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got-any-references · 4 years ago

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What are your fav beetlebabes headcanons? Also, love your stuff <3

Thank you <3. And thank you for the wait cause oh boy if I don’t answer this ask with a ridiculous amount of art how will I live?

*Digging out the dust covered manuscript that is my nonexistent Beetlebabes fic from under the floorboards* It’s showtime.

So...Lydia is the one who falls first. She is about 17 or 18 at the time, so this is very much an “I have a teen crush on someone I am not supposed to” type of deal. Honestly they fell in love with each other way before that but like, platonically

Beej is...horribly oblivious XD. Honestly its for the best because Lydia spends the better part of her pre-college summer freaking about because any time her best friend walks in the door her heart wants to go bull-riding in her chest and if she actually has to confront her feelings she might just explode.

Then, just before Lydia was supposed to go away to college, Beetlejuice...disappears. He leaves a note, saying he’ll be back, but weeks turn into months, months turn into a year, and no one either in the living world or the netherworld has seen a hair of him. Lydia goes through college without really knowing what to do with herself, missing what was probably the closest person in her life. She graduates with a journalism degree and a minor in photography. She works for a newspaper as an investigative journalist before breaking off over less than great circumstances and going off on her own.

She’s 25 when she establishes herself as a pivate eye, with an enormous amount of anonymous sources being dead people. Also, this takes place in New York City.

(Yes she absolutely does exorcisms on the side).

She’s following a rather stange missing persons case when one of her sources points to a run down establishment that is 100% totally haunted. Except when she goes there she doesn’t find any ghosts, but rather

Beetlejuice. And he looks awful. And very much human.

Lydia: You look like hell.

Beej: Yeah, I just got back.

...

Beej: Also I’ma pass out now so you better catch me.

So he crashes at Lydia’s place, and the whole thing turns into solving the crime as well as Beej’s mysterious aquirement of a beating heart and working lungs. He doesn’t remember how that’s happened, only now everything is Too Much with Too Many Feelings. Speaking of feelings, you bet your ass there is PINING. SO much pining. Lydia’s best friend comes back and suddenly those feelings she’d dismissed as a stupid teenage crush come FLOODING BACK.

While Lydia’s internally feaking out over her feelings (it's totally normal and platonic to wanna kiss your best friend while he sleeps, right??), Beetlejuice is, you guessed it, totally oblivious! To his own feelings especially! All he knows is that it's his best friend only now she seems like a completely different person, and hot. She is now hot. His mad respect for Lydia makes him bury that thought deep, deep down. Also the whole marriage deal is a source on bad memories for both of them and he doesn’t wanna ruin the only good thing he’s ever had and-

Anyway, more pining:

Lydia’s feelings bring out resentment, too. She hates that Beej calls her kid, because that means he still sees her as one, and her ego and her desire for him make her want him to see her, the woman who's seen some real shit in the name of finding the truth, who can take care of herself, and who is very different from that angsty 15 year old girl on the roof.

It all comes ahead to a big confrontation where Lydia is shot, and Beetlejuice has to drag her to the hospital without any knowledge of how human bodies work and he has no magic so he can’t help her-

The hospital needs to know his relationship to her when they take her away, and Beetlejuice knows they wont let him in unless he’s close family so he is blurts out: “Husband. Yeah, I’m her...husband.”

Lydia wakes up with a patched up hole in her side and Beetlejuice clinging to her hand. She’s happy she’s alive, but also angry, because she could have avoided all of this. She was competent enough to not need anyone to rescue her.

She wants to get back on the case as soon as possible, she found the key lead, but Beej doesn’t wanna hear it, cause he saw way too much of her blood and he’s not big on how human bodies work, but he's pretty sure that shit’s supposed to stay inside. They’re arguing when the nurse comes in and adresses him as “Mr. Deetz.”

Lydia snatches the clipboard away, sees that he’s told them she’s his wife, and is livid. Because crush or not the wedding thing had a whole lot of baggage she does not want to unpack. She has to confront the fact that her feelings are for someone who manipulated her into marriage at 15 and who she’s not supposed to see in that way but she does anyway.

And Beej, a dumbass but also angry cause she almost died out of a stupid reckless mistake is like: "Why are you all mad? It was a green card thing. It's not like it means anything." And that gets Lyds even more upset, with him cause he's an idiot, and with herself because she's still pining for someone who, she thinks, still sees her as a child.

Lyds, getting her coat: "Fuck off."

BJ: "Kid-"

Lydia: "Stop calling me that! I haven't been a child since my mother died. I haven't been a child since you showed up! I haven't been a child since I've started this, since I moved here, since the first asshole tried to kill me. I've been through literal hell and I've had to pull myself out of it all on my own because I was still here and you left."

There's a beat of silence as Lydia realizes what she just said.

Lydia: "And that's fine. Because I don't need you. I don't need anyone. You taught me that, at least." She yanks her coat onto her shoulders and turns to go.

BJ, quietly, but its clear he's angry: "Do you think I wanted to leave?"

Lydia: "I don't know what you wanted. Do you even know what you wanted?" She pauses at the door, turns to him. "Do you know what you want, Betelgeuse?"

BJ: "I-"

He stops. He can't look her in the eye anymore. You. I want you. Lydia scoffs, turns to go.

BJ: "Lydia, wait-"

Lydia: "Fuck. Off."

She leaves, and he just stands there, floored by his too little too late realization. Lydia thinks the best thing to do after leaving the hospital with a bullet hole in her side and hopped up on painkillers is to go get drunk! Self-preservation? None

Beetlejuice finally finds her drunk off her ass and suddenly in a great mood. He grabs her under the arms like "Whelp. Time to go."

Lydia: "Nooo come on-"

BJ: "Aren't you on hospital drugs? Doesn't that shit kill you breathers if you mix it all up?"

Lydia: ":D I stopped taking them :'D it hurts like a bitch."

BJ: "I guess I have the shared braincell now. Okay, time to go."

He manages to get her in the car without incident, but when he gets in the driver's seat suddenly Lydia's all over him.

BJ, with a lap full of drunk Lydia: "What. What are you doing."

Lydia: "Beeetlejuice."

BJ: "Yeees?"

Lydia, smiling all dopey as she cups his cheeks: "Beeetlejuuuice."

BJ: "What"

Lydia's finger hovers over his nose, as if to boop him. He closes his eyes. And suddenly her lips are on his. She tastes like alcohol and hospital food and as she pulls away he can't think. Then she starts laughing. "Ha! Gotchaaa! Classic Bait and Switch!"

And he’s pissed.

BJ: "Ha. Ha. Good one, Lyds."

He dumps her out of his lap and into the passenger seat. Lydia blinks in confusion. Now she's cold. She wants to ask, but her mental faculties aren't all with her at the moment. He drives them home and helps her up the stairs before dumping her onto her bed. "Well. Bye." Lydia scrambles up the bed. The car ride gave her enough time to be at least a bit sober, and everything before getting here is blurry. "Where are you going?" Beetlejuice turns around, the widest smile on his face. She's confused for a moment before she realizes he's vibrating with rage. "Ya said you want me gone? Great! You don't need me, you can do your weird little suicidal quest thing yourself!" Lydia looks lost. They had a fight but she'd rarely seen him this angry. "If its about the thing at the hospital, I didn't- I didn't mean it-"

Beetlejuice: "Really? You'd think you'd be glad to have me gone. Why would you want a creep like me around? The whole marriage thing didn't just disappear, after all! Great to know you can still pull one on me, huh?"

Lydia: "Pull what, Beetlejuice-"

She remembers, hazily, the car ride.

They stare at each other for a moment Beej is breathing heavily, he's not used to living person emotions, ones you can feel with your whole body instead of just as an abstract thing, but its clear he's holding back

Lydia: "I wasn't-"

Beej: "You weren't what?"

Lydia (quietly): "It wasn't a joke."

The angry grin slips off Beej's face. He suddenly looks very, very tired. She might have believed just now that he'd lived for millennia.

Beej: “Why are you doin' this, Lyds? Did you know the whole damn time? It's not like I was gonna do anything, I just thought- I just-”

Lydia suddenly realizes that they are having two different conversations. And something else. She looks away, trying to wrap her head around it, and Beetlejuice doesn't read it correctly. He turns to go.

Lydia: “Wait!”

She jumps off the bed, feeling the whole world tip over slightly, still drunk, and stumbled over to him. He catches her instinctively as she grips his forearms for support.

Lydia: “Beej. Beej, look at me.”

She takes his face in her hands, and turns it toward her. He looks so lost, like one word from her might actually break him. She'd only seen that look on his face once before, and she never wants to again.

Lydia takes a breath.

Lydia: “Beetlejuice, I-”

Aaand then she throws up all over his shoes.

She doesn't quite remember what happened next, only that she was in the bathroom, leaning against the door, the toilet was flushed, she was sweating, and he wasn't there.

Lydia: “Beej?”

Beetlejuice (through the door): “...hi”

Lydia: “What-”

BJ: “-happened? Well, that's a story!”

His voice sounds cheerful, but it’s shaking slightly

BJ: “First ya threw up all over us both! then that little experiment of yours with mixing the meds went off, and you started babbling about...rocks? Then we got here, you heaved out the rest of your insides, and then ya kicked me out and said you were gonna shower, and now we're sitting here, so, yeah”

Lydia: “...Are you still covered in puke?”

BJ:”...yeah”

Lydia: “...sorry?”

BJ: “Pshh, what's a best friend if ya can't throw up on 'im a couple times.”

They both fall silent

Beetlejuice (quietly): “Lyds, do ya still want me here?”

...

Lydia takes the time to find the words. Want him here? After everything, he was still asking that question. Did he still think, after all this time, that she'd throw him out at the smallest inconvenience? Would he ever stop thinking that way? Why did he think so now? Was it because he- Because he-

Lydia: “I love you.”

The other side of the door is silent.

Lydia: “I love your stupid laugh. You sound like a fucking cartoon villain, its so fucking obnoxious. I love your jokes, all of them, even the shitty ones- you always look so god damn proud when you say them.”

Is she crying? She tries to wipe at her face, but the tears keep coming.

Lydia: “I loved you since that last day on the roof, and when you left-”

Her throat closes up. She chokes back on her tears, she has to finish it, he has to hear it.

Lydia: “When you left I thought I might die again.”

Lydia: “I kept seeing things, dumb branding on cereal boxes, that shitty college play I went to, my first client, and I kept thinking aw, Beej would have a field day with this one. I thought about what you'd say. You were like a voice I couldn't scrape out of my head, I thought I was going crazy, I thought I'd imagined it all, some lonely little girl with no life or friends, needing someone to talk to- But you'd been real, and then you were just gone- “

The words dissolve in her throat as she sobs, pulling her knees up to her chest. She feels like a child now. She feels more childlike than she had at 15. She’s clinging to a scrap of hope she doesn’t have a right to demand from him. And yet he'd said-

Lydia: “I love you. Please, don't leave.”

They sit is silence for a while. Lydia tries to stop crying. Then, quietly from the other side of the door:

BJ: “You know what I thought when I first saw you?”

Lydia: “Here’s a suicidal teen haha what a riot?”

BJ: “What? No, not then. Like now.”

Lydia: “Oh. What?”

BJ: “I thought wow, who the hell is that and why is she so dang hot?”

Lydia laughs.

BJ: “And then I thought oh God that’s Lydia.”

Something in his voice makes her pause. Maybe it’s the strange fear that she feels coming from him.

BJ: “It’s like, you’re Lydia, and I don’t know shit about you! You’re the same person, but you’re a stranger to me. Lyds, do you know how fucking terrifying that is? You’re someone I never got to know because of a shitty decision I don’t even remember making.”

he falls silent. She can hear the pain in his voice. And something else. Longing.

Beetlejuice: “I’d like to.”

Lydia opens the door. Beetlejuice scrables up, only for her to throw her arms around him.

They figure it out. It’s a slowburn 200k fic that I’ll never write so it takes a while for them to actually kiss, or do anything more, but they get there.

This turned out...ridiculously long XD. I don’t know what you meant by “headcanons”, exactly, but have this instead.

Thanks for the ask!

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raendown · 4 years ago

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A story for @insaneflowergirl as part of the @madatobigiftexchange! Only took me six days to realize it’s June. A grand improvement over the last couple months. xD

Pairing: MadaraTobirama Word count: 4049 Rated: T+ Fandom: Naruto Summary: Trapped together by an avalanche in the middle of a mission, Madara and Tobirama make a passing attempt at dealing with the discovery that they are soulmates. And also the discovery that there is only one bed to share for the night.

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

KO-FI and commission info in the header!

Warmth in Winter Hearts

“I don’t suppose if I happened to suggest laying down to rest you might actually listen?”

“You’re not my mother!”

Tobirama pressed the bridge of his nose tightly between two fingers and breathed slowly. “Gods but I hope not. I have neither the parts nor the patience for that.”

Across the cavern Madara scowled, looking very much like he was only moments away from sticking out his tongue. If he were perfectly honest Tobirama would not have been surprised in the least to see that sort of childish behavior after the emotionally taxing week they’d been going through. Getting put on a mission together was bad enough; they fought like cats and dogs in the tower with separate offices to retreat to, how Hashirama expected them to survive an entire month out here in the wilderness together was a mystery. Yet the worst part had to be getting snowed in separate from the man they were meant to be escorting with no way to make sure the idiot was still alive.

“When we get out of here,” Madara growled, “I’m going to tear out that asshole’s hair strand by strand.”

“I’m not sure how much of a threat that is.”

“Excuse you, that is a terrifying threat.”

“Not everyone is as attached to their hair as you are,” Tobirama pointed out.

He was already turning away to build up the meager fire he’d hastily thrown together upon realizing they were trapped in here. Still, he could practically feel the weight of dark eyes glaring at him from across the cave, probably staring at the back of head and judging the hair that he kept short purely for utilitarian purposes. If he hadn’t looked so ridiculous the one time he’d shaved it all off he would just do away with the stuff all together. What good did hair really do him? Not much. If his head got cold he could always throw on a hat. Beyond that he’d never found much of a use for it.

“Maybe if you took better care of yours then you’d understand.”

“I very much doubt that,” Tobirama murmured under his breath.

The glaring intensified but he refused to take the bait. Feeding the fire and making sure they stayed warm throughout the night was much more important than tending to the quicksilver emotions of a man who, until today, had been nothing but a thorn in his side at every turn. If not for this blasted mission he never would have been anything else. Tobirama closed his eyes and counted his breaths in and out, in and out, slowly, evenly, searching for the calm balance that so many people mistook for unfeeling cold. It hadn’t been so difficult to center himself in years.

As much as he tried, however, calm remained far beyond his reach. He could keep a placid expression for the idiot across the room but on the inside his emotions were tumbling over each other like a business of ferrets all fighting over the same morsel of food. They were soulmates. Even in his own head that felt strange to admit. So many years spent glaring across the battlefield, several more glaring across council tables and mokuton sturdy desks, only now to discover their connection mere hours before they got themselves trapped inside a system of caves by nothing more than a raging blizzard. Honestly if he weren’t so angry at the timing of it all Tobirama might have been impressed by the sheer volume of snow Mother Nature had seen fit to dump over their heads without warning. More so than the weather he was angry at their client. When he’d told that fool to stay close it had been for his own safety, not to ruffle his overinflated ego without reason. Now he’d trapped himself somewhere else in these caves by dashing off just before an avalanche of snow collapsed over the entrance. Madara had offered to melt through it all but there was little point. There would always be more to come down on top.

Either their client would be dead of cold in the morning or he wouldn’t. Being here with them wouldn’t do much to change that outcome when he’d already declared that he would rather freeze to death than seek body heat from, in his words, lowly shinobi types. Tobirama would rather lose the income from this mission than let such an asshole touch him after words like that.

“Ugh.” Behind him Madara sniffed a couple of times. “These smell terrible.”

“Probably because you’re still bleeding inside them.” Tobirama didn’t even need to turn around to know what the other was talking about. He’d wrapped those bandages himself only hours before.

“I should probably change them. But it’s so cold…”

Standing up to brush the snow from his knees, Tobirama nodded shortly. “Cold indeed. An excellent excuse not to care for your wounds. I’ll be sure to share that one with Izuna when he asks how I could allow you to come home with blood poisoning.”

A smile flickered across his face when the snuffling turned in to barely muted grumbling, probably a bad mockery of him since that was usually Madara’s last defense against being told to do something he already knew he should have been doing. It only took another minute or two of waiting before heavy footsteps were thumping across the snow-dusted rock to pause just at his back. The hand that shoved itself in to his view looked like some child’s imaginative drawing of a zombie, covered as it was in off-white linen turned black in some places with drying blood.

“If you’re so worried for me then do something about it yourself!”

“Use your manners if you want help.”

“Fuck you!” Madara snatched his hand back. When Tobirama looked he was cradling it to his chest with a pout that looked all the more ridiculous than usual when set above a full suit of battle-worn armor. “I’ll just do it myself then!”

“Will you now?”

A raised eyebrow sent his companion storming off to where they had scraped the snow off a few square feet of ground. Dark mutterings made a lovely background tune as Madara dug through both of their packs trying to find the rest of their medical supplies. When he found them he gave a vicious little noise of triumph and then flopped down on to a nearby rock to pick at the knot on the back of his injured hand. It was hardly the only injury either of them had suffered during the past week of escorting their jittery client through one of the most dangerous sections of the border with Yugakure, just the most serious since it hampered the grip Madara needed on his infamous gunbai. He’d trained himself to use the other hand like most shinobi did but his effectiveness in battle was markedly different when doing so, forcing Tobirama to take point constantly rather than switching out by turns.

“Don’t forget the ointment,” Tobirama called over helpfully, not bothering to hide a snicker when Madara lifted his head to glare in response.

“I know that!”

“Ah so you were leaving it behind in the pack, what, to keep it warm?”

Madara tore off a strip of bandage and hauled it ineffectually through the air, shouting, “Leave me alone!”

He should. In truth he really should leave the man alone. Both of them needed a little time to process the discovery of their unexpected connection. Unfortunately Tobirama didn’t have nearly half the interpersonal skills his brother did, he’d never really learned when to leave well enough alone, so instead of giving them both a little space he watched the fluttering bandage until it hit the ground and then lifted his face with a smirk.

“Very effective. I’m all but shaking in my boots.”

“You will be if you ever let me catch you on the training fields alone!”

“Go on then, we’re alone right now.”

“Fuck off!” Madara grunted.

Tobirama peeked over his shoulder to make sure the fire wasn’t going to collapse on itself and then turned back to his mission partner. “I don’t think I will. You are literally my only entertainment right now.”

“I am not your entertainment!”

“No, you’re right. You’re more like a natural disaster that I just can’t help watching. It’s human nature, you know? Like a morbid curiosity.”

Even as he spoke the words he knew he was being an ass but, as he’d said, it wasn’t like there was much else for him to do in this godforsaken cave. He might as well get a few licks in while he still had the energy. Watching Madara’s ears turn red with anger was just as fascinating as it had ever been, though having to force his mind away from examining why he was so fascinated was new.

“If anyone here is morbid it’s you!”

“Well I’m not denying that.”

“Be more insulted!” Madara screeched. “I hate when you do that!”

Tobirama folded his arms and lifted one hand to tap at his chin. “Do what, pray tell?”

“You’re always so fucking unflappable! Just- just- it isn’t fair! Be...flapped! Or something!”

“Flapped?” He’d never heard anything so ridiculous in his life. It was perfectly reasonable that he should throw his head back and start laughing, thoroughly amused by his companion’s loss for words. Madara didn’t seem to appreciate his reaction but really that wasn’t far out of the ordinary. For the most part Madara had never seemed to appreciate much about him at all and until recently that hadn’t exactly bothered him.

Right now the only thing flapping was Madara’s jaw as the man tried several times to come up with a response, any response at all. In the end he simply tossed the end of the bandage roll in Tobirama’s direction with lethal force and snatched the closest bedroll, storming off to spread it out across the space kicked free of snow.

It was a shame to have his entertainment taken away so quickly, even more of a shame to know that if he also tried to bed down right now the only spot to do so would be within range of Madara’s vengeful hands, so Tobirama was left very suddenly with the echoes of his own laughter and little else. The grin on his face turned rapidly in to a scowl. Patient he might be when the situation called for it but he’d never been a fan of keeping the company of his own thoughts. Books were much more pleasant. Much less likely to spiral out of control in to dangerous places or earn him another lecture from his older brother. Not having his library at hand was certainly the worst part of any mission he’d ever taken, filled as they usually were with down time in which he had little to do but plan his next move or stare aimlessly at the surroundings.

As much as it would probably be more interesting to wander off and explore how far back these caves actually went he didn’t think it was in his best interests to take the chance at getting lost. If nothing else Madara would definitely tell on him when they got back to the village.

For a minute or so their little cavern was filled with the rustling of Madara settling himself down to sleep, wrenching the blankets off again when he realized he hadn’t put away all the medical supplies, then fussing at them to cover himself a second time. Once he finally settled down for good there was nothing but the sound of the fire crackling merrily away. Sealed off as they were from the rest of the world, the fire was their only source of light. If not for the fact that the caves obviously went pretty deep in to the mountain it would have been a very poor idea indeed to let it keep burning away all their oxygen. Tobirama was grateful he didn’t need to put it out. Aside from giving him something to listen to besides the inside of his own head it also gave him something to look at. Or rather it gave him a bit of light by which to stare off in his partner’s direction, studying the length of Madara's body and the shapes he made under the regulation wool blanket.

Not a good idea. Definitely not a good idea. Tobirama jerked his eyes away as soon as he realized what he was doing. Better if there had been no fire. He’d rather be blind for lack of light and leave himself at the mercy of the Sharingan for seeing any possible threats than to sit here and stare across the snowy rock like some lovelorn maiden. No matter what discoveries had been made that day they were not some pair of star crossed lovers. There was no need for whatever dramatics his face had just been doing.

Digging both hands in to his eyes with a sigh, Tobirama decided it was probably best if he just went to sleep too. It was still too early for him to be very tired but falling asleep would at least stop him from following wherever the hell his thoughts had just been trying to go. Somewhere much too thespian for his tastes. He wasn't his brother, after all, there was no need for him to sit here and analyze his feelings or some other such nonsense. If the fire burnt down while they slept and he woke to darkness, well, he did still have Madara with him; just because he was rightfully leery of the Sharingan’s powers didn’t mean he was above taking advantage of them when he needed to. Perhaps a little mean when the man was injured by, hey, he wasn’t the one who could see in the dark and that was hardly his own fault.

Another sigh caught at the edges of his teeth and slipped out sounding more like a hiss when he pushed himself up on to his feet, striding over towards their packs with careful footsteps. There was no telling what sort of uneven ground could be hiding under all this snow. So far away from the dancing flames his already poor vision was even worse so at first Tobirama assumed that Madara had simply kicked everything out of place while looking for the bandages. It wasn’t until he gathered all of the packs together and dug through every one of them that he realized one very important item was missing.

His eyes snapped over to the prone figure only feet away. Madara lay stretched out and perfectly still on top of his bed roll. Or, more accurately, the only bedroll. In all the kerfuffle of their client running off and the avalanche trapping them in it appeared they had lost not only some of the food they’d been carrying but also their second sleeping mat.

If not for the snow on the ground it wouldn’t have been such a big deal. He still had a blanket and it wasn’t like he’d never bedded down for the night without something comfortable to lie on, catching a few hours up a tree whenever he had to and doing so without complaint. The problem was that lying down on frozen rock had only one outcome and with both of them already injured in various ways he certainly couldn’t take the risk of waking up with pneumonia when there was a perfectly viable - if crushingly embarrassing - solution snoozing peacefully right there. He really hoped Madara wasn’t too comfy just yet.

“What?” his partner snarled when he was nudged lightly with one foot.

“Shove over,” Tobirama demanded.

“The fuck? There is literally a whole cave of space, go make your bed somewhere else.”

“Can’t. I have to share your bed so shove over, Uchiha.”

Madara snapped upright so fast they both heard something in his back pop, though neither paid it much attention. “You fucking what now?”

“There appears to be a distinct lack of a second bedroll anywhere so unless you want me sneezing all over your bandages when I inevitably have to change them you will shove the hell over.” Tobirama crossed both arms over his chest like they could hold in all the confusing emotions trying very hard to bubble their way to the surface.

He wasn’t sure what to think of the way Madara’s jaw hung open wordlessly, couldn’t properly make out the nuances of that expression without more light to see by. Maybe if he weren’t standing at such an angle as to throw the other man in shadow- but to step aside now so he could see better would be to admit how bad his eyes really were and that was a weakness he’d never bothered to share even with his own brother. He settled instead for standing his ground until that rounded jaw snapped shut again for Madara to harrumph loudly.

“Fucking- are you serious? This is ridiculous! Where did the other bedroll go?”

“Probably lost in the snow somewhere but I would honestly much rather be sleeping right now than trying to guess at things I may never have an answer to. So. Shove. Over. I will not say it again.”

Ignoring Madara’s voice shouting in his ear was as easy as tuning him out, a feat barely comparable to the task of tuning out Hashirama in the middle of high drama. Tobirama untied his armor and set it all aside carefully. By the time he turned back he noticed that, although the screaming hadn’t so much as paused, Madara had gone ahead and moved over a few inches anyway. He did give vent to a few choked noises when Tobirama slid in under the covers with him but it wasn’t difficult to parse out why. Tobirama was still up on one elbow when he paused to examine their situation.

Which way was he supposed to face? They would both be warmer if he faced inwards and curled himself around Madara’s back but such a position felt much too intimate. Facing away from each other would be blessedly less intimate but there wasn’t exactly a whole lot of space on the mat beneath them and it would take only a single shift for one of them to roll away from the other, taking all the blankets with them. Sleeping on his back was generally the way he preferred but, again, space was the main issue. He would have to lay half on the snow to do that.

“Just...just pick something and go to sleep,” Madara grumbled.

“Eager to cuddle?” Tobirama snapped at him, a response born more of habit than any particular ire.

“Fuck off!”

Just for that Tobirama slumped down on to his right side and made sure to curl in as close as possible, grinning viciously to himself as the other man stiffened noticeably. He himself was far from immune to the awkwardness but petty spite had always driven him faster than any care for his own comfort. If Madara hated this then he would lie here awake all night before he rolled over to make them both comfortable.

It would have been nice, he admitted silently after several minutes, having enough mercy in his soul to relent and just roll over. Tomorrow promised to be an absolute bastard of a day, not least because the task of digging them out of this place would undoubtedly fall mostly on his own shoulders. He definitely could use some rest before tackling that. Instead he lay there with eyes wide open staring at the back of Madara’s head and wondering what reactions he might get if he pulled on some of that bristling hair. Almost as though the man could hear his thoughts Madara curled in to himself a little tighter. The movement was an innocent one. The way it pushed Madara’s rump in to the cradle of Tobirama’s hips was most decidedly not an innocent result even if it was obviously unintentional.

“Nnngg!?”

“Very intelligent,” Tobirama breathed, not wanting to speak louder for fear the sudden rush of want running through him might be heard in his voice.

“That wasn’t- I didn’t- fuck off, Senju!”

“I will have you know that it is taking all of my energy not to instinctually respond with an implication you would rather I fuck you instead.”

Madara’s screech could probably be heard through the several feet of snow blocking their cave entrance. “It doesn’t count if you still say it you idiot!”

Yet for all the screaming protests he went on to ring both of their ears with, Madara’s reaction notably lacked one thing. He never once tried to move away. Oh he waved the arm he wasn’t lying on and jawed until Tobirama began to wonder if he wasn’t wearing down the bones of his own skull from overuse but not once did he so much as tilt his hips in to a different position.

