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atiny-for-life · 10 months ago

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Ateez's Full Storyline Explained - Part 21

Masterlist

Before we begin...

I'd like to shout out @xuseokgyu's gifset on the MATZ MV since I adore her analysis and I really do think it might just be the real-life message they meant to portray. It was also one of the contributing reasons for my initial belief that the unit MVs were unrelated to the storyline.

MATZ (A-World)

Initially, due to the announcement that this takes place in the A-World, I was going to propose the theory that this MV takes place prior to Fever Part 1 - a flashback to Hongjoong and Seonghwa performing as a rap duo before they met Yunho and the rest and became Ateez, but I just couldn't figure out how all the robed cult-like people fit into this narrative... and then it dawned on me:

Halazia.

We saw the bluebird at the end of Crazy Form and the shattered Cromer which means the Halazia-squad has been traveling between Worlds and may likely have ended up in the A-World along the way.

I'm not gonna lie: I first thought of this because of Hongjoong's fluffy hat which reminded me of the one he wore in Halazia but once I had it in my brain, I couldn't help but notice various other similarities.

The abandoned building?

Reminiscent of the abandoned mall we grew all too familiar with during that funky little livestream before the release of Halazia.

All the chains randomly hanging from the ceiling?

Reminiscent of the ones they were dragging around in Halazia to chain up the orb.

All the people in robes willingly following them around to commit random crimes like robbing a small store?

Their version of the Black Pirates, aka the robed folks we already saw in Halazia.

Bro, they even brought back the purple lighting and specifically made fun of me personally because I'm too dumb to figure out the meaning behind these numbers.

(I'm kidding, of course, but it really isn't my fault I'm a dumbass.)

All this to say: these two are neither Hongjoong and Seonghwa from Ateez, nor the Black Pirates we've come to know and love, but rather the two we've only met briefly during one of the sickest goddamn MVs I've ever seen while they were performing the most spiritually and spacially transcendent songs I've ever head like holy shit, Halazia still slaps so fucking hard, how did they even come up with this.

Anywho - with this in mind, we can watch the video again and gather hints as to what they're up to in the A-World (besides committing minor felonies here and there).

We begin as follows:

They've ordered one of their people to fasten a tracker to the underside of a black car prior to their arrival on the scene.

Several black-cloaked figures then enter the car and drive away before we cut to the title card.

Matz exit the building and get into the car which is now no longer occupied by at least the two people in the front seats which means there's a small timeskip where we don't know what happened with the car's occupants. I'll get back to this in a moment.

We now see Matz take the front seats right before they get black bags pulled over their heads from the people hidden in the backseat. Clearly, they're not very surprised by this. They knew it would happen. It's part of the plan.

They get chained up and stuffed in the back and taken to a secondary location. (Take note of the blue-and-earthtone palette we've last seen in Halazia.)

Keep in mind that this is a vehicle their own people are able to track. This tells me it's not just the creeps who are after Matz - Matz are also after these creeps. Now, who would Matz have beef with in the A-World, a world they've never been to before?

That's right: Henry Jo, the leader of Skienslavar, aka A-World's Z whose straight up evilness has led to the brainwashing and mass-murder of a huge amount of people in Z-World and, most likely, also their own world (which we saw go up in smoke in Halazia).

Matz are currently on a mission to take down A-World's Skiensalvar before they can do as much damage as they did back in their own world. And it's this mission that then also leads them, and likely also the rest of their members, to Z-World at the end of Crazy Form.

Henry Jo last saw Ateez at the museum when they were trying to steal the Cromer to save Yeosang in the Fever Epilogue Diary Entries - hell, he even tried to straight up stab Wooyoung to get his hands on that thing. Naturally, he then also wouldn't shy away from kidnapping any of them to get the current location of the Cromer out of them.

This explains why they're tied to a chair and surrounded by cultists from all angles.

Right after this shot, we get to see yet another group with black hoods march up into the same building. However, unlike the ankle-length robes of the cultists, they're dressed in black pants and hoodies, leaning more toward techwear

They're the Black Pirates who've been tracking the black car they tagged at the beginning of the MV and they're here to free their two kidnapped leaders

Specifically, the Black Pirates head out the moment Seonghwa makes eye contact with one of the cultist's camera lenses, which I can only assume means that this messed-up cult is livestreaming their kidnapping of two young men in their mid-twenties

Likely because they're hoping either of them will say something that will reaffirm the cult's beliefs and thus validate them in the eyes of whatever audience they're trying to reach

Right after this moment, Matz break the chains binding their wrists and jump up from their chairs

We can then see them perform in the same location with some of the other Black Pirates - thus also utilizing the livestreaming equipment that was already set up to, presumably, try to undo whatever harm the preachings of the cult may have done to the current viewership

After leaving the area, Matz seem to teleport out of the premises which is indicated by a negative frame, followed by some skipped frames to create a nice flowy movement out of frame to the right that feels unnatural but seamless

Right after, we get another transitional frame from Matz in the outfits they've been wearing all along to just Seonghwa in a more fancy gold and fur get up

Along the way, we also get to see Matz run through an empty parking garage while some of the other Black Pirates are slowly wandering through a little music store

They're simply looking at all the CDs in the shelves - something they've never seen before after they've been denied access to music their entire lives back in their world

And then Matz arrive and start tearing up the place

But why? I think it might just be in their character

When we saw them in Halazia, they were burning the Black Pirates' uniforms and now we see them tearing up a store selling the music they themselves use as a form of rebellion

Like I theorized back with Halazia: I think they might be struggling with the legacy left behind by the Black Pirates; they might feel angry and abandoned and are now pissed off that, in this world, people have shelves upon shelves full of music while they themselves were denied any form of expression for at least a significant chunk of their lives

And now, they had to come in from another world to stop the same fate from happening to them and the people there will never know how much they did for them

We already know how different Ateez are from their Z-World counterparts - due to them growing up in A-World, they're more calculated, less provocative, less extreme (Inception vs Thanxx, Guerrilla vs Crazy Form)

Halazia-World's Ateez thus seem to be an even more extreme version of Z-World's Ateez - more volatile, maybe even more aggressive, certainly less open to making new friends from what we've seen so far

This is certainly also highlighted when we listen to the newscaster reporting on a case of two men who mysteriously disappeared after committing arson

Those two little shits legit set a fire and teleported out of there to not get caught - y'all, after all that fire in Halazia, I legit think these dudes are just serial arsonists hiding behind the guise of a revolutionary cause

In conclusion: I'm fairly confident in my theory and I think we'll be seeing these crazy guys again very soon; be that with another single or the next Korean mini or full album (though I would also very much appreciate a Japanese comeback tied into the main storyline - they're always underappreciated with any group, it seems).

#ateez #ateez lore #hongjoong #seonghwa #yunho #yeosang #san #mingi #wooyoung #jongho #will - the world ep fin #matz mv

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hunterwritesstuff · 6 months ago

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Can we get some shit post /crack headcanons of Joey? Not ship stuff just. Joey

I HAVE SO MANY YOU HAVE NO FUCKING CLUE

✏️ Joey hates summer. loves the fireworks, hates the heat.

✏️ he has ONE SINGLE SCAR. THIS IS FROM HIS BROTHER THROWING A FUCKING ROCK AT HIM AS A CHILD.

✏️ Joey doesn't believe in pancakes. he thinks having pancakes for breakfast is an affront to God. He like waffles more since it contains syrup better.

✏️ fucking hates oatmeal. he doesn't like how lumpy it feels :(

✏️ if he smells one of those fucking. gym ball things, he WILL DUCK FOR COVER. YOU KNOW, THE KIND USED FOR DODGEBALL.

✏️ he EXCLUSIVELY USES paper plates. he hates doing dishes.

✏️ Joey was a menace in high school, he used to hide in the lockers to scare people passing by.

✏️ He once had to sleep in his treehouse outside, this was because he had a cookie dough ball fight with his brother when he was ten.

✏️ He has an affinity for finding all of the plants he's fucking allergic to.

✏️ His emotions are shown through his smiles.

✏️ This is his "Henry don't leave me here smile"

✏️ someone help this poor man.

✏️ He has severe thalassophobia. He has no reason to have this fear. If you showed this man Subnautica, he would be sobbing within seconds.

✏️ He loves puzzles but is never allowed to do them. This is due to his habit of eating the pieces. you dumb whore. those are not potato chips.

✏️ He is not allowed to drink. He got drunk at a college party once and somehow ended up in a whole other state. nobody knows how this happened. He also ate a rock.

✏️ He does not like birds very much. One screamed at him in a pet store when he was six, and he holds a grudge against them to this day because of it.

✏️ He had a weed brownie once. That's how all the characters from the nightmare run cast came to be.

✏️ He's picky about his cough syrup. NEVER LET THIS MAN BE SICK AROUND YOU, IF YOU VALUE YOUR MENTAL HEALTH.

✏️ If he could play the sonic games from nowadays, his favorite character would unironically be Vector, as crocodiles are his favorite animal.

✏️ As a kid, he tried to exclusively eat cucumber sandwiches. Now, he has a firm disdain for them, as he feels he "ate his lifetime supply of those fuckers as a child, now I don't need to ever have one again.".

✏️ He's a slut for chocolate chip cookies. Henry tried tricking him with a raisin cookie by telling him it was a chocolate chip cookie. That is the first time Joey drew blood.

✏️ He would have eaten play-doh.

✏️ He likes squirrels. He thinks they sound funny.

✏️ His favorite dinosaur is the brachiosaurus. If you don't know it by name, it would be better known by the name given in Land Before Time, being Longnecks.

✏️ He's basically Henry's worst nightmare. Henry was raised catholic. Joey(outside of a work setting, obviously) will make sex jokes at the drop of a hat. can we get an F in the chat for Henry.

✏️ He fucks around with those artist dolls. He has no reason for this. He just likes doing it.

✏️ He wasn't well liked as a child. This was due to whenever he was invited to play house with the other kids, it would go the divorce route. Nobody liked Joey. Poor Joey.

✏️ He had to go to the hospital a lot as a child. He broke a lot of bones. He did this mostly to get out of school. He is not very smart.

✏️ He prefers pure chocolate to chocolate with nuts in it, since, "I prefer my chocolate without nuts, since it makes my teeth hurt when it has nuts in it.".

✏️ He has a knight helmet. He will wear it around the house.

✏️ To help him remember to do his nightly routine, he has his old teddy bear do it alongside him. If he can't find him to do it with him, he isn't doing it. What if he forgets a step?!

✏️ His first Norman jumpscare was when the lights went out due to a power outage. Joey just saw a disembodied hand hand him a candle. Joey passed out.

#batim au #bendy #the ink demon #batim #bendy the demon #bendy and the ink machine #batdr #sammy lawrence #joey drew #joey drew batim #alice angel #ink demon #henry stein #the projectionist

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jungle-angel · 8 months ago

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A Family Affair (Calvin Evans x Reader)

Summary: Having Calvin's entire family plus close friends under the roof for Easter is never an easy thing, but it's always well worth it

Warnings: Mentions of pregnancy, birth, parenthood etc.

Tagging: @floydsmuse

The church bells pealed as soon as morning services were done. You and Calvin stepped out into the bright morning sunlight, wanting to hang back and share a few words with Father McDowell, but when you heard that the rest of Calvin's family was going to be descending on the house, you two had thought it best to get home quick.

