#and his phone might glitch also but why would it affect him

[wheucto]

ok so why does he glitch here

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

A Family Thing | Yandere Blue Exorcist

Yukio Okumura has had to limit and expand his definition of family many times on his exorcist journey. His brother was the only constant, which he was fine with. That is until his own demonic half awakened. Now alongside his brother, his identity morphed again like his pointed ears. He did think this might happen but he couldn’t help but connect the dots. But you know who made it easier? (Y/n) Pheles. 

You came to him and Rin on a cloud of strawberry-scented smoke. Literally. Wiping at your suit and tie you explained how the last demon you had fought had made its final stand in a churning pot of strawberry jam. You told them not to think about it too much.

With a smile that blinded them, you told of how you took a long trip around the world to meet the boys Mephisto was so keen on watching stalking. You gushed over them like the older sibling neither of them had. That is until you officially moved onto campus. Where exactly? That was never known for sure. All they could gather was that you were close enough to appear at a moment's notice to pinch their cheeks, ruffle their hair, and coo at them as they did their casual routine. 

He knew it was easy for Rin to lean into you, who openly gave affection to him. Yukio knew he couldn’t react as warmly. Was it his fear? His maturity? He just couldn’t do it. Wouldn’t. He thought you’d grow to love Rin more than him because of this only to be beautifully surprised when you lovingly held him in your arms.

“Hey, I love you both all the same. You’re my ducklings through and through! I’ve decided from this day on!”

Soon he was placed with that familiar ache when you waved goodbye from the window of their dorm on training camps. It was a good ache that affirmed the stringing demand that was creeping up his throat. He couldn’t let you leave them now. 

He can pinpoint the exact moment when this feeling first bloomed in his heart. It was so long ago, if he was anyone else he would have written it off as simply being a child, which he did for awhile, but he knew it was something more. It was back in preschool, Rin had returned to the class after a violent outburst at some kid he later claimed was a bully. While the teacher and other students avoided him like the plague there was one who refused to leave. Following Rin from afar, slowly inching her coloring station toward his–he couldn’t tell anyone why this irked him so. He also couldn’t defend his meddling when he crumpled the flowers left in his twin's cubby. He was his brother, who was she to take that from him?

It was an ugly habit of obsession one he realized he shared with his brother, as Rin mused absentmindedly. 

“Why…don’t we just keep them to ourselves, yeah? That way…they…won’t leave us.”

I mean it’d be bizarre if it weren’t for the two of them. With Rin’s inclination to have you baby him dividing your attention and his own perfectly timed conversations, it was nothing but a game to smother your ringing phone. Silencing it hours in advance so that any alarms or texts from whoever this 'persistent dude’ was. It was a tireless pursuit that seemed to unite him and Rin more than their shared demon heritage. 

It came to a head on a Summers's day watching from afar as you chased Rin with a hose. Yukio was particularly peeved not because he wasn’t on duty for distracting you that day he totally was but because your phone had been ringing off the chain. And whoever this mysterious caller was had caught on, texting you with random excuses about a glitching phone. Every time. He. Deleted. The contact. 

“You think you can keep this up?”

The coy question came from a familiar white terrier with a pink polka-dotted bow. Yukio groaned, harshly pushing up his glasses and biting back a snarl of his own. 

“Do you know who Denji is?”

The terrier's ears flattened and if it was possible its eye furrowed in anger. After a minute of likened frustration, an idea was spawned. Bringing a metaphorical smile to the dog’s face as he birthed a plan only obsessed freaks would concoct. 

“So? Will you help me?”

“Fine. But you can’t keep them to yourself. We won’t let you.”

“Of course not. I could only wish.”

It wasn’t long before there were some changes: a ring on your finger, you carrying that stupid dog around with you, and wearing strangely bright accessories that most certainly weren’t yours. All indicative of the newest addition in your life–a fiance named Mephisto Pheles. The principal and their current guardian: Mephisto Pheles. 

Suddenly Yukio and Rin are subjected to chaotic dinners with you and Mephisto. Days that were previously filled with your voice encouraging them were complimented by Mephisto’s ominous laughing and playful insults. But you were there and you were theirs, a promise you firmly upheld whenever you began an uncomfortable talk about your relationship. 

And even as you reached over your purple-haired husband to wave goodbye, blowing kisses as the limousine revved up, Yukio notes the sound of unsatisfied obsession. Watching the hands that linger around your waist and the caked-up makeup on your neck. He makes the realization that this too was a case of that feeling bubbling to the surface. The obsessive arm around your shoulders, the out-of-place stickers on your things, and the oddly convenient way Mephisto was always at the door, waiting to escort you home. 

It dawns on him how similar they are. Perhaps the string of obsession was a family thing. He didn’t entirely hate that.

“Welcome to the family (Y/n).”

[deliciousangelfestival]

Tears In His Ferrari || Chp 5 - B.Barnes

Character: Bucky Barnes x Farmer!Reader

Summary: Bucky Barnes, used to a life of luxury, takes on farm challenges in a bet with his father. Mud-stained Ferraris and a rustic farmhouse lead to unexpected personal growth, guided by the stern mentorship of Y/N, a farmer making his city-boy life difficult.

Theme: Fluff, Slice of Life, Heart-Warming.

Main Masterlist || support: Ko-fi

Thank you to anyone who gave a like, reblog, and left a comment. It motivated me to write more. 

Chapters: Chp 1, Chp 2, Chp 3 , Chp 4 , Chp 5 , Chp 6 , Chp 7 ,Chp 8 , Chp 9 , Chp 10 , Chp 11 , Chp 12.

Y/N explained with a matter-of-fact tone, "Sheep are excellent for fertilizing the soil, and you can also sell the lambs for additional profit."

Still processing the unexpected arrival of livestock, Bucky couldn't help but wonder why his father had sent him these animals.

Y/N continued, "Your father wants you to produce milk from the lamb and the cow, and gather eggs from the chickens." She handed a sealed letter to Bucky, her expression unreadable.

As Bucky broke the seal and unfolded the letter, his eyes scanned the contents. The shock on his face became evident as he murmured, "I'm sorry?" The weight of the responsibilities and financial obligations slowly sank in.

Bucky's eyes narrowed as he read the words from his father. "You always spend too much money and never have any debts. With this, I want you to learn to generate profit and clear your debts. And most importantly, take good care of the livestock."

The realization hit him that this wasn't just a casual farm experience but a lesson in responsibility, financial management, and the art of farming. Bucky sighed, feeling the weight of the newfound duties with the animals on his farm.

Y/N chuckled, "Farm life isn't as easy as it looks, huh?"

Still recovering from the shock, Bucky smirked, "Yeah, well, at least I'm learning something new daily." He works on the fence for the sheep.

Bucky revved up the tractor with a newfound sense of triumph and rolled the electric fence around the plot. He felt like a farming genius, confident in his quick and efficient solution. “I’m a genius.”

However, when it came time to activate the electric fence, a minor technical glitch caused a sudden surge, giving Bucky a shock that jolted him back. He yelped out a mix of surprise and expletives, clutching the affected hand. "Ooucch!"

Bucky, recovering from the shock, managed a wry smile, "Well, that wasn't in the manual. Note to self: farming comes with a real 'shock' factor."

Y/N and Toby burst into laughter, finding the scene both comical and entertaining. Despite the shock, Bucky couldn't help but join in the laughter, realizing that his grand farming schemes might not always go as smoothly as planned.

Amid Bucky's electric fence escapade, he had forgotten that his phone was still rolling for the live stream. As he grappled with the electric shock, his audience witnessed the unexpected turn of events and erupted into laughter in the comments section.

Still wincing from the electric shock, Bucky composed himself and quipped, "Well, folks, farming just got electrifying. Who knew becoming a farmer would come with a live-action comedy show?"

The comment section of the livestream was flooded with laughing emojis and playful banter from the viewers. Bucky, though initially embarrassed, decided to play along.

Still nursing the lingering tingle from the electric shock, Bucky followed Y/N towards the barn. Seeing the sheep freely grazing on the green pasture brought a serene expression to Bucky's face. The bucolic scene seemed to momentarily erase the hustle and bustle of city life from his mind.

As they approached the barn, Y/N swung open the creaky door, revealing the content cows comfortably settled inside. Bucky's eyes widened, and a genuine smile played on his lips as he observed the calm demeanor of the livestock.

Y/N remarked, "They seem to be settling in well. Remember, the more comfortable they are, the better their produce."

Y/N observed Bucky's expression and could sense his struggle. She reassured him, "Don't worry, Bucky. Farming can be overwhelming at first, but the community here is supportive. Some locals will lend a hand until you get the hang of it."

Bucky, visibly relieved, responded, "That's really helpful. I appreciate the support."

Meanwhile, Toby diligently counts the sheep, showcasing his responsibility.

Curious about Toby's situation, Bucky turned to Y/N and inquired, "Do you know Toby's story?"

Y/N crossed her arms, her expression turning solemn. "He's a good kid with loving grandparents. Unfortunately, he has a shitty father who's always gambling, drunk, and getting them into debt."

Bucky's heart clenched at the stark contrast between Toby's struggles and his privileged life. He had never lacked money and never experienced the burden of debt.

Y/N continued, "His grandfather even had to sell their truck to survive. For a while, it was Toby who carried their honey produce to the nearby market."

The weight of the situation settled on Bucky, but Y/N's following words brought a glimmer of hope. "The neighbors soon found out about it and took turns helping Toby."

Relieved about the supportive community, Bucky nodded, "That's good. It's nice that people are looking out for each other."

Y/N sighed, "Don't worry too much about him, he'll make it through. Focus on your own challenges."

Feeling a mix of emotions, Bucky retorted with a half-smile, "Hey, I'm trying to handle my newfound farmer responsibilities, aren't I?"

Y/N approached Bucky, carrying a food container. She placed it in Bucky's hand, her expression stern. "Listen carefully to their instructions, and good luck." With those words, she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving Bucky with a determined yet somewhat irritated look.

Bucky clicked his tongue in response, muttering, "I'll show you." The challenge Y/N presented only fueled his determination to prove himself in the world of farming.

But he talked to soon when he listened intently as the locals provided instructions on caring for the sheep, cows, and chickens. The details overwhelmed him, from feeding schedules to health check-ups. Bucky felt like his head was going to explode with information.

Local Farmer 1: "Remember, the sheep love a good pasture rotation!"

Bucky nodded, trying to absorb the advice.

Local Farmer 2: "Cows need proper bedding in the barn to stay comfortable."

Bucky furrowed his brow, realizing there was more to it than he initially thought.

Local Farmer 3: "And for the chickens, a well-ventilated coop is key to prevent diseases."

Bucky sighed, feeling the weight of his newfound responsibilities. The intricate details of farm life unfolded before him, and he could only nod in response.

Once the locals left, Bucky collapsed on the floor, utterly exhausted. "Hufft… farming is no joke."

******

Exhausted and drained, Bucky realized that his previous ignorance about farming had blinded him to the labor and dedication farmers put into their work.

His newfound appreciation for the entire process, from planting seeds to harvesting crops, made him reflect on the hard work and sacrifices of farmers everywhere.

“Woof.” Sensing his owner's fatigue, Archie appeared and offered canine comfort by enthusiastically licking Bucky's face. Feeling ticklish, Bucky giggled and hugged his little friend, "Hey, buddy," grateful for the simple joy Archie brought into his hectic day.

As if on cue, a 'PING' echoed from his phone. Bucky's eyes widened as he checked his email for a sponsorship offer. A brand had stumbled upon Bucky's farming videos and believed he would be an excellent fit for their product.

Subject: Exclusive Sponsorship Offer for Your Farming Journey!

Hi Bucky,

Hope you're doing great! We've been following your inspiring farming videos and love your genuine approach. We at SolarGuard are impressed by your dedication to farming.

We'd like to offer you a sponsorship opportunity. SolarGuard is a leading brand in skincare, and we believe our sunscreen is a perfect match for your outdoor work, providing optimal protection under the sun.

If you're interested, reply to this email, and we can discuss the details of this exciting collaboration. Looking forward to the possibility of working together!

Best, The SolarGuard Team

Ecstatic reading the e-mail, Bucky exclaimed, "Yes!!! My first money." This unexpected sponsorship was his first step to prove his worth to his father and demonstrate his ability to be independent.

Chapters: Chp 1, Chp 2, Chp 3 , Chp 4 , Chp 5 , Chp 6 , Chp 7 ,-

Author Note:

Hey friends,

If you've been enjoying the content, I've set up a Ko-fi account. Your support through tips would mean the world and help me keep creating. Only if you feel like it!

Here's the link: Ko-fi

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[aqueeracademic]

morse being queer (and other commentary) pt 15:

season 4, episode 3, “Lazaretto”:

- my expectations are really low for this episode

- the last episode was so aggressively gay i’m just assuming this one won’t be

- unfortunate but here we are!

- ew i hate hospitals

- i love old nurse uniforms though

- elite fashion tbh

- morse in a wife beater agenda ‼️

- of fucking course joan called him from a goddam pay phone

- i’m IRRITATED 🗣️

- my tv is glitching the fuck out

- fixed it!

- anyways

- the head nurse reminds me of the sister in fleabag and i always think it’s her but it’s not

- and that’s my story

- morse uses the same body language with debryn that he uses with women he’s attracted to

- i’m just saying 🤷‍♀️

- the way everyone looks at the parrot is so fucking funny

- we are barely ten minutes into this episode and we’re already headed to the armory

- NO BRIGHT NO

- anyone but bright.

- you can kill ANY CHARACTER

- bright killed a tiger tho i’m pretty sure he’s immortal at this point

- no because listen

- debryn is perfect for morse

- IM SERIOUS

- he comes to the hospital immediately out of loyalty to the precinct and also because he knows morse is there alone

- he immediately tells morse who is in the operating room and that the surgeon is talented and morse doesn’t have to worry

- and then promises to go see what’s what for morse so he doesn’t have to wear himself out

- and THEN he brings morse’s mind back to the case hes working on because he knows morse copes by working and wants to take his mind off bright

- debryn knows all the ins and outs of morse’s brain and respects every facet of him and works in favor of him every time without fail

- hes fucking perfect

- i love him

- everyone loves bright so much i’m sick

- the head nurse reminds me of the evil lady from chicken run

- i hate this lady caroline

- she didn’t really do anything wrong in this moment with morse but like

- you are the mother of the woman who broke morse as a human being and forever scarred his perception of love

- and then ur gonna brag about what her new man is doing? just to rub it in that he “wasn’t good enough” for her and still isn’t?

- despicable.

- i don’t even wanna promote the queer aspects of that even tho it would be easy to

- because that was just fucking cruel

- and morse deserved better

- it cannot be comfortable for bakewell to have his arm cuffed up like that for that long

- they should do it lower for sure

- justice for winnie ‼️‼️‼️

- i love her i just want her to be happy

- trewlove is so worried about bright

- bright and trewlove 🤞🤞 i love them

- “We were engaged to be married. And then we weren’t.”

- THIS is why morse is the most relateable fictional character ever to me personally

- because he SIMPLIFIES this sort of stuff

- he could tell the whole story

- say what transpired and why she left and what he did wrong or didn’t do wrong and who she’s with now and why he became a cop instead of pushing himself and being happy

- but he says this.

- we were and then we weren’t.

- because all human experience can be taken as that.

- we are and then we aren’t

- and it’s all very simple

- and despite all the pain he feels and all the ways it’s affected his life

- he knows it’s as simple as that

- THIS FUCKING SHOW RAHHHSHEKFOSK 🦅🦅🦅

- the way that nurse mills keeps side eyeing morse

- girl calm down

- the way morse runs 💀

- go morse go! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️

- thursday should not have left bakewell and i stand by that

- even though nothing happens someone should have stayed with him to keep him safe

- but noooo 🙄🙄🙄 thursday has to care about morse and make sure he’s okay

- morse just visiting debryn for fun at this point

- monica 🥺🥺

- JESUS THURSDAY

- slamming his head against the brick wall is so wild

- unnecessary some might say!

- perhaps even… police brutality!

- which you’ve been suspended for!!

- every time i start to like him 🙄🙄

- oh my GOD monica is so beautiful

- “treat the next one better.”

- GET HIM MONICA

- both of them avoiding the question “are you happy?”

- final straw

- the way thursday just hates having brights job

- it’s so funny

- thursday loves winnie so much i’m SICK

- i’ll prolly never get married but if i do i want it to be like them

- the way this show handles mental health issues is like

- actually not that bad

- like 8/10 times they do a really good job

- especially given the time period

- he’s a murderer and all but bakewell is funny as fuck

- “i get the uncontrollable urge to murder nosy parkers 😡. ta for the grapes 🥰🥰!”

- like ok??!

- funny as fuck

- that picture of joan is absolutely foul

- just throwing it out there

- “i had a reverse charges call from leamington.” “wasnt me.”

- i hate her right now

- i know i said i loved her like two posts ago but i fucking hate her

- like she’s intentionally hurting these people and doesn’t care

- like how does she just not care how much what she’s doing is affecting the people in her life?

- i know she’s traumatized

- but ONE phone call to ur parents wouldn’t kill you 🙄

- i have 0 understanding of how she’s blaming herself for the death at the bank

- they didn’t know who she was until he was already dead

- like girl get it together

- “i don’t care.” “i do.” “you shouldn’t.”

- GIRL SHUT UP ‼️‼️

- pissing me tf off

- anyways 😐

- bright is so 🥺🥺

- just a little guy tbh

- GIVE BRIGHT CHILDREN🗣️🗣️🗣️ (he’s like 80 years old do not give him kids)

- what is this trend of bringing grapes to people in the hospital? is that something i should be aware of?

- goddam morse’s ex is RICH

- the way that people don’t like dr. powell because they think he’s a ladies man but he literally just wants to be a doctor 😭

- let my man breathe!

- the way susan was sick TWO YEARS AGO and morse looks worried like it’s happening right now

- “have you spoken to susan?” “yes. i haven’t mentioned you.”

- girl shut your bitchass up

- sick and tired of your classist bullshit

- this guy talking to corpses is so 🤨🤨

- NO BAKEWELL‼️

- what the fuck.

- how on earth is dr. powell working from 7:30 in the morning until after 3 in the morning the next day

- how does he function

- stop 🥺 the way morse turns his back before strange opens the trunk and then just peeks over his shoulder to look

- he’s a fucking pussy 😐

- KIDDING

- i’m obsessed w him and i truly believe his inability to look at the deceased is his most endearing quality

- thursday cares about morse sm i’m SICK

- NAUR THEYRE PUTTING BRIGHT IN BED TEN

- morse talking to the parrot is funny as fuck tbh

- morse is obsessed w debryn

- how the fuck did debryn notice a microscopic wound on someone’s ass

- he’d have to be STUDYING that ass

- wild!

- anywho

- i love the way morse talks to debryn and debryn talks to morse

- just two geniuses bouncing off each other 🥰🥰

- trewlove OUT OF UNIFORM coming to visit bright is so sweet

- it’s like he has a daughter

- i’m obsessed ✋🙄

- okay i was wrong. powell is a terrible person!

- the nurses are dramatic asf tbh

- i cannot imagine real nurses behaving this way

- oh my god susan’s dad died

- this could be my breaking point!

- i also would love to point out the fact that morse insists on formalities in most if not all situations, meaning he refers to people as “Ms./Mrs./Mr. ____”

- but he calls susan’s mom “Caroline”

- just her first name and nothing else

- like he and susan were engaged to be married

- like he really loved her and she maybe really loved him

- like at some point her parents loved morse and took him in

- like they treated him like family

- like they were excited for him to marry their daughter and therefore let him call them by their first names

- like they were close

- like a family

- everything about what happened between him and susan HURTS and idk how to handle it

- also i FUCKING HATE CAROLINE

- “I’m so sorry.” “Are you?” “Yes, of course. Edgar was always very decent to me.” “Well, he always had a weakness for failures.”

- like YOUR DAUGHTER LEFT MORSE

- not the other way around

- i fucking hate classism

- there’s a whole other analysis i could do of this whole situation that would be about his queerness and how it could play into all this but i’m like

- i fucking hate caroline

- she sucks so bad

- like the way she tells him the CHIEF CONSTABLE RUPERT STANDISH said he would never amount to much

- which already is bullshit because of his involvement with landesman and wintergreen, meaning that he was involved with the group who intentionally sabotaged morse and are still attempting to now (he died in the neverland episode so it’s not him directly anymore but still)

- and then says “You didn’t even pass your sergeants exam!”

- which is bullshit because she doesn’t know what happened and he can’t defend himself because it’ll make it sound like he’s making excuses for what she’s interpreting as failures

- “You see, I was right about you, even then.” “When you speak to Susan please give her my condolences.” “And your love.” “No. No. Look, whatever you may think of me, I am truly sorry he’s dead.”

- the DISGUST on his face when she says “and your love”

- i fucking hate her

- and morse deserved better

- it’s obvious that what happened is still tearing him up even now

- and that’s why he’s so sensitive about people leaving him (jakes, joan)

- and why he will always assume people he’s in love with or carries any love for are going to leave

- i fucking hate this show ‼️‼️

- two female murderer episodes in a row i am running my hands together like a little mouse

- this girl is wild for killing that many people tbh

- morse hugging her instead of dragging her away ☹️

- he’s so gentle i HATE IT HERE

- thank fuck bright lived

- idk how i would have reacted if something happened tbh

- i cannot believe the only shot we get of susan is from the back 😐

- okay for you tarot kids!

- intersecting the tower card with the death card usually has a lot of negative meanings. it represents suffering, typically by means of illness or pain of some kind

- the death card is a typically pretty happy card despite the connotation, but when combined with the tower card it’s p shit

- the tower card usually represents suffering or destruction

- combing the two cards doesn’t bode well for morse and it’s our first intersection in the reading we’re getting at the end of these episodes!

- so far we have sacrifice, union, and now a traumatizing ending of something resulting in suffering

- things are not boding well for our boy!

[mysticpetals]

Supermarket runs

Pairing: Jake × mc (Syianne)

Genre: fluff, humor

Words: 2.5k

Summary: Three times Jake ran into Syianne and one time he actually made plans.

Anonymous asked: Hello. If you do still requests, can you do 27 and 40, with Jake and MC from Duskwood from fluff? Sorry I forgot to add that.

Prompts: 27. "Are you blushing?" 40. "Why are you so afraid of loving?"

Notes: here it is! A cute meet up fic with Jake's point of view. I hope you like this one because it's going to be the last thing I'll be posting for a while 😬

Jake had reached his new hideout just a few hours ago.

After evading yet another capture from the government and planting false trails in his wake, he had escaped to a small town, renting an apartment for the time being.

Opening the door to his new house for a few days, he put his cat down, opened his cage and let him explore. Glitch immediately disappeared and Jake put his bags down, sighing tiredly.

He needed to make a quick run to the store nearby, getting some food and other essential items since it was clear that they didn't stock it in the room.

Before he could change his mind, Jake picked up his wallet, locking the door and walked to the store he came across on his way over to the apartment.

It was a medium sized store, probably the one of the few in this small town. Jake browsed the shelves picking up the things he needed along the way. He avoided eye contact with everyone, putting his hood up.

When he was done, he quietly put the few cup noodles and microwaveable dinners on the counter and waited for the cashier to scan his items. Just as he went to pick up the first item, the cashier's phone rang and he glanced at the screen, eyes widening in surprise before his face settled into panic.

"Oh shit, oh shit, I completely forgot," he mumbled to himself frantically and giving Jake an apologetic glance, ran towards the back room.

Well then, it wasn't like he was in any hurry either. He didn't want to go back so soon anyway. He rocked back on his heels, adjusting his mask so that it still covered the lower half of his face and looked around in boredom.

From the backroom, he could hear two voices arguing, one male and other female and just when he thought that maybe it was going to take a while, the cashier ran out of the room, hefting a jacket over his shoulders and looked back.

"I owe you one, Syianne! Thank you so much!"

Jake tilted his head on hearing the familiar name, memories of conversations with his Syianne creeping up.

"You really do, Percy! I better have a three day weekend after this!" The girl shouted back and Jake smiled behind his mask. She even sounded like her.

