#and hopefully this goes well and my anxious energy will disappear

[devourcr]

another job interview!

[katyasrussianaccent]

you’re so golden (corpse x reader)

Summary: You’re a faceless youtuber that sings cover songs. What happens when a certain faceless streamer slides into your DMs after you cover one of his songs?

Authors note: Part 3 whoop! I havent written fic in 3 years so Im hoping this is okay. Its about 4000 words, super long, sorry. I also dont play Among Us, but hopefully its not too obvious. Lemme know what you think!

You're nervous, though you aren’t quite sure why. The kind of nervousness that spreads to your feet, causing you to tap your toes against the side of your sofa.

Call you in 15. 

You look at the message again, staring at it till the screen goes blurry. Rubbing your eyes you exhale into the emptiness of your apartment; a feeble attempt at calming yourself down.

Logically it’s stupid to be nervous over a phone call. Logically you know that in the grand scheme of the universe, there are bigger things at hand. But you’re not a logical person, never have been. You’re all heart and emotion, both a blessing and a curse. There’s something intimate about a phone call, to have nothing but someone’s voice on the other end of the phone, talking to you and only you. It was a little scary; to think your purely online friendship with Corpse was going to be taken to a different level. You’re excited to think what that could mean.

“Fucking get it together,” you mutter to no-one as you exhale again, because there’s nothing else to do other than to wait and try to breath. There’s this frantic energy about you; like when you eat fizzy sweets, the flavour buzzing on your tongue. Your ancestors used to hunt wolves and here you were nervous over a single phone call.

The silence in your apartment’s too much now; too noisy. You grab your TV remote, clicking onto Spotify to find something. You’re scrolling so much, none of the artists feeling quite right for the moment before settling on Sufjan Stevens.

The dulcet tones fill the space, and for a brief second, you feel fine. You’re feeling relaxed and then your phone lights up.

Incoming Facetime Audio

“Fuckfuckfuckfuck” you say. Your face feels warm, your heart quickens in your chest. You could just ignore it, say you’re not feeling too good and that would be that, you wouldn’t have to do this. But it’s Corpse, you like Corpse and you’re kind of friends.

You swipe to accept the call, and press the button for speaker. 

“Hey,” you say, cringing at the meek tone your voice has taken on.

“Hey,” Corpse’s deep voice rumbles through your tiny speaker, distorting slightly and you press the volume button to turn it down a little.

There’s a beat of silence, a beat too long, and you already hate how awkward this is. You’re not great at social stuff, the concept of being a social butterfly is almost foreign to you. And it’s not because you dislike people, it’s just you hate this; the small talk, the awkwardness before you get comfortable and can hold an actual conversation.

You suddenly remember a tip from your customer service days. “How are you?” you ask, plastering on a grin so wide that it must look borderline demented. Thank god you’re single. 

“I’m okay thanks, how are you?” he asks.

You lounge back against the soft cushions of the sofa, lifting the phone up to your mouth as you do so. “I’m good, excited to be taught by the Among Us master.”

He snorts in disdain. “Hardly a master.” 

You chew your lip before you speak again, “I dunno, people on the internet think you’re pretty good.”

He snorts again, and you smile at the sound. It’s not something you’ve heard from him before, through your hours of watching his streams, you’ve become accustomed to his voice and the noises he makes. But this one seems to be new. And maybe it’s the weird, selfish part of you that likes to think he’s only ever made that sound for you. You shake the thought out of your head, because really? Getting happy over a snort is really such a ridiculous thing to do. 

“People on the internet say a lot of things.”

“True, but sometimes they speak the truth,” you reply, moving to get more comfortable; tucking your feet under your thighs. You wonder what he’s doing right now as he talks to you, is he sitting down? Or is he lying on his bed; his head propped up with pillows? There’s a brief flash of yearning, of wanting to be there in the same room as him, but it disappears as quickly as it appeared so you ignore it.

“Hm. We’ll agree to disagree.”

“Okay, you’re the boss Mr Husband.”

He chuckles softly, and again, you smile. You can feel yourself getting annoyed with yourself; you’re acting like a child with a crush; smiling at the phone. All you needed now was a notebook that had Mrs YN Husband written all over it.

“You know if you keep calling me that, we’re gonna have to get married,” he says, his voice a little lower than it was before. You blink and cock your head to the side, looking at an imaginary camera like you’re in The Office. Did you say that out loud? Is he...flirting with you? Sure, you’re flirty over Twitter, but it’s Twitter, Twitter isn’t real. There’s a fluttery feeling in your stomach at the mere prospect that he might actually be flirting with you.

“I’d be the best wife you could ever get,” you shoot back. There’s a brief second of silence before he answers, and you can hear shuffling on the other end. You want to ask what he’s doing, but you know it would break the conversation, and you’re curious to see where this goes.

“Oh really? And why’s that?” he asks, and you can picture the smirk in his voice. You have no idea what he looks like, no real care about it either, but you bet he’s got a beautiful smile. You bite your tongue before it tells him this, for once your brain actually works and stops you from making a fool out of yourself. It’s incredibly strange, how quickly he puts you at ease without a try, he’s just so naturally comforting. He’s not this flashy persona, he’s just a guy who likes to play video games and happens to be kinda good at them. And also has a voice that is literally like chocolate. Not just chocolate; dark chocolate. If dark chocolate could talk, it would sound like Corpse.

“Cos your girl can cook,” you say proudly, puffing out your chest a little. And that’s not a lie, you can cook. Okay, you’re not a Michelin starred chef, but you feel quite confident in the fact that Gordon Ramsey could eat your food, and probably (hopefully) wouldn’t scream that it was “fucking raw”. 

“And what would you cook for me?” he asks. 

You hum in thought for a second. “You’ll have to marry me first to find that out.”

He laughs, a proper laugh that settles in your stomach, spreading warmth through your chest. “I’ll think about it. I can hear music, what are you listening to?”

You straighten up a little, the question catching you off guard. You bite the inside of your cheek as you look at the song that’s playing. It’s not his type of music, you’re almost positive about that. You almost don’t want to tell him out of embarrassment. You’re not sure why you feel embarrassed; you know Corpse isn’t an asshole, he wouldn’t make fun of you. But music is so personal to you, so personal, it’s like baring a piece of your soul; which sounds so fucking cliche, but it’s true.

“Uhhh...It’s called Make out in My Car by Sufjan Stevens,” you reply.

He hums in affirmation. “It sounds nice; from what I can hear.”

“I can turn it up?” you ask, leaning forward to grab the remote off the coffee table.

“You could always sing some for me,” he offers. 

You laugh a little, scrunching up your nose. “And why would I do that?”

“I thought you wanted to get married. You have to woo me,” he replies.

“Woo you?” you ask, your tone incredulous. This isn’t how you pictured the conversation going.

“Yeah. Woo me, yn.” he says, dragging out the “o” causing you to laugh again.

You sigh dramatically. “I haven’t warmed up or anything, it’s gonna sound so bad” you warn as you put the song to the beginning.

“I’m sure you sound great. Go ahead, woo me.” 

You shake your head as you softly sing. “I'm not trying to go to bed with you, I just wanna make out in my car. And though I'm dying to fall in love with you, I just wanna make out in my car”. You stop and you’re suddenly very aware that you have essentially just serenaded him. Good going, brain.

It’s silent for a beat too long, and the smile that graced your lips starts to fade as the embarrassment starts to set in. 

“Well now we definitely have to get married,” he affirms. And there’s that fluttery feeling again.

You swallow, moving the conversation swiftly onto Among Us. You grab your laptop that was next to you, humming in acknowledgement as he walks you through downloading it. 

“So there’s a few of us joining us tonight, it should be really fun.”

“Oh. It’s not just us two?” you ask. You focus on the download, watching the number increase. You’re nervous at the prospect of playing with other people, strangers, for the first time.��

“No, it’s a 4 player minimum. We’re going to stream as well.”

“Corpse…” you start. You begin to pick at the skin around your nails, a habit you do whenever you get really anxious. This was meant to just be a cute moment where you learnt how to play a game, not a big event where people would be actually watching you, judging your every move.

“We’re going to do a few games off stream with you, you don’t need to be there for the stream after if you don’t want to,” he interrupts. 

“Okay,” you trail off, your teeth biting down on your bottom lip. You feel a little better, but not by much. You didn’t know who the other people were, what if they hated you? You ask this out loud.

“I’ll be there. You know Rae and Sykkuno. Felix, Sean and Toast will be there but they’re super nice, I promise.” His voice is sincere, and it soothes you. You don’t know him, not really know him, but you trust Corpse. You know he has his own struggles, and you believe his promise; he wouldn’t screw you over or put you in a situation you were uncomfortable with.

The rest of the call is him taking you through how to play and how to set up something called Proximity Chat so everyone can talk to each other in the game. He says it’s easier once you actually play, and it doesn’t sound particularly hard quite honestly, you just hope you don’t get imposter on the first try because you’re not the greatest liar. 

The game screen pops up, and you type in the code that Corpse gives you. You say goodbye to Corpse, who tells you to text him if you need any help. You drop into the game lobby, and you look at the little astronaut. There’s no time to dwell as a cacophony of voices hits you.

“YN!” Rae screeches and you chuckle at her enthusiasm. You’ve known Rae for a few years now, you met at college and had become fast friends. Though you had many different interests - gaming for one, you considered her your best friend. Rae was the type of friend where you didn’t need to talk every single day, you could message her a week later and it would be like no time had passed at all. And you loved that, sometimes you just didn’t want to talk to anyone. Sometimes your mood wasn’t the best, and you needed a little time to recharge. And she understood that, something that you were eternally grateful for. 

“Raebies!” you screech back, using your “pet” name for her.

“I’ve been trying to get you to play forever. But Mr Smooth Operator over there slides into your DMs and suddenly you’re a gamer now?”

“It sounds so sordid when you say it like that,” you reply.

“Hi yn! Glad to see you playing with us,” Sykkuno says. You greet him and the others, making sure to say hi to everyone in the game. You didn’t want to start off by being accidentally rude. You listen as everyone talks amongst each other, and you talk when spoken to, but you aren’t interjecting. It wasn’t anything against the other players, it was just a little overwhelming, and you were figuring out what everyone was like.

“Hello,” Corpse’s voice interrupts your train of thought and you greet him along with everyone else. 

“Aw, I wanted purple,” you say, frowning at Corpse’s name above the astronaut.

“We can switch,” he replies.

“No it’s o -” you start to speak before you realise he’s already switched to white. “Thank you, you didn’t have to.” You smile as you switch to purple, and you decide to add a flower for a little pizzazz.

“It’s your first game, I’ll kill you if I get imposter so it’ll even out,” he jokes and everyone laughs. The countdown begins and you puff your cheeks out, exhaling as it gets to 1. You’re nervous again, a seemingly common theme of the night. Your shoulders relax as the word CREWMATE flashes across the screen.

You watch as everyone but Corpse disperses from the cafeteria with haste, and you look at the keyboard to press the buttons to move.

“You ever see an old person text? That’s how I’m picturing you right now,” Corpse says as you walk together to Weapons.

“Shut up Sonny,” you reply in your best old woman voice, getting a laugh. You open up the task, shooting the Asteroids with ease. “Yay, I completed a task!”

“Good job,” Corpse replies, and you beam at the praise. You move down to o2, doing your task while Corpse does his.

“Wait, you could be imposter right? How would I know?” you ask as you walk together to Navigation.

“You wouldn’t, you just have to trust me,” he says, his voice full of charm.

You scowl. “Well that just makes me not want to trust you.” 

Before he replies, there’s a blaring alarm. DEAD BODY REPORTED. You blink at the suddenness; you were really enjoying the relaxing pace of the game. You look at the screen;  Felix has been killed.

“Who found the body?” Corpse asks.

“I did,” Rae answers. “I was in admin, and was going to lower engine and it was there in storage.”

“If you were in admin, why didn’t you go up through Cafeteria?” Toast asks.

“Because it’s quicker to go through storage,” Rae replies. They argue between themselves, and you listen intently and silently. It’s a lot of information, you can’t tell whose lying, but you guess that’s what makes a good player.

“Where were you yn?” Sean quizzes, and it takes you a second to realise you’re being spoken to.

“Oh. I was in um o2?”

“You don’t sound too sure there, pretty sus,” he says. Your face heats up a little, you’re not the imposter, but it feels like you are.

“She was in o2 and then we went to Navigation,” Corpse answers, and you breathe out as he takes on the interrogation.

“Oh you were together?” Rae asks, and you know that tone she’s got. It’s the tone that says she’ll be messaging you right away.

“Well yeah, it’s her first game, I’m not gonna leave her alone,” he says and you smile at that. 

“Yeah we’ve been together the whole time,” you add and it’s left at that. No-one votes anyone out, since no-ones really too suspicious. You carry on the game, and you find yourself really enjoying it, though the questioning part is kind of stressful. You can see why Corpse likes it so much, it’s really fun. You’re in electrical, humming as you do your task when Rae comes next to you. 

“Hey,” you greet her.

“I’m sorry, nothing personal,” she replies. Before you have a chance to say a word, she kills you and you look on in shock as your ghost floats above your body.  You listen into the meeting as Rae continues to lie and plead her case. She’s good, but Corpse knows better.

“Wait, you said you found her in electrical and you were where?” 

“I was in Upper Engine, and then I went to electrical to do my task,” Rae answers, her voice even and calm.

“I was in Lower Engine, and I didn’t see you,” Corpse says, and you grin at the fact Rae’s been found out. That’s what she gets for killing you.

“You were doing your task, I passed right by you,” Rae starts. She pleads her case, but it’s too late and she’s voted out.

“That was so much fun!” you declare. “I can see why you guys play it all the time.”

“Yes! We have converted another!” Felix shouts in victory.

“And all it took was Corpse,” Rae mutters sarcastically.

“Don’t get bitter Rachel, just get better,” you reply, causing the group to laugh.

You get the hang of it after a few games, and find yourself agreeing to stay while the others stream, though you decide against it yourself. You’ve only streamed once by yourself, and it was a very casual affair and you don’t want to feel too much pressure while you enjoy yourself. You know that Corpse gets nervous when he streams and he’s been doing it for so much longer, so you can only imagine how nervous you would be.

You tap your fingernails against the keyboard as the lobby counts down, any previous nerves have been replaced with excitement. 

IMPOSTER flashes across. You’re the only one, your astronaut looks lonely on the screen by itself, and the red letters almost taunt you. 

“Shit,” you mutter as your brain goes into overdrive. What was it Corpse had said before? Not to be too obvious. You don’t kill immediately, instead going at your previous pace to not look too suspicious. You were still fairly new to the game, and you were going to use that to your advantage.

You fake your task in Cafeteria before venting over to Navigation where Toast was.

“Hi Toast!” you greet, coming to stand next to him as you pretend you’re doing the task. 

“Oh hey yn,” he says. It doesn’t seem like he suspects you, and you’re not quite sure when to click the Kill button. You do it anyway before running out and going down and into shields. There’s adrenaline running through you as the dead body’s reported and you crack your knuckles before putting on your game face. You were going to play dumb, play the confused newbie - because to them, that’s what you were. 

“YN, where were you?” Corpse asks. Fuck. Maybe you weren’t going to get away with this.

You twiddle your hair as you draw out your words, playing the role perfectly. “Uhm I was in...shields? I think that’s what it’s called. I was in the cafeteria before that though.”

“Wait, you couldn’t have, I was in weapons. I would have seen you,” Sykkuno says.

You open your mouth to talk. “She could have vented,” Felix comments, and the rest of the group starts to agree.

“Guys, I don’t even know what venting is. I literally just started playing,” you point out, giggling.

“That’s true,” Rae agrees and you knew there was a reason you loved her.

“Bullshit! She’s playing you with her “oh I don’t know how to play” schtick,” Felix proclaims.

“Aw, that’s kind of rude, Felix. I’m just enjoying the game, doing the tasks,” you say, pouting a little. He’s the next on your list. 

Everyone skips the vote and you lean over your laptop, ready for the next round. You were going to win this. You kill Rae and Toast next, and yet again, manage to worm your way out of any suspicion. You can sense that Corpse and Felix are starting to get suspicious of you, and you know you need to bring out the big guns to throw them off.

You catch Sykkuno in Med Bay after checking the cams in Security.

“Hi yn!” he greets, and you almost feel guilty as you kill him. He’s so sweet and innocent, but unfortunately, casualties are a given. You pass Felix as he comes out of reactor and it’s only a matter of time before you’ll have to talk your way out of this one again.

“I passed yn as I came out of reactor,” Felix shouts with a hint of glee.

You roll your eyes; this is going to be tough. “Yeah I came from Upper Engine, I was finishing part 2 of a task.”

“I was in Electrical, where was the body?” Corpse asks.

“Med Bay. And the only one that could’ve been there was yn,” Felix starts.

“Well no, you could have passed me and killed Sykkuno then self reported,” you reply. “I think you can do that right?” 

Corpse hums in agreement. “Oh come on! She’s being really sus,” Felix argues.

“You are being a little sus yn,” Corpse comments.

“Corpse. You don’t really think it’s me do you?” You decide to lower your voice a little, your tone sweet but sultry. “You only taught me like an hour ago, there’s no way I’d be able to fool everybody so quickly.” You get close to the mic so it’s like you’re speaking only to Corpse. “Remember what I said? You’re a master at this.” You’re laying it on thick, and for a brief second you think you’ve been too over the top.

“This is difficult,” Corpse says, and you see the seconds count down, your heartbeat starts to quicken.

“Corpse, stop being a fucking simp and vote her out!” Felix demands.

“Corpsie baby,” you drawl out and you smile in success as you hear him sigh, almost shakily. You’ve got this in the bag. The victory screen flashes up and you cheer.

“Fuck yeah!” you shout, patting yourself on the back. You laugh as you exhale the breath you didn’t know you were holding.

“Good game yn!” Sykkuno comments, the others agreeing.

“Not fair, you used your womanly wiles against Corpse,” Felix says.

“Gotta use them for something. Not my fault Corpse knows where his allegiance lies,” you reply laughing a little.

You stretch, your back crying out in pain from being hunched over so long. You let out a long, loud moan of relief as you straighten your spine, your shoulders relaxing as you move from side to side.

“Your mic’s not muted” Corpse points out, clearing his throat. You feel your stomach drop and your face instantly becomes hot. Shit. 

“Oh. Uh. I totally forgot about that,” you say, forcing out a chuckle. You screw your eyes shut, any happiness has been now replaced by red hot shame. “So this was fun, uh, really fun, but um, I’m gonna, I’m gonna go. So...yeah. Bye guys, have fun!” 

You click to exit without giving anyone a chance to say a word, and drop your head into your hands. 

“Can’t wait to see what they say on Twitter about this,” you mutter into your hands.

TAGLIST (if youre bold, it wont let me tag): @teenageguitarist @fanworrior  @cherry-piee @mirahg  @clara-bee @cookinglovingalien @vir-tual @clubfairy @youretheonlyonewhomakesme @more-like-reyna @boiled-onionrings @moneybagmgk @brendalopez99 @delicateavenuenacho @dreamsofficialwife @hydrate-tion @little-red02 

[volleyball-dontknowher]

Sick - Tanaka x reader

Warnings: none

Words: 2282 

Summary: You and your neighbor walk your dogs at the same everyday, but what happens when he stops showing up 

A/n :! I am so so so so sorry for disappearing off the face of the earth, college is hard man and then it’s partially online and COVID and things and the depression really hit and I have started a new self care book and it is adding one thing back in my life at a time that I am passionate about and last week was French and this week it is writing because I really do miss it! I threw this together last night based off of a request I got forever ago and I hope it is liked <3 

You’ve lived in the same apartment for years and people always come and go, in and out, it feels like you see a new face everyday. In your three years there, you’ve only had one consistent fact, and that’s your bald neighbor who goes on walks with his dogs at the same time as you twice a day. At first you only saw him occasionally and now the two of you go out at 7:30 am and 6:30 pm on the dot. You have no idea how it started but now you get kinda excited to run into your neighbor on the stairs everyday and hopefully make a comment about how good his two big dogs are looking or even jsut the smallest acknowledgement with him.

   Speaking of your neighbor, he wasn’t out this morning before work, and you didn’t think too much of it because he works kinda funny hours and some random days misses the times. (Though he always tells you about it in the afternoon or the next time you see him) and because you’ve learned he’s a personal trainer he has finicky clients and sometimes is up wayy too early or way too late. It bugged you all day that you hadn’t seen him and no matter how hard you tried to focus at work you couldn’t imagine why he wasn’t out on a Wednesday. All of your explainations could make sense but you really don’t feel right about any of it. And when you got home and took your two babies out and he wasn’t there you were sure something was up. Tanaka loved his dogs more than anything and says that their routine keeps them together and that it keeps them well behaved. Something had to be wrong. Maybe he got a new girlfriend? Or he forgot? But he didn't forget and he hasn’t been with anyone ever, and if he was his dogs would still come first. You had no idea what you were thinking but when you came back up the stairs you kept walking and knocked on the door of the man you knew so completely and not at all. You quickly realized what you’d done and your heart was racing as you silent prayed that no one was home and that you could creep back to your door before anyone heard you.

   This was a great thought, except you forgot what happens when you knock with dogs. They bark. And unfortunately for you Tanaka doesn’t get a lot of guests so his dogs barked a lot. Like they could wake the entire neighborhood a lot. You had to grin and bear it and face the consequences of your irrational actions.

   After thirty or so seconds the door creeps open and there he is, Takana Ryuunosuke, in his pajamas and a beanie opening the door. He looked like a walking corpse and by the way he sniffed out a weak “hello” as he opened the door told you everything you needed to know. He was sick. Very sick, and you had just knocked at the door and now have to figure out what to say to him.

   “Oh, hey,” you stutter, “I was just checking on you to see if everything was alright, you weren’t out with your dogs and I was wondering if anything was up, or if you needed me to take them out for you because of their routine and everything,” you ramble on, hoping that somewhere your logic connected and this made sense.

   Takana stared at you blankly and you couldn’t help but mentally smack yourself because that was exactly what a stalker would say and you now seemed like his stalker.

   After a few more seconds of blank stares his expression caught up to your words and he broke out the goofy smile you love so much.

   “My dogs? Walk them?” He asked. Maybe they hadn’t caught up after all.

   “Well yeah, they weren’t out at their regular time and i wanted to make sure they were still going out and I have my two out and they are so well behaved and you clearly don’t feel well so it would really be no problem,” you rambled on again.

This time he was closely listening and nodded along with you before smiling once again. “No no no,” he chuckled, “ I can take them out” though he was laughing you could hear that he wasn’t feeling well and his energy was lower than you had ever heard.

   “Let me do this one favor for you, I can take them out, no big deal, okay?” You smiled.

   After you smiled it was a done deal for Tanaka, he grabbed the leash and thanked you about a hundred times. His dogs are fantastic and took you less than five minutes to walk before they’d used the restroom and were ready to go back inside. You took them back and he thanked you once again and you headed back to your apartment to make some dinner.

   You settled on a sun dried tomato soup with grilled cheese and happened *wink* accidentally *wink* make more than you could eat on your own and you’d hate for it to go to waste and you do have a neighbor who is sick and could probably use a hot meal right about now. So, you packed up a container for him and wrapped the sandwich in aluminum foil so that it would be hot for him and put some tea in a thermos and headed out your door once more. This time though, you were a little less bold and just rang the doorbell and ran back to your room. You did however, leave a little note saying “hope you feel better soon - room 420” on it and you hoped that it would at least help his night a little bit.

   Little do you know, Tanaka was so shocked to see this from you that he almost dropped the hot soup onto himself in a panic because this not only meant you paid attention to him but you cared for him. This was the best thing to ever happen to him. He finished every last bite and washed the container and thermos and placed them back by your door with a note of his own.

   When you got up the next morning and went to take your dog out you couldn’t help but beam when you saw your tupperware back in front of your door. You picked up the two items before seeing the little note on top of the container.

