Angel on Sammy Guevara) Well, that was surely something. Not to be outdone by MITB, the storied rivalry of The fractured Elite, Hangman and Matt Hardy against the Inner Circle went hilariously wild and creative with the Stadium Stampede and I loved every single second of it. I’ll try to remember everything in the match to praise so here goes; the Inner Circle’s entrance like an NFL team was great fun, would’ve liked them to jump out of a paper symbol of the Inner Circle but it didn’t take away from the entertainment value. The Elite started without Hangman as they charged at the IC to meet in the middle, some fighting in the ring and some out. Hangman won the entrance game though by ominously strolling on horseback as Sammy Guevara quickly read between the lines and bolted, only to have shaken off Hangman to return for a missed shooting star press on Matt and then a very nearly uncaught one out of the ring too. Not to be outdone, Matt Jackson - broken ribs and all - pulled off a crisp moonsault off the goal post of the stadium while the Bucks tussled with ‘Le Sex Gods’, Santana and Ortiz tussled with Omega and Hardy and Hager went to search for Hangman, who had since dismounted after locating the lobby bar. Kenny had a rough double powerbomb table spot which was quickly cut to replay in order to mask either Santana and/or Ortiz losing his footing on the table and fell off it, but the cut allowed that moment to be skipped as the tag team focused on Hardy. Broken Brilliance would ensue as the team would try to drown Matt in a swimming pool(!?) that happened to be a pool of reincarnation, surfacing Team Extreme ‘Classic Matt’ and then ‘V1 Matt’ with graphics of ‘MATTer of Fact’ that Santana and Ortiz hilariously acknowledged with confusion, all the while an underwater cam would film Matt still happily doing his Team Extreme/V1 hand gestures while drowning. Damascus resurfaced from the pool to deal with the duo, sending both through a table, immobilizing Ortiz by ringing a bell with his head inside and taping him to a ‘chair of wheels’ and then getting his own back by locking Santana in an ice box. I will have to say, while this was great fun with Matt, I do worry a little for Santana and Ortiz. The former LAX were one of the best tag teams in the world leaving Impact and I had hoped they’d take the tag titles in this feud, but they’ve been kept from it like the Bucks have, between the Lucha Bros, SCU, Best Friends and rumours of FTR, the pool does have a lot of strong teams and it’s easy to get lost in the fold. But back to the action, Hager finds Hangman enjoying a whiskey, after a brief ceasefire to drink the bar brawl hits the right notes of great western tropes, including cue stick strikes, Hager dragging Hangman across the bar stand and table spots. Hager looked really strong here, taking on Page and the arriving Omega before being sent wobbly by multiple bottles of bubbly to the head, followed by a V-Trigger and a Buckshot Lariat over the bar as Kenny platformed for Page’s flip, a nice resolution as the tag team get on the same page, sharing a whiskey and a milk. Stories returned to the stadium as the Bucks and Jericho had their own mixture of creative spots and comedy; Matt did a ‘100 yard’ chain of Northern Lights Suplexes onto Guevara while Jericho demanded a VAR replay on a 2 count from Aubrey Edwards (I love how involved Aubrey gets as well), Le Champion also sent Nick through a Jaguars jaguar head’s mouth and did a Judas Effect on the team mascot while Matt was penalized after his touchdown dance referencing Alan Wright, leading to the ref being Superkicked. The Bucks then were able to isolate Jericho and lay him out with Nick doing a bonkers splash through a table starting from the steps of the stadium all the way down to the field, added insult to injury following as Hangman drove over Jericho with a chalk liner But the star of the match had to be Guevara. That kid is a literal star, his expressions and delusion is so on point as well, Spanish gods bless him and his 1000+ lives. After recovering from the 100 yard suplex run, he collapsed onto sprinklers which turned on, his mindset loopy as he started celebrating thinking he won, his face slowly dropping perfectly as the return of the Golf Kart gave him flashbacks of a past death of his in the Tag Street Fight on a previous Dynamite. Sammy was a little wiser and faster though, escaping into the seats out of the Kart’s reach, he slowly ended up being cornered by Matt and Kenny as the Bucks and Hangman watched below, Guevara fended off Matt, but was distracted by Vanguard-1′s reincarnation, NEO-1, for Kenny to daze him. The finish coming as Kenny One-Winged Angel’d Sammy off the ramp to a crash mat below at an incredible height, Aubrey needing to climb a ladder to count the win. Afterwards, the Elite celebrated with Matt and Hangman, hinting that Hangman has reconciled with the Elite as graphics appeared again on the stadium, closing out the PPV. Fantastically bonkers match, but once again this match had a great story in the terms of how the Inner Circle lost. For weeks, the IC ended consecutive Dynamites with the advantage due to their masterful use of the numbers game, but in the Stadium Stampede they are defeated because they split ranks, together they were strong but alone they were broken down, it’s only when the likes of Hager, Jericho and Guevara were isolated did the Inner Circle begin to lose the tide. There was also the recurring elements of the Icebox, Matt’s Broken character, Nick’s prior injury by the IC, Kenny bringing the broom and Hangman’s Cowboy Shit and strained relationship with Kenny and the Bucks, not to mention the many deaths and PTSD of Sammy Guevara. Say what you will about the Elite favouring spots, but you cannot deny that even in this Inner Circle feud, they have made stars out of Guevara and Hangman, it isn’t just self-indulgence. I will say though, I was surprised not to see FTR make a jump, we already had the IC and Elite have graphics on the Stadium so I hoped that the final one would be FTR, but maybe they’re saving it, after all, Blood and Guts is still waiting to be used.