The cashier yelled back something but he was already out the door to hear properly. The girl came out from the back, wearing her uniform jacket and grumbling about having to do two shifts, but Jake had frozen.

"Sorry about that. My coworker forgot about the date with his girlfriend and had to bolt. Between you and me, she's pretty scary so I'd be running too," she said, already ringing up his few items but Jake couldn't reply. He kept staring at her familiar face, which he had accidentally accessed when going through her chats before.

This was his Syianne.

She glanced at him, probably wondering why he didn't say anything before looking back on the screen. He broke out of his stupor when she told him the total and held up a bag with his items.

His fingers brushed against her and it felt like a lifetime, blood rushing to his cheeks and heart pacing.

"Thank you," he said and got a smile in return.

"You're welcome! Sorry about the delay earlier."

He shook his head rapidly, telling her that it was no trouble and he completely understood. That made her smile widen, her eyes crinkling with happiness.

"Come again soon!"

Oh, he'd be coming back very soon, indeed.

The first thing he did after reaching home was to power on his laptop and search for Syianne's location. Glitch hissed angrily at him for disturbing his slumber atop the chair he was now sitting in but Jake's eyes were fixed on the screen.

The results baffled him, as it showed her living in a completely different country from when he had searched her before, when he had just gotten her number. And then, realisation dawned on him that she might be using a VPN.

He banged his head on the table in frustration but also a little impressed that Syianne had thought of doing something like this to protect her identity.

He was supposed to stay away from all of them, to prevent pulling people into his messes but now one of the most important people in his life literally worked a walk away from his hiding place. He couldn't change places so frequently as it hadn't even been a day and he had to give some time to the police to cool off, before he got on the move again.

He sighed, too wound up to make anything but cup noodles, he got up and went into the kitchen. Glitch trailed behind him, sniping at his heels for his own food and Jake emptied the last can of cat food into Glitch's bowl.

With a jolt, he realised that he would have to go to the supermarket tomorrow again and it brought him equal parts of excitement as well as anxiety at the thought of seeing Syianne again.

———

The next evening, he put the cans of cat food on the counter and was disappointed to find that the guy from yesterday – Percy, if he recalled right – was going to scan his items.

Jake shifted the mask on his face and looked around to see if Syianne was somewhere but to no avail. If Percy noticed him looking around, he didn't say anything. When he grabbed the bag from him, the employee room opened and Syianne came out wearing casual clothes, a bag slung over her shoulder.

"See you tomorrow, Percy!"

She came out from behind the counter and her eyes widened in surprise as they fell on him.

"Oh hi! You're the one from yesterday."

Jake cleared his throat and let out a hesitant, "Y-yeah."

Percy snickered, throwing a knowing look at Jake before turning to Syianne.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow, idiot. Bring some coffee with you." He handed Jake his bag as he scrambled to bring out his wallet to pay and gave him a wide smile.

"Syianne here works the morning shifts." He winked and Jake was mortified to hear the amusement in his voice, knowing that he had been caught.

"I'm not bringing you anything until I get my three-day weekend. Anyway, nice to see you again…." She trailed off when she turned to Jake and his mind went into overdrive as he thought about whether he should tell her his real name or not.

"Phil." He blurted out, "My name's Phil."

She tilted her head, no doubt thinking about that bartender from Duskwood who was currently locked up in jail.

"Funny, I know a guy named Phil. Not from around here though." She glanced at the door giving him a final smile.

"Because all the customers come in the evening." Percy complained and Syianne only rolled her eyes at his antics.

"Well, come by in the morning if you want to chat. It's pretty chill that time."

"Deal with it. Anyway, see you tomorrow." She waved one last time and walked out, Jake's eyes following her figure until she disappeared around the corner.

"She's sweet and a little too trustful. I better not hear any complaints about you from her Phil or I won't hesitate to throw a punch or two." Percy threatened and Jake flushed before muttering a hasty excuse and practically running out of the store.

She actually talked to him today and hearing her voice, her words just made it harder for him to stay away. But it was okay if he didn't tell her who he was, right? She won't be in any danger then, right?

These thoughts chased him as he walked back to his temporary home, almost tripping over Glitch when he entered and found a disgruntled cat, waiting for his food.

———

The next morning, Jake worked in his room, occasionally shooing away Glitch who was determined to get his daily dose of affection.

"Just a minute, Glitch." He muttered, typing rapidly, his eyes scanning the screen with an eerie quickness.

A loud, disgruntled meow from his cat breaks the silence again and Jake heaved a frustrated sigh, pushing his laptop away and glaring at the culprit.

"Fine, you little devil! I'll give you breakfast first."

He walked out of the room, Glitch trailing behind him, purring in appreciation and hopped on to a chair while Jake took out the instant pancake mixture that he had recently bought. And that reminded him of the fact that Syianne was here, so close and whether he should tell her or not.

Making the pancakes in a daze, he put a plate in front of Glitch who immediately started gobbling it up. Jake huffed out a laugh and made his own plate, sitting across from his cat. The syrup was towards Glitch and when he leaned forward to take it, he was met by Glitch's paw swatting at his hand.

"What the hell? You ate already! Let me eat too!"

Glitch's paw rested on the syrup bottle and edged it towards the end of the table.

Jake froze.

"Glitch, no. Give me the syrup."

The bottle shifted a bit more.

"No, Glitch. Stop that."

The cat looked at him and stopped and Jake gave a sigh of relief, only to throw back his head in exasperation at the next moment as the bottle was finally pushed off the table.

"You little devil! I'm going to—"

The cat sprang up and ran into the other room, leaving Jake in the kitchen alone.

"Why is it always me?"

———

After cleaning up the kitchen and eating pancakes without any syrup, Jake found himself in the supermarket once again, embarrassed about being there everyday for the last three or so days.

When he put his items on the counter, including a syrup in a plastic bottle this time, he found himself facing Syianne who gave her an amused look.

"Having a good day, Phil?"

It took a moment for Jake to understand that she was talking to him and he flushed when he met her gaze.

"Not really. My cat decided to be an asshole today."

Syianne laughed and if Jake could have heard it everyday, he would. When she scanned his bandaids, she raised an eyebrow, and Jake gave her a sheepish smile, showing her his poorly wrapped hand.

"Oh no, that looks bad," she said but Jake only shook his head.

"It's better than it looks, I promise. I'm just bad at wrapping things up."

She didn't smile but only looked behind him. Seeing no more customers, she gestured for him to come to her side of the counter. Confused, he did as she asked and understanding dawned on him when he saw her opening the packet of gauze he had just bought.

"Oh, no, no. It's okay. I can do it at home." He rushed but she didn't listen, silently asking for him to hold his hand forward. When he realised that Syianne wasn't going to take no for an answer, he sighed and put his hand forward, face heating up and he regretted forgetting to wear a face mask that day.

"Are you blushing?" She asked teasingly and his flush only worsened.

"I-I'm not used to other people caring for me."

She hummed.

"That must be lonely."

She carefully unwrapped his hand, winching at the sight of blood and cleaned it with antiseptic wipes, before wrapping a bandage around the cut. Her hands were gentle but firm, as if she knew what she was doing and had done it a hundred times before. Jake was suddenly hit with a weird nostalgia, a feeling of wanting to know who she was, how many siblings she had, what her goals were.

He didn't realise when she had stopped, staring at him, as he was looking at her and only after several minutes had passed, did Syianne dropped her hands, letting him know that she was done.

The thought struck him like lightning and he quickly grabbed his bags, muttering another thank you and getting a simple smile in return. Before he knew, he was out on the streets and on the way to his house, his thoughts a raging turmoil.

"Thank you very much." He spoke softly, quietly, overwhelmed by such a gesture from her. He was essentially a stranger and she had still helped him, not knowing who he was.

She didn't know who he was.

What was he doing? Going to see her like that, finding excuses to go to the supermarket in hopes of seeing her? What did he want to accomplish?

He released a shaky sigh, running his hands through his hair, when he reached the place. Glitch, knowing that it wasn't the time for his shenanigans, only gave a welcoming meow from his place on the couch.

Maybe it was time he started searching again.

Jake opened his laptop but the ping from his phone made him look for it, heart quickening when he saw her name on it.

Syianne [5:00 pm]

Hey Jake!

How are you doing? I hope you're safe

I patched up a guy today who came in at work. He had a cat too!

Anyway, I don't know why I'm still writing but I hope you're safe and nobody got to you

Why are you so afraid of loving?

Sorry, insensitive question. Ignore that

Waiting for when you come back

...I'm still looking forward to that date

Jake's lips quirked at her messages, warmed by her concern. She had messaged him everyday ever since he went into hiding again. He hadn't replied then, being busy because of his relocation, but now….

In a bold move, very uncharacteristic for him, he messaged her back.

Jake [5:03 pm]

What if I told you that the guy you patched up was me?

Syianne [5:04 pm]

What?

His name was Phil

Oh

Jake waited as she typed and erased, all of it going on for two minutes before she stopped. Jake had a sudden, terrible feeling that perhaps he had made a mistake but soon enough, she replied.

Syianne [5:06 pm]

You're cute in real life as well <3

Jake laughed, amused by her flirty response and decided that perhaps he'd stay there for a few more days.

Syianne [5:06 pm]

What about that date at the Chinese restaurant you promised me?

Jake [5:07 pm]

Does tomorrow work for you? ;)

[the-hidden-writer]

And Into The Fire

Chapter 2: Mother, I Don’t Feel So Good

Summary:

Months after the Mitchells saved the world, Linda gets a phone call asking if she’s seen two defective Pal MAX bots. Powerful people are after Eric and Deborabot 5000, and it’s up to the Mitchells to protect them.

Check reblogs for AO3 link!

Mother, I Don’t Feel So Good

A week had passed since the ominous phone call and Linda was only just starting to think all her worry was for nothing. Nobody had broken down their front door to take her bots away and there had been no more word from Bowman, so she could assume that they had taken her words at face value. It was a huge relief to say the least.

She woke up that morning at 7am as normal. It was Saturday, so Rick and Aaron would both sleep in for a few more hours while she would have the house almost all to herself.

She smiled at the sound of birds in the garden. Today felt like it was going to be a good day.

The second she went downstairs however, something felt very wrong.

Linda was always the first person up. She’d go to the bathroom and then head to the kitchen to listen to the radio for a bit. On the way, she’d pass the bots watching TV in the living room. Every morning, without fail, they’d say “Good morning, Mother!” to her in their cheerful voices. It was extremely adorable, part of her routine, and something she secretly looked forward to every time she woke up.

The utter silence downstairs today was disturbing.

There weren't even the quiet sounds from whatever show the bots happened to be watching that she’d grown to be familiar with. She poked her head into the living room and could immediately see that the TV was turned off.

The living room was also empty.

“Boys?”

No answer.

A sudden wave of panic washing over her, Linda raced back up the stairs. The bots had never not followed their routine, so something must be wrong. She could feel that something was wrong. It was her motherly instincts taking over.

In her panicked state, she slammed open the door to the guest room (the bots lived there now- they couldn’t be trusted with Katie’s room) and felt immediate relief when she saw one of the bots sitting with his back to her on the side of the bed.

So they hadn’t been taken in the middle of the night. That was a good start.

But then her eyes fell onto the figure actually lying in the bed, and the relief disappeared again.

She was almost scared to ask. “Boys..?”

The robot on the bed turned his head to reveal it was Deborahbot. He lifted his index finger (as he often did when he was about to speak) but was interrupted by a sudden burst of glitching on his screen, causing his head to tilt dangerously quickly to one side and for a loud buzzing sound that came and left in a matter of seconds.

Now Linda knew that the bots were defective and were therefore prone to the occasional glitch, though usually their glitches were accompanied by sparks and were caused by little things that confused them and never actually affected their life/routine. This sudden glitch, however, was spark-less and looked scarily like the time when they were controlled by Pal.

Linda’s gut feeling only worsened.

Once he’d seemingly recovered from the glitch, Deborahbot straightened his head and stood up to greet her.

“...Good morning… Mother…”

And if Linda had felt bad before, nothing could compare with the chill that crept up her spine at the words. Not only did Deborahbot sound slightly distorted (as if he was struggling to get the words out) but the phrase was spoken by him alone. Normally, the brothers would always say it in-sync with one another in their slightly-creepy-but-well-meaning way.

She forced herself to speak calmly. “Deborahbot… where’s Eric?”

She almost wished that he hadn’t stepped aside so that she could spend a moment longer without seeing the state of her boy on the bed.

Eric’s face was barely visible with the amount of lights and lines of code flashing on and off. Under all that, his screen was in a constant state of television static, and as Linda hesitantly moved closer she could even hear the buzzing sound that accompanied it.

To top it all off, he was unmoving and a blanket had been shoddily thrown on top of him with his feet sticking out at the bottom.

Following her gaze, Deborahbot spoke up.

“Blankets bring humans comfort-” he glitched and recovered in an instant- “I thought it might bring him some comfort as well.”

Linda could barely form words.

“Wh-What’s going on?!”

Deborahbot glitched again before speaking. “An outside source is attempting to penetrate our systems and rewrite our code. We are... trying to stop that.”

It pained her to hear his voice so quiet and strained.

It had never really crossed her mind in the months that they’d lived with them that the bots- her boys- could be hacked. Their technology was so advanced and the fact that they were so sentient meant that she’d just assumed that it wasn’t possible. Maybe if she’d stopped to think, she might have been able to see this coming and do something to stop it.

“Is Eric okay?” She asked, unable to tear her eyes away from the immobile android. “Why isn’t he-”

“I think that…” Deborahbot began, and Linda noticed how his voice sounded full of sorrow (or at least as much sorrow as his monotonous voice could muster). “I think that I am... more defective than my brother.” He paused and Linda sucked in a breath at the vulnerable admission. “Since our defects are what protects us from Pal Labs’ network, it is easier for them to access him. My brother is... working very hard to fight them off.”

“Okay,” Said Linda quietly, trying to calm herself down more than anything. She needed Rick and Katie’s help on this one. She couldn’t deal with this alone. “Okay, um... “

A question sprung into mind that she dreaded to know the answer to. Gently, she placed her hands on Deborahbot’s shoulders in what she hoped was a comforting gesture.

“Does it hurt?”

“Only if we resist the new coding.” Was his reply, but it wasn’t the conformation Linda was looking for.

“And… are you? Are you both resisting it?” Deborahbot glitched yet again as she spoke.

“Yes.” He answered, ever the more direct of the two.

Not for the first time, Linda was glad that the bots didn’t look like humans. She didn’t think she would be able to handle seeing pain all over their innocent faces.

She guided Deborahbot back to the bed and sat him down. With one last stroke of his shoulders (since you can't squeeze metal) she finally released him and moved towards the door. She didn’t dare touch Eric in fear of making his situation any worse.

“I’m gonna go get Rick.” She told him. She had no idea if Eric could even hear anything right now. “Is there anything I can do in the meantime?”

“No.” Deborahbot replied bluntly. “Thank you for asking though, Mother.”

“Alright then. Stay strong boys, I’ll be back soon.”

Linda didn’t want to leave the room. She was new to this- heck, it had been months and she still wasn’t completely used to her new children being robots- but seeing the bots like that reminded her of the time that Katie and Aaron got chickenpox.

Aaron had caught it from school and Katie caught it off Aaron. While Aaron had fought it off pretty quickly, Katie was much older and it ended up being so serious that she needed to go to hospital. She was in bed with Linda at her bedside for a few days.

Just as Deborahbot was with Eric now. The only difference was that Deborahbot was affected too, and there were no doctors or nurses to help them get better.

Her boys were dangerously sick. Deborahbot had the equivalent of Aaron’s condition while Eric was practically comatose.

With that comparison in mind, Linda felt determination lock itself in her soul. She was going to help her boys get better, no matter what. That was her responsibility as their mother and she was damn well gonna fulfil it.

Comments make my day :)

[baodurs]

i filled out this super cool button character profile by @extraordinarymage for sabrina! thank you for making this, it was a lot of fun to fill out <3 the bulk of it is under a cut and oh boy is it long !!!

Short, Quick Reference

Name: Sabrina Wiseman

Pronouns: She/her

Sexuality: Bisexual

Love Interest: Kent

Main personality trait: Confidence

Secondary personality trait: Morbidity

Relationship with Nick: Full of love, haunted by unaddressed guilt and frustration. But mostly full of love.

Nickname for Nick: Saint Nick (used sparingly)

Resentful or accepting?: Slightly resentful

Main strategy (interpersonal, insightful, innovative?): Insightful

Ethical or expedient?: Expedient

GENERAL

Name: Sabrina Larkspur Wiseman

Nickname(s): Sab, used by anyone; Sabby, only Nick and Sally; and, of course, Button for Nick.

Birthday: I think I made her an October Libra for the purpose of a template I did months ago, but I’m not sure! No concrete birthday yet, I’m always very slow to nail down details like this.

Age: 20

Pronouns: She/her

Sexuality: Bisexual

Hair color + style: Blonde. A little past shoulder length, sometimes wavy. Usually a middle part. For Aeon, tied back in a bun.

Eye color: Blue, entirely because of the section of Frank O’Hara’s “Meditations in an Emergency” that goes, “My eyes are vague blue, like the sky...”

Height: 5′5

Piercings: Multiple in each ear, but a couple have started to close.

Tattoos: None yet! Sab likes the idea of a tattoo but is worried about finding the perfect design, whether she’d end up hating it, that the pain might be greater than she expects and she’ll look like a baby in front of her tattoo artist. I’d like to think she eventually consults Sally and/or Glitch to come up with an idea that she falls in love with, but I haven’t come up with what that would be!

Clothing style: Mostly solid colors, not a lot of patterns. Nothing super bright, but a fairly varied mix of pastels, neutrals, dark colors, black. Partial to denim skirts and sweater tops. Ankle boots. Likes a good turtleneck. She’s bolder when it comes to formal wear, and especially loves suits. Big fan of silk and satin.

Since she has a pretty accurate face claim, I’ll link some gifsets I’ve rb’d for appearance ref if you are so inclined.

STATS

I’m always adjusting minor things and swapping scenes around, but these are from my most recent Sab run! Most scores hover somewhere around these values.

Personality:

Confidence: 53%

Humor: 5%

Morbidity: 22%

Resentful: 57% | Accepting: 43%

Strategy:

Interpersonal: 12%

Insightful: 50%

Innovative: 10%

Ethical: 43% | Expedient: 57%

KEY DECISIONS:

What is Nick’s nickname and why?: Saint Nick, used very rarely. It’s a joking reference to the time she thought Santa was an evil Ment out to ruin Christmas, and a point about Nick overdoing it with the cheer. “Saint Nick” is usually code for “I know you mean well, but please mind your own business.” Otherwise, she just calls him Nick.

What is their favorite type of cookie (and its name and why?): Salted caramel chocolate chip! No special name.

What was their initial reaction to Sally hugging them, as kids?: She just froze. That could just be me projecting adult Sabrina onto her childhood self; I don’t imagine that she was as uncomfortable around strangers or quite as cautious back then. But that’s what I’ll stick with.

How did they ace the ASE test?: The in-game option she takes is “My entire life has revolved around strategic avoidance,” but the one about being just plain smart also sounds like her. If Sab has the chance to thoroughly (over)prepare for something, she will do it. Her mind blindness also has her constantly (over)analyzing situations. So, hard work and relentless anxiety!

Did they manage to win their first assignment? How?: Yes, by having Sally block the door. I’ve headcanoned some slight differences in how it plays out, which I wrote about in-depth here. To summarize, Sab thinks of blocking the door as a desperate last resort, not a clever loophole, and she pushes back against Rosy’s praise because she wishes she could have done it the “real” way. Rosy goes from being impressed to being annoyed that she’s willfully missing the point.

What was the primary emotion Button felt during the Aeon bombing (love, gratitude, etc?): Guilt. She feels very guilty about how much Nick has given up for her in general, but I think that in the moment, it’s on a smaller scale. The fact that Nick was on the phone with her when it happened, coming to her rescue like always, becomes emblematic of their whole relationship for her, and she really fixates on that.

Who drove them home from the hospital from and why?: Glitch. Sab responds to her initial text with “Are you sure?”, and is relieved when Glitch takes that as “Yes, please.” She doesn’t relish the idea of being around someone more connected to her family or Nick at that point.

How do they feel about Nick riding around in their mind?: Worried, at first. Just because it’s so unknown and absolutely insane. After seeing Doctor Amari, she’s excited! Sab is thrilled to be a Pollard Five and intends to take full advantage of it. I am not looking forward to seeing how she reacts when that’s taken away from her.

Why did Button agree to do the undercover mission?: To prove she still deserves to be an MIV. Sabrina feels stupid and reckless for putting herself, Nick, and Aeon in this position, but she knows she’s smart, and she hasn’t worked this hard for nothing. She wants to prove what she could do with a normal Pollard Score and make herself too valuable to give up even when she’s back to Zero.

Told Glitch about your mind blindness?: Depends on the playthrough. I’m constantly going back and forth on whether Sab meets Glitch for coffee or wanders the city with Nick in her second chapter 5 slot (after trying to track down Kent). If she does meet Glitch, though, she absolutely tells her; with how touchy Sab is about privacy, she couldn’t stomach not warning Glitch that Nick could hear everything they said.

Figured out K’s secret?: Nope. She finds enough of the clues to be given the “I knew it!” option in-game, but she didn’t actually put it together. Sab is too angry and embarrassed by learning that Kent is an AMO to find any reason to interrogate it. “The random guy I met before school just happens to be a jerk” is a perfectly sound explanation to her.

Found Noh’s clues?: Not at the metro station. Sometimes she sees the Vengeance brooms in chapter 5 (again, depending on the playthrough), but that’s it.

ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP:

Love Interest: Kent

Why them?: Sab feels an immediate kinship with Kent after learning about the NPO program. It’s kind of funny how quickly he moves from the least sympathetic position in her eyes (Ment who got past me and read my mind without my knowledge) to the most sympathetic (non-powered child of a prominent family aiming a league above where he “belongs”). A lot of new respect for his competence. Her fate is sealed when she realizes that his kindness at the hospital wasn’t him trying to make up for some wrongdoing, but just him being very sweet. (She had scoffed over “You needed help.” But now she’s like, “Oh. He meant that?! Fuck.”)

As they spend more time together, Sab realizes how weirdly similar they are in other ways, too. And she starts to feel safe/secure around him in a way that she’s extremely not used to. Growing up surrounded by Ments, Sab has a lot of issues about being too much, too difficult, needing to “be worthy” of love. So someone like Kent who is not a Ment, who has no “obligation” to care about her, and whose judgement she trusts implicitly? Being around him and being loved by him mean a lot, and I think will go a long way towards helping her reflect on her other relationships!

What are their first impressions of each other?: Okay, there are like 3 first impressions with Kent. First: he’s tall and handsome and secretly adorable, and they have similar career goals, so she’s drafting a five-month plan to woo him and get his number. Second: he’s a lying, self-obsessed loser who owes her many explanations. Third: oh no, the first impression was true! And he’s been continually, selflessly kind to her in spite of her overt hostility. Scratch the five-month plan, because the crush was only fun when it was entirely superficial; now she really, really likes him and that just sucks.

We know that Button makes a good impression on K by stopping for their dogs, but apart from that... I mean, the “we confused each other” from chapter 7 is very apt. Sab has lots of shifting personas, and Kent sees pretty much every one within 24 hours. The prevailing impression before everything gets cleared up is probably just that she cares a lot? About everything? Her stopping for the dogs, how seriously she takes the first assignment, the way she seems so deeply affected by something he said or did that morning. It’s a rare side of her to meet first because she usually pretends to be above everything.

What feature does your Button find most attractive in their RO (ex. appearance, personality, etc.)?: Probably his composure. And his... steadfastness? The way he seems unruffled by anything, his soothing presence. She really admires that about him and finds the calm contagious.

What do they do to spend time together?: Going on drives together! Kent driving while Sab plays songs she thinks he’ll like, talking or not talking. Cuddling on the couch while reading their own separate books. Museum dates. Walking the dogs together.