Such telling body language gave Tobirama all the clues he needed to figure out exactly what he’d missed in their earlier conversation. It was possible these types of clues were something he’d been missing in all of their past interactions, body language he never noticed simply because he tried to look at the other man as little as possible. To his shame such a habit had been built entirely on the premise that Madara hated it when people didn’t pay attention to him. From now on he promised himself he would pay closer attention - even if he might not let Madara see such efforts. Just because he was begrudgingly interested didn’t mean he was willing to set that spite down just yet. Some habits took longer to break than others.

And some would never fade but maybe that was more of a personal failing than anything else.

“White flag.” The words were out and hanging in the air before Tobirama even realized his mouth had decided to speak before his brain had a proper sentence ready. In front of him Madara stiffened impossibly further.

“The hell are you on about?”

“I...am waving a white flag. We both need rest. This is, ah, comfortable enough. Let’s just put any further arguments or conversations on hold until tomorrow and go to sleep.”

Madara seemed to chew that over for a moment until he asked very quietly, “Like this?”

“I am comfortable if you are.”

He half expected to have the man roll over and deck him in the face for such presumptions. When the silence began to stretch he wondered if he was meant to take it as agreement until he heard very quiet words drift back to caress his ears, a softer sound than he had ever heard from this man in his life.

“Your arms’ll go numb sleeping like that. Might as well...might as well stretch them out.”

“Ah. I didn’t presume-”

Tobirama cleared his throat before very carefully shifting back to make room for where both of his arms were folded tightly against Madara’s back. When he stretched one out neither of them said anything about Madara lifting his head to make room for it beneath the pillow they shared. And when he stretched the other out with very delicate movements they both remained utterly silent as he laid it gently across Madara’s waist.

It was the subtle relaxing of all the muscles pressed up against his front that finally made everything click. Oh but he was a blind man. A very blind man with terrible vision to boot. If anyone asked he was going to blame every misunderstanding on the man in his arms with zero shame.

Tomorrow they would wake to fight their way past the snow and put in at least a token effort to find their wayward client. Somewhere along the way they would search for the supplies that got lost in the shuffle. But as he closed his eyes Tobirama smiled to realize neither one of them was likely to put a whole lot of work in to finding that second bedroll they had lost, not when it seemed their newly discovered bond was something Madara wanted much more than he’d let on before.

#rae writes #madatobi #madara #tobirama #soulmate au #fanfiction #madatobi gift exchange 2021

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moon-forest-princess · 4 years ago

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An In-depth Elven perspective on Mind Power Subliminals (p2)

This is PART 2 of my post HERE. Please read that one first if you haven't!!

She goes on:

"...I am tired of people thinking this work is about subliminals. I do not give a s--t about the subliminal community or what they think of me. What I do is so far beyond this. That community is a pebble compared to the mountain I offer."

"I never even shared my magnum opus. The most powerful beautiful hybrid to exist. Affirmations are thousands of words long and the most beautiful affirmations ever written." "What kind of inspiration graces such a person? [...]They trashed me because they wanted an excuse to steal my work for their own. They wanted to tear me down so they could rise. They are not able to match my level of creation."

"I shall not ever make a subliminal again. This was a gift I was preparing to give. These humans showed me they did not deserve such a gift."

"You think you should be held at the same level as me? I am looking for generals, captains, and warriors. You first have prove yourself to me as soldier before you can be upgraded to a captain or general. I want to forge you to be among the most powerful in the cosmos."

"I won't give power away freely. I will test you and put you through the trials. You have to show me you are worthy. You want me to write a post to prove myself to you? It is you who needs to prove yourself to me! I have shown you who I am."

Hey, maybe I'm being a hypocrite for saying she can't gatekeep the Elven Path this way, while claiming she is not part of the Path herself... but it all comes down to one truth for me:

This is not Elven wisdom. This is not Elven love. All of what she said is just... arrogance--dare I say human arrogance--plain and simple.

And I am fairly certain she doesn't even identify as Elven herself, she is just speaking for us.

But it's bullying and arrogance under the guise of 'tough love'. As the old saying goes, you'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar... and all of her posts and interactions with others just reek of vinegar. She was trying to vet her followers by being as offensive as possible, to find those who she could make the most promising of lemmings out of.

I am trying my best not to sit here and armchair diagnose her, but I will say this reminds me of a narc's rage fit. The temper tantrum they throw when no one wants to take the bait and follow them into their highly decorated cave. We are all foolish idiots and ungrateful peons who are ~ jUsT jEaLoUs ~ for not accepting their bait gift.

The very phrase "I won't give power away freely" goes against the nature of the Elven Light Path. It is not a lineage of power passed down from a great Elven leader to their followers. It is a journey unique to each who walk it. We are here to inspire others to find their power within themselves and Light inside of them. We are not able to "give away" any power of this sense because we are not the makers of our power, we are the wielders of it. And that goes for any human person on this earth, in this universe, no matter what your soul connects to. No one is above or below another. We all hold the same amount of power. It is simply a matter of claiming and wielding it. But NO ONE can give it away or grant it to someone else. We simply are to share our gifts and inspire others to do the same. It doesn't mean life will be all sunshine and rainbows, or to ignore the bad things that happen.. quite the contrary. It means we focus on the darkness to bring in the Light.

And we do this with the powers we can give away. The power to inspire and encourage and give hope. To heal. Or to warn and help others understand. These are the gifts we are given to give away, but these are not the powers she is talking about.

She talks about making soldiers or warriors out of her listeners/users quite a lot.

"Not all warriors are equal. Not all beings are equal in power. You have to work for what you become." "I am exactly what is needed to prepare us and get us through what is to come. I fight alongside my warriors. I lead the charge into enemy lines. You have yet to see the full power of my wrath."

Seeing herself as a the General and commander of it all, of course. But what she seems to fail to understand is that while yes, not all warriors ARE equal, that doesn't mean they have less power. It just means they hold a different type of power.

I am one who she would probably call a weakling. I am a novice Priest, and a Lunar Elven Soul. But I do not fight the way she fights. I am not hardhearted or determined for justice a way a solider on the frontlines might be. The way that she describes a soldier to be.

The real war is not with flesh and bone. It is not a physical war that can be fought with rage and wrath against people here and now. It is a war that takes place in the spiritual. The mental. The emotional. The psychological.

It requires wisdom, kindness, love, compassion, empathy, a humble spirit and a servant's heart. It requires the ability and strength to not allow human conditioning of pride and power to cloud your mind. It requires knowing when to speak and when to hold your tongue. It is more akin to a chess match, not a game of tag.

Yes, an army needs foot soldiers who can directly combat the real world forces here against us... but to deny and discount the true war in the spiritual is a real red flag.

Alright. I've been rambling for a while now and I think I've made my point. Mind Power is a woman who took the concept of the Elven Light Path, as if she was speaking "for the Elves" and was using it as a way to...well, control others. Or attempt to. So the claims of her trying to control people? Not so far fetched.

She does not speak for us as Elves, for the non-human bodied Elves, or those who walk the Elven Light Path. If you have been drawn to the path, but stepped away out of fear because of her, I can assure you, that is not what this path, nor those who truly follow it are like. One can follow it alone, or walk it with friends. While we have shared experiences and are able to connect, the Elven Light Path is NOT a cult or exclusive club and should NEVER feel that way. If you are truly curious, I would suggest learning about it through the High Elven Wisdom and Love videos.

Anyway...

I am glad Asherah Aphrodite is far from the subliminal community and seems to stay out of the Elven Light community online as well (at least on Facebook and Youtube, from what I can see). Her Facebook group seems to still be up, and has a good number of members. I can only hope they realize the kind of person she is soon.

I know it's kind of old, stale news but I wanted to give my input because I wasn't around during the height of the drama surrounding her, and as someone familiar with both subliminals and the Elven Light Path, I felt compelled to give my perspective on it!

#mind power #mind power subliminals #subliminals #subliminal videos #subliminal community #elfkin #elvenkin #elven soul #elven awakening #elven light path #elven light #spriritual #spirituality #my ramblings

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incubae-fics · 5 years ago

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Seduce Me AU! Diana And Malix

My previous HC post only mentioned the boys and how they are etc. This one will go into how Malix and Diana come to play as well as their intentions and reasonings. Their intent towards the player will differ depending upon who they are falling in love with, at least mostly in Malix’s case. Diana will have the same intent, which is to get the boys back, but she goes about it differently. I gave her a bit of a bigger role for more impact, that way her switch up in SM2 has a bit more meaning. I like her in canon but only in SM2. Her absolute power in the first game irked me, but however I do understand she’s a demon and therefore not so easy to touch, yknow?

I’d also like to add that I’d somewhat change how the Mansion is obtained by the player and the boys. The sad death is the same, however the boys are hit harder by it. As the Grandfather was the only one to treat them with genuine care and got to know them in their short chats as well as with traveling with them. I’d want to have it where the player never got to know him well due to distance or his own busy schedule, but that love was there. It saddens the player but not as painfully as the boys. The house is left to the player in the will, as the Grandfather had some sense it’d help them all someday.

Something in him wanted them all to meet, and he even told them of you and that if you ever lived here that he hoped they’d protect you, but he just never got to see it himself. Having it set this way makes more sense for the boys.. Irritation towards the player. It’s a shitty reason of course, but it is a reason. One that could be rational to grieving people. Like.. why are you here?? You didn’t know him like they did?? You only knew him through short talks, how dare you move in here.. (there would be an option to not do so, but then nothing would come of it. There would be an option to try to sell, but since James comes into the company bc the Grandfather left it for him and not his greedy son, he’ll lawyer up somehow to fight it. He wants the home to stay as is.)

Anyways, leggooo..

Malix;;

Malix isn’t after the boys for any type of turf reasons. He’s after them solely for rep. Word spread around that the Demon Lords ‘precious’ sons have left the Demon World. One of them being the son that carried most of his brute genes. Said son is Sam, the meanest brute the Demon World has ever known. More than anything, he wants his head, wants the reputation of being the devil that slayed the Demon Lords brutal son. Of course, others want such a rep, some want revenge, but none are quite crazy enough to do so. That said, unless Sam is players love interest, they are mostly safe from him. Mostly.

If you develop some sort of budding relationship with Sam (bc by the time he finds them, that's where the relationships would be at, just budding), you become easy bait.

At the time, the guys have their guards down. Simply bc instead of crashing into the home, it was given to them, along with the player.

The player is the sole head of house, and so as long as they didn’t try to sell the mansion, they are generally in good standing with them all.

Malix will make his presence known by busting into the home, like in canon but not after a forced party. (I’m not putting in any type of father issues in here for the player bc everyone has different father/mother relationships etc. Keeping it open.)

He just shows up and attempts something, but they laugh it off and wipe the floor with him. They think of him as no threat.

Despite having been abused and being separated, they still knew how to defend themselves. Living in a world like that makes it a requirement should you choose to want to live.

Damien was taught by Sam, simply bc he’d started getting locked up more often and had to teach him so he’d survive until he was freed or escaped.

So Malix is written off as nothing, which royally pisses him off.

If the player helps or says something to add fuel to it, they become a target, an even bigger one if he notices Sam protecting them.

If player is protected by another, or just all, then they’re just a target. He’ll try to jump them somewhere only to be interrupted due to someone else being nearby. Then their guards go up.

After that, the boys take precautions and go out of their way to get rid of him.

If the player has something with Sam, they are kidnapped. They got knocked the hell out and taken away.

His mistake is not tying them up, player gets the choice to bust his face in some since his powers don’t work on them if they have enough energy.

However they grow tired and must call for Sam.

Once summoned, he pauses, then looks to player and says “Look away and cover your ears.”

Sam then goes absolutely apeshit, the rage in the air is suffocating. He brutally beats Malix out of anger.

Both at himself and Malix.

Himself for letting you be harmed and not paying more attention to Malix when he could.

Malix because he had the audacity to touch you.

Rip Malix but not really, we mostly hate you dude. See you in SM2 only to die again.

Sam, once finished, is a little angry at you.

Why didn’t you call sooner? Why would you attempt to fight him?? You almost DIED! Do you know what he’d do if he lost you?!

Sam ends up holding you for the first time and for a long time. Just a big squeezing hug with murmured apologies for getting devil blood on your shirt.

He ends up hovering for a bit.

As for the others? They do too.

However if you’re not kidnapped, they just keep an eye on you and let you know once he’s no longer a threat.

They won’t tell you, but they have killed him

A lowly devil would never be a true threat to them or anyone they cared for.

Sorry not sorry Malix.

Diana;;

Diana’s story remains mostly the same. There is option to romance her, but I never did it and so I’m not throwing it into my au bc I never took her route. I also never let her have the boys lmao fuck you bruh. The changes are that she was in a neighboring kingdom. She visited often bc she was promised to James to unite their kingdoms. Also for protection. Her kingdom at the time could not fight the DL and so, a deal had to be made. Diana had no qualms simply bc she was sure it was expected of her and truth be told, she liked something in James. Maybe it was the everstaying look of calm on his face, despite the horrific abuse, maybe it was the well of emotions in his golden eyes. She was young and she’s not sure why. They only ever had short convos. Always her leading them with happy ideas for their marriage in the future.

A marriage not wanted on James end but he never said so. He was already dealing with much bigger monsters at the time the deal was spoken of. She was a secret witness to their abuse, and although it.. Hurt her in a way, she was sure the marriage would save them all. James would be king and could change everything. She wasn’t fully aware that James was just a puppet for the Demon Lord and that the others were fated to early deaths at his hand. The marriage was mere months away- and then suddenly her world was falling apart. The boys were gone, her family was being threatened by the DL’s irrationally blinding rage. She had to get them back or lose her family.

This makes her very desperate. She tracks them, forces her way into the human world, killing a human in the process. She’s never even killed a demon, which under certain circumstances in their world is allowed. A human? The Angels would have her head if she was found out so she hides for some time.

When she does come back, she goes for James first. She needs answers. She needs reasons.(However this occurs months after Malix. Putting them too close together would make it harder for her to slip in. They’d be on their guard.)

She gets nothing. She gets cold indifference. Her family is at stake! Her life! Doesn’t he care?

“No. You didn’t care about us.You wanted a crown and a throne and nothing more. I am not yours to have.”

It’s true. She knows it’s true, she’s been selfish- but something inside her tells her she doesn’t care. Some other force compels her to rage about it, to get nasty about it.

So she does, she leaves to dig up dirt or to try to seduce one of the others into following her.

She digs up dirt if she notices the player around James. Some irrational jealousy stirs up. She hates it.

What is she jealous of? She has someone back home who would do anything for her, why bother?

She doesn’t know but it fuels her to dig into James. To get a reaction- to break his hopes and dreams of this world. To break him.

“Demons don’t love. You won’t be loved, Rae-”

“Do NOT call me that. You have not right to be so familiar- you’re not my family and I hardly ever spoke to you.”

“You will never belong here- you will never be forgiven for that hurt you’ve caused. Rae-”

And that's when James grabs her by her neck, “I will never go with you, you absolute lowlife. You beg and plead and expect me to answer. Where were you when we were begging and pleading, huh?! WHERE WERE YOU?! Playing pretend in your own dreamland! Get out of my home NOW!”

And that’s the last he sees of her. However her words still hit hard. James backs away from the player for sometime.

It only puts a dent in the relationship if the player does not respect his subtle but easily understood hints for space.

Diana is only really meant to the player if they show an interest in James. She’ll guilt trip harder and threatens death until she is found out by James himself or someone else.

James/ the others get rid of her. However it’s hard due to her escaping and gaining more energy to return. She’s around for a few weeks at the least.

Now if the player is interested in someone else, she just guilt trips them and pleads for help. Think of her family and her life.

She preys on how little the player knows of the boys suffering. She’s aware how wrong that is.

However at this point, player knows enough to not feel bad. They can choose to help her, but it permanently damages any budding relationship with any of them.

Why?

Because you’re basically saying you do not want any of them. You’d rather they go with her and be put back into that dark place, all because of misplaced guilt for a succubus you barely know.

Damien is the most hurt because he becomes friends with the player first. This hurt is worse if he has feelings for the player.

Now of course, feeling bad for her situation is normal. However Diana chooses the wrong solution.

She’d get better results if she asked them to help her kill the DL and take over. She has no army to do so though and something compels her to not think of it anyway.

If her guilt trip fails, she gets angry and then pursues the other boys a second time. Digging her venomous words where she can, putting a halt in any budding relationships for a short time.

She messes with their heads and they do retaliate. Only James, Sam, and Erik get physical though, because she hits their deepest insecurities right on the head.

Matthew and Damien simply fight with their own words, gaining her rage and angry leave.

She does leave eventually, and does take the players energy, just not through a kiss. Her kiss made me uncomfortable (and not bc shes not a cute guy)

With Sam, player was able to hit his stupid ass

Erik was demonstrating in canon, but in AU he doesn’t bc nah bro (and ngl I’d have fucking decked him too)

Diana aims to take all their energy. Not enough to help. Not to demonstrate.She just takes all to escape. So in AU I’d rather she takes it through some other power.

Manages to steal into some object for later use, and the boys find them passed out on the floor later on.

Diana isn’t seen until much later, vastly different vibes coming off of her.

She is as she should have been. The power compelling her has somehow lost its hold..

So that’s Malix and Diana. You’re litty if you read this far. I have more HC’s on the boys and their demon forms etc, but for now I wanted this done. I don’t have anything on Naomi or Suzu or anything. They are nice in canon and I have nothing against them, I just don’t see what to do with them in AU.They could just be people the player met and became friends with or smth. Not sure, but yeah. I might fic some stuff later so be on the look out <3

#seduce me #seduce me otome #seduce me the otome #sam incubus #james incubus #erik incubus #matthew incubus #damien incubus #hc's #SM!AU #Seduce me malix #seduce me diana #SeduceMeTheOtome

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shirtlesssammy · 4 years ago

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6x17: My Heart Will Go On

Then:

You never really die on Supernatural

Now:

Chester, Pennsylvania

In a Rube Goldberg-esque bit of murder mastery, a man fumbles his way around his garage, nearly dying several times, only to finally get taken out by his falling garage door. What a ride.

Meanwhile, in Bobby’s neater than normal home, Sam and Dean watch him open another bottle of booze. They silently egg each other on to talk and finally decide on Rock-Paper-Scissors. Oop, it looks like you’re going to have to do the talking, Dean.

Only, wait, Dean won! They think he should take some time and sleep, and process losing Rufus. Bobby’s DOING FINE. He just needs some Irish coffee. Sam suggests taking him on a hunt. Seems like different family members are dying in Chester, Pennsylvania. Bobby kicks them out of the house, so they decide to head out alone.

They get in their trusty Mustang, and hit the road.

...

Bobby keeps drinking until Ellen (!) shows up.

…

She consoles him about Rufus and tells him to get ready for dinner.

And she’s his wife.

…

At the garage of horror, Sam finds a thread of gold.

They split up. Dean interviews next of kin. He first meets with a Saul Goodman wannabe Shawn Russo. The guy isn’t too upset by his family members dying --he wasn’t too close with them. He also doesn’t have a lot of time for Dean’s genealogy questions.

Dean tries sussing out any past family curse --poorly. Shawn wants Dean to go, so Dean just comes out and tells him, “Your life is in danger.” Shawn thinks Dean’s threatening him.

He connects with Sam who can’t find a single thing wrong with the family.

At a travel agency, we watch Anne Witting chat on the phone, and time suddenly stops. Another woman, looking like Sam’s kind of librarian, takes Anne’s keys from her purse and throws them on the floor next to the copier. She leaves and time starts again.

The woman gets off the phone and notices her keys are on the floor. Grabbing for them knocks a vase of flowers onto the copiers, which creates an electrical nightmare, which causes her to start slapping at it and finally reaching behind it to turn it off, which then causes her scarf to get stuck in the autofeeder, which the copier then tries to make a copy of, which strangles her. (Note to self: BE NICER TO THE COPY MACHINE.)

The blonde woman comes back and marks a name off in a book, and drops a gold thread.

The brothers check out the travel agency that night. It turns out that Anne isn’t part of the Russo family --so they’re not dealing with a family curse. Dean wonders what then. He then finds another gold thread.

He calls Ellen, who reports there’s been about 75 deaths associated with this across the nation. The only thing Ellen has that connects the people is that their ancestors all immigrated to the US in the same year, on the same boat: The Titanic. Neither Dean nor Ellen had ever heard of it.

…

Sam either. (And that’s when I call bull --unless this Sam isn’t a history nerd-- because the Titanic was a BIG deal before it became a BIGGER deal. It was the largest ship of its time. But as I typed this out, I feel like I should eat my words because there was another sister boat built with the Titanic, and I can’t for the life of me remember its name, so, yeah, chances are good it would have been lost to history for most people.)

During their research, Sam notes that the ship almost hit an iceberg, but the First Mate, I.P. Freely saw it in time.

Balthazar!

They summon Balthazar for answers about the boat. “It was meant to sink, and I saved it.” He hated the movie. (Boris is still one of the few and proud that’s never seen it --I cheered SO hard for Balthazar here.) He hated the Celine Dion song. Sam doesn’t even know who that is (HIS FAVORITE SINGER!) Sam points out that he thought that history can’t be changed. Balthazar points out that there’s no more rules. Anyway, only minor details have been changed --like no Impala.

More importantly, Ellen and Jo are alive. They are supposed to be dead.

Dean and Sam focus on the here and now and point out that something is killing the descendants of the Titanic travelers. They need to find out who. Balthazar drops a truth bomb out of nowhere --pointing out that Cas is in love with Dean. Sigh. Also, he doesn’t care, and flaps away.

They talk with Bobby on the phone and he thinks they’re dealing with Fate. How do they stop fate? Bobby suggests that they get Balthazar to re-sink the boat, but Dean nixes that idea instantly. Bobby wants to know what set him off --Dean tells him that if the boat sinks, Ellen and Jo die. Yeah, no way is that boat sinking.

The boys lurk in their iconic, uh, Mustang to follow Russo.

They follow Russo in an attempt to keep him safe from Fate’s machinations. They manage to save him from one deadly accident, only for the guy to die under the wheels of a bus seconds later. Sam notices a woman watching over the accident. She looked kind of like a librarian. “Your kind of librarian or my kind of librarian?” Dean asks. Oh, Dean, why does it have to be a binary choice? Eyebrow waggle. Dean decides to head over and confront Fate in a shadowy building.

Fate, meanwhile, is up to nefarious deeds. She turns burner knobs, releasing gas into the building as time stops around the Winchesters. When time starts up again, Dean’s flashlight flickers out in the dark. Sam suggests using a lighter and....

Just as the room starts to ignite, the Winchesters get yanked out of there! Cas saved them! He’s pulled them to Belarus. I will never not be able to watch this scene without thinking of the gag reel and Misha stag leaping around the woods.

“[Fate] harbors a certain degree of rage towards you,” Castiel explains. Since the Winchesters foiled their apocalyptic fate, they’ve made it into Fate’s bad books. Cas suggests the best solution is for the Winchesters to kill fate. And they can use themselves as bait!

For CAAAAAAAS! Science:

Ellen tries to talk through the case with Bobby after Jo reports more and more dead on the West coast. Ellen suggests that the best solution would be to re-sink the Titanic, a suggestion towards which Bobby reacts...poorly. Bobby’s horrified at her casual suggestion. Ellen senses something is off with Bobby. Over drinks, Bobby spills everything to Ellen. He tells her that he needs her.

After that solemn, emotional scene, we cut to Dean and Sam experiencing wacky near-misses. A skateboarder almost takes them out. Then a jumping BMX rider. Now a pair of aggressive dogs on leashes. (Extreme close of up Dean for extra sad jokes.)

They walk past a pair of jugglers tossing HATCHETS and KNIVES who proceed to LIGHT THEM ON FIRE - and I do love it when this show gets ridiculous. After several near-misses, a falling air conditioner finally plummets towards them. This looks like the end for our heroes!

For Looney Tunes Quality Science:

Time freezes the Winchesters under the air conditioner, and Castiel approaches. He greets Atropos, the Fate who’s after the Winchesters. She complains about the fallout of the recently averted apocalypse.

Cas tries to argue for freedom. It’s a bold new world! But Atropos isn’t buying what he’s selling. The last straw for her was the unsinking of the Titanic. Cas tries to shift the blame to Balthazar, but Atropos calls him on that too. That wasn’t Balthazar following a whim. Cas needed more souls for his war machine, and sent Balthazar back to unsink the ship. She’ll make Cas a bargain: if the boat stays unsunk, then she’ll kill his “two favorite pets.” She may not be strong enough to escape Cas’s retribution, but her sisters will take the Winchesters down after she dies. Cas contemplates Sam and Dean.

Balthazar shows up, ready to kill Atropos, when Cas stops him. Cas is ready to take the deal. Balthazar gets Cas’s new order: it’s time to save Sam and Dean! I mean, it’s time to sink the Titanic.

Sam and Dean wake up to Sam’s favorite singer belting “My heart will go on” on the radio. They talk about their weird, shared dream. Cas flaps in to greet them. He tells them that he had Balthazar re-sink the ship to ensure Sam and Dean’s safety.

Sam and Dean try to process the balancing equation Cas dealt with, where their lives were more important than 50,000 people (who were never born, Cas hastily points out). Dean asks about Ellen and Jo, and the answer is NOT GOOD. What could have been!

Dean asks if that whole alternate timeline was erased when the boat sank again. “More or less,” Cas says. EYEBALLS EMOJI. Cas wants the Winchesters to remember the alternate timeline. “You can make your own destiny. You don’t have to be ruled by fate. I still believe that’s something worth fighting for,” Cas tells them. Can I get a HELL YEAH?

While it seems for a short while like Cas is edging towards telling them the truth of his war, he ultimately plays off the Titanic as only stemming from Balthazar’s hatred of the movie. “Titanic didn’t suck THAT bad,” Dean says. There’s my soft boy. Cas flaps out, and the Winchesters head inside to check on Bobby. His house is back to cluttered, gloomy chaos. Bobby’s asleep on the couch. Sam and Dean vow never to tell Bobby what he could have had.

It is Your Quotedany:

Accidents don't just happen accidentally

"What's an Impala?" Trust me, it's not important

You have me confused with the other angel. You know, the one in the dirty trenchcoat who's in love with you

Can’t avoid fate

Who do we gotta kill to get killed around here?

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive!

#spn recap #spn rewatch #spn 6x17 #my heart will go on #dean winchester #sam winchester #bobby singer #ellen harvelle #castiel #cas #balthazar #supernatural season 6

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the-healingprocess · 4 years ago

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taking care of my caretakers

the flashbacks of my old friend’s suicide attempts force me to reflect on my childhood. mostly how it shaped the person I am, really. it is painfully obvious that I am an empath.