Final Thoughts Outside of the matches itself it was unique that foley crowd sounds were added in to add to immersion, if it weren’t the Empty Arena era of course it would be a down but under the circumstances it made the PPV feel bigger having at least some white noise. The roster as a crowd continues to be good as we saw various personnel react but not steal any spotlight. We do have to appreciate that AEW acknowledges some shortcomings such as the TNT title’s unfinished model and the injuries to Fénix and Baker. Production issues should not have persisted as long as they have, and while it may not all be AEW’s fault due to COVID and the alternate streaming services they must be aware that this will continue to be treated as a blemish, unfortunately whatever AEW does will be compared to WWE - like the Women’s and TNT title have or the respective pushes to select wrestlers. While the current wrestlers are doing well and Dark is providing a platform for local talent - some like Jay, Suge D, Vance and Angels capturing the eye of AEW - it’s worth not forgetting the roster still there; Janela, Kiss, Swole, Avalon, Leva, and practically anyone in the crowd of shows should be able to compete right? All of personnel are tested for COVID so I do appreciate the attention to safety but from a fan’s perspective you do hope that talent get proper exposure. I will also say that I think we’re reaching a threshold of ‘Legends managers’ for the singles men’s roster, we’re fine for now but you don’t want to overdo it. But, overall Double or Nothing was a solid and enjoyable show, had some fun moments and strong matches. While I found the Archer finish and the Spears match disagreeable, it wasn’t too much of a down to ruin the show, the highs still outweighed the lows and there was still a good amount of variety, decent pacing due to good card positioning and nothing overstayed its welcome. We’ve got intriguing directions now too as we build to Fyter Fest; a feud between Moxley and Cage, Cody and the TNT title, fallout for Brodie and Archer’s losses, Best Friends in the tag title hunt, Britt Baker on promo and new champion Shida waiting for us in anticipation of the next show.

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nexstage · 5 years ago

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LIMBO SILVAM - PART 6

Peridot's legs didn't feel like her own while running for her life. Her mind was in utter disarray: one half was yelling at her to accelerate unless she wanted to die; the other half was a mass of curses and regrets for leaving Lapis behind and in the hands of that thing.

She wanted to stop. Heck, her unmaterial heart was trying to stop her whole body, but the more effort Peridot put into it, the more her legs got her away from Lapis. She didn't know what to do even when she knew what was the right thing to do, and it was so frustrating!

'What the hell are you doing you clod?! Come back!', 'I can't! Lapis told me to run away!', 'You can't just leave her like that! You must fight!', 'And getting myself killed?! What about Lapis' sacrifice?!', 'You have to do something!', 'WHAT DO YOU THINK I'M DOING?!'

The green gem pulled at her hair, gritting her teeth while the tears ran through her cheeks. She needed to go back, but without powers what was she going to do?

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" a shriek of pure agony interrupted her train of thought. Peridot finally stopped and looked behind her, she was many kilometers far away from Lapis, but that shout seemed to be very close to her no matter how much she had ran.

Another shriek scared Peridot deeply. Her overreactive imagination started conjuring horrible images of torture. That mysterious figure using whatever powers it had to play with her friend's life until getting bored and shatter her.

"No! Don't think about those things, you clod! Keep running!" Peridot turned back and made a step, then two, then she stopped. Again the conflictive feelings roared in her mind: getting the hell away from that monster or helping Lapis.

'But... What if she's dead already? What if it's for nothing in the end?'

Then the yelling stopped, though that didn't mean Peridot's worries did too. In fact, the silence only aggravated her anxiety.

"Screw it! Lapis can hate me all she wants, but we're going to survive or going down together!" the former technician held the shovel with a vice grip and went back to where she left Lapis, praying that it wasn't too late to save her.

Her legs, however, for some unkown reason felt heavy and sore, like she was carrying pounds of lead on them. Whatever, that didn't matter, Lapis' life was on the line.

Peridot accelerated with all her might, the trees becoming a dark blur that confused her, there were so many and she could potentially get lost or fall into a trap. But her resolution moved her forward, towards she believed the creature and Lapis were; the green gem didn't have a plan to fight the figure except throwing the shovel at its face, 'I will use a distraction. I will use ANYTHING! And Lapis and I will get out of here!'

Minutes passed but Peridot felt like she wasn't getting any closer to Lapis. Then, between the roots of a tree she saw a body. The appearence modiffiers were recognizable even from kilometers. "Lapis!!" Peridot ran faster and inspected her friend's condition.

The ocean gem was unconscious, but she didn't look like she was breathing, though gems didn't need it. And her blue skin had many gray spots as if she had played with gray paint. Was that some symptom of corruption or weird impurities? No, wait, Lapis could only have golden freckles as impurities not those splashes.

"Lapis, hey, Lapis! Come on, wake up!" she didn't respond. Peridot took a look at her gemstone and could barely believe it. There were big dark spots that were expanding and taking over the color blue of Lapis' gemstone. Was that the work of that monster that was chasing them?

"Lapis, please! Wake up! We have to keep going! Please, Lapis! Don't leave me hanging!" the former technician shook her body while holding back tears. What was going on?!

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

Darkness. Around her everything was just that, an immense ocean of silence and darkness. Her limbs felt like ice, cold and hard, and her head was a cacophony of shouts, explosions and falling debris.

Uh... What a curious way to describe her mind.

"Uh? W-Where am--?" the blue gem's eyes opened suddenly, her gaze directed to different angles. There was nothing to see but blackness.

"What is this place? Am-Am I dead?" that might be, right? Though she couldn't quiet remember. She screwed her eyes shut trying to make sense of what was happening.

'That thing was in front of me. It extended its hand towards me... I can't remember more' It wasn't right. She should remember!

Willing her body to move, she...floated? Levitated? How could Lapis know? In a dimension where color black was the only thing surrounding you, it was impossible to distinguish up from down.

"Hello? Hello?! Is anybody here?" She was answered with silence. It was eerie. Her arms wrapped around herself in a way to bring some comfort, though the shivers running through her spine didn't stop.

"Is this really what humans calls Afterlife? Or is it the end of existence?"

"--ou... --eat --e"

"Uh?" what was that? "Is someone there?"

"--or...! --e --t --k!"

So, she wasn't alone in that void. That was a good sign, she guessed. Now the question was what the hell was that voice saying. It sounded distorted, fragmented and very far away from where Lapis was. Was it a foe? A friend? Maybe neutral? 'Focus, Lapis. Listen closely!' she admonished herself, not thinking in anything while waiting for the strange voice to talk again.

