#anyways it becomes a fun game of how long until either loop tries to kill siffrin or siffrin somehow pieces things together

[thylacid]

could not sleep last night cause i was busy thinking about how funny it'd be for loop to come back on a onehat ending

[georgescatcafe]

the rising chariot — 2

rating: t warning/s: none pairing/s: platonic dream team, karl jacobs/sapnap genres/tags: percy jackon and the olympians au, friendship, angst summary: Nick Pappas isn’t sure it’s normal for teenagers to be sent across the United States on a quest that could potentially kill them, but Nick has started to realize that everything he thought was normal is entirely false. George Davies doesn’t particularly want to spend three consecutive days with this new camper and that son of Hermes who snagged his win in Capture the Flag two weeks ago, but he knows he has to suck it up and go with them, no matter how irritating they may be. Clay Bryce just wants to prove himself and show that he’s more than that troublesome kid from Cabin Eleven, but even as the leader of this quest, he’s not sure how to when Nick has fire powers and George is practically capable of mind-control.

Yet what they feel and want will mean nothing if they don’t complete their quest. When a petty feud between gods has Apollo threatening to take the Sun from the sky, the three must head out to stop him, but not just that—they’re in a race against an ancient enemy of the god, one who definitely will try and kill him if it gets to Apollo first.

+ao3 +masterpost

Floris came by his house again the next day. Nick stared at him as he stood in the doorway. “School’s cancelled indefinitely,” Floris told him. “They said they’ll work on rebuilding as soon as they can, but while we still don’t have a physical school, we get summer break early.”

“Happy birthday to me,” Nick replied, though there was no mirth in his voice.

Floris smiled anyway before his eyes got all shifty, and he leaned forward, as if looking for something. “Are your parents home?” Nick wondered if Floris knew about his situation. He knew about Nick’s mom; or, at least, Nick assumed he somehow did. It wouldn’t surprise him that he knew about the rest of his living arrangement, either.

“I managed to get taken away by a deranged cop the day they left for their anniversary,” he answered. “And they aren’t putting that on hold for me.” His younger sisters—homeschooled, lucky them—were sent to their grandparents last week. The only reason Nick didn’t go was because he was old enough to handle himself. Or so he thought. “I’m home alone.”

“Nice,” Floris hummed, hand settling on the doorframe thoughtfully. “So about yesterday….”

Nick held up a hand, wincing as a headache bloomed behind his eyes. “I really don’t want to talk more about it.”

Floris made a face, but Nick was being honest. The whole ordeal just made him feel sick. “It’s good to—”

“Talk things out, I know,” NIck replies, “so you said. But, look, man, that was really traumatic, okay? And I think I hit my head too hard on the door because I was seeing things, and it was just really scary. I don’t want to think about it anymore.”

Floris studied him, gaze intense, and Nick straightened up under it, shoulders moving back and chest puffing up slightly. It wasn’t an intimidating look, but there was something… unnerving about it. He felt he had to prove something. Finally, Floris sighed. “It’s probably for the better for once. Just… if something like that happens again, you should take this.” He held out a small card, and when Nick took it, he realized it was a business card.

“Call me, okay?” Floris asked. “Don’t be a stranger.”

Nick stared at the card for another second before looking back up at the other. “Okay,” he agreed. “I’ll call.”

Floris gave him a final smile before pivoting on his heel. He was about to walk off when he spun back around. “Oh, uh, I made these for you.” He held out a baggie filled with what looked like lemon bars. “I don’t recommend eating them all at once. I’ve found they’re pretty good for when you need comfort food, or, like… healing. Or something.”

Nick accepted the bag. “Uh-huh. Thanks.”

“Yeah,” Floris said, before smiling for the last time for real and turning, heading down the walkway and taking off down the road.

Nick looked back down at the lemon bars. They weren’t his favorite. He definitely wasn't going to eat them all at once. Dumb of Floris to even tell him that.

He went about his routine like usual, now that school was out of the picture. It was a bit weird actually, sitting down to a day of mindless video games with no guilt, no homework to turn in or tests to study for. (Granted, most of his homework was left incomplete, and most tests were taken with no studying involved prior. Not that Nick was a dumb kid, school just… wasn’t for him. In case you couldn’t tell by the whole burning it down thing. Not that he meant to do that. Just to be clear. In case you missed that fact.) Nick sunk deeper into his beanbag chair, fingers flying across his Xbox controller as he focused on the small TV in his room. He wondered if his parents knew about his early summer already.

Probably not.

He played until the Sun went down, only stopping to pee or get food, and his routine looked very much like that for the next three days until his parents returned, and he found himself thrown into the monotony of chores and errands. It was preferable to reading-induced migraines, but he also missed the break from home school provided. The town he lived in on the edge of Houston was easy enough to navigate on foot, and his dad had started to give him driving lessons, but the lessons had to be put on hold for work, and walking around the city was a lot less fun when there was no one else to walk with.

The business card he’d taken to keeping in his pants’ pocket ever since Floris gave it to him seemed to become a paperweight then. Nick pulled it out.

Floris Larkspur Keeper Half-Blood Hill Long Island, New York (800) 009-0009

The information on it was terrible to read, in some fancy, looping font, but Nick understood it well enough once he squinted for a while. He frowned at the address and phone number. The number was obviously toll-free, meant more for business rather than personal use, and the location itself… New York? Nick frowned before returning the card to his pocket.

He’d have better luck running into Floris in the grocery store. Besides, the only bit of info on the card that didn’t leave him more confused than how he started was Floris’s name. Nick bit the inside of his cheek. Maybe Floris wasn’t the best person to walk around the city with.

Nick sighed, wondering if his stepmom would maybe send him on a grocery run. He was surprised when he walked into the living room to see his parents sitting on the couch, staring at him expectantly.

“Is something wrong?” he asked. “I didn’t mean to burn down the school. I promise.”

His stepmom rose from her place on the couch. “We believe you,” she said, hand coming to rest on his shoulder. His heart pounded as his gaze dropped to her hand. “You aren’t in trouble. Actually, the opposite.”

He stared at her before turning to his stepdad.

“Your birthday, Nick,” he said.

His birthday. He completely forgot about it. He looked at his stepmom.

“We’re sorry we weren’t here to celebrate with you,” she told him. “That was our fault. So we did something extra special for you.”

“You didn’t miss much,” Nick replied, even as she guided him over to the couch where his stepdad opened his laptop.

“With no school,” his stepmom said, “we figured it would be okay if spring break came early.”

And there, right on his dad’s laptop screen, a ticket to New York City.

Nick’s eyes turned to saucers as he stared between his parents, gaze going from his stepdad, back to his stepmom, then vice versa. “You’re kidding,” he breathed.

“Your flight goes out in two days,” his dad said. “A week there and straight back.”

“By myself?” Nick asked, hardly believing his luck.

“You’re sixteen,” his dad replied, even as his stepmom made a face.

“We have a second ticket,” she explained. “We can resell it, but… if you wanted to take a friend—a responsible one.”

Nick didn’t have many friends. Constantly switching schools did that to a kid. He stared blankly at his stepmom, who offered him a tentative smile in return. He tried to give one back, but his mind was reeling, wondering who to invite—if they’d really let him go on his own or not.

“Y’know,” his dad started, “there’s this one kid I’ve run into a couple times, at the gas station, the store, kind of funny looking, ginger, always asks after you.”

Oh, God. “That’s,” Nick hid his face in his hands, humiliation rising in his throat, “Floris.”

“A friend?” his stepmom asked, hopeful.

Nick nodded.

“Perfect!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “And clearly he cares about you. I think that’s a good one to take.”

“Mom,” he said, even as the name tasted bitter on his tongue, knowing his actual mom was still out there, “no. There’s got to be someone else—or I could go on my own, right? Right, Dad?”

His stepdad said nothing. So that was just a fib, then. Nick’s face fell.

“I think Floris would be good,” she urged. “You don’t have to spend every second together.”

“But you’ll want us to,” he argued.

“I just want you safe,” she said, “and I know your dad wants the same.”

Nick made a face.

Finally, she made one too, expression souring. “Nick, we just want to do something nice for you—for once. Can’t you just accept it?”

“I,” Nick made a frustrated noise deep in his throat, “why now? You’ve never cared. Is it because I almost went to prison?” He looks to his stepdad. “Do you feel guilty or something? That you couldn’t stop them from taking me, just like you couldn’t stop them from taking Mom—my real mom,” he added quickly, unable to stop the glare he shot at his stepmom, polite as she may be.

Her hand flew to her chest, as if stung, and his stepdad sat up, brows furrowing, lips downturned in a severe frown. “Nick Pappas, don’t you dare talk to us like that,” he scolded.

“Or what?” Nick snapped. “You going to kick me out? I bet you’d love that! You wouldn’t have to look for a new school anymore; you wouldn’t have to look at me and be reminded of her. You’d love that, wouldn’t you?”

“What’s gotten into you?” his stepmom cried. “You’re never like this!”

“I’m just tired!” Nick shoved himself up off the couch. “Thanks for the trip, but oh my God, just leave me alone—please!” He stormed into his room and slammed the door shut, pressing his back against it and immediately pressing his face into his hands.

He almost died Friday, and they didn’t care. Of course they didn’t care! And now they wanted to act nice, and he was supposed to just accept it? Without a modicum of suspicion? It was so not fair. He brought his legs to his chest, hands sliding from his face and elbows resting on the tops of his knees. He buried his head in his arms. None of this was fair.

What felt like an hour but was probably just ten minutes later, a soft knock at the door startled him into lifting his head. He scooted away from the door, and it opened slowly. In the doorway stood his stepmom. Nick bit back a groan.