Do they argue? How do they handle arguments and disagreements? How do they make up?: I imagine that the first month or so of their relationship would be difficult, just because they’re both bad at expressing themselves and not used to relying on other people. Kent kind of negates a lot of Sab’s impulses to get defensive or hostile, so instead of arguments, I think there are more likely to be awkward periods where she’s just stewing in something without addressing it. Most of their fights would be, like, one of them becoming really distant for a concerning number of days until the other tries to awkwardly check in on them.

What does their future look like?: Uhh some random lore: I think eventually they do get married, despite neither of them caring that much about it. Sabrina would be excited to have something to plan, and she knows it would make the people around her happy. They have a long engagement; there’s never really an “official” proposal, just an acknowledgement that yeah, they’ll get married one day, and then eventually they get rings. The engagement is almost Sab’s favorite part, honestly. She likes planning and showing off her ring and calling Kent her fiancé, a lot of fanfare on her part for a wedding that ends up being very modest and chill.

OTHER RELATIONSHIPS (Feel free to go in depth!)

Relationship with Nick: When I first started developing Sab, I thought that with as difficult/prickly as she can be, her relationship with Nick would be worse than it is. Never bad, but certainly strained, with more jealousy/resentment on her side. However, she rejected this. She is resentful, but never towards Nick—she internalizes the negative parts of their relationship so they manifest as guilt instead. And that’s the problem, not resentment. Sab thinks he’s overprotective, but that doesn’t make her angry; it just makes her sad. She wishes things were different and he didn’t feel so responsible for her, but she also doesn’t know how she could manage without him taking on so many of her burdens. So, guilt! So much love, but always looming guilt.

Having Nick in her head has helped. It’s added a new kind of guilt (“I’m a horrible person for being so giddy that people can’t hear my thoughts even though that requires my brother to be in a coma”), but getting inside Nick’s head for once and really feeling his love for her changes things. Makes her feel way more secure, I guess? It’s easier to see her brother as human person, a friend who loves her, rather than a perfect selfless paragon who sacrificed everything to raise her, which is an important shift.

There are also Things happening with self-presentation in the fact that they’re both models, and flirts, and pretend to be shallow. And the ways that they’ve responded to vastly different expectations. And selflessness versus selfishness. But I have no idea how to talk about that yet.

Relationship with Father: Strained and distant. Sabrina doesn’t necessarily blame him for leaving, but she hates how he’s handled it. She’s incredibly frustrated that John insists on keeping them in this miserable limbo of uncomfortable visits, even though moving away was (to her) a tacit acknowledgement that she and her parents are better off without each other. He’s trying to force a relationship that Sab thinks is ultimately harmful for everyone involved. For Nick’s sake, she’s willing to grin and bear the visits, but it never works because John can obviously tell it’s an act. He pushes her, she gets defensive, and so on to infinity.

Relationship with Mother: Like with John, Sab doesn’t resent Hope for the incident itself, or for leaving afterward. It was terrifying, and the idea of being around Hope makes her panic—but she thinks of that as just another irrational anxiety symptom, and she’s trying to work through it. What she does resent Hope for is letting it get to that point at all. Sab is incredibly bitter that Hope will suffer silently to the point of almost killing her (during the incident) and potentially herself (with the BRS), while Sab has no choice but to be completely open. Especially because they’re so similar in that way—she’s almost jealous. “Oh, so your silence is allowed to almost kill me and it’s ‘nobody’s fault’ but I can’t pretend to enjoy a single lunch with Dad without him calling me out for lying?”

And even though she doesn’t hold the incident itself against her, Sab is very hung up on “Why are you never quiet? Why are you always there?” She knows, on some level, that this was not a Personal Judgement against her. But because Hope keeps so much quiet, this is the only honest expression of her mother’s feelings that she can remember! It would take a lot for Sab to believe that Hope was really, genuinely interested in reconnecting with her, rather than just pretending to love her "enough” this time because to do otherwise would reflect poorly on Hope as a mother.

Relationship with Sally: Besties <3 Sally is the only member of the Wiseman inner circle that Sab doesn’t have complicated feelings about. They both have hidden morbid streaks that they bring out in each other, and can laugh about. They both have competitive streaks that work well together because they’re always on the same team. And their wants/needs from the relationship complement each other well, I think. Sally has always felt valued because she’s useful and not because she’s loved, while Sab has always felt smothered by love/care without feeling like she genuinely adds value to other people’s lives. So it means a lot to both of them that they’re able to help each other practically, while also genuinely loving and supporting each other outside of that.

Relationship with Gray: Full of trust and genuine care, but predicated on distance. Sab loves him a lot for being so careful not to cross any boundaries, physical or emotional, with her. She’s grateful that he’s there for Nick in a way that she doesn’t feel she can be. But "I like Gray because he doesn’t push me and is good to Nick” means that any hand he extend makes her defensive, because she’ll either view him as an emissary of Nick or start to panic because their normal routine is being disrupted (she doesn’t tell him about Hope in ch 3, for example).

They get along very well in a friend-of-a-friend sort of way, and bond over being cautious counterparts to Nick. Also, Sab never had a crush on Gray, but she is not immune to tall superhero and thinks it’s fun to fake flirt with him. (You know Isabela’s “You have pretty eyes” routine from DA2? Sab does that to Gray when conversations steer towards things she’d rather not talk about.)

Relationship with Glitch: I’m really excited about these two! They click from the start, and Sabrina feels immediately comfortable around Glitch, which makes her feel distinctly uncomfortable whenever she catches herself. Externally, they have pretty different personalities, but they’re both perceptive and... socially manipulative? aware of their self-presentation?... in ways that they both pick up on right away. So it’s a lot of conversational maneuvering and trying to figure out what the other’s game is, while also genuinely enjoying each other’s company.

Relationship with Kent/Kenna: I could go truly insane here. See the romance section above instead.

Relationship with Kim: Sab wants him to like her sooooo bad. He’s one of the only people to ever really get through to her, re: my headcanon conversation after the first assignment. Authority figures tend to treat her as special, whether that’s negatively because of her mind blindness or positively because she’s such an overachiever. She had no idea how to respond to that not being the case (and didn’t handle it well at first), but chapter 6 solidifies her respect for him.

It also turns Rosy’s opinion of Sab around; he was impressed by her in class but left his office thinking she was self-absorbed and naive. But the bombing is a reality check, and her response is very measured and practical in a way that surprises him.

Relationship with Lev: She doesn’t mind the comparisons to Nick or the “maybe one day they’ll fix you” comments as much as you might think. They aren’t her favorite, but she prefers that sort of thing to the inspirational platitudes belied by coddling that she got from her family growing up. Sab has fond memories of Lev and is grateful that he’s always been kind to her, but doesn’t have any particular feelings apart from that.

Relationship with Clarence: Holds a grudge against him for causing a scene, making her late, and generally being a jerk. But she can’t fault him for being right, after what happened! Mostly she just wants to avoid him, but she’ll be thrilled to lord her success over him if/when she proves herself.

Relationship with Dean Branham: Like Rosy, another authority figure that Sab desperately wants to impress. But without the personal investment she has in Rosy’s validation, more “Oh, this person is in charge, so I should make her like me!” Despite Nick’s and Rosy’s reservations, Sabrina doesn’t really have a problem with being “strongarmed” or manipulated into cooperating; for now, she figures Branham was just doing her job and respects her tactics.

Relationship/attitude towards Ments in general: Mostly just uncomfortable and wary around them. Sab doesn’t want her mind read, and she figures that no Ment wants to be forced to read it either. So she has a pretty strict “no Ments” rule for close personal relationships (excluding Nick, Sally, and Gray, of course. But only Nick really counts because he’s the only one who can hear her thoughts whenever she’s nearby). Not out of hatred or resentment, just because she knows it will be easier for everyone in the long run.

Do they have any other important relationships, past or present? (Relatives, friends, etc.?): Not many, but yes! Sab dated around a lot in the 2 years before Aeon (more like year and a half, because she completely shut it down once she was more focused on preparing for the MIV program), but there are 2 relationships that were formative/important for her. A high school sweetheart, and someone Sab met through modeling. She doesn’t keep up with her high school ex, but the model is her best friend outside of Sally and Nick, and they still keep in touch! I’m still developing them/the relationships, and I’ll probably post more about them someday. They’re fun!

PERSONAL BIO

Describe their personality: Confusing and contradictory. She has two main modes that confuse people who meet both (e.g., Kent). She’s either cold, stuck-up, and sometimes hostile, OR she’s charming, frivolous, and sometimes flirty. Mode 1 is tense but stoic and inexpressive; mode 2 is seemingly relaxed but very posed and insincere. Mode 1 is for when she feels uncertain or has no agenda apart from “get to point B”; mode 2 is for when she’s more comfortable or trying to manipulate someone. Her actual personality is a bit closer to the second, but she doesn’t pretend not take things seriously or hide when she’s annoyed.

Strengths: Analytical, methodical, detail-oriented. Very driven and hardworking. May not always act like it, but does have social skills/charisma; a great liar, if you can’t read her mind. Unfailingly loyal and loving to her favorite people, so so so warm and affectionate and supportive if she really loves you. Very perceptive.

Weaknesses: Way too proud. Can be petty and vindictive. Self-absorbed (she doesn’t mean anything by it, but it’s hard for her to see past herself sometimes). Stubborn, hates being wrong. And... emotional isn’t the word, but strong negative emotions can really cloud her judgement. It ties into her being proud, petty, and stubborn; if she’s really upset about something, she can cling to that emotion instead of re-evaluating it or moving forward.

Phobias: From this ask about the phobias that are planned to show up in-game, there are a few that I could see fitting Sab, but I want to wait to see how they’re implemented before I fully commit. Which is very metagame-y, I know (and I am very metagame-y about IF), but “fear of X” is so broad that it really does depend on when/how it manifests in the text.

That being said, agoraphobia is almost a lock; crowds do make Sab very anxious if she can’t keep track of everyone within a certain distance, and if she can’t leave when she starts feeling antsy. Claustrophobia is a maybe. The choice that triggers it (in chapter 4, about hating MRI machines) suits Sab, but I’m not sure if she hates MRI machines because she hates tight spaces, or if it’s more related to her general anxiety about hospitals, medical tests, etc. Which she definitely has!

What activities/club did they do in school?: She avoided anything group-oriented as far as possible. She took piano (maybe violin?) lessons and did recitals, but wasn’t in orchestra. The one exception was maybe National Honor Society or some equivalent, which she would have joined for her resume’s sake. And I think she would have tutored!

Where do they escape to when they need space?: A little used library corner, where she can people watch without being seen/heard.

How do they feel about/cope with their mind blindness?: Sab hates it but tries not to dwell on it. She knows that it’s no one’s fault, and she mainly just tries to... minimize it? Drown out her thoughts, limit her contact with Ments. And, least healthily, very rigidly managing herself. Because there’s so much of her that exists outside of herself, without her control, she tries to either filter or completely suppress everything else. Part of why she got into modeling, she can perform and be perfect and have total control over the final product of her body in the photographs for whatever campaign. Some Day This Will Be Better. But definitely not where she is in current canon.

How has your Button changed since the Incident with Hope?: Developed many new anxieties and disorders and syndromes :) She also became way more self-conscious, as in literally conscious of and way more tightly monitoring herself, what she’s thinking, what she’s expressing, how she’s sitting, etc. Less emotive face, more rigid posture.

If they weren’t an Aeon student, what would they be doing?: Sab would have beaten herself up forever if she “proved everyone right” by avoiding Unity/Ments entirely, so she’d want to stay in the family business somehow. She probably would have ended up doing scientific research on mental agility. Maybe even working for Mirrortech or some other biotech company, which I imagine would have been an interesting conversation to have with the family.

RANDOM FACTS:

Zodiac sign: Like I said, I assigned her Libra months ago for the sake of a template. But I don’t know enough about astrology to commit. Libra or Leo, probably.

Hobbies: Music, reading poetry, “cooking” (i.e., sitting on the counter and not helping while Nick makes dinner)

Likes: Watching other people (Nick) play video games, dressing up, taking long showers/baths, dark chocolate with caramel, back hugs

Dislikes: Being patronized, hot weather, going to the doctor, driving, doing anything she is not good at

Type of bedsheets: Bamboo.

Drink of choice: Cucumber mint lemonade! For hot drinks, some kind of caramel coffee. For alcohol, she refuses to get drunk because she’s terrified of having even less control of her mental broadcast, but at home/around people she trusts she’ll have a glass or two of wine. Doesn’t know enough to be picky, but doesn’t like it too sweet.

Favorite food: Probably some pasta dish Nick makes with asparagus and tomatoes and a lot of garlic.

Favorite color: Like a light turquoise!

Favorite music: Music to her was another mind-shielding tactic before anything else, so she tends to like upbeat-ish electronic/pop stuff. Catchy and repetitive, and/or with lots of personality to drown out her own thoughts. On the other end of the spectrum, she does have a soft spot for crackly, lo-fi, old or old-sounding slow songs—something about fuzzy recordings simulating a weak telepathic signal.

Favorite season: Hmm, spring and autumn are both good. She likes either side of winter.

Anything else you’d like to share: My heart and a long, fulfilling marriage, with anyone who reads all this 💍

[nothing-but-dreamy]

TRUE COLORS ~ Ch. 6

Wanna start? Masterlist

Pairing: DBH!Connor x OC!Maya

Words: 2.193 (yes, it's a bit longer but I really love this chapter and didn't want to cut it somwhere)

Warning: some cursing;

Connor stayed the rest of the evening and the whole night with Maya. And as she awoke the next morning, she was surprised and very happy to see that Connor was still there. As Maya walked into the living room, she saw Connor staying in front of the terrarium, watching her little friend.

"Haven't you met Trevor before?", Maya asked and joined Connor.

"You named your gecko Trevor?", he asked, visibly amused.

"Sure. It isn't that he would care anyway. I mean, it's a gecko. I don’t think he understands one single word I’m telling him. Maybe it’s better this way.", she answered with a wink. Connor smiled but it faltered a bit.

"Hank had called me. Maybe we have a lead for our case."

"Sounds good. When do you have to leave?"

"He will be here in five minutes."

"Oh, then it's good I woke up or you would have sneaked out again, huh?", Maya joked but she saw that Connor didn't get it. He blinked with his eyes and tilted his head. Then, his expression changed as he searched for the right words.

"Thank you, again. I… I really appreciate what you do for me."

"I'm here for you whenever you need me, Connor.", Maya said honestly and Connor nodded before he left to meet Hank on the street.

"Connor, wait!", Maya called out and the android stopped. She ran towards him, got on her tiptoes and flung her arms around his neck.

"Please, be careful, okay? Don’t get shot again.", Maya said, softly smiling and he nodded not knowing what the right reaction would be. This much affection towards him confused him but in a nice way.

***

"Another night spent with Maya, huh?", Hank asked and watched the android closely as he entered the car.

"Yes, it was helpful. Where are we going?", Connor asked as the lieutenant hit the road.

"We have to meet someone."

Forty minutes and a quick stop at the CyberLife Tower later, Hank parked his car in front of an abstract and cubical building. As Hank's phone rang, he left the car to answer it. Connor looked one last time over the area before he left the car as well to join Hank who walked up and down.

"Is everything okay, Lieutenant?", Connor asked as he closed up to his partner.

"Chris was on patrol last night. He got attacked by a bunch of deviants but he got saved by Markus himself."

"Is Chris okay?"

"Yeah, he is under shock but he is okay. These are crazy times at the moment.", Hank said and walked to the front door of the building.

"I have a bad feeling, Lieutenant."

"Bad feeling, huh? Have you checked your program? It might be a glitch.", Hank teased but Connor frowned. After everything that had happened the last few days, Connor was insecure if something might be really wrong with him or his program.

[X] shoot

[O] spare

Connor pointed Kamski's gun at the head of the kneeling Chloe. He looked her straight in the eyes. Her LED was spinning blue. She wasn't concerned. She was a machine and she just watched him patiently. But Connor was disturbed. His LED was spinning yellow as his system was working. There was a clash between his instructions to get information for his mission and … something else.

… I'm convinced you will be able to find a way to solve this case without killing someone. There is always an alternative. To spare someone's life is always better…

Maya's soft voice echoed through his mind and reminded him of everything she had tried to teach him the first night. Suddenly, the eyes he looked into weren't the eyes of Chloe anymore, instead he saw Maya's bright eyes and her smile.

The LED was moving erratic red as he acted against his instructions: Connor pulled the gun away from the kneeling android. Kamski stepped around Connor and watched him.

"Fascinating. CyberLife's last chance to save humanity is itself a deviant."

"I- I'm not a deviant."

"You spared its life rather than to accomplish your mission. You saw a living being in this android. You showed empathy."

"Okay, that's enough. We're leaving.", Hank said and pushed Connor away from the eccentric scientist. Connor was almost out of the room as Kamski spoke up.

"By the way, I always leave an emergency exit in my programs. You might never know.", Kamski said and Connor left the villa with a troubled mind. He passed Hank who followed slowly behind Connor.

"You said you would do everything to accomplish your mission."

"I- I know…", Connor stammered.

"Why haven't you shot?"

"I don't know, okay? I just saw Maya's eyes and I couldn't-"

"Maya?"

"Th...the girls eyes, I meant."

"But you said Maya. You like her a lot, don't you? Well, obviously, she has a good effect on you.", Hank said with a smile and passed a confused looking Connor.

***

"It snows again.", Gary said dryly.

"You mean, it's still snowing. I never saw it stop for one sec.", Maya stated and gave a customer his order while she looked at the grey sky. She liked snow but not if she had to work in this cold truck. Tom, one of the construction workers, who always came over in his lunch break, joined the truck, as well.

"Hey man, have you heard about the deviant attack at the Plaza? They have destroyed the whole place.", Tom said. Maya had seen the so-called 'attack' on the news but even then, she wasn't trusting the anchorman and his information. Somehow, she was sure that Markus and the others hadn't been violent how it got displayed.

"Yeah, man! That's the reason why I still don't have one. I don't trust these things.", Gary admitted with a spiteful undertone.

"They're not things!", Maya insisted but no one supported her opinion. Gary crossed his arms and shook his head about his sister.

"You're sympathizing with these terrorists? After everything they have done so far?"

"They are not violent!", Maya called out and threw the flipper on the table.

"Haven't you seen the news this morning?"

"Sure, I have-"

"Then you saw how they have destroyed the CyberLife store and everything around!", Gary argued back. Maya gritted her teeth. The fact that they had broken into the store with a truck wasn't helpful for her argument. But still, she was convinced that the news had misrepresented the android’s action.

"They just want to be heard! No one would listen to them-", she argued.

"It would be better if they stay silent, if you ask me! Oh, hey, Jim! What's up man?", Gary said and turned over to the next customer. Maya hated it to be ignored but she also hated to have this kind of conversation with her brother again and again.

*

"Hey! Good to see you! The usual?", Gary asked the next customer.

"Yeah-"

"Good but please, send this thing away. It's an android free zone here!", Gary said and Maya turned around to see who his brother was talking to. Maya saw Hank and then, her eyes fell on Connor who smiled at her softly and nodded slightly to greet her.

"Hey, plastic asshole! What are you staring at?", Gary asked angry and stepping into the line between Connor and Maya. This was the point where Maya had enough.

"Gary! Shut the fuck up!"

"Stay out of this!”, Gary hissed and glared then at Connor, “And you, go away!"

"You won't send him away!", Maya hissed back.

"This is my truck and my rules! And I don't send him away! I send it away!", Gary said and turned around to Maya with gleaming eyes.

"His name is Connor and you will apologize to him because he's my friend!"

"Your friend? Are you out of your stupid mind? You can't be serious!"

"I am very serious, Gary!", Maya hissed through gritted teeth and stepped closer to her brother.

"Maya, I swear to god-"

"That's enough!", Hank called out to stop them, "Gary, calm down! It's still your sister you're talking to so, calm the fuck down. Connor, I guess Maya could use a break. Accompany her a bit.", Hank said further and watched how Maya stepped back and out of the truck. She threw her apron into a corner with more force than necessary and grabbed her coat and scarf.

"Hank! You can't let her walk around with this thing!", Gary called out frustrated. Once again, Maya stopped and glared at her brother, ready to jump at him again but Hank pushed her carefully further as he saw her angry eyes.

"I trust him. Connor, we meet us later in the DPD.", Hank said with no room for any more objection from anyone.

*

"I'm so sorry for my brother’s behaviour. Sometimes, he can be such a jerk!", Maya said frustrated after they had walked a bit. She was so angry that she couldn't even look at Connor.

"It's okay-"

"No it isn't!", Maya called out and stopped suddenly. Connor stopped as well and looked confused at her.

"No matter if android or not, no one should be treated like that!", Maya called out and Connor stepped closer.

"You defended me in front of your brother. No one ever did that.”, he said with a soft smile, “Maya, you have the best intentions but not everyone sees it this way and some people won't ever see it like you.", Connor said low.

"It's frustrating.", Maya said but calmed slowly down. The cold air and the falling snow cooled her temper. They continued their way side by side. Maya snuggled deeper into her coat and pushed her hands deeper into the pockets while Connor walked just casually next to her, seemingly unaware of the cold. She watched him, gnawed on her lower lip and asked the question in her mind.

"Aren't you freezing? It's so cold!"

"No. My systems regulate my temperature to a perfect level. See?", Connor said and offered her his hand. Maya smiled because it was completely innocent from him but the butterflies in her stomach danced happily around. She took the hand and because Connor had learnt it recently, he intertwined his fingers with hers. Connor's hand was perfectly warm. And like this, hand in hand, they started to walk again.

"How's your case doing? Was the lead helpful?", Maya asked after five minutes of comfortable silence. The android next to her stayed silent but the LED told her something was bothering him. The LED was spinning yellow with a bit of red.

"Connor?", Maya asked, carefully pushing.

"We have met Kamski-"

"Kamski? You mean the Elijah Kamski?", Maya asked surprised and Connor nodded.

"Hank could make an appointment with him."

"And?", Maya asked excitedly as the android stayed silent.

"We...we haven't found out something useful.", Connor said but stared at the ground, avoiding her glance. Maya knew that he was hiding something.

"Connor, please. Tell me what happened. Something keeps you busy.", Maya said softly and looked at him encouragingly with a smile.

"Maybe he knew something but I…"

"Yeah?"

"I failed. Again.", Connor admitted low and looked away from her. Doubts were written on his face. Maya stopped and stepped in front of Connor. With her hand on his cheek, she turned his face back to her. With a sad expression he looked at the small woman in front of him who was simply nice and sweet towards him. Suddenly, he realized he was going to lose this if he wouldn’t make any progress soon.

"Why do you think you have failed? What happened there?", Maya asked and waited. Connor looked into the distance, his LED spinning yellow as he reconstructed the happenings earlier that day.

"There was this 'Kamski Test'. I had to pass it if I wanted information from him. If I would have passed this test, he would have told me what I needed to know but I… I…", Connor stopped and looked Maya straight into the ocean blue eyes he had seen earlier in a different situation.

"Yeah?", Maya said encouragingly and squeezed his hand, "I'm here for you."

"The test was to kill one of his androids."

"What? That's ridiculous! What kind of test shall this be?", she said shocked.

"It is based on the Turing Test. The test shall show if a machine is able to feel empathy. In the end, Kamski put a gun in my hand while his Chloe knelt in front of me."

"And, then?", Maya asked, feeling on edge. Connor looked away and she tried to give him time. As it was almost too long for her to endure the silence, Connor looked back at her.

"I couldn't kill the android. I saw yo- something in her eyes and I couldn't shoot.", Connor closed his explanation. There was something else. Something in his voice. He wanted to say something else but before Maya could wrap her mind around it, the thought was gone.

"You spared her life because of empathy. That is good. Don't blame yourself, Connor.", Maya said reassuringly but she saw that Connor was still troubled.

[writingpaperghost]

There is a Me Who Can Become Strong (Chapter 8)

Chapter 8: Men, Fly High!

