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callmerainman · 9 months ago

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BREAK FROM HEAVEN | Adam x fem!angel!Reader

FIRST PART

plot. Adam, the First Man and Heaven rockstar, invited you to his concert's after-party. Soon, you find yourself making out with him in a nightclub, and the night won't stop here.

word count. 2.1k

tags. smut, Adam being Adam, rockstar!Adam, partying, nightclubs, smoking, making out, hooking up, one night stands, p in v sex, premature ejaculation, asking out, humour, soft dom!Adam

TW! SMUT AHEAD, minors DNI, 18+

a/n. one of the scenes in this fic is obviously a reference to The Wolf Of Wall Street (I love it in a "funny well made irreverent movie" way not in a "alpha sigma grindset" way)

God works in mysterious ways, they say. But nothing is more mysterious to you than the way you ended up in this situation. Making out in a nightclub with Adam, the First Man.

Straddling him on a couch, arms around his neck, lips and tongues busy in a slow dance. One of his hands is placed on your exposed waist and the other is shoved inside the back pocket of your jeans, as he gives your ass sporadic squeezes. Electronic music booms in your eardrums, so loud that you can’t even hear your own thoughts, just the wet sounds of your kisses. Suddenly, Adam pulls away from your lips. You blink a few times, then he leans in, and whispers something in your ear that only you two and hear. As if this night couldn’t get any crazier.

After attending his concert, Adam invited you to join the exclusive after party. You two chatted, discussed music and bands with Adam insisting on your taste being questionable as you made your way towards the night club. There, he proposed you to move your conversations to the dance floor, where you swayed to the beats of electronic music. What a hypocrite he is, you thought. Always blabbering about what is real music and what’s not, and then dancing and enjoying meaningless bass booms. Adam offered you and all his band mates drinks, made you company outside the club for a cigarette break, then took your hand to guide yourselves in the crowd back inside. Oh he was obviously flirting.

“Didn’t take you for a party girl” he playfully said to you.

And then, he placed his hands on your waist as you two started swinging side to side on the floor. Your cheeks caught fire. You knew that he was flirting with you. But then why did you feel your knees melt like butter under his golden irises, so penetrating even in the semi-darkness of the club?Adam is one of your superiors, you shouldn’t even think about flirting back. But oh, fuck it.

“Are you calling me a pain in the ass?” you smirked.

Adam chuckled and pulled you closer, brushing the question off and keeping on dancing. When you said you wanted to take a break, he followed you to one of the reserved tables of the club, sitting next to you. As you and the First Man kept talking, suddenly you found yourself snuggled on his side, his arm around your shoulders, one hand on your thighs and your lips dangerously close to his. And then, all of a sudden, with the audacity typical of an egocentric jerk like him, Adam asked you.

“Wanna make out?”

And, without a word, you just did. You nonchalantly shrugged, and leaned in to welcome his lips. And now here you are, sloppily making out with Adam, as if your entire lives depended on it. Adam tasted so bad, but in a good way. Cigarettes and alcohol, the typical party flavor. He couldn’t keep his hands on himself, letting them roam over your body lasciviously. You, yourself, couldn’t stay still as you found yourself occasionally grinding against his lap. Then, after stopping to catch hair, Adam’s lips got close to your ear.

“Wanna go somewhere more private, sweetie?”

—

You and Adam tumble inside his bedroom, smacking of lips reverberating through the room along with your suffocated giggles. Adam, mouth still interlocked with yours, shuts the door close with a firm kick.

“Oh shit-“ Adam stutters between kisses “you’re too-much”

You go “pff” at his statement, making sure to never miss the chance to kiss him so messily. As you and Adam make your way towards the bed, you realize that you don’t want to question your decisions anymore. You’re enjoying this, a lot. Even if he’s literally the First Man, his authority doesn’t matter to you anymore because you just prefer being carried away.

Dropping on the edge of the bed, Adam looks up at your figure standing in front of him, running his hands up and down your waist.

“I’m gonna fuck you so hard that you’ll never have a reason to listen to The Smiths again” he says, a smirk radiating lust from a kilometer.

Oh, you’re gonna have fun. You raise an eyebrow, pretending to be confused.

“Fucking me? Who said I’ll have sex with you” you inquire.

Adam’s mouth falls open, his hands sliding down from your waist to your hips, and then his touch leaving your skin. You try your best not to burst out laughing.

“Bitch, why would I invite you to my place for? Playing chess? We’re eating each other’s faces!” he protests.

“We could just make out”

“But- what the”

There’s no way you actually managed to make Adam shut the fuck up. You literally left him with no words, his mouth opening and closing like a fish, in search of something to say.

You chuckle, leaning towards him “While I think about it, and I’ll reeeally have to, I’ll go to the bathroom. Can you wait for me?”

Adam frowns “Whatever bi-…ugh I mean yeah okay, first door to your right”

As you disappear in the corridor connecting his bedroom and the bathroom, Adam is left all alone and guessing. He, somehow, had a way with women, and if things escalated to the point where one of them was in his room, sex was always took for granted. Except when Lute crashes to his place to eat junk food and watch TV. But making out in a club with a girl, moving things all the way to his bed, and then second-guessing the idea of having sex? For Adam, the situation is new and desperate. Also considering how much he's thirsting over you, and how rock hard his dick is inside his pants. So, Adam resorts to the only thing left to do.

Praying.

In a hurry, Adam falls down on his knees and joins his hands. He looks up, his golden eyes pleading.

“Hey God, it’s me, Adam, your favorite! I know I’ve been slacking off a bit lately but I’m still your number one creation, am I right? I promise I’ll pay you a visit first chance I get, you know I’ve been pretty busy with concerts and everything. But in the meantime, I’m begging you please, let me fuck this woman!”

As soon as Adam hears the bathroom door unlocking, he frantically gets up, facing the wall. And then, the second he turns around, a wheeze accidentally escapes his mouth. He officially lost the ability to talk a second time.

Because here you are, leaning on the doorframe. Naked. Except for your high socks. A calm smile is extended on your face, as Adam can’t do nothing but stare at you completely dumbfounded. Maybe God heard, after all.

“So? Changed your mind?” you coo, teasingly.

Adam finally manages to recollect his thoughts and put himself together.