‘Best Soup Ever! -Room 419’

You beamed and did a little happy dance before deciding to go knock and see if he needed your help with his dogs again today, and boy are you lucky that you went. WHen he opened the door he somehow looked worse than yesterday, you could have swore that he had snot dried to his face and he was a total mouth breather and the bags under his eyes as well as tripled overnight. There were no arguments when you asked if he needed help with his dogs, because truthfully he really did.

   The walk was quick and the morning was over before you knew it. Another distracted day at work, you found yourself wondering how you could help him feel better, especially because he lived all alone and his closest family was something like an hour away last he told you.

You had a brilliant idea and decided to go to the store after work and make him a ‘get well’ basket. You filled the basket with cough drops, tissues, teas, chocolates and other little goodies that help him feel better and put him in a better mood. You got the groceries and were right on your way, practically skipping with excitement.

   Once again, you accidentally made an extra soup after you’d taken care of the dogs and happened to leave it with the basket later that evening.

   In the morning however, none of your dishes were by your door, which was no big deal, especially because he was feeling so under the weather, but what was even more strange is that he didn’t answer the door and the last thing you wanted to do was wake him up. So, you headed to work wondering if he liked what you did for him or if you’d crossed a line or if he was allergic to chicken noodle, or if he was too much of a health nut and you’d offended him, or if he’d… you had no idea, maybe died. This was not good for you and you could feel the stress starting to get to you when you got off work the sprint back home was exhausting and anxious. You rounded the corner of the stairs when you saw

Nothing.

You saw nothing.

That was fine, everything is fine. You are fine. Life is fine. If he doesn’t feel good you can’t expect him to do dishes or even leave his room. That’s best for everyone, no one wants a walking germ contaminating everything around, there were probably old ladies on this floor, you hadn’t seen any, but they were there, probably, so he was just doing the world a favor.

Again, he didnt answer the door for his dogs and you couldn’t force your kindness onto him so you had a night to yourself and went to bed way earlier than usual. You couldn’t help but wake up earlier than usual and instead of looking for things that weren’t there you got out and went to work early and got busy right away. You had a full day and worked until almost 8pm, hurrying back to hopefully get home before your local take away had closed. You made it, but just barely, and got your favorite meal to bring home with you to watch something horrible with.

   You got home and plopped on the couch completely exhausted. Immediatley you started eating and got about halfway through when you heard a knock at the door. Oh shit. You had no one in your life that would ever knock, well almost no one. THere was one person you were really hoping wasn’t on the other side of the door. You were in a t-shirt you got 10 years ago and a pair of crappy shorts from the general store, there was nothing remotely nice, or even tame about your appearance, you looked to be frank, crazy.

You creeped the door open and saw exactly who you were hoping not to see, Tanaka Ryuunosuke standing in front of your door beaming.

   “Hey?” You question nervously.

   “Hey, I noticed that you didn’t take your dogs out earlier and was wondering if you needed me to take them out for you?” He questioned genuinely, smiling from head to toe, clearly feeling better.

   You had no idea what to say or do but he just smiled as your dogs trotted out the door with him, without you saying a word. You awkwardly closed the door and stood there in shock. That was horrible. An embarrassment to you, an embarrassment to your family name and even worse an embarrassment to society. The shock still hadn’t worn off when you heard a second knock at your door, and well that was the man with your dogs and you couldn’t just leave them outside.

   This time when you opened the door you couldn’t help but gasp. Tanaka has a giant bouquet of red roses and a giant blush on his face.

   “Y/n, I know this is going to sound ridiculous, but I have had a crush on you since I first met you, and I never knew how to tell you, every time I got close to you I just freeze and I started taking my dogs out when you do to try and get to know you and I could never make myself do it but you have been unbelievably kind to me and I can’t wait any longer. I want nothing more than to have a chance with someone as stunning as you are. Y/n, will you go on a date with me?”

   This time it was you standing there dumbstruck for longer than you should have. You heard every single one of his words and your heart was fluttering out of your chest. You’d had feelings for him for as long as you can remember and here he was with a bouquet of flowers standing in your doorway asking you to go on a date with him. You couldn’t bring yourself to say anything so you just grinned and nodded at him enthusiastically, hoping he understood just how much this means to you.

   He beamed right back and handed you the bouquet of flowers, “perfect, then I’ll see you Friday at 7, I’ll pick you up.” He winked.

You were still dumbstruck and nodded again, and right as you were about to close the door for the night he stuck his foot in the doorway.

“One more thing y/n,” he pushed the door back open and had a basket of little goodies for you, as well as a homemade meal in the containers you’d given him with a little note that says ‘your soup warmed my soul, and my heart’. You couldn’t help but absolutely beam with happiness. You set the basket down and threw your arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a big hug, repeatedly thanking him for his kindness. You two parted ways happier than you could have imagined and both in great anticipation for Friday.

   The next morning, you were both out at 7:30 on the dot, excited to see one another.

[fanficshiddles]

Triple Threat, Chapter 6

Loki was heading to Knowhere with the real Loki, Bruce, Wanda, Natasha and Thor.

Darcy had wanted to go too, but Loki flat out refused to let her go. In-case it was dangerous, which it probably would be. He didn’t particularly trust the Collector, who they were going to see.

‘Wait, so you’re telling me that it’s possible for me and… the other guy, to become one at the same time?’ Bruce asked, eyes wide in surprise.

‘It sure is.’ Loki nodded. ‘Strength and size of the Hulk, but with your brains.’

‘That sounds terrifying.’ Wanda said.

‘Yeah, it really does. Please don’t do that, Bruce. I am NOT sharing a bed with Hulk.’ Natasha said, glaring at Loki.

‘Perhaps not the best idea if you and Nat are… dating.’ Loki laughed.

Loki told them all about more of his reality. The real Loki was sitting at the back, not really caring to hear about it. Wanda noticed and went over to sit next to him.

‘Are you ok?’ She asked him.

‘I’m fine.’ He said in a clipped tone.

‘You’re clearly not. Are you still annoyed at him for kissing Darcy?’

‘Of course I am.’ Loki hissed, but he sighed as he looked at Wanda. She was just trying to be friendly. ‘Apologies. I am just not happy there is another me going around, kissing my girl.’ He growled.

Wanda gave him a sympathetic smile and patted his arm. ‘He probably doesn’t want to be here just as much as you don’t want him to be here. But maybe you could both learn from one another? You are the same person, to an extent. You both tried to take over Earth, just diverted on different paths afterwards. You both redeemed yourself in the long run.’

Loki just grunted in response. She was right, but he didn’t want to admit it.

‘Or are you just jealous that you never thought of pulling the pranks he did when he arrived here?’ She grinned.

Loki narrowed his eyes at her. ‘They were pathetic pranks, I could do so much better.’ He huffed.

‘Course you could.’ Wanda laughed and went back to the front of the ship.

Loki stayed where he was, but he listened in to Loki’s stories until they arrived on Knowhere. Everyone was on high alert as they made their way to the Collector’s museum.

‘What exactly are we looking for?’ Loki asked Loki.

‘It’s a tracker that will locate every stone. But as far as I am aware, the Collector doesn’t know that. Or else he would have them all by now. So it needs to remain that way.’ Loki said firmly. ‘It looks like a necklace, it’s a gold chain with a diamond on the front. It can perform basic healing powers, too. So we need to hope that’s all the Collector thinks it is.’

Loki nodded. ‘Do we have a plan for buying it from him?’

‘I’ll go in alone. Well, with you under a guise as a guard. Everyone else, wait outside so he doesn’t wonder why I’ve taken an entourage with me. If anything goes wrong, I will send a signal for backup.’ Loki said.

‘Who put you in charge?’ Thor frowned.

‘This is my mission. Or do you have a better plan, brother?’ Loki sneered.

Thor looked at Loki. ‘Do you trust him, brother?’

Loki looked at Loki then back at Thor. ‘I do.’ He said, albeit reluctantly.

‘Fine. That’s good enough for me.’ Thor nodded.

Loki transformed into an Aesir guard, then he and Loki went into the museum while the others remained outside, on alert. They tried not to look too conspicuous while people passed by on their daily business.

As the two tricksters walked into the museum, Loki kept looking straight ahead, acting like a proper guard just escorting Loki. Loki looked around casually, hands behind his back and taking dramatically large steps as he studied some artefacts.

‘May I help you… Asgardian?’ Came a voice from the back of the museum.

Loki looked up and saw the Collector wandering down towards them, with a female from a different race behind him.

‘Ah, Collector.’ Loki grinned charmingly. ‘I am looking for a specific item, a necklace with healing properties, as a gift for my fiancé. I was told by some good associates that I’d find it here.’

The Collector raised an eyebrow and turned to the female behind him. She was wearing the necklace.

‘This, necklace?’ The Collector asked.

‘That’s the very one.’ Loki nodded. ‘How much do you want for it?’

‘It’s not for sale.’ The Collector said quickly, putting a finger up. ‘But I am sure I have other, beautiful jewellery that would be suitable for your fiancé.’ He motioned to a glass display behind him.

‘Everything has its price. I have gold and many credits I can give you.’ Loki offered, pulling out a small pouch that was filled with gold.

The Collector looked slightly intrigued, but shook his head. ‘No. As I said, not for sale.’

Loki clenched his jaw. ‘What would you want in exchange for it?’

The Collector frowned, looking at him warily. ‘Why are you so desperate for this necklace?’ He asked, moving in closer to Loki, into his space and glaring up at him.

‘Like I said.’ Loki growled. ‘I want it for my fiancé.’

Loki stepped in and put his arm out, to get the Collector to back up from Loki. The Collector glanced at the supposed Aesir guard and stepped back a bit.

‘As I said. It is not for’ He was interrupted when suddenly Hulk came bursting into the museum, roaring angrily and charging straight for the group.

With the Collector distracted, Loki quickly grabbed the necklace and ripped it off the female, thrusting the pouch of gold into her hands in return. The two Loki’s then teleported outside to Thor, Natasha and Wanda.

‘What the heck happened?’ Loki asked as he transformed back into himself.

‘A passer-by accidentally bumped into Bruce, he was already feeling anxious and antsy so Hulk just exploded.’ Wanda said quickly.

‘Get back to the ship. I’ll get Bruce.’ Thor said as he swung Mjolnir round and flew into the museum.

The team heard Hulk roaring and some explosions and loud bangs. They didn’t bother waiting to see what was happening, so they rushed back to the ship as quickly as they could.

‘Did you get the tracker?’ Natasha asked as they boarded the ship and she got it started up.

‘Yep. Hulk’s distraction was actually rather helpful.’ Loki said as he held up the necklace. Then he waved his hand over it and had it disappear for now.

‘Let’s get off this planet.’ Loki said as he closed the ships door.

‘Without Thor and Bruce?’ Wanda asked, looking slightly distressed.

‘They will catch up with us.’ Loki said and he joined Natasha at the front of the ship.

Natasha took off, they got up into the sky and started heading away from the city. But she didn’t break through the atmosphere yet, they gave Thor a chance to catch up. And luckily, he did. Just before they gave up hope.

Wanda opened the hatch underneath the ship and Thor flew in, carrying Bruce, who was wearing nothing but Thor’s cape after changing back.

‘Any trouble?’ Loki asked.

‘Just get us off this planet.’ Thor growled.

At that point, the Collector’s ship came up after them from behind.

‘Hold on!’ Natasha said as she steered the ship on and headed towards the nearest jump to take them back to Earth.

They managed to get away in time, only just. Both of the Loki’s helped by shielding the ship with their Seidr, to help keep the Collector from following them.

The team were all relieved when they got back to Earth in one piece. The rest of them were waiting in the kitchen for their return.

Darcy was so relieved to see that Loki was alright. She rushed straight to him, to the right one, and hugged him. ‘Glad you survived with your good looks still in-tact.’ She grinned up at him.

Loki chuckled and gave her a squeeze. ‘Would you not sleep with me if I wasn’t as good looking?’ He raised an eyebrow at her but with a smirk.

‘Hmmm… Probably not, unless your body was still as smokin’ hot as it is.’ She teased, making him chuckle again as he reached down and gave her bum a cheeky squeeze.

‘Eww. Get a room you two.’ Tony grimaced. ‘How did the mission go? Did you get the tracker?’ He asked, looking at Loki.

‘We did indeed.’ Loki had the necklace manifest in his hands and he held it up to show them.

‘It’s a necklace?’ Darcy frowned.

‘Well done, gold star.’ Loki drawled. ‘It also has healing properties for the wearer, and locates all the stones… with a little help of some magic.’ He headed to the island in the kitchen and placed it down as he took a seat.

The others all gathered around to watch.

Loki closed his eyes and put a hand over the top of it. He concentrated for a while, his Seidr energy growing, then the diamond on the necklace started to shake and there was a small beam that spouted up from it. Like a hologram, it was a map of the entire Universe.

There were seven glowing red dots in multiple places.

Steve frowned. ‘Why is there seven? I thought there was only six infinity stones?’

‘There is, six of them are your stones from your reality, hopefully where they should be. One of them is the reality stone from my reality.’ Loki said as he concentrated on the map.

‘That’s Vormir, so that will be the soul stone. There’s Asgard, where I’m assuming the space stone is?’ Loki looked at Loki and Thor.

Loki nodded.

‘That’s where we’ve just been, at the Collector’s museum, so there’s your reality stone.’

‘What? Wait a minute. Are you telling me you were within reach of the reality stone?’ Tony snapped.

Loki glanced over his shoulder at him, annoyed he was interrupting. ‘Yes. But before you say it, no. The reality stone from your timeline is not what I have come for. I need the one from mine.’ He grumbled at him then continued. ‘That is Xander, so if I recall correctly, that should be the power stone. The mind stone, well.’ He motioned to Vision who was stood opposite him.

‘And there is another on Earth. In New York?’ Loki looked around at the team.

‘Doctor Strange should have the time stone.’ Tony confirmed.

‘Alright. So that just leaves…’ Loki trailed off, looking slightly confused.

‘What? Where is the reality stone?’ Darcy asked, looking at the hologram but she couldn’t quite make it out the same from where she was stood.

‘This map shows it’s… it’s just hovering in space?’ Loki said, just as confused as the rest of the team.

[mybiasisexo]

What Happens in the Dark

Genre: Angst | Vampire!au

Pairing: Baekhyun x Reader

Length: 4.6k

Warning: unfinished | 1st person (final product won't be I swear) 

Summary: You were just trying to survive, but that get’s difficult after running into the wrong guys on your way home from work. Luckily, your knight in shinning armor came to rescue you, but as the saying goes ‘never trust a man in leather pants and a particularly pointy-toothed smirk’. Wait, that’s not the lyrics to Poison??? Hmm....

Author’s Note: Do any of yall remember back in October of ‘19 (yike) when I said I was going to write a vampire!bbh fic and never did?? Cause I do. But, wait, what is this??? A chaptered vampire!bbh fic??? Yes, you heard me right. I decided to turn it into a series (?) and hopefully will get my head out of my ass long enough to give it the attention it needs so I can post it during the dark holiday. For now, here’s what I have written so far, enjoy!!! (And yes, that’s the title, bb we going ✈️ kokokrazy, mmkay???)

MASTERLIST

(couldn't find the credit for the gif, if anyone knows please lmk, thanks!!)

I take a deep breath and hold it for a brief moment, deluding myself into believing that the lack of oxygen to my brain will bring me courage as I stare through the glass of the front door of my job at the book store. In the distance, the sun glows red as it dips into the horizon, dragging the light with it. It will be dark soon.

I let out the breath slowly through my mouth.

I don’t mind closing, I live close enough to my job that I can walk the few blocks to my apartment. The only time it is a problem is on the weekends. I work downtown, right next to a few night clubs, and walking past those on a Saturday—which is today—makes me anxious. It’s bad enough I am a foreigner, so I grab people’s attention easily, but add alcohol to the mix… the lack of inhibitions frightens me.

But it is time to go.

I reluctantly open the door and enter the chaos that is the city. Cars zoom past and people head to their respective destinations without a care in the world. I lock the building behind me and clutch my messenger bag closer to my stomach, playing with the frays of the strap distractedly as I make the journey to the safety of my home.

It is about a fifteen-minute walk, and any other day I wouldn’t blink twice about the trip, but as the sun continues to disappear, the city begins to spark with it’s night life.

Soon, the nightclub I have to pass appears. I hold my breath as I speed past, keeping my face forward to keep attention off of myself, but that isn’t the worst part of my journey.

I turn into the alley next to the club, my pace nearly a sprint as I try to get through the shortcut as quickly as possible, but my feet stutter to a shuffle when I notice a dark figure ahead of me.

It is around 10pm, and as much as I worry about it, I don’t expect the club to be that busy—being how early it is. I’ve made this late night trek a handful of times, I was always left anxious, but unscathed.

Something isn’t right this time.

I slow my walking, but continue nonetheless, I have to get home.

As I close in, apprehension thick in my throat, the shadow separates to reveal two bodies, long lean torsos and head’s pressed close together, deep voices quietly speaking.

My footsteps echoe in the quiet night air and they finally notice me. Stopping abruptly, and in eerie synchronization, they turn their heads from the huddle they are in to face me. They’re tall, much taller than I originally thought, although it is difficult to see with the dim lighting. They stand on the opposite side of a light post. They are dressed well, which I expect if they are party goers. But, it is obvious that the dark jeans, silky button downs, and gold rings and chains wrapped around their necks cost a pretty penny. Their dark hair is styled to perfection, the separate styles fitting their face shapes.

Why are two men that are definitely out to be seen huddled in a dark alley?

“Uh….” I grow nervous as the silence stretches. Their piercing eyes leave me frozen in place and I am overwhelmed with the feeling something is askew or that coming down this particular alley was a mistake. I quickly rack my brain for something to say so that I can be on my way, but am left blank.

I gulp despite my dry throat and open my mouth to say…anything, really, but then the two share a look before hovering over me, pressing me against the cool red brick of the outside of the club.

“What did you hear?” One of them, who has wide eyes and short black hair that is gelled back to reveal the manly features of his face, snarls.

“No—nothing!” I am quick to assure.

The other, who’s hair is longer and framing his face, tilts his head. “Her heart is racing. Are you nervous, Kitten?”

I am. There is something about their energy that fills me with dread, makes me want to scurry away without a further glance back and go home immediately.

“Come on,” the former, who’s voice I feel in the pit of my gut with how deep it is, coaxes alluringly. My eyelids flutter and my balance is off, feeling lightheaded all of a sudden. “Tell us what you heard and I promise, we won’t hurt you.”

“I already told you,” I push, finding words difficult to punctuate. It is as though I am fighting a deep sleep, eyes practically closed as I put all of my weight against the wall to hold myself up at this point. “I didn’t…hear…anything.”

One of them snarls—my eyes are sealed shut, so I am not sure which it was—and a shockingly cold hand grips my chin. I gasp, eyes springing open from the shock of pain as his dull nails dug into my skin.

“We didn’t want to do this,” the first talker, who is the one currently holding me, growls, not seeming particularly remorseful in the slightest. His huge eyes are blown out and I am captured by the frightening depths of his pupils. They are bottomless and it feels like I am on the edge about to slip into a never-ending fall.

“Chanyeol, stop.” A new third party urges monotonously. I didn’t hear him enter, but I am kind of distracted at the moment, trying not to think about the fact I might be murdered in an alley.

The Chanyeol fellow smirks crookedly, eyes never leaving mine as he speaks. It’s unnerving. The man doesn’t even blink as he holds my gaze. “She overheard everything.”

“No, she didn’t. You’re just hungry.”

The guy beside Chanyeol sighs as if bored, folding his arms across his chest and flicking some of the bang away from his eyes. “And so what if we are?”

The third man barks a laugh. “Well, you’re wanted inside, Sehun. Both of you. You can conspire in there.”

“We’re almost done here,” Chanyeol replies, distractedly. His grip on me has loosened some, but not enough for me to try and break out and make a run for it. Instead of his nails digging into me, he is now caressing the corner of my lip with his thumb. “We’ll meet you inside.”

I have a sinking feeling I’m not going to see the inside of that club anytime soon.

The newcomer joins our little party, finally coming into my eye line. He is about a head and a half shorter than the twin towers before me, but holds just as much, if not more, authority in his broad shoulders. He’s dressed similarly to the other two, but his eyes are an approachable chocolate brown, instead of the inhuman glittery black I’ve been trapped by.

“I bet you have places to be.” He addresses me, voice soothing and calm.

I nod frantically, wanting to be out of this situation.

“Let’s go.”

He reaches out to me, probably for me to hold on to, but Sehun swipes his hand away before he can fully stretch it out to me. “She’s ours.”

The shorter guy’s jaw jumps irritably. He definitely isn’t happy about being touched. “She is not.”

With that, he lurches forward, getting into a fight with Sehun. It happens so quickly, I nearly get whiplash from the drastic change of the man. Their moves are fast, I can’t keep up with what is going on, it is as if they are a blur.

Chanyeol uses the distraction to tilt my head back, making me stare at the indigo sky, twinkling lights beckoning me to join them.

“I’ll be quick,” he assures, voice raspy with want and low from focus. He closes in, lips a whisper against my sweaty neck and I wonder if he is going to kiss me. Wonder what torture I am going to endure.

I never find out.

He curses as he is yanked away and I shift my head back down to see what is happening, but can’t comprehend anything. Shadows moving against darkness and animalistic growls and snarls, things that didn’t belong in this setting.

A flash of white is in front of me and I scream. It can’t be helped. My heart races, adrenaline kicking in as the whole situation finally dawns on me.

“You’re okay.” Someone bends down to crouch in front of me—I guess I slid down to the ground at some point—and brings their face closer, into the spotlight of the full moon high above us, revealing his dainty features.

It is the third man that had stepped in.

“You’re safe now,” he assures.

“Those… those men.” My voice is shaking and I have to pause to swallow and steady myself. In fact, my whole body is shivering and it isn’t from the cold.

“They’re gone.” His voice is grounding, his words relieving. I let out a breath and press my lips together, feeling a tad nauseous. I check the narrow alley to confirm that they have indeed vanished into the night.

“You saved me.” I realize, taking him in with wide eyes.

The right side of his mouth lifts and he tilts his head to the side. “Would you like to go home?”

“Please,” I nearly beg, wanting that most of all. I feel exposed for some reason, feel as though I am still in danger as long as I am outside. What if those strange men decide to come back? I shiver at the thought.

“Cold?” He questions. His almond shaped eyes take in my curled body, his eyebrows furrowing in a pout. “Do you have a coat?”

“I didn’t need one,” I say with a small shrug. “I was supposed to be home by now.”

His expression is fixed on disapproval. “I left mine inside. I’ll run in and get it real quick and then walk you home.”

He goes to stand and I panic, my arms shoot out to latch onto his arm, trapping him in an awkward squat. “Don’t leave me out here!”

“Alright.” He pats one of my hands that dig into the thin material of his shirt, most likely leaving crescent marks into his flesh, although he doesn’t seem to be in any discomfort or pain. “We can go in together. Does that work for you?”

“Are they in there?” I ask in a whisper.

He shakes his head. “Even if they are, they won’t do anything as long as I’m with you. I’m sure of it.”

I take in his angelic face. He really is beautiful in a sweet boyish kind of way and I wonder briefly how old he is. It is almost comical, because he’s definitely going for the whole ‘bad boy’ look, what with his leather black pants, rose red button down, and smokey eye. Despite that, I truly feel safe with him there, feel that he will be my white knight and get me home unharmed.

“Okay. I’ll go with you then, Sir.”

“’Sir’?” Now he smiles, full pink lips stretch into a shape of a box revealing the loveliest set of teeth I have ever seen. A soft breeze hits at that moment, tousling the already messy, slightly curled, dark brown hair around his head and, despite myself, my breath catches. He chuckles lowly, the sound causing saliva to flood my mouth. “My name is Baekhyun. What’s yours?”