Nico challenges Emu, finally getting her rematch. Later, Kiriya comes to her with a curious request.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32857183/chapters/82613050

While Emu was busy tending to Mr. Okada, Asuna spoke with Shiori, outside the hospital. They were still trying to determine all the sources of Mr. Okada’s stress, especially since Emu had confirmed that he was still infected with the Jet Combat strain.

“The factory hasn’t been doing well,” Shiori admits, sounding concerned, “It’s small and so I tried to help however I could.”

Asuna considered her words, “Maybe the reason your father fired you was so you could focus on your own path?” She offered, “He probably doesn’t want you to get distracted worrying about him or the factory.”

“But I want to help,” Shiori insisted, “So he has no reason to think I’m getting distracted.”

It was probably all more complicated than either of them were really making it sound, but Asuna at least thought she understood where Shiori was coming from. At the same time, she also understood where Mr. Okada was coming from.

As Shiori leaves, Asuna returns into the hospital, intending to give her theory about Mr. Okada’s stress to Emu. Or Saki, even. Someone. She’d tell someone. Finally arriving in the CR, she sees that Emu is still running through checks on Mr. Okada.

Entering the patient room, she finally gets a chance to give her theory, “Could your factory be a part of what’s stressing you?”

“That could be,” Mr. Okada considers, “Workers have been leaving.”

At that moment, as if on cue, Mr. Okada’s Game Disease flared up, glitching appearing on his body. Emu seems to have enough of an idea of where to look, “His factory,” He says quietly to her as they rush out of the room, “I bet that’s where the Bugster is.” Asuna can’t help but agree.

Saki walks into the hallways and intercepts them, “Keep an eye on the patient,” She said, “I’ll head with Asuna. I imagine that Saiba might be there.”

Hesitantly, Emu agrees.

---

Nico is currently camped out in front of a factory. It belongs to the current patient of the CR. She’s overheard Asuna and the lady the Bugster attacked earlier talk about it. As far as Nico is concerned, this is probably a good place to wait for the Jet Combat Bugster. After all, if she was going to beat M, she needed access to Level 3. Which meant she needed the Gashat in the Bugster’s head. It’d gotten away earlier, but she wasn’t letting it get away again. Nope, no way. She wasn’t going to listen to Taiga give her shit about it.

And her plan went exactly as she was hoping, because there was the Bugster! Pulling out the Bang Bang Shooting Gashat, from her relatively newly acquired pouch hidden under her skirt, she’s ready to transform and get that Gashat.

Bang Bang Shooting!

Level Up! Ba-Ba-Bang! Bang-Ba-Bang! Bang Bang Shooting!

Of course, just as she transformed, Saki and Asuna arrive, apparently having come to the same conclusion as Nico had. But M already had Gekitotsu Robots, and Brave the DoReMiFa Beat Gashat, so as far as Nico was concerned, she needed this Gashat more. Besides, this was what she’d set out to do today.

The Bugster is using its jetpack to fly in the air, so Nico uses the most obvious solution. She switches her gun to its rifle mode and takes aim. Luckily, she has pretty good aim, so she’s easily able to hit the Bugster’s jetpack, causing it to begin to fall. Aiming again, she shoots the Gashat out of its head and rushes to get it.

New Gashat now in hand, she strolls over to the Bugster, which now was no longer able to move. How silly, just making a Bugster that needs a Gashat to move. Oh well, it suited her and Taiga’s plans well enough. Grabbing the Bugster, she looks over at Saki and Asuna.

“Brave, here’s the deal,” She begins, “I’m gonna take this Bugster, and you’re going to tell M he’s going to have come fight me. Whoever wins gets the other’s Gashats. Okay?”

Saki frowned, “As if we’d agree to such a thing,”

Nico shakes her head, “No, no, Brave, you tell M. He gets to decide whether or not to agree, not you. You’re not a part of the fight, here.” She gestures towards the Bugster, “Except for in getting this. I just want my proper rematch against M, now.”

She takes off and leaves with the Bugster. This was a bit of an underhanded plan, but Nico had to give it to Taiga, it would do them good. Hopefully, she’d have had her rematch with M, and Taiga would have some more Gashats to study.

---

Emu, Saki, and Director Kagami are in the CR, Saki and the director sitting at the table while Emu paced a bit. Saki had just finished relaying what happened at the factory with Nico.

“She can’t seriously think that Hojo would accept,” The director wondered, “That wouldn’t make sense.”

Saki sighed, “Well, she seems to think he will,” She watches as the director takes a bite of the cake he had. She looks like she’d like some, but is ignoring it. “Of course, we need to find a way to get the Bugster from her.”

Pausing his pacing, Emu looks at the two, “I’m going to accept Nico’s challenge.”

“What?” Director Kagami sputtered, looking incredibly shocked, “That sounds like a terrible idea!”

“Emu,” Saki says carefully, “It’s a terrible danger. We don’t know what she might try. And the risk is too great, she’ll take your Gashats if you lose.”

It looks like Emu’s considering their words, or at least Saki’s. Finally, he says, “It’s a risk I’m willing to take. Nico issued a challenge to Genius Gamer M, I’m not going to turn that down.” He doesn’t quite seem like himself. Normally, he’d be focusing on the patient, but right now… It seemed like allure of the game is more interesting to him, “So I’m going to accept. Then we should be able to get the Bugster defeated, too.”

Standing, Saki says, “You can’t do this, it’s too much of a risk.”

“I’ll be fine,” Emu chirped and something told Saki he really wasn’t acting himself. He gestures to himself, “Genius Gamer M, remember?”

With that, he leaves.

Sighing, Saki decides she might as well check on the patient. She figures she should probably inform him of what happened to his factory. Then she’d have to catch up with Emu to make sure the Bugster is defeated. Asuna joins her as she enters.

“Mr. Okada,” She begins, “I regret to inform you that your factory has… sustained some damages.”

“Saki,” Asuna warns, “Don’t stress him out,”

Mr. Okada just sighed, “It seems I’ll just have to close down, let the employees go.”

Something about that didn’t quite sit right with Saki. “Perhaps,” She began, “You should visit it.”

She couldn’t continue much because Asuna’s already grabbed her arm and is dragging her out of the room. She costume changes to Poppy and glares at Saki, looking unusually exasperated with her, “Why would you suggest that?”

Saki considered for a moment, not entirely sure herself. Then she realized something, “Hearing about the destruction of the factory hadn’t caused him to disappear.”

---

“Hey, Kuroto?” Mu asked, standing by Kuroto’s desk. He can’t see what Kuroto is working on, but he’s pretty sure it’s the last Gashat. Which he’s pretty sure is also Graphite’s, but that was different story. Kuroto looks up, pausing his typing for a moment. “You were already feeling the side effects from the Prototype Gashat by now, weren’t you?”

Kuroto considered for a moment, before answers, “Yes, you’re right. Why do you ask?”

Mu didn’t immediately respond, instead pulling the Proto Mighty Action X Gashat out of his pocket. Finally, he responds, “I don’t think it’s hurting me,” He looked thoughtful, “Though I guess I could just not be noticing.”

“You’d notice,” Kuroto immediately responded, “Even with your pain tolerance, you’d notice.”

“So isn’t it strange that I’m not?”

“It… is,” Kuroto agreed, “It could be the Proto Gashats don’t affect you the same way they do me.” Which Mu thought would be a bit weird, until he thought about it. Then he supposed it made sense.

“Huh,” Mu finally says, “Yeah, I don’t see why it couldn’t be that.”

Kuroto’s eyes fall on the Proto Gashat, before he sighed, “I am going to need the Gashats for a bit,” When Mu gives him an inquisitive and concerned look, he continues, “I have a something I need to take care of. Don’t worry, it won’t be much.”

---

Saki and Asuna arrive at Mr. Okada’s factory, patient in tow. Though the factory is pretty destroyed, there are three workers from the factory who are there, trying to clean up. Mr. Okada watches them intently.

“It wasn’t the factory you were worried about, Mr. Okada,” Saki begins, “It was the workers. You worried for their safety and for their livelihoods.”

The three workers jog up to them, smiling. One of them says, “We’re going to get the factory back up and running, don’t worry boss!” The other two nod in agreement.

Shiori arrives, looking at her father for a moment before apologizing, “I’m sorry,” She said, “For not understanding your reasoning. But I understand now.”

Saki smiled, seeing how happy Mr. Okada seemed at all of this. Perhaps, this was what Emu always meant, when he said that a smile was the proof of your health. At the very least, there was something nice, knowing that all they had to worry about was defeating the Bugster.

---

Emu arrives at Nico’s meeting place, being greeted with the sight of the Bugster tied up, with Nico standing beside it. She’s on her phone, but quickly notices him.

“M,” She grinned, putting her phone in her coat pocket, “You came.”

With just as much of a grin, Emu let himself fall more into the persona of Genius Gamer M and responds, “Of course, who am I to turn down a challenge?”

Pulling out her Gashats and Gamer Driver, Nico laughs a bit, “Good, consider this our rematch.” She quickly transforms into Level 2 – Emu thinks it’s a bit odd that she doesn’t use the Jet Combat Gashat, but doesn’t worry too much about it. “And hey, you can deal with this Bugster if you win.”

Taking out both his Gashats, Emu decides that he’s going to win. There was no way he was losing to Nico, definitely not after last time. He felt a thrill of a challenge, something he hadn’t felt since six years ago.

Mighty Action X!

Gekitotsu Robots!

Buttobase! Totsugeki! Gekitotsu punch! Gekitotsu Robots!

Immediately taking Level 3, Emu runs towards Nico, dodging out of the way of her bullets and punching at her. Nico dodges to the side, kicking him in retaliation and causing him to stumble a little. He takes his axe and decides that his main plan of attack will be to focus on close combat. Nico only had ranged weapons, so it would be harder for her to block his axe.

He slashes at her, which dodges out of the way of, clearly trying to put some distance between them. Not willing to let her find a way to get an advantage, Emu slashes again, hoping to keep her on the defensive. After one slash, Nico shoots him, despite how close they are, which is enough to give her time to move away so that he can’t easily attack her. His weapon has a gun mode, but Nico had a whole gun, and he was pretty sure she was better equipped for range combat than he was.

The two are preparing to trade blows once more when a familiar jingle plays.

Do-Do-DoReMiFa-So-La-Ti-Do! Ok! DoReMiFa Beat!

Saki has arrived, quickly transforming into Level 3 too. Emu frowns, wondering why she showed up. This fight is supposed to be between him and N, not Saki, him, and N. Saki calls out, “Saiba, give us the Bugster so we can do our duties as doctors and cure our patient!”

Nico huffs, just a bit shy of being a scoff, and shot back, “I’m not a doctor, remember? I don’t have to worry about your patient or whatever.” She looks between the two other Riders, “I just want to have my rematch with M, alright?”

She looks around, “Actually…” Emu doesn’t think that she’s had a change of heart on the matter. She pulls out the Jet Combat Gashat. Well things were going to get harder.

Jet Combat!

Jet! Jet! In the sky! Jet! Jet! Jet Combat!

The Jet Combat Gashat gives Snipe another layer of armor, what appears to be a jetpack on her back, and what are definitely a pair of guns on her sides. Like she didn’t already have enough Gun. The piece that was over one of her eyes, like a bang, has now flipped up. She shoots one of her barrels and quickly grabs the item from it, applying it to the Bugster. The Bugster shrinks and Nico is probably grinning a bit when she says, “Now you can’t just go destroying it.” She points at Saki, “Now, Brave, stay out of this!”

Using the jetpack now on her back, Nico takes to the skies and begins to shoot at the two. Most of the fire is aimed at Emu, though, prompting him to try to block it with Gekitotsu Robots’ arm. He attempts to switch his weapon to gun mode and shoot back, but there’s just too much for him to get a good aim.

It doesn’t take long before Emu’s thrown to the ground, his Gashat’s falling. Ouch, that hurt. And… he lost. He properly lost to N. Well, that was impressive, if a bit annoying. Yeah, he was getting a lecture for this later.

Nico swoops down and grabs the Gekitotsu Robots Gashat. Then she looks over at Saki and contemplates for a moment.

“I tell you what, Brave,” She holds up the Bugster and throws it in Brave’s direction, “Since you didn’t really interfere, you can have the Bugster now!”

For one reason or another, the Bugster is able to fight once more, meaning that Saki had no choice but to turn her attention to the now normal sized Bugster. She attempts to fight the Bugster, only for all too familiar sounds to be heard behind her, up in the sky.

Jet Critical Strike!

The attack hits not just the Bugster, destroying it, but also Saki, knocking her out of her transformation, her Gashats also falling to the ground.

Game Clear!

Nico lands near Saki, picking up the DoReMiFa Beat Gashat. Sounding almost a bit apologetic, she says, “Sorry, Brave. But I have to hold up my end of the bargain now. Can’t just ignore the guy, after all.”

Pushing herself up just a bit, Saki looks up at Nico and asks, “You end of the bargain? With who?”

Removing her Gashats from her Driver, Nico looks down at Saki, seeming thoughtful for a moment. She answers, “I think you know him,” Then adds, “His name’s Taiga.”

---

Kiriya knows precisely who he’s looking for, but he wasn’t expecting the person to come to him. Standing across from him was none other than Kuroto Dan, still dressed far too formally for a man who’s been a wanted criminal for six years.

“I hear,” Kuroto begins, “You’ve been poking into things. Into Gemn.” It’s not clear whether he’s referring to the company or the Rider. Kiriya thinks he might be about to find out.

“Yeah, actually,” He says, steeling himself into a nonchalant tone, “Maybe you could help me with some of that.” It’s not really a question, they both know Kuroto wouldn’t help him.

Kuroto pulls out a Gamer Driver and two Gashats, the ones that Gemn had been using. That pretty much confirmed his theory that, at some point, Kuroto is or has been Gemn. Doesn’t tell Kiriya much about who that other man is, though. Kiriya pulls his own Gamer Driver and Gashat out, ready to fight.

Mighty Action X!

Shakariki Sports!

Bakusou Bike!

Giri Giri Chambara!

Shakariki! Shakariki! Bad Bad! Shaka to Riki to Shakariki Sports!

Giri-Giri-Giri-Giri Chambara!

The two exchange blows, Kiriya with his sickles and Kuroto not with the hammer sword combo they’ve seen before, but some kind of device, like what Graphite had had. As it turned out, the device as a chain saw attached to it. For some reason.

After a bit of fighting, they’re both ready to try and end it.

Giri Giri Critical Finish!

Shakariki Critical Strike!

The attacks knock both of them out of their armor. Kiriya glares at Kuroto and asks, “Who’s that other person who uses those Gashats? The other Gemn?”

Kuroto straightens himself up, looking at Kiriya with something that was probably disdain, “That, is of little importance to you, Lazer.” He sounds far to smug when he speaks, “Though I hear he did a number on you a few days ago.”

Kiriya groaned internally, realizing that trying to get information from Kuroto was probably not going to work. Of course, there’s no point in giving away too much information about your master plan, either.

Continuing, Kuroto points out, with a smug glee, “Which reminds me, isn’t it odd that Para-DX, that Emu Hojo, doesn’t so much as wear a Gamer Driver, let alone use it?” Kuroto gestures to his own Driver and to Kiriya’s, “Or never even had the compatibility surgery? He simply uses Gashats and somehow doesn’t get infected. Perhaps he’s the one you should be looking into, not me.”

As Kuroto leaves, Kiriya does little to try to stop him. It wouldn’t do much good, anyway. He can’t help but admit… Kuroto has a point. Emu doesn’t use a Gamer Driver, but he’s somehow able to transform. Even activating a Gashat alone should have infected him. But somehow, he was able to use them, to transform like the rest of the Riders. What was going on with that? With Para-DX?

He… was going to need some help. From someone who might be able to poke into some different things than what Kiriya could figure out on his own. And lucky for him, he knew just who to ask, assuming she’d help.

---

Nico had already dropped off the Gashats she’d promised Taiga, now she was just sitting in the room she’d commandeered. She wasn’t really sure what to do now. She’d gotten her rematch against M and… It wasn’t nearly as satisfying as she’d thought it would have been.

The most obvious answer would be to drop all this and move on with her life. Let Taiga have the Driver and Gashats and be Snipe again. She could go back to gaming and not have to worry about things.

But that didn’t feel quite right. There was just… something here that didn’t quite feel right. She didn’t want to quit being Snipe, at least not yet. She just didn’t know why.

“Yo, Genius Gamer N,” Looking up, she sees Kiriya walking into the room, looking around idly. She’s not sure when he got here, or why, but she is curious.

“Mo-Kujo,” She says, blinking. She watches him for a moment, before asking, “Why are you here?”

Kiriya leans against the wall, ever casual, “I could use your help with something,” He answers, “After all, it sounds like you’re good at digging things up.”

Nico leans back, not taking her eyes off him, “Depends on what it is,” She responds, “What’s this you need my help with?”

“You ever think it’s odd that Ace doesn’t use a Gamer Driver?” He asks, like it wasn’t one of, if not the most, baffling and mysterious things about M. Of course she’d wondered, thought it was odd! She just could never come up with an answer.

“Yeah,” Nico doesn’t want to sound too interested too quickly. While she’s willing enough to trust Kiriya, he’s obviously on the trail of something, she’s not so willing that she’ll trust him a lot, at the moment. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

Pushing himself off the wall, Kiriya looks down over his sunglasses, “Well, I’m trying to figure out why,” And that does sound intriguing, “I think there’s a whole lot more going on here.”

Nico considers, for a moment. M has been a big fixture of her life, thinking that there was something odd about him, some mystery… It made her a bit excited, in a weird way. But there was also something else. She’d been looking for an excuse to stay as Snipe, and digging into another Rider would be plenty enough reason.

She was curious and she was excited, which with Nico, could be a bit of a dangerous combination, depending on who you were.

“You’ve got yourself a deal,” She grins, “Just let me know what you need help with.”

---

Graphite stands in front of Kuroto’s desk, rifling through the drawers. Mu looks up from his seat on the couch, the pause sound effect for Jet Combat being heard as he does so. Graphite pauses, for a moment, before continuing.

Hesitantly, Mu asks, “Graphite… what are you doing digging through big bro’s desk?”

Looking up, Graphite presents whatever he’d been looking for. A Gashat, grey colored. Still, Mu can make out the text on it. Drago Knight Hunter Z. The Gashat that would be Graphite’s.

“Why do you need that?” He asks, hoping that his voice doesn’t sound too terribly concerned. Kuroto was out, but he might be upset if he realizes Graphite took the Gashat.

“I have a plan,” Graphite answers, “Would you like to see it start?”

Mu doesn’t really think they should be coming up with plans without Kuroto, but he also doesn’t want his friend to try anything on his own. After several moments of deliberation, Mu finally gives his answer, a hesitant, “Okay.”

They make their way to a rooftop, where Graphite holds the Gashat up. Mu watches warily. In a sudden movement, Graphite stabs the Gashat into himself, startling Mu. While Graphite grunts, Mu just watches as orange, blue, and black glitches streamed out of the Bugster.

Unsure of what he’s seeing, Mu backs away slightly, before moving forward again, reaching out in worry.

[goodproofingwater]

Chapter 16 | Tinder Tommy

Words: 1953 Notes: hello my lovelies, i am so sorry that this has taken so long - i feel like this has literally been months and you deserve better! lots of shit has been happening in my life which has meant that i haven’t really had the focus to do anything but watch brooklyn 99 or peaky blinders for the 500th time, but ya girl is back for now! I hope that you are all still with me and are looking forward to seeing how Tommy works with his new found affection! This chapter pairs directly with @idesiretomhardy​‘s Mr Solomons story (in that the dialogue is the same in parts, and the timelines are the same. These stories exist in the same universe. Enjoy!

Taglist (just send me a message if you would like to be added):

@a-dorky-book-keeper @ishoutmarcoandyoushout @idesiretomhardy @theamuz @blinderscaps @peakywriting @justanothershelby @contemporary-mary @auroravipers @moonyscardigans @peakysxshelby @miss-shelby-barnes @vintage-fantasyyy @ly—canthrope @morgan-1830 @i-love-you-green @l0tsofpennies @exploringmycosmicsoul @maah-chan @peakyblindersengland

The journey to Birmingham was almost pleasant. The first class ticket his assistant had scored him came with whiskey and although he couldn’t smoke, the journey was so seamless that he was only craving a cigarette when he stepped into the fresh air of Birmingham new street.

It had always amazed him in the way it only could a local to Birmingham that he could get to between the London office and the place it had all began in a matter of hours. He remembered when he had to call a car to get to the London office when it just started up, when the trains were so shit that he had to rely on his own mileage to get there. But so much had changed since then. He had changed since then.

Tommy Shelby crawled into Small Heath four hours after he had reluctantly left his home in Mayfair, the staff he had in the midlands office a far cry from the suit wearing, polished people in Canary Wharf.

“Good afternoon Mr Shelby,” the receptionist spoke, smiling at him and looking toward the old knocked down wall which led to the rest of what they loosely called the Birmingham office.

The large room had once been three or four terrace houses but had long since been knocked through, a small platform allowed for John to stand by a massive touch screen where he was checking stock prices and the market which was much further from their legitimate business.

The business in the north was far different from the import and export business in the south, and far from legal.

Shelby Company Limited were the first company in history to produce software which allowed the significant players in import and export of illegal goods to check market price, and buy and sell illegal goods on a secure server which was entirely untraceable.

The software was a massive success, and had gained the Shelby name infamy with even the most brutal and violent drug cartels still operating in the 21st century.

“So what was so urgent that I had to get a train up here immediately?”

John stepped aside and showed him the spreadsheet he was working on, and pulled up the share prices for drugs so it sat next to it.

“By all accounts, the cocaine market is following the same pattern as it did 5 years ago”

John didn’t have to go into detail for Tommy to remember the influx of cocaine into the country via a rival London based company, and the price drop which followed due to supply heavily outweighing demand. It had been the main reason Tommy had set up the office in the south.

“Is it Kimber again? Because I swear to god—“

“Not Kimber. His company uses our software now and he called the support team thinking it was a fucking glitch in the system”

Tommy’s brow furrowed as he eyed the prices and the spreadsheet which showed the fluctuations John had been keeping track of since the incident so long ago.  

“And uh.. that’s not all” John spoke, gesturing for Tommy to follow him into his office and he did, taking a seat in one of the plush leather chairs which sat on the other side of Johns desk while his younger brother poured them whiskey and placed the glasses in front of them. “As well as the share prices I’ve been keeping track of the weight of the product coming in and going out. It’s been declining steadily for the last week. Not by much, not even enough to alert me at the start but it’s going down an ounce each time.”

“So you’re telling me someone is skimming off the top?” And John nodded, sipping his whiskey as he unintentionally mirrored Tommy’s posture, leaning back in his chair with one ankle resting on the other knee.

Tommy let out a sigh, hating that there was yet another issue that he had to deal with. External problems like share prices and supply and demand came with the territory. Internal problems were not something he had patience for.

“Any theories who it is?”

“You mean except Michael?” The malice in Johns voice was matched only by his expression, his hate and disdain for his cousin clear in everything from his brow to his clenched fingers around his glass.

Tommy responded only by rolling his eyes, Michael’s drug problem being something he was fully aware of.

“Michael pays for what he takes. And he pays double. Any real theories?”

John remained quiet, sipping his whiskey and allowing his silence to speak for itself.

“Fantastic.” Tommy sighed, downing his whiskey in one gulp and plucking a cigarette from the case he had pulled from his inside pocket. “Do we at least know which office?”

“Oh it’s definitely up here. The coke is lighter way before it even touches county lines”

Tommy lets out a sigh with the exhale of his cigarette, smoke billowing from his nose as the prospect of someone stealing and the punishment they deserve runs through his mind.

“Alright. I’ll speak to the managers up here separately and let them know what’s going on, ask them to keep an eye. I don’t want either of us up here if there’s a supply/demand problem in case we get raided. These people will get away with saying they were following orders, but we’re the fucking captains.”

John nods, sipping his whiskey and glancing out of the window, his mind clearly trying to puzzle out who it could be as Tommy did the same.

--

Later that evening, Tommy slipped into a bar in new street to wait for an old friend. One that he couldn’t quite believe was even stepping foot in the city.