"--s... --ge!" there it was! But she couldn't understand that either, and responding to that voice without knowing if it was a foe or an ally didn't seem a good idea. 'But what other options do I have?' Zero. That's the number. So, going against her best judgement she shouted to wherever the voice was.

"Please, tell me who you are! Where are you?! Please!"

"... --ols! ...--nk's --ds!" the voice wasn't still making sense, but it sounded clearer now. Suddenly, Lapis noticed from meter away from her a round, silver surface that looked -much to her wariness- like a mirror. Was she... No, impossible! She wasn't stuck again in that goddamn object like thousands of years ago!

"Calm down, Lazuli. Just calm down and find a way to get out of here". Hugging herself, she amounted enough courage to go check on the silver surface and heard a strangely familiar sound: static. Like the one coming from a TV. And the more she approached the surface-like mirror, the louder she could hear it. And what big her surprise was at seeing that the mysterious mirror was like a broken TV, with its static sound and nothing but a sea of infinite white, black and gray little dots moving.

What if by breaking the static-like mirror she got free? That was a good question she needed to answer for herself, so Lapis put into a fighting position and with all her might punched the mirror. The outcome wasn't what she expected, if she was honest.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!" she covered her ears as a wave of war screams, panicked cries and high-pitched mocking laughter crashed with her. The pieces of glass from the mirror levitated and got bigger, becoming static-y screens that showed moving pictures, poorly drawn like if they were a toddler's creation.

Lapis looked at every scene they showed. Some were of landscapes divided by deeps rifts made by earthquakes, a blue sea turning sickeningly red-pink, people screaming for help on the streets, a giant something looming over some people. 'What are those images? Are they my memories?' Lapis surprised herself at that realization, yeah, maybe they were! She could get her answers!

She ran, no caring how the wave of madenning sounds overwhelmed her ears, and touched one of the fragmented screens.

In hindsight, she should've thought a bit better about that plan.

The moving images froze and the screen shapeshifted into a sharp, elastic spike that stabbed her in the stomach. And not only that one, the others too. One by one, the rest became deadly spikes attacked her, and then hell began.

Excruciating, crazy pain exploded inside her body, her shouts becoming part of the sea of noise. The blue gem could feel everything and anything, it was so numbing and agonizing that she couldn't get it. It was like being hit by incredibly fast asteroids that came back to tackle you again and again; crashing to earth thousands of times and being scrubbed on the ground violently as if you were sandpaper by a giant; falling apart from the inside in the most terrifying way.

But the worst part was her gemstone. It was burning her, kind of ironic because her element was water, but still. Having the sun on her back was nothing compared to that sensation, it couldn't even be labeled as pain.

She wanted it to stop! She wanted the pain of the stabs, the fire in her gemstone, and even the mocking laughter that was sinking her mind to FUCKING get lost!!

Her whole body was losing its own grip. Glitching madly, distorting, twisting. The terror she felt in the Gem War or knowing the Diamonds were coming back to Earth paled in comparison with that nightmarish experience.

'WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?! SOMEONE, HELP ME!!!' And when it couldn't get worse, she exploded. Blinding light taking over the dark void.

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

"Blaaaaaarrrrgghh!" the sound of vomiting woke up Peridot immediately from her nap. She looked to her friend and was shocked with horror at what Lapis was expulsing from her body. A night-black, oozing substance that looked like a mix of brea and acid made a disgusting poodle in the snow.

After some minutes vomiting, Lapis shivered exhausted. Her tear-filled eyes opened and looked desperately for some help until she felt gentle hands rubbing circles in her back and wrapped her in a kind hug.

"It's ok, Laz. I'm here. I-I'm here" Peridot tried to not let the crack in her voice be noticeable and inhaled a big gulp of air to calm herself down. "I was so sick worried about you. I-I thought you would never wake up". Some tears ran through her green cheeks which Lapis' trembling, weak hand dried lovingly.

"It's good to...see you again..." the blue gem was between falling unconscious again and stay awake. She was so tired. She wanted to sleep. Wait, no! No sleeping! What if she was back to that void full of noises and hellish pain. The svelte gem'd rather die than go through that again.

With all the strength she could muster, Lapis sat, Peridot helped her support her back on a tree trunk while looking at her worriedly, anxiously. "Hey, change...that face, you d-dork. I'm ok" the ocean gem caressed Peridot's cheek, smiling at her to relieve the tension.

The former technician grabbed her hand like it was a lifeline and sniffed a bit. "Don't you dare to do that again, you clod! If we're going to get out of this stupid forest, it will be together, got it?" Lapis snorted but nodded nontheless. She didn't know in which part of the forest they were or why Peridot decided to come back for her, but she didn't care at all. She was happy to have her green companion at her side.

However, her relief was short-lived at seeing the condition in which Peridot was. Her gemstone had black spots that were spreading, slowly but spreading. Her body had grey splotches in many zones and in the center of them, dark cracks-like veins growing larger.

"P-Peridot, y-your body! Your gemstone! W-What happened?!"

"Oh! Oh..." the green gem grimaced, not knowing how to explain what had happened while Lapis was unconscious. She laughed nervously and then closed her eyes, gritting her teeth due to a sudden migraine.

"Peridot!" Lapis tried to tend to her but her body was so sore for the pain that there was no energy left to move, that and the former technician stopped her from doing something. "It's alright, just an annoying headache"

"What happened?"

Peridot sighed, massaging her temples a bit to alleviate the pain. "I was against the idea of leaving you behind, even when you told me to. I ran as fast as I could to save you from that thing. But when I found you..."