"So remind me again who's coming for dinner?" you chuckled on the way to the car.

"Aunt Marge called this morning and said she and Uncle Lenny were coming," Calvin answered.

You adjusted a squirming Baby Ellen in your arms as she grasped your favorite necklace in her chubby little hand. "So that makes......twenty people for dinner," you squeaked.

"Give or take," Cal said, biting his lip.

That had been perfectly fine by you. Marge had always been good to both you and Calvin and had come by numerous times to help you when Ellen had first been brought home from the hospital. "How much do you wanna bet that Mother Powers will have a tale or two to tell about Mrs. Burns?"

"And if we hear Helen McDowell shouting from across the street, we'll know what happened," he laughed.

Home you headed where Six-Thirty was eagerly awaiting your return on the porch. He practically jumped the front steps and ran to you both, begging for scritches.

"Well, look who's home," Pat greeted cheerfully as you both entered the house. "How'd everything go?"

"As good as it could go Ma," Calvin said, hugging his mother.

"Excellent," Pat remarked. "Your father and I will be going in a few minutes, I just had to put the roast in the oven and have it set for later tonight."

"Patricia!" Henry called from the stairs. "Have you seen my good suit?"

"Your suit's at the cleaners!" she replied.

"Well then what the hell am I supposed to wear to Easter Mass?"

"Wear your damn dress blues that's what they're for!"

Calvin snorted and silenced a laugh that had caught in his throat. "Don't let your father hear that," Patricia warned him.

"I'm not saying anything," Calvin responded.

"Good because I'll be sure to hear about it later," Patricia said as she put the finishing touches on one of the desserts.

You and Calvin set up Ellen's little playpen in the dining room so you could keep an eye on her while Calvin decided to walk Six-Thirty up and down the block a few times. The doorbell rang and who should appear but Marie Bianchi, a close friend of Pat's.

"Good morning dear, Happy Easter," Marie said as she happily greeted you. "I brought a little something for dinner later."

"Marie you didn't have to do this," you told her.

"Oh dahling I insist," Marie said, he Long Island drawl revealing itself. "You and Calvin all have enough on your plates as is, I thought Louie and I would be of some help."

You gasped when you lifted back the tin foil and saw what was inside the casserole pan that had been set on the kitchen counter. "Is that your green bean casserole?"

"None other," Marie answered.

"Marie......."

"I make it every year for Easter and special occasions," she explained. "Secret is never use the frozen stuff, you either get the beans fresh in the produce section or grow it yourself."

The door rang again and this time Henny King had shown up in her purple Easter dress and favorite hat. "That is it!" she announced. "My knuckleheaded grandson has done it now!"

"Oh dear, what'd he do now?" Marie laughed.

"That clueless birdbrain done stole my good jade ring outta my jewelry box because he was plannin on proposin to one of the girls down in front at church this mornin," Henny explained, hanging up her purse and hat on the hooks near the door.

"Oh Henny not again," you laughed.

"Uh-huh and I swore Paul was gonna let him have it that time," Henny answered.

"Didn't you tell him that you were going to leave it to him though dear?" Marie asked.

"When I'm dead Marie, when I'm good and dead," Henny reminded her. "Now what's left for cookin (y/n)? I heard Pat had to run out for a while and where in the hell is Calvin? He oughtta be in here beatin the eggs like they owe you money."

"He went out for a run with Six-Thirty," you told her. "I can handle it."

"Child I know you love him but sometimes you've gotta show'em who the real boss of the house is," Henny joked.

"Oh he knows Henny, don't worry."

"I'm only jokin honey," she said with a wave of her hand. "Now lets get to it before the house gets too crowded."

And the house did get crowded with more family and friends arriving shortly after. Mei Shang and her sister Betty showed up with their grandmother, all three heading into the kitchen to help even though every one of you had insisted that Nainai get off her feet, only to be met with her stubborn remark about how her feet weren't bad and that she was just old. Aunt Marge had already put in appearance along with Rose, Sandy and Joel, with the latter having gone off to find Calvin.

"Alright, it is done and it is PERFECT," Rose declared happily. "Sandy and I were up all night trying to get it done."

"Oh my Lord this is perfect!" Marge exclaimed, adjusting Ellen an little in her arms. "Rose you always spoil us with your cookies."

"I make'em every year when Cal, (Y/n), Pat and Henry come and celebrate Passover with us," Rose said. "Really, it's the least I can do when we come here."

You and the ladies all chattered away as you kept working on the dinner prep and when Calvin, Lee and Joel all came traipsing in through the door with Six-Thirty, you all shooed them away to the living room.

Pat and Henry returned with more family and friends showing up behind them. Before long, your house was full of family and friends who had come from across town to spend Easter Sunday with you. All over the yard, you and Calvin had hidden little egg shaped stones you had gotten at the O'Neil's craft store and painted yourselves for the nieces and nephews to find and collect in their baskets. Plenty of photos were taken while Louie Bianchi had run around with his video camera to capture the memories himself. Calvin's niece, Lucy, and Betty Chin's daughter, Joy, were both excited to show you the eggs they had found, running to you every time they found one.

"Alright you two," Louie Bianchi said to his granddaughter and her best friend. "Big smiles! You're ready for your close ups!"

"Oh Louie leave them alone for God's sake!" Marie told him.

You and Calvin laughed, but you couldn't deny that Lucy looked adorable in her mint green dress and Joy in her little pink and green qipao with the tiny jade frog buttons.

Not since Christmas had the house been this full of joy and laughter, the festive air infectious. When it was finally time for dinner, hardly a seat was empty in the dining room. Calvin stood up and the whole room fell silent with all eyes on him.

"I can't thank you guys enough for all you've done," he said. "You're all like family to us and (y/n) and I wouldn't have it any other way. You were there with us from the beginning and I know you'll all be there until the end. So here's to all of you and the years ahead. May they be just as happy as today is."

Everyone thundered with approval, happy and grateful to be together. But no one could be happier than you and your husband.

"I love you sweetheart," he whispered, kissing the side of your head.

"Love you too Cal," you answered, kissing him back.

#calvin evans #calvin evans x reader #lessons in chemistry

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storyandseries16 · 2 years ago

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Detectives Love- Chapter 4

Pairing: Henry!Sherlock Holmes x Female!reader

Chapter summary: Sherlock pays you a visit to ask you about his missing mother and sister, but things go a little off track.

Quote:“Well I’m not a poet, I’m just a woman. And as a woman there is no way for me to make my own money. Not enough to earn a living or to support my family. And if I had my own money, which I don’t, that money would belong to my husband themoment we got married. And if we had children they would be his, not mine. They would e his property. So don’t sit there and tell me marriage isn’t an economic proposition, because it is. It may not be for you, but it most certaintly is for me.” Little women

It had been a few days since you had visited the Holmes for tea, and you were starting to get worried considering you knew Enola had gone missing as well. You also knew that she probably left at her own free will and that she can handle herself, though you cared at didn't want anything bad to happen to her.

Currently, you were sitting on the couch reading a book. You now lived alone, besides the h0usekeepers, your eldest sister hadn't lived here for 2 years now and your youngest just recently moved in with her soon-to-be husband. Just as you were getting comfortable there was a knock on the door.

“Hello,” You say opening the door, “Oh, Mr. Holmes, to what do I owe this visit?

“Hello Miss Y/l/n, I’m sure you have been able to figure out that my sister is missing. I would like to ask you a few things, may I come in?” Sherlock asked his gloves at the hat in his hand.

“Yes, of course. Do come in.” You opened the door more for him to step inside. He looked around the room for any traces of Enola. You knew he wouldn’t find anything, Enola hasn’t come to your place since her mother went missing.

“Would you like something to drink?”

“No, that’s alright thank you. I was wondering if you have seen my sister. She has disappeared and I’m worried about her.”

“I haven’t seen your sister. It’s no surprise she ran away though. She told me about Mycroft and you forcing her to go to a finishing school.”

“Yes, well… that was all Mycroft. She is his ward, I have no say in it.”

“So you don’t agree with Mycroft, that woman should have to get married?”

“Do you? Want to need to be married?”

“I’ve always known I would get married. There is no way for me to have a successful life if I do not. I would like nothing more than for a woman to be able to make their own money, but they can’t.

“I think the hopeful poets would disagree.”

“Well I’m not a poet,” you said looking at your hands and back up again, “I’m just a woman. And as a woman, there is no way for me to make my own money. Not enough to learn a living, or support my family. And if I had my own money, which I don’t, that money would belong to my husband the moment we got married. And if we had children they would be his not mine, they would be his property, so don’t stand there and tell that marriage isn’t an economical proposition because it is. It may not be for you, but it most certainly is for me.”

You were standing a little closer to Sherlock now and he wasn’t saying anything. Just staring at you. He never thought about what women go through and how they were treated. He cared a bit when he saw his sister, but not enough to do or say something about it. He wasn’t saying anything so you kept going.

“Have ever wanted to get married, Mr. Holmes?” You asked looking up at him.

“No, it’s never been something I’ve been keen on doing.”

“Exactly, and no one bats an eye if you don’t ever get married. They only think about what a good detective you are. Yet there are many women in the world, including your sister, that despise the idea of getting married or having a husband, but they do not have the freedom to choose.” You start backing away from him and go behind the table, “We do not have the freedom to choose anything in our lives.” You pause for a moment before continuing, “Enola is a smart girl, and she was raised to fight and be independent. You need not worry about her too much.”

Sherlock didn’t know what to say. He did not expect you to say all of this. You seemed very shy and polite. And even though you just told him stupid issues, you did it in a calm and mannered way, you weren’t short-tempered. For some reason, he admired that about you.

#sherlock x reader #henry!sherlock #enola holmes #sherlockholmes #story #imagines

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thethirdromana · 2 years ago

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Romana II's costumes, rated

Most screengrabs from the BBC image gallery, all opinions from me.

As seen in Destiny of the Daleks.

What a costume to open on. I love this. I love that it reminds us that Romana - even this younger-looking, more playful Romana - remains the Doctor's equal, being his costume, but pink. I love the details - the necklace, the white shirt with the pink pinstripes, the weird high-waisted pink trousers that we barely see, and the first of many outstanding pairs of boots. Above all I straightforwardly love how good this looks. Pink is undeniably Lalla Ward's colour. 10/10, setting the bar high.

As seen in City of Death.

So this costume has a very sweet backstory behind it. Lalla Ward hated wearing school uniform, and thought that the little girls watching Doctor Who might feel better about school if they saw a favourite character wearing the same kind of thing as they had to wear. Which is adorable. And then she got heaps of letters from pervy man. Which is... less so. 3/10, for the thought?

As seen in the Creature from the Pit.

I could either get a decent photo or one that showed the whole costume, so I chose the former. You're not missing much in the bottom half, it's a sort of floaty Grecian affair with a wide belt. They seem to have dressed Lalla Ward as Mary Tamm for this one. Her hair looks pretty, though. 5/10.

As seen in Nightmare of Eden.

This is it, this is the worst Romana costume. There's a sort of institutional vibe, like it might have been sewn from prison curtains. Every decorative detail - the massive bow, whatever's going on with the skirt - makes it worse. How did they manage to make Lalla Ward look so drab? And it looks at least a size too big for her, too. 0/10.

As seen in The Horns of Nimon.