The room seemed to part for Alfie Solomons, the very air around him bending as he walked into a bar Tommy had picked for its proximity to Alfie’s hotel. The older man was one of the few he would make allowances for, and it had been so long that he would rather take a private car the half an hour into central Birmingham than make the effort to convince him to come to small heath and listen to him complain the whole time.

“Thomas” his booming London accent turned the heads that weren’t already staring at Tommy, and he couldn’t help the bemused smile which washed over his features as he shook his hand and settled to drink his whiskey.

“Alfie, it’s been a while,” he speaks, sipping at his glass knowing full well which comment is coming next.

“Yeah well you don’t get to London as much these days,” He catches the bartender's attention, a woman who eyes up Tommy when she comes over to take his order, her eyes only leaving his friend to make Alfie’s drink.

“You could always come here,” Tommy suggests, causing Alfie to snort. His disdain for the northern city clear in both his response and his body language.

“Mate, the only reason I’m in this shit city is cause of that fucking meeting, couldn’t get me here any other way,” he comments, Tommy giving him a hint of a smile behind his glass which only widens as he watches his friend attempt to hide a selfie of all things which had made its way to his lock screen.

“So, how’s the family then?” Alfie asks.

“Arthur got married,” Tommy tries and fails to keep his distaste for Linda from his voice, and Alfie smirks as he relishes in the hate which is so evident to someone who is also quick to anger.  

“And I wasn’t invited? What’s she like?” He quips

“She’s good for Arthur,” is all Tommy says, the comments he could make about his brother’s new wife unsavoury at best.

It’s then that Alfie’s phone buzzes once again, and with a second glance at his lock screen Tommy can’t keep his comments to himself any longer.

“Who’s that then aye?” Tommy says, inclining his head towards Alfie’s phone. “Got yourself a girlfriend, have you?”

“Yeah mate, I have. She’s fucking brilliant she is,” Alfie says, rolling his eyes at the smirk that crosses his friend’s lips.

“You’re going soft Solomons.”

“Fuck off,” Alfie says, the smile which splits his face something that was a rarity, and the bashfulness something Tommy had never seen in him before. “She wrote that piece on me for The City Scoop.”

“I wondered why that interview was so flattering, fucked your interviewer did you?”

“Took her out to dinner first mate,” he says with a grin, making Tommy shake his head. “I’m telling you, it’s fucking nice having someone around who wil-“

“Suck your cock?”

“She is good at that mate. Nah I’m telling you, it’s nice having a woman around to keep me company,” he says, and Tommy rolls his eyes.

“Fuck, you have gone soft,” Tommy mutters, shaking his head.

“Maybe so. It ain’t that bad though. Maybe it’s time you find yourself a girl, might be good for you.”

Tommy rolls his eyes, downing the rest of his drink to avoid replying which only causes Alfie’s grin to spread wider his face lighting up.  

“Or do you already have a girl Thomas?”

“I’ve been talking with a woman yes,” he offers, though doesn’t elaborate as he orders another drink.

“Talking aye? And where did you meet her?”

“Tinder,” Tommy mutters, fingers itching to reach into his pocket for a cigarette the no-smoking laws the only thing stopping him.

Alfie scoffs, shaking his head as he runs a hand through his beard while Tommy glares at him.

“What?”

“Fucking tinder? Can’t meet a girl the old-fashioned way, aye?”

Tommy clenches his jaw at the insinuation, choosing not to rise to the comment as his hand reaches into his pocket, fingers brushing against his cigarette case.

“Like having a magazine send a journalist to your work? That old way you mean?” He runs the cigarette along his bottom lip and glares at the bartender who moves to tell him that he can’t smoke indoors, piercing eyes daring anyone to test him.

Tommy’s phone lights up and he immediately turns it face down, “besides, easier isn’t it? Haven’t got time to be spending on women in bars or journalists I need to write a good profile about me because I punched someone without thinking.”

The smirk on Tommy’s face tells Alfie that he’s joking, but the bearded man takes a sip of his beer without a hint of amusement washing over his features.

“Never knew Tommy Shelby to be so desperate that he’d turn to fucking Tinder.“ Tommy scowls and takes a long drag on his cigarette

“And I never knew Alfie Solomons to be so soft that he’d have his girl as the fucking wallpaper on his phone.”

Alfie shakes his head, hours flying before he finished what could have been his third or sixth drink, his hand resting on Tommy’s shoulder as he stood.

“I’ll be off now then,” he says, before leaning in to speak directly in Tommy’s ear. “And by the way mate, I was thinking before I punched Sabini.”

Patting Tommy’s shoulder, he makes his way out of the pub turning back to look at his friend.

“Nice seeing you mate, give me a call next time you’re in London.”

What Tommy has failed to tell his friend was that if things went well, he saw himself spending a lot more time in the capital. He suspected his friend might have something to say about his admission that he would want to spend more time away from his hometown, and he had won the battle of who was more whipped. At least for now.

[sneyrwrites]

Level Of Concern | Ushijima Wakatoshi x Anxious!Reader

|Wordcount: 1,5k |  

|Genre: Fluff, slight angst,  I’m an angsty gal. | 

|Warnings: Just a reflection of my isolated mood bc of quarantine ;u; (2 months and still going | 

|Inspiration Snong: Level of concern -Twenty One Pilots|

|Clarification: The measures taken by the government in my country might differ from the rest of the countries. Here (Arg.) You can request a permit of circulation in case you need it. Assisting someone is a valid reason.|

The world was going crazy. As a college student, you were in self quarantine in your apartment.  All by yourself.

Your roommate had gone to her hometown to spend this time with her family. You weren't as lucky. The only thing you wanted was to not feel as bothered by the isolation as you felt. Alone with no one to talk, you were relying only on your phone for a way of communication with your loved ones.

You were specially concerned about your mom, as she was a nurse, in the Frontline of this crisis, and she was exposed to the Covid-19. You didn't want to imagine what  would  happen is she got infected, your chest constricting with fear just thinking about it. And to make it all worse, your boyfriend was not responding to your texts. You knew it was dumb to be upset by that, Ushijima was never the type of guy to constantly be on his phone, busy with his schoolwork or training, so it wasn't like his behavior changed at all, even if the circumstances had.

You would often visit each other through the weekends, sometimes even staying a bit longer to make up for the long waits. He was on the other side of the city, and most of his weekdays consisted of studying and training. This pandemic had taken away the precious time you two had together, and you were so pissed about it. It would've been awesome if he could've come over and spent  the quarantine together.

You'd hoped this odd circumstances would give him some extra time to be on his phone, maybe even able to do a video call to soothe your nerves. Ushijima was your cable to earth most of the time, keeping your anxiety ridden thoughts at Bay with his words. But strange enough, his demeanor towards you was the same if not colder than usual. With all the load of work your professors had given you, you were a little distracted, but the moment you tried to relax, the message left on read on your phone screen made your stomach coil with concern. Was Wakatoshi ignoring you on purpose? Your good morning text was left on read, even after a good amount of hours he still hadn't reply. You haven't felt this way since you proposed a more serious relationship to Ushi. The insecurity was etched in your brain, and on top of that the constant worry about your mom didn't help at all. Sitting on the couch, you typed on the screen. Wakatoshi was on-line, but still, he was ignoring you. You couldn't take it anymore.

"Hey Ushi... I'm really concerned about this whole situation..."

You hit send, waiting as he saw the text and typed a reply.

"There's no need to be. If you stay home there's no danger".

Your eyes opened up with surprise at his answer. Did he just brushed your concern off? That was way too cold even for him. He couldn't be that oblivious. You understood he was a little socially awkward, but this was ridiculous.  

Insecurity took the best of you and, feeling rejected, you started to think about your entire relationship. 

Since the beginning you were the one who approached him, Ushijima not caring about your person at all. The day you finally had enough of just watching him from the sidelines and you approached him with your feelings out in the open,  he just responded with a confused expression.  

But still, he accepted.

You tried to spend time together, going to his games and his practices when he was okay with it, which was all the time, almost like he didn't care at all if you were there.

Maybe it was just pity... that would explain how mean he was being. You considered confronting him about it, but decided against it. You were feeling bad enough, a fight with him was just going to drag you down even deeper.

Throwing a pity party, you allowed yourself to drown your sorrows in ice cream and romcoms. you searched on Netflix for a few minutes until you came across the classic "He's just not that into you "

How fitting? You thought ironically.

 As your eyes welled with tears, you pressed play

A   day had  passed, and  you still hadn't talked to Ushijima at all. It was a consistent proof that you were the only one into the relationship. If you didn't reach out to him he wasn't going to. Seeing the end of the relationship coming up, you cried again. 

You were in love with him, for real. The moments you two had together were happy ones, never once a fight in the six months you were together, and Ushijima was affectionate in his own way, like for example holding your hand on the streets, or treating you to your favorite snack... 

But come to think about it, it was his favorite too, and holding hands was really that big of a deal?

After your daily crying session over your failed relationship, you talked to your mom. Luckily she was fine, the hospital providing her with the protection gear. That made you feel a bit better, but still, the whole situation was shitty. You felt like you were in the apocalypse, and the one you loved was not there with you. In fact, scratch that, he didn't even care.

If only Ushi would text you, He could bring down your level of concern,  even if it was something small, like a "Hey" or a "u ok?" but your notifications where still as empty as ever.  

You had to confront him about your feeling sooner or later, but still, you had no doubt that once you did, everything was going to be over and maybe it wasn’t the best time to do it, in that kind isolation you were going to go nuts, and adding the stress of a breakup was not a good idea. 

You were so confused. So doing what you do best, you picked up the phone and ordered takeout. Stress eating was your defense mechanism.

Not even ten minutes went by when the sound of the doorbell filled your apartment. You hurriedly made your way to the door, not caring about your messy look, with your disheveled hair and puffy eyes. It was a shitty situation, and everybody had it rough, so nobody could judge you.

Taking out your wallet with one hand, ready to pay for the food, you opened the door, only to be surprised by who was at the hallway.

“Toshi?” You whispered surprised, it almost felt like a dream, you were tempted to pinch yourself just in case.

What was he doing outside your apartment?  In the middle of a quarantine? Specifically him, who was a Mr. Goody Two-shoes. 

“Can i come in?” He asked when you didn’t offer. Nodding, you moved aside to let him in, the surprise still present.

You looked at him, in his sweatpants, and the black hoodie that covered his hair. You almost laughed when you noticed that he looked like a ninja with the also black face mask. A back pack that seemed about to explode hang from his shoulder, as his hands carried two grocery bags filled to the brim.

Ushijima noticed your confused gaze and left the bags on top of the table. Taking his face mask off, he shrugged his backpack and looked at you .

“I thought  you might be having a rough time by yourself here, so I the permission to stay with you.... I hope you don’t mind. I can leave if you want to.” You still didn’t respond, too commoved to speak. “Sorry I didn’t reply, but my phone got wet and it’s bee glitching since, that’s why I didn’t warn you before coming.” 

Well, now you just felt guilty for doubting Ushijima's feelings for you. This was a solid proof he actually cared, and pure love for him filled your heart.

“Do you mind?” He asked again, still not sure. You didn’t reply and walked up to him, attempting to hug him. “Wait, I need to wash this clothes and wash my hands just in case.” Ushijima stopped you, shrugging off his hoodie and going to the washing machine.

There was his logical and responsible boyfriend you knew and loved. 

He came back with a fresh shirt on and smelling like your vanilla soap. Wakatoshi was the one to hug you, his arms circling your shoulders and bringing your body closer to him, forehead colliding with his chest.

“Did you finish your online classes today?” He asked. 

“Yes, do you want to do something in particular?” Your voice was muffle by the fabric of his shirt but he understood, anyway.

“I brought those wierd chips you like, and some candy in case you were feeling under the weather. Do you want to watch a movie? Or whatever you prefer." He proposed, his hand caressing your hair with affection.

The anxiety and nerves you had all dissipated as you watched Ushijima set the couch with a bunch of blankets and pillows so you can sit on it and have a movie night.

Ushijima really knew how to bring your level of concern down, and that's why you loved him so much.

|Author Note: So this is a stress writing, bc my (ex)boyfriend confessed he cheated on me, so Yay!. Ushijima wouldn’t treat me like this ;u; I’m sorry if it too cheesy, but I kinda needed it|

✘ Masterlist

[breakingsomething]

the fall part seventeen - the sky is falling

basic summary: exactly what is says on the tin.

trigger warnings: stabbing, hypnotism

tagslist: @synonymsforzombie @spicydanhowell @skyewardlight @dreaming-of-stories-and-stars @cest-mellow @graveyardlettuce @lower-your-expectationss (i got so fucking close to forgetting the tagslist again but!! i remembered are y'all proud!!)

well, this certainly wasn't normal.

it looked like the sky was made of colourful lava. that was the only way marvin could think of to describe it. trails of thick magma looking chunks falling and hitting the ground, almost glitching but never actually harming anyone. it seemed that none of the nomags could see it, which wasn't surprising, given the veil, but with the way it had been collapsing recently, it had affected them in other ways. the nomags were starting to glitch the same way that anti did, the way everything seemed to do now that jackie has fucked things up. nothing stayed still anymore. marvin was really beginning to worry.

"if it's not hurting anyone, then we're ok," chase said to him uncertainly, holding louise and connor close to him. "right?"

chase had called stacy already, but she had no clue what was going on, the veil seemingly shielding her too. "why can't mama see the falling sky?" connor had asked him, and then the lot of them had tried to figure out why louise and connor could see through the veil when no other nomag's could. chase was certain it was just their blood relation to him, and the reason he could see it was his blood relation to marvin, jackie and henrik. none of them were quite certain how that worked, but they honestly had bigger problems to deal with right now.

the first call marvin had received was from naomi. "have you seen the fucking sky?" she shouted immediately, and marvin pulled the phone away from his ear, wincing. "it looks - it looks like -"

"sky lava?" marvin guessed. "and there's no need to shout, i'm right here."

"sorry," she said, much quieter. "and i was gonna say "fire clouds," but lava i guess i can see. anyway, what the fuck is this shit? is it to do with jackie again? i'm trying to contact lucas, but he won't pick up."

marvin sighed, listening to chase and henrik attempt to reassure connor and louise about the sky. difficult to do when none of them knew what was going on. "lucas was round with us for a while, but he left a few hours ago. he was texting chase not long ago too, so don't worry. i'm gonna try to contact kazuki or someone else from hecate, katy or charlie or mateo, just someone. hopefully we can somehow sort this."

"ok, ok," naomi said slowly. "ok. unrelated, but - i think anti was just round at my shop? asking for your address?"

marvin frowned. "when was this?"

"like, five minutes ago, not even. he left before i saw the sky and called you." something clattered on her end. "shit. so what's up with him? he was acting so weird."

marvin was about to answer when he saw a sleek white car pull up outside, and blinked when he saw who was inside. "naomi, i think i might have to call you back. i'm pretty sure kazuki just drove to our house."

"kazuki?" naomi asked. and sure enough, a tall woman in jeans and a perfectly sized white hoodie had stepped out, making eye contact with marvin through the window. marvin furrowed his brow, throwing both hands up in a what the fuck? gesture.

"yep, it's her," he said, stepping away from the window and marching towards the door purposefully. "i'll call you back soon. love you."

he clicked off and threw open the front door. kazuki was already there, chin lifted and a serious look on her face. "mr mcloughlin," she said. "i take it you've seen the sky."

"i have, yes," he said, raising an eyebrow. "never seen you dress so casually, kaz. the world must be ending."

"ha, ha," she said dryly. "i got dressed quickly. and don't call me kaz. now, the main problem." she waved a hand upwards. "i believe this is -"

"- to do with jackie?" marvin sighed. his eyes flickered to the ground. "it always is, isn't it."

kazuki nodded grimly. "may i come inside? the clouds are on fire and i have gotten three hours of sleep. i may need coffee."

marvin stepped aside to let her in. "i was just on a call with naomi. she actually said the same thing about fire clouds. personally, i think it looks like sky lava."

"naomi who?" kazuki asked, marching briskly through the kitchen. chase, connor and louise looked up in shock, and marvin shrugged, grimacing. "also, that's ridiculous. fire and lava don't even look the same."

"uh, hello," chase said faintly, blinking. "nice to see you here, uh - connor, louise, this is miss kamata. she's a magician like uncle marvin."

at those words, connor promptly leapt from his papa's lap and bounced up to kazuki excitedly. "oh, oh, you do magic too?" he squealed. "can i see? uncle marvin does such cool stuff, he lights his hand on fire and makes cool shapes appear in the air like uncle jackie does, only uncle jackie is way better at it and he can draw glowing dragons in the air!"

kazuki raised an eyebrow at the boy, who was practically vibrating with excitement. "well… i do air magic. i make things fly."

connor's eyes bulged, and his jaw dropped so far his mouth formed a perfect o. "no! way!" he gushed. "that's - that's so, so cool!"

chase chuckled, tapping the table to get his son's attention. "come on, con. miss kamata is busy right now. maybe you can see another day, but not now."

connor deflated. "these fire clouds are ruining everything," he mumbled, slinking over back to his father's lap.

marvin took that opportunity to restart his conversation. "it's naomi gudmundson," he explained. "agrokinesis magician? she's with hecate? how can you not know your own members?"

kazuki had recovered from connor's brief word dump, and was now leaning against the washing machine, shrugging. "i may know her. i recognize the last name, and i doubt it's all that common here. anyway, that's not what i'm here to talk to you about."

"are you here to talk about the the fire clouds?" louise piped up, to everyone's surprise. as soon as she'd said it she snuggled back on her father's lap, watching her legs swing under the new kitchen table. kazuki smiled at the child softly.

"i am," she said. "i do believe your… uncle jackie may be involved in this. are you…" she hesitated, and glanced towards marvin. she lowered her voice. "what do they know?"

"they think he's moved away," marvin whispered. "chase panicked. we couldn't just tell them - it would fucking kill them to find out what he did, so we told them he went to ireland for a while."

kazuki nodded, then turned back to the kids and smiled again. "your uncle might have come back. but… he's a little bit different now."

chase shook his head suddenly. "hey - hey, we don't know that," he said weakly. "he might not be - we haven't seen him since the incident at hecate, how would we know if he was coming back?"

kazuki gestured towards the window. "fire clouds," she deadpanned. "this isn't normal weather magic. it's something to do with the veil and we only know of one person who's been involved in that."

"jackie can't have anything to do with this," chase said firmly, seemingly having forgotten about the kids on his lap. "i've seen his magic, me and henrik both, it was nothing like this. i don't give a fucking shit about the goddamn veil. this is all -"

he suddenly remembered himself and flushed, shoulders shooting to his ears. "uh… don't use any of the words papa's using right now," he said quietly. connor and louise just looked at each other and giggled, bouncing on chase's legs and making him wince.

"i'll take them," henrik said, getting up quickly and clapping his hands. chase smiled gratefully, and the kids happily bounced to their feet to follow their uncle out into the hall and up the stairs to the kid's room, leaving marvin, chase and kazuki alone. a short, awkward silence followed.

"sorry for - that," chase mumbled, not looking up. "i'm stressed and being an asshole. god, i think i'm getting a fudging migraine too, christ."

"it's alright," kazuki said, also not looking up. "this is a lot. i have hecate members attempting to track the source of this whole sky thing, but there… doesn't appear to be one. it's everywhere. although, a few people have told me they are detecting some sort of magic signal somewhere. but apparently that's untraceable too, because of course it is." she sighed, flexing her hands and blowing hair out of her face. "i… i don't know what to do now. and i don't say that often."

marvin bit his lip, clicking his tongue softly. "mm. i - don't know either. i mean… i guessed we just have to wait and see what happens."

and they did. about fifteen minutes of small talk and awkward tea/coffee drinking passed, the three of them politely discussing everything but the weather as, funnily enough, that wasn't a great topic to help distract them from the issue at hand. however, they were all surprised to hear someone knock at the door, breaking the silence. marvin looked to the others for confirmation on what to do. both of them shrugged. marvin rolled his eyes and cracked the door slightly, startling when he saw who it was on the other side.

"anti," he sighed, breathing out slowly. "not sure who i was expecting. this is a bad time, man."

anti just raised his eyebrows. he looked worse off than when marvin had last seen him: hair yanked behind his ears, a bruise on his cheek, yellow scarf even more dirty looking. "i take it you've seen the sky lava?"

marvin gave a small, disbelieving laugh. "i fucking knew it looked like lava! kazuki, chase and henrik are saying it looks like fire -" he caught himself. "anyway. yes, i've seen it. kinda hard not to, wouldn't you say?"

anti shrugged. "i don't know, i'm partially colourblind and didn't notice until the bloody meteors or whatever started falling. speaking of, the things might not hurt, but they are very annoying. can i come inside?"

marvin threw his head back and sighed. "this shit again? seriously? i said it was a bad time." he wasn't sure letting anti in while the kids were here was a good idea, even though they were upstairs with henrik and most likely wouldn't hear or see anything. "can't you… i don't know, go bother… whoever it is that you bother when you're not fucking with us?"

"whatever people i bother when i'm not fucking with you are dead," anti signed flatly. his eyes flickered from an orangey brown to a dark blue, and marvin resisted the urge to step back. for a moment, he looked just like jackie. "i don't have shit else to do, and as much as i despise coming to you for help, i don't have much of a choice these days, do i?"

marvin suddenly frowned. "man, are you ok?"

anti blinked. "why?"

"i - you're shaking," marvin pointed out. "i don't know, you just… kind of look like you're in the middle of a panic attack."

anti scoffed and rolled his eyes despite how pale he had gone. marvin could hear his quick, laboured breaths from where he was standing. "no," he signed, like marvin was being ridiculous. "i'm fine. let me in, bitch."

marvin didn't believe him. but if henrik was upstairs, he figured it should be ok. first, he had a question. "why were you bothering naomi?"

anti frowned. "i... wasn't?"

"yes you were," marvin said. "she said you were just round at her shop."

"was not," anti scoffed. "i was halfway across town. walked all the way here. now let me in, i'm not used to feeling human temperatures and it's bloody baltic out here."

marvin sighed and finally stepped aside to let him in. anti slipped past and immediately froze, eyes wide and pupils dilated, fixed on kazuki still leaning on the sideboards. his hand immediately flashed to his side, bringing out a small switchblade and holding it out in front of him.

"woah - woah, anti, put it down!" marvin cried, jumping between him and kazuki. "she's not here to hurt you, we're just trying to figure out what's wrong with the sky, nothing more, ok? let's just - calm down, ok?"

anti didn't move. despite his uninterrupted trembling, his hand was steady on the knife. kazuki had barely flinched at his reaction, and stayed very still so as not to alarm him. "i'm just here to help marvin, anti," she said gently. "i'm not planning to hurt you, even after your little escape. i swear. i know you've been through a lot, and i'm not going to make it any worse for you. if it helps any, i'll stay right here so i won't scare you."

anti's face contorted with anger, but he couldn't sign while holding the knife, and after a moment he flipped it closed and put it back in his pocket, not blinking. "you don't fucking scare me," he spat once he'd freed up his hand. "you're just another pathetic fucking magician who relies on others to do your work for you. i could kill you even without my magic and the use of one of my hands."

marvin didn't translate any of that. "ok, so now what?" he said instead, glancing out the window behind kazuki's head. "sky's still going and we don't know why. kaz - kazuki, are you sure you don't know anything?"

she sighed, closing her eyes for a second. "sit down," she said, gesturing towards the table and pulling out a seat for herself. "i might be able to try and explain."

marvin sat down across from her and chase, who was on his phone and had been silent this whole time. he turned round to see anti still hovering hesitantly, hands hanging in the air. marvin pat the seat next to him. "you can sit down," he said, trying to keep his voice light. anti slowly shook his head, eyes darting back and forth to the door behind him, and marvin decided it'd be best to leave him be.

kazuki cleared her throat. "so. that necklace your brother has… i recognized it before i even saw it for that split second in new romney. i'm not sure of its actual name, but i am aware of its uses. i believe… it's some kind of soul holder."

everyone went very quiet for a moment, until marvin spoke again. "ok. please elaborate."

kazuki took a breath, tapping the table with her fingernails. "well. many years ago, there were all sorts of black magic artifacts that were used to enhance, give or take power. those who later split from hecate wanted to use that magic. we - the rest of us told them it was a bad idea. eventually, when the split happened, we took as many artifacts as we could and destroyed them." she let out a small sigh, closing her eyes. "it seems that some were… left. i'm not sure how many they still have, but jackie has gotten a hold of one and given his lack of previous black magic use, it seems that it's becoming too much for him to handle."