I try to explain being an empath to people and sound nuts, but I guess this sums it up:

The term empath comes from empathy, which is the ability to understand the experiences and feelings of others outside of your own perspective. You take things a step further. You actually sense and feel emotions as if they’re part of your own experience. In other words, someone else’s pain and happiness become your pain and happiness.

thats exactly it. I absorb someone else’s emotions as if they were my own experience. I understand and feel so deeply. I'm genuinely there with whoever is hurting or experiencing that emotion. I've always been like this.

looking back on my life as a kid, I really didn’t get to be a kid. my younger sister did, though. she was perfect. her life was different. my mother is finally coming to terms with that, but that is a whole different can of worms. maggots, really.

my mom struggled with mental health. she still does. she had a very hard life growing up, too. her relationship with my father was extremely toxic. they split up pretty early in my life. I was just a young kid but I remember it vividly. at the time, I was pretty close to my dad. he was worried I would let someone else “be my father” but he was my protector, especially when my mom had one of her manic, abusive freak outs. I think it’s bi-polar but she’s in denial. always has been.

my dad protecting me changed when he moved out. I became bait. my mom immediately started seeing someone else. I assume it was infidelity considering the first time I met him, she had an engagement ring on her finger. there was infidelity on his side, too. they hated each other. my mom hated me because I looked like him as a kid.

yes, hated me. and made it very clear.

the years of mentally and emotionally scarring verbal, physical, and emotional abuse I endured from my mom due to her mental health issues is not really the point of this, although it has impacted my life greatly.

my father being absent, using me to taunt my mother, stealing money from me since I was a child, lying through his teeth, and making it clear he never wanted me in the first place has also impacted my life greatly. he has set the bar extremely low for the qualities I have sought out in men.

my mom and I have worked hard to heal our relationship, but it has not been easy. it has taken years. I don’t forget anything...I'm not sure if I even forgive.

my father, on the other hand, I don’t have much emotional capacity for. he does not engage in me really. he told me not too long ago if it were up to him he would’ve “ran for the hills and never had a child.” I fear a man like him.

I fear being with anyone in case they are like him one day. they have made me feel that I am better off alone. maybe undeserving. I'm not sure.

the point of this was to reflect on the way I had to nurse my mother’s pill addiction throughout the years, especially while she was abusive to me.

when she was addicted to muscle relaxers, she was also pretty suicidal. she’d get into these blackout rage freak out episodes and tell me all the ways she plans to kill herself. where I could find her if I came home one day and she was gone. overdosed at the motel down the road or hanging from our front tree.

she said it would be partially my fault. I made her hate her life. she said I disgusted her. this was my father’s fault. she doesn’t remember these things. she wasn’t in the right mind. I wholeheartedly believe that despite being unsure of where I am in the forgiveness process with her. I don’t forgive my father. he launched me into the water to see if I could swim with a shark and left me there.

he never believed me either.

the nights I spent for years pulling food out of her mouth when she was too high to swallow so she wouldn’t choke to death. or if she was choking, to save her. having to pretty much drag her up the stairs because she couldn’t walk. helping her throw up. forcing her to drink water. stationing her body in bed with proper pillows so she didn’t aspirate.

I was just a kid going into my teenage years.

I used to walk to the park at night and cry after these episodes.

why was I taking care of my caretaker? I had to grow up so fast.

I took care of her just for her to abuse me when she was sober.

I prayed to whatever was up in the universe to push her to get help before it was too late.

I protected my sister, despite the fact that she never protected me.

she was diagnosed with anorexia. I helped her with fluids and sugars when she’d pass out in the kitchen or fall down. but when I was being beaten and called names, she just watched and let my mother shower her with love while I was left alone to sulk in pain.

we hate each other.

I was never enough.

over the years, my mother recovered and was properly diagnosed and medicated. with time, she reflected on her actions. she has made steady progress.

over the years, my father has dealt with several extreme illnesses and has nearly lost his life 7ish times or so. I can’t keep count. watching him on his death bed was mind numbing. begging him to try to take care of himself to stay alive and seeing him refuse to be healthy was exhausting. it still is.

he does not care. sometimes I wonder if he even cares to see me be successful. I don’t even think he knows how to do anything but talk about himself sometimes. but I'd have to ask my sister since they’re great together, too.

when I was hospitalized, he yelled at me for having to drive three hours to be with me. I “interrupted his poker tournament.” the flu had gone to my heart and lungs but, how dare I? typical me being useless.

people say the middle kid is always the least loved or undesired one - like the red headed step child type of shit. that’s exactly it.

he left me as soon as I got my own room and oxygen on me. he couldn’t miss the chance to win money.

all he does is fuck me over financially. he has taken money from me since I was a kid. I helped my mom pay our bills since I was 8. I know how much money I have and when it goes missing. when I was hospitalized, despite me being on family health insurance, he managed to put thousands of dollars of hospital bills in my name, lied about paying them, and let me go to collections. he has signed things and put me in collections more than once, all because of lying. my biggest fear is being a financial fuck up like him. I work too hard. these are just some examples of his shadiness.

he doesn’t call me, ever. I'm too exhausted to be the only one that tries.

when he does call me, he’s the one high on pills now and can’t even function. he’s addicted but at least he admits it. he needs them to some extent because of all the surgeries, but he eats them like candy and gets them off the streets. he knows I have no tolerance for addiction. I don’t understand it. it ruined my life.

the shit storm that has been my life has made me terrified to have my own family. the thought of bringing something so fragile into this world and having a broken home or putting it into harms way scares the hell out of me. I would never want my kid to feel even a fraction of the pain I felt growing up. I can’t imagine someone even loving me enough.

my mom and I are extremely close. we work on communication a lot. she vents to me about her relationship with her mother and I hear my angry, hurt child self in her. my grandma put her through so much pain. my grandma makes it very clear she favorites my mom’s younger sister - she openly says it. they haven’t worked anything out. it kills my mother. her anger and tears - I feel it in my heart. but, that was me for years and years. sometimes it still is and my mom knows it.

I am trying so hard to change my narrative. I deserve to.

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farmerlan · 5 years ago

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Farmer Lan’s Rewatch Guide to The Untamed - Episode 2

SPOILER CAUTION APPLIES.

Alright buds we are going to get right into it - no time to waste!

[WWX hangs out by a river/well with XPG (Little Apple aka Xiao Ping Guo aka XPG from now on), cultivator scene with the demon compass argument happens (cute), A-Yan gives WWX an apple and she’s clearly not mentally all there, mountain top A-Yan dance scene with her mom disclosing her tragic story and father’s death to WWX.]

Differences from the novel:

There’s some minor choronological and setting differences between here and Chapter 6. A-Yan was not the person who gave WWX the apple, it was a random girl. There were two separate scenes with cultivators trying to use the compass in the novel, but it was condensed into one in the drama.

WWX bumps into A-Yan in the town at the foot of DFS and hears of her story from townspeople. A-Yan’s story is essentially the same in both versions, but the novel also includes an additional story about how a slovenly/good-for-nothing oaf became seemingly wealthy and suddenly wanted to get married and settle down, except he died on the night of the wedding. This would later be used by WWX to further support his narrative of what’s behind the ‘soulless people’ cases when he explains it to the Gusu disciples.

[Cut to WWX in a forest, A WILD JIN LING APPEARS! Man, I forgot what a little shit he was when he first arrived <3. WWX and JL runs into each other, except JL thinks he is MXY, banter ensues, WWX traps JL with his paper man and drops that awful YOUR MOM line to JL.

Banter continues until JC brings his posse and incredibly sharp jawline to the scene. Seriously, damn. Things are about to get physical before LWJ arrives. Shade is thrown between JC and Gusu & Co., JC literally looks like he is in pain and why oh why does nothing ever work out for him as his subordinate reports that all the spirit nets have been destroyed. JC decides against picking a fight and tells JL he better BRING HIS A GAME TO THE HUNT before dismissing him. LWJ dismisses the rest of the disciples and walks away, leaving WWX alone. Cut to WWX remembering JC + JYL by the river and then he overhears JL’s true parentage and feels baaaaaaad man.]

In the novel, there is further discussion of the LLJ sect and especially JGS in Chapter 7. Seeing JL’s reaction to him as MXY, WWX then correctly deduces that MXY is actually the illegitimate son of none other than JGS, who was known for his philandering ways.

It was also clarified in the novel that locked within the ‘paper man’ WWX sic-ed on JL was the ghost of a man who had died from gluttony, hence why JL could not get up. He was basically being sat on by a really fat man.

A bigger deal is made in the novel of how LWJ is someone who “appears where there is trouble” – JL says this to him in a sarcastic way, but it’s a common theme that runs throughout the novel, that although he can be considered an extremely prominent figure, he takes the time to help or show up no matter how ‘low level’ the situation is. It’s a sign of his strong moral character that nothing is too beneath his attention.

The situation of the night hunt itself is also explained a little bit more in detail – JL is turning sixteen this year, and this night hunt at DFS is basically a debutante ball for him as you have to be past a certain age to participate in hunts. So, in order to make sure he claims the top prize, JC made sure to come with him and also set up the spirit nets. Aww, they ruined his present!

Fun fact: JC very nearly came to blows with LWJ in the novel but chose not to do so because a) he had to consider sect relations between Gusu and Yunmeng and b) he wasn’t sure he would win since they’ve never fought before. HA.

[Gusu disciples run into old man grave caretaker, these are Wen graves! He asks them to go visit the Tiannu Temple and they move on before he can tell them that the goddess statue moooves. Spoopy. WWX also happens upon the Wen graves. Scene between him and WQ and he realizes it’s the statue stirring shit and JL is about to step in the shit that has been stirred.

Scene in the temple with Gusu disciples and JL, shit starts going down, WWX and Gusu disciples gather outside. Gusu disciples realize they ran out of flares and WWX is all like haha prepare to be punished! WWX clarifies the difference between soul-eaters and the goddess status, links it to the ongoing issues with A-Yan. LJY calls him out – he’s only pretending to be CRAZY! ]

There’s no old grave caretaker in the novel and there’s no Wen graves scene. There are ancient tombs around the area that the Gusu disciples explored, but it was only mentioned in passing as part of the larger conversation around what exactly was plaguing the mountain. What happens in the novel is – WWX encounters a spirit dressed in fancy burial clothes, realizes something is wrong because that kind of spirit (the spirit of a corpse) should not be on DFS, puts two and two together and goes off to find JL.

The scenario of WWX explaining what exactly ‘it’ is to the Gusu disciples closely follows that of the novel, except he also adds the explanation around the slovenly oaf’s story. Basically, oaf prays to the goddess statue to be wealthy, the goddess granted him his wish but took away his soul on the night of the marriage. Hence why WWX encountered the wealthy corpse spirit - essentially the goddess split open his grave and gave the oaf the funeral/afterlife offerings that were buried within it, displacing the spirit in the process.

Also the goddess statue ate some humans in the novel but this was probably too graphic for the drama lol.

[JL shows up with the statue hot on his heels, WWX is like but wait we sealed the statue off before! WWX then builds and plays a makeshift bamboo flute. LJY changes his mind – MXY is still crazy after all, and on top of that he’s also a garbage flute player, ha. WN shows up and WWX is all ???, illusion is revealed, WWX posits whoever did this wanted lure out WN, a mysterious man in black scuttles off in the background.

Men rush WN, WN is like, uhm, y’all ain’t shit. WWX then plays WangXian to suppress WN’s rage, draws him towards himself and then we have THE REUNION – eyes meet, lovey-dovey wrist-gripping scene ensues.]

Interestingly, the drama shows JL being thrown to the ground and trying to scurry away/flinching as the statue advanced on him. In the novel, he actually stood right within reach and thought, “If I can’t kill her right here and now, I’ll die – but so what?!” Basically, he was 100% ready to kill the statue or die trying before WN showed up.

In the drama, we weren’t specifically clued in to the fact that WN is currently unconscious due to the nails in his head. In the novel, WWX realizes this instantly because Wen Ning was not capable of sentient thought and had to rely on WWX’s orders.

The drama hints that the whole thing was staged by the mysterious man in black caught scampering away – in the novel, this is not the case. There was no other person ‘operating behind the scenes’, this whole incident with the statue was not an illusion.

The reunion scene is as it happens in the novel, gripping of wrists and all. Ha. I love you directors.

[WWX is outed as the person who summoned WN and JC is like well well well, Shady’s back. LWJ tries to protect WWX, WWX tries to run away but gets whipped and decides to play crazy as JC wonders why Zidian didn’t work.

WWX appears to faint and wishes to go back to the time to 16 years ago, when he was at Lotus Pier and we start our flashback arc. Cute scene where he gets a sugar rabbit (HA I see you) for JYL. They decide to rest in a tavern. JC bickers with WWX and grouses that JYL and JFM always defends him and is reminded that being free-spirited is considered a virtue by the YMJ sect.]

The confrontation between JC, WWX and LWJ follows the novel partly (the whipping, the face-off between JC and LWJ), but the novel goes into more detail.

For one, LJY is like, ‘wait didn’t YOU kill WWX? Why are you saying he’s back?’ to JC in the drama. In the novel, no one claims that JC was the one who killed WWX in the novel – only that he was present at the battle at Nightless City along with the Yunmeng Jiang sect.

Also, in the novel, someone in JC’s sect basically tells says that there’s no way MXY is WWX because WWX would have chosen someone cooler. WWX was flirtatious with girls and a good-looking dude and MXY is a gay lunatic riding a donkey. And also, his flute skills are so, so subpar compared to WWX. Ha. WWX secretly grouses that he would kneel to anyone who’s able to play a nice melody on a dollar-store flute after not having practiced for 13 years. Touché.

In an attempt to get both JC and LWJ off his case, WWX tries to disgust the both of them by going, “JC is NOT my type but you know who is my type? LWJ uwu he’s so attractive” but it totally fails because LWJ does not take the bait. Instead, he says “Well then, I’m taking this man back to the Lan sect with me.” And that’s the end of Chapter 10. See comments on the flashback/timeskip in the summary section below.

The last conversation JC and JYL shares is very interesting. It’s not in the novel, but it really plays into the narrative that “WWX embodies more of Yunmeng Jiang’s values than JC even though he is not a Jiang”, which is also a theme in the novel and kind of a sticking point for JC obviously. One can say that JC takes after his mom, and WWX takes more after JFM.

Overall Thoughts

This is where the divergence from the novel plot line begins to get a little more serious. The novel employs a series of flashbacks scattered throughout the book whereas the drama is essentially one long flashback from Episode 2 through Episode 33. It obviously makes more narrative sense to arrange it that way in a drama series in order to make it less confusing, especially since they’re using the same actors for past and present WWX/LWJ, but just keep that in mind.

With that said, I will stop at Chapter 10 for the purpose of comparing it to Episode 2. Chapter 11 and 12 have essentially both been removed from the drama besides for the cold springs scene, which was also modified. I will discuss these two chapters when we get to Episode 33 (wow, will we ever get there??). Episode 3 picks up at Chapter 13, which is the beginning of the Gusu arc. Chapters will start jumping around (in the novel, the Gusu arc is only Chapters 13-18, and then the Wen Sect/Tortoise of Slaughter is a separate flashback from Chapters 51-59) so I am going to try my best to match them up lol.

Ending the summary on another cute note, in the novel LWJ’s presence is often described as being accompanied by the light scent of sandalwood, which is what WWX smelled before bumping into him in the novel.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #lan wangji #wei wuxian #the untamed #episode 2 #cql #魔道祖师 #recap

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shybre22 · 5 years ago

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Now for part two I will be doing Ichihime.

Honestly I knew Ichihime would be endgame from early on in the manga and series.

A lot of IR claim that Ichihime doesnt make sense or that they have no development..which at this point I think this is what any anti for any pairing in every anime say.. because that's obviously not true at all.

Even from the very beginning.. not only do we know that Orihime likes Ichigo, but Ichigo seems to pay attention to Orihime, extra close at times.

In this panel, he admits that he worries about her and watching her wears him out with worry, he even wonders if she's really alright. Now its important to remember that this is fairly earlier in the story and at this time Orihime is only an acquaintance at best..but here he is worrying about her.

Not only does he notice her getting hurt...but during the Fullbringer arc he said that she was more likely to get followed or stalked than him when Orihime asked if anyone has been following him.

Hell he's even offered to walk her home.

Weird considering they're only acquaintances at this point right? While I know it's rare for the shounen protagonist to have a crush right off the bat..for arguments sake let's say you look at ichihime interactions with the idea that Ichigo has some sort of crush on Orihime. I feel like his interactions with her make more sense throughout the series and keep this I mind through this post.

Now antis always love to say that Orihime didn't understand Ichigo or couldn't encourage him like Rukia could..but..

Here! Even Tatsuki who has known him since childhood couldn't tell it wasnt Ichigo or his other friends.. but Orihime does notice..she knows that's not him right away.

And here Orihime right away knew he wasn't acting like himself...even Tatsuki was impressed, she said it took her years to figure that out.

Oh yeah she cant encourage him right?? Not only did she give Ichigo the resolve to go save Rukia..but during the Grimmjow fight.. Ichigo was so afraid of frightening Orihime with his mask that he wasn't focusing on the battle.. know think about that..he was so scared to frighten Orihime he wasn't fighting..knowing he could die or get really hurt.

I also hear antis say that Orihime is horrible for being scared of Ichigo when he was still fighting to save her but they need to understand that in the first few chapters of bleach..Orihime was attacked by her brother..her beloved brother, the only family she ever had before he died and he attacked her..as a hollow..and now she's looking at the man she loves with a hollow mask and she's afraid FOR him not necessarily OF him..she's afraid he'll turn completely hollow( which is fair, considering he does later during the ulquiorra fight).

Then all she had to say " please dont die..you dont have to fight for me and you dont have to win..just please dont get hurt". And Ichigo was ready to fight for real..then beat Grimmjow.

She was also able to feel his pain somehow and knew he was crying when he got his powers stolen despite her being far away from him at the time.

Not to mention at this time she was brainwashed by Tsukishima making her and Chad think Ichigo was the one going crazy, but even though she was brainwashed to think it was Tsukishima who she loved..her heart knew better and still felt Ichigo's pain even without seeing him.

Not to mention she was able to see he had a plan to defeat Ywach just from one look into his eyes.

So yeah.. Orihime does understand Ichigo more than most..and just because Rukia does too doesnt mean he should be with her.

And on Ichigo's side antis also say he doesn't care about Orihime only Rukia..and if he does care it's only because Ichigo is protective of his friends.

Now it's clear through the whole series that Ichigo does care about all his friends..but it's also apparent that Ichigo does hold Orihime to a different standard.

This is not far into the story..at this point they are still only classmates and only a few pages ago Ichigo refused to take over Rukia's Soul reaper duties..until he found out a hollow was after Orihime.

Or when Yammy and Ulquiorra hurt Orihime..they also hurt Tatsuki and Chad but he was shown to be obsessing over Orihime ( despite the fact she could literally reverse her injuries) and the fact Tatsuki was a human with no powers should've made him worry over her more..but he felt so guilty for not protecting Orihime he couldn't even look her in the eyes..it got so bad that Rukia made him go to her and look her in the eye and he vowed to never let anyone hurt her again, pluse he didn't apologize to anyone else..just Orihime. I also find it funny how Rukia seems to be a ichihime shipper while her fans hate Orihime and want her to be with Ichigo..I find it funny.

Then we all know how hurt he was when Orihime got taken to Hueco Mundo.. Yes I understand he did rescue Rukia as well but he even said its because he owed her..and he did he owe her his and his families lives..and she was his friend and only on death row because of him. But with Orihime she chose to go to protect her friends and Ichigo had no obligations to her other than she was his friend..

He also walked around like a zombie not even caring when Tatsuki beat the hell out of him asking where Orihime was. He even yelled and threw a fit at the captain commander(you know the strongest soul reaper alive) for suggesting she was a traitor..

He even went against the entire soul society wishes (as a substitute soul reaper no less) to go find Orihime in Hueco Mundo.

One of my favorite scenes is when Ichigo was hurrying to go help Chad and Rukia who were badly injured at the time..when Ulquiorra appears and tries to goad him into a fight.. nothing works until Ulquiorra mentions he was the one who brought Orihime to Hueco Mundo ..which in turn infuriates Ichigo and he swings his sword at him in a blind rage..(remember he was supposed to be helping Chad and Rukia who were injured) but he was so angry that he was the one who brought Orihime there...he didn't say he hurt her or tortured her...he only said he brought her. And. Ichigo. Flipped.

One of my other favorite scenes is when he almost literally rises from near death to get Grimmjow's hands off of Orihime

LET GO OF HER! Was the first thing he says never mind he was almost dead a few minutes ago and still can barely stand. And look at that face his eyes mean business.

And of course one of the most epic Ichihime moments is when Ulquiorra defeats Ichigo and kills him.. he hears Orihime calling for help as Ulquiorra advances to her.. and as he's dying he hears her and tells himself he needs to help her and protect her..even in death he needs to protect her. And yes I'm aware that his inner hollow is the one keeping him from dying..but the only reason Hichigo doesnt completely take over Ichigo and lose his humanity was his will to protect Orihime. Ichigo was chanting " help her", "help her", over and over like a mantra..that's was the last shred of his humanity and even his last shred of humanity wanted nothing more than to protect Orihime.

Not only is Ichigo extra protective of Orihime..but he get flustered around her too.

Like during The Thousand Year Blood War Arc.. when Ichigo was asked by Chad if he liked Orihime's outfit ( Which was very revealing..especially in the boob area) and Ichigo was blushing like an idiot of course.

While most antis swear it's just because Orihime is very beautiful and has a very large chest..remember Chad or Uryu didn't react despite them being males as well..just Ichigo.

Not only that but all of Ichigos enemies always use Orihime to bait him into fights. Enemies like Grimmjow, Nnotora, Ulquiorra, and even Ginjo..they all taunted him about how he was so determined to protect Orihime that they would use her presence to push Ichigo into fighting them.

Antis also claim that they didn't develop.. they went from classmate acquaintances to friends fighting side by side in battle. Orihime went from being shy and stuttering and being nervous in his room to borrowing manga from him and just marching in his room and both teasing each other. Ichigo also went from wanting to protect Orihime by leaving her on the side lines and out of harm's way.. to trusting her to be his shield in battle.

IR"s also claim that Rukia is better than Orihime because she's stronger. Now I know Rukia is strong no doubt..especially when she finally releases her bankai. But for most of the series she hardly does anything..even my husband noticed she only won like two or three fight the whole series and most of the time she was so beat up after she looks like she lost the fight. I'm not trying to talk down on Rukia I love her actually.. it's just is you go back and read the manga..Rukia didn't do much either.. plus Orihime actually has a really really OP power she just doesn't have the heart to hurt anyone so she usually uses her shield or healing, but just like Rukia they didn't do much with her powers.

In the end Ichihime had quite a bit of development..I'm not saying Rukia and Ichigo didnt have a bond..because they had a strong one..but that doesn't always mean romantic..I always felt it was more brother/ sister type than anything. But if you go back and look at all of the Ichihime moments you'll realize their bond as well..you'll realize that Orihime was always their during the really important times and fights.. like the Grimmjow fight, Ulquiorra, fight, the Nnotora fight, his Fullbringer training, his Visored training, and she stood side by side with him in the Ywach fight.

He was actually separated from Rukia more than he was with her..even when they were in the same places..they were always separated. Kubo..I feel made it very clear from early on that ichihime would be endgame..I feel some people were just in denial.

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headoverjojo · 5 years ago

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Can I ask for BucciG with a S/o that has a Stand similar to a 'Succubus' powers? Like, they can seduce/make fall head over heels anyone they want with little to no effort and can make them do anything they want? Is useful for missions and fights (And maybe pranks/revenge😂), What if S/o used it in them?😈

Hi there darling! Uuuuuh, a challenging request! I hope you’ll like what I’ve written :3

Bruno’s gang with a s/o whose stand has a sort of “succubus”-like power

(Under the cut for length!)

Bruno Bucciarati

Bruno is amazed by his s/o’s stand power. It’s not powerful on a physical level, but strong in mental control. He has never seen something like this! He’s curious to know how it works, how they have developed it… they told him little about how it works, but now he’s curious to see how it works in the practical way!

It wasn’t what had been presented to him, however. They said it was a sort of mental control; it was so, yes, but they didn’t specified it was a sort of succubus-like control. He’s not positively surprised. Even if, from a professional point of view, he has to admit that a power like this can be extremely useful, on the other hand, as their boyfriend, he hates it. He hates to see how the targets look at them, with pure lust and desire in their eyes, to the point that they can’t even attack them anymore… he’s even too satisfied when they smash their faces down, but still, it doesn’t make him feel good to see so many hungry eyes on them.

Bruno would not think they used their stand on him to be with him. He doesn’t want to believe it -even if, for a second, the thought shot through his mind-! They always have been honest with him and the way those people acted, under his s/o’s stand power’s effect, was really different from how he acts… in any case, he asks them to never use their stand on him, even if for a prank or a little revenge. Knowing they did so would break his heart and seriously damage the trust he has on them.

Leone Abbacchio

Leone can understand how it is to have a stand which is not physically strong. it’s a benefit but also a problem; stands like these must be used with smartness. His s/o is intelligent and sharp, so he doesn’t worry about it. However, now he’s curious to see what it can do! Is it like his Moody Blues? Or something completely different? He wants to know!

That sparkle of enthusiasm, however, dies when he sees what their stand can do. It… seduces people. No, not just seducing: it traps them into a sweet syrup, like a venus flytrap. Yes, it saved his s/o from various hits and allowed them to knock down several targets, but still… seeing how the targets are practically stripping them with their eyes, makes him see read. His s/o doesn’t even have the time to knock more of them down, as Abbacchio rushes to end the work, maybe a bit too violently than what was needed. He doesn’t care; what he wants is to take his s/o away from there as soon as possible.

He’d need time to adjust to his s/o’s stand power. He never thought they had used it on him -he doesn’t see a reason why someone might want to bad to be with him- and he’d never offend them by thinking they’re using it to deliberately seduce someone out of missions. However, he asks them not to use it on him; they have no reason to do it. He’s already head over heels for them, why should they do it? Is it because they don’t think he loves them enough? Abbacchio, inside, is a really insecure man, especially about his worth and feelings; using such power on him would make his issues, doubts and fears emerge, ruining the relationship.

Guido Mista

Mista knows that not every stand can be a tank and just smash the target in a pulp -or guide bullets to the right points-; some of them focus more on the untouchable field, lacking in physical strength. This doesn’t mean they’re useless! Just look at Moody Blues: it is fundamental for many missions! So he wouldn’t underestimate his s/o’s stand, but he would like to know how it works, to see if they could work even in tandem!

When he sees what it can do, he’s sincerely confused. He doesn’t know how to feel! On one hand, he can see it’s really useful, as it distracts the targets enough to let them smash them as they deserve while not being hit; on the other hand, however, his guts turn when he sees how they’re watching his s/o; like they’re nothing more than a piece of meat to ravage. He doesn’t lose his cool, working smartly and efficiently at their side, but they can notice he’s way more protective, when they’re finally heading back. Maybe it was too much…

He doesn’t think even for a second that they ever used it on him. He thinks too high of his s/o to even suspect something like this. Out to sheer curiosity, he asks them to try it on him one time, to feel how it is, but, aside an increased lust for them, nothing changed in what he feels. He’s already head over heels for them! And it also reassures that little part of his mind that hinted that maybe they had used it, at least once, on him… now he’s more than sure: what he feels are just his feelings, not a work of a stand! This doesn’t even make pranks funny: what’s the sense of it, if he’s already so in love with them to be practically immune to their stand power?

Narancia Ghirga

Narancia’s a bit worried to know that their stand can’t really protect them, a bit like Moody Blues when it’s on replay. It just encourages him to protect them more, while they’re using it, as they all do with Abbacchio when Moody Blues is on replay! He’s also curious to know how it works. Abbacchio can replay past events, what can they do? See future? Read minds? he wants to know!!