“What,” he said.

The petite woman lowered herself to the floor, closing the door behind herself and taking a seat across from him. “I’m sorry I’m not her,” she replied.

Nick glared at her crossed legs.

“I mean it,” she promised. “I’ve never tried to be her—”

“You wouldn’t want to be her,” Nick grumbled.

His stepmom paused before a hand came to rest on his knee. “I never met her, but if she was anything like you, she couldn’t be bad.”

“You’re just saying that.” Nick’s glare strengthened. “I can’t stay at one school; I’m always setting things on fire; I almost went to prison just last week. I’m a terrible son.”

She didn’t say anything to that. 

Nick flattened his lips. 

“I’m sorry,” she finally said. “We’re… not good parents. I never wanted to be a parent. I am now, and I wouldn’t change it, but I’m not your mom, even with you calling me that, and I don’t want to replace her. And I could never be her because I know how much she meant to you, and I couldn’t do for you what she did.”

“You don’t even know what she did,” Nick snapped.

His stepmom sighed. “Can you please just accept this? I had to talk your dad into keeping the tickets after what you said.”

“You should have let him sell them,” Nick replied. “I deserve it.”

“No, you don’t.” She patted his knee. “You’re right. You did almost go to prison—you wouldn’t have deserved it, though. I think wrongful imprisonment deserves a trip to New York.”

Nick allowed a laugh to fall past his lips, bitter.

His stepmom took it. “Your flight leaves in two days. Tell your friend to come with you. You’ve got a whole week to run around NYC like the teenager you are. Have fun.” She gave a gentle shove to his shoulder. Nick rocked with the motion. “Okay?”

Nick stared at the floor.

“Okay?” she repeated.

He nodded.

“Good.” She pushed herself from the floor, running her fingers lightly through his hair before leaving, closing the door softly behind her. Nick squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a shaky breath.

Have fun. He can do that.

When he finally hunted Floris down at the grocery store the next day, he told him about the trip. “It’s short notice,” he apologized, “but it’s a week.”

“New York?” Floris asked. Nick felt like if the ginger had a tail, it’d be wagging.

“Yeah,” he replied. “A week and then we come home.”

“Got it, captain,” Floris said. “I’ll pack my bags tonight and meet you at your house bright and early tomorrow morning.”

“The flight doesn’t leave until noon.” Nick frowned.

“I like being prepared,” Floris replied. “Are you ready?”

“More or less,” Nick nodded, “not like I own much anyway.”

Floris stared at him, eyes narrowed, before nodding also. “See you tomorrow then.”

Nick gave him a mock-salute. “See you tomorrow.”

[angsty-violet]

Time Will Tell

My Secret Santa for this year. This goes out to one of my favorite authors @bold-sartorial-statement Someone who is a lovely writer and that I hope enjoys what I wrote. Here is the AO3 link for those who would prefer to read it that way (it is a bit large to read it on here I think but I wanted anybody who doesn’t have an AO3 to be able to read it too) https://archiveofourown.org/works/17024565

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Barry Allen/Leonard Snart Characters: Barry Allen, Leonard Snart, Mick Rory, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Sara Lance Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff Summary:

Barry Allen never expected to find his soulmate and Leonard Snart never wanted to.

Barry Allen hadn’t really planned on finding his soulmate. He was in love with Iris and she was who he wanted. They were both well aware of the fact that they weren’t each other’s soulmates. However, Barry had always held out hope that he would be able to convince her to give him a chance and she would realize how perfect they were for each other. It was a little naïve sure but he thought what he thought and had clung to his delusion for years.

That was until she had found her soulmate. Barry had nothing against Eddie. Not really. He also wanted Iris to be happy in life. So, he did the only thing that he could live with and backed off. He backed off and allowed her to be happy with her soulmate. It took him a really long time to accept that this was what was happening but eventually he had.

He had also, in an overly dramatic fashion, resigned himself to dying alone.

He was certain that there was no one out there that he would fall in love with more than Iris so he wasn’t going to look. It was fortunate for him that Fate had other ideas. Just because Barry Allen thought he knew best didn’t mean that he did. He certainly didn’t know best when it came to his own life.

ColdFlash

Len had never allowed himself to think about a soulmate. He had spent too many years watching his mother be smacked around by her soulmate, his father, to be anything but cynical about them. He had always believed that even if he found that person that he wouldn’t give in to them.

He wasn’t going to become like his mother.

He wasn’t going to be hit and belittled and killed for a soulmate. That was why when he passed his 20s, the age most people met their soulmates, he breathed a sigh of relief. He was nothing if not another statistic and the older you got the less likely it became that you were going to find your soulmate. By his mid-thirties, he had basically forgotten all about the whole soulmate business. It wasn’t for him. Or so he thought.

ColdFlash

Barry Allen breathed a sigh of amazement. He still couldn’t get used to his speed. It was fantastic. It was also fantastic what he could do with it. For the first time in his life, he was stopping crime while it happened instead of looking for evidence after the fact. It was exhilarating, it was amazing, it was exhausting.

He had never known just how much work it was going to be to be a superhero. All of those patrols and crimes and late nights. He also seemed to eat a million calories a day. Cisco had come up with those bars for him but they tasted awful.

For some reason when Barry had been thinking about his future as a superhero he hadn’t remembered all of the bad parts that came with it. Those two only being the tip of the iceberg. Caitlin suggested that maybe it was because he had nothing to do for fun. That if he had a hobby that maybe he would feel better. She also said that he was drowning himself in work to forget about Iris. How ridiculous was that?

ColdFlash

Len was not very amused when some asshole in a skintight leather suit began foiling his robberies. It was severely stressing him out. Mick watched as he made another loop around the living room of their current safehouse.

“Just sit down already and if you check those blueprints one more time I am going to beat your ass into the floor.” Len frowned but folded himself onto the sofa. Despite his racing thoughts, his movements were smooth and languid like they usually were. It didn’t take long before his mind had made the loop of thoughts again. He also found it impossible to sit still. His leg was jittery and he kept checking his watch was synchronized with the clock.

“I swear to God Snart!”

“Oh yeah, yours or mine?” Mick gave him such a dry look that it shut Len up. “Sorry. Just can’t seem to figure it out. How the hell is anyone getting there fast enough to stop us? I have it timed out to the second. It isn’t humanly possible.”

“So maybe he isn’t human. Its all over the news that those meta-things are popping up all over the place. Maybe he is one of those.” Len blinked owlishly for a moment and Mick and then smiled.

“I think that maybe you are right Mick. Now we need to do something about it. Something to lure him out and get him to slip up. Something nice and clever.

ColdFlash

Barry had to admit if only to himself someplace where Joe couldn’t see his facial expressions, that Leonard Snart was a really good thief. Like, a world-class thief. The kind you read about in the papers that never get caught but leaves a calling card to say it was him. He was so good in fact, that Barry was pretty certain that if it wasn’t for his speed they wouldn’t ever come close to catching him.

Even with his speed, he couldn’t see to match the man. Not yet at least. It seemed as though Snart had accounted for every possible little thing including superheroes with superspeed. That was what made him truly impressive.

His butt wasn’t that bad either.

He kept that particular thought to himself. He also tried to keep from thinking about Snart too much. The last thing that he needed out of life was a crush on his enemy. In fact, that might have been in Cisco’s “How to be a Superhero” guide. What was he supposed to do? Not look? There was no, not looking at that piece of perfection.

Also those eyes of his! So cool and piercing. You couldn’t look him in the eye without wanting to swoon. Maybe it was too late for Barry to stop this crush after all.

ColdFlash

Len had every single part of this plan nailed to the second. He had contingencies for his contingencies. He also had the thought that it was all going to go to shit despite his planning. Still, in for a penny, in for a pound. The train was, if you asked him, a stroke of brilliance. Lots of hostages, far from back up and thin walkways that were easy to ice.

So he lured the Flash (really? the Flash? Sounded like he ran around flashing people) onto the train and began to taunt him. A crack about his age (he sounded like he was 17) and cornering him on the train seemed to make everything go to plan. It was a good plan. Even down to Flash’s friends coming to rescue him. He had to hand it to Ramon, that vacuum looked like a large cold gun from the outside. If you weren’t the sort of person to take apart the gun and put it back together the first chance you got it might have fooled you.

Len was the sort of person to take it apart the first chance he got.

He wasn’t fooled but backed off anyway. It was fun messing with the Flash. He would hate to have to kill him because the kid did something foolish. However, he was keeping the diamond. He really was going to enjoy messing with the Flash. It should be a lot of fun, which is something he had been missing lately.

ColdFlash

Barry Allen was an idiot. He flopped down on his bed and groaned. He couldn’t believe he had a crush on Leonard Snart of all people. It was driving him to distraction. At work, on patrol, while fighting with the man.

He was the enemy and Barry Allen was falling for him.

It was fun to verbally spar with the man. He was witting and always had a good comeback. Frankly, the night with the train had been the most fun that he had had in years. The comments, the strategy, trying to outsmart Snart had made him smile. It had also taken his mind off of Iris. For the first time, he wasn’t mooning over her. He was mooning over Snart now but at least he wasn’t mooning over her.

If only he could get the man to stop killing people. He began to think about what could be done. If he could get him to stop killing people than maybe he could change Snart. Maybe they could have something. Barry buried his face in his pillow when he realized where his train of thought had taken him. Now he was thinking about a relationship with that psychopath. What was wrong with him?

He needed to get his head back in the game. This was really beginning to get out of hand. However, his traitorous mind began to come up with ways to get Snart to stop killing people. He had an idea that would make everyone really angry at him but he figured that it might work. He just needed to be fast enough.