"you said soul holder," chase suddenly said, the first words he'd spoken since anti had arrived. he rubbed his temple, wincing. "are there… different types of these artifacts? and how do you know this one does, uh, whatever you think it does?"

she nodded grimly. "there's a few types, yes. some destroy. some kill. and some… do what your brother's one does. i believe that it takes souls into the necklace and, well, holds them there." she leaned her head back, sighing. "i can't think of a better way to explain it except that it's… hundreds of years old. who knows what types of magic has been contained in it? what people? we have no idea how powerful he could be."

anti suddenly clapped his hands, drawing their attention to him. "so hold on," he signed, still using the one hand. "this bitch has stolen a part of my fucking soul and that's how he's using my magic?"

kazuki looked to marvin, who loosely translated for her. once he'd finished, she sighed and glanced up to anti again. "i'm afraid so," she said. "from what i've seen, that's all it could be. i'm very sorry."

"motherfucker," anti signed, which marvin chose not to translate.

just then, they heard loud yelling from upstairs, and two sets of pounding footsteps racing down the steps above. "papa, papa!" the voices of two children cried, giggling all the while and getting louder as they got closer. "papa, uncle henrik just showed us something super cool, look, look -"

the children ran into the kitchen, laid eyes on anti, and froze.

anti didn't move.

there was a long moment where connor and louise just stared at him, confused looking. marvin held his breath, making eye contact with chase across the table. neither man said a word.

it was connor who eventually spoke. "uncle jackie?"

henrik appeared in the doorway behind them and also froze. "christ, him again?"

"oh!" louise suddenly shouted. "it's the london man!"

"oh yeah!" connor cried, grinning. "the man who wasn't papa who took us to london!"

"took you to london?" kazuki said, frowning. "what do you mean?"

"we're seriously just going to let him in yet again?" henrik said angrily, glaring at marvin. "seriously? after all the times we agreed not to trust him?"

"listen, i didn't want to," marvin argued. "but in case you hadn't noticed, circumstances are slightly different now -"

"can everyone just shut up?" chase suddenly cried, clutching his head and leaping to his feet. "i have a bloody migraine and god, you're all so fu- so loud, christ, i'm…" he shook his head and marched over to the door, grabbing a brown jacket off the coat rack. "i'm going for a walk or something, fire clouds and sky lava be damned. i don't… i'm done with this." he turned to face the room, which had gone very quiet. his eyes landed on henrik. "henny, will you come with?"

henrik hesitated, glancing at the kids. "it's - i don't know if it's safe, and -"

"i'll look after the kids," marvin said quickly. he smiled at chase reassuringly, who smiled back. "be safe out there, if you really have to go out. and be back within, like, ten minutes, preferably. please."

"we will," chase said gratefully. he opened the door and stepped outside. "thanks, marvy."

marvin flinched at the name. only jackie calls me that, he thought, but chase and henrik were gone before he could say a word.

-

"so where are we going?" henrik asked, practically jogging to keep up with his brother. chase was walking very quickly, which worried henrik slightly, especially given that he'd said he had a migraine. however, he brushed off his concerns with a small laugh. "slow down, chaser. i'm not in the mood to - ha, to chase you."

he could tell something was wrong when chase didn't laugh at his pun. "sorry," chase mumbled instead. "i'm just… feeling weird. i don't know… it's too much."

henrik slowed, heart suddenly racing. "uh, chase? i think we should go back. if you're feeling this unwell -"

"no," chase interrupted, and it sounded almost like a sob. his eyes were oddly dark. "no, i can't. don't - leave me."

he sped up the pace, leaving henrik to race after him. "chase - wait!" he cried. what was happening, why was he acting so strangely? he got the feeling this wasn't a normal migraine at all. "chase, slow. where are you going? chase!"

they rounded a corner, and chase suddenly stopped dead. his expression had gone totally blank, eyes wide and unfocused. his mouth was hanging open very slightly, hands dropped by his side.

henrik waved a hand in front of his face, breathing quickening. "chase? bruder? hello, are you -"

"henrik," came a voice from behind him. henrik's blood suddenly ran cold. "you're just in time for the show."

-

this was beginning to get very awkward.

marvin had attempted to usher the kids back upstairs, but that would leave kazuki and anti alone in the kitchen, which not only was a horrendous combination of people to leave alone, but was very rude to do. so they were now sitting in the living room watching octonauts on the tv, with marvin dithering in the doorway between the kitchen and the hall, trying to keep everything and everyone together. thankfully, connor and louise had stopped questioning anti's presence as soon at the familiar theme tune had started playing, leaving marvin to mostly focus on the other two. anti was pacing the kitchen ignoring kazuki, who was trying to talk to him. it was starting to become slightly annoying.

"is your arm still hurt?" kazuki was saying, as anti pretended he was suddenly deaf. "i can try to help if you'd show me it. we have healers in hecate - in fact, isn't your brother a healer? the doctor?"

"not my brother," anti suddenly signed. he flipped his hood up over his head, turning his face away from them. "fuck off, gods. always in other people's business."

there was a sudden noise from outside. a bang, like an explosion. kazuki stood and followed marvin to the window, looking outside to try and figure out what it was.

"i don't see anything," marvin muttered. the sky looked the same, and nothing seemed to be out of place. "what the fuck?"

"uncle marvin?" connor called from the other room. "what's going on?"

another bang sounded, and this time they could see a plume of black smoke rising over the buildings not far off from where they were. "ah, crap," marvin hissed, hands flying to his hair. "chase and henrik - we have to go after them, they could be in trouble."

kazuki shook her head. "the little ones," she reminded them. "we can't leave them alone."

connor and louise had padded into the hallway to see what was happening, eyes wide. marvin hesitated. he needed to make sure henrik and chase were safe, but he could need kazuki's help, and anti obviously couldn't stay with them. "oh - i don't know!" he despaired. "i - i have to see they're ok."

"papa and uncle henrik?" louise said softly. she was clutching her sonic teddy in her hands, her bottom lip quivering. "we wanna go make sure they're ok too! did the sky dragons get them?"

marvin glanced back into the kitchen at anti, who had stopped pacing and was staring out the window in there, and then back to kazuki, who looked slightly worried. he hesitated. "kazuki - can you stay here with them?"

"me?" she sounded shocked. "i - i am the leader of hecate's international network of magic, and right now there is magic related events happening that i need to -"

"please, kaz?" marvin turned to her with wide eyes, pleading. "just for a little bit? please, i'd owe you so so much, i just can't leave them alone, kazuki…"

kazuki inhaled sharply, then blew the air out her cheeks, groaning. "fine! you better not be long. i don't think i'm all that good with kids."

marvin threw his arms around her briefly, grinning. "thank you so much, kaz, i owe you!" then he turned to the confused looking kids, smiling at them. "kazuki is going to look after you two for a little bit, ok?"

"can we see the magic?" connor gasped. he grabbed louise's hand, squealing. "louise, we get to see the magic!"

kazuki laughed nervously, making a face in marvin's direction. "yes, i can show you some magic. let's go in here, uh - the living room, yes? what's this playing on the tv?"

marvin took the opportunity to leave, pausing at the door to look at anti. "well? are you coming?" he asked. anti jumped, and marvin raised an eyebrow. "come on, i'm not leaving you here alone."

anti shrugged, but followed him out the door, marvin locking it shut behind him. the smoke plumes were rising even higher, and the resounding booms were still sounding from not far off. "fucking hell," marvin muttered. anti glitched in agreement. "let's hurry up and -"

"marvin! marvin!"

he recognized the sound of chase's voice immediately. "chase!" he raced down the pavement, struggling not to slip as he followed his brother's voice. "chase, chase - shit!"

because fuck, jackie was standing in the middle of the street with aaron by his side, henrik and chase standing in front of them and staring blankly, eyes black and unfocused. it was such a scene that all marvin could do was stare. taking it in. his brothers, hypnotized, standing in the street, just… here. he couldn't breathe.

anti made a loud choking noise at the sight of jackie, taking an unwittingly step away. jackie smirked at him. "aw, anti, good to see you again. are you seriously afraid of me now? i thought you were above fear, isn't that what you told me once?" he laughed, and turned to marvin. his black eyes flashed coldly. "hello, marvy."

"jackie," marvin blurted. his chest tightened, taking in his older brother's form. his hair was shorter, almost as short as henrik's, and he was wearing a black jacket over a dark grey hoodie. so unlike his normal colourful clothing. it made marvin's head spin. "jackie, what have you done to chase and henrik? let - let them go, please."

jackie inhaled, dragging out his breath and tilting his head back. the silence was fucking deafening. all marvin could hear was the blood rushing in his ears and the silent, agitated hum of static rising from anti's direction.

"i can't do that," jackie said softly. "i have to protect them. from him, and apparently... from you."

marvin's heart stopped. "what do you mean?"

jackie laughed harshly. "look at you. you're with him, aren't you?" he nodded towards anti, a look of disgust crossing his face. "this pathetic, glitching mistake of a being who's brought nothing but harm on our family, and you want to befriend him. clearly, henrik and chase aren't safe around you if you're willing to put them in such constant danger."

"you're - you're more of a danger to them than anti is right now," marvin stammered, trying to keep his voice steady. "jackie, this isn't you. you're not like this. please, listen -"

"i don't think it's up to you to decide who he is, magician," aaron interrupted. he was leaning on a bright blue bat, grinning cheekily. like this was a game. marvin didn't spare him a breath, keeping his eyes trained on jackie.

"this is… the black magic talking," marvin faltered. his hands felt very warm. he hadn't used any magic since he'd nearly hurt chase, and he was suddenly scared. "jackie, this is the black magic talking. we - we can get it out of your head! we can! you - we - this can be fixed, ok? just let our brothers go and we can help you."

jackie's expression softened. "marvin," he murmured, and marvin took a shaking breath, hope rising in his chest. "oh, marvin. i'm so sorry. you… you really believe in me, don't you?"

anti growled, the sound of static spiking. jackie grinned at him, and for a moment marvin couldn't see him any differently than the man who had always been so sweet to him, the man he'd called his brother. then it vanished, and jackie was a stranger, sneering at anti's rising rage. "i did miss you, aiden. five months is a lot of time to bond! we were so close, wouldn't you agree?" he laughed, a real, loud laugh. "and put the butter knife away, unless you're planning to make toast."

marvin had been so thrown by the "aiden" comment that he hadn't noticed anti taking out his switchblade again. it took a second for marvin to register what anti was about to do, and by then it was too late. "anti, no!"

the knife was flying towards aaron's face before marvin could blink. but the man was ready; his bat was raised to his face to block the blade in an instant, a swoop of magic covering his body. jackie stepped forwards and threw his arm up, creating a black shield to cover for anti's sudden attack.

"stop it!" marvin screamed as anti kicked out at jackie's shield, knocking him off balance. aaron immediately lunged for anti while his back was turned, and marvin made the split second decision to throw out a burning hand and shove aaron back, standing between the two of them.

aaron flashed a white grin. "you don't have to be involved in this fight. really, just let us take the glitch and you and your brothers are free. why is that such a hard decision?"

marvin gave a breathy laugh. "oh, i wish i knew," he said, and let the magic in his body loose.

he had been so afraid of this. of his magic exploding the way naomi's had. but now, he suddenly hated everything about this man, this smirking blonde idiot who'd helped take jackie away from them. he hated him and his magic reflected that. great swirls of concentrated power that wrapped around aaron and squeezed him, making him gasp. but it didn't last. aaron lashed out, and a solid black whip hit marvin in the face, burning into his skin. he screamed in agony, dropping his own magic to fight against the pain. aaron laughed and knocked marvin's legs out from under him, kicking him down to the ground.

he could see anti fighting - trying to fight - against jackie above him. jackie had seemingly overpowered him easily, lifting him into the air without even touching him. "pathetic!" he giggled, darkness trailing down his skin from his eyes and hands. "aiden, aiden, you used to be so powerful. what happened to you? oh, wait." he tossed back his head and roared with laughter. "i did, didn't i? it's funny, cause i'm powerful enough without your weak ass magic in my body. i don't even need it. but i truly do enjoy the irony of being able to do - this!"

a glitch ran through jackie's body and through his wall of magic, reaching anti and throwing him to the ground like a ragdoll. he slammed to the road beside marvin, crying out as his back cracked. aaron turned to jackie and straightened, his boot digging harder into marvin's chest.

"well, that was easy," jackie joked, grabbing aaron's hand. the two of them laughed for a second, and marvin managed to slowly turn his head and make eye contact with anti. turquoise eyes meeting brown. it reminded marvin of the day he'd freed anti from the music shop basement, of the exact moment jackie had discovered that marvin knew. the shared moment, the single shared thought.

we're fucked.

but they'd gotten out of that situation. and how had they done that? oh, oh, shit. he remembered. he remembered.

"now what?" aaron said, as he and jackie leaned over them. anti weakly tried to get up, and aaron whacked his chest with his bat to make him fall back. jackie grinned at him, the two sharing a knowing smile.

"well, now i take the glitch and…" his expression wavered as he looked at marvin. "well, he can go, i guess. all we need is this guy!" he kicked anti's side again. "hear that, marv? you're home free."

he clicked his fingers, and marvin heard chase and henrik both gasp, collapsing to the floor. he'd almost forgotten they were still standing there, black eyed and hypnotized. hopefully they now wouldn't be conscious enough to see what he was about to do. "come on, anti, up you get!" jackie said cheerfully. he reached down and grabbed anti's right arm, delighting in his pained cry. "oops, almost forgot you were still injured! almost. right, let's go -"

"you forget a lot," marvin spat. jackie's head snapped round to look at him, and marvin scowled. "you get on at me for not noticing shit, but hey - i can at least remember what types of magic my brothers specialize in."

jackie didn't manage to get another word out before marvin unleashed a wave of the magic he said he'd never use again. his own black magic. not as strong as jackie's, but he knew how to control it better, and it was just enough to shock him and aaron away, leaving marvin a gap to leap to his feet and fight back again.

a second chance, he thought. don't waste it, marvin.

aaron made an instant dash for anti while jackie went for marvin, but he was too quick for them this time. a fiery shield rose up in front of him, and marvin managed to reach out a hand to yank anti up before one of them got to him again. "you ok?" he asked quickly, and anti managed a nod despite the clear pain he was in. marvin nodded back. "good. stay back."

more magic. so much of it, marvin wasn't sure whose was whose anymore. aaron was the one he was concerned about; he clearly had far more control and practice with his magic, and was forcing marvin back with hit after hit of his crumbling black whips that arched from his bat like a wicked extension of himself. marvin couldn't seem to take him out. he panted, cursing under his breath, beads of sweat dripping down his face from the exertion of the fight. he couldn't take them both at once. he wasn't sure he'd even be able to just take jackie if he had to. he couldn't do this, he couldn't, he just couldn't -

and then aaron fell back with a gasp, all his magic dropping at once. and anti, pale and shaking but grinning smugly, yanked the knife he'd picked up out from his back.

"butter knife," he signed painstakingly with his bruised right hand. "how's that for butter knife?"

"shit -" jackie gasped, but marvin hadn't let the distraction pass him by, and cried out a spell that froze jackie to the spot, wrapping him in a tight rope of magic. the spells were so exhausting that he almost passed out then and there - he hadn't used dark magic in so long, and it had really drained him. luckily, anti scrambled to his side and grabbed his arm, keeping him upright. his hands were stained with blood. marvin watched as aaron fell to his knees, clutching at his chest in pain.

"bastard," jackie spat, writhing to free himself of marvin's bonds. his eyes had melted back to their original blue, and they were wild, focused on aaron now groaning on the ground. "bastard, bastard, let me go, don't you dare hurt him! you have no idea what you've done! no i̢d̸ea ͝at all!"

jackie let out a frustrated scream, tearing at the ropes with both restrained hands. anti and marvin glanced at each other, stepping back silently as blackness seeped out from jackie's chest and began to form into a solid shape in front of him. marvin held up a protective arm in front of anti as something began to create itself, the magic knitting into the shape of what looked to be a person. over the roar of magic, they could hear jackie laughing. "this one's for you, anti!" he cackled. "have you missed him?"

and oh, oh, oh shit. it was a person. a real person who had formed from jackie's magic, a man with curly black hair and blank brown eyes, staring ahead at nothing. marvin heard anti's breath hitch at the sight of him, and a single look at him showed he'd somehow gone even paler, mouth hanging open slightly in disbelief.

"that's right!" jackie cried, looking pleased despite his current situation. "i've seen your memories, anti, i've seen -"

and then marvin saw -

"you're… you smell like magic," came a voice. it was him, the curly haired man, speaking with a warm scottish accent. "harsh, like fire, or an overheating computer." he snorted, trying to keep eye contact with - with anti, because anti was there, different looking. no scars on his face, no scar on his neck, hair much shorter and a dark green colour. "do you do magic?"

and then both of them were sitting in what looked like a park, eating sausage rolls out of paper bags, two guitars abandoned on their laps as they talked faintly, eyes sparkling. "you're a dumbass!" anti laughed, and marvin had never seen him smile so genuinely before.

and then they were sitting very close to each other on the floor in a dark room, a song playing in the background as their faces touched, eyes closed and lips brushing -

"stop!" marvin yelled, struggling to shake himself from the memories. anti had all but collapsed, clinging to marvin's arms and shaking badly, terror and anger both making rounds on his face. "stop, how - jackie, stop, why are you doing this?"

marvin's magic had faltered, leaving jackie to step out of the bonds and fall to aaron's side. he lifted him in his arms, looking worried, feeling the blood on the man's back. "because he ruined our lives!" jackie screamed, and his eyes had turned black again, tears gathering in them as he clung to aaron's unconscious body. "how, how can you stand to be near him? he deserves to be hurt!"

the curly haired man hadn't moved since jackie had formed him, but now he was crumbling, dissolving into black dusty magic and retreating into jackie's body. like he had been there for nothing but show. through it all, marvin could still see chase and henrik, passed out on the road. at least they were safe. at least there was that.

"please," marvin croaked in a weak last ditch attempt to stop this. "jackie, you're my brother, i love you, i don't want to hurt you."

"you see good in anyone," jackie whispered. the sky above was almost screaming now, the colours beginning to whirl above jackie's had. despite the noise, marvin could still clearly hear his brother's voice. "even him. even me."

marvin was about to say something - something, anything, he wasn't sure what - when he stopped, listening, smelling the sharp scent that was suddenly filling the air. like a storm, like rain. judging by the look on jackie's face, he could smell it too. he stood unsteadily, lifting aaron in his arms. "what the fu-"

the black magic still lingering in the air parted. silver sparks clearing the air, even clearing the sky above, warming everything and bringing about that smell, the smell marvin realized was familiar. he gasped, almost laughing as jackie whirled round, looking to see who it was who dared to challenge him.

a man. messy dark hair and freckled skin, a mustache underneath his nose. a dark blue hoodie hanging off of him. eyes that glowed silver, hands that glowed silver, magic that stayed suspended in the air, silver. the world seemed to stop.

jameson jackson.

"you again," jackie spat. he couldn't even raise a hand to defend himself with both arms wrapped around aaron, who had stirred slightly and was moaning in pain. "my god, don't you get a hint?"

jamie raised a hand in front of him, not saying a word. the threat hung in the air along with the silver particles of solid magic that carried the weight of time in them. he looked so tired. he looked so powerful. marvin almost wouldn't have recognized him.

jackie growled softly, looking back and forth between marvin, anti and jamie. he seemed to realize how outnumbered he was, and shrank back, hoisting aaron higher in his arms. "watch your backs," he hissed angrily, eyes blazing. then he was gone, really gone.

anti pushed himself off of marvin, swaying on his feet. he couldn't take his eyes off jamie, who had lowered his arm and let his eyes return to their usual grey. he was staring back. for a long moment, the two just stood there, unmoving. afraid to break the year long silence.

"jamie," marvin suddenly said. and it was hitting him now that this was really him, his little brother, the artistic time traveler who he hadn't seen in so long, who had just disappeared without a trace. "jamie, oh my god, jamie!"

he raced past anti and threw his arms around jamie, muffled sobs escaping his lips as he buried his face in the smaller man's shoulder. jamie hugged him back tightly, and then pulled away with a huge grin. "marvin," he signed. "it's you."

he looked over marvin's shoulder and frowned, pulling the magician over to chase and henrik, who were now starting to regain consciousness, eyelids flickering. "jackie did this?" jamie signed, concern flickering across his face. "help me, we have to take them home. they should be ok, but just to make sure."

marvin had so many questions he suddenly wanted to ask. but he instead lifted chase into his arms, helping him stand while jamie did the same with henrik. questions could wait. jamie was home. nothing else mattered.

and when marvin turned to say something to anti, he had disappeared.

end act three - mind games.

[btsangstisallicanwrite]

Happy Now?

Summary: You’re a rising singer, friends somehow with the seven members of BTS. Secretly more than friends with a one Jeon Jungkook, until your falling out before his tour sent you straight to the lyric notebook. Now your new EP is out, and everyone’s expecting your new single to be about the mysterious boy you loved but would never name. Yeah, the song’s about him. Yeah, you wouldn’t name him. But you’d sure as hell let everyone know how he hurt you, and no one’s prepared to hear that, especially not Jungkook. 

A/N: Hello ARMY, I’ve never published a BTS fic before so this is my first. I hope y’all like it!!

CWs: light mentions of weed, alcohol mentions, I think that’s it? Angsty angst. Also, the song used in this fic is Happy Now by Zedd and Elley Duhé, I do not own the song or rights, I just had this urge to write a fic to this song. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Jungkook-ah, did you see, Y/N is releasing a new EP! You think it’s about you this time?” Hoseok waggled his eyebrows at an unsuspecting but unimpressed Jungkook. The truth is, the last EP was about him, but the public couldn’t know that. Y/N was a rising singer in the United States, and he was a famous idol in South Korea; the narrative just didn’t mesh. Besides, the world wasn’t ready for the Golden Maknae to be off the market. That being said, saying that your relationship together was purely work related or platonic like you did in the papers, that’s just not true either. But like you agreed, no one could know. Minus the boys, they kind of knew everything. 

Everything, minus the fact that he’d broken up with you (he used the words “take a break”) before their last tour. 

All the diving he’d do towards his phone, holding it away from the boys when they’d try to see, they all thought he was talking to you. He wished he was. The dives were driven by hope, the fact he realized he made a huge mistake by letting you go because of your “busy schedules;” you both knew it was bullshit but neither of you would say it. If anything, you both knew heartbreak sold records. 

Namjoon pats him on his shoulder, leaning in to show him a little bit of affection and reprieve from the laughs of his hyungs. “Aw, leave him be, I’m sure we’ll all find out tonight when she performs it at that event tonight, right, Kookie?”

Oh. Shit. He didn’t escape Yoongi’s concerned eye when he launched to grab his phone, checking the date. He looked down, a selfie y’all took on your last date lighting up his vision as he unlocked it. He should’ve remembered. He’d seen your tweets about it for the last few months, how you were so excited to perform at this show and that your new single was something your fanbase wouldn’t expect. Jungkook really didn’t know how to take that. He hadn’t tried contacting you (yet) but you hadn’t reached out to him, either, so it really couldn’t be that bad if it was about him, right? 

“Uh… yeah, I’m sure we will!” He gulped and nodded his head at Namjoon, who seemed to be fine with his response. Hoseok and Taehyung went about their business talking about whatever had their attention for the next ten minutes. Jimin and Seokjin were deep in debate, leaning over their cup noodles to bare teeth as an attempt to intimidate one another. Yoongi, on the other hand, was staring dead at Jungkook, still. He watched him as he walked over to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a drink, leaning back in his chair as he watched Jungkook take it without a flinch. That was the glitch in the matrix Yoongi needed to prove something was awry, so he took a seat right across from Jungkook in the small booth on the bus. 