I waste no time telling him, needing him to know who I am.

He repeats it, making sure he gets it right and I want to curse my hormones for being so affected when my life was on the line only a few minutes ago.

“Well,” he takes one of my hands that still holds onto him into one of his, causing me to shiver from the crisp velvety texture of his skin on mine. “Let’s get you home.”

We slip into the club without any trouble, the security doesn’t even card me. It is as if, just being in Baekhyun’s presence allows me an in. I gaze at him in awe as we maneuver through the slightly crowded entrance towards coat check, but he doesn’t notice—either that, or he is pretending not to. He leans against the square glassless window, broad back exposed to the rest of the club, waiting calmly for his jacket. I lean against the wall, taking in everything I can through the haze and saturated lights, making sure I am clear from the other men I had the displeasure of meeting.

“Ready?” Baekhyun asks, drawing me out of my search and I find my body untensing with his close presence. I bring my attention up to him, his head is cocked slightly, an eyebrow raised in a question. I nod in affirmation and take the lead, with my back to him, I feel the pressure of a sturdy jean coat around my shoulders. Glancing down, I take in the rough black material and smile to myself as I slip my arms through the sleeves, peeking behind me once quickly to see him studying me like a hawk, eyes sharp and a pleased grin on his lips, so small I can barely make it out, and I wonder if he’s even aware of the action. When I face in front of myself again to watch where I am going (and to hide my reddening cheeks from him) I feel a private grin so happen to pull at my features and I wrap the massive jacket closer to myself, inhaling what must be Baekhyun’s scent.

It’s an indescribable smell. It’s luxurious and soft, yet also grungy, like the scent of a new car mixed with a bouquet of Jasmine and gasoline.

It’s intoxicating.

We finally make it out of the stuffy building and I don’t hesitate to turn left, leading us down the familiar path to my place. Once there is room, Baekhyun lazily falls in line beside me, matching my pace so closely, his arm brushes against mine every other step. We get to the alley immediately, since it’s beside the building we were just in, and my footing falters, causing me to trip.

Arms are around me in an instant, not allowing me to move forward, let alone to the ground and the momentum drags me to a hard chest. I huff, the air is knocked out of my lungs and everything stops for a few seconds.

Finally, I remember how to breathe and lift my head to see Baekhyun’s mere inches above mine, eyes wide from surprise and slight fear.

“Are you alright?” He breathes, startled.

The urge to laugh at his expression is strong, but I swallow it once I remember where I am. Clearing my throat soberly, I realize I am practically splayed over him. I tap the shoulder my hand is resting on awkwardly and he finally realizes the situation as well. I feel one of the arms he has around my waist tighten briefly, pulling me even closer, but just as quickly, he is pulling back apologetically.

“I’m fine,” I finally am able to muster. I laugh drily, rubbing my face. “Still not over the memories….”

Baekhyun bit his lip worryingly. “They really frightened you, huh?”

I let out another breathless laugh. “I’ve honestly never been more terrified in my life.”

My voice shakes and all I can think of is the Chanyeol fellow’s depthless eyes. “Something about them was just so…inhuman….”

“Those guys,” Baekhyun’s voice cuts through my horror flashbacks, closer than I remember, startling me. He tries to steady me with slender fingers on my bent elbow, but keeps it there even after I’m still. “They were just hungry.”

“Hungry?” I question. He is now using the hand on my arm to lead me through the dark trail.

“Yeah, they…. They get a bit cranky when they haven’t fed in a while.”

I scoff. “’Fed’? What is this? A Snicker’s ad?”

He chuckles at that, but you press on. “You sound like you’re on pretty friendly terms with those guys.”

He winces at that. We’ve cleared the alley at this point, so he drops his hand, losing contact with me, much to my disappointment. I’m back to leading, so I continue down the familiar streetlamp lit sidewalks.

“I mean….” He scratches the back of his head. “We’re… familiar. I wouldn’t go as far as calling them friends, by any means.”

“What do you mean by that?” I ask, genuinely curious as to his connection with those psychopaths.

He purses his lips as he stares ahead unseeingly, thinking about the right way to explain himself. “What I mean is… we share the same circle. Some of the guys… they’re rowdier than the rest. They have a few loose screws, I’ll be the first to tell you, but they’re a part of the group.”

I lift an eyebrow at that. “So…. You all just let them run around and act crazy without any repercussions?”

“That’s…not what I said,” he’s quick to defend, lifting a finger in a scolding way. “I kicked their asses for you did I not?”

“You did that for me?” I ask, not able to resist the urge to bat my eyelashes up at him. I’m not going to lie to myself, I like the idea of him fighting for me.

“I did. Because I knew they were up to no good. You’re welcome, by the way.”

I roll my eyes, but bump my shoulder with his in thanks.

“But, even though I think I already know the answer, I have to ask.” He’s grown nervous. “Did…did you hear anything they were talking about?”

I shake my head and shrug. “Not a word. I could hear voices, but they were talking too quietly for me to understand any of it.”

He lets out a breath he must’ve been holding in relief.

“What? Was it that bad?”

He smiles, his beautiful teeth on display. “No! No, no.”

“Are you sure?” I press, teasingly.

He throws me a look that causes me to laugh.

“Enough about them,” he dismisses and I laugh harder. He goes ahead of me, spinning around so that he’s walking backwards, giving me his undivided attention. “I want to know more about you.”

“Like what?” I ask, instantly flustered. Under the moon, the smooth bit of skin of his neck and chest shine pale, the contrast with his dark eyes and long lashes something to behold. Does he know how incredibly attractive he is? Well, if his fashion and confidence is any indicator, he surely did, and used it to his benefit.

“Like why you were in the alley in the first place? I’ve never seen you at the club before, and trust me, I would remember.”

The comment flusters me more and it takes me a moment to remember how to speak. “I… I work nearby. The alley is my shortcut home.”

“I’m pretty familiar with the area.” He hums. “Where do you work?”

“At the used book store down the road.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I wonder if I should be telling this man such personal information. Yeah, he may be hot, but he’s still a stranger, whether he saved me or not, I didn’t know him enough to trust him with the information. Yet, what was done was done.

“Ooooh, so you’re a nerd?” He teases and I roll my eyes.

“I guess you could say that, Baekhyun.”

“I think it’s cute! I was never much of a reader….”

“Well, if you need any recommendations, I’m your girl.”

He grins and I think he may have liked that statement a little too much.

“I’ll have to visit you soon then, to get those recommendations.” His voice has lowered, deepened, coming from within his chest and my mouth utterly dries.

“M—maybe you should,” I stutter and then stop abruptly as I finally take in our surroundings. “Shit.”

“What?” He’s shocked again and I guess it’s because I swore. Maybe he finds it unbecoming of me.

“I…. We passed my place.”

His lips form into a thin line as he presses them tightly together—holding in a laugh, no doubt. I ignore him as I swiftly double back the half block to my apartment. “This is me.”

He takes in the brightly dimmed complex. “Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you in?”

I nod. “I appreciate all you’ve done for me tonight, but I think I can take it from here.”

“Ah….” He slides his hands in his pockets and finally meets my gaze, disappointment visible on his face. “Well then, I guess my work here is done.”

“I guess so.”

“It was nice meeting you,” he says my name and shallowly dips his head, although we both seem rather hesitant to move.

“Nice meeting you, too, Baekhyun. Thank you again, for saving me.”

“Anytime.” He grins boyishly and I can’t help but stare at his mouth, at his perfect teeth.

An awkward silence follows and needing to break it, but also not necessarily wanting to, I began making my way towards the door to my building. “Good night.”

“Goodnight.” His farewell is a mere breath, he watches me, eerily still as I slowly retreat, walking backwards as he had earlier. My back roughly hits the face of the door and he chuckles at my silly antics, shaking his head.

I embarrassingly try to save my ass, but I’m just speaking gibberish, barely making sense as I succumb to my mortification and slid through the mint green door, into the familiar lightly dimmed foyer, leaving Baekhyun on the sidewalk.

I get into my apartment, my roommate/best friend already retired to bed. I stand in front of her closed bedroom door, wondering if I should wake her because I just need to tell someone about what happened to me, but thought better of it, showered and got ready for bed.

Once in the protection of my blankets, the nights events replay in my mind. I find myself tossing and turning as those men keep swirling around my head, threatening me over and over again as I wonder what they thought I overhead was and what Chanyeol had planned to do to me if Baekhyun hadn’t intervened.

Baekhyun….

Despite myself, I find solace in his presence. I have never felt so instantly attracted to someone before and I regret not getting his number or asking him to come in, but I’m just not that kind of girl. Even though he is nothing but nice, there is a chance he could’ve taken my invitation the wrong way.

Or, maybe we would’ve just learned more about each other and started a blossoming friendship.

Well, no use dwelling on the past. I sink deeper into my blankets and finally fall asleep with the reassuring thought that if it is meant to be, then it will be. Plus, I know at least one place I can find him if I really want to.

I sleep rather well that night.

~*~

The next week flies by uneventfully. I’m busy enough that the thought of Baekhyun doesn’t come to mind until I find myself face to face with him inside my store.

He’s gazing down at me, eyes wide and alight with humor. Actually, the humor coats his face, lifting the corners of his red lips and wrinkling his nose.

Under the cool yellow of the lights ahead, he appears warmer, but still paler than one should be in the summer. Again he’s draped in tight black skinny jeans that wrap around his delicious thighs, rips at the knees and sporadically on said thighs. Tucked into the belt is an expensive looking silky button up shirt with random patterns of blacks, maroons, and golds. The top two buttons unfastened to give a glimpse of his firm chest—just enough to leave you wanting more. Between the V of the opening sat a ruby, hung from a bronze chain. It appears to be the only piece of jewelry he has on. His hair is parted on the side, thrown messily aside, exposing his round eyebrows and blemish-less forehead.

He looks wildly handsome.

Handsome enough to garner the attention of the few bit of customers wandering the store.

I blink up at him. He seems so out of place here, amongst the old tender pages of discarded books. He belongs within the walls of clubs, with beautiful women draped all over him, wine in hand, the world at his feet.

Godly.

That is the vibe he gives off. As if he were of a different species.

“Are you that shocked to see me?” He finally utters, head tilting to the side. “You haven’t said a word and have been staring for the past minute.”

“It hasn’t been a minute,” I finally mumble, taking my eyes off his glorious face and down to the counter that only holds my hands.

He chuckles lowly. “Well, it diffenitly was longer than deemed friendly.”

“What are you doing here?” I say. “You don’t have any books.”

“It’s Friday.”

He shrugs at my confused expression. “I know you walk home and decided that I could protect you from all the scary men out there during the busy night. I wasn’t sure if you closed tonight, but decided to check since I was in the neighborhood.”

I have to swallow all the fluttery gushing things that form in my mind at his words. He’s worried about my safety? Concerned enough to check on me and make sure I am protected? His words definitely have my heart fluttering.

“That’s… very nice of you,” I’m able to get out eventually, bringing out a large pleased smile from him. “I actually do close today, so thank you.”

“When are you off?” He asks.

I check the time. “Ten. We still have about two hours left.”

“I don’t mind,” he says, answering my unasked question. “I faintly recall you informing me of some recommendations. It looks like I have the time to get those.”

I take his outfit in. “But you’re dressed for an event. I don’t want to take that from you.”

“These?” He motions at his body before scoffing. “I always dress like this. No special occasion, other than walking you home, of course.”

“Of course,” I repeat, again trying not to get too giddy over the idea he wants to impress me. “Well, my favorite book that’s in right now is a classic, Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice.”

“Ah….” He get’s a far away look for a moment. “I’m quite familiar with that story.”

“Oh, you are?” I am both disappointed and intrigued. “Didn’t take you much for a reader.”

That brings him back to Earth and he glares at me. “I’ll have you know that I haven’t, in fact, read the book, although I still do take offense with your idea of my intelligence. Are your books sorted alphabetically by name or author?”

“Author.” I inform. “But also by genre. Have fun.”

He throws a thumb over his shoulder. “I’ll just be over here if you need anything.” With that he turns on the heels of his fancy dress shoes, clacking down the hardwood flooring as if it was a runway in Milan and I watch his shoulder blades through the loose silky shirt, swallowing the saliva that has built in my mouth.

I catch the eye of a few girls hidden around aisles, catch both glares and curiosity and sink a bit lower into the counter.

The next two hours are both the slowest yet the quickest two hours of my life. I can feel baekhyun’s gaze on me heavily the majority of the shift. Especially when I am out on the floor helping a customer or restocking. It’s fun. Baekhyun sits at one of the side tables that has a decent view of the counter and some aisles and whenever I lift my head and accidentally get drawn to his dark and playful eyes, peeking over whatever book he has open, I feel myself get shy and have to quickly glance away, face red and hot. 

Finally when I am officially ready to go, I head over to where he is lounging, one of his ankles rests lazily against his thigh as he scans the pages.

I readjust the strap of my purse as I wait for him to acknowledge me, cause I know he knows I’m hovering, but he ignores me, too entranced in the story.

Finally I clear my throat. “I’m done—“

The bastard shushes me.

My mouth drops as his eyebrows knit. “This is a good part.”

“That’s a picture book!” I scoff. 

That draws him out of his act and he grins up at me before making a show of slowly closing the book and sighing heavy as he stands up and leans in close. “Shall we?”

I blink a few times, catching my bearings. He/s going to step ahead of me but pauses pointing at my chest. “Is that my jacket?”

If I wasn’t red before....

Yes I have been wearing Baekhyuns jacket everyday since that fateful night. It still smells strongly of him and is the only proof I have that that night actually happened.

[imagine-loki]

Triple Threat, Chapter 6

TITLE: Triple Threat CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 6 AUTHOR: fanficshiddles ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki kidnaps Darcy Lewis, in hopes of getting the tesseract in return for her. Imagine his surprise when he grows rather fond of the mortal, finding that she understands him better than anyone else ever has.  RATING: M

Loki was heading to Knowhere with the real Loki, Bruce, Wanda, Natasha and Thor.

Darcy had wanted to go too, but Loki flat out refused to let her go. In-case it was dangerous, which it probably would be. He didn’t particularly trust the Collector, who they were going to see.

‘Wait, so you’re telling me that it’s possible for me and… the other guy, to become one at the same time?’ Bruce asked, eyes wide in surprise.

‘It sure is.’ Loki nodded. ‘Strength and size of the Hulk, but with your brains.’

‘That sounds terrifying.’ Wanda said.

‘Yeah, it really does. Please don’t do that, Bruce. I am NOT sharing a bed with Hulk.’ Natasha said, glaring at Loki.

‘Perhaps not the best idea if you and Nat are… dating.’ Loki laughed.

Loki told them all about more of his reality. The real Loki was sitting at the back, not really caring to hear about it. Wanda noticed and went over to sit next to him.

‘Are you ok?’ She asked him.

‘I’m fine.’ He said in a clipped tone.

‘You’re clearly not. Are you still annoyed at him for kissing Darcy?’

‘Of course I am.’ Loki hissed, but he sighed as he looked at Wanda. She was just trying to be friendly. ‘Apologies. I am just not happy there is another me going around, kissing my girl.’ He growled.

Wanda gave him a sympathetic smile and patted his arm. ‘He probably doesn’t want to be here just as much as you don’t want him to be here. But maybe you could both learn from one another? You are the same person, to an extent. You both tried to take over Earth, just diverted on different paths afterwards. You both redeemed yourself in the long run.’

Loki just grunted in response. She was right, but he didn’t want to admit it.

‘Or are you just jealous that you never thought of pulling the pranks he did when he arrived here?’ She grinned.

Loki narrowed his eyes at her. ‘They were pathetic pranks, I could do so much better.’ He huffed.

‘Course you could.’ Wanda laughed and went back to the front of the ship.

Loki stayed where he was, but he listened in to Loki’s stories until they arrived on Knowhere. Everyone was on high alert as they made their way to the Collector’s museum.

‘What exactly are we looking for?’ Loki asked Loki.

‘It’s a tracker that will locate every stone. But as far as I am aware, the Collector doesn’t know that. Or else he would have them all by now. So it needs to remain that way.’ Loki said firmly. ‘It looks like a necklace, it’s a gold chain with a diamond on the front. It can perform basic healing powers, too. So we need to hope that’s all the Collector thinks it is.’

Loki nodded. ‘Do we have a plan for buying it from him?’

‘I’ll go in alone. Well, with you under a guise as a guard. Everyone else, wait outside so he doesn’t wonder why I’ve taken an entourage with me. If anything goes wrong, I will send a signal for backup.’ Loki said.

‘Who put you in charge?’ Thor frowned.

‘This is my mission. Or do you have a better plan, brother?’ Loki sneered.

Thor looked at Loki. ‘Do you trust him, brother?’

Loki looked at Loki then back at Thor. ‘I do.’ He said, albeit reluctantly.

‘Fine. That’s good enough for me.’ Thor nodded.

Loki transformed into an Aesir guard, then he and Loki went into the museum while the others remained outside, on alert. They tried not to look too conspicuous while people passed by on their daily business.

As the two tricksters walked into the museum, Loki kept looking straight ahead, acting like a proper guard just escorting Loki. Loki looked around casually, hands behind his back and taking dramatically large steps as he studied some artefacts.

‘May I help you… Asgardian?’ Came a voice from the back of the museum.

Loki looked up and saw the Collector wandering down towards them, with a female from a different race behind him.

‘Ah, Collector.’ Loki grinned charmingly. ‘I am looking for a specific item, a necklace with healing properties, as a gift for my fiancé. I was told by some good associates that I’d find it here.’

The Collector raised an eyebrow and turned to the female behind him. She was wearing the necklace.

‘This, necklace?’ The Collector asked.

‘That’s the very one.’ Loki nodded. ‘How much do you want for it?’

‘It’s not for sale.’ The Collector said quickly, putting a finger up. ‘But I am sure I have other, beautiful jewellery that would be suitable for your fiancé.’ He motioned to a glass display behind him.

‘Everything has its price. I have gold and many credits I can give you.’ Loki offered, pulling out a small pouch that was filled with gold.

The Collector looked slightly intrigued, but shook his head. ‘No. As I said, not for sale.’

Loki clenched his jaw. ‘What would you want in exchange for it?’

The Collector frowned, looking at him warily. ‘Why are you so desperate for this necklace?’ He asked, moving in closer to Loki, into his space and glaring up at him.

‘Like I said.’ Loki growled. ‘I want it for my fiancé.’

Loki stepped in and put his arm out, to get the Collector to back up from Loki. The Collector glanced at the supposed Aesir guard and stepped back a bit.

‘As I said. It is not for’ He was interrupted when suddenly Hulk came bursting into the museum, roaring angrily and charging straight for the group.

With the Collector distracted, Loki quickly grabbed the necklace and ripped it off the female, thrusting the pouch of gold into her hands in return. The two Loki’s then teleported outside to Thor, Natasha and Wanda.

‘What the heck happened?’ Loki asked as he transformed back into himself.

‘A passer-by accidentally bumped into Bruce, he was already feeling anxious and antsy so Hulk just exploded.’ Wanda said quickly.

‘Get back to the ship. I’ll get Bruce.’ Thor said as he swung Mjolnir round and flew into the museum.

The team heard Hulk roaring and some explosions and loud bangs. They didn’t bother waiting to see what was happening, so they rushed back to the ship as quickly as they could.

‘Did you get the tracker?’ Natasha asked as they boarded the ship and she got it started up.

‘Yep. Hulk’s distraction was actually rather helpful.’ Loki said as he held up the necklace. Then he waved his hand over it and had it disappear for now.

‘Let’s get off this planet.’ Loki said as he closed the ships door.

‘Without Thor and Bruce?’ Wanda asked, looking slightly distressed.

‘They will catch up with us.’ Loki said and he joined Natasha at the front of the ship.

Natasha took off, they got up into the sky and started heading away from the city. But she didn’t break through the atmosphere yet, they gave Thor a chance to catch up. And luckily, he did. Just before they gave up hope.

Wanda opened the hatch underneath the ship and Thor flew in, carrying Bruce, who was wearing nothing but Thor’s cape after changing back.

‘Any trouble?’ Loki asked.

‘Just get us off this planet.’ Thor growled.

At that point, the Collector’s ship came up after them from behind.

‘Hold on!’ Natasha said as she steered the ship on and headed towards the nearest jump to take them back to Earth.

They managed to get away in time, only just. Both of the Loki’s helped by shielding the ship with their Seidr, to help keep the Collector from following them.

The team were all relieved when they got back to Earth in one piece. The rest of them were waiting in the kitchen for their return.

Darcy was so relieved to see that Loki was alright. She rushed straight to him, to the right one, and hugged him. ‘Glad you survived with your good looks still in-tact.’ She grinned up at him.

Loki chuckled and gave her a squeeze. ‘Would you not sleep with me if I wasn’t as good looking?’ He raised an eyebrow at her but with a smirk.

‘Hmmm… Probably not, unless your body was still as smokin’ hot as it is.’ She teased, making him chuckle again as he reached down and gave her bum a cheeky squeeze.

‘Eww. Get a room you two.’ Tony grimaced. ‘How did the mission go? Did you get the tracker?’ He asked, looking at Loki.

‘We did indeed.’ Loki had the necklace manifest in his hands and he held it up to show them.

‘It’s a necklace?’ Darcy frowned.

‘Well done, gold star.’ Loki drawled. ‘It also has healing properties for the wearer, and locates all the stones… with a little help of some magic.’ He headed to the island in the kitchen and placed it down as he took a seat.

The others all gathered around to watch.

Loki closed his eyes and put a hand over the top of it. He concentrated for a while, his Seidr energy growing, then the diamond on the necklace started to shake and there was a small beam that spouted up from it. Like a hologram, it was a map of the entire Universe.

There were seven glowing red dots in multiple places.

Steve frowned. ‘Why is there seven? I thought there was only six infinity stones?’

‘There is, six of them are your stones from your reality, hopefully where they should be. One of them is the reality stone from my reality.’ Loki said as he concentrated on the map.

‘That’s Vormir, so that will be the soul stone. There’s Asgard, where I’m assuming the space stone is?’ Loki looked at Loki and Thor.

Loki nodded.

‘That’s where we’ve just been, at the Collector’s museum, so there’s your reality stone.’

‘What? Wait a minute. Are you telling me you were within reach of the reality stone?’ Tony snapped.

Loki glanced over his shoulder at him, annoyed he was interrupting. ‘Yes. But before you say it, no. The reality stone from your timeline is not what I have come for. I need the one from mine.’ He grumbled at him then continued. ‘That is Xander, so if I recall correctly, that should be the power stone. The mind stone, well.’ He motioned to Vision who was stood opposite him.

‘And there is another on Earth. In New York?’ Loki looked around at the team.

‘Doctor Strange should have the time stone.’ Tony confirmed.

‘Alright. So that just leaves…’ Loki trailed off, looking slightly confused.

‘What? Where is the reality stone?’ Darcy asked, looking at the hologram but she couldn’t quite make it out the same from where she was stood.

‘This map shows it’s… it’s just hovering in space?’ Loki said, just as confused as the rest of the team.

[jovialyouthmusic]

Girls’ Night Out Revisited

I’m taking part in this week’s Wacky Drabbles prompt no 63 which appears in bold. You’ll have to read the previous chapters for this to make any sense

Word Count 1010 (ish, did a little editing)

4 Tequila and Casinos 

‘Are you alright, Les?’ Sophia asked as the writer sat at the table in the virtual bar she’d just conjured up for the girls. She nodded vacantly but Sophia wasn’t convinced. Her hand shook as she reached out for the cocktail that Lucy had just poured from the jug. A bare chested waiter had served it with a flourish, and Lizzie had looked up at him wide eyed before staring at the jug on the tray.

‘Tequila sunrise for everyone’ Lucy cried ‘Drink up girls, the night has just begun’ Charlotte took a sip and smiled

‘This is really quite good’ she remarked ‘What’s in it?’