ColdFlash

Len was working out the details of a new plan. He wanted to figure out who the Flash was underneath the mask. He figured that the best way would be to kidnap one of his friends. If he could get his secret identity he could mess with the kid all he wanted. He was still ironing out the details but Mick was getting antsy. He wanted to get out and steal some stuff. Burn some stuff.

Len figured that one little heist before he found out the Flash’s identity wouldn’t hurt. The man, despite his speed, could never seem to catch up to him anyway. A little art gallery robbery would settle Mick some and get them a little cash. He was also hoping to get something to decorate his apartment. Its walls were seeming a little bare still and he figured a nice piece would do the trick.

Plus an easy heist would help calm his nerves. Len didn’t really know why he felt so jittery around the superhero but he did. He didn’t want to make a fool of himself. He needed to keep cool.

ColdFlash

Barry Allen was near jumping with excitement that night. He was going to ruin Snart’s heist and make him quit killing people. Tonight was going to be the night. When Cisco was getting ready to send him out, Barry nearly told him. He almost told the whole plan. Cisco was his best friend and would probably understand. At the last minute though, Barry chickened out.

Cisco would just have to find out after it happened.

Knowing that this was probably a really bid mistake but still planning on going through with it, Barry headed out. There was something niggling at the back of his mind. Barry knew what it was. He knew exactly why he was willing to try and get Snart to stop killing people. He just didn’t want to admit it to himself.

When he arrived Barry Allen knew that there was something he hadn’t counted on. It was just Snart at this particular heist. Rory was there too. He had a moment of indecision where Snart was able to get a shot off. He just barely avoided the shot and knew he needed to do something soon. Only one of his tasks could be completed tonight.

He could either get the man alone and make him stop killing people or he could foil the heist and save the art. His mind, or his heart. His mind was too slow for his heart. Before he even quite knew what it was that he was doing, Barry had sped off with Snart coming to land in a forest.

ColdFlash

Len had not expected his enemy to be there. This was a little bit of a small job to attract the city’s superhero. He had just figured that he would take off with the art and deal with the Flash a different time. It seemed that Barry hadn’t figured on Mick being there as he stood for a moment just looking at them.

Len took this moment to fire off a shot. The Flash regained his wits with seconds to spare and dodged the shot. Good, Len would hate to hurt him. Ignoring that particularly troublesome thought, he began to give directions to Mick about what to take and what to leave.

He had barely gotten them out before the world was a blur. When everything cleared he and the Flash were stood in a forest far from where they had been. Len looked around them in confusion. Didn’t the Flash realize that Mick would finish the heist without him? That he technically failed at his job? He looked at the superhero for an explanation.

“Why are we out here?” Len covered his worry with a drawl. The middle of the forest with an enemy is not really where a person ever wanted to be. This was quite concerning and the abused kid that lived in him said to start ducking.

“I wanted to talk to you alone.”

“Oh, really? About what? What could you possibly want to talk about with little old me?” Len punctuated his words with a wave of his hand. It was that moment that Barry basically abandoned his whole speech about people’s lives and how Snart should stop killing them.

“We are soulmates.” It was said softly but with conviction. An irrefutable statement. Snart however, drew back as though he had been slapped.

“We are not! I don’t have a soulmate! And even if I did it wouldn’t be a hero!” Barry was surprised at the vehemence but didn’t let it deter him.

“Yes, we are. Yes, you do. And it is. I don’t know why this has you upset. I don’t know what in your past made you so resistant to the idea of soulmates but whatever it was doesn’t apply to us. We are completely different. I don’t know your history. All I know is that I spent years hoping it was someone else. That it was a girl I was in love with and when she found her soulmate I was convinced that I would never want anyone else. That I wouldn’t want to even try. But I was wrong Snart! I do want to try. I want to give this a try. We could be so good together.”

“Oh really? A hero and a murderous thief? I am sure that would go over well with your parents. Oh hey, mom and dad, I found my soulmate. He’s a killer that has done hard time and steals shit for a living. What are we having for dinner?”

“There is so much more to you than that! Besides, it doesn’t really matter. My mom is dead and my dad is in prison for something that he didn’t do. I don’t even want you to stop stealing! I just want you to stop killing people and to give me a chance. Please, Leonard. Haven’t you ever thought about it? Haven’t you ever wondered what it would be like to be with someone that you truly loved and loved you back in a way that most people can’t even imagine? All I want is a chance. That’s it. No strings attached, please.”

“How do I know that you are actually sincere?” Barry didn’t even hesitate. He removed his cowl and looked Len straight in the eye.

“Hi, my name is Barry Allen and I am the Flash. I am also your soulmate and I would love to get to know you.” Leonard paused for a long moment and then sighed softly. A barely-there sound that just seemed to make him so human that Barry’s chest ached.

“Hello Barry, my name is Leonard Snart but my friends call me Len. I think maybe I could get to know you a little bit.” Barry’s grin was radiant

ColdFlash

Barry was over the moon. He flashed Len back to the art gallery and made his way back home. He had turned off his mic during his conversation and would now have to face the music. The threat of Team Flash’s anger wasn’t enough to deter him though. He simply went ahead and kept on grinning.

He really couldn’t help himself.

When he arrived it was to Cisco’s glare and Caitlin’s worried expression. Joe looked a little less irritated and a little more like he was contemplating just outright murdering Barry. Barry shuffled awkwardly and thought about what he was going to say. Barry really didn’t want to have to answer to Joe right now. Right now he just wanted to tell his best friends what had happened and share his enthusiasm.

It occurred to Barry that he was, in fact, a grownup. That he could tell Joe to butt out and that it wasn’t really any of his business. He wasn’t going to of course. You just didn’t say that to the man who raised you. However, he didn’t really have it in him tonight to justify his actions.

“Joe, I know that you probably have an entire speech about how I shouldn’t have turned off my mic that includes lots of shouting and chiding but I don’t really want to deal with it tonight. I just want to tell my best friends what happened and then go to bed. I will explain it to you eventually but tonight is not the time. So please hold onto the lecture for another day and go home. I’m spending tonight here anyway.”

Joe huffed and looked a little put out but left. Barry knew that Joe was angry because he didn’t say anything on the way out but he couldn’t bring himself to care. It wasn’t really any of Joe’s business and he wasn’t going to explain. That was just the way that it was. Once Joe had left he turned to his two best friends and began to explain to them what had happened.

Caitlan looked as though she were going to object when he finished. However, before she got the chance Cisco had already lit up and was congratulating Barry. He was enthusiastic enough that it helped settle Barry’s fears about this.

“That is amazing Barry! You have been stuck on Iris forever and now you can move on to the person who is perfect for you. I should have known. He was always too nice, too much banter and smirking. He never even really tried to kill you. Oh, he put in a token effort but he never gave it his all. You could tell he was having just as much for as you were. I can’t believe that you got him to agree to stop killing. That is awesome! Think of how much easier our lives would be if you could just talk the villains out of evil.”

“Well, I haven’t talked him completely out of evil. He is still going to go around and steal stuff. He just won’t be killing people.”

“I don’t think that it would be Snart if he didn’t go around stealing stuff. Besides, stealing is a little less supervillain and a little more mild criminal that likes the thrill.”

“I am not so sure that this is a good idea, Barry.” This came from Caitlin, who until that point had been quiet. “I mean he is a villain and you have no idea if he is going to honor his part of the bargain. Plus your relationship might not work out at all. What if this crashes and burns?” Barry frowned at her for a moment but knew that she had a point.

“If he doesn’t honor his side of the bargain then there won’t be a relationship. If it doesn’t work out then I will try and find someone else. We go back to being hero and villain. However, I am willing to take the chance on the person who is probably perfect for me. I am willing to try and see where it goes. I think that I deserve the same amount of happiness as other soulmates get, even if mine is a thief.” Caitlan didn’t look convinced but allowed the matter to drop.

ColdFlash

“Where the hell did he take you?” Mick nearly growled the question. Len could see that he was upset and worried about Len.

“We went to the forest to have a little chat, that’s all.”

“And what was this ‘little chat’ about? Did he threaten you? Did he hurt you? I’ll burn him to a crisp. I’ll skewer and roast him. I’ll bake him into a meat pie with a hot water crust.” Len shot Mick a disbelieving look. “Sorry, that one got away from me. Got stuck on food but you get my point.”

“Apparently we are soulmates.”

“He’s going into the pie!”

“It's fine. We had a talk and came to an agreement. I stop killing people, he leaves me alone on my heists mostly and we give a go for the relationship.” Mick looked really unhappy about it.

“If he lays one had on you he’s getting roasted.”

“Yes, if he steps out of line, he’s yours. In the meantime, we have heists and dates to plan. Are you going to help?”

“Yeah, I’ll help.”

ColdFlash

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Iris, its fine. We have an arrangement. Plus, I’m the Flash. If he tries something I can stop him with my speed. Now how do I know if the pork chops are cooked all the way through?”

“No it is not fine. The pork should be 145 degrees Fahrenheit, use the meat thermometer. You are dating your enemy! How can you possibly think that this is going to turn out alright? He is a killer!”

“Iris, don’t I deserve to have the same kind of happiness that you do? Don’t I deserve to be with my soulmate? Shouldn’t I get to be happy too?”

“What has that got to do with anything?”

“That has got to do with everything! You don’t get to pick your soulmate! All you can do is give a relationship with them a try! I deserve to have the happiness of being with my perfect match. And no matter what you, or Joe or Caitlan say I am going for it. For the first time in my life I am going to be selfish. I am going to go for what I want. You guys are just going to have to accept it.”

Irish made an unhappy noise and stopped out of Barry’s apartment. Barry checked the time and pulled the rolls out of the oven. He checked to see whether or not the pork chops were done and sighed when they weren’t. Well, he had 15 more minutes before the time he had told Leonard.