This is more like it. It's clearly a fox-hunting outfit, which in the UK has connotations that are... let's just go with problematic. But Romana doesn't hunt any foxes in this episode, as far as I can remember, so I think it's OK for me to like the costume. Which I do. 9/10.

As (not*) seen in Shada.

Yes! Some people have faces that belong in a particular era, and doesn't Lalla Ward have such an Edwardian face? No wonder, then, that this is such a wonderful costume. I want to wear it myself, and then spend a day lounging in a punt with a good book. The only danger is that I would try to eat the trim on the hat. 100/10.

*because it never aired.

As seen in the Leisure Hive.

Apparently the Edwardian look was so good in Shada, they decided to do it again? This time Romana appears to be in an Edwardian boy's sailor suit. As an aside, I love how her costumes switch back and forth between historical men's styling and traditional feminine dresses. This costume is more fun than flattering, but I like it. 7/10.

As seen in Meglos.

This costume is... a lot. I mean, even next to what Lexa's got on, it's a lot. There's actually so much texture on this, I can't fully make out what's going on, and that's before we get to the world's largest sleeves. I think this is one of the few times that it feels like the costume dominates Romana, which is a pity, because I would otherwise be on board with the Henry VIII vibe. 4/10.

As seen in Full Circle.

I wish I had a decent-quality full-length photo of this costume, because it includes a long red skirt that's quite fetching. I enjoy the contrast between the military jacket and the dainty lace shirt. Red is a good colour on Romana II. 8/10.

As seen in State of Decay.

Another one where Romana is essentially in historical male drag, in the kind of outfit you would expect a gentleman to wear in the country. Only she has her hair down and it's all carefully fitted to Lalla Ward's figure, so it barely registers as GNC. I think that's a really fun costuming decision, and also I want this outfit. 10/10.

As seen in Warriors' Gate.

A disappointing costume to end on. I mean, it's perfectly nice. But if I decided that I wanted to dress for the job I want (Time Lady in E-Space) rather than the job I have (middle management) and rocked up to the office in this, I doubt anyone would register it as unusual. Which makes it rather less exciting than most of the other options on this list. 5/10.

Now I just need to see if I can track down an Edwardian lace dress.

#doctor who #romana ii #lalla ward #doctor who costumes #lmk if you liked this as i'm pondering a sequel for Avon's costumes in Blake's 7 #long post

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lagingersnapz · 2 months ago

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Some Rain Must Fall - (Fallout Fic) Chapter 13: Weathering The Storm

Chapter: 13/?

Cooper and Lucy need to find a place to hide from a radstorm, but when they get trapped the only way out might be more dangerous than they bargained for.

Characters: Lucy MacLean/Cooper Howard(The Ghoul), Dogmeat(CX-404), Original Characters

Word Count: 5695

Warnings: Violence, Swearing

Author's Note: This is my second longest chapter, but as far as chapters with only original fanfiction and no scenes from the show, it is the longest. Not to spoil things, but there is a deathclaw in this chapter, and I am aware that their weak point is their stomach/belly, and that Lucy and Cooper do not use that weak point. *shrug* No getting mad, please. We are getting so close to being caught up here on Tumblr, and then it will switch to (hopefully) weekly posts. My schedule is a lot busier than it was this summer, so it may happen now and again that I miss a week. Enjoy~