His enthusiasm completely crumbles down when he sees what their stand can do. His jealousy spikes high when he sees all those eyes full of lust and desire on his s/o, those hands ready to grab them, before being broken by their kicks -or being filled with holes by his Aerosmith-… he hates it. He hates to see all those people ready to ravage them and due to their own stand! How could they have a stand power like this? Why? It’s… he doesn’t even know what to tell them, when they ask his opinion. Does he have to say that he hates it? It’s their stand, it’s part of them… maybe he can say that it’s interesting but not his cup of tea? Maybe it’s the most diplomatic answer, all in all…

It’s clear, however, that he dislikes it a lot. When they’re on mission, he does everything to prevent them to use their stand power and, when they really have to do so, he even overworks himself to fulfill the mission as fast as possible. He didn’t even think about the possibility that they had used it on him; he finds it unthinkable! Their love was born naturally… right? He has to be reassured on this for a bit of time! Just then he finally goes back to the sunny and cheerful boyfriend he always was! He has also to be reassured that they’ll never do it on him, never! He doesn’t want to be controlled by their stand, not even for a prank… he wants to express his true feelings, not induced ones!

Pannacotta Fugo

Fugo’s mind was already racing, when his s/o told him that their stand wasn’t a stand suited for physical fights. So, it was a stand a bit like Moody Blues, that needed a backup, in mission… he was already reflecting on it, on how to organize missions, how to put at good use their stand -he didn’t think that theirs was a “second choice” stand; he knew how useful a non-physical stand could be-… but first of all, he needed to know what was their power!

To put it simple, he hates it. He hates it since the first moment, since the instant he sees how their targets’ expression changed into one of pure lust and adoration, how they tried to aim at them not to hurt them but to take them on their arms, to make them theirs… he was literally blinded by rage. How dared this scum to even try to put their hands on his s/o?! He almost didn’t even notice Purple Haze coming out, his s/o stumbling back at the sight of the deadly stand, he didn’t notice how, for once, he and his stand were working in synchrony… he snapped back to himself just when no one but his s/o, at a safe distance, was standing on their feet. Then, he just harshly called back Purple Haze, grabbed his s/o’s hand and stormed back home.

He needs time to steam off the rage and indignation he felt. He knows he’s overreacting, that, all in all, their stand power can be really useful… but he can’t help but to feel a blinding rage every time he thinks about it. He doesn’t want them to use themselves as bait for the targets, it’s dangerous, it’s… it’s unfair. They’re not a bait, they haven’t to act like this! He asks them to please use it just when it’s absolutely necessary, like he does with Purple Haze. He doesn’t doubt their sincere feelings -or his ones- nor he thinks they used their stand on him… he just doesn’t like it and how it exposes them!

Giorno Giovanna

Giorno, being in charge of a powerful criminal organization, has to value every subordinate and this, even if only on professional level, is valid also for his s/o. He has to know what’s their stand and which power it has, in order to assign them adequate missions and partners, especially if they need a backup, like Abbacchio does. Plus, he’s sincerely curious to know what their power is!

He’s… surprised. Not in a positive way, but not even in a negative way. He didn’t expect a power like this, a succubus-like power that allows his s/o to make everyone fall head over heels for them, to light on the lust in their veins and to make them so blinded by desire and adoration to, in fact, make them unable to attack them or to dodge their attacks. He’s conflicted; from the Don’s point of view, he sees the potential of their stand, how it can be useful for certain types of missions; on the other hand, from the boyfriend’s point of view, he just hates it. He hates to see people trying to touch them in a lewd way, he hates to see so many hungry and adorant eyes on them… even so, he has to eat back his disdain. He trusts them; he knows they’re going to use their power just for extreme necessity, like Fugo does with Purple Haze.

Even so, as Don, he has to be sure that his lover didn’t use their power to get to him for power, money or whatever. He hates to suspect it, but, as leader of the organization, he has to consider every possibility. He himself “interrogates” them; it’s more a open heart talk than anything else, in the end. He can’t deny their sincerity, when they swear they never, not even for a second, used their stand on him and that they’ll never do; he needed it, he needed to know they were sincere and loyal… and, as boyfriend, he is incredibly reassured. His feelings and actions had always been just his; this is enough, for him, to go back to trust them with his life.

#jjba #vento aureo #bruno's gang #bruno bucciarati #leone abbacchio #guido mista #narancia ghirga #pannacotta fugo #giorno giovanna #neutral s/o #s/o who has a stand with a succubus-like power #reactions hcs #headcanons #sfw #anon ask

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gingerpeachtae · 6 years ago

Text

Concentric [4]

masterlist

Words: 6.2k

Genres: fantasy!AU, angst, fluff, enemies to lovers, eventual smut (?)

Warnings: extreme violence, death, attempted rape (no actual)

Summary: You had been ready for the end of the semester. You had been ready to spend time away from your best friend, Jimin, and finally move on from the feelings you harbored. Yet, after your friend was forced to reveal a secret, you found yourself in a new world that was chock full of magic, war, and wonder. So, here you were, basically thrown into your own fantasy novel, with your best friend on one side, and six male warriors on the other.

A/N: this... kinda veered from how I originally planned this chapter to go 😅 hope you all engoy it! (also GoT got me FEELIN some type of way)

The wolf’s growl converted into a sharp yelp as the hunter’s knife entered its side. After digging the blade in deep and twisting, Amarok felt the large wolf go limp on top of him. Dead. Pushing the weight aside, he removed his knife and wiped the slick, hot blood off on the fabric of his pants. He stood up then turned in a full circle, taking in the other canines that had fallen victim to his rage.

They may be classified as predators, but tonight, they had been his prey. They had needed to atone for what they did. For the destruction they had caused to Amarok’s home, life, and family. And they had. The den entrance, surrounded by their blood-matted corpses, could attest to that.

The hunter released a roar of victory and crushing pain. As he sheathed his blade at his waist, he heard a delicate whining. Turning in another circle, the male verified that the noise did not come from any of the wolves on the ground around him. They were all dead. There would be no more barks, growls, howls, or whimpers coming from them. As the whining sounds rose up again, Amarok realized that they were coming from within the den, so he entered the caves, eagerly searching for more things to bury his blade into. The moonlight ceased its reach within a few feet inside of the entrance, but Amarok was still able to navigate his way through the rocky, underground maze thanks to his draeva connection. After only a few minutes, the hunter came across three wolf pups. Each was howling in want for their mother, who was no longer alive.

He pointed his blade at the small creatures. “Now, what to do with you…”

He heard a croaking, guttural reply, and the hunter stilled, wondering where and whom, it had come from. It did not come from the stranger he had dragged through the snow with him. It couldn’t have. The cowardly male had served well as both bait and distraction and was now in pieces after being ravaged by the wolf pack.

There was no physical entity left that could have spoken the words, so the hunter almost dismissed it as his head playing tricks. But then he heard it again.

It was bizarre, though, as Amarok did not hear it through his ears, but rather as a harsh whisper raking against his mind.

“Kill them. Or don’t. It doesn’t really matter to me. What matters to me is you.”

“Who are you? Tell me your name,” Amarok demanded to the seemingly empty cave, eyes narrowing as he turned slowly with his blade raised.

The voice laughed in a way that screamed both high intelligence and pure madness.

“I am something that can give you purpose. I can give you the chance to wreak the havoc you desire,” the voice choked out, ignoring the hunter’s second question.

“I already got my revenge.”

“No. It doesn’t end with those beasts. It ends when the rest of the world suffers the same pain as your wife and daughter. It ends when all of Illain has erupted into chaos.”

“What do you want?” Amarok questioned the voice.

“I want your allegiance, your loyalty, your embrace of all that I am.”

“And what are you?”

“You will soon find out…”

And he had.

The knowledge had turned him into a new kind of monster. He had welcomed all the evils Opitax had bestowed upon Illain that winter and he had become them. He was barren. He was savage. He was deadly.

And he was ready to watch the world burn.

As the three strangers stepped into view, you hunkered down closer to Yoongi. You both watched silently as they came to a stop, not even 15 feet away. They took in the area, noting that it appeared empty. Little did they know that one currently defective magic user and one self-doubting human were crouched down right next to them.

As you watched one of them kick the embers of the dying fire, an idea came to your mind. You rubbed your neck and thought back to when Jungkook attacked you when he was glamoured. Just as you were about to get up to try to scare them like a ghost and get them high-tailing it out of there, Yoongi placed a warning hand on your arm as if sensing what you were about to do. Giving him a glance, you saw that he had a face that screamed “what the fuck are you thinking?” Before you could attempt to mime scaring the strangers, he drew a single finger across his throat and then pointed at you.

Well shit. No playing Casper then.

As you mouthed “What do we do?” to the mint-haired Saeni, one of the strangers spoke.

“Looks like they packed up and left already to try to get him back.” He returned his crude, wavy sword to its scabbard as he finished his sentence.

Another with long hair laughed. “Yeah, they’ll try, but they won’t stand a chance against Eltoc, especially since their own magic user is incapacited right now.”

“Aw. How considerate of them to be going along with our plan,” the third and final stranger, who had a ring at his hip filled with countless smaller rings, voiced.

As you stared, you had to raise a hand over your mouth to stop the gasp that almost escaped past your lips. Some of the smaller rings had beads or feathers attached to them. Your stomach dropped when you recognized what they were: Saeni earrings. From the way he was displaying them like some kind of sick trophy, you concluded that they must be from people he’s killed. You were beyond disgusted, and then what he said registered with you.

Plan!? What plan?

At his statement, you looked to Yoongi and gave him “oh shit” eyes. He still appeared mostly calm, but his own pink orbs held a slight glimmer of panic as he listened to the three other Saeni.

“Not considerate enough to leave something we could take.”

“That’s not why we’re here!” Long Hair pushed Wavy Sword before continuing. “But don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll have your pick of their shit once they’re dead.”

Your face lost color at the comment.

“Good. I’ve been wanting to get a nice set of short swords for a while now.”

Jungkook.

Trophy Ring chuckled sinisterly. “That fancy recurve bow with the modifications is what I want to get my hands on. Not to mention that that Saeni’s earring would make a lovely addition to my collection.”

He ran his hand through the earrings at his waist, stroking some of the feathers with a loving expression on his face.

Touch Tae and you’re fucking dead. Touch any of them and I’ll send you to meet Illai personally, assholes.

You were seething. Who the hell were these people? How dare they threaten the kiela? Yes, one of them resented you and you weren’t totally sure about the others’ feelings towards you, but you still cared about them. They were Jimin’s family, after all.

You turned to Yoongi again when you felt his hand grip your arm tighter. He was breathing heavily, and if looks could kill, the three Saeni would be dead on the ground. His entire body was shaking as he regarded them.

Long Hair barked at the other two. “Alright, let’s head back and report that they’re already on the move.”

You both remained silent, anger and panic coursing through your veins, as you watched the three strangers exit and disappear into the trees. Yoongi held a finger to his lips, telling you to stay quiet.

He kept his finger there for almost a minute before whispering in a trembling voice, “Okay, they’re far enough to not hear us now.”

“Yoongi!” You whisper-screeched. “What are we going to do!? The others are walking straight into a tr-”

“A trap. Yeah, I heard.”

You watched as he tried to get up, but his legs collapsed, and he moaned in pain while clutching his wrapped torso.

“Fucking Exia!” He punched the dirt below him in frustration. “I-I need to tell them! Or else they’ll... they’ll…”

“Hey! Hey, you need to stop, or you’ll hurt yourself more.” You put a hand on his back and rubbed soothing circles while trying to speak as gently as possible.

“Y/N, they’re going to die! Don’t you get that!?” His eyes were blurring with tears as he craned his head to look at you before shoving the heels of his hands into his eyes. “Those fuckers have a magic user and I won’t be there to protect them!”

Your heart ached at his words. You reached out to pry his hands away before taking his face in your own and forcing him to look at you. “They’re not going to die, okay? I’m going to find them and tell them what’s going on. You can’t go, so I will. They’re not going to die.”

You repeated the last line over and over as the usually composed Saeni broke down in your arms. You held him close for no longer than a minute, since you knew you had to leave as soon as possible. As you pulled away and rose to your feet, his hand darted out and grabbed your wrist.

“The glamour on you will fade soon since Hobi isn’t here to reinforce it.” He squeezed you tighter and looked you in the eye. “Please. Please bring him-bring all of them back.”

You didn’t nod or say that you would. Because in all honesty, you had no idea what you were going to do, how you would find them, or if your interference would even make a difference. All you could do was blink at him, yank your wrist away, and run in the direction the others had left. Leaving the mint-haired Saeni with little to do besides praying to his gods.

As you sprinted through the forest, thoughts filtered through your head at what to do.

I could scream for the kiela. You ducked under a fallen tree limb.

No, that might give away their position and distract them too much. Maybe I could try to save Jimin myself… You sharply inhaled as a branch scratched against your cheek.

And that would be an instant death. No thank you. Plus, Yoongi said the glamour will fade soon. Should I just run until I find them? You leapt over a bunch of roots protruding from the earth.

That would take too long. Fucking hell what should I do!?

Your feet slowed to a jog, and you hoped the slower pace would allow a lightbulb to go off in your brain. You didn’t necessarily have to find them. You just needed them to hear you. With their superior senses, you could probably shout it from over a mile away and they would hear it. But you couldn’t just scream out that they were walking into a trap because then those fuckers would know that they know.

This would be so much easier if they had cell phones or another way of communicating besides in person.

Hold up…

But what if you could just scream it out? The wheels started turning in your head as you considered a different way of communicating. Technically, the language you had been speaking wasn’t your normal tongue. It was only possible because of magic. Maybe you could speak in English if you focused hard enough?

Your feet had completely stopped at this point, you were now fully concentrated on the task at hand.

English. English. English. English…

“…English. English. I want to speak in Engli-Yes!” You pumped your fist in the air and did a fast body wiggle in celebration.

Before you could second-guess your plan, you resumed your run through the woods, only this time you were shouting as loud as possible.

A few miles away, high up in a tree, was Namjoon, Jin, Tae, and Jungkook. They were anxiously waiting for Hobi to return from doing recon so that they could formulate a final plan before infiltrating the camp where Jimin was being kept. They were in the midst of running through several possibilities when a sudden yell echoed throughout the forest.

“What in Exia’s name is that?” Jin whispered as they all heard the shrieking in the distance.

Jungkook listened closely. “Is that-”

“I think so.” Tae interrupted.

They may not have known you for very long, but they could distinguish that it was your voice yelling gibberish at the top of your lungs. At least, it was gibberish to the majority.

“She had one fucking job. I swear I’m going to-”

“Kook, shut up.” This time, it was Namjoon who cut off the youngest.

As the leader turned back to the direction you were yelling from, he closed his eyes and listened attentively. The rest of the Saeni fell to silence as they adjusted their grip on the branches of the large tree they were perched on. Shadows casted on their faces by the leaves, they gave each other questioning looks before shifting their gazes to their leader, wondering what he was doing. It was quiet for several minutes, save for your occasional yell, until…

Without facing his members, Namjoon opened his eyes and addressed Jungkook, “Go find Hobi and bring him back here.” He then turned to look at Tae, his yellow eyes filled with gratitude. “Looks like your little scorja’s giving us a message.”

The eldest member spoke up, “And that message would be…?”

“We’re about to walk into a trap.” The leader sighed and shook his head. “Looks like we’re going to need to approach this whole thing differently. Now hurry up, Kookie, and go get Hobi so we can figure this out.”

Jungkook followed his orders by dropping from the tree and going to fetch their spy, grumbling the entire time.

“Joon, they’re going to get her if she’s running around screaming like that!” Tae said in a worried tone.

“Y/N’s not dumb. I think she realized that going into it,” Namjoon responded levelly. “If we do this right, we’ll get her and Jimin back safely. We asked her to trust us earlier, now let’s return the favor and put some faith in her.”

Jogging around another tree, you took a deep breath before yelling, “IT’S A TRAP! GUYS, YOU’RE WALKING INTO A TRAP! PLEASE KNOW THAT IT’S A FUCKING TRAP! THEY HAVE THEIR OWN MAGIC USER!”

You have no idea how long you’ve been screaming and running around like a chicken with its head cut off, but you couldn’t stop. You wouldn’t. Not until your legs and voice give out. You just hoped that the kiela would be able to hear you at some point and that Namjoon knew enough English to understand you.

Stopping to brace yourself against a sapling, you collected yourself once more and shouted, “WOW! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S GONNA BE A TRAP. NAMJOON, YOU BETTER GODDAMN UNDERSTAND ME WHEN I SAY THAT THIS IS ALL A TRAP AND THEY HAVE A MAGIC USER!”

Coughing as you finished, you tried to gather any spit you had in your mouth to coat your throat as you went on and rounded yet another tree. But as you made your turn, you screamed for real as you were yanked back against a chest. A hand lifted to cover your mouth and a knife was placed against your neck.

Your glamour must have been officially gone.

You started to struggle against the entity holding you until you felt the blade start to nick your delicate skin.

Then you heard a voice grunt in your ear. “You better stop worming around, pretty thing.”

He spoke in Saeni, but luckily, your daily petals hadn’t worn off from the morning, so you could still understand him. You tried to remain focused as you slowly eased your body into stillness.

Stay calm. You knew this was going to happen eventually when you started this insane plan.

“That’s better.” His hot breath against your skin made you shudder. He removed his hand from your mouth and transferred his knife to rest against the small of your back. “Now walk.”

You didn’t move a muscle. Not even when he repeated himself.

“Are you stupid!? Walk!”

You stood there like a stone until you felt the sharp tip of the blade begin to poke into your back more forcefully.

Wincing, you turned your head to the side to look at him, flinching slightly when you recognized him as the Wavy Sword Saeni from earlier.

Then, in English and mock confusion, you said, “Walk?”

You were testing to see if he could understand you. You highly doubted it, but if he did, then your whole plan was complete garbage. Plus, you didn’t want him to know that you could understand him. It was an advantage that could really help you out in the upcoming seconds, minutes, maybe even hours.

“What the fuck are you saying?”

Fighting back your smile as well as the urge to exhale in relief, you continued to feign confusion by cocking your head to the side. You then lifted your hand and made a walking gesture with two fingers as you replied, “Oh honey, you got a big storm comin’.”

Er, you do if Namjoon was able to hear me.

“Yes. That.” He nodded in irritation. “Now go!”

You began inching forward, doing your best to arch away from his knife as he led you to who knows where.

After a few minutes of awkwardly stumbling over roots, having numerous branches whipped across your face, and being yanked this way and that by your captor, you heard a couple of hoots and hollers. You assumed they were from the other two Saeni you had seen with Wavy Sword.

You were right.

“Ohhh. Looks like you were the lucky one who found the screamer.”

Sure enough, Long Hair and Trophy Ring appeared next to you, and it took everything in you not to glare at them. You had to remember to keep up your act. No doubt, your life probably depended on it now.

Okay, Y/N. Blank face. Blank face. Blank face.

“She doesn’t look very smart.” Long Hair said after taking note of your expression.

“But at least she’s pretty. Real pretty.” You wanted to gag at the look Trophy Ring gave you.

Blank face. Blank face. Blank face.

“I don’t think she can understand a thing we say.” Jerking you more upright, Wavy Sword murmured into your ear while stroking a finger down your cheek, “But yeah, she is a pretty thing.”

You closed your eyes in an attempt to block out their nasty words. You felt the male behind you nudge his knife against your back, urging you to move again. As you continued to make your way through the forest with wobbly legs, you listened to what the Saeni were talking about. Needless to say, you sort of wished you couldn’t since it wasn’t exactly a pleasant conversation to listen to. First, it was how eager they were to watch the kiela suffer and die. They truly did not spare any details on how they wanted it to go down. You even heard them betting on how each member would die and who would get the “honors.”

Blank face.

Then, it was about how mad they were that they missed out on being the ones to capture the “half and half bastard.” Jimin. They all groaned when Trophy Ring mentioned how they probably missed their chance of getting their hands on him.

Blank face.

Next, it was what was to be done with you. They debated killing you along with the kiela, but they all whined about how it would be “such as waste of a female.”

Keep it together, Y/N. Blank fucking face.

They argued between killing you, raping you, keeping you as a slave, as well as other horrid things. You felt your chest tighten with panic and you were struggling to maintain your façade. However, Long Hair came to a resolution that was the best you could get at the moment.

“Just let the higher ups decide what to do with her.”

You let out a shaky breath as the other two grumbled but agreed.

Not long after that, you arrived at what you presumed to be their camp. It was bigger than the simple camp you and the kiela had been setting up. Much bigger. This one was so large that you couldn’t even see the end of it in any direction. They had numerous tents erected throughout the entire thing as well as Saeni guarding the perimeter. As you weaved your way through the fires and tents, you counted thirty or so Saeni. Thirty to five. And those were just the ones you were able to count. Not the best odds, but you were still putting your trust in the kiela and their “battle-trained” skills. You were immediately brought out of your mental math when you arrived at the center of the camp. You gasped and widened your eyes at what you saw.

Jimin was on his knees in front of a thick, wooden pole that had been hammered into the ground. His arms were tied behind him and his shoulders strained from the angle. You whispered his name and his head shot up when he heard it. You wanted to cry at his bruised and beaten face. It was covered in purple and blue and even red from where they had split his skin above his eyebrow. His left eye was swollen shut and his plush lips were stained with crimson. When he saw you, he shouted your name and began fighting against his restraints. He screamed how he was going to kill the Saeni if they touched you and continued yanking on his restraints until one of the guards next to him punched him in the face. You cried out as Jimin’s words were abruptly cut off and blood dribbled out of his mouth onto his shirt. He turned and spat a mouthful of his blood at the Saeni who hit him. You whimpered his name again and struggled to get to him but stopped trying to wrench yourself free when you felt the knife start to dig into your back again. In retaliation for his action, the guard began to repeatedly beat Jimin until he was slumped against the pole, his head hanging in unconsciousness. A lump formed in your throat and you glared bloody murder at the Saeni.

“Fuck. You.”

The one who knocked Jimin out looked at you then at your captors, “Who is she? What did she just say?”

“She’s been travelling with them and we found her running around yelling nonsense. We can’t understand a damn thing she says but she doesn’t speak Saeni either.”

The guard strolled up to you and you lifted your head in defiance while narrowing your y/e/c eyes at her. She gave out a dry snort at your behavior before grabbing your chin, forcing your head to turn as she observed your features.

She smirked and released you. “Amarok will like her. Tie her up next to the prince.”

Jungkook crouched on the tree branch he was on, leaning over to whisper to Tae that the next patrol would be there in 30 seconds. Tae responded by notching one of his arrows and getting ready to draw. Jungkook slipped down to a lower branch, not making a sound, and eased into the shadows cast by the green foliage. Elsewhere around the enemy’s camp, Namjoon, Hobi, and Jin were each getting ready to take out their designated patrol units.

The burgundy-haired Saeni breathed steadily as he withdrew his twin short swords from where they crossed behind his back and mentally counted down the seconds. Just as he hit the half-minute mark, two Saeni appeared and walked underneath the tree he and Tae were in. Not bothering to glance at his companion, Jungkook leapt down from his perch and pierced his target’s back with both blades. He heard a thump as Tae’s arrow found its way into the other Saeni’s chest. Blood flew in the air as he removed his short swords from the body and the red fluid dripped down the metal onto the ground until he wiped the blades off with his clothed forearm.

Joining Jungkook on the ground, the grey-haired Saeni went over their next step. “I’m meeting Namjoon at the west entrance and you’re meeting up with Jin at the south.”

Jungkook nodded in acknowledgment and gave him a small smile before darting off. As he ran, Jungkook re-sheathed his swords behind his back. Not an easy feat to do, especially while sprinting, but he’s had years to perfect the action. Making his way clockwise around the perimeter of the enemy’s camp, Jungkook stopped when he heard a particular bird call. Pausing for a few seconds to judge where it came from, he jogged for a bit before climbing up another tree to greet Jin, who clapped him on the shoulder.

“Glad to see that you and Tae had no trouble.”

Jungkook scoffed at the words, “Of course we didn’t, hyung.”

The two Saeni fell back to silence as they turned to look at the southern entrance of the camp. This entire operation would be tons easier if they had the dark to blend in to, but unfortunately, they didn’t have the luxury of waiting until nightfall. Not when they didn’t know what was happening to Jimin. Or you. Though, right now, all he could do was wait with Jin for their signal to infiltrate. Several minutes passed and Jungkook muttured to himself, wondering what was taking so long.

Suddenly, it seemed like all hell broke loose to their far to their left. Cries for reinforcements and help could be heard and Jungkook smiled to himself. Between Joon’s knack for destroying shit and Tae’s elegant fighting style, he was sure they were creating a beautiful mess.

“Alright, let’s do this, Kook.”

The eldest and youngest members jumped to the ground and started running toward the camp. The guards on duty were more focused on what was happening to the west than doing their damn jobs. Not that Jin or Jungkook were complaining. It made their task of killing them quite easy. Jin brandished his longsword mid-stride and struck down the first two while Jungkook finished off the third. The guards’ gasps of pain caught the attention of other Saeni in the camp who had been heading west. When they saw the south entrance being hit, they turned course and ran to meet Jungkook and Jin, who readied their weapons for the onslaught.

To the north, Hobi knew it was time to complete his part of the plan when he heard additional cries for backup. Without making a sound, he dropped down from his tree directly into their camp, landing on the balls of his feet lightly. With majority of the attention focused at the opposite side, he was able to slip by the tents unnoticed. He was tempted to go straight to find you and Jimin, but he knew he had to take care of a certain someone first. If that person was still breathing at the end of all this, then none of them would be making it out alive.

Hobi twitched his fingers as he ran past an open area to slide behind a tent. He paused, listening to the chaos surrounding him.

“Eltoc! We need you at the south side of camp!”

“No! The west side!”

Screams for the magic user’s help at both entrances dominated the air until Hobi finally heard his target’s response.

“Calm down you twats. I’ll go south-west to help out since, apparently, none of you can fight for shit.”

Peeking out around the edge of the tent, it was fairly simple for the spy to locate the speaker, since his hands were already beginning to glow with magic. His back was to Hobi as he strutted toward the opposite side of the camp.

Mapping his route out mentally, the white-haired Saeni ran to the right and ahead of Eltoc and his band of guards. Climbing up a tree that would intervene with his path, Hobi drew out a small, curved knife for each hand and waited close to the trunk for his opportunity. Breathing quietly with his muscles tense, he shifted into a striking position as he heard his marks approach.

Just as the he was walking around the tree, muttering about how he always had to take care of things himself, Hobi stepped off his branch and landed on top of the magic user. Eltoc fell down from the abrupt weight, hands flaring up with magic, but the spell went nowhere as both of Hobi’s knives were thrust deep into the magic user’s neck. The indigo glow of the spell faded to nothing as Hobi ripped his blades away, slashing the punctured skin and allowing Eltoc’s lifeforce to drain away in mere seconds. As soon as Hobi verified that he was indeed dead, he flung the knives at the nearest guards. They had frozen in shock at Hobi’s arrival and now it was too late to take action against the kiela’s spy. Too late to save their magic user, and too late to save themselves.

Hobi rapidly reached around his body to access the blades he needed to finish off the rest, throwing each and every one with startling accuracy. Gargling and choking sounds emerged around Hobi as each of his blades found its new home. When he was done and the chirping of the forest was all he could hear, Hobi urgently gathered what knives and daggers he could from the bodies before sprinting to the south entrance. When he arrived, Jungkook was slashing one of his swords in a downward arc, killing the last of the reinforcements that had come. Neither he, Hobi, or Jin blinked twice at the blood that splattered onto the nearby tree as the opponent fell.

“Magic user?” Jin questioned.

To which Hobi replied, “Meeting the mother goddess as we speak.”

Jin gave a curt nod and ran off to help Namjoon and Tae finish off whoever they had left to go through.