He had not planned on Leonard being early.

The knock on his door startled him so badly that he nearly dropped his plate of baked potatoes. Managing to save them before they hit the ground, he swore when his hand touched the hot pan and he burned himself. He put the potatoes on the counter and went to open the door. He had forgotten the stool over by the door and immediately tripped over it. He fell against the wall right next to the door and opened it.

ColdFlash

Len was 15 minutes early, as he always was. He held in his hand a bottle of red wine and was dressed fairly casually. He knocked on the door and waited for the speedster to open it. he had expected a quick opening but instead, he heard a curse. He heard the sound of a pan being set on a counter and the regular footsteps across the floor. Then he heard Barry trip over something and slam into the wall next to the door. Barry opened the door from where he was against the wall and gave Len an awkward smile.

“Hey Leonard, come in.” Len raised an eyebrow and Barry chuckled awkwardly.

“I brought a bottle of wine. It’s a nice red that should go with whatever you were swearing at earlier unless its fish.” Barry smiled again, this time with genuine happiness and gestured for Len to come in.

“Yeah, I’m a klutz. Even at regular speed. Especially at regular speed. Dinner’s not quite ready but it should be done in a few minutes. If you would like to have a seat while you wait, I’ll take the wine and put it on the table.” Len tilted his head in acknowledgment and wandered over to the living room.

Dinner had turned out better than either of them planned. They stayed away from hard topics such as family and talked about the things they had in common. Which was quite a lot. They both liked to go to the movies and would rather eat at home than go out. They both enjoyed their little games of course, but also games in general. Board games, card games, word games.

It was at the end of the date that things got a little weird. Most of the time they would both be the one giving the kiss goodnight. Now, however neither knew which one of them should or would do it. If it happened at all. However, before either of them had the chance to really overthink it Barry just went ahead and lightly kissed Len on the corner of this mouth.

It was barely-there and more of a chaste kiss rather than a proper one. It was enough to bring color to Len’s cheeks. Barry could see that he was just a little embarrassed. In true Captain Cold fashion though, he covered it with a pun and made his exit.

ColdFlash

They had five more dates. Sometimes meeting a couple times a week, sometimes not seeing each other for weeks. For the first time in either of their lives though, they were seeing something forming. They were seeing something begin to build that they could plant the rest of their life on.

Len was beginning to trust Barry, just a little. Barry was seeing that his faith in Leonard hadn’t been completely misplaced and the two of them were working it out. Len had convinced Barry that he should get Cisco to build Lisa a gun. It had taken a lot of wheedling and bribery but eventually, Cisco had given in and made the gold gun for Lisa.

Just as things were going well, shit hit the fan.

Len had believed that his father would be out of his life forever. He had thought that he would never have to deal with the bastard coming after Lisa or himself in this lifetime. Fate had other plans in mind.

ColdFlash

Len really did want to go to Barry. He really did want to get help on this. He was scared for his sister’s life though, so he said nothing. He pretended like everything was fine. He hadn’t planned on his father snatching him and forcing to work a job but he could adapt. He always did.

That did not mean that Barry got to jump in the middle of everything. Didn’t the kid know that this was something that he had to do on his own? Didn’t he realize what was at stake here? Obviously not because there he was asking Len if he was okay.

Len thought about it for a moment and responded with “peachy.” However with the arrival of his father he had had to think quickly about the Flash. He did a bit of tricky business with the cold gun that made it look as though he had killed the Flash and continued to help his father. He only hoped that Barry had gotten the message and would actually obey it. It was unlikely, but it could happen.

ColdFlash

Barry had received the message in fact. How could he not when it had been in big bold letters. However, Len was nuts if he thought for one moment that Barry was going to listen to it. That just wasn’t going to happen. He hunted down Len later at Saints and Sinners. Barry insisted that he was going to help Len. That Cisco and the team were going to get the bomb out of Lisa and that everything was going to be fine.

The two of them had been going out long enough that Barry could see past Len’s frosty exterior and see that he was on the edge. Len was barely holding on and really did need someone to help him. It all went by fast from there. Pretending to be Len’s tech guy, pretending to die, hearing that Lisa was safe and showing up to help Len.

After Len killed his father Barry could see him crack into pieces. He helped him to his feet and flashed them back to Len’s apartment. He could see the exact moment that Len completely fell apart. In an unheard of moment of vulnerability he turned and buried his face in Barry’s shoulder. Barry could feel the tears and lightly rubbed Len’s back. Not holding him real tight as Len was too on edge for something that would feel constraining.

Barry wanted to say something, but there was nothing to say. There were no words that would help or fix this. There was nothing to be done. It was just the way that it was.

ColdFlash

There was a dynamic shift that night. The two of them were a little closer, saw each other a little more, spoke to each other with a little more softness. They were building something that Len hoped would last forever.

That was the reason that he nearly laughed out loud when Rip Hunter tried to recruit him and Mick for a mission to save Earth in the future. There was not a chance in Hell that he was going to leave in the middle of building his own future. Also neither he nor Mick were actually heroes and never would be. So he said no and walked away with Mick. He had a date with Barry.

ColdFlash

Barry was so screwed. So unbelievably screwed. He couldn’t believe what had happened. He couldn’t believe what he had done. How could he have done it? How could he have screwed up the most important thing in his life? What the hell had he been thinking? His only choice would be to hunt down Len and beg for his forgiveness, beg that Len would give him another chance.

ColdFlash

Len liked Sara. He liked her a lot. She was a good fighter, smart, beautiful and good at cards. She also didn’t disregard Mick the way that a lot of people did. However, with all of that she was also observant and she listened in on the rumors. Len was well aware that a good number of people on the ship knew about his relationship with Barry.

Mick, Ray, Stein and probably Jax all knew that he was the hero’s soulmate. That also means that the latter three spent time gossiping about him and his relationship. He could deal with the gossip and the speculation. After all, who wouldn’t want to know the reason that he left such a wonderful person like Barry to run around trying to save the world? He certainly would.

What he couldn’t deal with was Sara’s looks and her subtle questions about it. Only Mick knew the whole story and Len didn’t know whether or not he wanted to tell someone else. It seemed like such a small thing when he looked back on it. However, at the time it had felt massive and he had run off with the Legends.

Mick thought the opposite. He was certain it was a big deal if only because it was Len that it happened to. He was good like that. Maybe if he knew Sara just a little bit better, this would be easier.

ColdFlash

Barry was ashamed over his actions that night. He had wanted to immediately take back the words he had said, but that wasn’t how it worked. The next day he had gone by Len’s apartment to apologize. Then Mick’s apartment, the Lisa’s, four of their safehouses and any decent jobs in the city. It soon became apparent that Len wasn’t any of his regular places and he would need help.

When he arrived at the lab he could see Cisco and Lisa talking to each other. They were sat next to each other speaking softly, their heads nearly touching. Barry knew the exact moment that they saw him there. Barry had believed that Lisa would be angry with him. He had figured that she would yell, and scream and threaten him to stay away from Len. He hadn’t counted on Lisa’s quiet. The way that her eyes were just a little red. They way that she didn’t say anything, just turned away.

He definitely didn’t expect for Cisco to lost it at him.

“WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?” Barry winced at the volume.

“Cisco, I can explain what happened!”

“Oh really, you can explain why you broke the one rule no one ever should and laid hands on your soulmate? You can explain the nasty horrible things that you said to him? I’m glad he ran off to save the world! I thought you were a good guy.” The last part had been said softly, all of the steam leaving Cisco in one big rush.

“What do mean he ran off to save the world?”

ColdFlash

“So what really happened between you saying “no” the night before and joining us the next day. Also, I know that you didn’t kill Mick and I think you made the right decision.” Len looked from where he was organizing his hand of cards.

“It’s kind of a long story and thanks.”

“Well, we have kind of a long time before we get out of the vortex. What else do we have to do?”

“It started the night that Rip tried to recruit us for this mission.”

Len couldn’t help the derisive snort as he made his way back to the apartment he shared with Barry. As though he would give up the best thing in his life for a suicide mission. He wasn’t actually a hero, despite what Barry liked to argue.

He began to check off the things that he wanted to do for their date that night. He had a set of plans to woo Barry and make it a romantic evening. It was their anniversary after all.

Two hours later found Len taking the garlic bread out of the oven and setting it on the table. He had just set himself to light the candles to set the mood when his phone rang. He glanced down at it and frowned when he saw that it was Barry. Barry wasn’t yet late so it couldn’t be him calling to give an excuse for his tardiness. He answered the phone and instantly regretted it.

Barry was very obviously strung out and tired. Len could see one of the very bad moods beginning to brew in Barry’s voice. He asked what was wrong and Barry explained that Iris had been hurt in an attack by the Rainbow Raider. Len asked if he could do anything and Barry said that there was nothing to be done. Iris was going to be fine. She wasn’t badly hurt, more bruised than anything, with a sprain and a mild concussion that Caitlan wanted to keep an eye on.

Despite that, Barry was going to stay with her.

Len ended the phone call and sighed as he looked over his painstakingly prepared meal. He blew out the candles and started to pack the food up. Barry could have some when he got home, Len wasn’t really in the mood for food.

ColdFlash

It was nearly 2 AM when Barry arrived at home. He had spent the night looking after Iris and he was exhausted. He had stayed with her until he had been relieved by Eddie, despite her assertations that he could go home. He dropped his stuff off and glanced into the kitchen. A thread of guilt entered him as he looked at the set table and the candles.

He had completely forgotten about their anniversary.