#lapis lazuli #Peridot #lapidot #Dark #Angst #Mystery #Video game inspired

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taetaespeaches · 6 years ago

Note

Hehe so I have probably one of the cheesiest drabble requests 😭 so you know how couples sometimes play fight to the point where they are almost wrestling?? But literally just teasing each other while enjoying each other's presence 😂😂 I feel like this would be so cute w tae or jk idk I'm soft

“Ok, let’s do this. Loser makes the bed”

Taehyung x Reader (or oc)

Word count: 2K

a/n: Hi sweets, thank you for requesting! This is such a cute idea. I decided to go with Tae :) I hope you enjoy. I struggled to get ideas flowing for this one but luckily my dearest @kthloveee is a little genius and came up the arm wrestling scene and the strategic kiss. (I seriously love the arm wrestling idea). I hope you and everyone else enjoy this one! Thanks for reading :))

“Dammit, Tae,” you huffed as you walked out of the bedroom, strutting though the hallway to hunt down your boyfriend. Spotting him, hip popped out as he leaned against the kitchen counter, a glass of water in one hand as he held his phone in the other, his thumb swiping up on the screen, you halted, crossing your arms across your chest.

Sensing your presence, his gaze lifted from the phone to you, setting on your face. His eyes widened innocently, his eyebrows raising. “What?” His mouth hung open as he watched you, waiting for you to speak.

“Dude, can you ever just make the freaking bed?” You opened you arms in question, looking at him in exasperation. “Just once?”

Taehyung’s tongue swiped out across his lower lip as he very obviously held back a grin. “But I don’t care if the bed is made, Peaches.”

“But I do, Tae,” you told him, almost whining.

Taehyung clenched his jaw as his eyes started to turn into crescents, unable to hold back his amusement at your silly frustration. “It’s just going to get messy again,” he told you just as he took a sip of water, his lips curving upwards as he swallowed.

“You could say that about so many things,” you placed your hand on your hip, glaring at him. “Next thing you’ll be saying is, why cook dinner, we’re just gonna eat it?” You mocked his low timbre, eliciting a breathy chuckle from him.

“Now that’s totally different, we have to eat for survival. Making the bed is an unnecessary luxury,” he smiled brightly at your glare.

Jutting your lip out in a pout, you crossed your arms over your chest again. “But I like crawling into a nicely made bed at night.”

Setting his water glass down, he walked towards you cocking his head as he looked at you sweetly. “Aw, Peaches, I know,” he let out a breathy chuckle. Standing in front of you, he wrapped his arms around your shoulders, pulling your body against his, your face pushed up against the center of his chest. “But I don’t care if the bed is made.”

Bringing your hands up, you pushed against his chest with a small offended gasp. “But I do,” you deadpanned.

“Then make the bed,” he teased, a big smile on his face.

“I do. Every day. I’m saying that you could help,” you told him, a scowl on your face. “Especially on days that you’re the last one up.”

“Yeah, but I don’t care if the bed is made, so why should I have to take the time to make it?” He continued to tease you, the smile still plastered to his features.

“Because you sleep in it too,” you told him in bewilderment. Taehyung chewed on his lip as he nodded slowly at you, clearly in thought.

His eyes suddenly widened a bit and brightened as his jaw dropped open. “How about this. We arm wrestle, and if you win, I’ll make the bed. If I win, you make it. Ok?”

The glint in his eyes pulled at your stern glare, your lips turning upwards the slightest bit at his suggestion. “Fine,” you easily relented, walking towards the kitchen island, sticking your elbow to the hard surface, wiggling your fingers to challenge your boyfriend, you connected your eyes with his as you smirked, gesturing to your arm with a small nod of your head.

Taehyung’s smile grew as he quickly stepped towards you, positioning his arm opposite of yours, his eyes locked on your own, his wide smile on display as he intertwined his fingers with yours. “You ready for this, Peaches?” His question was followed with a flirty quirk of his eyebrow, effectively flustering you just a bit.

“Quit attempting to seduce me and let’s get it,” you glanced from his face to your arms to gesture to them.

Chuckling lowly, Tae nodded, turning his gaze to your hands briefly. “Ok, let’s do this. Loser makes the bed,” he smirked, looking back at your face. “Go.”

Immediately, his arm was pushing against yours, taking you by surprise as you mustered up your strength to push back. Your arm was already almost touching the countertop when suddenly Tae let out a groan through gritted teeth and your arm slowly started overpowering his.

“Damn, Peaches,” he breathed out, exaggerating his breathing with little “ooh’s” and “ah’s” thrown in. For about a second you actually believed you were beating him, but you quickly realized he was fucking with you, feigning his struggle.

“Stop,” you whined, dragging the word out, giggling loudly and uncontrollably, your arm becoming weaker and weaker as you laughed harder. Taehyung held all the adoration in the world in his crescent eyes as he watched you laugh, your happiness glowing, displaying itself in every feature and body movement. Both of your arms were limp, simply holding each other’s hands as both of you laughed, giving zero attempt to gather yourselves.

Taehyung hung his head, trying to breathe properly to stop laughing. “Ok, ok,” he said through softer giggles. “Ok, let’s go, we have a bed to make,” he smiled up at you, sending warmth through your body.

Taking a deep breath, giggles still slipping out between your lips, you nodded quickly. With a quick exhale, you straightened your form. “Ok, I’m good, let’s go,” you latched your gaze on your hands, trying to focus on the task, however, a smile continued to creep onto your face, a few chuckles still escaping your lips. “But you can’t let me win, you big ass softie. I can do it on my own,” you quipped, taking another deep breath.

“What? Let you win?” Taehyung feigned surprise and confusion. “Hang on,” he said as he pulled his arm away, fake wincing. “I think it’s broken, Peaches, I think you broke it.” He massaged his forearm with his opposite hand, pulling a pained grimace as he pretended to struggle to squeeze his fingers, flexing them a few times.

“Taehyung,” you groaned as you chuckled, dragging his name out.

“We need a moment of silence for my arm,” he said, continuing his pained act, though a smirk started forming on his lips.

Laughing at his acting, you shook your arm to get his attention. “Ok, we’ll try for your Academy Award later, come on,” you chuckled. Taehyung’s serious expression instantly turned into the cutest smile, his rectangular toothy grin spreading cheek to cheek, his eyes nearly disappearing into slits, a small breathy laugh sounding between his lips.