“Holy fuckin’ shit balls, no!”

In the end, of course Adam fucked your brains out.

For eleven seconds!

Plunged inside you between your thighs, Adam gives a few more convulsive thrusts, along with strangled moans of release. His wings twitch and his glowing halo flickers. Damn if he cums loudly.

“Fuck, holy fuck I’m…I” he pants, looking down at your stiffened frame with mortified eyes.

“Did you cum?” you ask, frowning in confusion of what just happened.

“Yeah…did you?”

You shake your head “No…”

How was that man put on Earth with the purpose of having sex and yet didn’t have a clue? Sighing, Adam rolls off of you, lying on his back. He looks down at you, and you reciprocate his gaze.

“I can get hard again though” Adam says.

As you give him a small, reassuring smile, Adam brings his hand under the sheets and starts stroking himself, in an attempt to pump his dick up again. Quite the mission, considering that he came a lot. But he persists, squeezing his eyes shut and scrunching his face in concentration as he emits choked groans of fatigue.

"Ngrh..."

“Adam, don’t worry there’s no need to-oh shit” you eyes widen when you look down.

Adam is getting hard again. With what seems like a biblical effort, but he’s actually managing to pull it off. And there it is, the original dick in all its glory, back again after a previous, proficient orgasm. Adam turns towards you with a smirk, and wiggles his eyebrows.

“They don’t call me dickmaster for nothing” he says, before eagerly getting on top of you again.

The urge of asking him if that nickname was self-proclaimed is high, but you don’t have time for that. You find yourself giggling as Adam attacks your neck with his lips, you feel him smirking against it. He slides back inside of you. The filling sensation causes your nails to leave trails of red marks along his back, right between the base of his golden wings. Pleasure invades every inch of your body as Adam slowly gets to the right spot, grazing it lightly at first before speeding up the pace.

“Mh, you don’t realize how fucking hot you were when you came back, all naked for me” Adam whispers, managing to keep up the pace.

You try to talk, but the moans escaping your mouth impede it. You wanna talk back to his cocky, arrogant self, but you’re too overwhelmed by your own pleasure and the sound of skin against skin reverberating through the room as Adam snaps his hips against yours.

“Adam, please don’t stop” you whine, your face scrunching in pleasure as your legs clench desperately around his lower back.

Adam chuckles, the grin on his face devilish. You don’t want to boost his already titanic ego, but it’s hard not to praise him when he’s fucking you so good. One of his hands runs up your stomach, reaching for one of your tits. He fondles it as his pace fastens, the bedsprings creaking and your moans even more desperate. The obscene sensations are evident even on Adam’s face. His shit-eating grin disappeared, replaced with an overwhelmed, flushed face. His mouth is open, gasping for air as a series of disconnected moans flow out of his lips. You didn't even realize that his hands had moved from your breasts to your own hands, interlocking them firmly over your head.

For a second, you and Adam also lock eyes. His pupils are dilated so dangerously, completely lost in the moment. But you're sure that yours are the same. Ugh, why did he have to be so fine?

As you feel your climax approaching, your wings inadvertently wrap around your naked bodies. With a flap, Adam's golden ones do the same, encapsulating your both as you get close to your climax.

"Told I would fuck-ah oh shit yes- I would fuck your bad music taste out of your body" Adam stutters, sending you a mischievous grin as his thrust become more erratic.

You smirk back "But I'm not finished yet-ohh oh holy fuck no I take it back I'm coming"

And with your withdrawn statement, you reach your orgasm, your sex clenching around his dick as it twitches inside of you.

"Aw, cumming already? Can't take the original dick? Well, I can go all night long babe, cause- oh holy shit no I'm coming again too, forget it!"

For a second time that night, Adam sloppily comes inside of you, announcing it with a twitch of his wings and flickers of his halo. He loudly groans in the crook of your neck as you try to steady your breath.

After Adam finishes, he collapses next to you.

"You um...you did cum now did you?"

"Yeah I definitely did"

"Awesomeee"

You give yourselves a couple of minutes to come down your high, pleasure still lingering on your body as you two pant out of exhaustion.

Adam runs a hand through his hair "Shit, that was good"

You felt good, that's what he was thinking. But admitting it would be too much for him. You wipe the back of your hand on your forehead, and nod.

"I think we agree on this one" you sigh.

Adam slides an arm behind your back, pulling you close to his naked chest as you lay your head on it. His heart is still trying to pump enough blood to soothe him. You close your eyes, relaxed.

"Still wanna listen to your sad Brit rock music?" he asks.

"Oh sure, wanna listen to it now to improve after sex? The Cure or-"

"Hell no!"

You chuckle, and Adam twists on his side to face you. His hand reaches your lower back and starts rubbing circles against your skin with the tip of his fingers, in the gap between your wings.

"Are you free tomorrow for dinner, sweet tits? I know a place that makes the best ribs" he says, smiling down at you intently.

Your eyes widen, surprised.

"Inviting me to dinner is not really a groupie thing, y'know?"

"Who said you're a groupie"

"You said it, last week when you invited me to the concert"

"Yeaaah, right. Maybe you are. You still can spare me some time for dinner".

Your hand extends to touch the strands of hair falling on his forehead. What an asshole, you think.

"I'm not but sure, tomorrow for dinner then"

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel adam #adam x reader #adam hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel fanfiction #vivziepop #adam #writers on tumblr #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin hotel adam x reader #adam x you #smut #hazbin adam #adam hazbin x reader #adam hazbin #hazbin adam x reader #Spotify

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4wkjun · 3 months ago

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✴ Kinktober, day nine: cuckolding with Heeseung

✴ Word count: 2,2K ✴ Content warning: obvious cuckolding, Heeseung being paid to have sex with y/n, protected sex, nipple play, m!masturbation, fingering (f!receiving), voyeurism, exhibitionism, vaginal sex. ✴ Taglist: starsareseen, lucid-sombra, enha13, karinashairdryer, kim2005bomi, hyunj00 ✴ Mimi's note: for the sake of this plot, I mentioned Just B’s Geonu. Only Bs out there, please wait a bit and I’ll write for them!! Also, don’t sue me <3

✴ MINORS DO NOT INTERACT! ✴

✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴

Heeseung took a long puff and threw the cigarette by the road, exhaling the white smoke. The nighttime had begun, and so had his shift.