He stripped out of his clothes and crawled into bed with Len. He thought that he had made it without waking his lover. He was wrong though. He just didn’t notice Len open his eyes and check the time on the clock.

ColdFlash

Len woke up only a few hours later at 5 AM and found himself unable to go back to sleep. He rolled over and snagged his phone off of the nightstand. However, he snagged the wrong phone and accidentally picked up Barry’s phone. He was about to set it down when he noticed a new message from Iris. Unable to resist he opened it and read it.

”Hey, Barry. Caitlan let me go about an hour ago. She said that the biggest danger was over. She said that it was a very mild concussion and there is nothing to worry about. I told you that you didn’t have to stay.” Len frowned. Barry blew off their first anniversary for a mild concussion even after Iris told him to leave? Really? Len had carried out heists with mild concussions.

Barry took that inopportune moment to roll over and look at Len. That was the beginning of the end. What began as Barry asking Len why he was reading his text messages devolved into a knock down drag out fight over missing their anniversary and invasions of privacy. It all came to a peak when stood nose to nose screaming at each other, Barry gave Len a hard shove.

Len, not expecting the movement, had stumbled backward and fallen through the glass coffee table. Barry had immediately realized his actions and tried to help Len up off the ground. However Len wasn’t having it. In a cold voice, he told Barry to leave and not come back.

“And that it is how it happened. How it all came to a head.”

“He didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“I know. I know that he didn’t mean to injure me. Not physically. However, when I swore to myself that I wasn’t going to be abused by my soulmate, I included an addendum. That I wasn’t going to allow myself to be blamed for something that wasn’t my fault. He did, at the height of our fight, he accused me of wanting Iris to suffer. I am not going to put up with that. Not ever.” Sara wrapped her arms around him allowing him to bury his face in her shoulder. To grieve for something he didn’t know he had wanted. Something he would never get now.

ColdFlash

Barry Allen had a plan. The kind of plan that would have everyone in his life trying to lock him up. However, he knew that he had to try. After the legends had brought back the news that Len had sacrificed himself, Barry had been devastated. He had been depressed and unhappy and making bad decisions. This might be one of his bad decisions but he had to try. He couldn’t just allow his soulmate to be dead when he had the ability to change it.

It was a complicated plan that involved lots of running and time travel and hiding. He would sneak onto the Waverider right before they were set to go to the Vanishing Point. He would wait around until the events played out exactly as they were supposed to. Finally, at the last moment, he would swoop in and Save Len from being killed. It sounded simple but it was much more complicated than he had thought.

Despite all of the things that could go wrong, not everything did. He was able to find and get on the ship in more than enough time. He was able to hide out until everything happened the way it was supposed to. He was able to avoid changing time drastically. He had not planned on the time masters. He had not planned on having to fight his way through them and avoid the Legends.

Barry was well aware of the fact that this had to be done right or it would screw up history. He did manage to make it past those. Then he nearly screwed it all up because he forgot that Sara and Mick were there with Len until they had to run away.

ColdFlash

Len knew that Barry was an idiot. He was well aware of that particular fact. That is why he wasn’t surprised to see Barry just out of the corner of his eye. He distracted Sara for a moment and then sent Mick along with her to escape from the end.

He made sure to keep his hand on the device even as he watched Barry begin to build up speed. Len had known that Barry would come for him. He had known that Barry at least cared about him enough not to let him die. Len was able to separate his emotions from the fight from the events of the fight so he let Barry save him.

ColdFlash

Barry began to run building up the necessary speed to get both him and Len back to the Waverider before it took off. This kind of short-term time travel was very tricky for him and he always struggled with it. He saw Len make eye contact with him for a moment and Barry knew that there was no other choice. In a final burst of speed, he snatched Len and timed it so they were hidden on the Waverider in the exact moment they needed to be.

ColdFlash

From that point forward it was pretty easy. Barry ran them to the point in time they were supposed to be. They would inform everyone and everything would work out.

Barry rubbed the back of his neck and looked at Len. Len was gazing around his apartment like he had never seen it before and humming lightly to himself. Barry noticed that Len was studiously looking anywhere but at the speedster.

He knew that it was to be expected but he couldn’t help the shot of hurt that it caused.

Len sighed lightly and turned to his soulmate. He had missed Barry while he had been with the Legends. He had wanted to do nothing more than come back here and kiss his soulmate senseless. Tell him that everything was forgiven and move back into the happy world he had been in.

Life didn’t work that way. For the two of them to work out then needed to have a serious discussion about what went on that night. Len decided that he needed to begin.

His time with the Legends had allowed Len to take a step back from his emotions. To look at the events of that night with a clear mind and unbiased thoughts. What he saw both made him happy and upset him. From an outsiders point of view, Barry hadn’t meant to do it. The had both been exhausted and overwrought. Their fight had escalated and culminated in Barry shoving Len. That wasn’t so bad. Barry hadn’t meant to hurt Len, not really. He had just underestimated his strength.

However, when their fight had been at its height, Barry had accused Len of not caring that Iris was hurt. That was completely unacceptable. Len had worked hard to be the kind of man that Barry needed him to be. He worked hard to be the sort of person that could be a soulmate. He didn’t deserve to have nasty, untrue accusations thrown at him just because Barry was upset.

By the time that he had finished explaining all of this Barry seemed to be more upset than when they had arrived. He took that chance to tell his side of the story. To talk about his lack of sleep. The pressure from Joe about Len being his soulmate and about that night. How Len reading his texts reminded him of Joe not allowing him any privacy. How he hadn’t meant to hurt Len had only wanted to create some distance. By the end of it, they were both worn out. They sat in silence wondering what they were going to do.

“Do you think that we can figure this out, Len?”

“I think we should at least try. Only time will tell if we actually manage it. I just don’t know what we are going to tell all of our friends and family.”

“That can wait till later. I’m sure that everyone is going to have words for me. Especially the Legends and Cisco. I really don’t want to mess this up, Len. I want this to work. And for everything that has happened, and what almost happened with the Vanishing Point, I am really sorry. I never wanted anything like this to happen. I know that I have a lot to make up for and I want to do it. Please give me a second chance.” Len was silent for a moment before answering.

“I expect that you do anything for Mick and Lisa to prove to them you are genuine. No matter how bizarre the task or how much you don’t want to do it.”

“Of course. Anything that they want.”

“Well, I suppose that we could give it a try. Especially since now I seem to be an actual hero.”

[storyunrelated]

Short Stories

For a given value of ‘short’, seeing as how most people’s definition of a short story is about 5k up to 10k (roughly) while mine is lucky to reach two thousand. But! That’s variety for you, eh? We’re all different? Etc?

Anyway.

These are the ones I’ve put up on here. You’ll notice I don’t do that anymore. The reason – to myself at least – is the ever-lurking notion that one day I might parcel a bunch of these up together and do something fancy with them. Unlikely, but the thought keeps me up at night sometimes. If only because of the work that would be involved.

Speaking of which, I do sometimes also consider parceling up all of these ones into an e-book or something (the ‘Money for Old Rope’ collection I’ve mentioned previously).

This would require work too, as these below are peppered with typos and poor structure. This is because I don’t proofread.

Because I don’t CARE.

(I had to put them below this line because there’s a lot of them and I can’t in good conscience do that to your dashes. Of course, this now means that no-one will look but, you know, swings and roundabouts.)

Unwanted Advances – The logic of online pornographic robots is even more obtuse when they appear in real life, at your front door. Who’d be stupid enough to fall for that? 

An Interview With… - Something I wrote for a contest thingy with a local writing group. Didn’t win, obviously. It’s about an interview, obviously. Someone trying to make a big break in the blogosphere by talking with something they found in the garden. In a chasm. 

Just A Touch – For a refreshing change, believe what a conspiracy theorist believes for a little bit. Only recreationally, you understand. Just a taste. 

In The Loop – A very childish game, played with the very real possibility of horrible consequences should you fail. The thing behind you won’t do wonders for your concentration. 

Soothe Me – Sometimes, while doing horrible things for what they think is a good reason, a person might suffer a bout of introspection and wonder whether murder and horror is the right thing to be doing. Luckily, there’s usually someone on hand to explain why being a monster is fine.

Cupcake – There’s a hole in my bathroom wall and out of this hole extends an arm. Me and the arm are buddies, and a cupcake seems a good way of expressing this.

Checklist – What’s keeping you here?

Rollover – Even as your efforts come to nothing and you wither away to dust know that the trying will never stop.

Immovable Object – The next stage in unskippable advertisements (obviously the best form of advertisements) is something rather more difficult to ignore.

Oh What’s New? – Networking is very important! It’s all about who you know! So go in there and try to make some connections! What’s the worst that can happen? Really?

Get Hammered – You’re special, but special doesn’t fit. Don’t worry. You can be made to fit. (And later when you see someone else lauded for not fitting, don’t complain; no-one likes bitterness).

Open Platform – It’s important to let people speak their piece, but it’s equally important to recognise that what some people want to say is nothing but toxic.

Ga-Ga, Goo-Goo – The world is a scary place, isn’t it? So many bad things happening! All so complicated! No solutions without drawbacks! Problems on top of problems with no end in sight! Wouldn’t it be better if you could just divest yourself of responsibility and press yourself to the bosom of someone big and strong who’ll stroke your hair and tell you who’s to blame? Good news!

By The Book – Pick the beliefs that best reflect yours, rather than having to adjust your view to conform to something else – where’s the fun in that? Show me which book lets me hate the people I already hate and let’s get going!

Stay The Course – Support the tyrant to the hilt! Until they do something that directly impacts you, at which point you should bawl your lungs out about how unfair it is.

Old Songs – I thing I wrote out by hand (writing club, again) and then transposed. A man who can fix things by singing to them, obviously. Old songs have power, you see?