‘Hmm, tequila and – oh who cares, it’s delicious’

‘It was a great idea making a customised venue’ Sophia said ‘There’s something for everyone’ Les shuddered.

‘Yeah, less research for me. This is Vegas, so anything goes, right?’ She still looked pale from being dragged round the scarier rides on Thunderdome. Even Lizzie had been on the rollercoaster, and in contrast to Les, she was pink cheeked and bright eyed.

‘Too fucking right, Les’ Lucy crowed ‘I love it, and as to what our men think – what the eye doesn’t see, the heart doesn’t grieve over’ She smacked the bottom of a passing waiter, who managed not to drop the tray of drinks he was carrying.

‘How did you stop them finding out?’ Charlotte asked ‘Last time Bastien tried to shut us down’

‘I pulled in a few favours – got some mutuals to read certain chapters over and over to keep them busy’ Les gulped down her drink and shuddered, getting a little colour back in her cheeks from the alcohol.

‘Smart move’ said Sophia ‘What are they all doing?’ Les counted them all off on her fingers.

‘Brad and Lucy’s Drake are doing a little mutual appreciation in a Driam fic. Charlotte’s Drake is languishing in a cell with Anton trying to decide what to do with him, and Bastien is musing on his ancestor in Edinburgh – which is keeping John busy too’

‘Well thanks Les, it’s good of you to arrange all this, not a lot of folk would do this for a virtual character’ Lucy pointed out.

‘Hey, I’m your writer, of course I care’

‘Drake’s having to live through that ordeal again?’ Charlotte said anxiously.

‘Sorry, it was the only one I could find that didn’t involve you’ Les said regretfully ‘I’m sure you can make it up to him afterwards, unless you can think of another one’

‘So what’s next?’ Sophia asked ‘I suppose a magic show is pretty much redundant here’

‘Yup, plus I don’t think Lizzie would like it much’ Les replied ‘too much like witchcraft’

‘I like magic’ Lizzie protested ‘John has a friend who does card tricks’

‘Tame stuff’ Sophia said, waving her hand ‘Magic shows nowadays involve making whole buildings disappear – but then that’s no big deal in virtual reality’

‘So how about hitting a casino?’ Lucy said hopefully ‘Does it work here?’

‘I tried it out, and apparently the random nature of the fall of a dice or the drawing of a card works fine’ Les asserted. ‘The same with the jackpot machines’

‘Then what are we waiting for – let’s hit the tables’

------

A couple of hours later the girls compared notes. Sophia had won the jackpot on the fruit machines, Charlotte had broken even on roulette, and Lucy had discovered that Lizzie could count cards and had made a killing at poker. Les had lost badly on the crap table, so overall they had made a small profit.

‘Well it doesn’t matter anyway, we can have whatever room we like here’ Lucy grinned ‘All we have to do is imagine it’

‘My head hurts’ Les complained ‘all this imagining is wearing me out’

‘Why don’t you take a break, I think we’ve got enough energy to go it alone’ Charlotte said soothingly.

‘Yeah Les, rest your thumbs’ Lucy said ‘We’ll be fine’ The writer looked a little dubious, but she nodded.

‘Okay, but you can always call me if you need me.’ Les disappeared, and Lucy waved her hand at the others.

‘Okay girls, let’s go investigate our hotel suite’

‘It’s the penthouse, isn’t it? Sophia asked

‘Only the best for us’ Lucy grinned. They went to the lobby and pressed the call button for the elevator. When the door opened and Lucy stepped inside, Lizzie frowned.

‘This is a bit small’ she said, puzzled ‘I thought we had the best rooms’ Lucy snorted.

‘No sweetie, we have to ride the elevator to get to the top of the building’ she explained ‘Just follow me’ They all squeezed in to the shiny metal box and the door shut behind them. Lizzie looked anxious, and when it jerked into motion, she squeaked in alarm and held on to the grab rail. She looked rather green as it picked up speed, and when it stopped and the doors opened, she staggered out, eyes large. They had arrived straight into the penthouse suite, and windows looked out onto the Strip, the sky dark and the lights bright.

‘What is this place?’ she asked ‘How did we get here?’ Charlotte took her arm and steered her to an armchair to explain gently as Lucy and Sophia investigated.

‘It’s a lot like the suite Bas took me to on my birthday’ Sophia said ‘I suppose it was easier for Les to imagine. The view is different of course, but the room’s the same.’ The carpet was deep and soft, a creamy white, the chairs and couches upholstered in white leather, a deep crimson rug in the middle of the room, a huge flat screen in the wall. Several doors led off at the other end of the room. One was a bathroom and the other doors led to the bedrooms, one for each of them.

‘Well, this all looks very fancy. Settle in, girls, and let’s call room service for drinks and nibbles’ Lucy declared. ‘No expense spared, lets have fun!’

[inspirationdivine]

A Bad Hand || Lydia and Beatrice

Timing: Current Parties: @inspirationdivine @beatrice-blaze, and Kevin the stack of leprechauns Summary: Lydia and Beatrice play poker with cards and secrets. Alternatively, a graphical summary

Going back to the Stacked Deck had been strange for Bea the first time. The regulars had plenty of questions for her, ones she had no energy to answer. She shared a nod with Chuck as she slipped in, heading to a table in the corner after getting her drink. She tended to avoid this one, wary of the suspicious player that seemed to frequent it, not wanting to deal with any more leprechauns after her run-in with Kaden. Still, it helped her avoid the more curious people in the hall. Settling into a seat, she crossed her legs as she glanced around the table. The woman next to her was elegant, something Bea could appreciate in a Bend bar. Cutting a glance to the chair hosting the stack of leprechauns, she asked, amused, “Already on a roll, or am I in luck today?” 

“Dealer’s just about to deal, we can make space for you yet,” Lydia replied with a smile, looking up at the woman. She’d seen her before, looking full of life and warmth before, but Lydia usually preferred to play with a more exclusive crowd. Downstairs, occasionally with kittens. That said, there was nothing quite like playing with poorly disguised leprechauns, her skin prickling from the close contact with them. This woman though? Apart from a turtleneck in summer, not much else to comment on her about. “Are you joining?”

Nervous ticks that Bea had kicked years ago were reemerging, fingers tapping against the glass base of her drink. She knew she was safe here, Chuck would never let something happen in the Deck. She had her knife on her, it’s holster pinching into her thigh as a reminder of the easy access she had to it. She was safe here. She curled her fingers into a fist, annoyed that she hadn’t caught the tick before it began. “I think I will. I’ve spent far too long away from the table.” Gambling with money was safe, at least, safer than the gambles she recently made. Arranging her chips, she smiled to the other woman, “I hope nothing too interesting happened when I was gone. Being out of the loop is no fun.”

A nervous player. Lydia didn’t much mind that at all, careful not to show that she’d seen the anxious finger tapping against the table. Then that same hand curled into a fist, an awareness of her nervous habit that held information in its own right. Someone was off their game. All that meant was better odds for Lydia. “Oh, how long? Well, allow me to do quick introductions. I’m Lydia, this is Killian, Jerome, Sarah, and… Robert, I believe?” Lydia said to the patently obvious three leprechauns in a trenchcoat, but that everyone else acknowledged as an individual. A chair was procured for the woman, and the dealer began setting out the cards.

“Oh, at least five weeks. I used to be in here almost every night.” Bea’s disappearance hadn’t been something that others had missed. When she first came back, Chuck had even asked where she had been. And so she had to tell the tale of being in Turkey with her mother and father. A fact that most people could see through if they looked hard enough. She smiled as she sat down in the newly arrived chair,”Lovely to meet everyone. I’m Beatrice, but Bea is fine.” She eyed ‘Robert’ for a moment, before looking back to Lydia. “I can swear I have seen you here before. I’m shocked we haven’t played at the same table before.” She took a sip of her drink before looking at her cards. A bad hand out of the gate. She tried not to think that that was a sign of how the evening was going to go. 

”So we need to watch you then,” Lydia replied, with a wink. “Bea, it’s a pleasure. Although I reserve my right to change my mind on that depending on how the evening goes.” Lydia took her middling hand, let the corner of her mouth quirk in the slightest bit of disappointment, and looked back up to Bea. “ I think you’re right. I’m usually only here once a week. The others aren’t as chatty, but I like to throw them off their game by - raise - talking as we play. So, Bea, what did take you out of town for five weeks? Were you travelling for work?”

A soft chuckle left Bea,“For better or worse, yes, I suppose you do.” Before she had died, she had great control of her ticks, she knew how to read other people, and she was confident in her decisions. Now, she felt new to the table, rediscovering the way she had to play. Her smile only grew as Lydia continued to speak, she liked the way this woman held herself already. It was amusing. “A woman after my own heart. Silent tables are far too boring for me.” Temptation to tell the truth surged in her, but she stifled it. Telling loved ones was one thing. Strangers were a more dangerous game. She settled on a half-truth. “I did something for my sister and then ended up having to deal with the fallout.” She eyed the flop as it came out and weighed the risks of staying in. “Call.” 

Lydia watched the turn being played, and watched two of the others around the table fold. There was a pair in her hand, but the cards on the table weren’t anything of use yet. “Call,” She responded. “Oh, I agree about silent tables. The evening’s as much for socialising as it is anything else. Isn’t that right, Keith?” Lydia turned her eyes to the leprechauns, the top of which grimaced and said something unintelligible, but the chips the second leprechaun on the table pushed forward was a raise by two hundred. Hm, now this would be a game. “I know what that’s like, siblings can be our greatest gifts and our greatest downfalls. I hope it is all resolved now.”

“If I wanted to sit in silence, I stay home or go to a library,” Bea chuckled. “It’s always fun here, rarely a dull night.” She had loved that before, it had always matched her energy after a show. Now she took comfort in the familiarity. Her eyes narrowed as the stack of fae raised. There was no need for her to stay in for that. She let out a soft laugh at greatest downfalls. “Only a few loose ends to tie up and then everything will be in great shape again. Hopefully, things stay quiet for a bit.” She folded, muttering to herself,“God knows that Luce and Nell need some peace.”

“Only disappointing ones,” Lydia chuckled, as the river were revealed and the last round of bets went in. Lydia had two midrange pairs, which was far from terrible, but she wanted to keep it safe for this first round, getting a feel for the other players before the stakes grew too much. Kevin the leprechaun took the round, and Lydia took the next round of cards as they were dealt. A much worse hand. This would be an early fold. “Well, I hope so for your sa-” Lydia caught Bea’s mumble, and her eyes widened. It was her turn to bet. “...Raise. Would that be Lucinda Vural, by any chance?” It couldn’t be. It wasn’t. Lydia was entirely wrong, she had to be. 

Bea took a long drink before looking at her hand. Her lips curled for a quick second as she took in the good hand she had been given. She called after Lydia, looking over at the other woman with a raised eyebrow. So she knew Luce and from the reaction, it didn’t seem that they had a good time together. “Yes, it would be. She’s my younger sister. I’m guessing that you’ve met?” Without realizing it, Bea’s shoulders tensed, uncomfortable with the potential of someone who had issue with her sister next to her. 

Lydia barely heard was the other two players said, and didn’t look down at the flop being played until the lowest leprechaun that was Kevin cleared its throat. Or possibly squawked. Nell Vural had been posting on social media. Luce had been talking to Lydia. A dead sister. Well, if two had been alive then.. “Oh, I think I fold for this round. The cards are not in my favour.” Foolish, she should have never raised to begin with. There was nothing good here for her. Especially when she played against a woman who for all intents and purposes should be dead. Had been dead for an extremely long time. Weeks, from what Lydia had understood from Luce. Vampires and Zombies both rose soon after their deaths, Lydia was so sure of it. “We have. Luce saved my life, not too long ago. I think it will be, oh, three months ago in August?” 

Knowing who Bea’s sister was had obviously shaken Lydia. The witch just didn’t know why. It was interesting to say the least that Luce’s name had garnered such a reaction. She had known people that were intimidated by the middle sister, but she had never experienced something like this. Lydia had seemed like a woman who could keep her poker face on in most circumstances. Bea’s fingers tapped against the base of her drink as she considered Lydia. “It’s lucky that she was there to help you. August?” She turned toward Lydia then, voice lowered,“So you know then?”

“Well, I thought so. It appears your sister isn’t as truthful as I believed. My mistake,” Lydia said, slowly regaining something of a power face as they continued. The sight of Beatrice had short circuited her brain, but if Bea was alive then… She crunched her jaw together. Not only had she been used to torture someone, but the lying snake of a spellcaster had manipulated Lydia’s emotions to make her eager. It made Lydia’s stomach turn. Obviously, Luce had read online somewhere about Lydia’s own sister, and had made up a story to justify her actions to Lydia. Maybe she thought that by lying, Lydia would treat August worse than she might otherwise. Luce had been right, too. “Bea, I believe it’s your turn to bet.”

A soft chuckle left Bea,“She’s the most truthful out of all of us.” Nell and Bea had both lied to each other for years about what magic they had done. “I don’t know how you were involved, but thank you.” Luce wouldn’t have told just anyone about what happened, she knew her sister would never bring someone random in. She looked over to the table again,“Raise.” Throwing her chips in the pot, she turned once again to look at Lydia. Taking a finger, she pulled down the fabric of her turtleneck to show a bit of her scar. “Went through all of that and only got this scar to show for it.”

Folding early should have been a prime opportunity for Lydia to take advantage of being able to read the whole table and get a feeling for  where everyone else was as, without worrying about anyone watching you too closely. To run the maths in her head over and over, and see how other people calculated their odds in return. Instead, she was only looking at Beatrice, like she was struggling to latch her thoughts onto one another. She’d helped with something, certainly, August had suffered as much mentally as physically in the 24 hours he’d been with her, but Lydia hadn’t asked and Luce hadn’t said. She was so flummoxed she missed the opportunity to promise bind Bea, which in turn had Kevin staring at her. The turn, and then the river was played. “I’m amazed you survived such an injury.”

As good as the hand was turning out for Bea, she struggled to focus on it. As they spoke longer, the witch found herself more confused than before. Her sisters had failed to mention everyone who was involved, but she had, at least, expected Lydia to know more than she seemed to. Her head tilted,“Is that what she told you? That I survived?” Logically, Bea knew that it was a bad idea to tell people about what happened, but the caution she once felt was slipping away. Lydia knew enough already, this wouldn’t be groundbreaking.

“No,” Lydia replied, as the round finished. “Quite the opposite. Must have been playing on some personal weaknesses. At least I know better now.” She pressed her lips into a thin smile as she watched the end of the betting round, itching to move past this now and play a real game. Luce must have googled her, found out about Lydia’s own sister, and turned it against her. That was the only explanation Lydia needed, and now she could focus entirely on the game. 

A small smile broke over Bea’s face,“You’re wrong, then, to call my sister a liar.” Perhaps the younger Vurals had failed to tell Lydia that Bea would come crawling back from death. It would explain the confusion. It would be very jarring to be sat next to a woman who was meant to be rotting. “I didn’t survive.” Her voice was low, knowing that the others at the table shouldn’t be aware of the information she was giving Lydia. “Amazing what a good sacrifice can bring back.” 

Lydia swallowed. Then she swallowed again. Her fight or flight reflex kicked in, filling her mouth with toxic saliva without her consent as her heart beat loud in her ears. She looked down at her cards, blinked hard, to push them into memory, but the king and queen of spades suddenly had a deathly pallor, red slits in their throats. Necromancy. One of the worst abominations humans had created. “I see. So it appears. How… fortunate for you.”

Finally, Bea turned away from Lydia, facing back to the rest of the table. She took a sip of her drink, frowning at the now empty martini glass. She’d need to order another. She glanced at her cards, another mediocre set. “My sisters are very loyal, I’m lucky to have people who would go to such lengths to learn my craft and help me return. It wasn’t easy for them.”

“Raise,” Lydia said, before watching the flop being laid. She had a good hand, it was just about playing it, as her stomach churned under Bea’s reveal after reveal. “It certainly was a fitting sacrifice,” she replied curtly. Had Lydia made August pliant to Luce so that she could drag his soul inside out? When Lydia had made him throw himself down the stairs over and over, she’d broken his psyche and his body, but she hadn’t fragmented his soul. Her father had told her about necromancy as a child, when he had gently teased the tangles from his hair. Magics that only came to humans, that demanded balance and suffering. To bring a soul back from heaven or hell, another must be destroyed, never to go anywhere ever again. To bring such suffering on anyone, even a murderous human like August, Lydia could hardly stomach it. One good game, and she was out of here, away from the walking and talking destruction of nature itself. It was wrong in a way nothing else could be. People warned of fae trickster magic, but Lydia could not promise bind without an inkling of consent. Her glamorous only affected herself. It did not pervert nature. “Raise to one thousand dollars.”

Bea hadn’t failed to notice how all the warmth that had once been in their conversation quickly drained away. It made sense that most people wouldn’t enjoy a conversation about necromancy. Still it was a shame, she had thought Lydia was fun company when she had first sat at the table. “I’m glad that you agree. After everything he did, it felt perfect to me.” It tied the loose ends of her death nicely. All that was left was Bea finding that hunter and taking his life too. She wanted to savor that alive and well. Her eyebrows raised as Lydia raised, quietly folding her own hand, not yet willing to follow a raise so steep. Even if it did seem like an odd move. “Confident?” She asked the other woman, though her tone laced the implication of doubt through the word. 

Lydia didn’t reply to that. There was something to be said for people that just loved to keep talking about taboo subjects. Clearly, her cool comments hadn’t deterred Bea, so perhaps her silence would. Lydia certainly hoped so, she was intending to keep her dinner.  “That’s for you to know, isn’t it?” Lydia asked with a wink, then looking to Kevin. All three leprechauns knew she couldn’t lie easily, but all fae were masters of bluffs and truth twisting. The third one gave her a rotten look from the bottom of the trenchcoat. “So Bea, apart from playing poker, what else have you been doing with your newfound freedom?” She asked, the question carrying an edge that had been absent early. Lydia tapped her index distractedly against the table. 

Confidence was easy to find when Bea was focused on necromancy, it was something she knew intimately now. She knew it, in ways, better than she knew the woman she had become when she came back. Now that the conversation had slipped from that, it wasn’t as easy to find a way to answer Lydia. She hadn’t ever struggled to find warm words and hold a conversation before. “I’ve been finding a new main act for my theater. My absence was felt dearly there and I’ve been working double time to right it all.” John, her right hand man, had done wonderfully in holding Illusions up, but without her fire, they no longer had a headliner. “There’s new talent that needs a guiding hand. Otherwise, I’ve been happy to be with my loved ones again.”

Lydia heard the pause before the reply, as the comfort and confidence leached out of Bea. She tilted her head, watching the others fold out of the game. Just her and Kevin left, for the final bidding round. “Your theatre? That is charming. Call.” There it was again, throwing her off her game. Not like she could read Kevin’s facial expressions at all, either way, but she just wanted one decent round without necromancy talk ruining it. Or the walking abomination ruining her ignoring the necromancy. “I’m sure they appreciate your company completely. Was that a challenge, Kevin? Wonderful. Let’s see your cards.” The second Leprechaun revealed two tens, with a two pair hand total. Lydia had a full house, that she showed smugly. “Oh, thank goodness for one thing going well, then.” The next set of cards were laid out. “What kind of shows do you do at your theatre, Beatrice?”

Bea was going to make sure to question her sister about this woman. The witch didn’t necessarily feel unsafe, but there was no ease left now. Lydia had been a part of the process to come back, even if she hadn’t known it. Perhaps it hadn’t been a good idea to talk to Lydia about it, better to leave her in the dark. But then again, Bea had no room to regret what had already passed. “Good hand,” She commented lightly as she watched over the table. She hadn’t been positive that Lydia actually had such good cards. “We have fire dancers, escape artists, magicians. Those who have special talents and a knack for performance tend to find a home in my theater.”

“Ah, so like a circus,” Lydia replied with a smile, catching Bea’s meaning without a blink. “I would have to come see it some time. I do love watching the spectacular.” Feeling better with so many chips in her corner, she picked up her hand and tucked the ace of spades and three of hearts away into the back of her mind before watching the game begin anew. “So, Beatrice-” Lydia stopped, staring at Bea. Remembering what Felix had said about a lady friend. Except, of course, that it couldn’t be, right? The Bea in front of her wasn’t nearing a century in age, she wasn’t fae nor shifter, nor even a palatable form of undead. Felix wouldn’t- Felix wouldn’t have possibly gone for her. He had taste. He was as much fae as she was, as proud and clever and- Lydia swallowed. Beatrice wasn’t a common name, but it wasn’t impossible that there were a couple walking around White Crest. He wouldn’t have gone for a woman like this. Surely. “Felix. Doyle. Do you know him?”

As much as Bea wanted to tell her it was not a circus, she couldn’t. She had performers that called them a circus, even if we preferred the term theater. Usually, Bea would have offered a good seat to someone who wanted to come and view the show, but she found her quiet. She tilted her head at Lydia, what an odd and out of the blue question. “Felix Doyle happens to be my boyfriend. I take it that you know him. Are you friendly?” Felix knew so many people in this town, but still, it surprised her every time someone knew him and she didn’t know them as well. 

“We’re good friends,” Lydia replied with a smile that made her feel almost as sick as actually speaking the lie. She looked back to the table, swallowing down the rising bile. This was so much worse than Deirdre. Lydia had only just found a dead lampade, made dead by a spellcaster. Somehow that bloody corpse turned her stomach less than the though of Felix with a human. Worse, with this human. Not undead like Morgan, but a monstrosity, not meant to exist at all. “I care about him deeply. More than I entirely know how to put in words.” Which made the thought of him sinking to such lows even worse. Beatrice was wrong, human hubris incarnate, how could he even consider it? He was a beautiful being, charismatic as hell, he could have had anyone he wanted, and instead he stooped to this. How could he ever denigrate himself like this and look in the mirror and call himself fae? It felt like a betrayal of her affections to the extreme, to even consider this.  Lydia put her hands down on the table sharply, looking around at everyone with a practiced ease that made her skin burn. “My apologies, everyone, but I’m folding and I think I’m done for the evening. I’m not at my best, and that is not fair on any of you.” She stood up, picking up her neat stack of chips, and left without even trading them in. 

More than I entirely know how to put in words. Those words would have warmed Bea if they came from anyone else. To know the man she loved was loved back by the people around him made Bea happy in most circumstances. He deserved all the love he could get. Still, this felt more than a little awkward. Had she just met one of Felix’s exes? Or someone who just didn’t want to see him with other people? She stared after Lydia for a moment, trying to understand what the hell had happened since she sat at this table. Shrugging, Bea decided to let her questions rest for now, she could ask them to the people who knew Lydia later. “Well, that’s unfortunate, she seems like she’s fun. Anyhow, I’ll raise.”

[nyrator]

still feel like venting and rambling into spacee

broke up with kresna yesterday, he still hasn’t responded to me at all. I’m worried, but don’t want to keep pestering him, either. I know he really wanted us to be a thing, but I don’t think I’m built for a relationship. Maybe we can try again once the border is open and see how things go in person. But right now, we’re too frustrated and too weighed down by our own personal lives to harmonize well at the moment, and it’s not like I haven’t brought up the issue several times as well to brace him for it. Maybe it’ll just be a refreshing breather for the two of us to help get things back on track, but he can take things very personally. I hope I haven’t lost my best friend. I really, really hope I haven’t lost him for good.

He really is a good person. I can’t really give him what he needs right now- I just end up giving him more problems, and I hope this was the right decision. It felt like the only decision I had. I’m scared at how dangerous it might turn out to be. I still plan on treating him the same, if he chooses to accept it, he’s still my best friend like I said, but I feel it’s going to be a lot harder on him and I hope he can make it through this.