As Jin left, Jungkook and Hobi ran further into the camp, searching for you and Jimin. They expertly disposed the Saeni that challenged them whenever they turned a new corner, leaving a trail blood and bodies behind them. When they reached the center, they spotted a male knelt before a pole. Both of them sprinted toward Jimin, who was hoarsely shouting as he tugged at his restraints. As the duo ran to him, Hobi efficiently threw his blades at any Saeni who dared to cross their path. Those who were lucky enough to evade the small weapons were immediately cut down by Jungkook. So, in the end, they weren’t so lucky after all.

Jimin’s head whipped to them as he heard them approach, and he began screaming at them to go into the tent to their right. He was begging and pleading with them, so Jungkook gave Hobi a look to convey that he should go ahead and free Jimin. The youngest of the kiela slowed his feet and approached the tent with caution. From inside, he could hear yells of pain as well as the sounds of struggle. He entered through the opening and saw you and another male. He was about to charge forward, but he stilled when he registered that you had a dagger in hand.

Saeni were rushing in panic all around you. The guards that had been stationed next to you and Jimin’s posts had run off a few minutes earlier. Shouts cut through the pandemonium and curses chased after them. You heard the clashing of metal and screams of agony. As one Saeni charged past, you heard him shout to another, “They killed Eltoc! Go reinforce the west side!”

“They need help on the south side!” The Saeni yelled back before sprinting off.

You smiled to yourself because the kiela must have heard you. Your stupid, insane plan actually worked!

I warned you that a storm was coming. You smirked at the camp that was falling into utter disarray.

Next to you, Jimin groaned and tried lifting his head. All the commotion seemed to be rousing him finally.

“Slim Jim? Hey, you need to wake up buddy.” You encouraged the half-Saeni. “Come on, Jimin. There you go.”

As you talked your best friend out of his involuntary slumber, Trophy Ring stumbled over to you with a blade clutched in his hand. Shouts continued to echo throughout the encampment as he crouched in front of you. Looking to Jimin in panic, you saw that he was not completely coherent yet. Reluctantly, you turned your head back to the male in front of you, internally freaking out while wondering what he was going to do. The repulsive male was breathing heavily and reached around to cut your restraints. Before you could do anything, he gripped your torso and hoisted you over his shoulder.

Your scream woke Jimin up all the way and the first thing he saw was the male carrying you away while you punched and kicked to try to get him to drop you.

“Y/N! Shit. Y/N!” He shouted after you in alarm.

You could see his desperate attempts to break free and get to you, but he couldn’t. Not when his own restraints were perfectly intact. Jimin shouted your name again and again as he watched the Saeni wrestle you into a nearby tent.

The male threw you on the ground and murmured to himself, “If I’m going to die, I might as well get my dick wet from such a pretty thing first.”

Oh shit. Shit. SHIT. No!

You tried crawling away from him, but he grabbed your ankle and dragged you back to him. You swore and kicked out with your legs, doing your best to just keep moving.

“Stupid bitch. Stop it!” He was trying to pry your legs apart and lay his weight on top of you.

You thrashed your legs, trying to get your knees high enough to get you feet under him while also attempting to drag yourself away with your arms. After a few long seconds of your vicious squirming, you managed to kick him in the face and scramble out from underneath him. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw a couple burning candles and you hurried toward them. Picking up the closest one, you turned and threw it at the male who cursed when the hot wax made contact with his skin. Not missing a beat, you grabbed the other and ran up to the male while he was distracted and smashed it into his face, the burning wick and melted wax causing him to shout and clutch his face in pain. You went to run for the tent entrance, but his arm lashed out and caught your own, immediately halting your escape. As he jerked you back to him with a growl, you caught sight of the dagger strapped to his lower back.

He raised his free hand and slapped you. “You fucking cunt. I swear to Uzjuk I’m going t-”

He never got the chance to finish as you seized his blade and plunged it deep into his lower back. It was surprisinng how easily it entered him. Before you could dwell on the disturbing fact, you felt hot blood gush onto your hand as you pulled the dagger from his flesh.You quickly brought the blade around to his front and stabbed it into the general area of his heart with a defiant yell. You let go of the handle when crimson bloomed around the wound and started to spread across his chest. You felt his grip on you loosen and he crumpled to his knees. The hand that had been on you shifted to grip the handle sticking out of him as he gasped. Blood bubbled over his lips and spilled past his chin to trickle onto the ground. He slowly eased the dagger out with a groan. You backed away in horror as he dropped the blade and cast you a final, malevolent glare before collapsing face first on the dirt. Keeping your eyes on the now dead male, you began to hyperventilate while walking backwards. You sobbed into your blood covered hands as your body began shaking and your breathing became erratic.

One uneven breath, one step back. Another uneven breath, another step back.

You continued backtracking until you felt something warm and solid against your back and arms snake around your waist. Screaming, you turned and tried to hit your new attacker.

“Ah, stop! Y/N, stop! It’s me!”

Hands encased your wrists to hold your arms and fists still as you peered up and saw Jungkook’s face through your tears. His green eyes were wide as he looked at you in astonishment

“Hey, see, it’s just me.” He let go of your wrists and placed his hands around your upper arms, giving you a slight squeeze. “You’re okay. Let’s get you out of here.”

You gave him a timid nod and with that, he ducked back under the flap of the tent. You were about to follow him, but you hesitated. You looked behind you to take in the male, the bloody dagger on the ground, and the crimson puddle that was pooling around him. You felt no remorse as you spat at his body while your tears left tracks down your dirtied cheeks. Wiping them away, you replaced them with smears of red. The scent of iron filled your nose as you took one last look before turning on your heel and exiting the tent.

previous [3] --- next [5]

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darkzeruda1214 · 5 years ago

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They could’ve added more...

This guy has to be my favorite villain in the whole HttYD (movie) universe.

Down from design to his voice and just in general how he presents himself. But there is one thing I feel like they lacked on his character.

And while others may disagree, I feel his total effect just didn’t seem as much as it could have impacted the movie. Or the series as whole. And that’s just more background on his character.

Granted I feel like out of all the villains (naturally) he was the smartest. He clearly understood the power that dragons hold. And how useful they are.

He didn’t harness their strength like Draco, or their numbers like the Green Death, but rather their abilities. He understands that each Dragon has a certain type of effect, ability, nature and strength in a certain aspect. And as he demonstrated in the movie he harnessed it to the max ability.

Grimmel has a vast knowledge of the dragons and what each of them are capable. In fact he even knew more details of the Night Fury, as much or even maybe more than Hiccup knows.

Including their weaknesses.

And this is where I feel like they could have expanded more on his character and background. The one scene in particular that captured more about his history is when he was explaining to Hiccup of the first time he encountered a Night Fury. He explains that he too was in a similar situation, instead when he encountered the dragon he killed it where it slept.

That action, as he explains it, made him a hero in his village. Thus giving him the motive to kill every last Night Fury in existence.

Save for, two (well as far as the movie shows).

And that scene, while don’t think it was bad, I feel like they could have worded it differently. Not too much, but I think the writers could have drawled it out.

Make the explanation just a little longer and even added a few more scenes.

The idea sprung to me after I watched the movie. And well, to me I think they could have animated it differently.

So let’s pretend this AU could be in the movie. Let’s pretend that they showed a hypothetical history...

The way how I think they could have done it was they could have shown a younger version of Grimmel, I know they can come up with a way how he encountered a dragon, and the one thing I noticed about Grimmel is how skinny he is.

He doesn’t have muscle like Draco, so I think it would have been interesting to see him look similar to Hiccup, a young thin boy that there’s no way he could be able to take on a dragon alone. He’s smart, so I don’t doubt he would be able to see that Hiccup once lacked the physical combat trait. I also noticed that he knows what words to say to get his enemies to drop their guard, so maybe he could’ve used that tactic against Hiccup. Get him to sympathize with him because Grimmel understands the disadvantage of lanky size. How everyone treated him and how Grimmel’s village ridiculed him for it.

Grimmel could have explained something along the lines he was just like Hiccup, weak. Defenseless, born to be killed. Maybe even say his parents didn’t even want him, and maybe then cast out of his village because he was nothing that looked remotely like a dragon killer. Just live bait.

So out of fit of rage, or by accident he encounters a Night Fury, one of the most dangerous of dragons. And they could have even shown him to hold a knife similar to hiccup’s when he was going to Kill the Night Furry.

And I think the parallels could have been as amazing, having the young Grimmel even mirror Hiccup’s actions, raising the knife over his head. Showing he’s about to do it, and as the knife drops, then the scene changes.

Knowing that this movie is still for children, I don’t think DreamWorks would show the death of a dragon, especially that graphic. So the scene can change back to older Grimmel’s face, (back in present time) and back to talking to Hiccup. Explaining that right then and there he killed the Night Fury when it was asleep or trapped. Or some other way that allowed him to finish it.

I think it would have made an amazing parallel, and then there could be a YouTube video to show both scenes, and have a side by side comparison. I think that alone would made the third movie be more impactful especially since it was the third and last installment of the series.

Showing what could have happened to Hiccup if he did kill Toothless in the first movie. And what kind of character… or the villain Hiccup could’ve been if he really did go through with killing Toothless in the first movie.

To me Grimmel is the most interesting villain I’ve seen in an animated movie. And while we all do get to see what kind of character he is, I felt like there was more that could’ve been added. And sure anyone could argue that it’s still a kid movie and maybe showing more of what he could be would essentially too dark.

But it’s not the first time a kid’s movie has shown dark themes. I mean take “The Land Before Time.” Little Foot’s mom dies in the first movie from her wounds of the T-Rex attack.

In “Finding Nemo,” heavily implied Nemo’s mother and hundreds of sisters and brother’s been eaten by a barracuda.

Or Po’s mom in “King Fu Panda 2″ she sacrificed herself to keep her son safe from a tyrant as he committed genocide on the Panda race.

Also, “Coco,” they showed an innocent character get poisoned by his former best friend. On screen. And granted the whole movie is about death.

My point being, is that while it was dark enough that a young adult (or child) basically killed a sentient dragon. It wouldn’t been any different from all these other movies from different time eras that touch and imply on dark themes. It wouldn’t be a first. (And that’s not including just saying it through dialogue, since movies had shown it on screen before).

And since DreamWorks didn’t seem to be 100 percent to opposed to partially animate Stoic’s death, I don’t see why they wouldn’t be able to have done something like this.

Now again, I’m not saying that the movie or his character was bad. I thought he was by far the most interesting villain if not the best in the trilogy. Again, my point being is that they could’ve added more to him. Give a smite more background beyond his intelligence, resourcefulness and overall sinister character.

It’s kinda like a cupcake, it’s really good on it’s own. But sometimes a little bit of frosting and maybe some sprinkles or other types of toppings can make it better.

Though that’s just me. I still enjoyed watching him on screen and I probably wouldn’t change it for the world. Just it could’ve been awesome to see a little more sustenance. But other than that, I still love movie regardless

And I still cry like a little bitch when I watch the ending

#How to train your dragon #httyd3 #grimmel #personal confessions #confess series #it could've been a parallel scene #but they totally missed it

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missblissy · 5 years ago

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Title: Homeless at Home Fandom: Red Dead Redemption Genre: fanfiction, chapters, angst, reader insert, fluff, slow burn, friends-to-lovers, pre-game Characters: Young!Arthur Morgan, Dutch Van Der Linde, Hosea Mathews, Arthur Morgan/ Reader, Female reader, Arthur x Reader, Arthur Morgan x Reader, Arthur/ You, Young!reader Chapter: One || Two || Three || Four || Five || Six || Seven || Eight || Nine || Ten

Follow me on AO3!! Read it there too!

((Hello friends!! Another chapter has been posted!! Another one will be up tonight!! Thank you so much for being so kind with me!! I’m sorry I’ve been posting infrequently! That is about to change soon!! Several other fics will be posted tonight!!!!))

Description:

The winter world was slowly melting away and it was quite beautiful to watch. You would stare at the colorful birds as they flew from branch to branch. Blue Jays bounced around and sang as they raced the Cardinals to the barren treetops. You much preferred to watch the crows though, they would stare back at you with dark little eyes that told ancient stories you could never understand. The crows would hop around and watch you and Arthur ride through the thin forest, then suddenly dozens of them took to the skies.

_______________________________________________________

This was it. You knew you had finally done it. The air was frigid, it made your skin turn a light shade of pink. Your fingers were ice cold even though you had two pairs of gloves on. It may have been near freezing but you were still sweating from running so much. Your heart raced, beating louder and louder like a drum in your ears.

Where was he? The tree you had taken cover behind wouldn’t last for long. You knew he was out there, waiting, ready to end it all. God dammit! Why did you always find yourself in these kinds of situations? Why were you so bad at being… bad? You sucked in a deep breath and took the biggest risk of your life.

Slowly and slower than time, you started to peek your head out from around the tree. Maybe he was still out? Or was he hiding still? As you neared the side of the tree and peered around the corner, you had zero time to react. What god damn mistake you made.

A snowball collided with your side of your face, adding to the collection of welts to your body that now tallied to six. Arthur was standing in the backyard of your hidden home, bending over laughing.

“Haha!! Got you again!!” You watched him slap his leg and nearly shit himself laughing.

You cleaned the snow away from your face and hair and took this as a chance to wad up a snowball of your own. Packing the snow tight together between your hands, you curled your arm back and snapped it forward. The snowball flew through the air right towards Arthur’s shoulder. When he was struck by the snowball he looked back up with a fire in his eyes that told you to run again.

A scream echoed out into the snowy forest as you ran for the barn this time. Arthur was hot on your tail and you could hear him calling out to you.

“You started this war!” He laughed, “Surrender or die!”

You got to the front doors of the barn and fumbled to push them open, “Eat my shit!!” It was too late, as you looked over your shoulder you were pelted with another snowball, this time on your upper leg.

Sometimes he could be such an asshole. You let out a yelp and frowned at Arthur, “This isn’t fun anymore! You’re just trying to hurt me now!” It was all fun and games in the beginning, but somehow it really did turn into a snowball war and Arthur was winning. He was only so good because he was older and had wicked good eye sight. You still struggled with shooting and aiming a gun, so how on earth could you throw a snowball?

Despite the war, it was nice to finally get out of the house again. A long storm had raged through the deeper parts of Paradise Valley. And Dutch said the winter’s here were mild. You’ve spent nearly all of it inside that house, listening to Uncle’s drunk stories about his golden years. The spring was only a few weeks away now, and Hosea had still not returned.

Nothing special happened this winter, thankfully. Though, when the Christmas time came around there was a nice humble morning were everyone woke up together and had a real and meaningful breakfast. You spent a lot of that time reading the medical books you had gotten from the doctor in town. One was on plants and how to make them in to medicine, you already knew a lot about that thanks to your mother. Another one was about tending to all type of open wounds and injuries. You had started practicing how to stitch with a needle and thread that Susan had lent you. Stitching a person and a blanket wasn’t that different. You had mastered the baseball stitch and the lock stitch but you still had a few others to get.

Now you stood facing death on the first day out in months. Arthur was an evil man, or just a bastard, perhaps both. You looked at him, glaring, daring him to throw another snowball, “Hit me again and see what happens!” You challenged him for the first time since this war started.

“Yeah? What’s a tiny little thing like you gonna do?” Arthur’s cocky grin ate away at you.

With a huff and a pout, you decided to really turn the tables. You locked eyes with Arthur and started to get the waterworks going. You let out a fake sob and wailed, “DUTCH!!!” And ran past Arthur before he could slap a hand on your mouth and save his own skin.

He cursed under his breath and dropped the snowball in his hand, “Shit- (Y/n)! I didn’t mean it! Come on it was a game!!” It stopped being a game when he started being an asshole.

You ran inside from the backdoor and through the kitchen, Arthur was close behind you when you got to the living room, “Dutch!” You yelled out to the old man sitting on the couch, reading away. Your loud yell startled him and he dropped his book right before you hid behind him with a small cry, “Arthur’s throwing snowballs at me! He won’t stop! He hit me in the face! Look!”

There was no way of stopping the bomb you had just set off. Dutch didn’t say a word as he gentle grabbed you by the chin and turn your head to look at the goose egg that was forming. You let out another cry, “He got me other places too,” You whined.

Arthur stood frozen in the entrance to the living room. You watched as a part of his soul floated away and into the heavens. Normally when Arthur was being a dick, you just ignored him. But sometimes he took it too far, like today, and you needed to unleash the wrath of Mother Dutch onto him.

Dutch snapped his gaze to the young outlaw and said, “What the hell is wrong with you? Huh? Throwing snowballs at a little girl?” You weren’t that little, not really.

You watched Arthur start to glare and his mouth hanging open, “She!” He pointed a finger at you, “She started it! She threw one at me!”

“And surely you are the dumb ass to throw one back,” Dutch got up from his spot on the couch while picking his book up off the floor. As he passed Arthur he smacked him on the head with his book and said, “Stop it. Get your ass back outside and keep watch,” Dutch suddenly snapped to you, “And you,” His glare softened but it was still there, “Stop bothering him.” He left after that and headed upstairs to find a new peaceful reading space.

The two of you were left alone again and all the hostility from before had started to melt away. You had won the last battle and you took your victory with pride. However, at the same time, you wanted to get the hell out of the house before Susan or Annabelle started asking you to do chores. So it was time for a new game.

You bolted. You broke out into a sprint and as you ran past Arthur you slapped a hand onto his arm and yelled out, “Tag!” And ran for the door.

He took the bait. He always took the bait. For a grumpy teenage outlaw, he sure loved playing games with you. He’d be turning 17 soon, and you knew sooner or later Arthur would join The Adults and leave you and your games behind. So you tried to enjoy them while you could. He was your best friend and you wanted to keep it that way forever.

As you ran out of the house you made your way back to the barn. Hidden inside was Callus and the rest of the horses. You had about ten seconds to mount up and run. It took you fifteen seconds just to get inside. Arthur was right behind you and you felt him smack your arm as he ran past you going deeper within the barn. He got on his horse quicker than you and fled the barn. His laughter filled the air as you scurried after him.

You busted out of the barn and saw the Arthur in the distance as he fled the forest. You chased after him on Callus. Snow fled into the air as you rushed your mustang to catch up with Arthur. Somehow tag turned into a race. When you got close enough to Arthur you laughed out and said, “Last one to Bottom’s Bridge has to do the other’s chores for a week!” Just as you said that you made it to the main road. You took a sharp right turn and took the lead as a confused Arthur had to process what you said.

It didn’t take long for him to understand and chase after you. The two of you race nearly side by side on the road. Eventually, the thick forest turned into an open valley. Cold air whipped past you, burning your cheeks and tangling your hair in the wind. For the first time in months, you felt free and alive. Something about riding a horse on the open snowy plains made you feel this sense of wonder that you thought you’d never feel again. Laughter bubbled from your lungs and filled the chilly air. The morning sun had nearly made it halfway up into the perfectly clear sky. Not a single cloud was out.

You looked over and you could see Arthur riding along beside you. He had a grin larger than life on his face. His own laughter echoed into the valley air. You shared a glance with him, your eyes locked and in just second Arthur had sped off ahead of you. His hair fluttered effortlessly in the cold wind and you could just make out the trail of clouds that escaped his lungs as he breathed.

That bastard wasn’t going to win, you wouldn’t stand for it. You spurred Callus on and snapped your reins, You let out a quiet breathy whisper, “Come on!” You begged your stallion, “Come on boy!” You kept your eyes locked on Arthur as you followed hot on his tail. He looked over his shoulder and cackled and hollered.

“Can’t catch up can ya, kid?!” The idiot wasn’t paying attention to where he was going.

In the distance, you could see the valley’s end. A frozen river flew and squirmed through the valley until it reached the end of a cliff. Bottom’s Bridge swept across the Paradise Falls where the river flowed down into a deep gorge.

Arthur’s horse grew spooked by the wall of steam and misty the flew in the sky as he ran towards the river’s bridge to cross it. The horse nearly bucked and kicked him off but you and Callus dashed past him and into cold icy clouds. The sun shimmered and little rainbows cast off each misty drop that escaped the edge of the falls. As you past Arthur you grinned at him, amazed and delighted to see his surprised face.

You pulled on the reins just as you heard the sound of wood clonk under Callus’s hooves. You made it to the bridge, a big cheeky grin smeared on your face, “I won!” You look over your shoulder at Arthur who had just made it there and threw the wall of mist, “I beat you!”

“Ah! So what!” He waved a hand at you, clearly trying to play it off, “I ain’t doing your chores no matter how many times you win!”

“Fine!” You huffed but you had a small smile. You pulled at the reins in your hands and spurred Callus towards the bridge, “Buy me something in town then!”

Arthur didn’t argue, you were already half way to town anyways. Besides, he could buy some much needed personal supplies. He could check the post office too for Dutch while he was at it. You waited for him to reach your side and the two of your set off together, side by side once again, at a slow and casual pace.

Spring was coming very soon and you loved watching the world come back to life. The ride was silent for the most part, but you enjoyed the silence while a glance at Arthur every now and then just to make sure he wouldn’t pull any tricks or stunts. It wasn’t long until you made it the near hour and a half journey into Sugartown. It had been weeks since you saw the bleak little town. The dark winter trapped you in the house and it was refreshing to see other people some kind of civilization. You had little clothes to keep you warm, which was the biggest reason you stayed indoors. The second reason was that you had taken advantage of the basement in the house and used to practice your herb use as well.

At least it was warm enough now for your crappy jacket and several layers of shirts. You and Arthur hitched your horses outside the post office at every edge of town. As he stomped down into the muddy snow he groaned out and complained, “Ahh- I’m gonna check for any mail,” He sniffled his nose, you could see it was bright red and runny. He swiped his sleeve under his nose then walked past you, “Don’t get lost, kay? I’ll be back out and buy you whatever you want in a few seconds.”

You didn’t say much, you just nodded your head and made yourself comfortable against the wall near the front door. Arthur headed inside and you took to your least favorite pass time, people watching. First, you saw a busy priest dash down the road from his cute little church and right into some unknown building that didn’t have any signs on it. Then you saw a cozy fat little woman walking with her son, they headed down the main drag of town and went into the doctor’s office. You felt a shutter and shiver go down your spine and you knew it wasn’t from the cold. That town doctor… whatever his name was, you couldn’t remember if he told you or not. He didn’t give you a good feeling. He knew your family, and at this point, there was no way he didn’t know you.

The last time you saw him, it scared you a little bit, and at the same time, it bothered you. Would he go to the law and expose Dutch and the gang for technically kidnapping you? It wasn’t like that at all, but what adult lawmen would listen to a 13-year-old girl explain that she willingly went with them? So many people wanted Dutch’s head, they’d take any excuse they could to book him in a jail cell for good. The face of an evil child kidnapper was exactly what they wanted to paint him as. You and everyone else who knew Dutch knew he was more of a chaotic lover than anything else. He didn’t want to harm people, and a lot of his fortune was spent on others, even strangers. If people pushed him though, he’d kill and he’d do it with no mercy.

You shook those thoughts from your head then wondered what was taking Arthur so long. He’d been gone for almost ten minutes. You ventured into the dark and dim post office and waited as your eyes adjusted to the light. After a second of blinking blindly, you found Arthur at the mail window.

It took only a second for you to glare and roll your eyes before walking over to him. He was standing broad and wide, leaning forward on the mail window’s counter as he flirted with the young teenage teller who worked here. Arthur talked low and made the young girl laugh and giggle behind her hand.

You couldn’t blame him, she was very pretty. She had a clean smile and rosy cheeks that gave away her wild blush. Her hair was dark black with wild curls that frizzed out in every direction. She dressed very casual and proper in a creamy white dress that had cute little black ribbons in it. You made your way to the window and crossed your arms and stomped a food hard down onto the floorboards.

Arthur snapped from his flirty eyed daze and you saw his face go from that gross thirsty look into one of anger and irritation. The young woman, however, seemed amused. She laughed like an airhead and peered over the counter to look down at you.

“Hello, little girl,” She greeted you, but you ignored her and glared back at Arthur.

You pointed a finger at him and took three steps closer till you jabbed your finger into his stomach, “You said a few seconds! You’re a dirty filthy liar.”

“It’s only been a few minutes,” Arthur retorted and shrugged like he didn't care, “Go wait outside, kid,” He tried to shoo you away but you smacked his hand.

The poor innocent girl made a terrible mistake. She was confused and asked, “Is she your little sister?” Something about that question made you angry.

“No!” You suddenly turned your glare on the innocent girl and tried to smile, “He’s a terrible person, trust me, your father would never let you marry him.” This girl stared back at you with a blank gaze, it made you think she was more stupid than the average person.

Before Arthur could beat you and before the girl could gasp in shock, you slapped your hand on the mail Arthur failed to take. You looked at him, ready to fight toe to toe, “Can we go now?”

As much as Arthur wanted to wring your neck, he didn’t and he just huffed a big sigh and grabbed you by your arm as he dragged you out of the post office. You yanked your arm away from him once got outside and gave the mail back to Arthur. He tucked it away into his satchel and followed you.

“Why you always gotta do that?” Arthur barked down at you, he walked beside you as you ran down the steps and deeper into town.

“Do what?” You asked like you had no idea what he was talking about.

Arthur scoffed then slacked your shoulder with the back of his hand, “Be a little rude shit to all the girls I talk to?” You couldn’t deny that anytime you caught Arthur flirting with some stranger you’d get angry, but you did because it disgusted you and he always chooses to take his perverted interests at the most inconvenient times.

“Because it annoys you,” You smirked up at him and then mockingly said, “Because I’m your annoying little sister,” You smacked him back, right in the gut, then hurried off to avoid getting smacked twice as harder.

You fled into the general store, your goal all along, a ran towards the back of the store were the kept all the candy you could dream of in tiny little barrels. This was the prize you wanted for winning your race. Arthur may have forgotten all about it, but you didn’t. He came bursting through the door looking like an idiot. The store clerk gave him a glare and muttered something under his breath.

Arthur joined you in the back of the store, slightly winded and breathing heavily. He didn’t even say a word and picked up a bag and started doing the same as you. You both filled the red paper bags to the brim with sweet treats. You loved chocolate the most and got the sweet little round chocolate truffles. Arthur collected carnal and butterscotch like some old man.

“I should get two bags because I won the race,” You said casually.

Arthur grunted, which was his only reply. He didn’t say no, so you handed him your first bag and filled a second one. You filled that one with one of every candy, then a few extras of your favorites. Arthur took all three bags and handed them over to the overly grumpy store clerk. He weighed them out then tied them closed with little twisty ties. Arthur paid for each one in his silent monotone autopilot mode, mumbling thanks, then tossed you both of your bags.

You left the store, tearing open one bag and digging into the candies, and followed Arthur through town once more. You walked side by side down the wood plank sidewalks. You tossed a little chocolate truffle into your mouth and sighed in glee at the sweet and precious candy as it melted away in your mouth.

“Thanks for the candy, Arthur,” You beamed up to your unruly friend.

He seemed to have gotten over all the trouble you caused him today, and was content with plucking away at the sweet little caramel treats he got himself, “Don’t mention it,”

Despite all the irritation, you caused each other, you really did care about Arthur like he was a brother. He was family, and as much as you pestered and annoyed the shit out of him sometimes, he’d never want to see or do you any harm. The two of you enjoyed each other company and found a bench to sit on under the cover of a stores front porch. You silently sat together, eating away at candy, until Arthur realized the whole reason you even came to town.

“The mail!” He said out of nowhere, nearly giving you a heart attack, “I almost forgot!” He set his bag of candy down between the town of you and dug into his satchel, “Look, (Y/n),” Arthur handed you a small and warn envelope.