Sit Comfortably – What starts as an unusual job interview goes in an unforeseen direction. Specifically underground. Where there are spiders. More spiders, rather. (This story has a lot of spiders).

Things Are Grim – A dystopian broadcast to tell the populace something they already know for no good reason. You never know when an audience who doesn’t know how the future works might be watching, after all.

Tabula Rasa – The Book is very important, but you are not allowed to read it.

Reaper of Souls – A being of immense power watches over the city, guarding it from necromantic mischief. It also likes fanfiction and knows the importance of leaving feedback.

Out The Door – A man makes things and the two others that live with him have differing opinions on what he should do with them once they’re done. Do you improve them first, or do you move on? Ultimately, who even cares?

My Violent Heart – Using machines to turn people into soulless drones so they work without complaint seemed like such a good idea at the time.

Tinted – Goggles that allow you to see the world not as it is, but as you think it should be.

Sanded Down – You only have so much sand in your life and how you use it is very important. But using it is far more important than hoarding it. After all, even if you do something badly at least you’ve done something…

Misshapen – Looking at what everyone else is doing, it seems easy enough to replicate. Right? Right?

For Your Own Good – “Unhand that phallus!” and with that cry is the crime of male masturbation rudely interrupted. But it’s entirely altruistic – that’s spinal fluid, that is!

Flensed – Every month you’re renewed and every months you’re stripped to nothing once more. This horrible process happens without fail and it does not get any easier.

Southern Pole – How else should you define yourself except by how you are not like someone else?

Interloper – You don’t belong here.

Tannin Salon – The best tea in the world? Why, the nectar of the Teabeast of course! Getting it is a bit of a pain, naturally, but that’s all part of the allure!

Well Off – Someone’s been put at the bottom of the well, and someone at the top has a vested interest in this staying that way.

Machinegun Man – A long way from home, in the rain, only a gun for company.

Extra-Curricular – An ovoid in class provides answers the teacher cannot bear to hear.

Little Shop Of Sandwiches – A dusty, quiet little sandwich shop that sells lunchtime snacks the likes of which few have ever seen. The likes fewer still have eaten!

Start The Clock – The time between you starting a conversation and it all falling apart horribly because you’re an awkward mess is always smaller than you think. Clock’s ticking!

Rote – It might feel like you’re doing the same thing over and over (and over) again, but somehow from the outside everyone seems to think you’re all over the place.

Push On – Success can be yours! Look at all these other people! They succeeded. You can too! Just keep going! No matter how had it gets.

Excision – In the future, love is to be outlawed! No-one is really clear as to why, however.

Consult A Doctor – If you experience an erection that kills you, you should probably get that checked out.

Object of Disputation – A child tries to make something nice for their parents but everyone else has an opinion on what it actually is.

Catch Of The Slate Sea – A man on a cliff watches a big ship catch a big fish.

Faceless – We wear many faces in life, acquiring new ones as we grow and as we encounter those who dislike what faces we have already. It can be so hard to keep track of who you were to start with. Then again, were you ever anyone?

Slice And Dice – A man invents a superior method of killing that which is reluctant to die.

We Care A Lot – There are those that are paid to be professionally unpleasant in very public places. Eventually, machines displace all jobs held by persons – such unpleasant people aren’t as safe as they think.

Taste Test – Blended down, is there any real difference between these two people? A focus group shall decide!

Limit Break – Be nice enough and it’s inevitable

Three-Way – Just because what you believe also happens to be what’s best for society doesn’t mean you’re biased or myopic. You’re just sensible! It’s everyone else with the problem.

Better Than – How far would people go to avoid something horrible happening? Often, far enough that they’ll inflict something far worse and fail to see the irony. That’s irony! Is it? Maybe.

Infantalise – Casting men is easy! There’s no upper limit. Women (girls, sorry)? That’s another story! They get old so quickly! And who wants that? We have to go younger. Much, much younger. No, younger than that!

Material – Where do these journalists get these outlandish tales? Out of thin air, obviously.

Barred And Shuttered – Life is full of opportunities! Just not for you. A lifetime of closed doors. Have fun!

So Delicate. So Fragile – A man births an opinion! He’s surprised, but knows he must protect it from everything and everyone. Exposure is lethal to an opinion! It might become something else.

Mother Of Invention – Every new weapon invented is touted as the last one, the one horrible enough to turn mankind off war forever. Eventually that’s got to bear fruit. Surely.

All That’s Fit To Protect – Wrapped in lies, the truth of harm is simply deflected.

Abstinent Without Leave – What’s the best way of ensuring The Youth is not banging away like an outhouse door? Education, trust and respect? No! Ignorance!

Great Hunt – The girl is gorgeous and her father is unusual. A boy is invited to the house of the most popular, wonderful girl at school, though he knows not why. He also doesn’t know why all these other guys have been invited, either.

Nothing To Hide – If you’re not thinking anything bad then you won’t mind having your head smashed and your thoughts poked at, right?

The Perfect Model – The human body is disgusting but we’re forced to hang clothes on it so we must find the best example for this. Why must women insist on having MASS?

Lead Balloon – Trapped in an office a man yearns to run off with the nice lady from across the room. Does it end well? Take a guess.

Four Guys – The best burger you might ever encounter! But at what cost?

By His Own Hand – A man is desperate to leave a mark and to leave life on his own terms.

Somebody Cares – Someone trying to put a comforting, supportive voice into his head does it wrong and regrets his decision. His method of removing the voice might perhaps be going a bit far.

Restructure – Journalists are obsolete. We feed a monster now.

Magic Eye – What’s obvious to everyone is not so obvious to this one guy.

Rod For His Own Back – Watch what you say, or else you may find your words used against you.

Bad Boss – Not everyone is cut out to be an evil overlord.

La-La-La – If you ignore a problem like everyone’s legs turning invisible then it’ll probably just go away.

Inner Glow – Scooping out his insides and replacing them with hot coals.

You May Find This Relevant To Your Situation – Truffling for potatoes in a lake of shit.

The Door Opens and Let’s the Future In - Nigel mustn’t touch the door. The future is on the other side.

Writing Is The Wall - Waking up to find a huge wall has cut their bedroom in half. It says something, but they don’t see it. You will.

Hoops - Life is a series of hoops, and each one matters until you jump it, then you find out it didn’t.

Flat - A man finds out something about his partner he should have noticed before.

Secret Techniques - They make tea differently in this office.

Dancing in the Dark - Do what you enjoy, no matter the audience.

Close Observation - It’s nice to be watched, but it’s not happening.

Slug - The people who run the world are beaten to the punch.

We Have to Go Deeper - Layers of suffering lie beneath your feet, and further still beneath those.

Exegesis - Feel free to bring your own meaning to the book, but disagree with me at your peril. Your soul is at stake.

Square Cube - Weaponising physics to kill kaiju

Irresistible - A court-case segues into just raving about how poorly-handled sexual assault cases are. So, uh, enjoy that.

Smoke - Newspapers spew enough nonsense that it stops working.

The Dick Heard Around the World - A man sends a picture of his penis to a woman. It works too well.

Driving Home for Christmas - I look at the driver next to me. He’s just the same.

Hangers On - Saying the wrong thing can attract unwanted attention.

Bottled Up - A man in a cave puts stories in bottles. No-one cares.

Little Furnace - Curiosity burns bright in the human breast, which can end badly if mishandled.

Pecking Order - The worse a tenant you are, the higher you are placed in the building.

Waiting Around - There are those who sit and wait for opportunity to fall into their laps

Hazy - A man loses himself.

[sixinchrainbowheels]

so you’ve heard of the cheerleader!neil au where he used to cheer (if you’ve never heard of it check it out here) but are you ready for

the au where he never stopped

alternately titled the vixen!neil au

- he’s a good cheerleader, okay. gOOD. the vixens’ coach knows it. his high school coach knows it, despite how much he tries to hold back. 

- he pretended to not know how to do a back handspring at the first practice. 

- he tried so hard. 

- then he realized they wouldn’t let him on the team without one and miraculously learned it. 

- neil josten is Not Smooth

- he never stops pretending not to know things

- his coach never stops being Tired of His Shit

- anyway, he’s scouted by the Vixens’ coach at a Millport game where they’re doing halftime- since it was just a halftime performance where no one would care he mAY have done some killer tumbling passes in the spur of the moment

- cue high school coach groaning in the background

- “goddamnit neil you TOLD ME YOU DIDN’T KNOW WHAT THOSE REBOUND JUMPS EVEN WERE”

- anyway my son here gets somewhat forcibly recruited in a similar situation to Wymack’s attempt but involving abnormally sharp stilettos and an attempt at suffocation via pom-poms

- his reasoning is basically “yeah ok i shouldn’t be in the spotlight but hey i’m not playing exy. no one will suspect a thing. this is literally cheerleading.”

- i mean really, no one cares about competitive cheerleading except cheerleaders. this is a great plan.