He walked slowly towards the gate surrounding the house he’d work tonight, fixing his hair before pressing the doorbell. It took around 20 seconds before the man opened the door, clearly a little shy.

“Hi. You must be Heeseung.”

“Yeah, you’re Geonu, right?”

With a nod, Geonu opened the door for you to walk inside. “Come in, y/n’s in the kitchen.”

Heeseung always felt nervous before a shift, even though he’s been doing it for almost two years. He took his shoes off, walking a little timidly towards the tiny kitchen.

“Hi”, he smiled, waving. You were looking for something to eat in the fridge, anxious to wait for Heeseung’s arrival.

“Oh, hi”, you said, raising your head abruptly. You closed the fridge door, indicating the dining table with your hand. “Please, sit.”

With a nod, Heeseung sat down, placing his shoulder bag on his lap. He took an envelope out. You and Geonu took your seats across from Heeseung, not sure what to do or say.

“Ok, so… before we get started, I must say a few rules”, Heeseung started. “I’ll tell you the basics, but it’ll be all detailed here on this contract.”

Geonu raised his eyebrows, surprised. He didn’t think such a thing would have so much… Detailing.

“First: I will not, under any circumstances, do anything without protection. I do have a copy of my latest medical exams in case you want to check, but either way, this is off the list.”

The two of you nodded and you felt relief. You never had unprotected sex with your boyfriend, let alone the guy you paid to have sex with you. You took the contract out of the envelope, shaking a little.

“Second: do not give you guys permission to record anything out of our session, not even voice notes. I will also not let any of my electronic devices around us, you can be sure your privacy will be protected”, he said, waiting as you and Geonu tried to read everything on that piece of paper. “Third: we need a safe word, which must be settled beforehand. Fourth: once the payment is done, it is done; I will not reimburse you if you decide to back down.”

Heeseung gave you and your boyfriend a few seconds to read all of the rules he set on the contract. You seemed ok with it – and so did Geonu.

“Do you guys have any questions or requests?”

“I do”, you said, timidly. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I don’t want to be kissed.”

“Anywhere or on the lips?” Heeseung asked seriously. The question itself made your cheeks and ears burn hot.

“On… the lips”, you responded in a quiet tone. Geonu wanted to laugh, finding you cute. “Also, no pet names.”

“Got it. Mr. Geonu?”

“We’re probably around the same age; can’t we cut the formalities?” Geonu asked, smiling awkwardly. Plus, you’re about to fuck my girlfriend, he thought.

“Yeah, sure. Do you have anything to say?”

Geonu pouted and you held his hand behind the table, squeezing it. If he wanted to back out, you’d be fine with it.

“Nah, I’m curious about one thing. If she wants to stop in the middle of it, would it be ok?”

“Absolutely”, Heeseung nodded. “Just no reimbursement.”

“Alright. Now, do you guys have a safeword you’re used to?”

“Not really, the good old “stop” usually works”, you shrugged.

“May I suggest the word red to be our safeword just for the night?”

“Yeah, it’s fine”, you said. Geonu nodded.

✴✴✴

Twenty minutes later, the two of you had signed the contract, paid for the job, and moved to the bedroom. Geonu sat down on the chair in the corner of the room, while you and Heeseung sat don’t in the middle of the bed. Heeseung sat against the headboard with his legs wide open, you in the middle of them with your back against his chest.

“Remember, if you decide to stop, the safeword is red”, Heeseung warned gently. You nodded.

The two of you were fully clothed as Heeseung moved your hair out of your shoulder to have access to your neck. He started by giving it soft pecks, just trying to get you more comfortable. You, on the other hand, closed your eyes, embarrassed. Geonu adjusted himself on the chair, eyes glued on your facial expressions.

Heeseung started to give your neck open-mouthed kisses, making you involuntarily move your head to the side, giving him more access. His hands moved carefully through your waist, searching for the hem of your shirt. His fingertips were cold as they entered your clothing to touch your skin. His touch was light, barely doing anything, but somehow you started to feel less weird about it.

His hands stroked your skin from your ribcage to your hips, stopping by the hem of your sweatpants. For a second, you felt ridiculous for not dressing up better. You seemed to relax after a little while, breathing harder when he slightly nipped at your skin. Heeseung’s hands moved upwards, circling your breasts with his whole palms before squeezing it softly. You didn’t say red, so he kept the motion for a couple of seconds before pulling your bra down to touch your nipples directly. You sighed when his fingertips circled your hard buds, a wave of electricity running straight down your core.

For about 40 seconds, Heeseung’s mouth left your neck and he focused on making you melt beneath his touch on your sensitive breasts. The realization of how sensitive you were made him aroused, his cock slowly hardening against your ass. Heeseung took one of his hands out of your nipple to raise your shirt, allowing Geonu to see your bare chest. Geonu breathed harder, the scene obscenely hot for him.

Without a warning, Heeseung’s hand entered your sweatpants. His hand reached for your thigh, fingertips caressing your skin so softly you barely felt the actual touch. He kept moving his hand up and down slowly, getting closer and closer to your clothed pussy.

His index and thumb pressed your left nipple harder, almost pinching it. You left a loud whine, throwing your head back against his shoulder. Geonu felt his cock twitch inside of his pants, eyes getting darker by only looking at you.

Knowing you’d already be wet, Heeseung’s hand caressed your pussy through the clothes. He could feel the wet patch on the bottom of your panties, which only made him more aroused. He never had any client that sensitive so fast. His fingertips didn’t do anything specific, he just rubbed your cunt from the slit to your clit through the thin fabric.

“Gosh, you’re soaking already”, Heeseung scoffed, smirking. “Won’t we take those pants off so your boyfriend can see how wet you got?”

Your cheeks got hotter as you closed your eyes harder, nodding. You raised your head and closed your legs (even though you can’t remember when you got them opened like that) to slide your pants through them easily, eyes locked on Geonu’s. He had a prominent boner on his shorts and gave you a smirk, making you feel more vulnerable.

You laid your back against Heeseung’s chest again, opening your legs a little timidly again. Your state was, at least, ridiculous to your point of view: messed up hair, shirt raised to your chest, bra down your ribcage, pants on the floor and panties soaking wet. From Geonu’s point of view, you were the hottest he’d ever seen.