Joining your hands once again, he wiggled his shoulders in preparation. “Are you ready for this?” He smirked at you.

“Ready? Really?” You bantered. “Bring it already.” At that, Taehyung started using a lot more force than before, shoving your arm towards the counter, leaving you little time to react. Using all your strength, you pushed against his arm, lifting it just the slightest bit, though he kept dominating the game of strength. Desperate, your loss imminent, you grabbed your hands with your unoccupied one and started using both arms to push against his.

“You little cheater,” he yelled out, laughing. “I thought,” he huffed as he struggled, “you could win on your own.”

“I am winning on my own,” you countered, a big smile spreading across your face. Taehyung laughed as he let out out genuine “ah’s”.

Suddenly, he mustered up all his strength and started pushing your arm to the stone surface, despite your two-handed effort. Quickly, you released your second hand from the battle, reaching out to dig your fingers into his side, effectively making Tae hunch over to his side, letting go of your hand to defend himself from the tickle attack.

Laughing wildly, he reached out to wrap his arms around your form, pulling you towards him, your back pressed to his chest. Lifting you off the ground, he began carrying you to the couch in the living room as you lightly pounded your fists against his forearms wrapped around your front.

“Put me down,” you whined, laughing at the turn of events. Stepping in front of the sofa, he threw you onto it, immediately pouncing on top of you, burrowing his fingers into your sides, making you flail about as you struggled to escape his tickles.

Squirming underneath him, he laughed boisterously, thoroughly enjoying the play fight as you cackled madly. “Taehyung!” You shouted through your laughter.

“You call me out for taking it easy on you and then you cheat?” He asked in exasperation, a big boxy smile taking over his features. “Huh?”

“I didn’t cheat,” you yelled through a fit of giggles. “I’m strategic,” you countered, trying to grab his hands to stop his ministrations. He let up just a little, looking at you with wide eyes.

“Strategic,” he mimicked you, rolling his eyes. “Are you going to behave now?” He challenged you, poking his tongue out between his lips quickly, his hands running softly along your sides. Flashing a close-mouthed smile, you nodded once. Taehyung drew his eyebrows together in disbelief and in that moment, you reached up to tickle Taehyung’s sides, making him crash on top of you with all of his weight, laughing deeply into your neck. “Peaches,” he drawled out in a mixture of a whine and giggles.

Using his weakened state to your advantage, you rolled over, sending both of you crashing to the floor, you on top of Taehyung as you grabbed his arms, locking them above his head, smirking at him. Taehyung wrapped his legs around your waist, pulling you into him, using his hips to roll you both over so he was once again on top of you. Pulling his arms out of your grip, he grabbed your wrists, holding your arms above your head. Cocking his head at you he smirked devilishly. “Give up yet?”

Taking a deep breath, your laughing softened into a small grin. “Come here,” you said softly, biting your lip enticingly. Taehyung raised an eyebrow but stayed stationary above you. You could see the gears in his head turning as he tried to figure out your plan. “Babe,” you pouted, “come here.”

Smiling at you, Taehyung lowered himself onto his elbows, bringing his face down to yours, pressing a light peck onto the tip of your nose. “I don’t know if I should trust you,” he whispered, his eyes searching yours for signs of mischief.

Smirking, you lifted your head off the floor to capture his lips in a kiss. Taehyung immediately reacted, moving his lips with yours, removing one hand from your wrists to cradle your jaw. Pushing against his chest, he reluctantly removed his lips from yours to look at you with hooded eyes. “Sit,” you commanded in a soft voice. Taehyung’s eyes widened in surprise as he followed your lead, moving to a seated position, his legs outstretched in front of him. You crawled over to him, straddling his lap, his arms immediately finding your hips as you pecked across his cheeks and nose. Taehyung let out a low chuckle at your acts of affection, making you smile into the kisses.

Moving down along his jaw and along his neck, he let out a deep moan, gripping your hips harder. As you pressed your lips along his neck, you pushed against his chest again, guiding him to the floor. When his back touched the ground, you placed your hands on the fronts of his shoulders, and a small giggle escaped your lips, tickling his sensitive skin.

Pulling away to look at his flustered expression, you smirked mischievously. “Pin,” you whispered just before crawling off of him, his hands falling from your hips, his face morphing to shock.

“Huh?” He looked at you with wide eyes, his mouth hung open. “Pin? We weren’t—that wasn’t the deal. Peaches, we were arm wrestling, not—”

“Make the bed,” you told him as you walked away, leaving your flustered boyfriend lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling.

“You’re such a little cheater!” He shouted out to you, an amused boxy grin forming across his features.

“Hey, I’m strategic!” You clarified from somewhere across the apartment, eliciting a mixture of a chuckle and a scoff from Taehyung as he shook his head disbelievingly.

#taehyung #taehyung scenario #taehyung scenarios #taehyung imagine #taehyung imagines #taehyung drabble #taehyung drabbles #taehyung fluff #bts #bts scenario #bts scenarios #bts imagine #bts imagines #bts drabble #bts drabbles #bts fluff #requested

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thesoundlessvoid · 6 years ago

Text

::// c o o r d i n a t e s t r a n s f e r r e d. //::

Blackout's optics barely flicker as he reads the update text that scrolls across his HUD. It's dark, the clouds are thick, and there's almost no visibility.

It's exactly as he wants it.

::// w e ' v e t r a n s f e r r e d a 3 d m a p o f t h e t a r g e t . t h e t o w e r i s s u p p o r t e d b y t h r e e m a i n b e a m s . t a r g e t t h o s e. //::

The tyton scoffs silently, scarred lips curling. This isn't his first rodeo, and yet, the console jockeys always felt it necessary to tell him precisely what to do and how to do it. Oh well. He supposes it's the only opportunity the idiots get to boss anyone around, much less a member of the Decepticon Heavy Brigade.