- also, he’s somewhat in the exy loop and knows that kevin is at palmetto state. neil is so glad he isn’t going for exy. that would be terrible. he can’t even IMAGINE how awkward it would be to be on a team with that guy he was with that one time his dad sliced up a guy in front of them

- that would be awful

- so yeah neil’s a vixen now

- the only guy on the team r i p

- poor boy is picked on so much by the coach because yOU ARE THE SOLE PRODUCER OF TESTOSTERONE FOR THIS CLUSTERFUCK OF PANSY ASS COLLEGE STUDENTS AND HEY YOU’RE NOT FUCKING ALLOWED TO COLLAPSE GET UP

- she loves him and shows it through forcing him through ten laps every time he fucks up

- as it turns out he’s a pretty Okay flyer but like…not the very best so he doesn’t do it often 

- but his tumbling passes

- oh his tumbling passes *sigh*

- kinda like this

- he can do crazy stuff ok like he starts out with like half speed and these freaking summer practices are bringing it uP

- so eventually school starts and of course people see him, the one guy on the team, and many assume he’s either banging half the team or gay

- he does nothing about rumors about him unless directly confronted, in which case he usually brings out the “i don’t swing” spiel

- the one time someone tries to make fun of him is the most likely time for it- the girls dragged him out shopping. he’s in a pink convertible with like, 10 girls and an obscene amount of shopping bags

- they picked him up after practice with “get in loser we’re going shopping”

- he didn’t actually get in, one of the larger-built back bases picked him up and just threw him in like he weighed nothing

- but anyway someone yells some generalized “you’re gay lol” type insult at him

- and these girls are on him in a s e c o n d

- the poor guy needed 15 bags of ice for all the burns

- afterward they were talking and some girls were talking about how apparently they were too affectionate and people thought they were dating and one was like “maybe it’s because i have a big L E S B I A N CRUSH ON YOU” in a very sassy, janis ian way and everyone laughs and poor neil is so confused and they were like “what? you don’t get it?”

- long story short, neil has like twenty new outfits and a disgusting amount of eyeliner and vixen movie night became a thing and the season hasn’t really even started

- he eventually meets the Foxes when Dan and the Vixens’ captain decide they don’t have enough camaraderie and the first fox-vixen get together is arranged in the basement of fox tower

- the foxens

- neil babbles about exy for ages and all the foxes are surprised about how much he knows

- the vixens are not

- they put up with him for the entire summer. when it wasn’t cheer it was exy. always one of the two.

- wow did you see nationals? I can’t believe how well mason’s flyer pulled off that triple- “NEIL” you guys were at last year’s third game? andrew minyard was so- “nEILLLL”

- anyway, he’s a bit awkward around kevin because you know that thing but kevin doesn’t recognize him. it’s great. he talks strategy for ages; he’s been watching their games and has been dying to chat about ways to improve on what he’s seen of the team or strategize

- kevin is surprised at first but he ends up talking animatedly about exy. kevin’s a good guy, and he respects the work the cheerleaders put in, but he wishes neil played exy because he knows w a y more than the surface amount kevin expects from most cheerleaders and that’s p useful

- andrew is there, not really in a conversation, but he lurks on the outside of neil and kevin’s and pays attention because this boy is Pretty and Interesting

- matt also pays attention and ends up in the conversation after a little while because he’s supportive of the vixens’ only male cheerleader and he has to make sure neil knows this

- the other monsters ask around about neil (because let’s be real, they’d be intrigued by the one guy on the team, and nicky is certainly not letting such a cute one get past him)

- they end up getting the information that a) this guy is on the top of pyramids and b) boy can freaking tumble like a god

- nicky may mention neil on top is definitely not the worst idea he’s ever heard

- they relay this to andrew, who is kinda curious but refuses to acknowledge that because andrew minyard does not experience anything like interest dammit he is a cold and calculating midget

- so the next game the foxes has is against a really terrible team and by halftime they’re up like 8-2 it’s ridiculous

- andrew decides he’ll stay near the court for halftime and see the vixens’ show

- everyone notices but no one says anything because he has knives

- kevin stays too because this boy better have a good excuse for cheering instead of playing exy

- the routine is everything you’d expect and more: over-the-top, sassy, mind-bendingly fast paced, but N E I L

- andrew just stares

- he knew the vixens were good but s h i t

- he has to fight to keep his jaw from unhinging during neil’s tumbling passes like how does he move that fast how does he rotate like that hOW WHAT

- kevin’s in a similar state but he knows he can use this. the way neil’s jumping and flipping with minimal use of his hands??? imagine implementing that. imagine. revolutionary. 

- since the show doesn’t take all of halftime, kevin and andrew sneak into the locker room when it’s done

- they were Not Subtle

- wymack would have actually killed them if they weren’t winning by such a large margin

- anway after they win kevin pulls andrew aside

- “you saw what he was doing. please tell me you know where i want to go with this.”

- of course kevin has every intention of forcing neil to teach them how to do this crazy shit

- kevin does a little research and finds out when neil will be heading to fox tower after practice and using his “i’m kevin motherfucking day” charm he gets neil to help him learn how to tumble at nightly practices

- neil forces him to swear not to give out his name when people start asking where he gets this stuff, because like that would be Bad.

- it’s an uncertain, shaky thing, but it starts happening

- andrew starts joining because kevin wears him down (that’s not the only reason)

- the season goes on and oh no! the ravens are in our district now

- but get this

- it’s only about kevin.

- they didn’t notice neil. he’s a fucking cheerleader. no one important notices or cares

- there was no morning show fiasco, so seth is still alive!!!

- they got seth some professional help for the good of the plot and he’s been recovering from...everything and getting better at not getting carded every two seconds and communicating

- so no, they don’t win,

- but kevin ties it at the last second when he’s backed up by a backliner and he does a f u c k i n g aerial over her head and scores.

- riko’s face.

- literally everyone’s face.

- neil is cheering his heart out he is so proud 

- after the game, kevin tells the other foxes about neil and his tumbling and they start hanging out with him more because they couldn’t have won without him, and they can learn a lot

- the season goes on, neil gradually becomes okayish, he gets the love he deserves from the foxes and vixens and andrew

- neil starts teaching the foxes his cool tumbling stuff:

      - renee turns out to be fantastic at it, graceful and flexible queen she is

      - dan and nicky are pretty average, they’re learning

      - matt and allison... try 

      - seth and aaron don’t even try and never show up to night practice because let’s be real, it’s seth and aaron

- but hey, andrew’s really improving (probably because of the extra attention neil’s giving him) 

- he’ll mess up and neil will be like “you need to-” and andrew’s like “SHUT UP I KNOW” and neil grins because he totally doesn’t

- spotting someone’s tumbling is pretty up close and personal

- everyone ships it quietly and these idiots are so oblivious

- when andrew lands his first back handspring everyone cheers and he fails to not smile just a little

- they consume so much ice cream in celebration and alcohol

- of course this stuff takes time and by now the season is near over

- they have their trojan game and they work their butts off (even if USC has only ten players) because they don’t want to have to use their trump card yet and they manage not to, though renee almost does when the trojans score on her

- they move on and oh my god it’s the ravens

- they manage to not whip out the crazy shit until the second half, but then everything gets insane

- the first time they do it is when andrew and kevin make eye contact when riko has the ball and kevin knows he can’t stop him

- he gives andrew a nod that he meant to be subtle but he was too excited so it ended up as a very sharp upward jerk of his chin in the vague direction of riko

- andrew would have rolled his eyes but there was no time

- neil would have too if he wasn’t about to explode on the sidelines

- andrew flings himself back at an angle that would have been ridiculously dangerous if he hadn’t been practicing, slams the ball, and springs with his hands back upright

- the stands go wild.

- the vixens cheer their throats hoarse.

- the ball goes straight to kevin

- the next one is when kevin pulls the same aerial he used last time, but it gets blocked because nothing really works twice on the ravens

- from there it’s down to the now-very-gymnastic foxes versus the insane hardcore that is edgar allen

- some highlights:

     - someone tries to do a battering ram thing at dan and she does a toe-touch over him

      - kevin does seven more aerial shots; four of them make it in

      - andrew pulls out the stuff only one other time but when he does neil almost cries

- the final few seconds of the game:

      - THE GAME IS TIIIIIEEEEDDDDD

      - riko fires high-speed at the goal and andrew s m a s h e s it down the court, directly at the raven’s goal.

      - the goalkeeper is surprised yet still gets it, but just barely; he hits it out of pure reflex without aim and it goes right at kevin. with one second left kevin passes to seth (who is very surprised) but he rebounds it into the goal and his Redemtion Arc™ is Complete as he encapsulated in a group hug

- after the game, everyone celebrates together, seth is happy, neil is happy, neil finally mAKES A DAMN MOVE

- and wow look at the news:

“BREAKING: Edgar Allen striker Riko Moriyama’s suicide?”

- and everyone lives happliy ever after

[survivorjohto]

Ep. 8: “I’d Sooner Fall Out Of The Damn Lighthouse Then Vote Out One Of My Friends”- Mitch

I don't really know what's been happening these last few rounds simply due to the fact that like we haven't gone to tribal.  It's really nice and calm, and I kinda don't like it. :\

Jordan Pines: "I'm still wanting to stay Villain strong come merge" 

Me: "yeah sounds good" 

Me, internally: *despairsaac it's time* 

Despairsaac: 👁👁

Honestly like I'm so tired of this villains tribe like these people just don't make sense to me? I get why Jordan M wanted to get out Lily because she was sketchy but he voted with Jordan Pines who honestly is a better person to go considering he's a bigger threat and he tried to vote you out last round? Also like me and Karen were going to protect him? We could've gotten Lily out next round? I'm puzzled but I'm not going to give up and I'm going to play the middle if I make it to merge and frankly if I feel like Jordan Pines should go Cole merge and I think I can do it I'll flip to the heroes and if I think Mitch or Drew or someone on the heroes will go I'll stick with the villains. I don't have power right now but like a goomy evolving into a Goodra it just takes a little time. I have to bide my time and then they'll regret it.

I'm still in shock that Lily was eliminated like... whew.  I knew Lily was a threat, but I really REALLY didn't think that Lily would end up going like that.  I mean Lily played an idol on someone else... who might even have been one of the votes for them.  LIKE... YIKEE... I feel so bad... Lily did NOT deserve that.  That was EEEVVILL.  I know they're villains but yike.  This will help me going into a merge with people I now know I have a shot of beating in challenges, but I still don't really have a shot with people like Drew or Mitch or Duncan.... but I can try!