My boss texted me today and told me they’re closing the store down next month, which is sad. That floral shop was very good to me, I remember my boss wanting to downsize and just have me and her running the business together, if I ended up not moving to Canada. Sad that won’t happen, but glad she got a new job as a substitute teacher. They’re pretty sure I can get a manager job at any craft store if I applied (I’m doubtful), and I live somewhat close to some big ones (Joanns/Michaels/Hobby Lobby/etc), so maybe I’ll start applying there. I can’t imagine a lot of the smaller stores staying open (what is it, 20 percent of them went out of business so far since covid?), so probably not worth it to even apply to them. Will have to get a car, too. Have $10,000 in savings, theoretically it can last me all of 2021 without including spending it on a car.

Speaking about my budget out loud.

$125 a month in rent, ~$35 in electric, $65 on internet, and say ~$10 for four-ish loads of laundry a month = $235 on basic living.

Groceries, roughly $30 a month I’d say, I tend to not need much, and any food is covered under food stamps. ~$65 a month on cats. = ~ $330 a month I spend on average, plus any luxury items like video games that I might buy.

Right now I still receive about $220 every two weeks from unemployment, but that can disappear at any moment. Rent is income based, I don’t know if they took it with my unemployment or without since it was right when it got re-extended somehow, probably from covid. I was told $25 a month (I know, that’s absolutely insane), but the paperwork says $125 (still insane but I’ll take what I can get, rent is the one good thing I have going for me right now, thank you income-based senior apartment).

I also applied for another credit card, but still inexperienced at building credit- hopefully it builds quick enough where if I need a car, I can get a decent payment plan

In short, I can get by for a year without a job, theoretically, but I’d rather not. And the sooner I get a car, the better, probably- driving makes me extremely, extremely anxious, though, but I can’t really walk anywhere safely either thanks to the highways/interstates. There’s biking, but most things are on a highway uphill... And always the bus if they still run, but the bus I take is very limited on where it goes...

Another stimulus would be great (ah, politics), if only to help with the bigger purchases. Still like the idea of UBI too, even though it’s highly unlikely we’ll get anything like it any time soon.

I also thought about going back to school, maybe online courses, get something in computers. One for personal use- to make things like video games, but also to see if I can get a career in it. I know it’s a field that is in need of programmers, I just wonder if I’d be able to do it (or afford it...), feels like a big commitment for me.

Been in weird mode post-break up. Part of me does feel refreshed, like I can focus on myself again, on my projects. Another friend is trying to inspire our group to work on our fangames again before the New Year, and I feel like I might work on you&me again, finally. Maybe Ploom, too, or Skatered concept art. Maybe I’m just filling my head with these ideas to cope and not think about the terrible thing I’ve done, I dunno. Today depression hit a lot harder than yesterday.

Still playing with the idea of becoming a vtuber legitimately ever since an artist I followed became one, maybe as Lave, maybe as a completely original character and become totally anonymous about it. I’d probably do pre-recorded videos rather than streams, I’d imagine. I’m not a good speaker- not a lot to talk about, and I have a lisp and trip over my words a lot. I’d probably just play my favorite games (Yume Nikki, Cave Story, F-Zero GX, etc) and keep a shy, somewhat informational persona, or something, instead of the energetic reactionary ones I usually see. Beyond games, not sure- Q&As, if the audience is there for it, otherwise, hm. Maybe art recordings, I guess. I’d like to play music, but good ol’ dmca stuff still exists.

Chances are very slim this actually happens, and I feel like a dork for even entertaining the idea, but it’s something to think about to kill time, I suppose.

Healthwise, slowly getting back on track, but it varies. Starting to eat 1,500 calories again (mostly through chocolate, though), bought some foods to try, but no idea how to prepare. Today was a low energy kind of day, took three naps throughout it and still feel like laying in bed.

My sleep is still something- I’m always fascinated by sleep and parasomnia stuffs that I kind of want to experiment, but for my health I probably shouldn’t. One night recently I had a strange dream, more of a feeling, mixed with sleep paralysis and other things I shouldn’t mention. Got a few entries this month for my dream diary again, not sure if it’s from my crazy sleep schedules, or from actively keeping the diary again, or what.

Still on the fence about sharing the diary, if only because of how embarrassing it is. Maybe through RN, for some reason I like exposing those kinds of thoughts through RN to vent, I guess- it’s fun to embarrass Lave and not fun to embarrass me, even though that makes no sense. I don’t think I could draw those dreams, though, so maybe a written blog post on the RN blog...? I dunno.

Also slowly getting back into the ACNH life- realized I’m still missing a lot of furniture though, made a wishlist but haven’t really played with anyone lately, wish the Nooklings would actually sell new items (come on Nintendo, add another upgrade, please- I do wonder if more items than I think are limited in color selection per island, like the Nook items/surfboards). Might have to make a separate post for it laterr. Also updated my wardrobe in the game finally, not 100% on it (the skirt mainly, maybe the hat too) but overall it looks okay. Not sure why I’m such a huge fan of moccasins but pink ones are great (I’ve only owned brown ones irl). Still would like to own a hat like that, too... especially now that my hair is thinning more and more

also recipes are still a pain to get, made a checklist and it looks like I’m still missing roughly a third of the recipes, rippp (one day, giant teddy bear, wooden bookshelf, cool moon chair thing, etc...)

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Oh, I got an imagine for ya! Imagine the reader overhears Derek yelling at Eric for having a panic attack that he believes he's faking, telling him that Eric should be more like him, and Eric just secretly wants his father to see what he goes through every day. But then one day something happens to where they switch personalities. Eric gains confidence and Derek becomes shy nervous and downright terrified and overtime (1/2).

“Quit faking those “attacks” you claim to have just to get out of doing work!!!”

You nearly jumped at the booming voice in the hallway, before you walked over to see Derek scowling at his son, face beet-red in anger.

“I-I’m not…f-faking anything!” Eric whimpered as tears streamed down his cheeks. He felt like he was going to collapse at any second given how shaky his legs were. “I..I-I..can’t..!” He coughed, rubbing his eyes and trying to calm himself down.

“Listen, even if you’re not, you gotta start figuring out how to deal with ‘em better.” Derek huffed in disappointment, shaking his head, before he folded his arms across his chest. “If only you were like your old man: not worrying about what everyone’s thinkin’ and just getting shit done-”

“Is everything alright?”

Looking over, the two egos saw you approach them, concerned. Eric fought back the urge to run to you, his terrified gaze still lingering on his father. “Y-Yeah..” He mumbled. “We’re..We’re okay.”

“Yeah. Just had to give him a pep talk. I gotta get back to work.” Derek checked his watch, before glaring at his son one last time. “But think about my words, Eric. Alright?”

“Yes..sir.”

“Good.” With a nod, he left, grumbling to himself as he brushed past you and disappeared down the hallway.

You stepped closer to Eric, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. He sniffled and wiped his eyes. “Th-Thanks, [y/n]..I don’t think I could’ve taken much more of….th-that.” He shuddered. “I just wish he’d understand the kinda stuff I go through e-everyday, y’know?”

“I get what you mean,” you nodded in understanding, hugging him gently before you led him to Dr. Iplier’s clinic. Once you reached it, you stopped and turned to him. “You go in there and rest, okay? Maybe you can talk to him about these panic attacks you’re having.”

“And what will you do? If..y-you wanna beat up my dad-”

“I’m not going to do that.” You reassured him with a smile. “Just hang out with the doc for a while.”

Eric meekly nodded, before heading inside the clinic. As you closed the door and headed back to your room for the evening, you sighed, feeling a bit sad he had to deal with this kind of thing every day. 

Of course, Derek was still grieving, too, but that was no excuse for abusing his only living son.

……

When you encountered Eric in the breakroom the next morning, you immediately noticed something was..off.

He was standing up straight, his hands not even quaking as he turned on the instant coffee machine. While he waited for his drink, he turned around and noticed you, blinking in surprise. “Ah, hey [y/n]. You’re up early.”

“Same to you.” You grabbed a nutrition bar from the basket, before gazing at him for a few seconds. “You feeling okay?”

“When I woke up, I felt kinda..different,” he said, checking his watch. “It’s a good kind of different, though. I didn’t wake up dreading the day or anything. I actually got stuff done.”

“Oh! That’s good.” You smiled. “I’m guessing your dad’s words stuck with you?”

“Dunno. Maybe they did.” He shrugged, before he poured his coffee. “I doubt it was a magic bullet that made me less anxious overnight, but…I’m happy so..” Then he took a sip.

The conversation ended there, and you decided to head out and tackle your to-do list for today. 

Given how Ego Inc. had so many floors, and the egos were up to a lot of shenanigans, there was always something to do.

But as you were checking your phone, you accidentally bumped into someone and heard the sound of glasses clattering to the floor. 

“A-Ah! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Recognizing the voice, you looked and saw that it was Derek. You were bewildered that it was even him, but then you saw how shaken up he seemed by the accident, which was…especially unusual. 

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” you reassured him. kneeling down to pick up his glasses and hand them to him. “What’s wrong? You seem on-edge this morning.”

“I..I don’t know..” He admitted as he put them back on. “I just..woke up feelin’ more stressed than usual. I guess I was overthinkin’ what I said to Eric yesterday. Where is he? I-Is he up?”

“Yeah…are you sure you guys didn’t somehow swap clothes and hairstyles overnight?” You tilted your head curiously.

“N-No! I swear we didn’t! I-I just woke up this way.” Tears brimmed his eyes as he spoke.

‘Okay..something’s definitely not right.’ You began to think. ‘He and Eric are acting like each other…’

“Alright.” You finally answered. “He’s in the breakroom if you wanna see him. I’m…gonna call a friend of mine. I think something’s amiss with you two.”

“O-Okay..good luck figuring it out.” Nodding, Derek left you alone, while you took out your phone and dialed a familiar number.

After a few rings, it fortunately picked up. “Oh hey, [y/n]! Wasn’t expecting you to-”

“Hey Marv, how fast can one of your portals get you to Ego Inc.?”

“Uhh..hopefully instantaneously. Why?”

……….

“Ah, so we got ourselves a classic case of personality swap?” Marvin hummed in interest once you finished explaining everything that transpired this morning.

“Yeah. I have my suspicions. Eric was acting like Derek all day, and vice versa. Though it hasn’t gotten bad…or at least not yet.”

“It still has chance to get bad if all the elements of their personalities were to manifest,” he remarked. “That means this “curse” would be irreversible. But..I wonder..how come you called me for this?” His eyebrows furrowed. “Don’t any of the lads here have some kind of magic? Have you talked to them?”

“There’s a few who posses supernatural powers,” you said. “But since you have a broader range of knowledge on magic, I trust your words more.” 

“Aww, I’m flattered.” Marvin grinned, before he looked down at his spellbook, a slight pout forming on his lips. “Unfortunately, it’s only a simple fix back in my room. It took a lot of energy to get here in one piece, so my mana is…limited. So I’ll need time to figure this out.” He glanced back at you. “Could you find them and bring them in here?”

“Sure thing.” You nodded and left the room, allowing the magician to do his research.

It didn’t take you too long to find the Dereksons, but before you could knock on Derek’s office’s door, you paused as you heard yelling on the other side:

“You know, you should be goddamn lucky you have a son AT ALL!!!”

“L-Listen, boy-”

“Don’t you “boy” me anymore, dad! I’m sick of not being listened to! I work my ass off for your company despite being disabled for years and you still think it’s not good enough!!

“I’m..I-I’m sorry! I’m trying my best-!”

“Well you’re not trying hard enough! You really let me down, and if mom was still here she’d be disappointed, too.”

There was a long silence after that, although when you heard angry footsteps growing louder, you backed away from the door as it swung open. Eric was fuming, though upon seeing you he sighed in irritation. “Sorry about that, [y/n].” Was all he muttered before walking past you.

You gazed at him as he disappeared around the corner, but the sound of soft, muffled sobs brought your attention back to the office.

As you walked inside, you could see Derek cowering in the corner, his face in his hands. Silently, you sat down beside him, wrapping your arms around him tightly. At first he tensed up, but when he realized it was you he embraced you and sobbed into your shoulder, while you stroked his hair soothingly.

You just waited for him to get it all out, and a few moments later his sobs turned to sniffles. He then sighed shakily, resting his head on your shoulder. “S-So..this is how it feels…this is what I..I-I’ve been putting my boy through..” He whimpered.

“Listen,” you spoke softly. “I have a friend over who’s an expert magician. We both suspect you and Eric had some personality-swap overnight. Like a..strange curse.”

“I-I thought magic was just..a buncha debunked B.S…”

You looked at him. “Buddy, you’re living with a demon who lives in monochrome, a reality-warping maniac, and a blind man who can manipulate people with words.”

“..y-you’re right, I’m sorry.” Derek sniffled as he let you go. “But..why did this have to happen to us?”

“I think…when you walked away yesterday, Eric said he wished you’d understand what he goes through everyday,” you explained. “I’m not saying he wanted this to happen, but maybe whatever this “curse” is latched onto those words. Where it came from doesn’t matter. Getting you guys back to normal does.”

He nodded in understanding, before you helped him off the floor. “Now that you..mentioned it..d-didn’t I say I wished he was more like me?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Then this is my fault, too.” He bowed his head. “Why did I ever say that? I’m so stupid..”

“Hey. Neither of you could’ve known this would happen.” You rubbed his arm in comfort. “I’ll bring you to Marvin, then I’ll go find Eric, and we’re gonna fix this, okay? And maybe get you both some therapy while we’re at it.”

“A-Alright.” Derek smiled a bit as he looked at you again. “Lead the way.”

[asweetprologue]

Fandom: The Witcher Pairings: Geralt/Jaskier  Words: 16,147 Chapter: 2/5 Summary: After a job goes wrong, Geralt must rely on Jaskier as he is left blind and deaf. As they attempt to navigate the curse and find out how to lift it, Geralt comes to realize that his feelings for the bard have grown deeper - but how can he know if Jaskier returns those feelings if Geralt can't see or hear him?

Also on AO3 | Part One

your skin carries echoes of me

It took him several moments to realize that he was not, in fact, unconscious. The world had gone dark in a way that he had seldom experienced in his life after facing the Trials. It was rare that he found himself in a place where no light was to be found at all, and even then the careful application of Cat was usually enough to help him find his way. Now, though, it was as if he had been suddenly plunged into the deepest cave. He could hear nothing, not the rustle of the forest he’d stood in or the quick, anxious sound of Jaskier’s breathing.

His initial assumption was that he had been teleported, though he had never known a witch to possess the skill. He also didn’t remember the sickening rush of air past him that typically signaled passage through a portal, for which he was grateful. The smell of the forest was still thick around him, which meant he must still be close by. He could smell Jaskier too, the sour of fear-sweat as well as the sweet almond perfume he had put on that morning. It would have been a relief if not for the thick, cloying smell of fresh blood that flooded his senses.

“Jaskier,” he said, or attempted to say. No sound came forth, though he could feel the vibration in his throat and the air moving past his lips. He frowned, attempted, “Jaskier,” again, louder this time. Still, nothing.

He felt a sudden hand grip his bicep, and he would have raised the sword still gripped in his other hand if the almond and sunlight scent of Jaskier hadn’t been so close. Geralt reached out automatically instead, finding the bard’s shoulder. He could feel Jaskier’s quick breaths ghosting over his skin, though he could hear nothing.

“Jaskier,” he said, still hearing nothing at all. “I can’t hear you. Are you alright?” A pause, and no response. Oh. “Uh. Tap my shoulder if you can hear me.”

The hand on his bicep disappeared only to tap once, hesitantly, on his shoulder.

“Hmm. Witch dead?”

A longer pause, and then another tap. Geralt felt a swell of bittersweet relief. At least the job was done, and he wouldn’t have to try and fight the witch in whatever passed for his current state. “We still in the same place?” he asked.

Another tap.

His stomach sank. If that was the case, it meant that it was still daylight in the forest, and he could see nothing. Clearly, the witch had cursed him. That was… unfortunate, to say the least.

He fell into a crouch, reaching towards the sticky blood smell before him. He felt the rough fabric of the witch’s cotton dress at his fingertips, and pat his way down her sides until he found the bag that she had been carrying. As he did so, he said, “Find the objects she threw when she cast, if you can. A stone, maybe an ear.”

He found himself waiting to hear Jaskier’s response and sighed in frustration when he realized it would not make an appearance. Already this was a nuisance. Instead of trying to find out if Jaskier was following instructions for once, he continued searching the witch. She had a pouch on her belt that was filled with smooth objects, either stones or animal bones, he expected, as well as several flat disks that he thought might be amulets. He collected them all, along with the bag of herbs and spell components, and turned back towards the direction of Jaskier’s almond perfume. “Find anything?”

A long moment, and then he felt a footstep near his knee where it rested on the ground. A second later long fingers tapped once on his shoulder.

“Good. We need to go back to town.” He stood and held out the objects he’d collected in Jaskier’s general direction, and was relieved when the other man took them out of his hands without protest. Geralt disliked bringing equipment beyond his swords and potions with him on hunts, so Jaskier was the one carrying a bag. He turned away, attempting to roughly retrace his steps back towards where he thought he remembered the path being, but felt a hard tug on his shirtsleeve. He stopped more out of politeness than anything else.

Jaskier released the grip on his sleeve only to take Geralt’s hand, warm skin against his fingers as they were pulled away from his palm. Geralt waited, head turned curiously to the side. He felt the bard put a finger in the middle of his hand, and then a very emphatic question mark was traced onto his skin. Ah.

“It’s a curse,” he said with a sigh. “Until it fades I can’t see or hear. We’re going to go back to the village and see if we can wait it out, and if not we’ll ask if they have anyone who can lift it. Alright?”

There was a heavy pause that Geralt assumed was filled with Jaskier telling him exactly what he thought of the entire situation. He found himself extraordinarily grateful that for once he didn’t actually have to hear it. Silver linings. Finally there was a tap on his shoulder, as if Jaskier had finally remembered that was what Geralt was waiting for. The witcher nodded and turned back to the forest, and promptly walked face first into a tree.

Fuck.

“Fuck,” he said aloud, for clarification. There was no evidence to support it, but he could sense Jaskier laughing at him.

* * *

They ended up making their way back to the village hand in hand, much to Geralt’s embarrassment. Unfortunately there was nothing for it. Though his remaining senses were still as sharp as ever, there was only so much he could tell through smell. If he focused, he could guess how far away a tree was and he had little trouble locating Jaskier, but moving quickly was out of the question. Like all of his brothers, he had learned to fight while blinded, but rarely did these training sessions remove their hearing as well. When he was nearing the end of his training there had been a few weeks where sparring was done with a blindfold on and beeswax stuffed in his ears, as he tried to sense where attacks were coming from based on the air moving against his skin.

He’d been pretty shit at it, and had taken comfort in the fact that he would likely never have to fight in such conditions. The life of a witcher was truly one of unpleasant surprises.

Fortunately Jaskier seemed to be taking it all in stride, though it was difficult to tell when he couldn’t see the man’s face or hear his complaining. They’d settled on a basic system of communication: one tap for yes, two for no, three for danger. Geralt fervently hoped that they would not have to use the third signal anytime soon.

Jaskier led him through the woods with few issues, keeping mostly to the deer trail they had used to make their way to the witch’s hut. Geralt could tell when they reached the main road once again, feeling the ground even out beneath his feet and the dense smell of the autumn forest fade slightly. He felt a gentle tug where Jaskier’s hand was clasped around his wrist, urging him on in the direction of the town.

The smell of people grew stronger as they approached, until finally Jaskier pulled to a stop in front of him, causing Geralt to bump into his back. He grumbled, annoyed. He made to move forward again but was stopped by Jaskier’s hand, settling firmly just under Geralt’s breastbone. A clear request for him to stop.

For some reason, the simple touch made him feel alarmingly out of breath.

Fortunately the sensation faded quickly as he realized that Jaskier must be talking with someone. He crossed his arms to wait, hoping that the bard had enough sense to be asking someone about either their pay or the curse. Technically they had done the job. The witch certainly wouldn’t be bothering anyone anymore, unless that someone was Geralt. Gods willing they could take their coin and find an inn to crash in for a few days, and hopefully the curse would lift on its own. As Jaskier took his hand again to lead him along the village’s dirt roads, Geralt adamantly hoped that was how it would play out.

* * *

The curse did not lift on its own.

The two of them spent the next several days at the local inn, which if the smell was anything to go by was much closer to a barn than anything else. Still, they had beds and the food was warm, which was more than could be said for nights on the road. And most importantly, the inn was a secure place to wait out the curse.

Often, curses such as these were self-limiting. Sustaining any magic took energy. Sorceresses and mages gave up much to expand their own resources, and the energy for their spells was pulled directly from their own Chaos. It made their magics powerful but volatile, which was why there were so few of them. More casual magical practitioners learned to pull Chaos from other things to fuel their spells. The energy had to come from somewhere, which was why animal sacrifice was so often a part of ritual casting. Plants could sometimes work as well, if the spell was particularly suited to it or if the energy requirements were small. Even a witcher’s Signs drew on the energy reserves of the caster, though the exchange was different than that of a mage. A permanent curse either needed one large sacrifice of energy at its inception, or it would draw on the lifeforce of the one who had received it.

Geralt didn’t feel like his life force was being slowly drained away. Mostly he felt very bored. It had been three days, so far as he could tell, and he had spent most of the time in meditation. Jaskier had been in and out of the room in that time, mostly present in the morning before he would disappear to run errands or bother the townspeople or whatever it was Jaskier did when Geralt wasn’t around. He knew that Jaskier had been playing some in the inn, because when he returned to the room at night he smelled the way he always did after performing - the sweet tang of exertion, lemon from the scented oil he used on his lute, and the beer he never managed to not spill on himself at some point. In the afternoons, he stayed in the room while Geralt meditated or sharpened his blades (again), plucking strings that the witcher couldn’t hear.

It had been three days, and the curse showed no signs of improvement. Geralt was going to lose his mind if he didn’t leave this damn room, and he was tired of waiting for things to get better. If the curse was going to lift on its own it could do so just as well on the road as here, and if it wasn’t then they needed to start moving now to find a way to lift it. When he’d asked Jaskier whether there was another witch or magic user nearby, he had received a sharp double tap, so they needed to look beyond the immediate area. Deep as they were in the south, Anchor was probably the nearest settlement that qualified as a town and not a village, and it was a good ten days ride north. Once there, however, it was only a few days hard ride to Vizima.

On the morning of the fourth day, Geralt began packing his bags, doing so by muscle memory more than anything. He felt Jaskier’s fingers brush the back of his hand, his initial hesitation faded after the days that they’d been forced to communicate by touch. Geralt found the new physical closeness disorienting, though he attempted to remain clinical about the situation. Now he felt Jaskier turn his hand over and once again press a question mark into his palm.

“We need to move on,” Geralt said. “The curse isn’t lifting on its own. We’ll go to Anchor, hope there’s a more amiable witch there that will help.”

A pause, and then against his palm, more tracing.

H. O. W.

Geralt released a breath through his nose sharply. “I don’t know, Jaskier. We’ll make do. I’ll ride on Roach, and you can lead her.”

He wasn’t sure if Jaskier had a way of manifesting his emotions in the air or if Geralt was just very good at anticipating his reactions by now, but the grim disbelief in his lack of response was palpable.

“It’ll be fine, bard. She’ll listen to you.” He finished putting his potions and clothes back neatly in his bag, everything approximately where it should be. “We’ll take it slow. Get ready and be in the stables in fifteen minutes.” It would be closer to thirty if past experience was anything to go by, but he also expected it to take him some time to find the stables and ready Roach on his own. He picked up his bag and exited the room, leaving Jaskier’s pouting behind him. He tried not to let it bother him that he felt disappointed, for some reason, that he couldn't see it.

They set off for Anchor.