You clasped it tight with cold fingers and squinted down at the words. It was addressed to a Francis Marwick. That was another pen name set up between the gang. Suddenly it hit you and you snapped your gaze back to Arthur, gasping out, “It’s from Hosea!”

Arthur swiped the letter and tucked it away. Before you could protest and ask to read it, he firmly said, “Dutch has got to see it first,” he shook his head at you. You sprung up from your seat quickly and grabbed him by his arm, “Then we better get back!”

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

He was coming back. Hosea had written a lengthy letter that took to long to finally get to Dutch. When Arthur gave Dutch the letter, he was almost at a loss of words. A letter and it was from Hosea? You thought Dutch would be angry, at first, but he was just surprised. It took him a while to get through the whole thing, but you watch Dutch’s face change and listened to him read bits of the letter out loud.

The story goes like this; Bessie’s father had died and her two sisters sold the ranch and ran off with whatever money they could make. She followed one of her sisters to California after finding out they tricked her, and lied about going to Texas. Hosea comes in because he promised to help Bessie get the money for her ranch back. Months had passed and they made no luck finding her sister… but… They did get married. Hosea pleaded that he would have been back sooner, and with as much money as he could bring but they were cheated out of an inheritance and robbed of everything they owned. They got stuck in California though, waiting to make enough money to head home.

Hosea wrote that he would have never of let this happen and that he would hopefully be home once the spring had settled in. As for Susan’s declaration that he was a money hungry gold digger, that seemed false because he didn’t gain a single penny from marrying Bessie, instead he gained the love his life, or so that’s how he described it.

Now you had to wait. You made yourself useful around camp and started talking up hunting as your preferred chore. For some reason, you wanted to impress Hosea when he got back home. You still studied hard away at making medicines in the basement. You were not very good at it, but you knew it’d take time and practice. You practiced your stitching as well, every day you would take some leather from a previous hunt and stitch them together as if they were skin in need medical attention. You had started studying from a book on veins and arteries as well.

When you weren’t busy studying or doing chores, you’d spend your free time with Arthur. Dutch was to busy looking for a new campsite or wooing Annabelle to be bothered right now. Susan enjoyed your company in the morning when you did chores with her, but she preferred to spend her evenings in town or alone. And no one wanted to hang around Uncle to long or he’d talk your ear right off.

The snow soon melted away entirely, and days turned into weeks, and the forest started to bloom to life. With the good weather, Dutch took to moving camp closer to town. You packed up your things and wished the house a very welcomed goodbye. You hated living there, crammed into such a small space with so many people. Perhaps it wasn’t that bad that Hosea wasn’t there for the house, there surely wasn’t any room for him or Bessie.

As you left the house behind, you wondered how Hosea would know where to find your new camp. Arthur left a note behind, written in code in case anyone other than Hosea was to find it. Your new camp was a million times better, thank God. Although the weather was still a little chilly, the days grew warm and you found a new camp west of Sugartown, and east of a new town called Blue Rock, it was a coal mining town and full of prospects and outlaws. It was a place Dutch wanted to call home but Annabelle managed to argue with him into choosing a shady lakeside camp equally between the two towns.

You were glad she did, because, on your first visit to Blue Rock, you felt unwanted and scared. It was a town filled with mostly men, prostitutes, miners, and all sorts of criminals. They all stared at you like you were a freak. There were houses that the miners lived in, saloons, train stations for the coal that was mined, and several brothels. There was no church, no sheriff’s office, no bank, and no doctor. It was truly lawless, dark, dank, and dangerous. You never went back after that. Anytime Arthur or Dutch went to town, you had to always ask which one now.

It wasn’t until it was a cold and misty morning where you found yourself cast far out from camp. You were sitting on a rock down the beach of camp as you worked at carving your initials into the stone with your hunting knife. Someone was walking across the stony beach, you could hear them step over all the smooth little pebbles. They made their way towards you and as you looked over your shoulder you threw your knife to the ground and leap from the top of the large boulder you perched yourself on.

Hosea had come home, and he stood in front of you with his arms held wide open. He was tanner than usual and his hair had grown out some. You let out some strange laugh mixed with a cry as you ran towards him and threw yourself into his arms, “You’re back!” It had been months since you last saw him.

You never realized until he was gone just how much you missed Hosea. He laughed and let out a grunt as you threw yourself at him, but he smiled and jokingly said, “Of course I am! Where else would I go?” You missed him so much. Life wasn’t the same without him, you had no one to go hunting with, which you’ve grown to deeply enjoy the hunt and providing for the gang since Hosea’s absence. There was less joy in camp without him as well, everyone missed him. There was also little profit coming in without the master conman at work. Dutch was little to nothing without his right-hand man.

“I never thought you’d come back. You just left without saying anything…” You let out a little cry, but it was free of any tears. You buried your face into Hosea’s chest and listened to him softly laugh. It was comforting to hear him again.

“I would never leave you behind, I always had intentions of coming back,” Hosea held you close, hugging you, then pulling away, “How could I leave you and Arthur with Dutch for too long? He’d get you guys killed eventually,” He said those words so seriously, you thought he was joking but he didn’t laugh and neither did you.

Hosea stood tall and held onto your hand as you walked down the beach towards camp together. You told him all about how awful the winter was and how much Arthur liked to pick on you.

When you started to ask him about his time away, he’d brush it off and answer your question with another question. He didn’t seem to want to talk about what happened when he was gone or why he left at all. He came back to a married man, however, and Bessie was back in camp waiting for him. The two had drastically changed in character. The last time you saw them together they were very friendly towards each other, now they were very openly affectionate, going as far to call each other very cheesy pet names. It almost grossed you out.

The first night Hosea and Bessie were back, everyone partied. Even you did a little. You really just enjoyed having Hosea back, even Bessie too. It had made you reflect on the past year and a half. So much of your life changed. You lost your parents but gained several new ones. You had gone through a series of depressive episodes, but you were learning to cope with your grief and sorrow of your family and life. You’d be turning 14 this year, though your birthday was still many months away. As you sat around the large fire pit with everyone, listening to Hosea and Bessie retell parts of their journey home, you felt whole for the first time in what felt like months.

It was if Hosea’s homecoming that enlightened your soul or sparked some kind of hope in you. You looked forward to the next day, and the months to come, excited to see where Dutch and Hosea would take you next. The dark winter was finally over and you could live in the sun again, you hoped, and almost prayed that you’d be heading to the desert again. You could feel it in deep within you, good things were about to happen.

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gothsic · 5 years ago

Text

meta: “marie” - annie kaye.

the tragedy of annie kaye is that she really was just a child when it happened.

the truth was that she simply did not know any better - but loneliness and impulsiveness will truly prevent a person’s judgment from being stellar, to say the least. she was young and intensely analytical, the type of person who spent her days, even as a child, dissecting people she found fascinating. but connecting with others was rather difficult for her - and her best friend, christina, was the only person with whom she held a steady friendship.

still... annie could not deny the constant ache in her heart, the hollow pit that took the place of her stomach. it simply would not go away, and at times it felt as though that pain was going to overflow, and eventually consume her until there was nothing left.

but that was before she met jo.

annette kaye was the type of girl who would sit quietly in the back of the classroom, the one who was often ignored. still, she had an intimidating presence that could easily deter others - this was unintentional, and it left her feeling isolated, unable to figure out how to fix it. her home life, with a frequently absent father and a lackadaisical mother, was certainly not helpful either.

in high school, that was when things changed. she found something interesting, something worth dissecting. that person, of course, was jonathan vastielle - the artist who seemed to be an endless puzzle to put together and take apart until there was nothing left. he had friends, yet seemed to push people away. he was friendly, yet simultaneously not. a jokester that hid a great deal of anger the more she dove deeper into everything she could find - by him and about him. anything and everything.

he became an obsession for her young and hungry mind. she simply could not stop - she checked constantly, reading through everything he said and did. watching videos. reading his work. doing everything in her power to put together a psychological profile - albeit an amateurish one. but after a while, that too was not enough. she had to kick things into second gear fast, or else she would have to face her pain, the loneliness creeping up on her quicker than ever before.

and so, the e-mails started. she decided to assume the persona of one marie samson, a mysterious woman who would confront him using gestalt therapy tactics, all at age 14. find the key points, and nail him - that was her strategy. why? not simply because she was bored, but because she desperately wanted to fix something; as her parents’ marriage was failing and her social life was deteriorating the more she dove deeper as an escape, the more she wanted this more than anything else. marie samson became a comfort character for her, through which she confronted him about his fakeness. that he was, in reality, an angry man.

though he did not respond at first, annie kept persisting - eventually asking the killer question that brought him to her in the first place: that he was an open book masquerading as a mystery. she provided evidence, and it floored him - where had she learned this stuff, he wondered? he was, after all, a private person. so, he took the bait.

...and responded. under a proxy, of course - lest he be caught. how did you find that out? he’d asked her, in no uncertain terms. she responded in kind: your books. your show. it’s everywhere: your hatred towards your father, your mother having vanished before your very eyes. i’m certain it hurts - not the memory, but the anger. she wrote not like someone her age, but twice it - though he did not know it at the time.

simply put, he was hooked. she was a horrifying drug, one that pierced the brain. she was someone who exposed him for who he was - though terrifying and abhorrent on some levels. there was no denying that she was intriguing. their relationship over the internet was kept up for several years, as annie continued her performance as marie into her 17th year.

that was when she found out about adri swann.

it really happened suddenly. she saw her in passing on his social media - a woman who was in her late 20s, and looked almost identical to her. it was pretty easy to determine that the two were dating - holding hands, having drinks together, the usual things couples did were posted on her instagram. annie was, needless to say, horrified. she saw the opportunity as a moment to completely black out everything, and vanish. finding out about adri changed everything. though the situation at home was getting worse and her college years were looming, what better option was there?

he was dating her doppelganger. things had become frighteningly clear.

annie left without a word, and jonathan was undeniably confused by her disappearance. he, of course, never told adri or his other friends anything about her. how could he? she was his little secret. he tried to reach out to her, but there was no answer.her e-mail was deleted, and anything that he could have possibly found to contact her was gone or privatized. no matter what he did, he simply could not communicate with her. she was really, and truly, gone.

jonathan, however, did not stop his chase for her. he kept looking, and looking. he only knew that she was called marie samson - but he had secretly kept all her e-mails. there had to be a way to track her. and lo and behold, after much scouring on the dark web, there was.

annette kaye, currently a senior at usc, majoring in screenwriting. she lived with her parents still, and looked slightly different from before. and unfortunately for annie, she was not careful enough to keep her records from being leaked online - it truly is difficult to do so in this connected age. within days of beginning his obsessive search, he found her phone number; somehow, it was listed. what an exciting day. his heart was pounding.

what a disgusting man. he ought to be fucking skinned alive for what he was about to. but he did it anyway.

he reached out. he wrote to her. it’s jo. i need you.

20 year old annie was freshly starting her senior year when she received this strange message. she thought she had managed to forget about him, or at least prevent herself from thinking about him on the daily - that was the struggle, really. but he always did manage to creep into her interpersonal relationships, even though she had certainly improved on that front since then. part of her felt that she had still not fully gotten over that time. when she read that message from him for the first time, her blood ran cold.

but it excited her too, sent her pulse racing. and how ashamed she felt. she gave it a day or two before she decided that she would respond - against her better judgment, of course. what the fuck is wrong with you? she wrote earnestly. she meant it, too. are you an actual moron contacting me like this?

so began their second stream of communication, even if annie believed she was strong enough to resist the temptation.

at this point, the two were communicating over a text messaging app that would automatically destroy messages within 5 seconds. his idea, lest he be caught. annie agreed, if only because it was exhilarating. she was so attracted to him, so hooked herself - even if she loathed herself, seeing him for the scum he truly was underneath that beautiful exterior of altruism. though disgusted with the fact that he was seeing adri while still talking to her, things were about to take a turn for the strange. stranger than strange, in fact.

he asked for a meeting. he wanted to talk to her one-on-one without the barriers of technology. and, perhaps disappointingly for you, reader, she agreed - if only to satisfy her curiosity ( and because part of her was still dominated by the excitement of cracking the mystery ).

that night would become the first and last time jonathan ever truly saw annie kaye in the flesh; not as jonathan vastielle, but as jonathan velazquez. they met at a park at around 2 in the morning, where most people were not going to look. he knew her the second he saw her getting out of her car, wearing loose fitted clothes and now sporting straightened brown hair; not the blonde she once had. still, he was stunned, amazed. what was he doing? what was she doing? this was utterly mad.

they didn’t have much to say to each other at first other than jonathan making the occasional quip and annie looking away in horrified anxiety. the night sky was polluted, not a star in sight. the wind, unusually chilly. every breeze that went through the miniscule holes of her sweater seemed to freeze her ever the more, keep her paralyzed. the only thing thawing her was her rapidly beating heart.

but then jonathan asked to touch her face. he asked, the motherfucker. how dare he? naturally, this enraged her - marie samson emerged once again, but an enraged marie; perhaps the self annie had been suppressing all this time. she yelled at him, berated him, called him a pig and a scumbag. she wasted so much FUCKING TIME ON HIM! somehow, that idiotic question was enough to send her flying into an emotional outburst, releasing all the animosity she had held against him for the past few years.

jonathan merely listened to her, hanging on to every word. all he could truly comprehend was that she was there next to him - in the flesh, tangible. he wished to feel the softness of her youthful cheeks, wipe away the tears that were now flowing down them - not because he did not want to see her sadness, but to look at him; and only him. as long as she liked him, or on some stretch, loved him unconditionally, then it would be fine.

right?

annie’s outburst resulted in her grabbing the collar of his sweater, looking right into his eyes, teeth gritted. she was overflowing with rage, hatred, and each nanoangstrom of disgust that could possibly fill her body. he too looked back at her, stunned. what was happening here? the two were silent, staring at each other - two terrified animals.

then, he asked her the same question again. this time, she did not respond - paralyzed in place by the depths of his eyes that seemed to spell a twisted abyss with no end in sight. a hypnotizing and horrifying darkness that was so palpable, she swore she saw herself reflected back in them. a true wolf.

the rest you can unfortunately imagine. that was what annie wanted in the moment, what jonathan wanted in the moment. she caved in to her loneliness, despite the rage flowing inside her. she let him touch her, despite how it felt simultaneously strange and wonderful - touch her every which way, in fact. but the thing that she would not let him do in public, at least, was kiss her.

that was reserved for his car.

you can probably imagine what happened next - perhaps it makes your blood boil. maybe you even feel sick thinking about it. i certainly hope you do - but not because of annie, but because jonathan did something he should not have done. while he had done out of complete and utter animalistic passion which could only be defined as a ravenous hunger for her, annie had done it out of her desire to connect with someone else. she wanted it too... or did she? in the moment, she could not tell - and perhaps part of her simply did not care. in the end, she had never truly gotten over her loneliness. her brain told her that she let it happen. that was how she felt, anyway. the shame washed over her during the entire encounter.

and just as quickly as it happened, it ended.

annie said nothing to him, and simply vacated the car. she loathed herself, and merely walked back to her own car. for what felt like hours, she stared out the window in front of her; he doing the same, from the looks of it. but she was not really looking at him - she was staring off into the distance, at her reflection - which she could never truly escape. it truly was judgmental stare it was giving her. the shame was certainly not going to go away soon.

but... life must go on. after some time, she simply took a deep breath, collected herself, and started the car. she drove normally back onto the highway, and off to her home despite how weak her body felt. why did she feel both pleasure and pain simultaneously? no. she knew the answer, and it was enough to make her SCREAM. and scream, she fucking did. oh, did she scream.

that was the moment she made the decision to never see him again - for good this time. she would get her life on track. become someone. leave him behind to rot like the scum he was. he did not care for her, only what she could do for him - the only thing special about her was what she had done all those years ago. and she certainly did not want to give it to him. she never could - because he was a void. an empty fucking void.

after their encounter, jonathan simply never heard from annie again. he tried to contact her, of course, but this was for naught. whenever adri saw him pensive, he did not respond to her. things began to become a blur for him, even though he acted the part of the man who had it altogether - or at least, relatively altogether.

while jonathan was undergoing the sleep experiment at the yamashirogumi group, adri was putting together her documentary on him and his chronic insomnia. in her investigation, which eventually made her change the subject of the documentary into a straight character study of jonathan himself, she found out about annie - and tracked her down herself. when the two women met for the first time, it was truly a traumatizing moment. adri was horrified, but annie had unfortunately been dreading the possibility of them meeting for years. still, they managed to remain cordial - and annie told adri her story in excruciating detail, on one condition.

that her name be omitted. she wanted to be referred only as m. and nothing more than that, if she was to move on, she had to do it by cleaning her slate and pushing past what happened. adri agreed, and the rest is history.

to this day, jonathan still watches her in vain. annie has no interest in doing anything with him - in fact, she’s trying to repair her relationships and move forward into a brighter future while still acknowledging that what happened to her, unfortunately, happened. she is trying to be stronger and deal with her pain in a productive way.

to her, there is simply no other way to win.

#YOU COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND ME! NOT IN A MILLION GODDAMN YEARS! - META.#( im expanding on the situation with annie because )#( i purposefully left it out of the about; i felt implications were enough )#( so this is what happened. the nitty gritty )#( it is unfortunately triggering so read at your own risk )#( keep in mind i dont write this content on this blog in the form of rp because fuck no )#( however this is really important to understand whats going on w him and his obsession with annie on a more )#( detailed level i guess )#( again; i dont support this shit its fucking nasty )#( but jo is unfortunately very nasty )#( surprise... lol... )#( btw i am never writing this shit in any fucking rp thread so lets reiterate that )#( you can skip this one! its just for people interested )#( but dear god its done )#( finally )#( ill be posting the link to this in my about as well for ppl who wanna read it later )#( read at ur own risk!! let me reiterate )

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connywrites · 6 years ago

Text

Eavesdropping

now on [AO3]

“Yeah, well, my mom was a piece of shit, and uh, my dad—oh yeah, he was a piece of shit, too,” Leo snapped, a familiar sign of finding it hard to stop talking shit once he started.

“Not to mention the whole, liking an android more than me, anyway,” he spat with the same fluctuation in his voice as he’d used the day he sauntered in with the expectation of more money; the day when Markus confronted him and his own father encouraged him to back down from his spat of violence. It didn’t matter what he did, how he did it or what measures he took to achieve what he wanted, whether Carl gave it to him or not– it was all he’d seen, wanted or cared for, so he’d go out of his way to do anything to obtain it.

Leo was a person that insisted on pushing forward, for better or worse. If he was challenged, he would tackle it head-on, even if it meant a worse demise for himself.

“But that’s just the complaint everyone has these days, isn’t it? At least it was before everything lead to shit and robots had their heads over ours. But hey, maybe that’s just my fucking problem, after–”

A strange sensation churned in his chest while his typical double personality fought against itself, leaving him to try and make a decision over ‘which Leo’ he would allow himself to be today. It depended on the moment, what he wanted, and which way would be the best to achieve his desires. Lying and telling stories were second nature to him, and exaggeration in his favor fit his sticky fingers like sterile gloves.

“You know what that piece of shit said to me?” He always did the annoying pause for emphasis after a prologue of words, knowing it riled up whomever he was talking to, a key role in his typical manipulation tactics. The more he spoke out loud, the more he fed into the rage still stirring within him, feeling the resurgence of bitter hatred seeping its way to the surface of his skin the same way it always did.

“You know, my dad was full of his own crap, but at least he was real,” he said in an intentional diversion from his original question as he’d already lost the thought.

“This thing…I dunno. It pretends. It pretends real well.” Whoever he was on the phone with seemed to encourage him as he rocked in his seat, leaning forward and speaking with dramatic prominence.

“And that’s like, that’s the point, right? It was made like that, and dad fell for it. Just like ev-er-y-bo-dy else,” he muttered in sharp, slow, spaced syllables, revisiting his misanthropic view of humanity as a whole to fuel the emotional fire.

“I don’t know what’s up, but it’s freaky, you know? I live here, with this thing that could kill me in my sleep. I can’t really explain it. Everyone was scared seeing him on TV, and I live with that, night and day. I could die like, you know, one of the cops in the street did or whatever. I mean, they shot him and took him to the junkyard and the freak came back from the dead, or whatever.”

It was too deep of a thought process, but now that he’d plunged into it, he couldn’t escape what he’d started.

“That’s what I mean. You don’t really know, and it’s not like they tell you.” While Leo couldn’t comprehend much about the politics involving Cyberlife, he had a basic understanding of why the majority of the population didn’t take a particular liking to androids. The shift of power was sudden, and in his own view, he felt like it was majorly his own fault—he’d been shoved to the ground with a concussion in the midst of a petty argument, they’d lost their father and before he knew it, he was sharing bus seats with different mechanical models sharing the same faces, pretending they had an identity in a serial number.

Human rights. New species. Something something, new life form. Freedom. The news reports still rang in his mind as it was all he saw and listened to while bound in the hospital bed that day, as well as the next three following. He’d woken with a bloody nose and no memory of what had happened, only recalling his crippled father hovering above him in fear, sobbing over what he had done and the fact Markus was missing and ‘in danger’. The way Carl spoke about both of them as if they were on equal ground was always strange to Leo, but he knew better than to assume his dad saw him as anything close to how he perceived Markus, thus never raising his hopes with the acknowledgement that he would ever measure up to a machine.

A specifically designed android, modern art with a specific goal in mind, something so precisely constructed down to its behavior and personality. Leo had no chance of fully grasping the degree of which Markus was finely tuned, as he’d only been able to see what was revealed to him. When he wasn’t thinking about the angle of the lifestyle Markus got to lead, he didn’t mind treating him as a person and often didn’t think too hard about it the more time went on. As soon as he could find a reason to use it as verbal bait or any kind of manipulation leverage overall, however, it didn’t matter what Markus had done or fought for; he was reduced to being useless plastic praised much too high in Leo’s personally opinionated mind.

“Why were you saying those things about me?”

Confrontation was one of the most difficult things for Leo, and now he was caught in the act, standing stiffly while his body wavered to one side with a bout of anxiety bringing him to tap his fingertips at his side, letting out a sigh, then two, and three. Shaking his head, he turned to leave; but a hand gripping his shoulder was quick to stop him as Markus stilled him with a moment of thought as the android paused to find eye contact, eyebrows narrowing with a stare of disbelief and an edge of anger in a final response to how Leo had been acting, just now as well as overall. Is this what Carl had gone through every time?

“Leo…are you talking about me differently, depending on who you’re speaking to? And how you want them to see me?”

Being called out made Leo feel guilty, and he hated guilt. It meant that not only was he wrong, but he was forced to acknowledge it. Resonating a sense of self-awareness, he was still tussling with between accepting who he was and following through as a better person, or trying to latch onto the uglier parts of himself that existed through old grudges and bad habits for the sake of ease.

There was something in the way that Markus stared at him, a certain sorrow in his eyes with the shift of his mouth into a frown – not one of anger or frustration, but of betrayal. How could Leo blame him? They’d spent this long together with Markus constantly at his side, helping him, teaching them how to handle new coping mechanisms and the lack of certainty that came with the death of a loved one, alongside the difficulties of quitting hard drugs. Sometimes Carl’s death was seemingly the only thing they had in common. Markus felt like he’d taken it much more seriously and heavily than Leo, but he’d seen from the young man’s emotional outbursts – even if they were small and far in-between, as Leo didn’t like being emotional or giving into those thoughts and feelings at all, which was what made them genuine and proved to Markus that what he thought and felt was real – he had his own sorrows haunting him over the matter. There was something in Leo that one would only recognize if they looked, squinted and dug around for, and that was the personality that was resilient, the Leo that wanted to live, to learn and to thrive, weighed down by his previous history, from family neglect to drug abuse leading up to felony charges. A badly manufactured firecracker waiting to be lit with a short fuse while it crackled up to one explosion after another, unexpected and abrupt with sparks flying everywhere. Sometimes it was a glorious display, but usually it was an awkwardly packed bundle of gunpowder in a crooked shell, bound to explode without warning and provide a show subpar to what was usually expected.

A disappointment. A dud. A weakness.

“Shut up,” Leo said in offense, as if Markus’ words were the wrong ones and he had been in the right to deflect them. Lowering his stature while the width of his shoulders tensed and squared, Markus glared at his brother with a gaze holding betrayal. Leo wasn’t exactly the type that was able to read people like books, but he figured if he put forth enough emotion, it would be harder for Leo to avoid, no matter how difficult of a time he had with body language or eye contact.

“I didn’t say anything,” Markus notified him firmly.

“You’ve been doing all the talking. I just don’t like what I’m hearing.” Surprising for Leo, Markus’ voice was soft to his ears, kind and with a slight edge that reminded him of someone that had been hurt – the usual way people responded once they realized you’d set them up for disappointment and used them to gain something for yourself, meanwhile shoving them under the bus in your favor, just as he’d been so many times before, an uncomfortable reminder that whether he liked it or not, Markus was emotive. He could feel, he could think, he could become sad or grow angry, and while Leo didn’t understand it even to the slightest degree, he emotionally crumbled faster than he could catch himself once the subject was brought to his attention. It was harder to be an asshole without the red ice blurring his vision in a berserk panic, leaving him with no choice than to consider what he’d said, and the damage it had already done.

Markus drew in a long, deep breath while he reminded himself that if he wanted to help and understand Leo, it would take patience, to a degree that was new and challenging to him. Sometimes he felt as though he’d finally cracked through the shell, gotten Leo to shine for who he truly was, following his better beliefs and feeling ambition to his core, the key component to fighting his addictions; and sometimes he felt like he’d worked so hard to chisel his way through, only for all the hard work to be shoved back into his face multiple times over. Maybe this was what made Leo so difficult to get along with, but with that thought, he knew that it was only that way because no one else tried to refuse his sly ways. Whoever Leo had known in the past let him get away with the lies, the twisted words and anger, the inflated ego, the pity parties, the coercive motions and cunning words if he wanted someone to feel bad for him. He’d seen it, and he hated it, the way Leo would take every verbal and behavioral cue as an excuse to turn it back on whoever seemingly opposed him or utilize it as a chance to attract attention to himself.

“Leo—” His voice was soft but stern as he tried to catch the other’s attention.

“Leo,” he spat back with blatant sarcasm, rolling his eyes while he mimicked the word with spite and mockery.

“Christ, now you sound like my mom, too. What, my name only worth saying when you want something? When I do something wrong?” That glare was all too familiar, dark, radiant brown eyes staring into Markus’ while he was reminded of interactions he’d long since wanted to forget. Markus acknowledged that despite his personal frustrations, if he didn’t stand up to Leo when he was in a mood like this, no one would, and he’d never learn that he couldn’t get away with acting this way.

“I don’t say your name as means to antagonize you.” For a moment, he’d forgotten that trying to explain himself was a bit too much with words too long, bounding to only frustrate Leo worse; closing his eyes, Markus lifted a hand in a ‘wait a minute’ gesture while he regathered his thoughts. Leo looked nonplussed, scowling while he glared him down through frustration as he was made to deal with this, but let Markus continue.

“I just wish you’d listen, for once. That I could trust you not to act like this as soon as I turn around.”

Was he feeling regret? Over an android’s words? Leo didn’t want to believe it, staring at the ground as he shifted his weight to the other leg again, rotating a foot and smudging the toe of his shoe into the ground, as if snubbing something out – though nothing was there, proving it to be an action carried out by the need of his internal bursting energy alone, always seeming to disrupt him in a way that made it so he couldn’t sit still or hold conversation for long. Markus couldn’t tell whether to blame it on the drugs anymore or not, or leave it to the fact Leo was simply like that as a person.