 I assume we'll be merging soonish, so I just have to hope that we merge with numbers in our favor because I do not want to be the 12th placer or the 11th placer or the 10th placer... I want single digits AT LEAST.  I think that I probably will be perceived as the lowest threat, but that also means that they might target me for simply not even showing signs of having an idol and being the least likely to have one.  Whatever happens is going to happen very messily, and I hope I'm not the victim of it.  I may look like a deer in headlights, but I sure as hell will not be hit by the car.

Also, I want to add that Billy is by far the best person in this game.  I love a lot of the other people in this game for how nice they are to me, and I love them for how they treat me, but Billy... goddamn... Billy is always there for me whether it be as a friend or as a competitor.  I know I piss him off sometimes with how wishy-washy I am, but at the end of the day, he's the only person I can go up to and say, "Look, I think we need to do this.  I have this and this.  Let's try."  I can't do that with Drew daddy or Duncan.  I just- I can't. 

 I know I need to step up my personal social game. 

 I feel that I may be a target come merge simply due to my relations with Billy because I know most, if not all, of the Villains know about it, but I think/hope Billy remains their primary target... well, I hope that's the case until I can make them think otherwise.  Billy is here to really play the game, and he's here to slay everyone's faves, so if I can keep any target off of his back, I will.  I'll try to make myself seem like the big man in charge.  I'll talk to everyone.  I won't reveal too much, but I'll definitely make sure people think I'm the head honcho.  I don't know if it'll work, but I want Billy to stay in this game till the end, and I will do anything to get him to win.

I can't help but wonder if people are going to be around enough for this challenge. I have a strong sense the villains are going to be picking their shit up after losing twice in a row. If we lose, I have no idea where I'd vote, I'd sooner fall out of the damn lighthouse than vote out my friends. I'm slowly realizing these people probably don't want me around for merge, and I'd rather not use my super idol until then. 

 It's just counting, seriously. Hang around for 20 minutes and we'll get up to like 2,000.

Hey guys, long time no see. I just had to take a little time for some personal stuff. But that's ok, because the Heroes are FUCKING KILLING IT.

 I know I stepped back from the spotlight, but I think that's going to help. I'm playing this game for my Poppy and I now. I'm going to win this season for him.

 I told him while we had our alone time that I would make it onto Big Brother or Survivor together. He used to do the Survivor pools at work and then have me keep track of who was left in the game. And then he would follow Big Brother just for me. He's call the hot girls "cheesecake" and we'd talk about how they were the only reason to watch the show. He used to call Rachel Reilly my girlfriend. 

 So anyway, I'm being humble about this now. This one is for him. I wanna make him proud. He didn't know much about my org life, but I'm sure he would have thought it was so cool. So this one is for you Poppy. I'm doing this for us.

Whew I hate the heroes I hope y'all choke 🐍🐍🐍🐍

Aaaaaa we counted a lot, and we counted really well. We won immunity somehow. I thought the villains were really going to haul ass on this challenge considering they've lost two in a row, but they ended up being significantly lower than us. I guess voting out Lily wasn't a good idea on their part, considering they don't seem to have much of a life as evidenced by that Sprout Tower challenge. That or they were higher than us at some point, but they messed up and had to restart. Either way, I'm glad we were able to win. If I can stroke my ego, I did half the work, so I know my tribe thinks I'm even more of an asset. I love helping my tribe stay. I love all of my tribemates, and honestly, I'm doing more of the work for them than I am myself. I don't want to see any of them go anywhere, especially Duncan. Unfortunately, my intentions are always lost in translation. People think I'm a challenge threat, people think I'm going to go on to beast every competition, and they'll latch onto that. Drew is hanging back, I know he is. He may have work, but I know he plays a smarter game than I do, and right now Drew isn't the savior of the tribe, I am. I hope my heroes know I'm being truthful when I say that I do not care about winning too much. I'd just like to beat my highest placement of 7th and move on with life. If this tribe of 6 sticks together, then I have succeeded. That's optimistic of me. I know Billy probaby still has it in the back of his mind that I'm some shifty nasty power player who's acting sweet and innocent to get him to let his guard down. But I'm not. I genuinely enjoy Billy's company now that I've gotten to know him. If he blindsides me down the road, that is perfectly okay. I don't want it to happen, but I would understand why. There's only one more challenge until merge, and I plan on helping us win that challenge. I don't care if it paints the biggest bullseye on my back, I am not about to be Michaela Bradshaw'd in the most successful premerge game I've ever had. Not that it would happen anyway because of my beautiful Ho-oh. But I plan on keeping him a secret until I really need to play it, so I have to settle for upping my social game. Billy will become much harder or easier to talk with because of what happened with his grandfather. I truly feel bad for him, losing a relative is not fun (according to normal people) so hopefully I can be a shoulder to lean on if he needs one. Brian is an interesting character because he seems interested in small talk like I am, he's a lot more "lol" and "dsklsddsjfd" about it than I am, I think. I'll have to find something to probe into about him, so hopefully I can learn about him as a person. Ash is... difficult, to say the least. Ever since I voted them I've felt very odd about trying to converse with them, because it feels like I'm tossing smoke and mirrors at them. I hate being disingenuine, so I guess just not being is easier. I'm going to overcome this and try to spark a conversation tomorrow. Drew is interesting, because we have a lot of secrets shared, but we have a mutual distance thing going on? He'll occasionally pop up in my PMs with really good game information from time to time, but we don't have basic conversations. I'm not sure if I should fix that or let it run its course? I feel like we just both understand each other to some degree (which I'm actually suspicious about now that I think about it.) Duncan is my number 1 right now. According to what he's said, jury starts with this vote tonightm so he's achieved his goal and has his bags semi-packed in case he wants to leave or whatever. I don't exactly approve of him being defeatist, but after what happened at Jacob's tribal, I get it. We've searched for idols together, he's trying to get revenge for me in Palau... I just feel really good about him and don't think he'd have a reason to lie to me. Which makes the Jacob vote weird because it was 5-3. Assuming he and I voted together, that means Drew didn't. And Drew is keeping me out of the loop. I'll have to work around that. I love my heroes, and I don't think they would do anything to hurt me after all I've done for them, but the paranoia sets in like fat settles on my lazy bones. I'm suspicious of Drew and Billy. Brian and Ash are question marks... I feel like this is a Molotov cocktail waiting to be lit, but the cocktail only has like an inch of alcohol in it. (Do Molotovs even have alcohol? I need to research my similes.) I know the villains are going to want to beat my ass after that Eliv Thade challenge, holy shit. Jordan Pines and I are going to target each other at merge, there's literally no surprise there. My plan is to win merge immunity, hopefully it'll be something creative because I know Jordan has not a creative bone in his body. If it's a flash game, we'll just have to see. If it's trivia, I know I know more than he does at least. I'm just trying to work around being merge boot in honesty. It happens to me more often than you'd think, which is probably a lot. I want to move forward with the heroes. I just need to tell them I am. Not convince. Tell. I'm not a liar by any means, I've been truthful to my allies the entire game, and if people ask me questions, I answer. Not that I get many. I almost wish people would probe into me a little more, you know? Like I always wonder why I don't get people asking me "do you have an idol?" Because my weak ass is gonna say yes, I can't lie for shit. I can leave out information, but lying is not my strong suit (e.g. Telling Drew I caught Ho-oh and got an idol, but not saying I got a super idol.) Oh, right, the villains. Isaac, Jay, Jordan M, Senor Pines, Karen, and Kendall. I feel like this tribal is going to go to Isaac or Jordan M, mostly based on assumptions. Jay is in love with Pine Sol, Kendall is going to gravitate to Jay, and Karen too probably. I can't imagine Karen and Isaac being terribly close... If we're going based on closeness, Jordan M is screwed. that last vote was 4-2-1 right?

 Karen - Jay 

Jordan M - Jay 

Lily - Jordan P 

Jordan P - Lily

 Isaac - Lily 

Kendall - Lily 

Jay - Lily 

 That's my guess anyway. Looking in the future, I don't see myself aligning with the villains if we have numbers. If we're even at merge, I might try to get Jay or Kendall on our side because of our friendships. But I don't want to play this game with people I know, I want to form new relationships. I want to pretend like I'm on Survivor and I don't know these people. I'm tired of getting lumped with Jay, it's my time to get out of his shadow. I'll certainly vote him off if it proves to the heroes that I'm with them. Kendall is a quesiton mark as always, but it's something I'd try to get more into. I might try something with Isaac. I don't want anything to do with Karen, honestly. Jordan Pines can go. Jordan Means is another question mark. 

Anyway sorry for this long fucking confessional, it's 2am and I wanted to get me thoughts down. 

Current Team: Valentino the Murkrow Vec the Tyranitar Bloom the Bellossom Klaus the Deliberd Shimmer the Ho-Oh with a Super Idol Cardamom the Crobat with a vote revealer I forgot I had that. Will I ever even use it? I'm not socially aware enough to even try to expose someone.    

Okay so very exciting for me, I improved my placement and made the jury!!!! That's all I could really ask for out of this game. That was my goal, and I made it! I know other people have been playing for the crown, but I'm just happy to be in the game still and proud to have made it this far. Now? I think I can make it to merge and then flip? lol I want to flop to the villains and fuck shit up tbh. Kendall Jay and Karen are over there, people I adore and love, I guess they play a more villainous game but whatevs. For the first time in forever the heroes are going to have more players than villains and I thinks it's nice because nice guys don't always finish last ;)