* * *

It was remarkable how quickly he and Jaskier established something of a routine on the road. After years of living off and on in each other’s space, it maybe shouldn’t have come as such a surprise that they were so easily able to adjust to the new normal. Hunting proved to be an issue, though Geralt was still decently capable when it came to fishing and they were able to stretch out their stockpile of dried meats and winter vegetables a bit. During the day, they stayed mostly on the road, Jaskier leading while Geralt stayed atop Roach. In the evenings, or whenever Jaskier decided to stop, they would carefully set up camp. Jaskier took to drawing crude imitations of Signs on Geralt’s palm when he wanted an area cleared with aard or the fire set alight with igni . Geralt followed the bard’s mimed instructions as best as he could, trying to remain helpful even in his cursed state.

It was odd traveling with Jaskier and not hearing him chattering incessantly. It should have made him seem like a quieter presence. Technically, he was. There were no searching notes plucked from the lute as they walked along, no bombardment of questions about monster physiology or his latest contract. And yet despite the persistent silence, Geralt felt keenly aware of Jaskier in a way he never had before.  

It was just… the bard touched him now, all the time. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t ever touched before. Far from it. Jaskier had always been aggressive about invading Geralt’s space with an utter disregard both for propriety and his own personal safety. Even Yennefer and Triss, who were both powerful enough to reduce Geralt to ash if they decided they prefered him that way, were not so bold in their advances. It wasn’t that they were afraid of him, of course. But the act of touch was always done deliberately, with careful consideration of the consequences. Good or bad.

Jaskier had always touched him like he forgot he shouldn’t. As if his default was touching Geralt - setting a calming hand on his wrist, slapping him on the shoulder in a fit of good spirits, reaching for his arm when the bard was nervous or frightened. There was no careful forethought to how or why. It just happened.

And Geralt didn’t read too much into it. The bard was touchy with everyone, from Novigrad whores to surly innkeepers and beyond. He invaded people’s space like he had already conquered them, and they let him in without a thought because. Because it was Jaskier . It wasn’t always about flirting, either, though there was plenty of that. Jaskier just liked people, and people liked him, and they wanted to touch him and be touched in return. Geralt should have been annoyed by the constant pokes and bumps and prods. Most people he came across shied away on instinct, and those that didn’t stood in his path out of spite. But because it was Jaskier, Geralt just found himself grateful that the bard was kind enough (or stupid enough) to lay hands on a witcher without fear.

Now, though. Now Jaskier touched him incessantly, and it was slowly driving Geralt to distraction. Any time he wasn’t on Roach’s back he had Jaskier’s hand wrapped around his wrist or, even more devastatingly, his fingers threaded through his own. Geralt learned to listen to Jaskier through his touch. A downward press against his shoulder meant sit please, a brush of fingers against his knuckles meant hold out your hand. A gentle touch against his lower back was move, a tap on his chest, stop. Jaskier hadn’t managed to find an easy way of saying everything is okay, but Geralt had learned that when he felt a palm pressed to the side of his jaw, Jaskier was just fine.

So it wasn’t as if he and the bard had never touched before, far from it, but now Geralt awaited every brush of fingertips with anticipation. He felt like an exposed nerve, each gentle and unobtrusive touch coming as a shock despite his expecting it.

On top of this, he was also just… restless. Though focusing on the varied smells on the road to Anchor proved nearly as interesting as the typical sights and sounds, travel was distressingly tedious without Jaskier’s cacophony of complaints and exclamations. Geralt had assumed that it would be similar to the weeks or months that he often traveled alone, something that he had grown less and less fond of over the years but no less capable of managing. Instead, he felt robbed of the conversation he could have been having, one-sided as it so often seemed. Coming up with ways to insult Jaskier was not nearly as entertaining when he could hear no jabs in response.

He just missed the distraction, that was all. Despite Geralt’s claims to the contrary, Jaskier was a decent traveling companion most of the time. And if he also missed hearing Jaskier’s clear voice call out in excitement when he saw something interesting, or the way his eyes lit up with mischief when he thought of a particularly scathing rejoinder, well. Some things were best not to dwell on.

When they stopped for the third night on the road and the smell of leftover fish filled their little camp, Geralt was not surprised to feel Jaskier’s hand alight on his shoulder. He was surprised when, a moment later, it migrated to his hair. He’d been wearing a loose approximation of a ponytail for the last few days, unable to really see what he was doing enough for anything more complex. He felt sure hands pull the tie keeping it in place away, and moments later deft fingers were carding through the tangled strands.

Geralt felt like he was going to crawl out of his own skin. “Jaskier, what are you -” he started, but was stopped when a hand pulled away to tap against his back. Stop.

Well, fine. He grumbled a bit but settled into Jaskier’s ministrations. A shudder stirred deep in his chest as blunt nails scraped along his scalp, and it took all of his witcher training to push it down. Jaskier had helped wash his hair plenty of times in the past, but as with so many other things, it felt different in the quiet darkness imposed upon him by the curse. Maybe if he could hear Jaskier making glib comments Geralt would be able to distract himself from the way his skin felt tight and raw. As it was he had nothing else to focus on besides the sensation of quick fingers pulling sections into what Geralt assumed was a braid of some kind.

He imagined, for a moment, that he was the kind of person who experienced this type of casual intimacy on a regular basis. That’s what humans did, right? Mothers hugged their sons when they came home from a day’s work in the fields, sisters clasped arms as they walked through the market, lovers embraced after time apart. He thought maybe, if he thought back far enough, he could remember something like this - his mother with her hands in his hair, pushing it back from his forehead, caressing his cheek with wry affection. No one had touched him like that since then.

He felt fingers brush over the curve of his ear and he exhaled sharply. Well. No one, until Jaskier.

When the deed was done the bard pat his shoulder once, a broad, friendly gesture that had Geralt reeling after the soft touches of before. As he was trying to recover, a palm was pressed briefly to his jaw, warm and reassuring. Everything is fine.

Geralt readied himself for sleep in the imposed isolation of the curse and thought that actually, it really wasn’t.

Part Three

[1-1snailxd-art]

Sides of a Hero

Chapter index ---------- Chapter 12

Chapter 13: Under the influence 

Summary:  How will Virgil cope in a high anxiety situation without Thomas’ usual supports? The sides have a plan; hopefully everything goes according to it.  

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Warning: Possible triggers in the chapter. Be safe and review chapter index page for full warning list. 

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Virgil sat at the bottom of the stream, watching Thomas muck around in his hotel room for an Instagram vlog. The waters current slowly pushed him back to the surface and Virgil happily took the air back into his lungs.

"ReMeMbEr"

The word was carried through the forest by its usual breeze and Virgil groaned outwardly.

"That really isn't helping anymore. What else is there to remember?"

"ReMeMbEr"

"What?" Virgil looked around the area, taking in the water falling from the mountain, the surrounding forest and the rock formation that led back to his room. "I don't have anything else TOO remember. If you want me to do something so bad, then tell me what to actually do."

"ReMeMbEr"

"Fuck it! I'm out."

 The breeze blew harder and louder as he stomped back to his room, but Virgil was sick and tired of the cryptic breeze. He didn't know what it wanted him to do and the darkness was creeping back into the trees that he had cleared by talking to Patton. Depression remained silent, but the voices in his territory had increased in frequency.

Summoning his desk, Virgil sat down to start reviewing his concerns for the influencer event. Logan had previously taught him to write down his concerns and then Logan would add his rebuttal. It often worked for new situations and helped Virgil deal with the increase in shadows because his mind was already focused. Looking over his and Logan's notes caused the time to pass by easily.

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

Depression sat at the edge of his cage, arms reaching out between the bars, letting his fingers dance in a black puddle that had formed at the base of the cage. A shadow sat on the other side of the puddle, it's face had a shine that Depression could almost see his reflection in.

“Tomorrow is set to be a busy day, my little friend.”

The shadow responded by moving closer and Depression stroked its head with a wet hand; increasing the gloss on its face so he could just make out the reflection of his grey eyes.

“Such a good-looking little shadow. I know Anxiety is just going to LOVE you.”

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

 The event was for invited influencer groups only and encouraged people from different social media platforms to come together. After entering the building, Thomas looked in his welcome pack and reviewed the various pamphlets and free samples.

They had all prepared themselves. Virgil had remained in balance enough to give Thomas a good night sleep. Logan had planned out Thomas' day to ensure he would take breaks away from the crowd and attend only the most beneficial panels and information sessions. Roman and Patton were overflowing with excitement and anticipation. Together they worked to hype Thomas up despite Virgil's increasing anxiousness.

 Virgil sat in his territory, watching Thomas' ghostly form join a small crowd of people to watch a camera demonstration. He processed the shadows as they formed in his room; wanting to stay on top and in control. He was prepared for the shadows, but not the voices.

"ReMeMbEr"

"ReMeMbEr"

Thomas started talking to a new group and the shadows increased. Virgil concentrated and kept himself as calm as possible.

"ReMeMbEr"

"Why don't you remember to shut up."

"ReMeMbEr"

"ReMeMbEr"

 Relief flooded Virgil as Thomas answered a call from Terrance and found a secluded area to talk.  

"ReMeMbEr"

"ReMeMbEr"

"ReMeMbEr AnD AcCePt"

"Well that was new." Virgil looked around and waited. “What do I need to accept?”

Thankful that the breeze had something new to say, Virgil hoped the mindscape would finally provide a less cryptic response.

"ReMeMbEr"

"Oh, come on! If you haven’t got anything new to tell me, would you just shut up!"

 His moment of social reprieve was short lived, as Thomas quickly ended his phone call and headed back into the heart of the event.

"ReMeMbEr"

"For fucks sake! I'd rather deal with the shadows than this shit."

The ghostly scene vanished as Virgil headed back into his room; he could deal with the shadows without watching Thomas the whole time, sensing would be enough.

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

Rage and Deceit walked through the caves that led to Virgil's territory, pausing at the mouth of the cave.

"Is he out there?" Deceit questioned, watching as Rage closed his eyes to sense the side.

"Nah, he just stormed off into his room. The coast is clear."

 Deceit led the way through the forest towards the clearing and stream.

"This place is certainly brighter than normal. It suits it."

Rage raised his eyebrow, "I'm guessing that is a sign that Anxiety is weaker. Have to admit, I am surprised."

"And you never doubted me."

 The two impulses reached the clearing and sat in the cave behind the waterfall. The wall of water hid them from view while they remained close enough to the doorway to be able to sense the anxious side in the room.

"I know I've asked this enough, but..." Rage looked at the familiar water scene in front of him. "Are you sure this won't release Depression, or harm Thomas in any way?"

"Keep on asking, Rage; the answer always changes."

Rage sighed and leaned back against the cool rock, closing his eyes and opening his senses to his surroundings. He trusted Deceit; had done so for a long time. Taking back his seal was going to be like taking back control of his life and would hopefully fill the void inside of him. At least that was what he hoped to achieve; revenge was only a small part of his motivation.

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

 The shadows were now constantly surrounding Virgil, and the day seemed to be dragging on forever. Sitting in the centre of his room, Virgil's heart rate began to increase as he realised just how many shadows were still occupying the room and the clock ticked slower.

Virgil was so distracted that he didn't sense Deceit enter the room until the hairs on the back of his neck raised at his subconscious awareness of a new presence. Deceit's eyes glowed yellow and he grabbed Virgil's shoulder. Virgil's eyes glazed over as Deceit flooded his mind with the idea that he was drowning under the shadows and he lost all sense of reality.

"Take your time, Rage! I have got all day!" Deceit called out and Rage entered the room, pushing shadows aside so he could kneel next to the anxious side.

Choked sounds escaped Virgil's mouth as Rage pushed his sleeve up to reveal the seal; the shadows crowded around and pushed against the side and impulses.  Rage placed a sharpened nail against his scar on Virgil's arm; pausing to look at Lust and Ego's faded marks.

"That doesn't look right, Deceit. Maybe we shouldn't do this. These seals don't look very strong after all."

"Fine," Deceit scrunched up his face and concealed one of his arms from Rage's vision. In a split second, his glove was gone, and his own nail sliced through his seal on Virgil's arm. The shadows pushed against the impulses with increased force as they were pulled into Virgil's body; knocking Rage enough to cut into his seal in the process.

 Virgil screeched in pain as a blast of energy escaped him, pushing Deceit and Rage away. Cracks started running up the walls of the room, paint chips littered the floor and floated along an unfelt breeze. Virgil sat up and wrapped his arms around his middle in agony; the whole room appeared to shake in response.

Rage looked around in fear before locking eyes with Deceit, just as the impulse disappeared. The room steadied and Virgil groaned, bracing a hand on the ground while the other cupped his face.

Rage remained frozen; unsure of what had happened or what would happen next.

Virgil slowly raised his head and looked around, taking in the damaged room and Rage’s frozen figure.

"GET OUT!" Virgil's voice was distorted and echoed around the room. Rage vanished immediately; just as the wardrobe to Depression's door cracked and the door hung at an uncertain angle.

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

 The crowd of people cheered as the influencers event was officially closed and Thomas started to make his exit before the rest of the crowd moved. As he reached the door he was hit with a wave of light-headedness and had to brace himself against the door frame until the feeling passed. Shrugging off the feeling of unease, Thomas headed back to his hotel room without giving the moment any further thought.

.

.

.

Roman and Patton burst into the hall of the common area, beaming with excitement, and immediately started reviewing the day’s highlights by talking over each other. Upon opening his door, Logan groaned and massaged his temples as Roman and Patton’s voices echoed loudly through the hall.

“Must you two be so loud, we all just experienced the same thing.”

“Oh, sorry Logan.” Patton covered his mouth and giggled, “guess I’m still a little excited.”

“Well, I’m not sorry at all.” A smug smile spread across the creative sides face as he looked at the other; a hint of mischief in his eyes.

Logan sighed, “of course you’re not. Why would you be considerate about the feeling of others, your selfish ego would never allow that.”

“Whatever, I am in too good of a mood to take any offence to that.” Roman grinned at Logan, knowing the other side would be fuming that he had taken the higher ground.

“I’m proud of you, Roman.” Patton gave the creative side a pat on the back. “Logan, maybe you could learn something here.”

“Yes. Well…” feeling flustered, Logan steered the conversation on. “We should check on Virgil. That was actually what I came out here to do.”

“Oh! Great point, Logan.” Patton skipped over to Virgil’s door, did his usual rhythmic knock and looked around with eager anticipation.

Logan folded his arms and grinned sideways at Roman, who mimicked the action with a scowl. Their rivalry was truly an unending cycle that they both secretly enjoyed.

 “Hey, Virgil! You ok in there, buddy?”

Patton looked at Virgil’s door in concern. After his initial knock, the anxious side hadn’t appeared in the hallway or even called out a reply. Past experience had proven that this wasn’t a good sign and Patton worried that the side was paralysed with panic or had cut himself off again. He looked between Logan and Roman, eyes begging them for help.

“What should we do? Virgil could be having another panic attack. He could be in trouble!”

“Calm yourself, Patton. If that were to be the case, nothing good would come from having two panicked sides.” Logan knocked on the door and wiggled the door handle; hoping he may have been lucky in the door opening. “Virgil? What is happening?”

 “Go. Away.” Virgil’s distorted voice was slightly muffled through the door, but the sides could immediately tell that something was amiss.

“Oh, absolutely. That makes us all feel so much better.” Roman leant against the wall between his and Virgil’s door, voice laced with sarcasm. It wasn’t that Roman didn’t care or feel concern; he just didn’t think Virgil would have wanted all three of them fretting at his door.

“Is Deceit in your room, Roman? I don’t feel any better right now.“ Patton pulled his hands close to his chest. “Virgil, what is going on?”

“I’m. Fine.”

“The evidence suggests otherwise. Did something happen, Virgil?”

 “No.” Virgil’s distorted, deep voice came from behind them.

Patton and Logan turned in shock, and Roman quickly stood to attention at the sight of their dishevelled friend. Virgil’s hair was a mess, his face appearing paler with the intense, dark shadowing under his eyes; not the usual Virgil style they were used to. His fists were clenched as he stared at the sides with greying-brown eyes.

“Happy?!” he growled through a stiff jaw. “Can I go now?”

Patton’s eyes glistened with tears, “Virgil, what hap..”

“LIFE HAPPENED, PATTON!” Virgil through his hands in the air; he had no patience to consider Patton’s feelings in that moment. “THIS IS NOTHING NEW! HAPPENS A LOT WHEN YOU GUYS DRAG ME ALONG TO SOMETHING NEW! YOU’VE NEVER CARED BEFORE! SO, STOP CARING NOW! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!”

Virgil vanished, leaving the three sides standing in the hall completely stunned into silence.

 Virgil’s final words echoed through the hallway, which now seemed like a vast and unsettling place. A few silent tears ran down Patton’s cheeks and fell to the floor, where Logan watched them slowly evaporate. Even Roman was utterly lost for words, so the three sides stood in complete silence.

The hard truth was, Virgil was right. Over recent years, they had never questioned the Side’s absence following an event or activity. When Thomas experienced anxiety’s effects in the past, they had always either dispersed the associated impulses or overpowered ‘anxiety’ with their own impulses and worked with Thomas. Even after getting to know Virgil they had always accepted his reclusiveness after certain situations.

Guilt gripped at their throats as each of them came to their own conclusions:

“I was too selfish to consider his needs.”

“I never cared enough when he needed me the most.”

“I should have known.”

 After a while, without a single exchange, the three sides headed to their rooms. The hallway was left completely empty, except for one drop of black and red that had stained the hallway floor. A single drop on the white floor, clearly visible and yet easily overlooked.

.

.

.

Thomas kept a swift pace all the way back to his hotel room; overpowered by the need to be alone. After pushing the door closed, he quickly threw himself onto the awaiting bed and pulled the covers over his head. He had planned on vlogging upon his return to the room, but now he was not motivated to progress with the task. Sleeping was the only thing his mind and body desired, and he gave into that impulse easily.

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

 The air was sweet and cool when Deceit appeared at a park in Patton’s territory; hands trembling with adrenaline. A squeak broke the silence as the breeze moved the old play equipment of Thomas’ childhood, causing Deceit to jump and rapidly search the area in fear.

“P-P-Patton?” He stammered, looking around for a sign that the side or another impulse was present.

Deceit walked around the park nervously; eyes searching, hands pulling at his clothes, skin burning with new energy.

 He had known that there would have been consequences for removing the seals, but he never expected this. In his head he imagined the returned power would have filled the void within him; instead it made him feel sick all the way to his very core.

Seeking shelter and safety, Deceit crawled through a tunnel in the playground and entered an imagined cubby from Thomas' childhood. The ground was soft and spongy like a mattress; Deceit threw his hat to the side before laying down on his back. Holding his hands in front of his face, he made his gloves vanish and stared at his hands. The hands that had trapped Anxiety. The hands that tricked Rage. The hands that had destroyed the seal, despite Rage's doubts.

"I am better than Anxiety."

Deceit closed his eyes and rolled onto his side; full of pain and shame.

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

 Rage appeared in front of a small wooden cottage at the edge of the imagination kingdom. The surrounding trees cast a dark shadow over Rage and the house; even the flowers in the window box seemed to have had their colour sapped away by the shadowing canopy.

Rage was shell-shocked; taking small careful steps towards the cottage door and letting himself inside. A well-worn couch greeted him, but the soft fabric provided Rage with very little comfort. Everything felt...wrong.

His body ached with his returned power; unsure of what to do with all the excess energy after years without it. Rage could no longer sense Anxiety or Deceit. He never realised how much of a comfort it had been to know that the other impulses were still around. Loosing that connection had left him truly alone for the first time in many years.

Rage looked down at his trembling hands. Red stained one of his nails; concrete proof that he had cut his former friend.

"What did I do?... What did I do?"

Cupping his face in his hands, Rage laid down on the couch and sobbed to himself. Overwhelmed with his returned power and new-found loneliness.

 A breeze blew through the trees, collecting leaves and casting them out into the mindscape. A bird flew to sit on one of the planter boxes, looking in through the window at the lonely impulse. The breeze picked up again and the flowers rubbed against the bird’s white feathers, slowly turning them a dull grey. The creature did not move, no longer interested in continuing its journey around the mindscape.  

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

How long can you keep this up, Anxiety? Stop prolonging the inevitable and just let me out. Save yourself the pain.

Chapter index ------------- next chapter

[calliecat93]

RvB17 Episode 9 Review: Succession

You know something that's gotten on my last nerve dear readers? Nostalgia banking. What should be a good feeling about seeing something that you once loved and haven't seen in so long has now become a cheap cash0in for the media. It's now just lazy and downright insufferable with the constant reboots and remakes of nostalgic properties, like every Disney thing ever in the past decade. Why am I bringing this up? Because while it's nowhere near as bad as with other things, this season of RvB is very much counting on nostalgia to help win it over, just look at the Freelancer fan-service in Episode 5. It was fan-service that made sense in context in all fairness... but still fan-service. And that is the ONLY excuse as to why we're doing Felix again.

Alright, let's quit with the bitching and get to the reviewing.

Overview

Tucker has gone back to S11, at the moment where they lose half the team tot he Feds at Crash Site Bravo. The problem causing the paradox? Genkins has possessed Lopez Dos.0 and is making it so that the Reds and Blues win. As such, Tucker has to ensure that they lose and recreate the circumstances that lead to one of the worst days of his life. Damn,t hat's harsh bro. But he does it, even taking one of Genkins' attacks at point blank since Genkins still can't harm a shisno. Tucker takes him down, and as such aside from some minor differences, the overall conditions go as they are meant to. Genkins retreats.

The scene cuts to later, where Felix is talking to Tucker about what happened and it's still when he had his good guy facade. Tucker I going along with it... until he starts hearing voices telling him to kill Felix. The voice? Genkins, who jumped into the AI module in Tucker's armor. He tries to convince Tucker to kill Felix before he can betray them... but Tucker refuses. There's already a plan in place, and not even Genkins reminding him that it's Donut's plan deters him. He recalls how, since Chorus, he's tried to act as a leader should... but in reality, he just acted even more like an egotistical battle. But now he realizes that a leader is someone who steps up and does what needs to be done, something that Donut has so far done moreso than anyone else. Realizing that he's failed, Genkins retreats once more.

Tucker goes back to Iris, the agreed meeting point, where Donut already is. Sarge comes back briefly... where Donut informs him that he caused a Paradox, so Sarge goes away to... probably deal with that. This makes Donut concerned that maybe he didn't explain the plan too well... only for Tucker to tell him that he's doing perfectly fine. Donut's touched, though Tucker tells him to quit acting like an angsty bitch, so we can't get too happy feelsy. With that encouragement, Donut jumps to at some point in S7, where he confronts Genkins in The Meta. It is at this point that Donut points out something. Chrovos doesn't give power, she takes it. There is no guarantee whatsoever that she will hold up her end of the bargain with Genkins. Will Genkins really get the ultimate power that he wants? This seems to affect the Trickster God, as he jumps out.

Meanwhile, Wash and Carolina are talking at a cliffside where Carolina again apologizes for her actions in the last season. Wash is still forgiving, even kind of glad that he got to experience a period without brain damage for a little while. Yes my friends, there is still one more paradox that has to be fixed: the last one. The one that began all of this to begin with: Wash being shot. He knows that, in order to save the universe, it has to happen and he seems to have come to terms with it. Carolina is understandably not happy to hear this. She's downright tearful, but in the end, she understands that it has to be. Wash emphasizes that regardless of everything and no matter what happens, he loves Carolina before jumping. Carolina takes a moment to compose herself before she follows.

Back in Chrovos' domain, Genkins returns and Chrovos... she's not unhappy but she's not pleased either. Why? As it turns out not only are no new cracks forming, but all of the previous ones are now disappearing due to the damage being repaired. Only a small amount remains now, and Chrovos wants to know what's going on. Genkins reports about the Shisno being awake, which seems to... make Chrovos throw in the towel. Genkins has utterly failed and since she can't go and do anything herself, it means that soon the paradox will be undone, the Gods will have Genkins pay the price for his betrayal, and the only pleasure that Chrovos will get is it hopefully happening in front of her as she remains prison bound for all of eternity.