Previous Next

Ao3

~~~

It took Lucy a couple of seconds to respond to him, and Cooper took the time to admire the look of confusion on her pretty face; lips slightly parted and tilted into a little frown, nose wrinkled and eyebrows furrowed over those big hazel eyes.

“What? Why do you want to go to my Vault?” she asked.

Cooper adjusted the hat on his head, catching sight of the hole in the brim as he did. A forever reminder of Kelly that made him feel real strange inside. Happy and sad and guilty all at once. Clearing his throat he replied. “Well, I figure that since your daddy worked for my ex-wife, he might have had some information on her there. Especially since he was apparently Overseer. Seems like odds would be good that if Barb is still out there, they might have been in contact.” He knew it was a stretch. Whatever means Henry had used to hop himself into the future weren’t necessarily used by Barb or Janey, but hope was a necessary ingredient in living as long as he had.

Lucy was still looking at him, like she was trying to figure out if he had some sort of ulterior motive, then slowly he watched the expression change to one of wary curiosity.

Cooper sighed. “You get one question right now. I’ll answer one question, and then we need to start walking. I wanna put in as much distance today as we can before we lose the light.”

Biting her lip, Lucy looked up at him, searching his face, carefully considering her question before she finally voiced it. “How old was Janey the last time you saw her?”

Although Cooper had expected her to ask him a question about Janey or Barb, he hadn’t expected it to hurt the way it did. He grimaced. “She was seven years old when the bombs dropped.” His stare dared Lucy to say anything about how long ago that was, or to suggest that Janey might not even still be alive, but instead she nodded, the thoughtful look still on her face, and turned, calling for Dogmeat who had wandered a short distance away, sniffing at some nearby rubble.

“Okey-dokey,” she said. “Let’s go, then.” And she started walking. Now it was Cooper’s turn to look confused. Lucy the chatterbox was holding her tongue? Was she actually displaying the self control needed to keep from asking him more than one question? Would wonders never cease?

There wasn’t a lot of time left in the day, but they made the most of it. Cooper kept an eye on the sky above them, watching the thick clouds in the distance looming closer and closer. The air had picked up that staticky feeling it gets before a storm, and he could almost taste the ozone on his tongue. But worse, and definitely more concerning given his present company, was the increase in radiation that he could feel. Cooper picked up on it before Lucy’s PipBoy did, since the radiation made him feel better and gave him energy, but eventually the sound of thunder rumbled through the air, and with it the RAD meter on Lucy’s wrist started clicking.

Lucy looked up, confusion twisting her lips into a frown as she searched the sky. “What is that?”

Cooper came up next to her, putting a hand on her arm and guiding her along. He’d been keeping an eye out for a suitable shelter for them, or rather for her and Dogmeat, since the radiation from the oncoming storm wasn’t likely to hurt him, but he hadn’t spotted anything quite yet that would serve. “Come on, Sweetheart. There’s a storm comin’ and you are most definitely not gonna wanna be outside when it hits. Unless you fancy looking like me.”

Lucy looked up at the approaching clouds and nodded her head. She looked a little confused about what could be so bad about a storm, but she didn’t question him, which Cooper appreciated. He could explain it to her later, once they had found somewhere to hide out, but not right now. Rather than covering distance, the two of them started looking in earnest for somewhere sturdy enough to shelter the three of them once the storm broke.

The wind picked up around them, blowing Lucy’s hair in her face until she finally pulled it into a knot at the nape of her neck to keep it out of her eyes, squinting against the sand which started to whip through the air. Cooper pushed a shoulder against a partially fallen door, knocking it out of the way and stepping into the dwelling. One of these damn places had to have a fallout shelter inside. Dogmeat was hunkered down to the ground, ears pinned to her head, and although he couldn’t hear it in the sharply blowing wind, Cooper was sure the dog would be whimpering. A flash in the distance pulled his attention to a hole in the wall, and he saw lightning arch through the clouds, highlighting the wall of sand and debris blowing towards them.

“Fuck,” he growled. Just as he was getting ready to stuff Lucy and Dogmeat into a closet and hope for the best, he saw what might have been the most beautiful thing in the world at that moment. The yellow and black sign had faded to grey and almost brown, but he recognized the symbol even under the layers of dirt and dust. “You two get in here!” He shouted to be heard over the now howling wind, holding his hat in one hand to keep it from blowing away, and wedged himself against the falling door to give Lucy and Dogmeat room to squeeze through.

The doors to the shelter were rusty and protested mightily as he hauled them open, but in the end they gave, and he beckoned his companions down the half rotten steps. Lucy slid down on her butt, but Dogmeat squirmed around at the top of the stairs, looking at them nervously until finally Cooper reached down and scooped her up, putting her over one shoulder and easing down the first few steps so he could shut the door behind them. The sound of the wind wasn’t cut off completely, but it was dulled to a faint groaning. Cooper made it a few more steps before the 200 year old steps gave out under him and sent all three of them toppling the last few feet to the hard concrete floor.

For a moment, the only sounds were the collective groans of pain, and the muffled moaning of the wind outside the shelter door. Eventually, Cooper forced himself to sit up and felt around for his hat, which he’d dropped when the stairs collapsed. Everything hurt, which wasn’t all that odd for him, but that didn’t make it any more pleasant.

“Cooper?” Lucy’s voice was strained and nervous, so he gave up the search for the hat, reaching out for her instead. Finding her leg first, he felt his way up to her shoulder, trying not to feel like he was groping her as he did.

“Right here, Darlin’,” he said. Fingers clasped onto his, squeezing tightly.

“I can’t see anything.”

“Just give me a second.” Cooper pulled her closer, putting her hand on his shoulder so he could feel around for his saddlebags. Normally his eyesight was good enough that he could see pretty well in the dark, but even he struggled in pitch blackness. It took a few more moments of groping around to find his saddlebags and pull out a box of matches, but Cooper managed to light one on his second strike, and the little flame felt like a searchlight shining directly in his eyes after the blackness from the last few moments.

Lucy was sitting nearby on her knees, both hands on his shoulders. Dogmeat was laying a short ways away, licking at her leg and whimpering. Cooper felt a stab of guilt. Had she been injured when they all fell? Before he could check the status of the dog, he needed to figure out a light source.

“Here,” Lucy’s hands left his shoulders and she shrugged off her backpack, opening it to dig around. The match guttered out and Cooper struck another. They wouldn’t be able to keep this up forever. It was a finite amount of matches, after all. When Lucy turned back to him, she was holding a thick candle in her hands, beaming like she’d found gold in the bottom of her bag.

“Are you kidding me?” Cooper raised an eyebrow, but reached out with his match to light the candle. Lucy snatched it back and the match went out again.

“Oh, I’m sorry if my candle isn’t good enough. I’ll just wait for you to pull a lamp out of your saddlebags, then.” She somehow managed to snap at him and sound cheerful at the same time. Cooper sighed heavily and lit another match.

“Sorry. Ain’t got a lantern. Your candle is the best we’ve got for now,” he admitted. Lucy looked at him for a second before letting him light the candle. The light wasn’t much, but it was better than what they had before. And it was enough for Cooper to be able to look through his bags once more until he finally found a little bottle with a few pills rattling around inside. He tipped it in his hand, taking two of the pills, popping one into his mouth and offering the other to Lucy. She raised an eyebrow in obvious skepticism.

“What is it?”

“It’s called ‘Cateye.’ It’ll help you see better in the dark. It ain’t perfect, mind, but it’s better than nothing.” Cooper moved his hand a little closer to her, waiting for her to take it. It took a moment before Lucy finally accepted the little pill, grimacing as she swallowed it dry.

“Yuck,” she muttered under her breath. With that taken care of, Cooper moved over to Dogmeat, who looked up at him with big, sad eyes.

“Aw, I’m sorry Dogmeat. Didn’t expect those stairs to give out on us like that. You were right about ‘em.” He reached out as he spoke, putting a hand carefully on the leg she had been licking. Dogmeat continued to watch him with her big eyes, but she didn’t growl or move to bite him, so Cooper began feeling along her leg, letting out a relieved breath when he didn’t find any broken bones. “Don’t worry, looks like you’ll make a full recovery.” He pet her head, scratching under her muzzle affectionately.

“What was that out there?” Lucy asked, looking up at the closed doors of the shelter. Cooper followed her gaze.

“It’s called a radstorm. Not terribly common ‘round here, find more of ‘em over in the Commonwealth on the East Coast. Not totally unheard of though. We must be pretty fucking unlucky for one to show up now.” Cooper got to his feet, testing out his aching body to make sure nothing was broken on him, either. It was lucky Lucy had been further down the stairs than he and Dogmeat were when it collapsed. She barely seemed phased at all.

The room they were in wasn’t very big, maybe six feet by six feet, leading off to a short hallway with another metal door at the other end. The only thing in the room other than them was the splintered, rotted remains of the stairs. Why the hell hadn’t they been made out of metal? Poor planning. Or people who hadn’t really expected it to need to stand the test of time. That didn’t bode well for whoever had planned on using this shelter.

Lucy pulled her backpack on again and stood as well, then drew her gun, keeping it in one hand, finger off the trigger. Cooper looked at her and chuckled.

“You expecting a fight?” he asked.

Lucy shrugged at him. “I have no idea what to expect. I don’t plan on using it, but if someone is thinking of hurting us, maybe seeing a weapon will make them think twice and give me a chance to talk them down.”

“Whatever you need to tell yourself, Sweetheart,” Cooper drawled. “Still, maybe it’s best if I go first, huh?” He shouldered his saddlebags and moved for the door at the end of the hallway. Seeing the people moving, Dogmeat got to her feet and followed, limping slightly as she did. The door at the end of the short hallway was almost as stubborn as the first doors, but eventually Cooper managed to wrench it open. As soon as he did, the smell of old rot hit his senses, and he paused.

“Hand me that candle, would ya?” he asked, reaching back. Lucy obligingly put the candle in his gloved hand, and Cooper brought it forward, putting it through the opening he had made so he could see into the room. The candle cast dim light and stark shadows over the walls, which were a mess of half collapsed shelves, and if someone had actually made it down here before, they hadn’t been around for a long time. With one more shove, Cooper managed to push the door open enough for all of them to squeeze through.

Lucy started searching for any salvageable supplies, while Cooper made his way to the next door across the room, wondering exactly how far the shelter would go on for. This door wasn’t fully closed, and when it swung in, Cooper got an answer to what had happened to the people who had owned this shelter. Whatever this room had been before wasn’t clear anymore. Now, one wall was busted open like something had tunneled straight through the metal. In one corner was a pile of bones, which Cooper took to be the remains of the former occupants. He wasn’t sure what had taken up residence in this place, but it sure didn’t seem like something he wanted to tangle with.

“We’re gonna just keep to this room,” he said quietly, closing the door fully and searching unsuccessfully for a lock.

“Why? What’s in there?” Lucy came to stand behind him, still holding the candle in her hand. Cooper cleared his throat and turned to face her.

“Well, looks like something else either was or is living in there, and it made a nice snack outta whoever lived here before.”

Lucy wrinkled her nose and looked over his shoulder at the door, but didn’t try to move past him to open it. “Are you sure it’s safe for us to sleep here, then?”

Cooper shrugged a shoulder. “Don’t see as we’ve got another choice, Sweetheart. That storm out there would make you sick way before we could find another shelter. Anyways, whatever it is ain’t like to notice we’re here so long as we keep the sound to a minimum and go out the same door we came in through. These storms don’t tend to last more than a few hours. It’ll have cleared up by morning, I’m sure.” Lucy didn’t look convinced, so Cooper reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. “What happened to me makin’ you feel safe, huh?”

Now Lucy smiled and snorted a little, shaking her head. “You’re really going to use that against me here? You just told me something ate the people who used to live here in the other room.”

“Yeah, well, you watched me eat a fella right in front of you, and you don’t seem much scared o’ me,” Cooper flashed her a grin, not sure why the hell he was bringing up probably the most taboo thing he had ever done in front of her. To his surprise, Lucy chuckled.

“Is that your way of warning me you’re planning on turning me into ‘ass jerky?’” she asked.

“I could think of worse things to put in my mouth,” Cooper said before he could think better of it, and holy shit, was it a trick of the candle light and the Cateye, or did she blush a little bit at that? He cleared his throat and his hand fell away from her shoulder. “Anyhow, we better find a spot to bunk down for the night. I’m sure you and Dogmeat could do with something to eat and some rest.”

The next half hour or so was spent mostly in silence, and he figured it was because of the threat of something in the next room, and not because of him saying something stupid and tactless. Lucy and Dogmeat did both have a little dinner, then curled up together on a blanket, blowing out the candle, while Cooper sat nearby, keeping an eye on the door, a gun drawn just in case. Eventually he felt his own eyelids starting to droop. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to close them for just a couple minutes.