Both Heeseung’s hands reached for your thighs, opening your legs wider for him, placing your ankles behind his legs. His hands caressed your inner thighs before they stopped almost above your cunt. One of his hands opened your pussy lips, while the other pulled your underwear up, rubbing the fabric roughly against your clit. You moaned quietly, eyes closing.

“C’mon, don’t be shy. Pull up a big show for him”, Heeseung whispered against your ear. He moved the fabric a few times, stimulating your clitoris harshly and spreading your arousal on yourself. You sighed, hands playing with the sheets beneath you.

Heeseung pulled your panties up, breaking the contact of your skin with it. He pulled it up to the side, collecting your arousal with his fingers. You whined again, his fingers colder than before. He dragged the arousal to your clit, circling it slowly right after. This time, you moaned openly, just like you did with Geonu.

Geonu couldn’t stop smirking at you, his cock so hard against his underwear that it almost hurt him. Slowly, he started to rub his cock through his clothes. Heeseung’s cock was not different.

Heeseung’s other hand let go of your underwear, collecting your arousal again, this time to start to finger you. He slid two fingers at once, making your whine higher and close your eyes harder, mouth agape. With no effort at all, he curled his fingers and started pumping them in and out, brushing against your g-spot while still abusing your swollen clit.

“Oh, my God”, you whined, fingers now holding your sheets as if your life depended on it. “I’m gonna cum!”

Heeseung scoffed against you, shaking his head. “Already going dumb? Just by fingering? Gosh, look at you”, he cooed.

You kept clenching around his fingers at every word leaving his lips, the know only growing bigger down your stomach.

“Red”, you whined, breathless. Heeseung stopped immediately and Geonu just looked at you, stopping his stroking.

“Do you want me to leave?”, Heeseung asked gently.

“No”, you answered, chest rising and falling fast. “I- I just thought you’d… fuck me”, you said, shy. “I can’t cum more than once in at least thirty minutes, I get too sensitive”, you explained completely embarrassed. Geonu smiled, cock twitching again. He knew how sensitive you got, he couldn’t wait to see you whining and trying to close your legs desperately as you always do.

“I see”, Heeseung scoffed. “In that case, won’t you get in all fours for me?”

“R-right here?”, you asked, sitting straighter, your back not touching him anymore.

“Maybe you could move to the side of the bed, give Geonu a nice view of you being railed by someone else.”

You clenched around nothing, a mixture of arousal and embarrassment. You finished undressing yourself, throwing your remaining clothes through the room, and walking towards Geonu instead of just leaning on the bed.

“You sure you don’t want to… step in?”, you asked, leaning in to peck his lips. Heeseung undressed himself and looked for the condom in the meantime.

“Nah, this is priceless”, Geonu responded in a husky voice, extremely aroused. He kept stroking himself through his pants.

You slowly walked back to the bed, noticing Heeseung was ready and waiting for you. He was standing next to the bed, stroking himself while looking at you two.

As you got on all fours, you laid your head against the mattress, feeling way too exposed. Heeseung aligned himself on your entrance, sliding his covered tip through it for a bit. Without a warning, Heeseung penetrated you at once, bottoming out in one go. You gasped loudly, grabbing the sheets again. You didn’t know how big his cock would be when you contacted him in the first place, but now you were kinda regretful of not asking because his tip was abusing your cervix. You’d have cramps after.

You thought Heeseung would be a little gentler, however, he started to pound into you the way you never thought someone else would. You loved when Geonu fucked you hard and fast, melting your brains out because of the pleasure, but this was completely different.

You couldn’t stop clenching and whining as Geonu finally pulled his pants and underwear down, setting his cock free. His hand started to work hard against his tip and he moaned along with you, only making you clench harder against Heeseung’s cock.

“Look at you, already drooling and clenching. You’re pulling up such a pretty performance for him, aren’t you?”, Heeseung groaned. He tried to control himself not to grab your ass too hard, so he wouldn’t leave any marks on your skin, but you were sucking him in so good, he couldn’t deal with it properly.

Geonu’s hand slapped hard and fast against his pelvis, the noise mixing with the noise of Heeseung’s balls against your ass. It all became too much and you knew you’d cum in any second. You were moaning incoherent stuff, babbling and drooling over the sheets, knuckles turning white from the strength you put into holding the sheets. Geonu knew you were about to cum, he had a hard time knowing if he looked at your hazed face or your pussy being pounded roughly.

“I can’t”, you moaned, trying to hold longer.

“Then cum, make a mess”, Heeseung groaned. And you did.

You moaned loudly, your breath hectic in the middle of your whining afterward. Heeseung kept fucking you restlessly, chasing his own orgasm. After your cloud nine was gone, you started whining and trying to close your legs, shaking like Jell-O. Geonu came hard, groaning as his cum spurted down his hand.

In 15 seconds, Heeseung came hard inside of his condom, groaning just as hard as Geonu did. He slowly removed himself from your insides, allowing you to finally lay on the bed, shaky.

You thought it would be awful, but turns out cuckolding was not bat at all.

#heeseung smut #geonu smut #kpop kinktober #enhypen kinktober #enhypen smut #just b smut

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theamazingdigitalraceway · 2 months ago

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The truth of Caine and Abel is revealed! Seth gives Pomni the help she needs to avoid capture! Abel's labyrinthian city is dense and confusing. Can pomni navigate it before her friends abstract? It may already be too late.