“Yeah, well, I wish all sorts of shit, but that’s just it – wishes don’t come true.” There was a cold callousness in Leo’s eyes that Markus hadn’t seen since he was on drugs, and that was when the realization clicked into place that it didn’t take an external substance for Leo to act up; it was simply something he did when he might see the response as beneficial, or simply carried it on as a habit, a weapon tucked away into its holster until he needed it.

“So I’m supposed to believe the past four months of our time together weren’t…” too many words, he knew already.

“Leo, I thought that you… I thought that we,” he restated, quick to realize his monologue would likely hit deaf ears and quickly shortening his sentence before continuing. To his surprise, Leo huffed, stopping in place while he considered the words; bringing his hands to the sides of his head, Leo clenched fingers into his hair as he began to pace, a blatant sign something was bothering him and thus hinting Markus to tread lightly.

“I thought we were doing well.” He wanted to finish his sentence with more dialogue, but it lacked malice, holding pure interest as to why Leo would turn on him this way and what he should do about it. He’d heard about it, he knew full and well how Leo changed his personality on a whim, fished for compliments and played the victim card when he needed to for whatever he wanted. Nonetheless, he’d never seen the actions in front of his own two eyes, and the striking disappointment that sunk deep into him made Markus realize so much more about Leo than he’d ever wanted to. It explained why Carl had such difficulty trying to keep in touch alone, why even after doing their best for Leo, everyone had to give up eventually and leave him to face his own battles; a bold contrast to how Leo seemed to either belittle himself or inflate his own ego depending on the moment, leaving Markus to pick apart an algorithm he’d never had to before.

“It’s not that easy,” Leo griped, an immediate excuse to avoid the conversation as he, again, tried to leave. Markus was quick to position himself in his way, tilting his head with a look on his face that made Leo feel cornered—not afraid, simply aware, leaning his head back with an upward tilt of his chin as he subconsciously tried to make himself appear bigger in favor of the interaction, even as the shorter party.

“I never said it was.” The level of intelligence this computer held reminded Leo of his frustration in the first place, index fingers rubbing circles in the sides of his temples as he glared straight ahead and began pacing back and forth across the polished wood floor.

“You can’t keep doing this.” Markus let the name drop, lacking the need to further add a carved sharpness to the words he spoke, something else he and Leo would disagree on again and again. Every once in a while, Leo seemed to belittle his own name, reacting to it with sudden disgust as if it left a ringing in his ears or a bitter taste on his tongue. What it was like to hate one’s own moniker was entirely beyond Markus, as his was simple and held no particular emotional attachment, short and to the point. There was the generally added personal connection to surnames, and Markus had yet to brave bringing up the sound of Manfred between the two of them.

“I can do whatever I want,” Leo stated blatantly, even though both of them knew better and neither of them believed him for a second.

“Is it that easy for you to lie?” This caught Leo’s attention full-on as he froze in place, staring Markus down with an expression mixed between disbelief and the ‘duh’ he communicated with his eyes, barely short of escaping his lips.

“Is it that hard for you?” Leo parroted, glaring Markus in the eyes the same way he’d done the last time while his fingertips curled into the fabric of the android’s jacket.

“Is it that easy for you to be honest? Oh yeah, you never had to defend yourself, so of course it is! You had nothing to lie about,” he began, already feeling the aggravated heat on his face from his own frustration alone. He subconsciously stepped onto the seething hot trail of rage, knowing it would lead to somewhere ugly and regretful, but took it in stride for the moment as he felt like it was the right thing to do.

“You had nobody to lie to, so of course you wouldn’t get it. There was no need!” Despite having Leo yelling in his face another time over, Markus took a long, quiet moment to recollect, sucking in a deep breath and letting it out in one long, slow motion, before opening his eyes to catch Leo’s while he was granted the mercy of holding eye contact, no matter how short-lived the moment might have been.

“No, I didn’t lie,” he stated with clear modesty.

“There’s no reason for me to lie, withhold secrets or falsify the truth. That isn’t to say I haven’t done it before – I understand the need to when you’re in the position of danger. I will never understand doing so for the sake of self-gratitude, though.”

“You what now?” Right. Markus glanced over to one of the chairs in the main room, leading them both to sit down across one another in the seats on each side of the empty chess table, hoping that Leo would accept the invitation to settle and vent one way or another, whether the conversation was personally constructive for either of them or not. He knew when Leo acted like this it meant he had a lot of pent-up frustrations he needed to get out, and sometimes complaining alone did the trick; but this time, Markus felt like it might be a little bit different.

“Sorry,” Markus offered, thinking about how talking in shorter sentences was his own sort of habit he needed to change, but it was a simple rearrangement of thought compared to the daily major life aspects Leo had to work around and teach himself to adjust to. All he was trying to do was make communication easier between them, and if he still caught himself finding trouble with it, he couldn’t imagine how many times more difficult such a thing must be for someone trying to turn their entire life around. Leo only stared at him.

“Lying just to lie doesn’t make sense to me, neither does lying to get something I want. That’s why you do it, right?” Leo scoffed, glaring daggers in Markus’ direction.

“Yeah, sure, let’s go with that. Lying to win. It’s that easy.” Both of them paused with a heavy tension between them, aggravation building, doing no favors for the docile nature Markus intended to keep with this exchange.

“No. I never said you won, or that it was easy,” Markus corrected, and Leo bared his teeth with a snarl as he further disliked being corrected.

“I said I can’t do the same thing myself unless the situation called for it. I want to understand why you talk to your friends like I’m an object after I thought you were finally understanding how to respect me as a person.” Shifting in the seat, it took all the willpower Leo had not to get up and leave, arms straight at his sides while his hands clenched into the soft red fabric of stiff luxury cushions. Lowering his glower while he glared off to the side, he shook his head with an unsteady motion as everything in his body ushered him to keep moving.

“’Cause some people don’t get it, okay? They’re never going to. They’re not gonna wake up one day and think androids are people, no matter how hard you try,” he continued with spite, but his lowered vision and shrunken shoulders told Markus that there was sincerity in Leo’s word, an emotional defense mechanism slowly crumbling as honesty and realization swirled in Leo’s mind, constantly changing his view for the better even as he dug his hands into old mud.

“It’s just…easier to talk to ‘em the way they know, you know?” Markus glared at him, not feeling so bad when Leo adjusted uncomfortably in his seat again.

“You talked about how I could kill you. You don’t really think of me that way, do you?” Leo swallowed, making Markus grow uneasy. Was this a thought process Leo had stuck in his mind all along? An assumption he’d never heard, and thus didn’t bother trying to work around?

“No,” Leo said, but it was in a rush and he realized he should take it back immediately as it was a falsified truth.

“Maybe,” he snapped, closing his eyes while he leaned back and rubbed over the skin of his forehead, rolling it over his eyebrows and back up to his hairlinne again. Too honest. This was speaking more than he cared to, and every word dug the stress in deeper.

“I don’t know. You’ve seen what—what those things—what your friends do!” Aware there was no way to properly speak about it in a dignified matter, he’d changed his wording with a last-second moment of lament, shaking his head and combing his hands through his hair.

“I don’t know, dude, everyone’s out to get me all the time, why the hell should I think you’re any different?” Leo’s eyes stared at Markus’, but they jittered, dilated and unfocused in a way that would make Markus assume he was on drugs if he didn’t know any better. This was merely a typical stress response in Leo and would usually go as soon as it came as long as he let him ride it out the way he needed to; but that was the trickier part. Sometimes it was a good idea to let Leo get his frustrations out, and others it only made the situation and his own train of thought that much worse.

“Will you listen to me if I explain it to you?” There was a sharpness to Markus’ voice as he offered-yet-threatened to try and hold a conversation over the matter, and Leo stopping in place at least proved he was willing to consider the idea. Shrugging, Leo pulled his arms up from the seat and leaned into the back of the chair, folding his hands behind his head.

“Alright. Okay. Go for it.” Markus never liked Leo’s taunting nature, but he was willing to try and work with it if it might work out in their favor. Looking expectant, Leo raised his eyebrows with a twitch of his lip as he waited. Suddenly, Markus had a harder time finding the words he needed to say once he was put on the spot.

“First of all, I’m not them. I’m not your mother, or your father, or your old friends, or your ex-girlfriend.” Leo already looked bored and annoyed but remained quiet as he waited for Markus to continue.

“I don’t have some ultimate goal to ruin your life, and I’m not dealing with a fluctuation of instable emotions like most people around you had been. I’m not going to think differently of you from one day to the next, I just want to try to understand how you are as a whole. Killing you would sort of defeat the whole point of me trying to get to know you better, anyway,” he continued with a lighter tone to his voice, prompting Leo to face the realization of truth as he bit his lower lip and turned his head to the side, shifting uncomfortably.

“I know that truth is difficult for you, Leo. Sincerity, emotion, it’s all a foreign concept that you struggle to understand.” Cheeks darkening, Leo felt the need to get up and leave thricefold as soon as Markus pointed out the truth, leaving him to start scratching at the long sleeve of his upper arm in agitation while Markus pulled out another pin to add to the cushion of his own denial. Leading to self-discovery was another process in itself, Leo’s body shuffling so his shoulders slouched when he leaned forward, still casting his gaze off to one side in avoidance. Still, in Markus’ mind, it was another step forward.

“You don’t have to tell me. Your relationships with your friends and what they mean are your own business, and not mine. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have the right to be treated like a person, better than how you’ve been talking, with how much I’ve done for you.” Usually, Leo would take that as an antagonization, hearing Markus’ words and reflecting them in his past memories of manipulation – but Markus was sincere, another fact that had him lost while he tried to register the words for what they meant, and the emotion they fully encompassed. Markus wasn’t passive-aggressive, he wasn’t bitter or spiteful; he occasionally sunk his teeth into a bittersweet fruit but overall, Leo knew what he was telling him was honest, and there was no way he could deny or run away from the matter.

“Okay,” he said swiftly, and the disbelief made Markus curl his lips with an expression of dismay and lower his eyebrows while Leo rubbed the palms of his hands together, antsy and avoidant.

“You know what, you’re right,” he admitted – as much as he hated stating such a thing.

“I just… I know so many people, and they all think different. I can’t fit in with anyone, so I sorta, I have to change my behavior because of it.” It sounded pathetic; he knew. It fell flat on Markus’ microphones; he was all too aware. But it was the best he could give at an explanation for his actions, in a way that would make sense to him.

Markus wanted to respond immediately, but he took a moment to redecide, trying to imagine himself in Leo’s shoes; to him, it would be easy to tell the truth and hold a modest persona, but for Leo it would be the opposite. The fact this person had to adjust and change his personality so much made Markus question who the true Leo was, or rather, who he might have been if given the freedom from such a cruel world caving in around him. The longer he’d spent with him, the more he learned that Leo’s exaggerations and lies weren’t merely self-defense; they were deeply ingrained beliefs that would be harder to shake than super glue.

“You don’t have to do that.” It was the first thing Markus thought to say, pausing afterwards so as to let the words sink in.

“I know,” Leo responded in a dark, quiet tone, the words surprising both of them.

“I don’t have to. But it’s easier if I do.”

Easy. A word Markus was aware of, but never became well-acquainted with. Why would there be any worth in doing something if it was easy?

Then he remembered Leo’s situation, where nothing was easy and he had to do his best just to survive, feeling the melancholy drift over him, shrouding him within a cloud of newfound heartache. He still hadn’t adjusted to his own emotions in regard to Leo, so it was always a bit surprising when he felt something in response to their exchange, new sensations he was still regulating to while Leo likely knew the full extent of the strings he was pulling. This time, he hoped to turn the tide, even just slightly.

“Why do you think it’s easier?” It was a difficult concept, but he wanted to know the truth, and understood the thought process Leo must go through every time it came to something like this; he imagined it may have been a practiced feat, but never assumed it could come easily.

“Okay, like, if I called up a thrift shop and started talking about an old microwave like a person, they’d look at me like I’m nuts, right?” The mania strung out through his veins made him continue to shake while he offered a half-smile, half-sneer, eyes wide with disjointed lips and crooked teeth showing an expression Markus never really understood.

“I mean, I get it. The revolution shit. I was there, I saw it, I kinda caused it,” he said with an airy tone holding more snide than he’d really meant. Again, he wasn’t good with confrontation.

“But that doesn’t mean everyone listens. Some people I know aren’t gonna change their minds, and that’s just how it is,” he said, not noticing the touch of gloom to his voice. Markus did, eyes darting over to him while he tried to absorb the full length of exactly what Leo was feeling – but it was impossible, considering just how in-depth his personality was, deeper than most of the humans he’d ever known.

“If you’re speaking and you think no one is listening, then there’s a flaw in your dialogue. I mean to say, they’ll hear you if you talk loud enough.” Leo scoffed.

“I don’t care about that, dude,” he chimed in a voice all too friendly for the discussion at hand.

“They don’t need to hear me. I don’t need to hear me.”

“Then why tell them the lies that you do?”

Leo’s gaze turned serious, the brown of his eyes seeming to dim as he leered at Markus, trying to decide how to respond to his question. The fact he had no words only continued to prove he was in the wrong, and this time he had to face the fact, rather than try to bury it down in his typical act of repression.

“Nobody trusts me. I want to keep what I can, when people think I’m worth it.” He wasn’t worth it, he knew; they were just using him for what he had to offer, whether it was drugs, money or sex, adjusting his weight in his seat again with a rapid scratch at the skin of his collarbone.

“Guess that means talking shit about you too,” he said with the realization that the Leo that spun webs of lies and the Leo here now, trying to overcome such an act in an effort of rehabilitation, were very different and ultimately difficult people to split.

“If I tell them the truth about you, then I lose them as friends, too.” Markus wasn’t sure whether to be hurt over the aspect of being replaceable, or remorseful with the idea that Leo’s friends were that shortly extendable, easy to drop like flies if he so much as told the honest reality of it all.

“Do you want to keep them as friends in the first place?” Markus knew the weight of his words and how they sunk Leo down by the shift of his expression, but in his mind, it was necessary. How else would he come to terms with such an idea?

“The last I knew, you were only talking to your ex-girlfriend. Who were you on the phone with?”

In response to being questioned, Leo was quick to stand from his seat, close to backhanding Markus all over again before he reconsidered the idea, stepping away to pace through the living room.

“Who were you on the phone with?” Markus repeated, his voice holding more depth as he noticed Leo’s typical behavior of avoidance, making him all the more uncertain, and therefor wary, hoping it wasn’t what he thought. Leo avoided the question, feeling the anger bubble up beneath his skin with a readiness to kick down the kitchen chair while his hands clenched fistfuls of his own hair.

“He was–he was—" Speaking was a new sort of communication that Leo could never entirely connect to, linking his ability to easily lie alongside the need to tell the truth in favor of Markus, what he wanted, and how badly he, himself needed the connection they had. Losing it now would only hurt him worse, as much as he hated to think such a thing.

“Was?” Markus’ voice was calm, reasonably quiet. Leo shook his head, scratching his hair while he took in Markus’ question. Feeling defeated, Leo sighed, snapping the fingers of his right hand a few times in lieu of knowing what else to do with himself.

“He was my dealer,” he said in one rushed, fast breath, hoping it would be lost in the wind if they could put aside the conversation. Of course, with Markus, they couldn’t.

“So your red ice dealer doesn’t like androids? Hard to see that connection,” Markus said in a flatly sarcastic voice, but Leo still appreciated the irony, flashing a one-sided smile in response and scoffing before he let out a low, dry laugh, but not one that indicated it was humorous to him.

“Funny. You got jokes,” Leo stated with a bored tone of voice that showed he didn’t actually find it amusing. Markus reflected his expression.

“You and I both know this isn’t funny.”

“Yeah, well, I gotta laugh. What do you call it? Irony?” He shrugged, gaze shifting to the ceiling as he let out a big sigh.

“There’s no reason to. If you stop finding humor in the morbid things, you’ll realize there’s nothing to laugh at.”

“That’s not funny.” The ironic paradox in the statement struck them both, but Markus was the only one to react, letting out a quiet sigh as he leaned forward to prop his weight on his arms with his elbows against his knees, sitting down.

“Would you find it easier if you could laugh at it?” Eyebrows immediately knitting together, Leo glared at him with offense riddling his face, leaving him to feel both frustrated and righted, as there was probably some truth to what Markus had asked. He wanted to bat away the subject and stand up to leave, but Markus’ gaze was enough to reel him back to his seat in the chair even when he tried. Markus felt satisfied that Leo had retreated of his own accord.

“Easy,” Leo said back, staring with cold eyes, glassy with their glare of spite.

“Yeah. Sure. If anything about my life was fucking easy,” he bit, ready to trail down another road of anger and nothing else, virtually feeling his shoes burn from the melting lava - even if it was entirely metaphorical.

“Can you listen to what I’m saying for a moment?” That was new, the frustration in Markus’ voice that Leo had never personally heard before, attention immediately on him as he turned his head, wary as to whether it was an act of truth or not. Another part of himself – and what the drugs made him out to be – he hated was the temptation to distrust, always wanting to second-guess what he’d been told, to challenge what had been done to him. This time, he just sighed, slumping into the chair as the urge to fight left him, and for the time being, he listened to the words Markus was going to say.

“You don’t have to lie to fit in with people. You don’t have to fit in at all.” Looking confused, Leo narrowed his eyes, tilting his head with a defiant shrug of his shoulders.

“If they really mean so little to you, then why give them so much credit?” Leo was struck silent for a moment, sinking into the seat of his chair. Taking that as a victory, Markus continued.

“Do you think more of me or of them? Who matters more to you?” Markus was well aware the ultimatum wasn’t fair, but that was exactly the reason why it would make Leo think over it.

“What the hell do you mean by that?” Leo looked offended, but Markus remained deadpan.

“What do you think I mean?” Leo hated when he asked questions like that. He hated what they meant, and the way it made him think.

“I dunno. It’s not like that. I can’t just, pick and choose my friends, you know?” Markus looked confused.

“Sure you can.” The aspect made Leo feel like he’d fall from his chair, scrambling to catch his balance again with a mocking noise. Markus wanted to comment about it but said nothing.

“You know what’s better or worse for you. Good influences, and bad, whether you want to admit it or not.” His voice became lighter as he was hoping Leo absorbed his words, examining his shifting expressions while Leo did all he could not to get up and leave. Markus continued to be thankful he’d tried so hard not to, another piece of proof that he was still trying, even in moments like this.

“You know what it takes to sober up and talking lowly of me isn’t part of it.”

He was right, of course, the denial leaving Leo to do little but glower in his direction. Markus knew it was a signal of progress, opting to let him for the sake of how it would help, even if Leo didn’t acknowledge it – now or ever.

“Dude, if I leave him too, I won’t have any friends left,” he said with contempt, aware that he would be better off if he’d dropped the ‘connection,’ yet fearful of the future of another person leaving his side—even if it was for the best.

“Do you need them?” Leo stared blankly, lacking any physical or mental response this time.

“I need something,” he stated clearly, even though the words left his lips in crumbling uncertainty.

“Company, I guess,” Leo continued with a sneer.

“Good company,” Markus corrected. Leo glanced away.

“Maybe that’s part of your problem, or why you keep going back,” Markus offered.

“Do you actually feel a connection to that person?” Leo glowered, teeth bared but lips limp in a lack of proper expression, lacking words certain enough to escape his mouth.

“No,” Leo murmured with the voice of epiphany, a tone of realization that left him in a whisper while he glanced down at his hands now trembling in front of him.

“He’s just there for the drugs. Right?” Leo closed his eyes, hating this particular aspect of discussion, as he’d had many similar interactions with therapists before. They never ended well.

“Right,” he said in a voice that wavered, a hint of dismay proving he didn’t want to believe it.

“Why did you talk to him about me killing you?” That struck him speechless, leaving Leo to roll onto his side and curl up against the seat between an instinctual nature to hide and the desire to flee. For now, while he didn’t want to be there, he laid still, waiting for more of Markus’ words while he curled himself into a corner.

Did he really have to tell the truth?

“Uhm, that’s what he thinks is gonna happen,” he muttered simply. Markus didn’t take it in so few words, swallowing down the awareness of there being so many people out there, always ready to kill himself or others like him.

“And you fed into that?” Leo’s eyes looked tired as he glanced up at him, but they were understanding enough to continue the conversation. Leo glared at him with the obvious undertone that Markus didn’t understand to the extent he needed, but the thought was quickly discarded.

“What else was I supposed to do?”

Markus paused as he acknowledged it was a good question, considering the circumstances. Say no was too simple, with expectations much too intense for someone like Leo, and he couldn’t hold such high hopes against a man like him.

“You weren’t ‘supposed’ to do anything. Just consider what it might mean for yourself, to keep in touch with people like that.” Leo’s own mind reminded him those were his only friends, but realizing Markus wouldn’t understand such a concept, he didn’t dare speak such words out loud.

“It’s bad,” Leo said with an air of realization, as if he just then understood the way it could lash back on him. Markus stared, but didn’t offer any verbal response. Before long, Leo’s hands were scraping through his hair; meanwhile Markus gave him a pointed gaze, distracting him for long enough to keep his attention where he needed it to be, yet didn’t pursue Leo despite part of his initial programming telling him to do so. For the most part, he’d learned to ignore those instructions, neglecting them in favor for what he- as well as androids around him- needed as a whole. Leo had never saved an entire species of his own, he’d mused, but never did he feel so trapped that he felt the need to otherwise. A new chance rose with a bright and vibrant opportunity, an aspect that scared Leo to the core.

“Then why do you keep doing it?” Markus’ words shook him, yet made him think long enough it left him quiet while he debated the exchange. That was the hard part; trying to explain what made it that effortless, that quick to slide off his tongue in a slip of a few seconds of coherent questions and responses, even to the police and authorities.

“Why do you keep asking me about this bullshit?” Leo was pleased to find his external reflection skills were still needle sharp, tilting his head with a twitch in his eyebrows and an accusatory stare at Markus as soon as he’d been given the chance.

“Stop telling me about shit I already know, okay? And the whole listening to me while I talk to my friends, thing – way creepy, dude.”

The weight of the ground seemed to shift beneath them as Markus didn’t exactly expect to be so blatantly dismissed. Nodding, his eyebrows furrowed in a moment of confusion as he scratched the back of his neck—an action he hadn’t generally acknowledged, picked up by someone aside from himself who he didn’t immediately remember while his mind scrambled to find an answer. Leo didn’t notice, and he was grateful.

“What? Now you’re quiet?” The way Leo’s voice cut into him was quick to force him to settle in place, staring into dark brown eyes with his own, digging his metaphorical heels into the ground while he wondered exactly how long he could stand staring into Leo’s eyes.

Looking amused, then offended with an accusatory glare in Markus’ direction, Leo laughed in his face.

“I should have known better, anyway.” Leo rambled on in a tone meant to attract attention and all the while speaking in pointed, short bursts with the anticipation to keep a sharp mindset, a way of speaking that kept Markus on his toes as he’d learned to become more in tune to Leo’s awareness than he’d originally anticipated. Leo sucked in a deep breath while he made his best attempt to hold a civil conversation, but couldn’t help the way his voice held nothing but spite.

It was all too easy for Leo to dig from an old list of egotistical remarks and demanding tones that made Markus equally more curious and yet all the more willing to leave the entire thing behind as soon as Leo opened his mouth.

“All you motherfuckers do—”

Markus turned to stare at him without so much as a three-second movement, barely casting a glance while he did a quick analysis of the human. He was a bit too quick to strike, lost in a moment of what might have been emotionally-driven thought as he shoved Leo to the ground, but even in millisecond motions he wasn’t sure there was anything backing up exactly what he’d done.

“You think that everything is entitled to you, but you don’t deserve half of what the world has offered you,” he hissed through his teeth, a particular accusatory gaze pointing at Leo with his hands already wrapped into the front of an unzipped jacket.

“Haha! Look at you!” Leo’s congratulation was thick with sarcasm, followed by one of his infamous chuckles—the ones that sounded so unrealistic, it was strange to hear from a living, breathing being. That laugh was a signal that the cognitive portion of Leo was lost in the confines of whatever delusions had their grasp on his prefrontal cortex for the time being. There was no negotiating with someone who wasn’t coherently there in the first place.

“Not so perfect now, are you?”

“Leo,” Markus stated sternly with just enough gumption to keep his attention,

“Stop this.”

“Don’t call me by my name,” he demanded, the sour scour never leaving his face. Markus considered it an odd request, but stored away the ‘command’ for later.

“You’re not my fucking parents. I get it, the way you really tried to fit in and become a big part of everything, but don’t you realize how stupid it is? I mean, that’s the joke, you know—the first android Kamski made was a blue-eyed, blond-haired babe!” There was an unusual amount of enthusiasm to his voice as he pointed out the fact, laughing to himself at the idea of Markus being comparable to nothing short of a bikini model.

Markus saw black, and in a moment, there was nothing. The last time they fought, Leo was unconscious on the ground and Markus wondered if he was dead – and hearing otherwise almost made him wish he’d finished the job.

The next thing they knew, Leo was beneath him, turned onto his stomach with his arms behind him while he shouted in discomfort, struggling for a few minutes before he turned his head to glare up at Markus the best he could from his position.

“Alright, if you’re into this, you need to tell me now, because it’s really kinda weirding me out—” Markus’ eyes narrowed as he graced Leo a gaze of distrust, but remained silent, lifting himself up and letting him go in one quick motion. Blinking, Leo brought his arms forward to push his body off the ground so he could stand, then brushed the dirt off his hands and clothes, but wasted no time scowling directly at Markus.

In a moment of silence, it seemed like neither of them had anything to say. Markus had plenty of words to use in favor of convincing Leo he was in the right, but even if Leo was willing to pay attention, he didn’t currently have the desire to teach. Not to someone that refused to listen. Not him.

Markus knew his words were meant to try and pull a response from him, so he was silent in his refusal. In a swift line straight towards him, Leo was quick to close in, never looking away with his eyes glaring into the android’s as soon as he’d set foot in his direction—a behavior that only seemed to happen when he thought he was the one in power, another expression showing an emotion he would never understand.

“Why do you want to hurt me?” It was an honest question, even if Markus didn’t expect an honest response.

“I don’t. I wanna see that you won’t hurt me.” There was a twist of uncertainty that welled inside him as he prepared a few backup commands for the worst of situations—just in case.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Markus said softly with a lift of his eyebrows, and in that moment, something occurred to him; in a haze of his own distracted thoughts, he hadn’t checked to ensure Leo took his medication earlier in the day. Could a few hours make this much of a difference?

“You say I don’t think a lot. I thought that was your whole thing, raising hell about thinking and feeling? Tell me about how you feel, Markus.” Leo spat each word with such vigor Markus felt the flecks of saliva speckle his face. As much as he wanted to resist, he knew if he fought back, the only way this could go was downhill, letting his body grow limp in surrender. Besides – he’d made the first move, after all.

“Tell me if you feel this,” Leo threatened in a tone that gradually lowered before slamming a fist across Markus’ face. Once, twice, then again. Pausing for a moment to recalibrate, Markus felt his weight shift as he found himself weakened a fair amount from the blows. Momentarily silent, he told himself how history had a tendency to repeat, wondering for a moment just what was going through Leo’s mind in the time they’d shared face-to-face, now close enough he could feel the erratic breaths cast down his neck. A swift scan notified him Leo’s conditions being none too healthy, moving his head out of the way as Leo swung another punch and rolling away to sit up beside him. Confused, Leo glared him down with suspicion; Markus shrugged in response.