::// b l a c k o u t ? d o y o u c o p y ? //::

::// g o i n g d a r k . //::

He has everything he needs. Activating heavily modified cloaking systems, Blackout simply disappears from radar -- not that anyone would have been looking for one mech in the first place. The enemy is looking for an army, a horde, a swarm of Decepticons to come their way if anyone does at all. Single mechs are usually neutrals trying to survive in the nearly apocalyptic Cybetronain scenery, which makes this a brilliant place to hide a weapons depot.

The Autobots even have it disguised. It's just one, small, damaged tower that managed to remain upright in the battle that previously pounded the area to a pulp. As Blackout approaches the target, the Caribbean blue biolights that seem to cover every inch of the tyton's frame go out, though he can't do much more than dim the energy feathers adoring his wings. It's because of that birdlike modification that he can get this close to his objective sites without alerting anyone because, to be fair, helicopters are extremely noisy.

Blackout stays in the clouds until the last possible moment. Once he is directly above his target, the tyton suddenly clamps his wings in and dives in silence as lightning brightens the sky for a single moment. The thunder that results makes his armor vibrate, but no sound reaches the Decepticon's audios. The buzzing of the atmosphere is enough to nearly drive him to distraction, but he gains a fresh bloom of focus when the top of the tower comes into view, melting out of the gloom.

He knows his job. Dual sonic canons activate and charge with a sharp hissing whine, blue-white energy lighting up the wide barrels in Blackout's forearms as he drops like a stone alongside the skyscraper. The skies open, stinging rains as cold as ice cascading down in great, icy curtains, but it matters little. The atmosphere here is surprisingly clean; the rain should only be a little acidic.

The ground is coming at him at a frightening pace, but the deaf mute holds his nerve. He will hit the support beams and be gone before anyone in the unfortunate place knows their fate is sealed. He has to be gone quickly, as there’s no telling what sort of weapons stockpile the Autobots are hiding in there.

That’s close enough. Steeling himself, Blackout opens his wings and braces hard against the crushing pull of gravity, yanking himself out of the dive mere meters above the cracked street. The tyton overlays the map he was given with what he is seeing in real time, picking out the first beam’s location and firing.

::// o n e a w a y //::

Blue flames erupt behind him as Blackout throws himself into a hard bank, slingshotting around the base of the tower, cutting through the punishing rain like an axe passes through sand. Carmine optics slit in both effort and concentration; he is a very heavy mech to be flying heedless like this. There’s the second beam.

Fire.

::// t w o a w a y. //::

He can’t keep the track he’s on; the turn is too sharp for him to make, and he’s heading straight for the fallen remains of some other destroyed ruin. Blackout changes his course and bullets straight upwards, momentum bleeding out the higher he goes until there is no more to spare. Drifting to a momentary halt, the Brigadier curves his back and drops again, righting himself into a more sedate, controlled descent. Dust and glass are already littering the charged atmosphere, adding to the chaos of rain, thunder, lightning, and explosions. The third and final pillar lights up in red across the deaf mute’s HUD.

The blast shreds it in a violent display of power.

::// t h r e e a w a y . //::

Banking the opposite way, Blackout pumps his wings to gain as much speed as possible, augmenting his momentum as much as he can to flee the tower as it buckles. He can’t hear the cacophony of destruction he is leaving behind, but as he flies, Blackout ducks his helm to get a quick visual check of the target to confirm it’s collapse.

::// o b j e c t i v e r e a c h e d . t h e t o w e r is i m p l o d i n g. //::

There’s a pause on the other end. ::// b l a c k o u t w a i t //::

::// w h a t //::

::// n e w i n t e l i s c o m i n g i n . t a r g e t i s b o g u s . t a r g e t i s b o g u s . :://

Blackout scowls and tilts his head, glancing back again, optics blinking rapidly against the pounding rain and screaming gales. There’s no ordinance going up. ::// t h i s m i s s i o n w a s c o n f i r m e d . ::// Did he just waste his time and energy blowing up and empty slagging building?

::// c o n f i r m a t i o n w a s i n c o r r e c t , b r i g a d i e r. :://

A flash of teeth and Blackout pulls up, wings beating to keep him aloft as he turns. The skyscraper is gone, having collapsed under it’s own weight. ::// w h a t t h e s l a g d i d i d r o p o r d i n a n c e o n? //::

::// i n f o r m a t i o n n o w s u g g e s t s i t m i g h t h a v e b e e n a n i n f i r m a r y. :://

The tyton huffs, optics widening a degree. There’s no sport in killing the already dying. ::// w h a t a w a s t e :://

::// b l a c k o u t //::

::// w h a t //::

::// i n t e l t h i n k s i t m i g h t h a v e b e e n a p e d i a t r i c i n f i r m a r y. //::

His spark suddenly bottoms out and feels like it could stop at any second. Black dread bubbles up thick like tar, closing his throat, choking him of any rational thought.

He can’t breathe. They have to be wrong. They have to be wrong.

The tyton scrambles, bolting back the way he came, flying as hard and fast as he can. There’s no way anyone in their right might would put a sparkle hospital in the middle of a warzone. The intel has to be bad.

It isn’t a warzone anymore, is it? the black voice says, whispering only for Blackout to hear. He ignores it, flashing back towards ground zero as the sky splits with light.

It’s brilliant. A perfect place to hide a refuge. The war machine has come and gone; the Decepticons have no reason to come back.

The rubble is spread out, now, encompassing a huge area. It’s an absolute disaster zone. Despite the rain and wind, smoke and dust billow into the air, whipped into a froth by the storm raging above him. Blackout pants hard, landing on a somewhat flat spot, carmine optics darting about to survey his surroundings.

They have to be wrong.

Please be wrong.

He digs. Heavy claws throw the ruins about as though the shattered walls and thick steel supports weigh nothing. Killing adults is one thing, though the idea of bombing a hospital leaves a sour taste in the brigadier’s mouth. But the young? No. Blackout likes to believe that even the worst of them, a category he tends to include himself in, wouldn’t kill babies.

We don’t kill babies.

I don’t kill babies.