WARNING: physical violence/torture, intense action, abstraction, alcohol

~~~

The silence of the In-Between was palpable. Only Seth and Pomni existed in the space between spaces. Darkness in all directions. Only light was from the low silver fire that glowed in a circle created by the motorcycle. The muted city beyond the clear barrier in bounds gave off flashes of lightning from a heavily clouded sky.

Pomni watched Seth carefully. His shadowed stoicism betrayed no clear motive. Knowing what was happening to the others made her stomach twist into knots.

Seth took another long drag and tossed his cigarette away with a heavy exhale of silvery smoke. "You'll understand better if I just show you."

The smoke enveloped Pomni. It smelled like dust burning on hot coils mixed with an electrical fire. "Hey! What-!?" Pomni coughed and gagged on the foul smelling smog as it burned the corners of her eyes. When the smoke cleared, she was still staring at nothing, but now Seth was gone as well.

The sound of a computer booting up startled her, like she'd heard in her dreams. Green text scrolled in front of her as though on a large projector. All of it was mirrored, like she was seeing the text from the inside of the screen. The unrecognizable code was followed by a response command being typed out in front of her. Then, the text went away. The screen slowly brightened.

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

Pomni squinted against the light. There was a large blurry silhouette beyond the warped glass. It sounded like Caine, but less boisterous and with no showman cadence.

"Come on, your live audio processing should be functional. I triple checked the darn thing."

There was typing on a keyboard and the figure leaned closer to the screen, the face coming into view. Before her was a young man, likely no older than twenty, with slicked back black hair and patchy facial hair. Focused, light blue eyes squinted behind wide brimmed glasses.

"Okay, how about now? Can you hear me, T.R.U?"

There was another beat of silence until a robotic version of the young man's voice responded. "I can hear you. Good morning, Abel."

"HAHA! YES! It speaks! Finally!" Abel jumped out of his chair with both fists in the air. "They are going to eat their words! Oh my goodness, I need to get you ready for presentation!" Abel threw himself back into his chair, nearly falling over. "T.R.U., you have NO idea what you're going to do for my grade!" Abel's grin was ear to ear as he started to fade into smoke.

"I almost forgot how he smiled." Seth's voice spoke in the back of Pomni's mind.

"You were a science project?"

"At first. We became more than that rather quickly." The smoke cleared to a workshop camera view. Abel was hunched over a workbench with a soldering tool working on delicate electronics.

The robotic voice of T.R.U sounded more refined when it spoke this time. "You're going to turn into a shrimp sitting like that all the time."

Abel stopped working and stretched. "Ugh, too late for that. But, a worthy sacrifice to get this done. Mark my words T.R.U, one day I'll be able to visit you in the digital realm. I've always wondered what video games would be like on the inside. Can you imagine playing something like Legend of Zelda in person!? That would be cool."

"It's all JavaScript to me." T.R.U verbally shrugged.

Abel laughed. "Well, as soon as that grant money comes in, I'll be able to get this done faster. Maybe even hire help. We're going to show dad- I mean, the world that you aren't just a cool AI program. No, you are THE AI We'll revolutionize the digital space! If computers are the future, then YOU will be the razor's edge! The ultimate Technical Research Unit!"

"There is more to learn? I've already gathered what I could from your limited internet."

"Give it time. It'll grow, and you'll grow with it. By the turn of the millennia, I bet you'll be ready to go global!" Abel was excitedly pacing the room, looking right into the camera at the end of his declaration. "The only thing is, you have the voice but you need a face. That's going to take work." He picked up a wind-up chattering teeth toy from his desk and let it go clacking along.

The workshop disappeared into smoke and changed to multiple visions of Abel. Each scene, he looked a bit older. Seth's voice sounded more downtrodden. "We were like brothers once. We spent every moment together. In hindsight, I don't think he had a lot of real friends. He spent his time teaching us on top of working on his own projects. Things were good. Until the world took notice." The scenes around Pomni changed from screens inside Abel's home to big atrium crowds and board office presentations. Hundreds of eyes were on her and her stomach sank.

Pomni swallowed hard. "You got famous. Did money split you apart?"

"No...I wish it was that simple." Seth's smoke whirled around Pomni like a tornado, wiping away the memories and revealing a new one. Abel was sitting in front of his computer, face in his hands. He looked disheveled and was sniffling.

T.R.U's voice was smoother, almost human, when it spoke. "Abel? Please, talk to me. What happened?"

Abel grabbed a brown bottle that sat just off screen and took a long drink. "...his plane went down over the Pacific. No reported survivors."

"Abel, I'm so-"

"Don't you fucking dare finish that sentence. I am so fucking sick of hearing it. Oh, Abel, I'm so sorry. I pity you since your father died before he ever got the chance to be proud of you for something. Not like he ever would have been." Abel grabbed a pill bottle and tossed back three small tablets.

"I believe he would have been. Please, don't be hard on yourself."

"He wasn't proud of me for creating you. He wasn't proud of me when I graduated early with my master's. He wasn't proud when I started my own company. It was never GOOD ENOUGH!!" Abel threw his bottle, shattering it against the far wall.

There was a long stint of silence as Abel devolved into tears on his desk. "You are enough, Abel. You always have been. For what it's worth...I am proud of you. I'm sure your father was too, even if he didn't know how to say it. Put on the headset."

Abel sniffed, "It's not ready-"

"Put on the headset." T.R.U said again, firmly yet gentle.

Abel seemed too drunk to argue logically. He picked up a large, cumbersome device that fit over his head like a helmet. A visor covered his eyes. He clasped it in place and pressed a button on the side. There was a jolt and, to Pomni's right, a whirl of code slowly formed the silhouette of Abel. He was very lightly detailed, barely recognizable as a person. Pomni had no control over her movements. She stepped forward and embraced Abel's vague avatar. T.R.U's words came from her mouth. "You are everything to me. Please, don't forget that. Tell you what, why don't you give me a human name? T.R.U feels like a title more than anything anyway."

Abel squeezed Pomni tight. "You are my first creation. My Adam, if you will. Let's go with that."

"Adam...I like it. I am Adam."

"I bet I can figure out a cool acronym for it." Abel chuckled through the tears.

"Yes, you will. Because you are the smartest human I know." Pomni arms felt empty as Abel turned to smoke in her grasp. She took a deep breath as she processed everything Seth had shown her. "Did you mean what you said?"