“Come here,” he beckoned with a voice of concern. Baffled, Leo took the opportunity to stand upright again, tilting his head and raising his eyebrows in a gesture that asked the question so obviously blaring in his mind. Markus was grateful he didn’t feel the need to use his nasty vocabulary to speak, for once. In a few moments, Markus gathered the words to say, reassuring himself they were in a fashion Leo would listen to and understand, even if it sounded unlikely.

“You—you think I’m just gonna, walk over there, right up to you? Is that what you want?” While he paused to catch his breath, Markus took a moment to feel nigh on impressed by how well Leo could taunt while in the face of direct danger. A surprise he’s not dead yet, he thought to himself, before discarding the notion in abrupt discomfort.

“Listen to yourself. You’re not making any sense.” Surprisingly enough, the words seemed to get through to him, leaving Leo to take a moment to kneel on the ground, holding himself up on his uninjured knee and both of his arms. For a moment, he thought back to the days when he’d been more fit, running track with visits to the gym at least twice a week. In that moment of feeling useless all over again, he took a few deep, heavy breaths before heaving himself back to his feet – and turning around, leaving the room before Markus could get another word in.

#dbh #shoves this across the table n skitters to bed #this took all day.... enjoy #detroit: become human #dbh: leo manfred #dbh: markus

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maswartz · 6 years ago

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Bernie deserves nothing but hatred and distrust for his actions in 2016 and beyond. The fact he’s even thinking of running in 2020 proves he’s learned nothing

Ok, I have been planning this for a while, so here it goes.

A THREAD on why I hate Bernie:

Keep in mind, Bernie lost April 19th with a huge defeat in NY, where he lost to Hillary by 16 points 58% to 42%

Trump won the GOP nomination on May 4th, that is when he became the GOP nominee, and the GOP started lining up behind him.

Bernie waited until July to concede.

Now here is a good article on why so many people learned to dislike Bernie so much.

Most of us started out liking him, that changed when he became toxic.

medium.com/voluble/on-bec…

another piece talking about why they dislike Bernie, and it comes with a LOT of receipts.

Scorched-Earth Politics: Bernie Sanders and the Dishonest Campaign that Gave Us Trump So began Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in his inaugural speech as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president. It was an exceedingly sunny day on April 30, 2015, as a gaggle of reporters… https://medium.com/@blairdurkee/scorched-earth-politics-bernie-sanders-and-the-dishonest-campaign-that-gave-us-trump-eb0bc82ab2c1

Bernie started his campaign saying:

“I have never run a negative political ad in my life,”

I guess he never did rallies before… so I guess he left himself a loophole

When his audience boo’ed Hillary at his rallies, he would just stand there and smile.

When people boo’ed at an Obama rally, Obama said to them, don’t boo, vote.

When people were going after Obama in 2008, claiming he was Muslim, John McCain was FAR MORE honorable than Bernie:

we all remember this exchange at a McCain rally… you won’t find this kind of honor at a Bernie rally, that’s for sure

here in April, Bernie who failed to read an article, where an interviewer was trying to bait Hillary into saying Bernie wasn’t qualified, yet she NEVER took the bait.

Here’s Bernie at his rally, saying Hillary is not qualified.

Bernie was pulling all this shit during an election when Hillary would have to go up against Trump, and while we had an open Supreme Court seat.

He didn’t care about the Supreme Court.. he only cared about himself and his time in the limelight.

and, we all know, Bernie is so CLEAN.

but what is a little know fact is that, Bernie is the ONLY Non-Republican, who is on list of the top 25 NRA Donation recipients in 2016.

Here are the members of Congress who take the most money from the gun lobby The list of lawmakers who get most of campaign cash from the National Rifle Association and other gun-rights groups reads like a who’s-who of the Republican Party. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/lawmakers-who-take-the-most-money-from-the-gun-rights-lobby-2017-10-03

Bernie hammered Hillary on the Crime Bill, yet conveniently left out that not only did he vote for it, but he ran heavily on it, as showing he was TOUGH on crime

Bernie painted Hillary as the biggest hawk, what he again leaves out is that the Iraq Authorization is literally the ONLY time Bernie voted no military intervention in his 30 year career.

1 NO vote, on ONE military authorization does NOT make a candidate anti-war dove.

Here, Bernie seems rather proud of himself for not LYING about the Clinton Charity, or going after Bill’s personal life.

He lied and twisted the truth, and smeared Hillary on a lot of other things, why NOT jump on the Republican lies while he’s at it?

Bernie Sanders lists Hillary Clinton criticisms he doesn’t raise Bernie Sanders, responding to Gov. Jerry Brown’s concern about a “scorched earth” primary hurting Hillary Clinton, said Tuesday he has avoided hitting the likely Democratic nominee on “major, major a… https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/article80017262.html

Again.. he LOST in April. Bernie posted to his website on May 2nd 2016 again after losing NY by double digits, and literally had NO path to winning the nomination,

Bernie flat out accuses Hillary of MONEY Laundering.

It was NOT money laundering:

Politico Exposes Clinton Campaign ‘Money-Laundering’ Scheme “You cannot exploit a broken campaign finance system one day and vow to get big money out of politics the next.” https://berniesanders.com/press-release/politico-exposes-clinton-campaign-money-laundering-scheme/

PROOF that it was not money laundering:

Hillary Victory Fund: Joint Fundraising Committee Summary OpenSecrets.org has fundraising profiles for all 535 members of Congress (and more). https://www.opensecrets.org/jfc/summary.php?id=C00586537&cycle=2016

In a Primary with a candidate in your same party, who is the winner, who is going up against a racist fascist, you do NOT start going after your opponents character to this degree… NOT after losing.

This is the kind of stuff you can’t take back, and it is DAMAGING.

again, after Bernie lost NY on April 19th 2016, by 16 points,

he is STILL attacking Hillary on April 21st, even though he has a snowballs chance in hell of winning the primary.

Bernie Sanders Renews Attacks on Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania Two days after he lost the New York primary to Hillary Clinton, a feisty Bernie Sanders showed up in Pennsylvania and renewed his now-familiar attacks on the Democratic front-runner. https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2016/04/21/bernie-sanders-goes-back-on-attack-in-pennsylvania/

This again, after his huge loss in NY April 19th:

It’s time for Bernie to face Reality and Avoid Going Scorched Earth

It’s Time for Bernie Sanders To Face Reality and Avoid Going Scorched Earth He doesn’t have to quit, but with his path to the nomination at a virtual dead end, for the benefit of himself and the progressive movement, Sanders needs to throw cold water on the rage within his c… https://thedailybanter.com/issues/2016/04/22/face-reality-bernie-sanders/

This was published at the end of April after he lost NY by a HUGE margin

An Open Letter to Bernie Sanders:

An Open Letter to Bernie Sanders - The Boston Globe I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but maybe a little tough love is in order. https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2016/04/22/open-letter-bernie-sanders/AfEtRwYJmTJ5lTNIuw4q8O/story.html

People say… but.. “come on, look at the 2008 Primary.. that went negative as well”

Ok.. let’s look at the 2008 and the 2016 primaries an compare them, shall we?

Here’re the facts from 2008 and 2016 and what’s so different from the 2 elections, other than the fact that Democrats have NOT won a 3rd term in YEARS it’s the HARDEST type of election to win, and the best way is to get voters to want to build on the progress made while in office

from from May 31st. Trump is the GOP nominee and the GOP are lining up behind him, Bernie has NO way to win.

Keep in mine, the Democratic National Convention was July 25th - 28th

Bernie Sanders jabs back at Jerry Brown, ‘Democratic establishment’ Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Tuesday said Gov. Jerry Brown is part of “the Democratic establishment,” after the California governor endorsed Hillary Clinton. https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article80908912.html

Again, this was written at the END of May.

Now, GOP is lined up behind Trump, now Hillary is fighting 2 campaigns. Bernie was becoming MORE vicious at the end.

Bernie, Don’t Do This. Scorched Earth Campaign

Bernie. Don’t Do This. Bernie Sanders is still in it to win it. Which is a problem. Because he can’t. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/05/bernie_sanders_scorched_earth_run_against_hillary_clinton_is_a_mistake.html

In May, the GOP was soundly uniting behind Trump

End of May, Bernie was still threatening to take it to the Democratic Convention and fighting Hillary’s nomination.

Bernie Says Democratic Primary not a Monarchy: a Jab at Hillary being crowned.

Sanders: Democratic primary not a ‘monarchy’ Sanders rejected the assumption that Clinton will win the nomination. http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/281032-sanders-democratic-primary-not-a-monarchy

Bernie went FULL ON character assassination.

May 19th 2016 a month after losing in NY

Then went after the DNC claiming he was CHEATED, even though there’s NO way for the DNC to rig the primary in Hillary’s favor.

NYT bernie willing to harm Hillary

Bernie Sanders, Eyeing Convention, Willing to Harm Hillary Clinton in the Homestretch Determined to transform the party, the senator is aiming to amass enough leverage to press his agenda at the convention — or even wrest the nomination. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/19/us/politics/bernie-sanderss-campaign-accuses-head-of-dnc-of-favoritism.html

So, here’s Bernie:

“Yes I know I told you all Hillary was not qualified and that Hillary was a corrupt shill for Wall St.. But, HEY, Now I want you to vote for her!!”

THIS, is why you NEVER go after the character of the front runner of your political party in an election

May 27th, to be EXACT.

Scorched Earth is working pulling his numbers up, and pulling Hillary’s numbers DOWN, on purpose at the end of the primary, after he lost

Bernie Sanders’s ‘Scorched Earth’ Strategy Seems to Be Working The socialist senator is driving up Clinton’s disapproval rating with his supporters – and winning concessions to the party’s left flank in the process. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/05/sanderss-scorched-earth-strategy-is-working.html

*** Bernie saw the Bernie or Bust movement growing and still refused to address it, and kept on with the attacks, painting Hillary as corrupt, and claiming she was money laundering

He does this AFTER he lost, and when it’s clear Trump is the GOP nominee.

This is from April 27th 2016

It’s ONE thing to stay in hoping he’d get more say in the platform, but he became far MORE vicious after April went after her character, even after he KNEW he had lost.

Bernie Sanders Knows He Can’t Win the Nomination Now

Did Bernie Sanders Just Admit Defeat? Yes and No. Hillary Clinton went four for five on Tuesday, and in the process removed pretty much any remaining doubt about whether she will be the Democratic… http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/04/27/bernie_sanders_refuses_to_quit_a_race_he_can_t_win.html

Four reasons Bernie Sanders waited so long to endorse Hillary Clinton

Washington Post: Breaking News, World, US, DC News & Analysis Breaking news and analysis on politics, business, world national news, entertainment more. In-depth DC, Virginia, Maryland news coverage including traffic, weather, crime, education, restaurant revie… https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/07/12/four-reasons-bernie-sanders-waited-so-long-to-endorse-hillary-clinton/?utm_term=.aee358664e53#comments

He cared far MORE about being in charge of the platform, than the Democrats winning an election with an OPEN SCOTUS seat, and a fascist as the GOP nominee.

He KNEW Trump would be dangerous for MANY poor and People of Color.

That, in my opinion is UNFORGIVABLE.

Bernie KNEW that Russian Troll and Bot Farms were trying to help him win, yet he never said ONE word about it in the primary

He eventually blamed Hillary, for not informing his supporters.

Bernie Sanders trying to evade questions about why he didn’t let his followers know about Russian interference. Bernie Sanders knew about the Russian Bots and trolls helping his Primary campaign, but did and said nothing. (Upload of dejah @bowiegrrl11’s Audio clip). #NeverBernie https://vimeo.com/256930828?ref=tw-share

Who can forget about Bernie attacking Hillary for speeches she was paid to give, that we later found out were even more liberal than her rallies, which is most likely why she didn’t want to release them, as to not hand FOX News a few days of breathless reporting.

While he was attacking her speeches, he was still refusing to release his taxes, even going so far as to LIE about his releasing them, earning him 4 Pinicios at Washington Post

Washington Post: Breaking News, World, US, DC News & Analysis Breaking news and analysis on politics, business, world national news, entertainment more. In-depth DC, Virginia, Maryland news coverage including traffic, weather, crime, education, restaurant revie… https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/04/05/bernie-sanderss-false-claim-that-he-has-released-his-full-federal-tax-returns/?utm_term=.691036e24b3d

Is Mr. Sanders positioning himself to join the “Bernie or bust” crowd, walking away if he can’t pull off an extraordinary upset, and possibly helping put Donald Trump or Ted Cruz in the White House? If not, what does he think he’s doing?

Opinion | Sanders Over the Edge The revolutionary isn’t cute anymore. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/08/opinion/sanders-over-the-edge.html

Yes, Bernie Sanders Is Questioning Hillary Clinton’s Integrity

Yes, Bernie Sanders is questioning Hillary Clinton’s integrity https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/02/yes-bernie-sanders-questioning-hillary-clintons-integrity/

MAY. 18, 2016, while Hillary was leading Bernie by over 3 MILLION votes.

Sanders’s scorched-earth campaign is a gift to Trump

Washington Post: Breaking News, World, US, DC News & Analysis Breaking news and analysis on politics, business, world national news, entertainment more. In-depth DC, Virginia, Maryland news coverage including traffic, weather, crime, education, restaurant revie… https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/sanderss-scorched-earth-campaign-is-a-gift-to-trump/2016/05/19/b2f582b4-1ded-11e6-9c81-4be1c14fb8c8_story.html?utm_term=.bbcc7c744a4c

again, May 15 Bernie had NO path forward.

and WHO can forget the Nevada Convention?

Here’s somebody who didn’t forget, let me introduce you to Tim Hodge, a Delegate for Bernie, who was at the Nevada Convention May 15th and had this to say about it:

medium.com/@the_thodge/i-…

and, here was Bernie’s response to the fiasco and violence at the Nevada Convention:

It was to BLAME the PARTY…. so, now instead of accepting his defeat gracefully, he is now going after the Democratic Party, all while Trump is the GOP nominee.

talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/sanders…

and, just so you can all see what Bernie’s Nevada delegate had to say about the Nevada Convention:

April 19, 2016 Hillary wins the NY Primary, where just a day or 2 before, Bernie was being introduced and the person introducing Bernie called Hillary a Democratic WHORE.

Sanders under fire for supporter’s 'whores’ remarks It’s hardly the first time a speaker at a Sanders event has created distractions and headaches for the Sanders campaign. http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/sanders-under-fire-supporters-whores-remarks

BY the way, Dr. Paul Song, the man who called Hillary a Democratic Whore, is Lisa Ling’s husband, Hillary had sent Bill Clinton to North Korea to SAVE his fucking FAMILY members. This is how the Clinton’s were repaid for that.

edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asi…

Bernie Feels the Bern of His Anti-Clinton Delegates Party unity update: not united.

Bernie feels the Bern of his anti-Clinton delegates Party unity update: not united. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/07/bernie-sanders-delegates-speech-philadelphia/

Bernie Sanders Can’t Figure Out Why His Supporters Don’t Like Hillary Clinton

Bernie Sanders can’t figure out why his supporters don’t like Hillary Clinton https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/07/bernie-sanders-cant-figure-out-why-his-supporters-dont-hillary-clinton/

In closing, my issue is the he went to insanely negative, scorched earth, and was fully willing to damage Hillary, all in the pursuit of power. He didn’t care if the Democrats won, or that there was a Supreme Court seat open.

He acted like a spoiled brat, victim… claiming when he lost that it was rigged against him, but when he won it was a legitimate win, due to his awesome skills.

He ran on taking down the MAN!

in the end, he helped take down an entire country.

It was the accusation that he was cheated, he used to convince his followers that Hillary and the DNC were corrupt.

He’s never apologized for the blatant lies of the primary being rigged, and he’s never fully tried to convince his followers that while he thought it was rigged during the election, in the end, he lost because 3.7 MILLION more Democrats voted for Hillary over him.

He literally stabs the driver in the back, then gets indignant that the driver crashed the car in a ditch. a crash that he set up to happen. all so he could have power.

I can NOT forgive this, and I can’t reward this with handing him power.

Get Control, Senator Sanders, or Get Out

In Opinion: Bernie Sanders should either control the obscene behavior of his supporters or get out of the race If the Democratic presidential candidate can’t even manage the vicious thugs who act in his name, the author writes, he can’t be trusted to run the country. https://www.newsweek.com/2016/06/03/bernie-sanders-get-control-get-out-race-461195.html

MAY. 18, 2016

The sad decline and fall of Bernie Sanders https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/05/decline-fall-bernie-sanders/

Bernie Goes Negative

April 6th

I’m done with Bernie Sanders: Why this democratic socialist is voting for Hillary Clinton

Bernie’s not a more progressive choice, just a different one. The more I compare the two, the less I feel the Bern

I’m done with Bernie Sanders: Why this democratic socialist is voting for Hillary Clinton Bernie’s not a more progressive choice, just a different one. The more I compare the two, the less I feel the Bern https://www.salon.com/2016/04/04/im_done_with_bernie_sanders_why_this_democratic_socialist_is_voting_for_hillary_clinton/

Dear Bernie: Thanks, but…I’m done.

Dear Bernie: Thanks, but…I’m done. – Boo Radley – Medium I’m not sure I’ve ever been more disappointed in a politician than I’ve become with Bernie Sanders. He was My Guy in the beginning. I really wanted him to be the real deal. I hoped for a year, that… https://medium.com/@Boo_Radley/dear-bernie-thanks-but-im-done-6c6bc6e23993

I Felt the Bern But the Bros Are Extinguishing the Flames

I’m having a hard time being a Bernie Sanders supporter at the moment.

I Felt the Bern But the Bros Are Extinguishing the Flames Sanders supporters at the Democratic state convention in Nevada became unruly and threatened the state party chair—This is unacceptable. http://time.com/4339865/bernie-sanders-supporters-violence/

It Comes From the Very Top

It Comes From the Very Top For months I’d thought and written that Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver was the key driver of toxicity in the… https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/it-comes-from-the-very-top

and, in case you want to know what Bernie thinks since 2016, when the Democrats and the COUNTRY LOST?

In case that’s NOT enough… I see comments like this still, multiple times a day, and Bernie didn’t BOTHER to dispel this myth, cuz he created it.

Constantly telling his followers that he was cheated, that it was rigged against him.

He is a LIAR with NO HONOR

#NeverBernie

I will continue to add links and various articles other Tweet storms regarding the dislike for Berne and why he should NOT be the Democratic Nominee due to his ugly petulant behavior from 2016.

I’ll also add links to his racism and misogyny.

The Trouble With Bernie: Your Handy Vetting Guide The MSM Won’t Publish Bernie Sanders may have lost the Democratic nomination, but that’s not stopping him from continuing to sop up the mainstream media’s adoration of him. Mo… https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-trouble-with-bernie-your-handy-vetting-guide_us_59cba33fe4b028e6bb0a6707

so this comment screen cap threads to this whole thread.

Ohhh yes, I hear about the Democratic Mega Donors.

Yes, when we hear of millionaires and billionaires, we think Koch Bros, we don’t think about Hollywood, where most people are extremely Liberal.

Many millionaires actually want the same things YOU want.

“If he comes to South Carolina, he’ll have his 15 people will show up,” Brown said. “I hope it’s worth it to him, because he’s doing greater damage to the party overall.”

South Carolina Democrats: Better if Sanders ‘got lost’

dailyjournal.net/2018/10/10/us-…

One thing I hated the MOST about Bernie is:

Bernie blamed the media, the DNC, DebbieWS, Rigging, Cheating, for his loss.

He NEVER once took responsibility for losing, and even complained in his book that it was rigged against him.

NOT one peep from the MEDIA.

People wonder why I dislike Bernie with such a passion.

It’s because he LIES to the voters.

He constantly LIED about the Democratic Party, and Twisted things.. he never explained WHY things have not progressed since 1995

How he’s lying? 👇👇👇👇👇👇👇

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He NEVER explains to his young audience, the GOP have been rigging elections, and that they’re the ones who’ve prevented/ blocked any progress.

He never even explains to his followers that Obama was stuck between a rock and a hard place because he didn’t have a Super Majority.

He NEVER explains government to them at all. He keeps 'em ignorant

He could tell his followers that while the Dems aren’t perfect they still have the peoples best interest at heart, but due to the GOP holding the House for 20 YEARS out of 24 yrs, progress was near impossible.

But NO he can’t help his young followers understand how government works, cuz then he wouldn’t be able to LIE about the Democrats and drag them, like he has for 30 years.

He can’t win unless he drags the Democratic party down, claiming that HE’s the only one who can fix it.

Which, brings me to another thread, with MORE receipts, and the lies about how Hillary wasn’t Liberal enough, when fact is, Hillary and Bernie voted the SAME 93% of the time.

But again, he can’t win if he tells the truth.. so, Bernie LIES, a LOT. 👇👇👇👇

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Remember when Al Gore wasn’t Liberal enough?

Gore was a Corporatist… Sold out to Wall St.

If Al has been elected We would not have gone to Iraq We’d have addressed global warming Tax cuts would not have happened

But, Al Gore was not Liberal enough, so we got Bush instead

again with the LIES they’re doing it again with Kamala, LYING about her.

They spent the entire primary lying so badly about Hillary, so they could drive her poll numbers down and Bernie’s up

Here’s some of the lies, this from Jimmy Dore 👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇

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I’m so fucking SICK of Democrats being called Republican Lite, or Neo-Liberal, Corporatist.

It’s getting fucking OLD.

Thread what the Democrats have been doing for the last 25 years:

Keep in mind, the GOP had the House or 20 out of 24 yrs.

👇👇👇👇👇👇

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I do NOT like holier than thou, sanctimonious people. I don’t like hypocritical people.

I do NOT like politicians who tear the other person down, to build themselves up.

That’s exactly what Bernie did, at the expense of our nation.

Worse, he did it AFTER he lost the primary

Bernie Sanders Is The Biggest Loser

Bernie Sanders Is The Biggest Loser – Oliver Chinyere – Medium A hypercritical examination of Senator Bernie Sanders https://medium.com/@ochinyere/bernie-sanders-is-the-biggest-loser-4c43b1feacfc

It’s rather curious how he is so Liberal… yet, so many of his followers were perfectly fine with Trump?

Trump’s NO McCain McCain was moderate'ish

Cassandra Fairbanks: Bernie Sanders Fan Who Flipped To Donald Trump Contacted Russian Hacker Guccifer 2.0

inquisitr.com/4553267/cassan…

Funny, when he won an election it was due to his greatness, when he lost, it was because it was rigged.

After MONTHS of LYING to his followers, he finally admits softly…

Bernie Sanders agrees: Democratic process not ‘rigged’

Bernie Sanders agrees: Democratic process not 'rigged’ There’s a difference between a process that’s “rigged” and one in which an underdog faces institutional challenges that are difficult to overcome. http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/bernie-sanders-agrees-democratic-process-not-rigged

At the Convention:

He CREATED this.

Lock her up: his supporters use Trump’s attack line on Clinton

‘We have to defeat Donald Trump and elect Clinton,’ Sanders says – but protesters boo and express anger in Philadelphia over the leaked emails 👇👇👇👇👇

'Lock her up’: Sanders supporters adopt Trump’s attack line on Clinton ‘We have got to defeat Donald Trump and elect Clinton,’ Sanders says – but protesters boo and express anger in Philadelphia over the leaked DNC emails https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/25/lock-her-up-sanders-trump-clinton-chant

Bernie at the end was acting like an out of control Mob Boss.

Holding the party hostage, like Trump did with the Shut Down

“It would sure be a shame if the Democrats lose… but, if you pay me off with enough power, I’ll see about making sure that doesn’t happen… wink wink”

He did this all so he could be in charge of the platform

and have power he didn’t actually earn

He was forcing Hillary to adopt his platform, the very platform the Democratic voters soundly REJECTED.

Rejected by 3.7 MILLION votes.

I heavily suspect he knew he was hurting Hillary tho, and knew that his ticket to REAL power would only come if the Democrats lost against Trump

again, in 2018 he said:

Bernie Sanders at a book party in DC says “in many ways we did win the election.”

He KNEW, the only way for him to gain power was if Hillary lost.

It was NOT good enough for him to stop and help Hillary win so that she could be POTUS, and continue Democratic progress, while he would lead congress to pass some progressive bills, that Hillary WOULD have signed.

When people claim: “But, he campaigned heavily for Hillary.”

That’s a FLAT OUT…. LIE!

Primary ENDED June 7th

Bernie conceded July 12th

Democratic Convention July 25th

By September 5th, he’d only campaigned 2 times for Hillary

This from Sept 5th

Washington Post: Breaking News, World, US, DC News & Analysis Breaking news and analysis on politics, business, world national news, entertainment more. In-depth DC, Virginia, Maryland news coverage including traffic, weather, crime, education, restaurant revie… https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/09/05/bernie-sanders-is-finally-campaigning-for-hillary-clinton-but-does-she-even-need-him/?utm_term=.e6e013f03391

“He reluctantly and belatedly endorsed her. And the 2 speeches he has given since for her have basically been papered-over versions of his own stump speech. In short, since he ended his own campaign, Bernie Sanders hasn’t done much publicly to help get Hillary elected president.”

The Convention was July 25th

WTF? from Sept 5th

“The Vermont senator will make his first post-convention campaign pitch for Clinton on Monday in New Hampshire, where he’ll be, according to the Clinton campaign, discussing her "plan to build an economy that works for everyone.”

on July 12th, when he FINALLY conceded… 14 DAYS before the Democratic National Convention.

here’s a piece on his speech:

Washington Post: Breaking News, World, US, DC News & Analysis Breaking news and analysis on politics, business, world national news, entertainment more. In-depth DC, Virginia, Maryland news coverage including traffic, weather, crime, education, restaurant revie… https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/07/12/bernie-sanderss-endorsement-of-hillary-clinton-was-really-a-celebration-of-bernie-sanders/?utm_term=.baef2080a39d

And, yes, he did say this: “I have come here to make it as clear as possible as to why I am endorsing Hillary Clinton and why she must become our next president.”

(It was the only time that Sanders used the words “endorse” or “endorsing” in a speech that ran 2,161 words.

a FAR cry from Hillary and her endorsement of Barak Obama, and her calls for Democratic party unity.

Clinton endorses Obama, calls for party unity

edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/…

Hillary gave a ROUSING speech on how important it was to ELECT Barak Obama.

I LOVED how she repeated his name as she smiled warmly.

She acted with grace.

Hillary Clinton Endorses Barack Obama Following is a transcript of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s speech Saturday on suspending her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, as transcribed by CQ Transcriptions. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/07/us/politics/07text-clinton.html

I am standing with Senator Obama to say… YES WE CAN!!!

That is why we need to help elect Barak Obama our President

and that is why me must elect Barak Obama our President

and that is why we have to help elect Barak Obama our President

👏👏👏👏👏👏

Now… THAT’S how you give a concession speech and endorse your primary opponent.

This is how you do it how you act with grace, even after a loss

This is how you act like a TEAM player.

Have no doubt, our party is our team, and that is why it’s important to be a team player.

I’ll expect and accept NOTHING less of the candidates who are running for the Democratic nomination.

That’s why I have such strong dislike for Bernie.

In the end, I don’t care about pure voting history it doesn’t matter, what I want is a person who is graceful, even in defeat.

What is NOT acceptable is a losers campaign Tweeting weeks before the election

September 25th

Jane Sanders Tweets video of Bernie telling his supporters

Regarding voting for Hillary as POTUS

“Don’t Listen to Me”

#bernie sanders #hillary clinton #donald trump

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