Frantically, he searches. Blackout looks for any sign of anything that had been living, desperate to find, perhaps, the shattered corpses of some manner of military personnel instead of nurses, medics, and patients. For several agonizing minutes, he doesn’t find anything at all. But then he does.

The tyton jerks upright, yanking his hands back to his own chest as though he’d been electrocuted.

::// b l a c k o u t, y o u h a v e a u t o b o t s o n y o u r s i x . s m a l l g r o u p , b u t i t h i n k y o u s h o u l d l e a v e. //::

The rain is punishing and cold, stinging his joints, seeping into gaps in his armor and eating at the soft insulation surrounding his wiring, but Blackout feels none of it. He doesn’t feel the biting wind or the pounding sleet, even as it burns his optics and cascades down his face.

::// b l a c k o u t ? c o p y ? g e t o u t o f t h e r e ! //::

They weren’t wrong. The intel wasn’t wrong.

Blackout’s hands shake uncontrollably as he falls to his knees and reaches out into the hole he’d dug. Gently, every so gently, he slips a claw beneath the tiniest hand he’s ever seen and lifts it, searching for any signs of life.

But there are none.

The war machine did return. It sent you.

Even his sobs are silent. The massive mech’s frame quakes as the wintry gales kick up, but he stays, holding the hand of someone whose life he never meant to take. There are so many things Blackout is willing to do in the name of war, but this he will never forgive himself for.

A plasma bolt explodes in the rubble to his right, and the tyton jerks around. A squad of ten or so Autobots are weapons hot and coming for him, climbing the ruins.

I didn’t mean to do this, he wants to cry. I didn’t mean it! Please help them. Please help me.

But the words won’t come out. A shot lands, striking him square in the chest, causing Blackout to stumble and nearly fall. Trembling, he scrubs his arm across his face and stands his ground, cannons charging with that fateful, horrible whine. The enemy stops and aims, laser sites crawling over the tyton’s frame. He pauses.

No more death. Not today.

Another plasma bolt slams into his shoulder and the tyton uses the momentum to turn and run, wings flaring to carry him away into the dark.

#drabble #tw death #tw sparkling death #war drabble

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randomfandomimagine · 6 years ago

Text

Marked (Sam Winchester x Reader)

Characters: Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester

Fandom: Supernatural

Tags: Reader Insert, Gender Neutral Reader

Warnings: None

Requested by anon: Could you do an scenario where the reader and Sam are dating, and she sacrifice herself taking the mark of Cain from Dean. All because she knows how much it hurts Sam seeing his brother that way and wants him, and Dean, to have an “normal life”. Thanks!

They were at it again. The screaming and shouting woke you up.

You blinked as you groggily watched the surface that you had used as a pillow, and then quickly got your bearings. You had fallen asleep over a book as you did research. It wouldn’t be the first time that Sam or Dean had to carry you to bed because you spent so much time reading trying to find a cure for the Mark of Cain that you fell asleep over the books.

It was the very least you could do, try to help Dean. Even if he assured he was okay, he wasn’t. Both Sam and you noticed the little signs, no matter how much Dean tried to hide them: the shaky hands, the anxious eating, the nightmares. Not to mention the big signs like the aggressiveness and the anger.

You really didn’t have the energy to put up with another of their fights, especially after you had just woken up, but you wanted to put an end to it anyway. So you stood up, rubbing your eyes trying to sober up, and dragged your feet as you walked, following the direction of the screaming.

Sam and Dean were in the kitchen, arguing very loudly still.

“No, Dean, you-“ Sam was saying, but his eyes fell on you when he noticed your presence. He then closed his mouth and clenched his jaw.

Noticing this, Dean looked over his shoulder to you since you were behind him, and stopped talking too. A very awkward silence fell over the room, and the tension could be cut with a knife since it was so thick.

The three of you stood there, brooding and seething, until Sam sighed and hurriedly left the room. Dean and you exchanged a quick glance but didn’t say a word. You knew that, even if you usually got along, he didn’t like you witnessing all their lowest moments. But you were a hunter now, and Sam was your boyfriend. So you were involved in the situation as much as they were.

You heaved a sigh of your own and followed Sam to try and comfort him.

“Sam, wait!” You tried to catch up with his long steps and held him by the hand as soon as you did. “Talk to me, c’mon”

“I can’t, Y/N” Despite his tall height and his big burly built, the heartbroken expression reminded you to that of a puppy as his kind green eyes became watery. “I can’t keep seeing him like this, especially knowing there’s nothing I can do”

“We’re working on it, Sam!” You tried to encourage him, to send a spark of hope that would hopefully settle in his chest. “We’ll find a cure, you’ll see, we just need to have a little-“

“No, I’m not patient anymore” He gulped and shook his head, still bearing that puppy expression. “And-And do you think I like seeing you like this too? Reading and studying for hours to no avail? You’re exhausted, Y/N!”

“No, I’m not” You grinned to try and trick him. “I’m fresh as a cucumber”

“Really? What time is it?” To keep you from looking at your wristwatch, he put his big hand over it.

“I, uh…” You had lost track of time since you had fallen asleep, and he knew that.

“Yeah, real fresh” With that, Sam walked away again, leaving you in the empty corridor by yourself.

Another day, the same routine. You jolted awake at the violent sound of voices raising. Sam and Dean arguing once more.

You honestly didn’t know how much of that you could take. It was becoming too much. You definitely were exhausted from all the reading and for the amount of effort you put into finding a cure. But it was mentally draining to know your boyfriend and his brother, who was also your close friend, were in such bad terms. And to know Dean was suffering, and as a result, Sam too.

Gulping down the lump in your throat, you tiredly walked to Dean’s room, where they were shouting at each other again.

“Will you guys quit it, please?” You mumbled, not even caring about your appearance. Usually you tried to comb your hair and wash your face and try not to look as tired or scruffy, but you just didn’t have it in you to care.

“Then tell your pigheaded boyfriend to get off my case, Y/N!” Dean shouted, bearing a tense and stiff demeanor.