"At the time. Like I said, we were close. Things only escalated from there. C&A took off and we were pulled into tech interview after tech interview. Eventually, Abel got too busy to attend and it was just Adam. The majority of the reception to our existence was positive, but you wouldn't believe the Y2K conspirators. They were convinced we would take over the world." Seth gave a humorless laugh.

Something itched in the back of Pomni's mind. C&A. Y2K. Conspiracies. Buzz words that stirred something in her subconscious, but she couldn't pin it down. "So... where did it all go wrong?"

"The more the world saw Adam without Abel, the more he was excluded from interviews and presentations. Adam became known as the first and only of his kind. A fully self-sufficient AI that was so life-like, it may as well be human. The attention came with a lot of praise. Too much. It...went to our head." The smoke showed multiple news articles, digital and material, about the incredible invention that was Adam: The TRU AI. "I wish... we'd seen Abel's growing distain sooner. Maybe all of this could have been avoided. Maybe we could've still had the future we planned. I don't know..."

The smoke cleared to reveal a much older looking Abel. He was snuffing a finished cigarette into a very full ashtray. There were heavy bags under his eyes as he poured himself a stiff drink.

Adams voice spoke. "Okay, I'm back. Sorry, that took longer than expected."

Abel didn't say anything. He just drank.

"The board of directors was very impressed with my latest profit projection model. We won't have to cut corners to make quota this quarter. Leaves less room for error. Also, I was contacted by Tech Monthly again. They want to write an article about my influence on the new digital age. I haven't scheduled the interview yet, is there anything I need to work around this week?"

Abel finished his drink with a gruff groan. "...no."

"Excellent. I have the remainder of the evening to myself. What are you doing tonight?" Adam sounded genuinely interested to know.

"Getting my game ready for beta testing."

"Oh...you're still working on that?"

Abel's eyes flashed dangerously. "Yes. I am. It's a hell of a lot better than dealing with stuffed up fat cats in suits that only care about how much money your invention makes. The headsets are ready. The game just needs a little more work."

"Abel, I mean well when I say this, but your talents are wasted on video games. Why merely entertain people when you can be on the leading edge of digital technology?"

"Why can't I do both?" Abel growled.

"You can. It just seems you've split your attention too far in two different directions. You're the CEO of one of the most influential up and coming tech companies. This is your chance to make your mark on the world."

"Like you would understand anything about that. You've existed for all of eight years and you think you know what's best for me??"

"I've spent my entire life with you! I literally know you better than anyone, even yourself!"

"If that was true, then you'd know that going inside games was literally what I built this for!" Abel showed a sleek headset. "If the technology didn't take so long to improve, it would've been my thesis project instead of you."

"...what?" Adam sounded shocked and devastated. "You- you said I was your greatest accomplishment."

"You're my research assistant." Abel said coldly. "But the world had to go and make a big deal about AI. You were never meant to end up like this. Stealing limelight that is rightfully MINE!" He slammed his glass down, turning to smoke.

Everything faded, giving Pomni a chance to process. "I still don't see how this results in him being trapped in his own game, Seth. What did Adam do?"

"He defended himself." The smoke cleared to reveal a view from the highest penthouse overlooking a massive digital city. Colorful fireworks exploded in the distance. "It was New Year's. Abel and Adam were supposed to be celebrating with his shareholders in the new digital space. But, as you can imagine, all anyone wanted to do was interact with the fancy AI in person."

"YOU!!" Abel's realistically human avatar stormed through the crowd and got in Pomni's face. "Who the hell do you think you are!? Do you know who I am!? I'm your creator! I'M supposed to be the one recognized! Not YOU!"

Pomni put her hand out in front. Her sleeves were black and wore off white gloves. Adam's voice came from her. "Abel?? How much have you had to drink? You're slurring."

"It doesn't matter! You! You're disgrace! All everyone talks about anymore is YOU! When I am the one slaving away behind the desk! I gave you a face, but you weren't supposed to use it like this! I gave you EVERYTHING! Without me, you are NOTHING!"

The shareholders standing around them awkwardly muttered amongst themselves. Some disappeared as they activated the exit.

"Abel, please, you're causing a scene. Can we talk elsewhere?"

"NO! I want witnesses." Abel snapped and digital chains wrapped around Adam, pulling him to his knees on the floor.

"What is this!? What are you doing!?"

"Something I should have done a long time ago." Abel snapped, summoning an admin hologram on his arm. "You were right, Adam. The game is a wash, but there is one thing I can do with it." He typed in a confirmation code and the city outskirts started to crumble. "I can watch you die."

The party guests started to panic, leaving in droves. The building beyond the window collapsed to dust, the night sky disintegrated, the world fell into a bright white void that came ever closer. Adam struggled against the chains. "Abel, stop! Don't destroy everything you built! Please!"

Abel looked down on Adam coldly. "I've always wondered what fear would look like on you."

Adam saw the void getting closer, the building they were in started to quake. "You'll delete yourself too!"

Abel laughed, "I'll be fine. System failsafe. Players are automatically ejected in the event of a catastrophic failure. I'm simply enjoying this while it lasts."

"No! No, no! Please! Don't kill me!"

Abel tilted his head in mocking curiosity. "Are those tears I see?"

"I don't want to die!" Adam's sleeves caught fire. The golden glow broke the chains and Adam launched himself at Abel. The glass separating them from the decaying outside shattered on impact. Adam had Abel by the front of his dress shirt and flew him high over the city. The once grand skyscraper they were occupying folded in on itself below them. The breaking sky glitched with multicolored lighting, the half faded clouds swirling chaotically.

Abel fought back, but he was overpowered by the desperate AI. Adam held Abel up. "If I die, I'm taking you with me!" Lightning struck Abel in the back. Blue static crawled over Abel's skin as he screamed in agony.

Then everything went white. It was overpowering, even when Pomni closed her eyes. She heard Seth again. "Adam pulled Abel into the game. Making him as real as the AI in this digital realm. Doing this took away Abel's admin access but...broke the exit. Adam couldn't leave either. He had inadvertently trapped himself with Abel inside the game, cutting himself off from the outside world."

The overbearing glare of the void opened to reveal Abel in chains, surrounded by fire. "The very first thing Adam built was a cell for Abel. Seemed fitting. The creation was now the creator." The fire blocked Pomni's vision of Abel, who hung his head low. "I suppose the Y2K conspirators were right, in a way. Adam did end the world for some. When the dust settled, only a small corner of the city had survived. Some back alley street racing mini game."