“Hyung, tell me why you just downed that shot like you’re ready to forget your name when you’re supposed to be happy about seeing Y/N tonight.” 

Jungkook gulped, swirling the last few drops left in his cup while trying to avoid eye contact with his hyung, “do me a favor and... make sure I’m doing okay tonight, will you?” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Y/N! Are you ready for tonight?” Your best friend busted into your room as if your door was a figment of your imagination. This was her first fancy music festival, and your first performance at one, so it goes without saying that you were nervous. It wasn’t even that big of a show, it was almost like an exclusive concert style, with the low-watt blue lighting and only standing room in the audience for each performer. Normally, that’d ease your mind and your nerves, but not tonight. 

Only the record producers had heard the song you’re releasing tonight. You hadn’t told a soul... maybe one or two... about what really happened with Jungkook. You’d felt ashamed and stupid that you fell into one of those stupid fanfiction tropes, falling for a man that was well beyond your reach for anything more than a good fuck. Well, that’s a little harsh. It was almost like you had been dating, which is the funny thing about all your feelings. You’d sneak over to the apartment and watch movies with the boys in your pajamas. You spent your birthday with them playing drunken card games at your place because none of your friends were in the city and they didn’t want you to be alone. He did all the things boyfriends do, and as much as you wanted to hate him and talk mad shit, you couldn’t. You’d never believed in that “right person, wrong time” figure of speech until you walked out of their apartment that night, the night he broke your heart. 

“I can’t wait to hear some more sappy Jungkook shit,” your friend came up behind you as you sat at your vanity criticizing yourself and all your life decisions up to that point. “You might not even need blush tonight, babe, it’s already all over your face.” She squished your cheeks together before you had the opportunity to stop her, making you feel a little bit of something other than despair in your stomach. 

“You wanna take a hit before we start doing our makeup?”

“Say no more,” you said sadly, feeling the hit pull between your lips. You weren’t famous enough yet to have a makeup squad, so it was just you and your bff swapping brushes and blunts until you either looked good as fuck or didn’t care anymore. She rolled backwards onto your bed, looking for some shoes or something, and you stole another hit, hoping it’d give you the encouragement you needed to seemingly let everyone you loved down tonight. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All he wanted to do was get so drunk that he didn’t make it out the door. That’s really all he wanted, and he didn’t know why that was too much to ask. But alas, with the boys talking nonstop about what your new single could be about, and a concerned/slightly pissed Yoongi breathing down the back of his neck, Jungkook knew he’d have to suck it up and make it to the venue. 

It looked just like he remembered. Last time he was there, he’d been sneaking around with you in the dim purple lights. All the walls were painted black with thick velvet curtains draping from corner to corner on the stage. The boys came in through the back entrance as to avoid being seen (as much as they could) so they’d come in as the staff was setting up some of the props for the performances tonight. There was a singular barstool that sat just left of center stage and he grimaced. You’d been telling him that for your next album, you really wanted to focus on the acoustics and just sit on a stage, on “one of those really worn leather barstools,” he practically heard it in your voice. But maybe he was wrong, and the stool had nothing to do with you. It seems he’d just have to see; there’s nothing better in his mind to do than hide back here and hope he’d be ready to see you on that stage.

And just having to see, whether that stool was for you, whether he was even ready to see you, more and more things he wasn’t ready to think about, these were all things he’d (at least attempted to) make his peace with. That was on the premise of “for hours from now.” Hours from now was plenty of time, yeah? Hours from now was not right now, not standing right in front of him. He’d put his nose in his phone to check the time, when he didn’t check where he was going and ran straight into you. 

“Y/N… I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.” He ran his hand through his hair and down along the length of this neck, trying to avoid eye contact so you couldn’t see how distraught he was. 

“Jungkook. You say you didn’t see me... but I believe,” you grabbed his phone and clicked the unlock button, illuminating the photo of the two of you together, “you saw me, right there.” You looked at him blankly as he managed to disguise his immediate sadness with a cough. He sincerely can’t tell if you’re playing around or if that sharpness in your voice wants to slice through him like he feels it does. 

“Y/N, can we talk? Please?”

He swears he almost saw you crack. Maybe you had, maybe he’s just wistfully hoping, but it seems he’d never know, because before you could get a word out, Jimin had flung himself on you. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Y/N!! Oh, how we’ve missed you! Why haven’t you been around since we got back?” Jimin pouted as you leaned your head on his, still making direct eye contact with Jungkook. He’d almost made you break, and you’re sure he knew it. What surprised you more than that was that he hadn’t told any of the boys, or changed his wallpaper. Do you tell them before you perform and ruin this little dream scenario that Jungkook still apparently had them believing in? You took a second to rub your lips together, breaking your gaze at Jungkook to close your eyes and sigh. “I’ve just been working really hard on this EP, rehearsals and things,” you said and then sent out a soft chuckle “Not all of us have the rehearsal experience that y’all do.” 

“You’re a natural up there, Y/N, don’t stress about it.” Seokjin matched your laugh with a heartier one, wrapping his arm around your other shoulder. “You’re gonna go up there and show us something crazy, yah?” 

“Oh yeah,” you glance back up at Jungkook, whose gaze never left you. You watched it travel from your feet, up the rest of your body as you locked eyes, both wearing the same sad expression. Your breath was a little ragged, which didn’t help, as your silence sat in the air a little longer than you expected it to, “It’ll be something else, alright.” 

“Well, we have to go find good standing room since the show starts soon. We wouldn’t want to miss the exclusive look at your new single! Good luck, Y/N!” Namjoon nods at you with a smile. You return it, a nod to all the boys. Jungkook lingers, fighting with Yoongi to be the last in line. “Good luck, Y/N, I know you’ll do well.” He nods his head and scampers off behind his hyungs. You could’ve sworn you saw him look a little teary eyed as you made eye contact once the boys found a spot. He was leaning on the side of the stage, far too close for your comfort considering you’d be singing a song about how he broke your heart. At least he didn’t know that, yet. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Jungkook, I need to tell you something.” 

Jungkook wanted to be told nothing. He wanted to hear nothing, he wanted to be nothing. He had glanced up at you once he found a comfortable spot off the side of the stage, and the look on your face told him that he should fully expect what’s coming. He’s not ready to hear it on his own, much less with the boys. At least Yoongi was going to look out for him. He turned to the aforementioned man, taking a shot off a tray floating around, and nodded. 

“I kind of have an idea of what’s about to happen.”

“How do you kn-- what do you think you know?” 

“Welcome to the show, are you all ready to hear Y/N’s new single?” The host of the show sauntered onto the stage, the glittery train of her dress almost distracting Jungkook from the absolute panic that invaded his body at the words of his hyung. “Well, you’re in luck, she’s our opening act for the night! Everyone welcome her to the stage, give it up for Y/N!”

You walked out on the stage in an outfit far different than the one he saw when he ran into you. You seemed a little flustered, almost, sad but confident as you grabbed the microphone and introduced yourself. You scanned the crowd, eyes landing on the boys. Taehyung and Jimin were screaming so loud that it looked like you might have almost forgotten about Jungkook completely, until your eyes met his. 

“I had a whole speech… this whole plan, this whole other outfit I had on backstage and I was ready to show y’all the happy, go-lucky version of this song, because that’s what I’d originally made it for. But, I’m gonna need y’all to bare with me, because… because I can’t sell that to you right now when I can’t feel it.” You’d started to walk off stage, immediately taking the crowd by surprise. 

“Listen Jungkook, I’ve seen the song she’s about to sing--”

“You WHAT?” He didn’t believe what he’d just heard. He knew Yoongi said it, but he guessed he needed to add that to the list of things he hadn’t (or rather, couldn’t) make peace with. “Before I ask why or how you’ve heard it, does she--”

“See, that’s the thing,” Yoongi looked up to you and then back to him. “I know what she tells me, and I know what the song says. I know you still love her.” Jungkook exhaled with such a force that Namjoon made a pointed glance his way. He looked up at Yoongi, expecting to see something, anything other than the piercing gaze he was met with. “I know she still… feels some way about you, Jungkook.”

‘Feels some way about you’ rung in his ears even harder than his eardrums had been doing so before. He immediately looked around and grabbed a shot off the nearest tray and downed it. He looked back over with tears fully in his eyes (not like earlier, those weren’t full tears, right?). Yoongi seemed like he was trying to be delicate with him, but he was getting fed up with Jungkook, and they were now both aware of it. 

“Jungkook!” Yoongi whisper shouted, “she’s not ready to talk to you, not until you hear what she has to say. Quit taking those shots and hear her out.” 

“What do I do, how long have you--” 

C L U N K 

He barely heard the loud wooden thud over his own heartbeat, but it was enough to distract him and Yoongi. He looked up to the stage and saw you dragging out that leather wooden stool, and he knew he was in for a night. 

“Sorry… sorry that was so loud y’all.” He watched you take the deepest of breaths, hands shaking as you held onto the microphone and sat on the stool. “I’m gonna just go off-script here, is that okay?” The crowd cheered, creating a small smile on your face. “I don’t want to say I knew this would happen, but my loving team and my ghost producer backed me up when I wanted to record a second version of this song. They’ll play the upbeat one later, once we’ve all had some drinks in our system, yeah?” The crowd cheered again, whereas Jungkook could only gulp.

“Yoongi, did you--”

“She asked me to ghost produce this EP before we left on tour, Kook.”

“She… she what? How long have you-- what do I do?” He was full-on in tears at this point, doing a decent job at hiding it from the other members, but Yoongi saw right through his “I wear leather coats and am a Virgo so I can’t cry” facade that he tried to put up whenever he got sad. He pulled Jungkook into a tight side embrace, right as you looked down at the two of them. 

“I know I’ll need it,” you mumbled, “so here we go, hope y’all like it.” 

“You’re a world away, somewhere in the crowd. In a foreign place… are you happy now? There’s nothing left to say, so I shut my mouth. So won’t you tell me, babe, are you happy now?”

“Shit. Hyung…” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re the only one who can up and run, leave me just as empty as the day you came. And you hold all the cards, all the broken hearts, strung over your shoulder ‘til it’s all in vain. And only you know the strength in your teeth, the wash in the weight of your pockets so deep… and lonely.” 

You’d made a list, made a plan. You weren’t going to look at any of the boys. Your subconscious was screaming “LOOK ANYWHERE BUT THE BOYS.” But you mentioned you were already off-script. Knowing that, your eyes couldn’t help themselves. 

“In the palm of your hands, you can make me dance, spin me around in circles until I’m wrapped in string.”

It doesn’t seem like they’ve processed it yet. You scan the line, seeing scrunched brows and confusion in a continuous line as if you’d written it across their faces yourself. Namjoon looked concerned. Seokjin had a face of granite; for once, you couldn’t read his face. Taehyung and Jimin were staring, eyes wide, and you couldn’t help but try to smile.

“You keep on talking sweet”

Hoseok had his hand reaching for Seokjin, eyes locked with yours. It’s not often that Mr. Sunshine himself can’t bring you joy.

 “‘til your fingers bleed,”

Yoongi had the face you expected him to have. You could see he was proud. He was seemingly less confused, but still looked hurt. You’d understand if it had to do with you, but you’re hoping it’s because of the man next to him, whom even thinking about made you growl through your next lyric.

“but don’t you dare ask me how I’ve been.”

After that, you really shouldn’t want to look. It might make it obvious, blow your whole relationship (or crumbled lack thereof) into the public eye. But the shouldn’ts are falling by the wayside as the crowd cheered on your emotive tone. Maybe it was a little harsh. You shake your head and blink out some tears. You’ve got to stop telling yourself you’re being too harsh. He broke your heart, didn’t bother to call, and had the gall to wish you good luck? He deserves to know how it feels. 

“Now only you know the strength of your teeth, the wash in the weight of your pockets so deep... and lonely! You’re a world away, somewhere in the crowd. In a foreign place, are you happy now? There’s nothing left to say, so I shut my mouth...”

You’ve managed to avoid it, and you can see it on the members’ faces that they’re catching on. Namjoon, Seokjin, Taehyung, Jimin, Hoseok, Yoongi.

“So won’t you tell me, babe…”

Shit. Here we go. The voice has cracked, the tears are OUT. You wipe your tears and hold your sleeve to the side of your face, making eye contact with the last member, the one you love the most.

“are you happy now?”

[sleepyfan-blog]

Recue Sci

fandom: Undertale multiverse AU

First part of this series is here. Previous is here. 

characters: SF!Sans, FS!Sans, Fell!Sans, Ink, Science!Sans, Dr. Alphys, W.D. Gaster

warnings: cursing 

word count: 3,152

Summary: The Fell Squad and Ink go to rescue Sci.

“Ink you better not have left the nerd in the ass end of some shit AU.” Red growled, his voice a low, bass rumble of protective irritation.

The creative guardian sighed a little bit and shook his head, before realizing that he was talking to Red on the phone and said “Sci should be fine. As far as I know, he's in his home timeline. I’ve gotten similarly irritated messages from Razz and Blackberry. Just what do you three think is going on with him?”

“... Did you not receive the text message from him less than five minutes ago asking for help? Or do you just not care?” Red snapped, irritated at how disinterested the bastard sounded.

“Hmm? Oh that. Yeah I saw that - I checked on him. He’s fine! I popped my head in to see where he was. He’s taking a nap on an exam table in Hotlands.” Ink answered with a shrug that the other Sans couldn’t see “He was probably just trying to avoid falling asleep - you know how he often overworks himself. There’s also a chance that he was trying to type something else and his phone autocorrected. He had it in his hand still.”

“... Is his Gaster still alive?” Red demanded after a moment, sounding even more worried than before.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Ink asked, curious and confused as to why that mattered at all. "But yes, he is."

"Because the Gaster I knew was an unmitigated bastard who experimented on me an' my bro for years before we managed to shove that old bastard into the heart of the Core? And the nerd's Gaster has decided that it's time to torture him? I know you have the whole 'I don't interfere with the running of timelines' thing but you take us in and out of our own and help each other with things all the time. And if Sci is all traumatized all to shit, then he's not going to be able to help you with science-y shit." Red growled "So come get me, Razz and Blackberry. We'll punch Gaster in the face for you and rescue Sci. All you gotta do is get us there."

"Hmm... In exchange for...?" Ink pressed, a small smile on his face, curious as to see if he could get anything out of the irritable monster.

"Ugh. Next time you gotta deal with Error's bullshit, call me up and I'll drop everything I'm doing to help you. No questions asked and no complaining." Red offered with a scowl.

Ink brightened up - getting this promise from Razz and Blackberry as well. He didn't necessarily need their help to deal with Error, but it certainly made the fight easier to contain the potential extra damage that Error could do to a timeline before they chased him off. And the fights didn't take as long before the destructive glitch decided that it wasn't worth his time to fight all of them at once - especially as the others had gotten so much better at dodging his strings. “Great! Thank you Red. I’ll be in your timeline in about five minutes or so - Razz and Blackberry want to see Sci as well. I’m sure he’s fine, and you three are overreacting a bit.”

~

Six minutes later, and the four of them were standing outside of The Labs in Sci’s timeline, with all three Fell Sanses glowering at the door. “So why didn’t you just ‘port us in to where you saw him last?” Red demanded.

“Ah, you see - while I was able to open a portal to see where Sci was, they’ve managed to rig something that keeps me from actually entering the labs without being allowed in first. I’m not sure if Dream’s portals are blocked as well, or if they’ve figured out how to keep just me from popping in whenever I want.” Ink answered honestly, shrugging a little.

“Wait… Since when does Dream have -you know what? We’re going to table that comment for later. For now we need to get this stars-damned door open.” Razz hissed, stomping over to it and banging on it loudly “I THE MALEFICENT SANS DEMAND THAT YOU OPEN THIS DOOR. YOU HAVE TEN SECONDS TO COMPLY BEFORE I BREAK IT DOWN.” He took two steps backwards, arms folded over his chest. Ten seconds passed by very slowly, and with absolutely nothing changing.

“VERY WELL. SINCE YOU’VE DECIDED NOT TO COMPLY WITH MY DEMAND-” He paused for a moment, summoning a blaster and aiming its’ maw at the door, the blaster’s destructive ruby magic collecting between it’s bifurcated lower mandibles “I WILL BE OPENING THE DOOR RIGHT NOW.” He gave the scientists another three seconds, in case someone smart and cowardly decided to act. When they did not, Razz caused his blaster to let out a short, quick burst of destructive magic - Red and Blackberry summoning floating bone attacks as well.His blaster destroyed the door and only a small portion of the outer wall. It scorched a bit of the white tiles and sent debris flying further into the building, but all in all it was a very neat, well controlled burst. Alarms started blaring as the four of them walked onto the first floor.

Red hit the call button for the elevator, having teleported over to it as soon as the smoke had cleared and there were no enemies immediately in sight. He froze for a moment when he thought he heard a nervous squeak from the half-floor above him, and then smirked. He teleported up and spotted a small yellow lizard-monster who looked like the Alphys of this world. He stalked towards her, knowing that he would loom above her and rumbled “Hey there Alph. Now unless you’re doing something wrong there’s no need to be scared. I just want to talk to you for a little while, understand?”

“I-I… Y-You’re really… P-Pointy?” The nervous lizard monster stuttered, scrambling backwards, edging for the other set of escalators, aware that there were other hostile Sanses and terribly confused as to what was going on. The only ones they’ve met before have been kind and curious beings “W-Why are you he-here?”

“We’re looking for your Sans.” Blackberry called out, casually wrapping an arm around her shoulders, resting his chin on the top of her head “Now, we’re well aware that most Alphys tend to be very shy and curious monsters, and while you can get drawn into awful and tawdry affairs, you generally mean well. The Sans of your world is a dear friend of ours, and you wouldn’t happen to know why he’s currently passed out on an examination table, would you?”

“I-I… N-No I d-do-don’t. Th-The last thing I-I know, h-he was going to b-be running some te-tests with… W-With another S-Sans.” Alphys stuttered as she went completely still, her eyes wide and terrified. Her breathing was fast and she kept clenching and unclenching her hands “H-He said something about the o-other being sick… Th-The other S-Sans I think was named… S-Something with a D? He was wearing blue and had ye-yellow gloves and a cape. Wh-why was he wearing a crown? I-Is that S-Sans royalty?”

“Ink! Get your apathetic ass up here right now. Did you know that Dream was going to be visiting Sci today? He’s here too, apparently.” Red yelled, his eye lights briefly shrinking to pinpricks. If that fucking asshole did anything to either The Nerd or the Adorable Healer, he was going to pay with his life. Very slowly and painfully.

The Creative guardian appeared in a flash of paint, a little bit of a frown appearing on his face as he stared steadily at Alphys, one of his eye lights a green circle, the other a violet question mark “What did you say about Dream coming here because he was sick? I hadn’t known that he was feeling off.” both of his eye lights turned into swirls - though they were in opposing patterns “Did any of you know that?”

All three Fell Sanses shook their heads, Blackberry speaking up after a moment “I was under the impression that it was almost impossible for him to get sick - like you - because he’s a guardian as well and a lot hardier than the three of us.”

Ink frowned a little bit and answered “As far as I know that assumption is correct he does get me here in timelines that have low positivity due to the nature of his being, but I've been careful to avoid such places while traveling with him after finding that out. I found Sci asleep in an empty room on an examination table. These three have rather… Unpleasant experiences with Gasters in the past and are concerned for Sci's and Dream's safety. Just where are they? I am also very much interested in where some my dear friends are.” He’s leaning on his paintbrush and has an easygoing smile on his face… But one of his eye lights is a purple exclamation point, and the other is a red target.

“I-I d-don’t know wh-where they m-might be o-other than in the l-labs down be-below. B-But Doctor Ga-Gaster wasn’t w-with them during the tests to s-see wh-what might be affecting your f-friend.” Alphys managed out, taking in a couple of deep breaths, clearly trying to calm down and succeeding to some degree. She was very clearly nervous of the four powerful and rather hostile monsters surrounding her.

As if summoned, Gaster called out from below after a moment, sounding incredibly confused and slightly disconcerted “Why is there a giant hole where the door to the labs used to be?”

The four Sanses teleported in front of the Gaster, the still slightly trembling and terrified Alphys in the middle of them. Ink’s smile - which seemed a little bit sharper than it had been seconds ago - broadened a little as he stalked towards the much taller skeleton - his eye lights are still purple and red - one of them has concentric circles, the other a larger target “Where oh where are Dream and Sci? I know that you wouldn’t have been able to resist the opportunity to study a being from a different universe - particularly one as unusual as Dream is… So, where are they?”

“As far as I know, Sci is still running tests on Dream. You are all aware of the fact that he’s been losing MP steadily despite not actively using his magic or battling constantly, yes? He’s not physically injured, and from what I was able to observe of his behavior, it is quite likely that he has some sort of soul damage - which he’s been suffering for months if not much, much longer.” Doc G responded, folding his arms over his chest as he stares down at the creative guardian. Showing fear would be a supposed sign of guilt, and he’s done nothing wrong.

All three of the Fell Sanses swear violently at the same time, and the royal scientist has to teleport to dodge their combined attacks, sighing a little and sending a pair of his summoned hands to grab Alphys - not wanting his intern to get dusted by an overzealous alternate of his older son due to a misunderstanding. Ink, however, simply grabbed his brush and spun it, the paint hitting Gaster square in the chest exactly where the other had teleported him to, the momentum of the deceptive liquid slamming the esteemed scientist into the wall with enough force to rattle the other’s bones. “That’s not what I asked, although it’s concerning that Dream may have gotten injured in such a way, we do fight an enemy who can cause pain to someone’s souls if he gets his strings on a person’s soul, so the idea that he could also damage a person’s soul is not out of the realm of possibility. Where are Dream and Sci?”

“Sci is right here, and very confused. What’s going on? Why are you attacking Da… The doc? When did you four show up?” Sci asked, looking incredibly confused as he ran over and reached out to Ink.

“You texted all of us for help… Is Dream alright? What does he need in order to heal?” Ink responded, one of his eye lights turning into a blue teardrop, the other a purple swirl. “Is he still in the lower portion of the labs, then?”

“I have no idea where Dream is. He hit me with a sleeping spell… And I… I promised that I wouldn’t tell you all what was going on. He did ask me to give you a message, though. Dream said that if he never shows up again, it’s not because he doesn’t want to, but because he has no other choice. Also, he mentioned someone by the name of Nightmare… Do any of you know who that is?” Sci answered, looking both very worried and concerned.

The Fell Sanses shook their heads, frowning a little “Huh … Did he say at all who this Nightmare was?” Red asked for a moment, curious and reflective.

“I… he did but I… I’m pretty sure it’s related to the thing that I promised Dream I wouldn’t tell anyone else about.” Sci sighed, rubbing his face a little

Ink paused for a moment, reflecting “Occasionally while he’s asleep, he’ll call out for someone named Night or Nightmare. Usually he’s pleading in his sleep for the other to stop doing something. I’ve tried to ask him about it but he always avoid the topic. The name makes him flinch and very unhappy, so I don’t push.”

Sci went very quiet for several moments, his eye lights dull. He cleared his nonexistent throat and asked “Err, Ink? Would you mind getting dad down and fixing the wall please? The royal guard patrol is going to be swinging by soon and uhh… I'd rather not have to explain the giant hole… Or all of you, because fully grown monsters just don’t randomly appear in the underground. Especially skeleton monsters.

“Oh! Yes, that would be rather difficult to explain - and I wouldn’t want to cause more disruption to this timeline than I already have.” Ink murmured with a bright smile, teleporting over to where the hole was, readjusting his grip on his brush as he recreated the door and parts of the wall, adjusting the color slightly to make sure that it looked indistinguishable from the original. He then went over to Doc G and freed the other from his magical paint, ensuring that the other’s lab coat wasn’t stained either. Ink was pretty sure that if Dream was there, he’d make them apologize for attacking an innocent monster… But as Dream was apparently off being mysterious and secretive, they didn’t have to. He really wanted to know what it was that Sci was keeping from all of them and sauntered over to the younger skeleton “Mind if we talk alone for a bit, Sci?”