“That’s your problem, Dean!” Came his brother’s violent response. “You don’t let us help you! You never let us in, you keep pushing us away!”

“So why don’t you make it easier for me then? Solve my problem, get off my damn back, Sam!”

“I’m your brother, I can’t do that! I want to help you, I want to get that damn thing off your arm!”

“Newsflash, Sammy: you can’t! We’ve tried everything, we’ve looked every website, read every book. Nothing, nada, zero! When will you ever give up?!”

“Never! I’m not gonna give up on you!”

“Well, maybe you should!”

“STOP!” You shouted, so angrily that you hurt your throat, but you didn’t care about that either.

Surprised by your outburst, Sam and Dean finally stopped arguing to look at you. You took advantage of their attention focused in you to vent, to finally let out all the things that had been eating you alive, all the thoughts that kept you awake until you inevitably gave up to exhaustion, all the emotions you had been bottling up.

“Don’t you see that this is going nowhere? Arguing doesn’t help anyone, it just makes things worse! You pigheaded Winchesters, always being so damn stubborn!” You sobbed, not caring about it either. “I-I just… I wished you stopped that! I…”

You were interrupted by your own tears, which choked you up. Their green eyes were focused on you, watching the scene in shock.

“What are you… Are you crying?” Dean muttered, frowning in concern. Sam just watched, speechless and as heartbroken as ever.

“It’s bad enough to know you guys are having a bad time to on top of all see you against each other” It was becoming too much for you, they never got a break. “Dammit, guys… We’re all we have…”

Sam and Dean were always trying to save the world, risking their own safety and sacrificing their lives to protect one another. Yet all they ever got was pain and loss and sorrow. And the only good thing they had was each other, yet lately not so much. They were starting to hate each other, they argued so much.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay” Your boyfriend Sam didn’t think twice to wrap you in a warm hug. “It’s okay, Y/N… It’s okay, we’re sorry”

You cried on his chest, at least finding the comfort of his loving embrace pleasant. Something good, warm and hopeful for a change. His big gentle hands went up and down your back, trying to comfort you as he hushed you like a baby.

“Sorry, kid” Dean sighed, seeing how affected you were by it. “I didn’t mean to upset you”

This had to end, you needed to do something. For your sake and for theirs. Something needed to be done. You couldn’t stand being still any longer.

Sniffling through your nose and absently wiping your tears, you pushed Sam away.

“I need some fresh air” Was all you said before running away.

“Wait, Y/N!” Sam called you, following after. “Y/N!!”

“Let it go, man” You heard Dean tell him. “Give Y/N some time alone”

You left the bunker, feeling relieved when the door closed after you. It was almost like a weight had instantly been lifted off your shoulders. You didn’t realize for how long you had been locked in there until you were outside.

Taking a deep breath to calm yourself and order your thoughts, you thought about solutions. Any solution, no matter how dangerous or hare-brained. You needed to do something, or talk to someone. And you had a few ideas.

For once, that day was different. You didn’t do any research, you didn’t need it now. Instead you fell asleep in the same chair as always, but watching a movie in Sam’s laptop. You woke up in your own bed, imagining he had carried you there once again. However, you did wake up to shouting, yet not angry but… urgent, concerned, agitated.

“… do you mean it’s gone?!”

“I’m telling you, Sammy, look!”

“How is that possible?”

“Who cares?! It’s freaking gone!”

Feeling a pang of guilt in your stomach, you slowly stood and walked to them. This time you weren’t filled with determination as you approached them, but with a growing fear and nervousness. You foresaw their reactions, but it had been done and couldn’t be undone.

“Y/N” Sam smiled as soon as he saw you. “Dean’s mark is gone, he-!”

“Wait” His brother interrupted, staring at you with suspicion. “What did you do, Y/N?”

“W-What?” You replied innocently, hiding your arms behind your back.

“You heard me, what did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything!”

Dean shook his head, bearing a stubborn scowl as he walked closer to you. Then he held you by the arm and struggled with you to try and roll up your sleeve.

“Hey!” Sam complained, trying to stop his brother from treating you that way. “Dean, what are you…”

The three of you became silent as your skin was revealed. There, in the inner part of your forearm was the mark. A symbol Sam and Dean were very familiar with.

“How did you do it?” The latter asked you, stern and seemingly furious.

“Does it matter?” You dropped the innocent act and spoke apathetically instead.

“Yes!” Sam exclaimed urgently. “We need to know how to reverse it!”

“No, it was the only way! It was either me or you would keep sacrificing for each other! So I did it instead” You argued this time, angrily lowering your sleeve back to your wrist. “Now you can have a normal life or at least… More normal. And stop hating each other and suffering and… I just needed to do something, okay?”

“Do you really think we wouldn’t sacrifice ourselves for you, Y/N?” Sam’s voice was laced with concern yet somehow a little fondness too.

“Then you’re stupider than I thought, kiddo” Dean completed for him, his eyes piercing you with kindness.

Delicately, Sam reached out to take your arm and rolled up your sleeve again. His long fingers gingerly traced the mark on your skin.

“We’ll figure it out” There was determination in his eyes as he looked up at you. “Together”

“Yeah, no more fighting. No more secrets” Dean nodded, agreeing with him. “Let’s just be honest with each other from now on, okay?”

“Don’t get me wrong, we’re mad at you for doing something so stupid and so dangerous” Sam began to say.

“Really mad” Dean corrected his brother.

“But” Sam continued, smiling just a little bit, even if it was a mildly sad smile. “We’ll get through this together”

You nodded, feeling emotional tears swelling up. Then a small smile of your own formed on your lips as Sam put two fingers under your chin and lifted your head slightly so you could meet with his tallness. Then your lips met in a soft and sweet kiss.

Tagging: @thisismysecrethappyplace

#supernatural #spn #sam winchester #sam winchester x reader #dean winchester #reader insert #gender neutral #gender neutral reader #requested #angst #supernatural angst #faves #ficlet #supernatural ficlet #spn ficlet #sam winchester ficlet

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