Genkins, however, says that he has a plan. He points out how Chrovos used time to bring back Donut and place him somewhere before. If he can do that tot he Reds and Blues, they'll be out of the way and Genkins can cause as many paradoxes as he wants. But he doesn't have the power to do this alone... so he asks Chrovos to give him a portion of her's. Chrovos is reluctant since she doesn't have much left as it is, but Genkins points out that all she has to do once freed is kill and adsorb the Reds and Blues energy, and she'll be restored. Genkins, likely out of desperation, complies and transfers the majority of her remaining power. This causes her to collapse, her armor even changing from black to white. She tells Genkins to hurry... but the Trickster God reveals his true intentions. He's going to go back, put the Reds and Blues out of the way, and weaken the prison... so that he can kill Chrovos and take over with the power that she gave him. Chrovos can only take in her error as Genkins goes back tot he Everwhen.

We cut to Season 15/S16's finale where Wash takes in his final moments before getting shot. He begins to walk forward, the others possessing their Season 16 selves, as Wash tosses aside his own gun and holds his arms out. We hear the sound of a gun go off as the scene cuts to black. But, this is not the end, as when the scene cuts back we see the pullet... frozen. In fact, everyone is frozen. Why? Genkins. He appears and informs the group that he's paused the moment for just a bit as he goes to take care of other matters. The bullet drops to the ground and Genkins bids the Reds and Blues farewell, off now that he has all of the time in the world.

Review

This is definitely better than the previous two episodes. IDK what it was about the last two, but they felt... rather rushed and all over the place. Like they wanted to do some character development stuff, but because they only have so much time they had to condense and squeeze it together and... that really made them a mess compared to the episodes before. But thankfully, this one put us back on track. It was emotional, raised the stakes in a way that I did not see coming, and has one Hell of a monster ending that left me utterly anxious. Compared to 7 and 8, which had good moments but was again very condensed and a Hell of a lot confusing, this one had me hanging on every second.

So... let us return to our nostalgia banking topic. As I said above, it's lazy and a cash-in at this point. Now this being a time travel season, I understand that we'd go back through some nostalgic moments. And again, in all fairness, the fan-service moments with the Freelancers were relevant and actually helped advance the plot without being forced. The Mercs though... while they thankfully didn't overpower the plot, going back to them... honestly had zero relevance in comparison. This is probably just me being salty because I've honestly just gotten sick of the Mercs because of how much they get hyped and such. They... or Fel9ix at least, have completed their roles and I want to move on form them. I want to move on to new stories and plotlines, hence why I want Church and Tex to stay dead too. There's this underlying feeling, to me anyway, that this season is relying on the past to get people into it, not moving forward. Although, last season tried that, and many people hated it, so what do I know?

Speaking of the reception to last year... yeah that is the only reason we have Felix and why we had a focus on Tucker. I feel like this moment was Jason, who wrote the episodes and therefore the Tucker scenes that fans had issues with including the infamous talk with Sister, apologizing for the Tucker 'derailment'. And yes, I put derailment in quotes. I know that some felt like Tucker was OOC in the previous season and to a degree S15. He was egotistical, womanizing, and people felt like it was a regression. There was a LOT of push-back on that, so having Tucker relieve one of his worst moments and have to outright re-create it and realize how much he's messed up as a leader up to now felt nice. It's Tucker not acting in a way that he thinks a leader should, but stepping up and doing what has to be done. It's a nice moment of character development and I really hope that it pleased the Tucker fans.

But... my issue is... I didn't think that Tucker was regressed in the previous seasons. He did step up when he needed to. Maybe not so much in 16, but he absolutely did in 15. He is a womanizing asshole, that part of his character had never been addressed at any point until then and yeah, it was a problem. And it's not like they demonized him, he was supposed to realize how bad he had gotten after Sister's verbal beatdown and when he realized what happened to Wash. Oh, and he has yet to take responsibility for proposing the plan that caused the paradox, to begin with, most of that has been on Carolina which is annoying. Don't get me wrong, it is good to see Tucker realize how he fucked up as a leader and can become better and this was a good moment to have him realize it. But it feels unnecessary to me because his character had been fine and we again have to have a nostalgia moment for it. IDK, it just... annoys me. It's a good moment, but I'm mixed about it for the above reasons.

Okay, let's try and talk positively now. Like Wash and Carolina having a moment Yeah, this was going to come sooner or later. We all knew that for this mess to be fixed, Wash was going to have to be shot. He's come to terms with it, knowing that it has to be for the universe's sake. That doesn't make it any less hard though. Carolina broke time to save Wash. Was it ultimately a bad decision? Yes. But it's understandable why she went that route. She made a mistake, one that she is still apologizing for, and wanted to spare Wash of the pain. Not out of guilt, but because she genuinely sees Wash as family and can't stand him being hurt. Jen Brown's absolutely tearful, heartbroken delivery was so perfectly done. You can feel how hurt Carolina is as she has to accept that her efforts were in vain, and outright made things worst. Wash has to be shot. He has to endure cerebral hypoxia. They can't undo the consequences, they have to live with them.

And you know what? Good. Mind you we still have three episodes to go... but I want Wash to keep the brain damage. Look, it sucks that it happened to him... but in the end, it happened. Brain damage is terrible, but you can keep living with it. Wash is still a strong, capable soldier and he still will be even with cerebral hypoxia. He'll only be broken if he allows himself to be. Will he struggle? Of course. Will he need more help now? That goes without saying. Does that make Wash any less of the character that he was? Hell no. Wash has proven multiple times that he can pull through some terrible shit, including having an AI try to kill itself while inside his head. Wash can, and will, get through this. Now again, we have time still so they could find an alternate solution... but I really, really hope that they stick to Wash being brain damaged. I think that there are plenty of people who can be inspired by him and it can take his character, and everyone else really, into some new directions that could be good. We'll see how it goes, but I do hope that they stick to this.

But of course, if it does happen, we're still going to wait a while. Why? Because Genkins is an asshole. Yeah, I... I did NOT see that moment coming. I guess I should have since Genkins is an absolute shit, but... no, I honestly did not see his betrayal of Chrovos coming. The guy really is the God of Tricks, huh? I almost felt bad for Chrovos... almost. Yeah, she still manipulated and hurt a ton of people with her actions so she's still a bitch who kind of had it coming. But Genkins having her power is far worst since he's just outright chaotic. Who knows what the Hell he's going to do now that he can control all of time and can kill Chrovos himself to have all the power to himself. I do kind of like how this was almost framed as a redemption, what with Donut pointing out the uncertainty of Chovos keeping her word. But nope! Genkins is just as evil, and he essentially killed the queen to take her crown. I hate Genkins with a burning passion... but he is a fantastic villain and I fucking love it.

Final Thoughts

We're three episodes away from the end, and I'm still not sure how this is all going to end. While I am certainly mixed on some of the time travel usage and on Tucker's moment, it was overall well handled. And any misgivings I had about it I can forgive for Wash and Carolina's moment and the Genkins betrayal. It was a great episode filled with emotion and surprise, and I am still coming down from it. Will the final few episodes be able to hold up? We shall see in due time... get it? Time reference? Haha... yeah... yeah, I'll just... end the review now. Tootles!

[jumpboy-rembrandt]

That one soul mates AU where you live your whole life seeing in black and white, but when you meet your soul mate you finally see color. When your soul mate dies that color fades away. For a multi person otp/brotp soul mate thing, it can be specific shades of colors that exist and disappear with each member. (No one really goes into this type of soul mate au a lot but its always been one of my favorites)

anon: Soulmate Au where you can’t see color until you meet your soulmate, and maybe if you have multiple you only get on color at a time or something

oooh i was considering this one!!!

(got out of hand, under a readmore for your dash)

taako and lup can only see in red and violet, respectively. they can kinda…fill in the gaps between the two pretty well, but the rest of the spectrum is monochrome. for a while, they think that’s all that color is, and they’re smugly happy about it, because they didn’t even have to try to find their soulmates.

then they stroll onto the IPRE campus, ready to wow their professor with their arcane mastery, when a dog runs past them. and they pause for just a second, which was a mistake, because then they’re barreled into by a wall of a man who really wants to pet that fucking dog.

the guy pulls himself up, apologizing profusely, and taako gets ready to tear into him except– except the world seems somehow brighter. there’s something…beneath the red of the autumn trees. the dude’s eyes widen.

“ohhhh no. oh shit.” he looks between them, panicked. “which one of you was that??” taako looks over to lup, trying to figure out what just happened. she’s staring at the guy with equal bewilderment.

“…there are more colors??” she asks.

“fuck,” taako adds.

so, the three of them are pretty baffled by the situation, but decide to tentatively go along with it. after some time hanging out on the quad, trading stories and sandwiches, even the guarded twins find themselves relaxing and opening up. honestly? they could all see themselves being best friends for, like, ever.

then one day magnus drags them over to a classroom with an anxious look on his face.

“okay, so like– i’m hoping this isn’t just me? like, hopefully you see this too?” he says. then he pushes open the door, and the twins see two other students – a girl in a large sweater and a guy in some dorky denim pants – and the other two turns and suddenly even more color explodes into the world.

“oh jeez,” barry says, wide-eyed. “that’s– those are some bright colors, huh?”

“is this…aesthetically pleasing for people who can see color?” lucretia says, looking at a haphazardly colored classroom walls. “or was this decorated by someone without soulmates?”

lup, taako, and magnus also look around the room and see the usual – purple into red, red into orange, orange into gray – but then the gray picks back up into something… something very unlike any color they’d seen before.

“teal,” barry supplies. “it’s halfway between green, which we still can’t see i guess, and blue, which is the one which now turns into…” he looks at the trio.

“purple,” taako says. “jeezy creezy.”

after comparing notes, they find that, one, this quantity of soulmates in completely unheard of, and two, they’re still missing some shades in the middle of the spectrum.

“how are there more of them?” lup asks incredulously. nobody can find an answer.

they keep the soulmate(s) situation quiet, especially when news of the starblaster mission comes out. all of them want to do it, but everyone agreed it’d only be fair if all of them got in based on their own merit.

(almost everyone. taako was both 100% certain he’d qualify, but also would rather float onto the crew than put forth any effort.

“i’d be the one carrying you, bluejeans,” he growled when barry dared question his motives.)

on the day of the interviews, they ran into another problem entirely.

and for davenport, it was a very interesting day.

for the sake of avoiding bias, he put his narrowed pool of applicants into the hands of another member of the mission who he was certain wasn’t a soulmate, and if it just so happened that five students made their way onto that list…so be it.

they were chosen anyway.

also chosen was a last-minute applicant for the position of medic-and-biologist, and when merle walked into the room where they were all supposed to be formally meeting for the first time, there was quite a scene.

“i guess this is the best possible crew we could hope for, seeing as we’re using a bond engine,” davenport says.

“i bet we could power ourselves into an entirely different universe with this thing,” magnus answers, grinning so widely it must’ve hurt.

“hopefully we won’t need all this energy,” barry says, “but it’s good to know we have it in case something goes wrong.” lup lightly punched his arm.

“c’mon. with bonds like this? there’s no way this ends anything but perfect.”

[survivorreelsmagicwithin]

Episode 2 - “Y'all. Vote me out fr cause I'm inactive as fronk” - Joshua (through Autumn)

I hate flag-making challenges. I will not be helpful at all, and I hope that someone else can take the reigns and lead us to victory. I honestly feel safe going into a tribal council, but I do not want to test that theory.

Next morning

With Chips and Jules working on the crest designs, I feel confident that we will do well in the challenge. Maybe not the best, but definitely not the worst. I still have the same anxious feeling that my tribe is not active enough for my taste, but I will just have to live with it for now. Besides, at least this is not immunity because that we increase my anxiety by so much. But, I keep forgetting to search the idol hunt which is my bad, but it is just so hard and long that I do not really feel like searching all the time lol

ART CHALLENGE <333 i love these challenges. Jess made my picture 110% better and its super cute. The note that she wrote with it is also hella cute and I love the whole HP aesthetics bc i never got to go to real hogwarts ;-; but i'm sure most of yall can related. The boys weren't too helpful but nick was better than jacob who is sick. Nick was way more active aka jacob said 3 sentences the entire challenge sooooo…. if we lose idk I might just save jacob anyways bc pregame relations.

Won reward, but now we have to win immunity again. I really hope that this reward helps us continue to survive. I don't want to have to vote anyone out. We've been getting first, but I really just want to survive this challenge, its known to be hard.

I think I have been stuck with the second most challenge inept tribe in the history of my ORG career. I literally said so many answers in my version of the story and Jules just fucked it up. And then they got the girl's name wrong. And then they started mixing up characters. I know I did well, but fuck these people. God. Now we need a tribe to get 0 which is very unlikely. I will just resign myself to tribal. I hope and pray that these people have some common sense and do not want to vote me out

Listen. Listen. Listen. I dang knew this story was going to be Harry Potter based. I knew in my brain and in my heart that I shouldn’t have been the one to start that thing. What do I do? Start the dang thing. Oh well. We did alright. I would be shocked if we won tho but if we don’t I’ll be relieved. I def don’t feel confident enough but I really had a lot of fun with my tribe. I really miss this and really hope that my time isn’t cut short! I feel really good about my tribe mates sincerely. And that’s kind of scary! I would hate to see any of us to go and how it’s going to affect the bond we have if we vote someone out. In this moment with Max sitting out, it may be him who goes if we go to tribal. I hope that isn’t the case. I’ve got my fingers crossed for us. Huff Puff strong!

Honestly Jules dropped the ball sis!! But it’s okay, I love her. She’s really nice and I know she tried her best. Plus she’s in an alliance with me and Owen, so we should have the numbers against Joanna or Miguel if we go to tribal. Personally, I’d prefer Joanna to go. She’s kinda domineering, but she’s also an asset in challenges thus far. She is organized and direct. I’ve also talked to her a bit more than Miguel, so I guess I don’t really care who goes.

I’m happy I didn’t fuck up the reward comp and the shit that I drew got us a win!

I really hope I don't bomb that challenge, I answered everything that Kevin talked to me about.... I think!  The rest of them tried very hard but I am SOOO glad that I asked to do my part at the end because my memory of repeating things is horrendous but I'm usually pretty good at bullshitting test answers... too bad I got some of the multiple choice stuff wrong.

I think that if we do lose I am still in a good spot on this tribe and hopefully I won't be in danger.  I feel like I'm on everyone's good side and Max kind of just disappeared so maybe we could just vote him out this round? Idk.

Hopefully we don't have to worry about it.  I smell a swap coming up pretty soon and I just hope I'm either with Owen or with some of the people from my tribe.  I have no idea if they know anyone or are close with anyone in the other houses.

I'm still feeling the closest to Lily and Kevin but I have been talking to Landen a good bit too these days so hopefully we'll be safe or we can all just agree on Max.

16 minutes later

OOOOOH IS LANDEN PAVING THE WAY FOR A MOVE TO SEND MAX PACKING???

He just told me that me, lily and kevin are precious angels that must be protected and that he likes Max when he's around too so that sounds like something... HMMM...

I can't get cocky, I always go home when I get cocky. But I like this.

my host chat saw this first (shout-out to Drewie and Dennis): Y’all I’m an idiot. I thought I only knew 2 people in this game (Owen and chips). Then I remembered I also know Jess, Autumn, and dan. Literally love and respect each of you my brain just don’t got the strongest memory no more. I’m so sorry!!!! I literally just told landen I only know 2 ppl. I’m just gonna try to not remember it happened.

Ugh.....I need to get it together.

I love my tribe talking to each other now that we have to!! Everyday I'm like damn either I'm on the bottom or I'm not the only one with piss poor social game. Ok so... the moment the hosts said we got 1 point, I started getting ready for tribal lmaaaooo. No sense crying over it either because all the tribes basically just had to show up in order to beat that

Like how could we not go to tribal with a score of ONE? That shit's embarrassing hahaha. That's like when your teacher passes the test back to everyone sitting around you but not you so you KNOW it's bad. But you know what? It's all good cause I'd rather us take the L now and get it out the way and we can all laugh about it cause losing won't be funny after long. The real question is: will Gryffindor do this the easy way or the hard way caaauusse we all know who the weakest link is. I just wanna see if someone puts two and two together without my prodding. Chips already said we voting together right and I'm like yes sir. There's no better place than being on the same page

WE WON OMG!! Jules basically gave me nothing, which is fine, i understand, but i'm so impressed that we pulled that off. Absolutely killing these reward challenges really helps!

"Y'all. Vote me out fr cause I'm inactive as fronk."

Tonight we learned Joshua is a feminist selfless man that I stan because he's volunteering to go home without me having to put his name out, which I was going to do. Like imagine if every guy had that kind of self-awareness, to recognize why he should be the vote and then embrace it instead of wreaking havoc. And wanting to see others succeed more than yourself? King shit! He knew when to hang it up and did just that. Like the number of times I've seen a vote get complicated for no fucking reason because everyone wants a fight to the death. Enough- I'm old, tired, and cannot exert too much energy at once. We got a long game ahead of us, not to mention quarantine. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you Joshua. We need more players like you and I appreciate your service

im back back BACK AGAIN with another confessional! not much has changed but a few updates for the sake of these being required :) 1. max has become even more inactive, he's not reached out to me personally since the first day and any time i messaged him after that he's sent me nothing back that i can build a convo off of, so we just have stopped speaking. Luckily this challenge only required four people and everyone else SHOWED UP!! or at least spoke about their availability, while he did not. However in his defense he said he was having some issues at home and i feel for him but his inability to connect has been an issue before he spoke about anything in our tribe chat with us. I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt but this point my relationships with the other 3 are leaps and bounds ahead of where I am at with Max. Maybe he can pick up some speed if we continue winning challenges but, it's not looking too hot. SPEAKING OF CHALLENGES, well first we lost reward AGAIN, but we won immunity.. AGAIN! thank goodness for not being first or second boot, i always love being able to avoid these early tribals and if i can get to a swap without seeing one that would be ideal, but also if we do go and maybe vote out max? wouldn't be the worst thing. Moral of the story we won and thats exciting! however.. if we didn't.. the first big push of strategic talk came up with landen when he hinted at being frustrated with max's lack of presence which I also share. I do believe if we lost me and landen could have most definitely picked up ruthie and lily to form a four against him, if he even came to tribal. That would be my ideal situation and if we continue on this tribes hopefully it gives me a nice cushion to fall on if we do lose so i dont have to entirely blow up my social game within the first few rounds by voting out someone i've built a connection with. If max can go and the remaining four hufflepuffs can make a swap I would feel good about that, and maybe in the right circumstances we could work together on the swapped tribes because i genuinely like all of these people (yes max too but in this specific scenario he wouldn't be included bc... well..) anyways to close this off i still absolutely ADORE lily, she is fun and our conversations are really good, and same goes for ruthie, hopefully i dont have to see either of them or myself go home before we can really start playing because i think we could do some damage. :) ok anyways this was longer than i thought it would be goodbye

I'm still not over the fact that I was able to answer 7 of those questions right. I have the memory of a plastic fork.  I also love that we are SAFE!

I do kind of hope things get spicy and we swap this round and become two tribes of 9. That'd be cute. I don't want VI to get bored and crack on me. BUT ALSO I think I have solid enough relationships with almost everyone on this tribe... so who knows?!

Also... these hoes really out here trying to search for an idol in PUBLIC. IN PUBLIC. WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON HERE?

Dear diary, seems like we keep winning challenges, which is great but tbh i feel like every time i give a disadvantage to my team because english is not my first Language, and so far its been a vocabulary test and a listening and speaking test. I mean I knew I signed up for school but damn. Give me some macarena  or drinking tequila challenge and I'll crush it

bippity boppity boo im back again with almost no content kdfasjhdskjfh

Ravenclaw working smarter and we keep winning, period!!! Thankful that y'all put Dan and I together....bc truly we will be unstoppable in these competitions. I kind of want to lose soon though to see how things would shake out, but I don't really have bad blood with anyone. Joanna seems passionate enough in the tribe chat and the challenges, even if she's dry in PMs. Miguel still won't give me anything other than a "how are you," but I hope the best for him in life lol

Still love Jules and Dan, and we made a three person alliance, but I haven't talked with either of them much one on one since it happened.... I really need to step the social game up eventually, but right now, I'm coasting, and maybe that's what I need before I find the time and resources in this game to strike!!

The idol hunt is hard but Dan seems onto something. Honestly he's gonna be a big threat sooner or later so he's sticking around as long as I can keep him! The last two games I've been in I've seen "goats" get dragged to the end and locked in final 3 positions, and then these perceived goats have ended up winning. so I want the big players in this game to rise to the top and fight it out in the end!

let’s say i am como we dice.. fed up with a lot :flushed: a lot meaning joshua starting to get on my nerves a bit! he’s genuinely sweet n all but.. the way he complained about us losing by putting down others work HHH pissed me off. which is why i will be voting him out hehe.. but so far my misting has worked because no one wants to vote me out! mwah

Slytherin killed the memory challenge. We thought we were all gonna flop bc all of us thought we sucked at memory stuff. um well we knocked it out of the park? Ravenclaw got 4 and huff/gryff got 1. We got 7 so oops. I do hope things turn out well for Gryffindor but no one I really know/care about is in that house so I'm not too worried. I hope they continue to lose or even hufflepuff since ravenclaw has 2 of my friends in it.

I have been TERRIBLE with confessionals but only because there's really not been much going on? I have an alliance with Dan and Owen, and even though I wrote off Joanna I was DEFINITELY wrong in doing that. Miguel is sort of the outlier. Our team is kinda iconic though? We've done so well on all the challenges. I might be the weakest link? More to come.

it's pretty sad but the whole tribe has agreed to vote max if we lose, basically he's just never around because of what's going on at home and like thats sad but... we gotta do what we gotta do *shrug*. I'm really feeling good about Hufflepuff moving forward, i've never bonded this much this easily with EVERYONE on a tribe and i just feel like if we keep winning or even if we lose and have to vote out max, we could be a great group for the future. especially i feel great about working with kevin, we dominated eve's game after eve came between us in 2020 that dastardly witch... :P (juuust kiddin. love ya!) but now we could totally do well in this game too i think.....

lily and ruthie are just so sweet and we really bond talking about pretty much anything,, especially lily is a great conversationalist and i just find it so natural to talk to them both. i'd love to work with any combination of people from hufflepuff in the future, hopefully i start sucking a little less at all these challenges. i think i did pretty great on memory :D

So here is the summary of what has happened since last time

We had a reward challenge that was drawing. Mine sucked. Apparently 3/4 so no reward.

We played Telephone. My team didnt realize that details are the most important parts of that and didnt share then with Autumn so Autumn didnt share them with me. Then I didnt know them when asked about them.

We scored 1 point and lost. Since I still have no alliance I'm scared that it could be me. So I kind of got an idea how everyone was feeling.

Juls let me know she wanted to vote Joshua and- it's not me so that's fine!

Then I was talking to Autumn about it and - OOP! Josh asked to be voted out. So unless he plays an idol I'm supposing he is leaving after asking to go.

woo my tribe won immunity!! we are safe! i’m glad bc i’m forming good relationships with ppl on my tribe. i think we all get along rly well so i hope we keep winning. the challenge was fun and i slayed bc i’m skinny mwah

Ya know what’s refreshing? Being on a tribe that actually wins!!! The last three games I’ve played I’ve been on flop ass starting tribes.

Now we’ll lose every challenge

10 minutes later

This sickening bitch just found a hidden immunity idol!!!! Good until f6 L A D I E S!!!!!!

HI BARBS SO I WAS GROUNDED SO I MISSED THE CHALLENGE BUT MY HUFFLEPUFF BABS SLAYED SM SO IM LIVING

CONFESSIONAL 2.1 —

Not much strategy has happened this episode, just simply tribal bonding! We are SlytherWINNING, getting reward and immunity this time! How wonderful.