***

The crash that woke Lucy nearly sent her into a panic. The candle was out, and whatever the Cateye had done for her had worn off, leaving her groping around in the dark. Her worst fear was that something in the next room had returned and figured out there was something tasty sleeping one room over. When a hand grabbed her by the shoulder she almost jumped out of her skin, and the only thing that muffled a shriek of alarm was a hand clamping itself over her mouth.

“Easy there, Darlin’, it’s me. Ain’t planning on eating you just yet.” Cooper’s voice was hushed, but not whispered like they were being actively hunted by something, and Lucy relaxed, reaching up to put her hand over his and let him know it was safe to take his hand off of her mouth. As his hand came off of her mouth, his grip shifted until he could give her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Gimme a second. I’ll get that candle lit again.”

The couple seconds felt like they took much longer, but Lucy managed to weather it in silence. Dogmeat had found her in the dark and gave her hand a lick once Cooper had let go of her. Eventually the sound of a match striking made her whole body relax, even before the room came back into focus.

“What was that?” she asked once they could see that nothing in their room had changed.

“Thank I might know,” Cooper said, making his way back towards the door they came in through. The two of them managed to pile enough stuff up for him to reach the stairs that hadn’t collapsed yet, and when he pushed on the shelter doors they didn’t budge.

“Fuck,” Cooper swore under his breath, and Lucy felt a chill run down her spine.

“What?” she asked, even though she was fairly certain she knew the answer.

“Well,” Cooper drew the word out, then gave another shove. “I suspect the house up there might have blown over in the storm.” He pushed again, letting out a heavy grunt, but the door didn’t budge. “Which means we,” another push and a grunt, “are,” shove, “stuck.” He finally stopped pushing to look down at her, and Lucy shivered. Above them the sound of blowing wind was gone. Was that because the storm had stopped, or was it because there was now an entire house over the door to insulate from the noise?

“What do we do?” Lucy tried to keep the tremble out of her voice. She’d spent her entire life until recently underground. If she really thought about it, this wasn’t that much different than that… right?

“Not sure you’re gonna like this answer,” Cooper said, climbing back down the half broken stairs and dropping to the floor, brushing his hands off against his sides. “But there’s another way out of here. Whatever dug into that other room came from outside somewhere. We just need to figure out where that somewhere is.”

Lucy let out a slow breath. “You’re right. I don’t like that answer.” She shrugged her shoulders. “But if that’s our only option, then that’s what we have to do.”

Cooper clapped her on the back with one hand. “That’s the spirit,” he said. “Now come on. Time for more of that Cateye.”

Lucy did a few breathing exercises to calm herself as they got ready to check out the den next door. Whatever was coming next, it was clear she was going to need her head on her shoulders for it. The Cateye helped, and they were able to put the candle out again and stash it in her bag. Its light would have just brought attention to them anyways. Dogmeat was a little more complicated. Cooper wasn’t sure if Cateye worked on dogs, but in the end they got her to take it by hiding it in a bit of food. Whether it was their imaginations that she seemed to move around a little easier afterwards or not didn’t matter. There was only one way out now.

“Alright, “ Lucy finally said. “I’m ready.”

Cooper nodded and wordlessly pushed the door open as quietly as he could manage. Lucy hadn’t looked into the room earlier when he had scoped it out, but with the help of the Cateye she saw the pile of bones in the corner. For a second she wasn’t sure why he was so convinced it was the former occupants, but then she recognized a half crushed skull next to a largely intact one, and looked away from them, not wanting to catch any more details of the pile.

The hole in the caved-in wall was large enough that they could pass through without issue, leading Lucy to wonder just what could have possibly made it. As much as she wanted to ask questions, she kept her mouth shut, moving as quickly and quietly as she could, letting Cooper and Dogmeat lead. The tunnel didn’t branch out often, but once in awhile they would come to a fork and Cooper and Dogmeat would both get down and search around. Whatever means they were using to guide them out, Lucy wasn’t sure, but questions would have to wait.

They’d been walking for almost an hour when suddenly Dogmeat stopped her limping gait and lowered herself, belly to the floor, hackles raised. Despite her very obvious aggression, she didn’t make any sound. Lucy had seen Dogmeat handle plenty of threats by now, and quiet wasn’t a word that could be used to describe her, so what had her so spooked that she was afraid to even make a sound?

Lucy wanted to ask Cooper what was out there, but if Dogmeat was being quiet, she figured she should be too. Instead, she reached out and put a hand against his back to draw his attention. Cooper’s gaze remained locked firmly on the tunnel ahead of them, eyes narrowed. Distantly, a deep growl echoed down the tunnel to them, and the hairs on the back of Lucy’s neck and arms stood on end.

Cooper whipped around, eyes searching the walls. Eventually they landed on a crevice, and he grabbed Dogmeat by the collar and hauled her over, pushing her as far into the opening as she would go. Through the rough treatment the canine remained silent and shaking. Then, he grabbed Lucy, pushing her back there as well, following closely, pressing his body to hers to make sure they were as concealed as they could get. The two of them locked eyes, and in his gaze she saw a mix of apprehension and determination.

Behind them in the open tunnel, Lucy heard something dragging, and the rasp of deep, heavy breathing. Goosebumps broke out over her skin, and she strained to look over Cooper’s shoulder to see whatever was out there, but Cooper put a hand to her cheek, turning her face back towards his, holding her gaze again. The meaning was as clear as if he spoke it. She could practically hear his voice in her head.

Eyes on me, Sweetheart.

Nodding her head, Lucy waited as whatever it was in the tunnel moved past them. It stopped just outside the crevice, snarling low in its throat. It sounded huge. Cooper left his hand on Lucy’s cheek, his thumb brushing over her chin. Was he trying to keep her calm, or did he not even realize he was doing it.? Lucy let herself close her eyes, trying to pretend she wasn’t hiding in a corner like a child hiding under the bed from a monster.

Second by agonizing second ticked by before the thing finally moved along, its pace a little quicker as it followed their path back towards the fallout shelter. As soon as it was far enough away that they couldn’t hear it, Cooper’s body relaxed a little bit, but he still didn’t say anything. Instead, he pulled Lucy out of the crevice with him, then went back for Dogmeat, picking her up to get her out in the open. Wordlessly, he pointed back the way the creature had come from, and they resumed their trek, though moving as quickly as they could without making sound. Cooper was carrying Dogmeat, probably because of her limp, but his steps remained surefooted. Lucy’s heart was beating so hard in her chest she could hear the blood pounding in her ears. Irrationally she started to worry that the creature would hear too, and come after them.

Finally there was light ahead of them, and Lucy let out a heavy breath of relief. As practiced in physical activity as she was, the tension of their time in the shelter, and especially in this tunnel, was wearing on her, making every muscle heavy with fatigue. Also ahead of them she noticed something odd on the ground. It took a second for her to rationalize what she was seeing, and at the same time she realized it was a nest of large eggs, something reared up in the entrance of the tunnel.

Whatever it was noticed them immediately and let out a loud, guttural roar. It stood easily nine feet tall, and even from a distance, Lucy saw the long, sharp claws that tipped each of the digits of its hands. Dropping to all four, the creature charged at them, its head, which was topped by a pair of long curving horns, angled so it would ram right into them.

Cooper half dropped and half set Dogmeat down, scrambling to pull out a gun. “Get the fuck out of the way,” he snapped, pushing Lucy off to the side as soon as he had a free hand. She stumbled, almost falling, but managed to catch herself, drawing her gun as she did, eyes raking the area for anywhere she might take shelter. There were a few large, loose boulders and hunks of earth, but little else.

A shot rang out as Cooper fired, but the thing didn’t even slow down, and before he could pull the trigger again it had slammed straight into him with the force of a car, taking him right off of his feet. The creature let out another bellow at the same time Cooper yelled out in pain. Any silence they had used to their advantage was thoroughly broken, and Dogmeat started barking, doing her best to move around and look for an opening to help Cooper.

The creature sent Cooper flying off of his feet before raising itself to its full height again, giving Lucy a clear view of it. Its body was covered in dark, scaled flesh, though the Cateye made it impossible to tell the color. Along its spine were vicious looking spikes which got smaller before growing in length again as they lined its long, reptilian tail, and its lipless mouth sported sharp, thick teeth.

With Cooper laying stunned on the ground, the creature turned its focus to Lucy, and she saw a long, forked tongue dart out from between its teeth, tasting the air as it squared up on her. This time it didn’t lower itself to all fours to charge, but lumbered quickly towards her, one claw raised for a swipe that she imagined could take her head clean off. At the last second Lucy dove forward in a roll, sending herself between the thing’s legs. This took her out of range of those deadly claws, but put her in a perfect position to be struck by the whipping tail.

Turning, the creature focused on her again, its tail swinging, but Lucy managed to jump over it, feeling one of the sharp spines cut along the length of her leg as she dove away, knowing she would need distance if she even wanted to stand a chance. A howl ripped from its throat and it looked down to where Dogmeat had clamped her jaws onto its leg, shaking her head violently to tear the flesh. Before it could swipe at the dog, though, Cooper had climbed back to his feet, one hand on his ribs, and the other holding out the revolver, which he fired. Just like in Filly, the bullet exploded on impact with the creature’s shoulder, and it roared in rage and pain, giving the ghoul its full attention once more. Lucy ducked behind a large chunk of rock, popping out to fire off a few shots at it with her 10mm. It barely seemed to notice.

“Lucy, I said get the hell out of here, or this thing is gonna rip you in half!” Cooper shouted to her, then fired his gun again. Lucy didn’t have time to argue with him. It was obvious that this thing was capable of killing all of them. She knew Cooper could take a beating, and even bullets, without going down, but there was only so much even he could take, and she wasn’t about to lose him because she ran and left him behind.

Dogmeat was biting at its leg again, so the creature stopped moving towards Cooper, looking down at the dog, and swinging a claw at it. Dogmeat started to move, but Lucy watched in horror as the blow landed, sending Dogmeat flying off to the side with a yelp.

“Dogmeat!” Lucy cried, coming out again to fire as many rounds as she could before she had to reload. Likewise, Cooper fired several shots in rapid succession as the thing closed in on him again. When it went to hit him he ducked under the swing, scrambling back out of range. How could something so big be so fast? Then it occurred to Lucy, if they could slow it down they’d stand a better chance.

Lucy looked around for Cooper’s saddlebags, seeing where he’d dropped them nearby. She dove for them, hauling them back behind her rock and looked quickly, pulling out some rope. Although Lucy knew she was no cowgirl, she could make a tripwire. Tying off one end, Lucy started making her way around the little cave they were in, letting the rope trail behind her. Once she had made it to the opposite side, she looked back up at the fight.

“Hey!” she shouted, holding up the rope in her hands. Cooper looked up, seeing her with it, following the line of it with his eyes, and she saw him catch on, because he started maneuvering around to get the creature to follow him back over the tripwire. Lucy looped the rope around another solid rock, knowing that she’d never stand a chance of keeping the rope taught on her own once the monster walked into it.

As soon as Cooper stepped over the wire, the creature hot on his heels, Lucy yanked, and felt the pull as the monster walked into it. Part of her didn’t think it was going to work, so when the creature stumbled to one knee she couldn’t believe it. The victory was short lived, as it started to scramble back up.

“Lucy, let go!” Cooper shouted to her, grabbing up the rope, and Lucy let go so he could pull it closer to himself. At the same time, he ran around to the side of the creature and jumped onto its back, looping the rope around its horns several times while it roared and reared back, trying first to throw him off, then reaching back with its claws to impale him. Lucy reloaded her gun and was waiting for a clear shot, when the creature landed a strike. One of the claws slashed open Cooper’s side, and he grimaced, but managed to keep his hold.

The creature yanked against the rope, which was still fastened to one side of the cavern, pulling itself off balance. Cooper drew his revolver again, aimed it right at the back of the creature's neck, where the spine met the skull, and started firing. This time the creature let out a scream, stumbling to its knees, then falling flat on its stomach. Cooper rolled off, coming to stand in front of it, gun still aimed, though Lucy was sure by now the revolver was empty. The creature lay on the ground, wheezing and rattling, but otherwise not moving. Lucy came out from behind her rock, moving to stand next to Cooper.

“How bad did it get you?” she asked, then looked at the creature again. “What is it?” Then the memory of Dogmeat being sent flying slammed back into her brain, and she spun around, searching for where the dog had landed. Behind her, something shifted.

“Lucy!”

Something slammed into her. The creature was making one last strike, and Lucy expected to feel pain, but then she realized it wasn’t the creature’s claws that had pushed her, it was Cooper. The longest of the creature’s claws jutted through his stomach, and Cooper looked down like he wasn’t sure he believed what he was seeing. The attack had managed to catch Lucy too, leaving a long, open wound on her back, but if Cooper hadn’t thrown himself in front of it… She knew she’d be dead.