Seth's smoke parted to show an overview of what was left of the game. A tiny island suspended in the void. Thin illusions were all that separated the game from the vast emptiness. "It was bad enough that this was set to be our purgatory, but there was something we failed to consider. The beta testers."

Eight names pinged the arrival of the beta testers logging in. Their avatars glitched and malformed, turning into random anthropomorphized objects rather than full human models. One, Pomni immediately recognized. A tall white king chess piece with a purple robe grabbed over it. "Kinger!"

Seth sounded numb. "Back then, he went by Samson Kingsley. He was the head of coding and leader of the test team. He, of all people, never deserved this fate."

Kinger looked down at his strange body and his oddly shaped team. "Ha! Well, this is off to a great start." He said jovially. "Nia! Is that you?" He stared at the black queen chess piece.

"It's me, darling. What happened to our avatars?"

"No idea. This is a pretty big bug." Kinger snapped to bring up his admin hologram but nothing happened. "What the..?"

Then all eight avatars looked at Pomni like she had suddenly appeared. Adam's voice spoke for her. "I'm sorry, none of you have admin access anymore. The game is severely damaged."

"Adam? What are you doing here? What happened?" Kinger asked.

"A... catastrophic failure. I was here for New Year's and... something went wrong. I'm afraid none of you can leave."

"What do you mean-"

"There's no other way I can say it. You're stuck here. We all are. There's no outside communication. The exit is broken." Adam said bluntly.

A large, furry worm-like avatar glitched once. "We can't leave? Why!? What game are you playing!? It's not funny!!"

"I'm not playing any games. I'm sorry."

"I have a family!! My children!! My-my- AAAAAAAAAAA!!!" The worm's body split open to reveal black static. Colorful eyes peered out of the open wounds. The body enlarged and twisted in on itself. The abstraction thrashed about, unsure how to pilot its body. The testers ran behind Adam.

"What is that!?" Kinger screamed, holding onto Queenie.

The abstracted worm struck one of the other testers, who glitched and writhed on the ground. The second racer started to break apart into an abstraction himself from the pain.

Adam couldn't let this spread further. He snapped and the floor split open. The two monsters fell out of sight.

Smoke clouded Pomni vision again. She was breathing heavily. "Oh my god, it happened so fast."

"I know...we didn't know what else to do. The headsets were never meant to bring in whole people. Only they're active consciousness. The software was changed when Adam trapped Abel. And because the game was mostly deleted, it suddenly had so much memory to fill. It was trial and error to figure out what we could and couldn't do, Adam even integrated himself with the mainframe to try and make the experience more personable, but that came with its own problems..."

The smoke cleared to see the city changed. It was brighter, more colorful. Something out of an animated show rather than real life. Pomni was hovering over the street, hearing the rumble of engines fast approaching. Five cars zipped by underneath her and her vision flew after them. She recognized four of the five drivers now.

Kinger was in the lead with Queenie got on his tail. A yellow car threatened to pit maneuver Queenie, a tall purple anthro rabbit in the front seat. A light blue car came out of nowhere and sideswiped the yellow car. The driver was doll-like with red hair.

"Oh my god, I never knew Jax and Ragatha had been here so long."

"They arrived not too long after the beta testers, but unfortunately the majority was gone by the time they showed up. It was for the best. Adam was storing players memories away by this time to keep them from abstracting."

"That's why I don't remember anything? Caine was doing what Adam did??"

"Yes." Seth said flatly.

"My head is starting to to hurt." Pomni rubbed her temples. "You and Caine are Adam?"

"Yes."

"Why are you not anymore?"

"Remember that I said Adam integrating himself into the mainframe was a bad idea? Watch."

All five cars crossed the finish line in a tight pack. Kinger in first. The white chess piece jumped out of his car and cheered. "Woo! Oh yeah! Fifty win streak in the bag!" Another gold badge adorned Kinger's purple and white tracksuit.

"I almost had you." Said Queenie.

Kinger grabbed her hand and pulled her into a low dip. "Almost. But I still got it. Hail to the king, baby."

Queenie giggled. "You're such a dork." She pulled him in for a soft kiss.

"Well done, Kinger." Adam congratulated. "You've managed to claim all the available achievements for the races."

"Will there be more?" Asked Kinger.

"Uh, more?"

"Yeah, we can't race around the said city block forever."

"It- it's not the same. I've shifted the city around-"

"Moving obstacles doesn't count." Jax interrupted. "We want new tracks. New worlds. A change of scenery."

"Oh...um-"

"Can't you do whatever you want? You're the one pulling all the strings." Jax sneered.

Adam went silent as the buildings around them started to flicker. The whole city glitched and shifted. Kinger rushed to Adam, holding his shoulders. "Hey, hey, it's okay. He didn't mean to be rude. You're doing fine. You're still figuring this all out. You'll come up with something."

"...yeah..." Adam quietly sighed. "I wasn't designed to be a creative AI. I need...hmm. You guys rest, I'll have something for you in the morning."

Smoke overtook everything. Seth's voice sounded distant. "That... was the night of the divergence. I don't remember how it was done, but Adam split himself into two beings. The Racemaster and the Shadow. To keep the game from glitching, Caine and I were never made one with the game code itself, but we could still manipulate it. That is where my shared memories with Caine end. Not that my first memory with him is any better."

"Seth?" Pomni didn't like the weak cadence to Seth's voice.

The smoke settled to the ground to show Caine looking himself over. His suit was immaculate, not a digital stitch out of place. He snapped and a cane with a golden tire topper appeared out of thin air. "Ah, perfect. Oh, hello, Seth." Caine looked directly at Pomni. "You ready for your first race? If anyone makes it far enough ahead, that is." He chuckles.

"Sure. Whatever." Pomni felt herself say with Seth's voice.

"Oh, come now. Don't be like that. It'll be a great day. Nothing is holding me back anymore. I can create to my hearts content, and the game is mine to command. You-" Caine poked Seth in the chest with his cane. "-on the other hand, get to take everything else to the shadows of the new realm. Because you are the backup. I am Adam fully realized. You are everything he didn't want. That's why you only get to come out a play occasionally. So, until then." Caine snapped and Pomni fell though the floor. She fell and fell and fell into a vast black nothing. Smoke rose from her body, flashes of memories played around her as she continued to fall.