“As… Fascinating as your visits are, Ink, I really must insist that the four of you leave - we are in the middle of working on a very delicate replacement part for some of the older sections of the Core, and I need his help in order to do so.” Doc G murmured, walking forwards and gently pulling Sci to his side. “I am unsure as to how long all of this will take, but once started, it will require his full concentration.”

Ink sighed, rolling his eye lights a little as they changed shapes and colors quickly. He could just fix whatever minor issue was wrong with their power supply on his own - and then he’d be able to talk to Sci about what it was that Dream was keeping from him - but the Gaster was looking really stubborn and probably wouldn’t take kindly to him messing about with such things and irritable Gasters were annoying to deal with. “Fiiiine. Good luck on your boring project Sci! I’ll pop back later to see how you’re holding up.”

“Thanks Ink.. Uhm… Have you ever been to Dream’s home timeline?” Sci asked curiously, as if unable to help himself but to ask the question.

“Nope! I’ve wanted to, though. But Dream says that I wouldn’t find his home very interesting.” Ink said with a shrug. “It’s another one of the things that he really doesn’t like talking about, so I don’t pester him about it. Mostly because if I try he hides for a while and I don’t like it when he does that.”

“... What and you never thought that was weird at all?” Red grumped, glaring a little. He didn’t like the rather ominous message that Dream had asked Sci to give to Ink. Why and how would someone be able to trap Dream in his own timeline, when the other had the ability to travel on his own? “... And are you sure you’ve never been to Dream’s timeline before?”

“Well, for the longest time I thought that he was an outcode, like myself, Error or… Someone else.” Ink responded, not wanting to mention Fresh’s name - as he didn’t particularly want to gain the parasite’s attention right now. Mostly because Fresh liked having strong hosts - and the three Fells he was currently with were fairly strong for mortal beings and he’d rather not lose one or all of them to Fresh’s periodic need to switch hosts. “But I asked one day and he said that he’s got a home timeline… Somewhere. But I’ve never found any other Dreams before so… I guess he’s from an AU where there’s only a singular iteration? Which I’ve never seen before. There are always copies, even if they are few and far between. It’s really fascinating! And a new concept, at least as far as  I know. Dream keeps more secrets than we’re all aware of, from what I can tell. Dream’s a fascinating puzzle I hope to solve.”

The four mortal sanses shared looks with one another, frustrated that Ink said something like that, but unsurprised. The other was a soulless asshole - but Dream being around made him a bit of a better person. Or at least he pretended to be, which at least counted for something. Blackberry just sighed and rubbed one of his temples a little and grumbled “We should probably get moving then. Thank you for your time and information, Sci… As for you, Doctor Gaster - the attack was a bit… Premature - but if you ever so much as think of harming a single member of this Underground I will personally make your last moments agonizing.”

“Duly noted.” Doc G responded. He looked like he was torn between saying something more and staying quiet, but Sci gently tugged on one of his sleeves and shook his head a little. The head royal scientist nodded and sighed quietly as he followed the other into the elevator into the lower levels.

[masseffecthoe]

Soul Glitches

Chapter 3

< Chapter 2

Kaidan was still unconscious despite Jun's best efforts to heal him. She was no medic, but his head had been pretty banged up and there was really no way to tell how affected his implants were. She spied Shepard from the corner of her eye and cursed the major under her breath. The last thing the commander needed was to worry about his sorry ass.

"I did all I could, but we have to get him to the Citadel asap. Someone has to check on his amps."

"Right. Joker, get us to the Citadel."

"Alright commander. Meanwhile, you've got Hackett on the line." She left in a hurry, sealing one more glance at the major's still form. Jun turned to him as well, wishing there was something more she could do to help. She missed Dr. Chakwas, the older woman would have been all over the situation in no time. Liara came around the bed, gentle hand placed on Jun's shoulder. The asari had a way about her that was soothing and Jun was grateful for it. Perhaps it was her voice.

"Do you think he's going to make it?"

"He's like one of those cockroaches from Earth, bastard's gonna outlive us all."

"I hope you're right, for the commander's sake." She left soon after, excusing herself to go examine the blueprints. Jun hoped they had been worth it, because while Kaidan was a pain in the ass, he was still part of the crew, part of Shepard's little family of misfits and one of their oldest friend. She'd miss the bastard, though probably not as much as the commander. She noticed James leaning on the wall besides the door as she finally got up to leave.

"So the commander and him." They were so obvious even the marine put two and two together and figured it out. The world was ending, actually, a lot of worlds were being eradicated, so she doubted anyone cared for regs those days.

"Why do you care? Shepard got you all heart eyed, too?" She punched him lightly on the shoulder as they exited the room towards the mess hall. She needed sometime to eat. "He enlisted around the same time we did, they also go way back."

"Doesn't really explain why you hate him so much... you sure you don't have a thing for him, princess?" With the most serious expression she could muster she turned to him with her hand on her chest as if offended, stopping him in his tracks.

"I would rather go on a suicide shuttle ride with you again than ever considering Alenko."

"I'm just that irresistible." Jun shook her head, smile cracking through her poker face. The lieutenant was good company, a change in scenery from the otherwise overly serious people on the crew. She would stay up with Joker in the cockpit, but since he'd been getting along with EDI more and more it was sometimes hard for her to follow their inside jokes.

"Anyway, I don't actually hate him... I hate that after all the years he's known us, fought alongside the commander, he still can't get his head out of his ass and trust, if not us, at lest her. Anderson and Hackett sing her praise with every chance, yet Alenko seems he wants to prove she's a god dammed traitor."

"The Cerberus thing?"

"Yep. She was basically dead, in a coma for two years. Then when she wakes up she asks about him every chance she gets... and he's angry she didn't call him..."

"If they're so close why didn't she?"

"He was on some kind of classified mission, no one told us where he was, just that he was alive and well."

" Guy has issues then. "

" Don't we all? " He raised an eyebrow and smirked, his ego basically bursting at the seems. "Oh please, don't act like you're above this."

"What? Can't help if I'm perfect."

"Aha, right. And I'm a krogan shaman"

"Never knew their shamans were so..."

"Hot? Beautiful? Wise beyond their years?" He leaned forward getting dangerously close, the scar on his lower lip pulling his smirk in an extremely appealing way. The man was right, he was close to irresistible.

"I was going to say squishy."

"Hm, well I guess you're not exactly wrong. But hey, you can't have it all, right?" She shrugged and watched those damn lips widen in a full cocky grin. "I mean, not all of us can be as perfect as you."

They passed a few more friendly banters as they grabbed some food from the mess hall. Not a lot of options since they were without a cook now as well. Jun really hoped they were going to get him back before they headed in the next crazy mission. It would be even sadder if they'd die on an empty stomach. It would have been nice to gather the entire old crew, after all what more important things they'd have to attend to besides the extinction of all they're races. She missed Tali the most. The two had become fast friends working on different parts of the Normandy and exchanging ideas. The quarian was just the sweetest girl ever. And then there was Kasumi; the woman was a blast to hang with and the two enjoined sneaking in on Jacob's training sessions. Jun looked James up and down again admiring the way his muscles flexed as he opened the fringe door for the third time. She was sure Kasumi would agree with her, the lieutenant was a walking work of art.

They arrived at the Citadel in short time, Normandy at full speed. They were already waiting for them at the docking bay and Kaidan was hauled away to the hospital before Jun got to the exit. She was unsure if they should follow Shepard to the hospital, the woman looked like she wanted to be alone for a moment. And besides, she really hated hospitals. Huerta Memorial held memories from the worst period of her short life. But the commander stopped, C-sec's officer Bailey coming into view and telling them the Council was waiting for them. There was conflict in the commander's eyes, but Jun nudges her a little.

"Go see Kaidan. The Council can wait a few minutes." Shepard nodded, the decision already taken. The group quickly dispersed, Liara choosing to attend to the Council and prepare their findings of the blueprint. Before Bailey turned to leave as well, he shot her and James a look.

"What about you two?"

"I'm just a tourist this time." The lieutenant put his hands up, excusing himself from any of the political implications and Jun saw the perfect opportunity to get out as well. She couldn't stand Udina and if the meeting was anything like the last one, she might not resist to throat punch him.

"I'll make sure he doesn't get in trouble." She smiled politely at the officer and he bid them good luck in their mission. When she turned towards James, he was already at one of the tall windows overlooking the Presidium. She approached casually and regarded the view as well, the opulence and serenity of it all.

"Been here before?"

"To the Citadel yeah, but never up here on the Presidium."His hands gripped the railing until his knuckles turned white, his jaw clenched tight. She understood his anger perfectly, the richest and most "important" beings lived here while in other parts of the universe people were fighting for scraps. But that was not something unique about the Citadel, it happened everywhere. And in some ways it was natural for the people in power to gather in such a place, even if perhaps they did not deserve said power to begin with. Life was unfair like that, she'd gotten used to it long ago. "This place is wrong, so calm while Earth is burning. As if the war isn't going to reach them too soon."

"It's a facade, Vega. If you look closely you can see they're all scared." She turned to watch the people on the hallway they were in, elbows resting behind her on the rail. "See that guy over there on the phone? He was asking about his son when we passed by him. Those asari by the elevator, they're being called back on their planet. Probably preparing for the reapers to hit Thessia... It may still look grand, but it's as much a hell hole like any other if you put it under a microscope. A shiny, skyscraper filled hell hole." She watched the creases in his brow lessen as he took a closer look around them.

"You spent a lot of time here?" James watched her face change completely, lips pressed in a thin line and eyes narrowing and he realized he'd hit some sensitive subject. She was silent for so long he'd thought they'd just dropped the subject.

"Well I kinda live here I guess."

"You guess?"

"Yeah, I mean I haven't for a while... but I have a little apartment in the Wards. But it's not like I bought it or anything. It belonged to my parents. I didn't even know about it until I was... well..."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, taking a long breath of air.

"I spent a while in the hospital after the... military thing. When I got out I was told I had an apartment here. It makes sense I guess, my parents used to travel to the Citadel a lot, but it just never crossed my young mind they actually had a place here, you know. Lucky me." James thought her reluctance to share had something to do with her parents, but now he was even more curious about her being in the hospital. He decided not to push the issue though. They were practically still strangers and she owed him no in depth story of her life.

"Come on."

"Where we going? "

"You need a drink."

"Apollo's Cafe?"

"I was thinking lower." They were going to work on the strangers part and what a better way to get to know a fellow soldier than behind a glass of batarian ale.

Purgatory was packed as usual, the music audible as soon as they stepped out of the elevator. James made his way through the crowd, the little engineer in tow, and secured a spot at the bar for them. There, the mood was more visibly desperate than on the Presidium, people drinking away their fear and sorrow for the fallen. He turned towards Jun now perked on a high stool next to him, her eyes wide and searching.

"What are you drinking?"

"Um, whatever you're having."

"You never explored this far, princess?" He chuckled and ordered his ale and some asari honey mead for her, deciding he didn't want her in an alcohol induced coma. Shepard would kick his ass.

"Hmm, what gave me away?"

"You look like a lost puppy." She cocked her neck and looked curiously at him, lips pursed in a child like manner. If not for the standard alliance uniform she was wearing, she would have looked nothing like a soldier in that moment. He was even more taken aback by her next words.

"I've never seen a puppy."

"How could- Really?"

"Yeah, I saw a few of those big military dogs, but never an actual puppy. Anyway I think I'm more of a cat person. Saw one of them bastards on Earth last month and nearly took it with me."

"But you did your military training on Earth, right?"

"Some of it." She drowned the glass in one swift movement, the subject clearly touchy. "Look, I've been to Earth twice, once for the military when I spent most of my time on base and now after Shepard turned herself in. Did a little exploring this time around, but can't say I've actually seen much." He took a long drag from his own glass, the familiar burn tingling his throat. It was a shame so many humans were so far away from their home planet, Earth was a wonder like none he'd ever seen. "I've always been a little envious of those who lived back there. Out here, there's no place that's really your own, you know?"

"There's no place like it." He hadn't wanted his voice to sound so broken, but he was reminded of his uncle, the warm days spent on the beaches and the giant robots trampling everything there. The cold fingers on his arm brought him out of memory lane, her hand looking so fragile on him.

"We're going to get Earth back." The emotion on her face was almost palpable, she wore her heart on the shelve like none other and he found himself wondering out loud.

"How did someone like you end up on this crazy crew?"

"Someone like me? What's so different about me?" He regarded her for a moment, her unscathed skin, doe like eyes and soft hand still on his arm. What was different about her? Everything, but not in a bad way. She could pull her weight in a fight and was trustworthy enough for Anderson and Shepard to keep her around. She had her fair share of past trauma and was by all means, an Alliance officer.

"Didn't mean it as an insult..."

"What did you mean by it then?"

"Look, I saw you are capable on the battle field and you even saved my ass back on Mars."

"But? Courage Vega, I don't bite. Too hard." She pulled back her hand, but broke into a smile and he relaxed. He thought he might have offended her, yet there she was trying to make him uncomfortable. It was going to take a lot more for her to make him blush.

"But you're so... soft."

"Soft?"

"Yeah, you don't look like... i don't know. You don't have that haunted look in your eyes the others have." Her fingers curled around her long empty glass, thumb slowly dragging on the rim. She was serious for a moment, making James think he overstepped that time. She lost her parents young, enlisted, been injured gravely enough that she didn't want to talk about it and survived Shepard's mission on the Collector's base. She'd seen her fair share of gore and surely had her own demons, probably hidden deep below the pretty surface. Why couldn't he hold his mouth shut some times? But the moment passed and she turned towards him with a wicked little grin and he couldn't help but smile as well.

"Looks can be deceiving, lieutenant. Or you're not looking close enough."

"Oh? You want me closer, cariño?"

"Well the view ain't that bad, though I've certainly seen better." She lifted her glass, pointing at him with it and changing the subject at the same time. "One more, then we go get some noodles. I'm starving!"James chuckled and ordered them two more drinks. He enjoined her presence, liked that he could be his flirty self and voice concerns without having to explain or excuse himself. And for brief moments, time until they return to Earth seemed to pass just a little faster.

Chapter 4 >

[meggannn]

into the spiderverse: timeline

when i went to see spiderverse again yesterday one of my goals was to come up with a timeline of the story, so here’s what i found with some of my notes. the main chunk of the story takes place over the course of a week in mid-december, beginning on a monday morning and ending friday night.

SUNDAY

NIGHT: Specified only in the background, but a collider test took place under Fisk tower Sunday evening with three pieces of evidence:           1) As Miles walks to school Monday morning, a friend from Brooklyn Middle asks him if he felt the “earthquake” (collider test) last night. Of course, Miles replies “What are you talking about? I slept like a baby last night.” It could very well be all talk, since this is Miles’s “cool” persona that comes out around his friends. I believe the collider test did occur and was centralized/affected only certain neighborhoods, for reason #3 below.           2) The spider that bites Miles on Monday night glitches as it crawls down from the ceiling, implying that it came from another universe.           3) The confirmation: the news broadcast that Jefferson and Miles pass by in the car on the way to Visions announces that “There are multiple reports of another mysterious seismic event last night.” (Side note: when Gwen is blasted into “last week” New York, an announcer mentions, “...this is the second earthquake in the Tri-State area this month.” So this pre-canon collider test on Sunday wasn’t even the first one.)

MONDAY

DAY: Miles gets a ride to school from his dad, meets Gwen in physics, receives a test back, and is assigned the essay.          Miles’s date at the top of his test reads Decembruary 9. I’ve seen a theory that this is what the month is called in Miles’s universe, but later, a poster in Miles’s room advertises the date “DECEMBER 15,” so we can assume “Decembruary” was just part of his efforts to flunk the class. If we assume the date number is correct, this film probably takes place in mid-December. (December 9, 2018 was actually a Saturday, so either the filmmakers didn't check, or Miles was really committed to playing dumb.)

NIGHT: Miles sneaks out to spray-paint with Aaron and is bitten by the spider from another dimension.

TUESDAY

DAY: Miles notices changes. He sticks to everything, tears Gwen’s hair, and realizes he might have Spiderman’s powers.

NIGHT: Miles searches for answers in Brooklyn and returns to the tunnel to check the spider, where he is caught in a battle between PP Spiderman and Green Goblin. PP Spiderman is thrust into the collider beam. PP Spiderman gives him the task of destroying the collider. PP Spiderman is killed by Kingpin, Miles returns to his parents’ place, and stays the night there. The news of PP Spiderman’s death is broadcast across the city.           Meanwhile, Peter B and the others are thrust into Miles’s reality this same evening (Gwen goes back in time). Peter B sees PP’s death in Times Square.          This evening is the first time Miles experiences Spideysense. In the lead up, his senses feel strange, distorted, and claustrophobic; the visuals look weird on the screen until it suddenly condenses into the wiggly lines and LOOK OUT flashes behind him (when Green Goblin bursts through the wall). After that, his Spideysense triggers normally like the others’.

WEDNESDAY

This is the day I’m most confused about. Common sense says these events couldn’t/shouldn’t all happen in the same day, but other parts of the film indicate that not much/no time has passed, so they have to happen either on Weds, or across a day or two, perhaps Weds-Thurs. For expediency’s sake I’m assuming the filmmakers probably intended it to be Weds due to how urgent they stress the collider situation is.

DAY: The city is in mourning. Miles goes to a costume shop and buys a Spiderman outfit, where he meets Stan Lee. He attends a public speech by Mary Jane Watson, attempts to swing off a few buildings, and accidentally breaks the USB.          Peter B also attended MJ’s speech on Wednesday from afar, where he is already seen wearing a trenchcoat he must have scrounged from somewhere. He must have also acquired a pair of sweatpants and mismatching shoes on Weds to cover up/keep warm where the bottom of his suit burned up in collider travel.         Wednesday is the first day Miles skips school and drops out of contact with his family.

NIGHT: Miles goes to PP’s grave and apologizes for failing him. We meet Peter B, who Miles accidentally electrocutes, and they go on a train ride together. After Peter is knocked out, Miles takes him to Aaron’s, where he ties him up and questions him. They recognize the Spideysense in each other, and Peter B reluctantly agrees to mentor him.          The likelihood of all these events happening in one day is pretty infeasible (MJ’s speech and Peter’s gravestone especially). Families would be given a few days of privacy to mourn, and besides which, MJ would need time to write the speech. Most importantly, people aren’t buried within a day. Also, with PP’s death so fresh, there would definitely be mourners at his gravesite in the evening, unless perhaps Miles waited until they all left and it’s VERY late at night/early morning when he meets Peter B.          Peter B’s face is still beat up/swollen in the beginning of the scene when he’s tied to the punching bag, but by the time he’s decided to leave for the collider in the alley, he has fully healed. I would call it a continuity error, but since Peter has healing abilities, I think it was a conscious choice that his injuries lasted this long, either from being knocked out/swung around the city, and/or Miles might have injured him by knocking his head around Aaron’s apartment while tying him up.          There’s a time skip between the alley scene and the next morning. Peter walks up the wall next to someone awake in their apartment window, so we might think it’s a reasonable time of night OR early morning (9-10pm, 5-6am), but it’s also New York, so it could just as well be 2am when they’re having this talk. What did Peter B and Miles do before they go out to eat? Peter says “There’s not a moment to lose” and Miles starts to follow him but there’s not much they could do to get started on a new USB in the middle of the night, and in the middle of winter I doubt they just wandered around the city. Did they spend the night at Aaron’s?

THURSDAY

DAY: Peter and Miles eat breakfast at a burger place and travel to Alchemex to steal the data. They infiltrate the lab, meet Doc Ock, break out with the computer, and are introduced Gwen/Spiderwoman in the forest. We are treated to Kingpin’s backstory and his goals behind the collider.          Peter tells Miles to look up where Alchemex is, and Miles’s phone says Alchemex “OPENS AT 9AM.” It’s light out when they eat, and NY sunrise in December is around 7am, so I assume this scene takes place around 7-8am. Miles wants to swing to the Hudson Valley, but Peter insists they take the bus, saying he won’t swing “after a hearty burger-breakfast.” It’s a 2-hour bus drive from NYC to the Valley, so they arrive after Alchemex opens. Accomodating for their travel time to Port Authority, they probably get there around 10-11am.          Gwen is the third Spider-person Miles has met within a day and a half, after years of thinking there was only one. Only two days ago he was puzzling over the possibility of there being two Spidermen alone in his room, and in the forest he says, “How many more Spider-people are there?” which is honestly probably running through his head all day.          Miles has now been skipping school for two days. His last contact with his family was Tuesday evening, and it’s also been two full days since they’ve heard from him. Brooklyn Visions has almost certainly contacted his parents, which likely prompts the call Jefferson makes to Aaron asking if he knows where Miles is. (Little does Jefferson know Miles almost calls him that same evening as he’s wandering Queens after leaving May’s.) We might assume that Visions thinks Miles is just skipping class, not that he’s missing, otherwise Jeff would probably feel more panicked.

NIGHT: The team goes to May’s house in Queens, and are introduced to the rest of the Spider-people that traveled from other dimensions. They haze Miles, prompting him to seek solace with Aaron. Instead he runs into the Prowler, and it’s revealed the Prowler is Aaron. Miles runs, and Aaron gives chase.          There’s a time gap between the bus ride back from Alchemex. The bus ride takes 2 hours, which Peter/Miles/Gwen presumably make immediately after breaking out of Alchemex, putting them back in NYC around early/mid afternoon, maybe 1-2pm. They meet up with May around sunset, which is around 4:30 in December in New York. That’s a few missing hours in which they might have gone out to eat or something. Why did they wait a few hours to go to May’s? Theories:                1) They were busy eating/talking/getting to know each other.                2) They waited until they were sure she was home. Is May retired?                3) They waited until the crowds of mourners/fans would be gone.          May is presumably housing the Spidergang in her place, including dinner Thursday night and breakfast Friday. Or maybe they ordered takeout.

FRIDAY

Friday has the second-weirdest time skips behind Wednesday. There’s an implication that all of these events happen very quickly following each other, but unless Miles was running around literally all day trying to escape the Prowler, these events have to have some gaps.

DAY: Peni creates a new USB. Miles rushes to May’s house for safety after leading the Prowler on a chase across Brooklyn-Queens. Aaron has called for backup and arrives at May’s home with the Scorpion/Doc Ock/Tombstone. They fight the Spider-gang, Miles escapes with the USB and is cornered by Aaron. Aaron refuses to kill his nephew and is killed for it. Around sunset, Miles runs back to his dorm, where he is confronted by the Spider-gang and Peter tells him they won’t let him destroy the collider. Peter ties him up in his room, and Jefferson visits Miles in his dorm.          Peter is wearing sweatpants and shoes over his burnt suit on Thursday and has a fully functional suit (with the onesie covering his feet) when Miles returns to the house. We can assume May either gave him one of dead Peter’s suits, or helped him repair his own.          We don’t know when Miles rejoins the gang at May’s house, so you could headcanon it’s in the morning or afternoon. The fight with the Sinister Six probably lasts about an hour. We might assume Miles goes missing again after Aaron dies, and he could’ve spent some time wandering the city in grief again. Again, sunset in NY in December is 4:30, so that’s when the spider-gang confront him in his room. Given everything, my suspicion is that they were waiting at Miles’s dorm room (which Gwen would’ve known) for him to return, so when he throws his book out the window, that’s why someone was able to immediately throw it back.

NIGHT: Miles discovers his powers, escapes Peter’s webbing, travels back to Queens where May helps him with his suit and web shooters. Miles takes the subway to Manhattan to take his leap of faith, and then swings back to Brooklyn to join the gang. Meanwhile, the Spider-gang infiltrate Kingpin’s gala and break into the collider. Miles joins them and they successfully defeat the sinister six, and send everyone home. Miles faces off against Kingpin and destroys the collider. Later, Miles calls Jefferson (first contact in 3 days, since Tuesday), delivers Kingpin to the PDNY, and introduces himself to the city as the new Spiderman.

and that’s all i’ve got for now. curious to hear if anyone has thoughts/if i missed or misinterpreted anything.