Regarding my tribe mates, I love all three. I pray, pray, pray we make swap, i do Noh want to be a dirty bad guy and have to vote one out.. yet. Haha.

I was drunk during immunity, one full glass of rum & coke, so I am shocked that we won immunity. Honestly, I feel silly admitting I was drunk to my tribe because... if I can do that when drunk, imagine if I was sober. Competition Beast, duh.

I also gave up my run this round for the tribe to use. Was partially social, partially I just do not understand how to do the Hunt, so I might as well help the greater good. Either way, it comes off positively.

Hoping for a smooth journey for a little longer!

x nick

Joshue has basically quit at this point so I have no fear going into tribal

[that1nkyone]

1nky: Recap Spectrum

This recap skimps on some details, but it also condenses about 200,000 words into a nice easy-to-swallow format of, uh

... well, arguably a lot shorter than my usual chapters. Hopefully it prompts enough to help folks catch up on the whole ordeal.

This recap’s gonna cover chapters 1 to 25 (or 1 to 28, if it’s AO3). I figure comic-onwards is going to be easier to remember.

Taking place after a Pacifist Run, Spectrum is the story about Sans trying to keep the past in the past, Papyrus trying to help the situation and only really knowing half the context, Frisk trying to provide moral support to skeletons who used to be their moral support, and Undyne carrying the whole goddamn team because the skelebros consistently don’t have their shit sorted.

It’s also meant to be a story about inner conflict, accepting certain things about yourself that you’re not happy with, and the bad things that happen when you repress them. Also there’s the power of friendship, teamwork, and body horror.

Let’s begin.

A few weeks after the Pacifist Ending of Undertale, the entire Underground has undergone the process of leaving for the Surface in a mass exodus. Frisk, Sans, Papyrus and Undyne are all in Snowdin to help the skeleton brothers get their stuff together (as they’re running behind everyone else).

Meanwhile, Alphys has been sent to deactivate the CORE, as this huge ball of energy could be a hazard if left running unmonitored. She deactivates the mechanism - only the CORE itself doesn’t vanish, it only shrinks to a smaller size and remains there. Alphys decides to stick around some more to make sure nothing bad occurs.

Unbeknownst to her, Gaster has used the CORE to escape from the Void. 

Only semi-tangible, he makes his way to Snowdin. Sans senses his presence through the rifts that he uses to teleport, and Papyrus bears witness to his brother starting to grow sharp teeth and other strange features. Gaster arrives on the scene, and despite Undyne’s attacks (which don’t affect him as he is not quite ‘present’ on the physical realm) he manages to capture Sans.

He uses Sans’ ability to travel through the rifts, teleporting them both away from Snowdin. Sans struggles to escape by summoning his Gaster Blasters, but they default to Gaster’s authority - and soon, Sans does as well. He transforms into a bodied Gaster Blaster and succumbs to Gaster’s control by becoming nothing more than an unconscious floating Blaster head. Gaster uses him to teleport to Hotland.

At Hotland, Gaster encounters a Grey monster, who seems to recognise him. Gaster snatches a glowing fragment from within them, and they disappear back into the Void. It’s revealed that this fragment is a piece of Gaster’s own SOUL, and he uses it to restore his existence a little more.

Using Sans’ teleporting ability, he returns to the CORE facility. It’s revealed that he has to depend on the CORE as an anchor into this reality to keep himself from slipping back into the Void. He assumes that once he collects all of his SOUL pieces, he won’t need the CORE anymore - and he’ll fully exist, again.

Aware of the opposition he’ll face, he decides to add to his arsenal, as Sans has been very useful so far. He goes to his office and retrieves a vial full of violet liquid, then teleports to Waterfall in search of a certain skeleton.

Meanwhile, Papyrus has charged ahead to Waterfall in search of his brother, leaving Undyne and Frisk behind to catch up. After finding some clues on where his brother could be and what may have happened to him, he encounters Gaster at Undyne’s Crag.

After realising precisely what Gaster has done to Sans, he demands that his brother be let go. Gaster responds by taking the vial he had earlier, shattering it and plunging the energy into Papyrus’ SOUL. Papyrus also begins to change into a Blaster as a result, in spite of his attempts to stay focused.

Gaster’s attempts fail when Undyne and Frisk arrive on the scene. Gaster escapes, leaving Papyrus behind with Blasterlike features like claws and sharp teeth. When it becomes clear what has happened to Sans, and what is potentially going to happen to Papyrus, they ultimately decide to pursue Gaster and save Sans.

The trio make it to the second level of Hotland when they encounter another Grey monster. He introduces himself as Sprig, and claims to know Gaster and Sans. He is cut off as Gaster arrives on the scene, taking another SOUL fragment from Sprig and restoring himself further as the grey monster disappears. 

Instead of using his disposable arsenal of Blasters, Gaster uses Sans to attack instead - knowing that his friends wouldn’t dare try to destroy him.

During the fight, Gaster managers to trigger Papyrus’ change into a full Blaster - and when Undyne manages to freeze Gaster using her GREEN attack, Sans is freed from his control - but left feral and aggressive. The result is both skeleton brothers transforming and fighting each other.

Frisk manages to get through to Papyrus, and Undyne manages to briefly knock out Sans, stopping the fight. Gaster, however, is pulled away from the two Blasters upon sensing the CORE’s condition changing. He flees the scene, and both Skelebros change back - though still with semi-Blaster features.

Sans is notably shaken by the fact that his brother has also been turned into a Blaster. He explains that he and Papyrus have been infected by a mutagen created by Gaster, made to turn them into Blasters in both mind and body and obey the doctor. Aside from saying that the mutagen was developed specifically for him, Sans doesn’t specify its origin, nor how he knows Gaster.

Back at the CORE, a destabilising Gaster finds that the CORE Facility has been reactivated, risking severing his anchor. He restores the anchor, realizing that he’s not alone - Alphys is still present in the facility. After chasing her down, he locks her in a small room.

Moments later, Gaster begins to hear two other voices in his head. After arguing with them briefly, he ignores them.

Meanwhile, Sans, Papyrus, Frisk and Undyne decide to go to Alphys Lab to rest and also devise a plan to get to the surface. Undyne notes that Papyrus’ behaviour is getting increasingly anxious due to the mutagen, and Papyrus fears how aggressive he was as a Blaster. She reminds him that he’s still Papyrus, and shouldn’t be too hard on himself.

Meanwhile, Sans and Frisk go down to the True Lab to activate the backup generator for the building. There, they encounter a lone Amalgamate-like creature, who wordlessly leaves. Frisk wonders why it’s not at the surface like everyone else.

Back at the CORE facility, Alphys manages to escape her confinement, traveling through a vent shaft to a lower level. She comes across a room with several security tapes, many of which seem semi-tangible. She begins to watch the footage, seeing five monsters that are pixellated. They are referred to in-footage as Dr Gaster, Val, Reno, Sprig and Owel. The only person in the footage who doesn’t suffer from pixellation is a fifteen-year-old Sans, and Alphys learns that this group of six is the old Royal Science Crew.

Back in Waterfall, another Grey monster appears. Gaster approaches her, recognising her as Owel, and claims another piece of his SOUL from her. As she starts vanishing back into the Void, she warns him that soon, he won’t even know where to look for his SOUL pieces.

In Hotland, with Undyne, Frisk, Sans and Papyrus, the crew decides to rest to restore their energy. Sans is unable to sleep, and decides to leave the building to go on a walk, without waking anyone else up. While taking a short walk through Hotland, he encounters another Grey monster - who he recognises to be someone named Reno.

Reno informs Sans of Gaster’s plans to restore his SOUL, and how he made it out of the Void. Sans resolves to go to the CORE immediately and deactivate it to stop Gaster’s plan. Reno advises against going alone, but Sans doesn’t listen.

It’s not long before Sans discovers he’s being followed. A worried Papyrus has snuck after him. While Sans insists that he’s got to do this alone, as the mutagen is clearly affecting his brother - Papyrus can’t stand the thought of Gaster capturing Sans, again. 

Their argument is cut short as Gaster approaches the scene, returning to the CORE from Waterfall. Fleeing into Muffet’s Cavern and avoiding capture, Papyrus grows increasingly distraught through further arguing with Sans, and inadvertently triggers his own transformation. He falls into the depths of the cavern as he’s changing.

Meanwhile Gaster arrived back at the CORE. The doctor realises that two, tarlike arms have burst out of his back after he’d regained the latest piece of his SOUL. They vanish after he stabilises his anchor, but the voices in his head have become louder. He dismisses them, once more. 

Back at Muffet’s Cavern, a furious Undyne and a nervous Frisk arrive on the scene, and the trio descend to the bottom of the cavern to find Papyrus fully changed into a Blaster, and in a feral state. However, he does not seem aggressive, and the trio easily snap him out of it. But to everyone’s dismay, Papyrus is unable to change back from his Blaster form.

Fearing that his brother will be easily captured and turned against them like this, Sans tells the stubborn Papyrus to stay put while he and Undyne get to the CORE and deactivate it. Frisk chooses to stay behind, worried that Gaster may return to capture the trapped Papyrus. The group separates, unaware that Papyrus’ own influence over the mutagen seems to have changed.

Back at the CORE, Alphys continues to look through the tapes. She learns that Sans was a student under the Royal Science team, and that Dr Gaster was a kindly monster who cared for his entire crew. They are running experiments to create a coolant for the CORE, using the unstable CORE element, itself. They used to work down in the underground Lab - what is currently the True Lab.

As Sans and Undyne approach the CORE, Sans is filled with memories of his time with the old Royal Science crew. 

During their time testing the CORE coolants, there was an accident - and a young Sans’ eyesocket was burned out by wayward CORE energy. He was nearly killed as a result. The entire crew worked together to save his life, and Sans managed to recover. 

In the present, Sans is snapped out of his memories by the mutagen affecting him. He swears that Gaster will not be able to reach his brother, and that he’ll finish all this very soon.

Back at Muffet’s Cavern, Papyrus has noticed some differences in being a Blaster, compared to the last time he changed. He’s not nearly as anxious, anymore, and he felt no need to hurt anybody while he was ‘feral.’ When he changed this time, he’d managed to calm down upon remembering Undyne’s words about ‘still being him.’ Instead of being afraid of himself, he chose to be kinder to himself and reassure himself - essentially accepting the mutagen.

He resolves to go after Sans, despite Frisk’s protests. But the human is quickly swayed upon noticing that there is indeed a difference between the last time Papyrus changed and this time. Papyrus starts making the effort to climb out of the cavern, steadily learning about how to use his new body as he goes.

In the meantime, Gaster comes across his final SOUL piece within Reno, the grey monster back in Hotland. When he retrieves it, he does not experience the completion he expected - instead, the voices in his head start coming out of his mouth - and several more arms burst out of his back. He heads back to the CORE, trying to block out the voices, who insist that he’s “more than this.”

In the past, in the aftermath of the CORE accident with Sans, Gaster chooses to change their base of operations to the CORE facility. Sans recovers back in Snowdin with Papyrus and Reno, and returns to work.

Sans quickly learns that his exposure to the CORE element resulted in a side effect. He can now see and interact with ‘rifts,’ - small tears in spacetime. 

Sans’ first and unintentional use of the rifts results in him accidentally teleporting to the bottom of the facility, where a single, run-down Gaster Blaster is stationed. The crew rescues him, and Gaster explains the nature of these ‘rifts’ to Sans.

Gaster, having been involved in a much earlier accident with the CORE as well, can also see rifts. Unlike Sans, he cannot use them to ‘teleport.’ He explains that all the rifts are connected in a network throughout the entire Underground, and that they were likely created by the presence of the CORE itself.

(Sans inquires about the Gaster Blaster, and the doctor explains it to be an abandoned project, made during wartime. He doesn’t seem all that proud of it.)

In the months to come, Sans begins using the rifts more casually as transport, abiding by certain restrictions requested by Gaster.

One day, the sixth human falls into the Underground. It’s here where Gaster bears witness to another side-effect the CORE has on Sans - he seems subconsciously aware of whenever a human has utilised their ability to SAVE and RELOAD. This realization shakes Gaster deeply.

Back at the CORE in the present, Sans and Undyne make it into the facility, and into the CORE’s control panel. Undyne has realized that in spite of his laid-back demeanour, Sans is being badly affected by the mutagen. He attempts to destroy the anchor, only for the crazed Gaster’s approaching presence to nearly trigger his change. 

Realizing that Gaster is on their doorstep, Undyne knocks Sans out and flees through a self-made hole in the floor. When she encounters Gaster, he is entirely out of control, his flurry of back arms moving like spider legs, carrying him down the halls without his consent. He denies the idea that he is still connected to the anchor, while the voices from his head insist his SOUL is not complete.

Gaster wrests control of his body back from the other influences, pursuing Sans to get back his control over him. Undyne flees with Sans, further and further out of the CORE.

In the past, Gaster confides in Val about his concern for Sans. The doctor has one other side effect from his exposure to the CORE - and that is clearly experiencing and recalling every single time jump caused by a human. Val is the only other monster who knows this.

Gaster fears that the same awareness may descend on Sans, and that the CORE element may affect him for the worse. Val tells Gaster to explain it to Sans properly, and the doctor decides to attempt to do so.

In the present, back at Muffet’s Cavern, Papyrus is steadily becoming better at climbing out of the cavern. However, Frisk encounters a dilemma - it seems they are no longer able to SAVE, and to attempt to do so causes them great pain. They explain the matter to Papyrus (though not the nature of their abilities) and he grows concerned for their wellbeing.

In the past, Gaster tries to explain the timeloops to Sans. When his first attempt results in Sans becoming distraught, another RELOAD occurs, and Gaster loses his resolve to explain it to Sans, sending him on vacation back home instead - until the human threat ends. Gaster decides he will try and fix the CORE problem, unearthing a blueprint of a certain machine.

Not long afterwards, Gaster disappears. With the threat of an aggressive human in the Underground, many assume the worst. Sans uses his rift-jumping ability to search for him, finally finding him unconscious in the underground Lab.

Sans uses his rift abilities to transport himself and Gaster back to the CORE Facility, where he is hospitalised. He recovers after a short rest, but the crew notices changes in his behaviour - becoming colder to his associates, and less interested in the CORE coolant project, preferring to delve into his own personal projects, instead. Sans tries to investigate his behaviour by breaking into his office, but comes up empty-handed. 

In the meantime, the human threat is finally eradicated. The human arrives at Asgore, only instead of being aggressive like before, they resignedly give up their weapon to the King, without a fight.

At the CORE, the science crew is left overworked, with depleting resources. They learn that Gaster has restored the run-down Gaster Blaster, and is steadily making more. Sans grows more fed-up with the doctor, despite being allowed to return to work, and the last straw arrives when Gaster decides to propose a full scale test with the developing CORE coolant - in spite of the dangers involved.

Owel realizes that the doctor is unstable and dangerous, and tells Sans to go home while she and the rest of the crew sort this out - as the doctor is also in possession of many Gaster Blasters, and people could get hurt. As Owel leaves, Sans disobeys, using his rift-jumping abilities to reach the Blaster Storage and steal the entire platoon.

In the present, Sans regains consciousness from being knocked out and carried around by Undyne. At the CORE exterior, she throws Sans to another platform for safety, trying to keep Gaster away from him.

When Sans attempts to return to the CORE control panel during the fight, Frisk and Blaster Papyrus arrive on the scene, having escaped Muffet’s Cavern at last. Sans starts to panic at Papyrus’ presence, as his brother is now in the middle of the danger. Papyrus retorts by carrying his brother by the back of his jacket away from Gaster, in spite of his protests.

Back in the past, Sans has stolen the Gaster Blasters - though still wants to find answers for why Gaster is acting so strangely. He decides to teleport to his office, and dig around in his drawers - only to be cornered by the doctor himself.

Demanding answers, Sans is instead infected with the Blaster mutagen by Gaster. When he realizes what’s happening to him, he tries to escape, to no avail - Gaster slams a hand on his forehead and imposes his control - successfully transforming him into a floating Blaster head and using him to transport him across the rifts.

He encounters Owel, Reno and Val, who are all intent on stopping him from presenting his proposal for the CORE test to the King. However, Sprig hurries on the scene as well - having witnessed Gaster’s actions in the office through security fooatge. He angrily demands to know what the doctor has done to Sans.

Back in the present, Gaster has broken away from the fight with Undyne and is now pursuing Papyrus, Frisk and Sans. After sending a few Blasters after them, he manages to stun Papyrus and slam a hand on his forehead, imposing his control.

However, to everyone’s shock, Papyrus quickly tears free of Gaster’s control. Gaster has a meltdown, deciding instead that if Papyrus can’t be controlled, he needs to be destroyed. A startled Papyrus flees, with Gaster chasing him. 

Undyne pursues after freezing a distraught Sans with a GREEN attack, telling him to think things through and not make the situation any worse. Sans is stunned and confused by the fact that his brother managed to resist control.

Back in the past, Sprig ousts Gaster’s actions, demanding that he change Sans back to normal. The rest of the crew start to understand what’s happened, and they incapacitate Gaster, separating him from Sans.

Without Gaster’s influence, Sans panics, blasting lasers in every direction including the CORE chamber itself. The CORE begins to grow unstable from the blast.

An out of control Blaster Sans reforms his body and chases Sprig, Owel and Reno, seeing them as a threat. In the meantime, Val and Gaster fight, on top of trying to keep the CORE stable.

The science crew manages to incapacitate Sans with GREEN magic. Their conversation about the situation slowly prompts Sans into remembering who he is and snapping him out of his ‘feral’ state. He is horrified and shaken, but the crew reassures him that they’ll protect him and get him out of the facility.

Back in the present, Papyrus is still fleeing from Gaster - becoming increasingly aware that the doctor seems to be arguing with himself. He is assisted by Undyne, who has managed to catch up - and soon Gaster is trapped in place by reactivated CORE defences - courtesy of Alphys, who has arrived on the scene.

Papyrus attempts to negotiate with Gaster, asking him to change both him and Sans back. Gaster rebukes that the mutagen is too tightly interwoven in their SOULs to reverse the changes, and that it was never intended to be reversible. Undyne loses her temper at this and tries to attack - only to be caught off guard by Gaster escaping his trap using his remaining Blasters. The result is Papyrus being blasted in the skull and critically injured.

Back in the past, the science crew is trying to escape the CORE with Blaster Sans in tow. They realize the facility is in lockdown because of a CORE chamber breach - and that Val is trying to contain it while fending off Gaster.

Owel and Sprig rush off the grab the coolant to attempt to stop the CORE from destabilising. Reno is left to guard Sans, who succumbs to the mutagen’s effects once more and loses control, actively seeking out Gaster so he won’t panic, anymore. 

Sans arrives at the CORE control room where he witnesses Gaster and Val fighting. Reno intervenes when Gaster tries to reclaim Sans, and the doctor is knocked unconscious by Owel, who returns to the scene with Sprig and the coolant in tow.

The science crew installs the coolant - and the CORE responds by starting to implode. 

Back in the present, Sans hurries over to his injured brother as Undyne tries to destroy Gaster. The doctor is affected by the spears, but seems to be unable to die. 

Papyrus, half-conscious and addled by the mutagen, stubbornly tries to stand up and take Sans away from Gaster, in spite of his head injury. Sans keeps him still with a BLUE attack, telling him that he’s done enough. In the stress of the situation, the mutagen finally gets to Sans, and his change is triggered.

Back in the past, the CORE is imploding, causing things to be sucked in. Each member of the crew manage to hold tight - but Gaster, in another attempt to reclaim Sans, is pulled into the CORE.

The CORE’s forces subside, and the science crew try to figure out how to restore Sans to his normal form. However, Sans senses Gaster and panics, as four skeletal hands surge out of the CORE, grabbing each member of the science crew and dragging them all in.

Sans flees the scene in a panic, using a rift to escape - however, the network is unstable because of the CORE’s instability, and he loses control, landing in Snowdin Woods and falling unconscious.

In the present, Sans is panicking and trying to repress his changes - to no avail. An exhausted Papyrus loses control - but Sans is startled to note that his brother is still gentle and seems to be concerned about him. Sans begins to wonder how Papyrus has managed to defy the mutagen.

In the past, a young Papyrus has been drawn out to Snowdin Woods due to the Guard Alarm by the Snowdin dogs. He encounters Blaster Sans, who is in a ‘feral’ state after recollecting what had happened back at the CORE.

Scared at first, Papyrus notices the large creature is injured, and approaches, offering help. Neither one recognises the other, but Sans finds himself calmed by the other’s presence - and eventually snaps out of his ‘feral’ state, realising that the small skeleton is his brother. 

Despite his misery, Sans ultimately decides that he needs to be there for Papyrus. Through this, he manages to change back.

In the present, Sans is still repressing the changes, though thinks hard about how Papyrus, in some way, has remained himself. Sans finds himself slipping into a new mindset - that the mutagen is his, rather than Gaster’s.

This causes Sans to accept the mutagen, and he transforms fully into a Blaster. When Gaster notices and tries to regain control over him, the doctor fails and retreats deep into the CORE Facility.

Sans snaps out of his feral state and carries Papyrus back to the MTT Resort with Undyne, Alphys and Frisk in tow.

In the past, Papyrus witnesses his brother changing back. Confused and very concerned, he helps the shaken Sans back to Snowdin.

In the present, Papyrus is slowly recovering at the MTT Resort. It’s revealed that Alphys has learned the events of Sans’ past through security footage. Sans permits her to explain, but leaves the room to sit outside. Papyrus follows after him.

Sans quickly learns that - like Papyrus - he cannot change back, thanks to Gaster’s influence coming from the rifts. The brothers talk about current events, and Sans feels he’s to blame for most of what happened, because of his caginess. Papyrus rebukes that he may have made things worse for everyone, charging in and trying to save Sans without knowing anything about Gaster - he’s simply wanted to be a better brother for Sans, ever since he saw him change back in the woods in Snowdin. Neither brother really believes that the other’s to blame in entirety.

Sans, after steeling himself, tells Papyrus about his past in its entirety. 

Back in the MTT Resort, Frisk and Undyne have learned Sans’ backstory as well. With their facts in order, Frisk goes outside to talk to Sans while Undyne heals. They explain to Sans their SAVE dilemma, being unable to SAVE at all. Sans has little doubt that Gaster messing with the CORE has something to do with it. 

When Frisk decides to nap with the Blaster Bros, Papyrus continues the conversation, concerned about Frisk, and wondering what Gaster is up to while they’re resting. 

Sans notes that Gaster seems entirely out of control and unhealthy, with all the separate voices and his destabilisation, and wonders what he’s planning.

In the meantime, Gaster is being dragged to the depths of the CORE Facility by his arms and the other voices. They seem to be trying to convince him to stop all this - that he’ll only keep doing damage to himself this way. Gaster rebels to the point of self-mutilation - claiming that it’s unfair for him to simply return to the Void.

He finds himself at the bottom of the facility and devises another way to place the situation under his control. He is suddenly reminded of Frisk, and their capabilities, and redirects what little power the CORE is distributing through the Underground back to the CORE Facility, so it can operate at full power.

In the meantime, Undyne is troubled by the fact that she let Papyrus get hurt - but the Blaster refuses to see her looking down and manages to cheer her up with a brief chase. She restores Papyrus’ broken eye socket.

It’s only moments later that the effects of Gaster redirecting the CORE’s power reaches them - black rifts appear all around the area, and both Sans and Frisk are painfully affected, due to their connections to the CORE.

When they get their bearings, Sans realizes that the CORE is now dangerously unstable due to Gaster’s influence, and something has to be done about it, or else the entire Underground risks imploding.

The crew chooses to head towards the Facility to stop Gaster. However, they are caught off guard when Gaster manages to swoop in and grab Frisk. Holding them suspended in the air, he asks them when they last SAVED.

Aaand, that’s it!

Hope it helps clarify some things. At the very least, I just hope it doesn’t make things more confusing.

Take care! : )