The arm went limp again, dropping back to the ground, dragging Cooper with it, and the monster’s death rattles finally stopped.

“Cooper!”

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toppatcivilwarfaceau · 1 year ago

Text

TCW Au prologue part 2/??

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Most Voted option: Jump.

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Henry: I won't repeat it again! You two either jump or I'll make you jump!

Ellie: (💭Shot! Time's running out...)

Reginald: (💭Wait... I have an idea!)

Ellie: *sighs in defeat* I guess this is it... We'll have to jump...

Henry: There we go~ what a very obedient girl you are~

Ellie: Reginald, I'm sorry, but we have to accept our faith, there's nothing we can do..

Reginald: Oh yes we can!

Ellie: What?

Reginald grabbed Ellie's arm and they both jump out of the plank, surprising Henry, Thomas and Geoffrey.

Henry: Woah...

Thomas: They really jump..

Geoffrey: Well looks like your leadership is back again Henry.

Henry: Yeah, I could've never done it without you two, and I think you two should be promoted to my right-hand and left-hand man.

Thomas: Oh my sweet God! Of course!!

Geoffrey: I accept boss! You won't regret this!

Henry: *chuckles* I know i won't.

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Back with Ellie and Reginald, the two Toppats were falling really fast.

Ellie: Reginald what on earth you were thinking?? We're going to die!!

Reginald: Trust me Ellie! I know what to do!

Ellie: Then make it quick before we die!!

Reginald: There's an bottom on your tophat! Press it!

Ellie: What is it going to do??

Reginald: Just press it!

Ellie without thinking twice pressed bottom in her tophat and it immediately got an helicopter out of nowhere, Ellie was really surprised because she didn't knew that her tophat and Reginald's could do something like that.

Ellie: W-wow...

Reginald: Surprised, huh?

Ellie: Y-yeah... I didn't know our tophats could do something like this...

Reginald: Well the Toppat Clan is full of surprises at every corner.

Ellie: Hehe, yeah I just notice tha- Woah!!

Ellie suddenly began to lose control in her helicopter and she jumped into Reginald and they both lose completely control and they crashed right into the cells of the airship.

Ellie: Ow...

Reginald: That hurt a lot...

Ellie: Sorry Reg...

Nicole: Miss Ellie? Boss-Reg?

Mercudi: Miss Ellie? Mr Copperbottom?

RHM: Reg?

Ellie: Eh??

Reginald: Righty!! *Hugs RHM*

Nicole: You two are alright! That's a relief!

Mercudi: Y-yeah! We thought you were dead!

Ellie: I'm just glad that you guys are on my side..

RHM: Yea' well we're not the only ones..

Ellie: Huh? What do you mean?

Reginald: Yeah Righty, what do you mean about that?

Nicole: Look outside and you'll see.

Mercudi: Y-yeah!

Ellie and Reginald kinda unsure about it went outside the cell and for their safety they noticed an Toppat knocked down on the floor, somehow when they crashed in the cell they knocked him out.

Ellie: Well at least one of Henry's allies was knocked down..

Reginald: Yeah..

"Miss Ellie? Mr Reginald?"

Ellie and Reginald looked to the cells where they heard the voice and they both got a huge surprise.

Ellie: guys??

Bonnie: Miss Ellie!! Help us!!

The witch: Henry's bastards locked us here just because we were loyal to you!

Carol: Yeah!

Sven: It's true! You have to get us out of here!

Earrings: I don't like this place!

Burt: None of us like this place Earrings!

Ellie: Don't worry! We'll find a way to get you guys out of there!

Reginald: She's right! Any tips?

Bonnie: That Toppat guy who you guys knocked down has the key!

Ellie: *looks at the Toppat guy* He?

The Witch: Yeah!

Reginald: Don't worry! We will release-

"What's going on here?"

Everyone got completely shock by hearing the voice and they saw that it was the andro- I mean cyborg Megan.

Everyone: Megan??

Megan: Miss Boss Ellie? Mr Copperbottom? What's going on? And why are Nicole and Mercudi in the brig?

Ellie: Megan! It's not what you think it is!

Reginald: She's right!

Megan: ... I'm sorry but I only trust-

Just in that moment the Toppat with the orange hat woke up.

Toppat Orange: Megan! Thank Goodness you're here! You won't believe what did stupid redhead did!

Megan: What?

Reginald: Don't listen to him Megan!

Toppat Orange: They're traitors Megan! You have to destroy them!

Megan: Silence! I won't listen to any of you and I don't care of which one is saying the truth!

Ellie: (💭Crud... What are we gonna do??) *Looks at Nicole*

#burt curtis #henry stickmin au #henry stickmin collection #sven svensson #thsc au #toppat civil warfare #toppat clan #twc au #rhm #ellie rose #thomas chestershire #geoffrey plumb #Henry stickmin #the witch #carol cross #thsc tcw au #oc #thsc oc

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mortallychaotickingdom · 2 years ago

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I don't want to rage on Clive supporters but my dear precious friend @narumitsu-lawlu wrote this little thingy here and I wanted to share it with you eheh (I only did the illustration at the end and actually we began that drawing with another purpose and we got to finish it right after finding out about Des’ victory but I'll just shhhh). Enjoy this little text! (and go follow her, she’s an amazing writer!)

The masked man sighed when he finally came back at the Bostonius. That little tournament was... endaring if anything, but also pretty tirying. He was eagerly waiting for a tea cup from Raymond after all of this.

When he got two invitations, one for Jean Descole and the other for Desmond Sycamore he wasn't surprised. Few people knew who he was and it was for the best. Though what the invitation was FOR made him do a double take.

Just to be sure he re-read it but it still said the same thing: An invitation to a tournament... but a "sexyman" tournament? When he read that he exploded of laughter. He knew he wasn't bad looking but he wasn't expecting THAT!

Anyway, the curiosity -and amusement too- took the better of him and he went. Notifying the staff that Desmond Sycamore was... well, he had a letter from him saying that he politely refused to participate. Upon hearing that the staff wasn't apparently surprised and said he was directly moved to the next round.

Well that was a first round easily won. he thought.

Noticing Layton too -uh. Didn't they know that his brother wasn't made for such a competition? He's too much of a gentleman for that.- and... oh yikes. Ascot was here too, as well as Henry. Shit.

He made a conscious effort to avoid them, and that inspector from Scotland Yard as well. And was that Luke? In doubts he stayed away from everyone.

Though the engineer couldn't really avoid his brother, -to whom he won against. Well, a victory is a victory; the number of times he swear to won against him, he never specified in what category did he?- nor Emmy (what the hell was she even doing here? And their encounter was more of a physical brawl than a vote from the public) but in the end he got to the finals.

And he was against a certain "Clive"- wait a minute.

Not only did he looked like an older version of his brother's apprentice -so that was who he saw earlier- but he was pretty sure he remembered him being in jail for almost destroying the entierty of London. (What a lack of style. A moving fortress really? Plus, innocents getting into this? Have he ever heard of collateral damages? For fuck's sake deaths aren't helping your cause!)

Needless to say, he also won against him.

Then again, Descole admitted the young man had talent -well as much as there was talent needed for this thing; he still had a hard time getting what the hell he was supposed to do- and potential. He was still young; he had all the time in the world to learn. So after a quick handshake the masked man offered him some advices for next time -if there was one-. The swordsman had more experience, but then again that's a thing Clive -if he remembered correctly- corrected every day. That kid got theatrics already memorized at least; that was a thing less to learn.

Maybe another time he will win who knows.

Anyway after all that was done and dealt with he was finally back. Putting away the cloak, mask and hat he finally allowed himself to relax -and with a glass wine to celebrate to boot. After all, why not? It wasn't like he had a lot to celebrate these days. However...

"Professor? You are back?"

He wasn't alone here; he put his glass on the table and turned around.

"Indeed I am- uh?"

Who he had before him was Aurora, there wasn't any doubts about it. But she was looking... different. She smiled softly.

"Do... you like it? Raymond and I went to the shop when you were gone, and we came back with this. -Really. he turned to Raymond amused before concentrating on the Azran girl again. It looks good on you. -T-Thank you. she offered a sweet smile. I heard there was... something to celebrate...? she asked. -Hm? I suppose there is. I was gone to a... tournament. And I won."

Better not go in the details of what that tournament was. However, the Azran emissary's expression lit up at this.

"Really? Well congratulations for your victory then!"

He smiled softly.

"Thank you Aurora."

#pl #professor layton #professor layton and the true sexyman #azran legacy #azran legacy spoilers #aurora azran #fanfic #fanart #collab #precious baby in a pretty dress #finally an Ipad drawing I don't hate too much #GO FOLLOW MY FRIENDS <3 <3 <3

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inktoony · 7 months ago

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Now that dark revival is old news,

I hated dark revival. Yes I played it at launch, and played it 3 separate times.

The writing is lazy and overly cartoonish and it runs mainly on being like "LOOK LOOK CHARACTER YOU LIKE- and like there's new ones too ig but they're kinda one dimensional and not expanded upon- LOOK JOEY AND HENRY HUMAN MODELS, AND A CUTE LIL BENDY, ARENT YOU GONNA FREAK OUT ON TWITTER ABOUT THIS!!!" (Exaggerated but you get the picture)

And I was so confused because yes, general audiences will like it and I can notice that it's a generally ok game, but compared to ink machine, the writing is objectively worse. And I dont know why I saw bendy fans who have been here a while say it's better. Visually? Yes. Gameplay? Debatable but there is more than just walking(I loved the alice puzzle section until the lost ones came in). But writing? No.

Characters get introduced and that's pretty much it until the finale.

Oh? You liked Porter? He had a post which told you he was clumsy and silly! Well, pal, he shows up, gives you an ability and YOU NEVER SEE HIM AGAIN!! You see him in the finale though! As if we DIDN'T forget that he existed after the introduction!

And before you say that I'm just autistic and like old thing better, yes I am but also.. You have someone basically unimportant like Jack Fain(I love you Jack this is an example) who has one audio log and implied to be the searcher with the nice hat in ink machine, and I could tell you more about that man than Porter. WITHOUT book lore.

I hate this fucking game, and I'm tired of keeping it in. I could do a whole presentation man, I'm tired.

I know people will disagree with me, but I feel like, even without book lore or whatever the fuck, the ink realm being JOEY'S TOTUREFIC FOR HENRY, is SO STUPID, IT HURTS ME. WHY DID EVERYONE JUST ACCEPT THAT FACT BTW?? I FEEL CRAZY BEING THE ONLY ONE WHO FOUND THAT MONOLOGUE ABSOLUTELY MIND NUMBING

I dont have high expectations for the cage, or even anything bendy does nowadays, but I'll consume and play and read it, because it's my special interest and characters like Sammy, Norman, etc. Still are very dear to my heart and I want merch of them and content and things like that. But like.. the team HAS the ability to do GREAT stuff, yet they do not for whatever reason which is probably money.

#inktoony text #rant post #bendy and the dark revival #bendy and the ink machine #cw caps #cw swearing

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writerwrightlegend · 1 year ago

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Spooktober Day 1.

Title:Bittersweet Reunion.

August Robinson finished setting up the newest animatronic for his pizzeria. Well, he shared ownership of the place with Michael, but he was only here during the night. He stepped back from the stage to inspect the new animatronic.

It was a black bear with a light orange eye. He seemed to be missing one of his eyes, but August could get it fixed if he found the right part. He also had red eyelids and cheeks, and there was a yellow star on his chest. He wore a red top hat and red bowtie as well as red knee caps. In his left hand, he was holding a yellow microphone.

"Lefty."

"You look a lot like Rockstar Freddy, heh, maybe I should've put you with the rest of the rockstar animatronics."

"Then again, there isn't much room on that stage for five animatronics."

August sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"And I'm talking to myself again, great."

He walked past the office and saw that it was unlocked.

"Hm?"

He went inside to investigate. While he was in the office. Lefty went online, and he began looking around the place.

"Does this place seem familiar to you, Charlie?"

A little ghost of a girl appeared next to the bear. She had on a mask that resembled the Marionette.

"Yeah, it does, I wonder if my friends are here."

They got off the side stage and went to the main stage. They saw the rockstar animatronics. Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy. All of them were here.

"Guys, wake up!"

After Charlie said that, four other ghosts appeared. Three boys and one girl. Each of them sported a mask that resembled a different animatronic. Gabriel wore the Freddy mask. Jeremy had a mask of Bonnie. Susie wore a Chica mask. And Fritz had on a Foxy mask.

"Charlie!"

"You're okay!"

"We were worried about you!"

"Did you find Cassidy and Evan?"

"Yeah, they're here too!"

"Come on out guys."

A golden version of Freddy appeared in front of everyone. With him were two more spirits. A boy and girl. The boy wore a mask that looked like a shadow version of Freddy while the girl wore a mask that looked like Golden Freddy.

"Yay! We're all together again!"

August came back out of the office, and he was stunned. He saw all of them, the robots and the ghosts. He wanted to run away but he also wanted to know if it was really them.

"Is that... August?"

Evan went over to where August was standing.

"Auggie? Is that you?"

"Evan... Are you really here?"

"Yeah! We're all here."

"Wow, he's so tall now!"

"I'm happy that the bad man never found you."

"Yay, we're glad you're okay!"

August couldn't believe what he was seeing. They were all here. All of them. His friends that he made at the various Fazbear locations. He thought he'd lost them all when they died. Their deaths drove him away from this place out of fear. Yet, something kept telling him to go back. Something told him that they were looking for him. He didn't think that he would ever find them yet. Here he was, talking to them. He couldn't help but start crying. He was finally seeing his friends after so long.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just happy to see you all."

As they were talking, the Mediocre Melodies came into the main room. They also had ghosts with them, and they wore masks that resembled the toy animatronics. Luke, Samuel, Tina, Danny, and Billy. August was happy to see them, too. The group was so busy catching up that they didn't even notice that the building had been set on fire. It wasn’t until August smelled smoke that he realized what was really happening. Henry brought them all together, and he was going to save all of them. August thought about running, but he chose not to. He wanted to be with his friends one last time before he died.

The souls tried to urge him to leave.

"You need to get out of here!"

"It's not your time to go yet!"

"We don't want you to die!"

He gave his friends a soft smile as a tear slowly creeped down his face.

"It's okay, it's going to be okay."

"I wanna be with you guys, one last time."

As the fire got worse, August struggled to breathe as the smoke filled his lungs. His coughing got more and more painful. At one point, he coughed up blood. It dripped down his mouth and hand. As he sat there, a familiar figure looked over him. The greenish fur with white eyes and a rabbit ear. He might've looked different, but August knew exactly who he was.

"Hello Spring Bonnie, or is it William Afton?"

"Well, well, it's you, the little boy who couldn't mind his own business."

"You killed them, why?"

"I had my reasons."

"Jealousy, revenge, immortality."

"My motive seemed to change over time."

"You caused so much pain and suffering for them."

"Do you think I cared about if the children were suffering or not?!"

"Ha! It didn't matter, as long as I harvested their remnant to remain immortal."

"You cared about Evan and Elizabeth, and both were killed by your creations!"

"That was a long time ago, I'm not that man anymore."

"That man, the business owner of Fredbears Family Diner, is long gone."

He got onto the stage and slashed through his stomach with the axe that he had found.

"Gnh!"

August struggled against the axe as it dug into his belly. He managed to pull the axe out and rip it out of Afton's arm.

"I think the devil is waiting for you."

With whatever strength that August had left. He tackled Afton to the ground and began hacking away at his body with the axe. He tore Afton's new body apart till there was nothing but his head. With one last swing, he dug the axe deep into his head. He stumbled back onto the floor and looked up to see Charlie, reaching out her hand towards his. He reached for hers, but it fell to the floor as his vision went black and his heartbeat faded away.

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lostonehero · 1 year ago

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Burn the slow burn slow

I dunno they are both dumbasses

William stared at Henry. He was laid out on his couch. "What will we tell Micheal?"

Henry's black eyes opened and looked at William. "William." His accent is heavy and thick, causing William's mouth to dry like he ate sand. "We'll just tell him the kids are handling it. I'm sure he will be happy with that."

William nods and curses internally as his room shifts and the couch Henry is on turns to a bed. "I... uh"

Henry blinks and shifts his weight, stretching his form over the bed. Spider legs from his back spread out to each corner of the bed. "Are you alright?"

William swallows the lump in his throat, staring at his friend. Henry wasn't in his suit. He was wearing welding gloves as an attempt to cover and hide his claws. He had a black button-up, with blood red suspenders on, and black dress pants. He was wearing a hat to cover his horns as well. It didn't do a good job, though. He was alluring, and he was afraid he was already in his friend's web.

"William, are you ok? I haven't hurt you, right?"

"N-no." William stutters covering his face. Maybe if Henry hurt him, he would be able to stop these thoughts, these doors from appearing. There weren't any new doors, but the lights in his office dimmed.

Henry raised his brow, sitting up on the bed. "Do you want me to leave?"

Oh, that was the last thing William wanted. He nearly jumped, hearing the door to his office lock shut. "I, uh.... bloody fuck." He covered his face. When he uncovered his face, Henry was gone. His office felt cold.

....

Henry blinks and sits up in his bed. William didn't come out with him. He didn't know why he felt something twist inside him, with his friend not here. He hasn't been able to control his form since Micheal got hurt. He thought if he saw Clara get hurt, it would fix it. It hasn't, and now William is odd, and he hoped it wasn't his fault.

He sighs, staring at his alarm. Maybe he should sleep in one day to talk to William. It always took his friend a while to open up even in normal conversation.

He stretches and yawns, getting out of bed. A shower will do him well, and proper breakfast will help him wake up. Maybe William will join him for breakfast, or at the very least, come out of his office. He was acting off, and he hoped it wasn't because of his actions during the night.

William has never seen him be cruel or angry like that. He really hoped he didn't scare him. He chuckles. Maybe the bed was because William thought he needed rest. They both needed a break after dealing with Clara. Maybe when Micheal headed over, he could get William to come out.

Henry pauses scanning over his closet. An old pair of suspenders stood out to him. "Didn't think I kept these old things." He chuckles, what he wore these on opening day for the diner. Maybe he could wear them again. His thoughts traveled back to William. Did he like his suspenders? He shook his head. He didn't know where that thought came from.

He took out the old pair and some nice casual clothes to go with them. He should plan a good breakfast. Cooking helps clear his mind. He must be lingering on something that's probably why he felt so off that William wasn't out with him.

Breakfast was mundane and quiet for the first time in a month since William entangled himself in Henry he felt alone. He sighs, cleaning his dishes, he had more time to kill, waiting for Micheal and Jeremy to come over. Maybe Jen or Margaret will visit again.

He has gotten used to silence to being alone. He has been alone for ages, he visited family, and he did travel, but he always returned here. The old home was too big for one person, but he couldn't bear to leave this place.

He sighs, placing the clean dishes on the drying rack. He's been so focused on the museum and just making sure the kids were happy that somewhere along the line, he burned the bridges with everyone but family. He sighs, he couldn't just go back to bed to chase after William.

He picked up his phone and sighed. A few messages. James tells him that he'll break his vegetarian streek for those ribs. Jen gave him the message that she got Margaret home. Margaret wants to bake Micheal a cake and wants to know his favorite flavor. A few messages from the security guards who report nothing is wrong. Even his stockholders were happy.

He frowns, putting his phone down. He needed something to do. He had to get rid of this growing feeling, eating away at his sound mind. He didn't have a name for it, but it didn't matter. He sighs and heads to his workshop in his tool shed. Building something can help. He just needed to create something.

.....

Micheal wondered around the empty house. "Did you find him?" He had worry knawing at his mind. He didn't know where his uncle had gone.

"No, but his phone is on the charger." Jeremy pokes his head through the door. "Micheal, he's probably fine. His phone is here, which means he came home last night."

Micheal sighs, looking out back. He notices that the lights are on in the tool shed. "I think he might be out back." He heads out back slowly, heading towards the shed.

Micheal knocks on the door and jumps out of the way as the door swings open. "Oh... Micheal?" It was Henry. He moved his welding mask off his face. "Sorry, I started a new project. I didn't realize how much time had passed." He gives back inside, putting back his mask and gloves and putting his apron on the hook. "Are you alright, kid?"

Micheal nods and surprises Henry with a hug. "Yeah, I'm ok. I'm ok. I'm ok."

Henry pats Micheal's back. "Hey, I'm ok. Last night went fine. The kids handled everything." He smiles, ruffling Micheal's hair. "Did you get enough rest?"

Micheal shrugs. "Jeremy helped me sleep. I uh didn't realize you were working."

Henry chuckles. "Your father is in his office, and I thought I could start a new project waiting for him to come out. I let time get away from me."

Micheal shakes his head and chuckles. "It's ok, I'm just glad you're ok."

Henry stretches. "Ah well, I hope you two are ok with leftovers, I seem to have run out of time to cook anything."

"That sounds great, Uncle Henry." Micheal smiles following his uncle back inside.

....

Henry doesn't notice William at first, Jeremy sees him first in a mirror. They're in the living room, and William is trying to look presentable. He's a mess. His cowboy shirt has been replaced with a crop top that just says, "Please." his shorts are somehow even shorter and now made of jean material. He's not even wearing socks, and his hair is past his ears curly and a mess.

William spots Jeremy, then Micheal and his clothes blink to a purple button-up and black shorts. His hair remains the same length.

Jeremy raises his brow. He opens his mouth to speak and then shuts it. He's leaning on Micheal while he talks to Henry about his new machine he's building. The two don't notice William has come back out.

William mouths. "I didn't mean to come out." He looks back at Henry then to Micheal. He vanishes for a moment, then returns. He shuts his eyes and covers his face. He uncovers his mouth and mouths. "I can't go back inside."

Jeremy bites his lip, suppressing a smile. He is extremely happy he has mastered reading lips, even if it was just for this moment. He did feel slightly bad. William looks like he was having a rough time, but equally, this was hilarious. They probably just had their first time, and neither know how to react.

William sighs, looking back to Henry. He clears his throat, getting the man's attention. "Henry, why didn't you tell me they were visiting?"

"I thought you would come out sooner." Henry smiles.

William tilted his head confused when he felt a surge of relief from Henry. He was learning quite quickly he didn't feel anything from him unless the emotion was strong. "Right well." He looks to Jeremy. "How's Micheal doing?"

Before Jeremy could speak. "Father, are you ok? I know how mom treated you..." Micheal shifted awkwardly in his spot, sitting up straight.

William relaxed and sighed. "She was no problem. The kids handled her."

"The kids handled her, just like your uncle said, Micheal." Jeremy gives a 'I told you so' look.

Micheal playfully pushes him. "Stop." He huffs. "I just wanted to make sure ok."

William smiles. "I'm fine. I'm glad you care."

Jeremy hums. "He says thank you."

....

Henry hums a song William doesn't recognize as he washes the dishes. "Are you ok? I wanted to apologize for earlier." William sighs. "Just when I think I have some control.."

"Apologize for what?" Henry smiles, putting the dishes down to dry. "I should be apologizing. I didn't think my alarm would drag me out like that."

William bit his lip and looked away. Did Henry get what his showed him? Did Henry want the same thing he did?

"I didn't think I looked that tired, but I guess you thought otherwise. Why else would you put me in a bed?" Henry chuckles. "Thanks for looking out for me."

Something clicked in William's mind, and his outfit changed to jeans and a hoodie. His hair was shorter as well. "Y-yeah the evening with Clara. I was just worried about you."

Henry frowns. "Did I upset you?"

"No..." William sighs. "I uh can't control my outfits."

Henry pauses. He didn't like this creeping feeling growing inside of him like he did something wrong. "William..." He stops not knowing what else to say.

William raised his brow. "Henry, I'm fine, truly." He sighs. "We shouldn't keep the two. They are insisting we watch a movie with them."

Henry can't shake the feeling it only grows. He nods. "You're right, but it's mostly Jeremy pushing the movie. He says it's about cowboys."

William hums. "Westerns are fine."

"He didn't say it was a western." Henry shrugs. "Something about a mountain in the title. Micheal might veto it he got really concerned when he suggested the movie."

"Can't imagine why. Westerns are a safe bet unless the film industry has changed since I've died." William floated next to Henry as he made some popcorn.

"It has, but it still feels like they play the same movies, just updated graphics." Henry smiles.

....

"Isn't that a bit on the nose?" Henry raised his brow, looking at the movie on the screen.

Jeremy has his arms crossed and is leaning on Micheal. "I'm telling you, Brokeback Mountain is fine, Mr. Emily has experiences on a ranch."

"I do in my youth. I did all sort of farm work, including helping out with the livestock." Henry smiles. "But that doesn't explain why you want this movie... Night at the Museum, again, isn't that a bit on the nose."

Micheal sighs. "If you don't like it, Father can pick."

William was curled up in his hoodie that Henry had noted gotten larger. He looked over purple gaze dull, and he had a mix of bored and tired gazes on his face. "Pick what?"

Jeremy points to the TV. "A movie, since Mr. Emily doesn't have a preference, and Micheal won't let me put on Brokeback Mountain."

William sat up he was barely floating off the floor. "Where's the vhs tapes to pick from?"

"Micheal, what's a Vhs?" Jeremy whispers to Micheal.

Micheal covers his face. "I keep forgetting you're like a baby." He sighs and points to the TV. "Father, there all on the TV now. You can just pick one."

William looked at the TV, then back to Micheal. "I uh...." He looks to Henry then back to Micheal. He just shrugs. "I've been dead."

Jeremy takes the remote from Micheal, who promptly wrestles it back from Jeremy. The remote ends up on the floor while the two men wrestle on the ground.

Henry picks up the remote. William watches him scroll through the TV through different pictures, which he assumed was just different movie posters. He stopped on a poster William recognized, as the movie Blazzing Saddles.

The two men on the floor don't realize as Henry pressed play as he moved the popcorn bowl from the ground. Henry looked to William and smiled. "Westerns are fine."

"I suppose a comedy is fine." William shrugs.

.....

Henry chuckles, watching the two men head off to bed. "You know they sure have less energy than we did at that age."

William gives Henry a look. "They aren't going to bed, Henry."

"Well, of course they are. They wore each other out. Ah, to be that young and free again." Henry smile fades as he watches William pull over his hood covering his face, leaving his purple eyes to glow in the dark.

"I think I rather turn in." William sighs he feels the blockage preventing him from returning has long been chiseled out.

Henry frowns. "It's not that late. We can..." He stops William has already vanished. The growing feeling in his chest only intensified as he stared in the spot William was in. What did he do? What was he doing wrong? He grits his teeth, rubbing his temples. He had to stay in control of his emotions, even if he didn't understand why it hurt.

....

Henry turns in early, he couldn't excuse himself going into his workshop, Lord knows if Jen or Margaret find him going through old habits working at night, they will drag him out by his ears. Shutting his eyes and opening then his home, his mind was a war zone.

Henry shuddered, someone, no William was going through his mind. He didn't understand why it felt weird. He gave his friend permission. Maybe he should find him. His mind wasn't exactly clean at the moment, and could he get hurt? He didn't want to find out.

...

William was just being selfish. He knew that. He knew that rooting around his friends mind was bad, and he shouldn't be looking for things in his friend's memories. He jumps as a light explodes above him. Right, he breathes this is just his friend's mind, and it's just a reflection. Henry was probably in a bad mood, no thanks to him.

William nearly tripped over... a cane? It wasn't Henry's. He would recognize that thing, Henry built it when his legs started to get bad, carved the top like the puppet after Charlie. This was more old-fashioned. He picked it up and tried his fingers over the brand on the side. It was burned into the wood, not carved. He probably should stop he didn't recognize anything around him.

William hugs the cane against his chest as he jumps again. The path where he just came from sealed itself off. Ok, so he wasn't going back that way. Maybe he should have just stayed in his mind soaking in his misery. He took a breath and kept moving forward. This area didn't look like Henry's home either.

He remembered the first month's in the museum. It was decades since he saw Henry. He didn't even realize it was his friend who caught him. He was older, and his dirty blonde locks were almost completely white. Well, he also had a buzz cut, which didn't help, and his beard was shaved completely off. He looked like a shell of his former friend at the time. Well, he didn't look much better, a corpse in a springlock suit.

William sighs, lost in thought he didn't even see the man in front of him. He blinks on the ground, staring up at the man, no teenager he knocked into. Did Henry have another ghost in his head? Was that why he wasn't so freaked out?

The teen looked down at William. "Put ma's cane down. She ain't like it touched." The kids' accent was thick enough. William had trouble understanding it.

"Excuse me?" William blinks, examining the kid in front of him. He was pure muscle like he did nothing but work since he was able to walk. His eyes were hidden under sand brown hair. He didn't even have facial hair yet. His clothes were patchwork of several different items put together to fit his frame.

The kid frowns, amber eyes poked through the long hair. He pointed to the cane in William's hand.

William put the cane next to him as he got up. "It's rude to point." He says with no true bite to his word, holding out the cane to the boy. The boy makes no motion to take it. "Well, don't you want this?"

The boy looks up at William. "You must be lost, mister." His accent thick, and he didn't exactly give the most inviting look.

William frowns. Did his friend have skeletons in his closet? This kid looked young, probably not older than 13. Did he have another kid before Charlie? "Uh, excuse me, what's your name?"

The boy turned away from William, and he walls deeper into the unfamiliar area, vanishing as a new sound makes William jump. The area shifts and jerks violently as William is spit back into a familiar living room.

He was holding onto the cane he picked up like a lifeline as he came crashing down to the ground. Black eyes stared above him, and sharp ichor cover claws ripped the cane from his grasp, then the smell of smoke, and it was gone.

"Willaim?" Henry had an unreadable expression on his face as he looked down on his friend. "I don't mind you looking through my mind, as I said before, but maybe come back when it's not a mess."

William sat up, realizing his clothes had changed back to dress pants and a button-up shirt. He blinks, looking around. "I think I got lost."

Henry laughs, and it doesn't comfort William the way it should. "Lost? William, you know my home like the back of your hand. Maybe you confused your pathways for mine." He pulls William up to standing.

William shrugs. "I didn't want to fester in my mind."

"Like I said before, you are welcome to look around, but again, wait till I manage to clean up. I don't want to risk you getting hurt."

William raises a brow. "I'm already dead Henry, there isn't much more you could do."

.....

Henry sat cross-legged on William's bed as he watched his friend sweep up nonexistent dirt in his mind. "Did you see a memory you didn't mean to see? I'm not mad, just curious."

William pauses broom, vanishes from his hands. "I didn't look at any of your memories, I just got lost." He spots that cane he found in the corner of his room like it was tempting him to follow, to ask.

Henry hums. "I don't know why it's such a mess. Maybe I might be coming down with a cold, and it always makes my thoughts sluggish when I get sick."

William looked back at Henry. This is the second time he hasn't been able to look normal. He wasn't complaining because he looked good as a monster, but he was worried. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." Henry smiles, and his spider legs double from 4 to 8 behind him.

William raises his brow. "Did that hurt?"

"Did what hurt?" Henry tilts his head confused on what William was asking.

"N-nothing." William shakes his head as he sits on his couch. So Henry was lying, but he didn't know about what, and he didn't know how to move forward. He has never been good talking things out and would much rather turn to the easier solution such as the bottle or letting his wife use him like a toy. Honestly, being in Henry's living body forced him to look at himself in a mirror and go over himself. It was like a forced therapy, and he hated to admit that he felt mentally healthier than he had in a very long time.

Henry pauses and then summons a pair of welding gloves. "Ah, I knew I forgot something."

William frowned, watching Henry put on the gloves. "Your claws aren't an issue if you don't use them. You don't have to cover them."

"It's safer if I do." Henry doesn't lose his smile.

William nods, pausing a chess set that appears in front of him. "Huh, I didn't know I could do that."

"It's your mind, William. Why wouldn't you be able to summon objects, you know?"

William frowns, Henry did have a point. He sighs. "Would you like to play?"

"I'm not good at chess, but sure, a game wouldn't hurt." Henry smiles, sliding off the bed and into the chair across from William.

....

Henry was humming as he made breakfast. He woke up a little later than he normally would, but he felt relaxed. William was by his side he is drawing something in the notebook he took from his mind. He was learning how to work his powers, which was a good thing.

Henry chuckled, seeing Micheal drag himself into the kitchen his hair was a rats nest. "Shouldn't you be more awake kiddo, you two did go to bed early."

Micheal raises his brow and stretches, the red and purple marks on his neck that his hair barely covers, and answers the question Henry doesn't even have on his radar. "Mmmh, I slept late."

Henry's mind catches up with him. "Ah." He looks to William, who just gives him a look. "It's been a while since I was young."

William's notebook vanishes as he loses focus. He turns his attention to Micheal. "You were busy."

Micheal hums and smiles. "Jeremy is gonna sleep in. Can you leave some breakfast on the side for him?"

That answers a second question Henry isn't prepared to think about. "Of course." He smiles politely and returns his focus to cooking.

#five nights at freddy's #fnaf #henry emily #william afton #immortal micheal afton #micheal afton #jeremy fritzgerald

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simplelvl · 1 month ago

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I dreamed I was on an island doing a part-time job over the summer. Apart from the workers on that island, it was inhibited by a tribe. Me and the girls my age would wander the beach when there was nothing else to do. The ocean caught speed, the waves grew bigher and closer until they started crashing over the stoney mountain wall and chasing us as we ran closer to the forest. One of the girls called for a tsunami, but it never got to that. Another said it was the sea monster awakening, but there was none to be seen. Instead, the waves kept themselves speedy enough to lick at our skin and sized enough to swallow us into them.

there, underwater, I could see what a sea creature could see. At first, I only saw bones. Then I saw skin. Faded, fading, and almost complete skin. Children, sewn together in their middle, and to the hands of each other. The look of horror as a last engravement on their no longer innocent faces. Victims, is what they were.

I swam to the top, and the ocean helped spit me out. My body was quivering with the cold and the fear as I returned to the office. I wanted to tell someone of what I had seen, but when I rounded the back, out on the ocean in the black night, lit up by a yellow light, lay a grown man with ginger beard on a floatie, his arms wrapped around a little boy. The boy with his dark features belonged to the tribe, but the man was cuddling him as if it was his possession.

It made me sick. I backed into the house and went to find my supervisor to tell her. But when she shrugged her shoulders, and said ’ah, yeah, they cuddle’, I understood I stood alone on my side. And so I had to nod and pretend I accepted it.

The next day I canoed on the waters. It was perfectly still, but leading. The day was gray, and cold. On the bridge sat one of the older boys, with his long black hair and straw hat, on a little straw swing. He was wearing bamboo and teeth around his neck, and something else that made a rattling sound when he moved. I rode the little boat closer, and could see the boy’s pants were bloodied on the back.

As I got off the little boat and hopped onto the bridge, I wanted to ask him what had happened, and who had done it. But the white men felt nearby. Even the trees seemed to have ears that belonged to the enemy. Every time the boy moved, it gave away a piece of us. I asked him to tell me something true, but what he did was pull at a string from his mouth, and he pulled it from his throat until he, with a gagging sound, pulled out a hand from his throat. I knew then they’d managed to threaten him into silence. And then, with me as a witness, one of the white men came down to the bridge with feigned friendliness, putting his hands on either side of his shoulders and asking him to ’come help Henry.’ I watched helplessly as the boy was lead away.

At dusk, I found myself on the edge of the ocean again, whispering my secrets down the surface, filling it with tales I hoped terrible enough to reach beneath the surface. But nothing happened, except for my own guilt bouncing back from the surface to me, washing over me harder and colder than any wave could.

I will save the children, I thought. I did not know how. I went back to the workers’ lodging to find someone I could trust. But how would I know who to trust? It could be a mere façade. They could pretend to be on my side, only to stop me. Even the friendliest face could hide the devil’s accomplice. The best thing I could do, was beat them at their own game. And so, I pretended to diligently be one of them, hinting I knew about their occupation, and agreeing with it.

When these people got comfortable, they got sloppy. It was one of those black nights that I was led to them. Cooped up in a shed, three of them, two boys and a girl. They were afraid of me, I could tell. In that silent, stiff matter, where they did not make efforts to disobey or reject my reaching hand, but also not daring to look the monster in the eye. ’I’m not the monster,’ I wanted to say, but my throat was swollen with disbelief, for I could see myself through the eyes of these children. I reckoned it was a phrase they’d heard before, from the lips of these white beasts.

I led them to the boat. That was my plan. To put us there and canoe as far away as we could, until we reached the coastal barrier tp safety, if there was such thing as safety. As I was untying the rope of the boat, the ruckus began. The black windows lit up, the silence cut with shrieks and mayday. Our company of four surrounded. I clutched to the little fingers, gaining their little trust when they finally saw the opposing team, and so they clutched back at me. Ripped at me, reached me with their small voices, like soft meows in my ear, climbing on me as frightened squirrels.

I held one of the boys in my arms, the girl clutching my waist as she peeked out from behind me, and the boy holding on to my free hand. I realized there is no escape, and no mercy other than death. ’Trust me,’ I lied to them. ’Close your eyes and hold on to each other.’

They did as I said for in those last minutes of their life, I was their saviour, and in our imagination we were saved. It was the last kindness I could offer them, as I held on to them and plunged us into the deep waters. I watched the bubbles slowly cease, the look of horror forever frozen on the children’s faces, the kind of picture that didn’t go away even when you closed your eyes and welcomed death.

When I awokened, I was still underwater, but as I inhaled my lungs did not fill. As I looked around, algea had grown around my legs and wrists, my hair becoming the same consistency as wet leaf. I looked beside me and saw them. The little ones’ clothes had ripped and I could see them, laying beside each other, their hands molten together, the stitches of their bodies reminding me of what I’d seen all that time ago. It was I, the sea creature, reliving my nightmares on the bottom of the ocean. I cried out in terror, and I screamed out in rage.

up there, on the surface, I could see the floatie. I remembered the black night with the yellow light, knew there was sinning onboard; one demon and one innocent. I thought to myself ’I’m not letting you go this time’, and as my heart filled itself with rage and yearn for revenge, I swam to the top until the white monster’s leg was in reach. With one swift movement, I dragged him under, and tore him apart, limb for limb, as his screams were silenced in the water. As I looked up, the child was staring down at me, and I gave him a smile before disappearing back to the bottom, to my sleeping children, making them dresses out of algea to protect their bodies and taking my place as the mythical sea creature and guardian of the ocean.

So yeah. That is what my fucked up head shows me when I’m sleeping. I woke up in the middle of it all and had to turn on my night light because I was so disturbed and horrified.

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