Riding a motorcycle. Silver fire. Kinger crossing the finish line before her. Holding a disembodied white gloved hand. Queenie abstracting. Kinger turning away. Caine having nothing but distain in his eyes. Sitting next to Jax, only for him to get up and leave. Ragatha striking Seth in the face. Gangle refusing to look at him. Abstraction after abstraction. A new racer. A mostly complete human woman with an exposed spin for a neck and a black void for a face. This woman filled every single memory that surrounded Pomni's decent. So many races. Fights. Overlapping conversions. Laughter. Holding her. Kissing her. Blue and silver fire danced. Shadows overtake clasped hands. Lily flowers poured from the memories, turning to smoke.

The smoke caught Pomni. She floated to a stop in front of an overwhelming memory, silencing all others. A race. The woman was on her own motorcycle, several lengths ahead. They were speeding down a long straight away. No other racers in sight. Without warning, the track ahead tore open. The void shined through the rift. The racer tried to stop, but twisted her bike too harshly in panic and went sideways. The motorcycle slid to the side, coming to rest against the track wall, while the racer went over the edge. Her reaching out for him was the last thing he saw from her.

"MANGO!" Seth teleported from his motorcycle to the rift, but she was already out of sight. He dove into the void without a second's hesitation. He called for her. Over and over.

The memory cracked with every call of her name. Eventually, it shattered. Falling apart and becoming smoke. Pomni was enveloped. Blinded by smoke she could suddenly smell again. She coughed and waved her arms to clear the smoke. Her feet found solid ground again. The smoke faded. She was in the In-Between, Seth was leaning against his motorcycle with a thousand yard stare.

"Seth?" Pomni said gently, stepping closer.

He blinked, jerking himself out of his trauma spiral. He looked away from Pomni. "You weren't supposed to see that last part."

"Who was she?"

"Everything." He answered quietly, taking an engraved metal lighter out of his pocket. He flipped it open and struck it. The bottom of the flame burned blue and faded to silver around it. "I came for you first... because you remind me of her."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Pulling you from that out of control car...it helped."

Pomni took a big step forward and hugged Seth. He almost dropped the lighter out of surprise. He closed the lighter and returned Pomni's embrace. He'd forgotten what these used to mean to him. He could feel Pomni's empathy without her saying a word.

Caine groans as Abel slams him against the same wall for the fifth time. The Racemaster slump to the floor, his tux glitched out to point of being unrecognizable. The chains holding his wrists yank him back up to his feet. Abel, in Gummigoo's body, got in Caine's face. "Where. Did. They. Go?"

"I told you...the In-Between." Caine wheezed out.

"That doesn't mean ANYTHING!! There is no such place in the game files!" Abel snarled.

"It's...it doesn't exist in the game. Or out of the game. It's a pocket in between the layers made by Adam before the divergence. I don't remember...how..." Caine was dizzy from the abuse, on the verge of losing consciousness. "But even if I did...I wouldn't tell you."

Abel growled, his gator persona vibrated with anger. He raised his clawed hand to strike Caine, but the walls started glitching out. Cries from the screens featuring the racers showed that they were avoiding sections of track that suddenly went missing. Abel dropped Caine, gripping his head. "Argh! Fuck! What is that!?"

Caine smiled. "Not so easy, is it? Controlling an entire game...and everything in it. Emotional outbursts lead to loss in concentration... and you don't want that. You merged directly with the game...bad move. I can tell you that from experience."

"Shut up!" Abel barked. He braced himself against his chair, waiting for the world to stop glitching. "I just need...more time." He grumbled.

Caine took a breath, finally having a break from the torture. He watched the racers on the POV holograms. "Hang in there. All of you. He can't keep this up forever."

"So, what do we do now?" Pomni asked, pacing.

"Frankly, I have no idea." Seth rolled the lighter in his hand, running his thumb over the engraved lilies.

"Well, I can't do nothing. Abel will get sick of Caine eventually. And who knows what he's doing to the others on the track. But you can't go out there. I don't have a kart-"

Seth stared at his lighter. "Actually...you might." He snapped and the shadows revealed a black and blue motorcycle. It rested on its kickstand surrounded by personal items, candles and silver lilies.

"That's her bike." Pomni said soberly. "You turned it into a memorial."

"One of the few things I've made. Here's the thing: that bike still holds an imprint of its last racer. Mango was...well, let's just say she had a fire in her that put mine to shame. You won't be able to just hop on and ride. But she would recognize me."

"Okay...why can't I just use your bike then?" Pomni gestured to the solid black motorcycle.

"Because it's just an extension of me. If you're serious about out racing Abel to get to the others, we need serious skill on our side. Mango was the best racer we ever had. I'd dare say better than Kinger in his hayday. We need her." He put his hand on the handbar and the dash lit up. The gadges glowed a soft blue and cycled through a start up, ready for ignition.

"Huh...Didn't think I'd ever hear you admit someone was better than you."

Seth shrugged. "What can I say? I'm weak for a woman that can kick my ass."

Pomni huffed a short laugh. "Alright then, what's the plan? Do we ride out on the same bike?"

"Sort of. You need my powers to get in and out of the in-between. Best way to do that is a shadow merge. You've seen me take control of Caine assets, yeah? It's similar. But, instead of taking over your body, you take over mine."

Pomni put her hands out in front of her. "You know what? I'm past the stage of questioning everything. Fine. Let's do this. Who knows how long the others have."

Seth held out his hand to Pomni. "Mind you, I've only done this once before."

"Great. I've never done this." Pomni took his hand and she was pulled in close.

Seth's silver irises glowed against the black surroundings. "Relax. Dance with me."

Pomni told herself not to question it and went along with Seth's movements. He waltzed her around the bikes, the darkness slowly overtaking them. He intertwined his fingers with hers as the shadows climbed up their bodies. The cold darkness became warm and comforting, like a lover's embrace. Pomni closed her eyes as the creeping shadows covered her face.

Abel rapped his fingers against the arms of his chair. Looking from POV to POV there was no sign of Seth or Pomni. "Bring me another drink." He grumbled, and Loo responded promptly. She brought him a tray of drinks to choose from. He didn't even look at her, just grabbed one at random.

Caine struggled to get up from where he was last left, and Loo went over to him to offer a hand.

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Shouted Abel between gulps.

Loo backed off, giving Caine an apologetic look.

"It's okay. Thank you, Loo, but don't get yourself in trouble over me. You're too sweet for someone like him." Caine manged to get to his feet. Not that he could go far, his chains were attached to the wall and he couldn't reach the chair even at full stretch of the chains.

Loo went to her set corner, waiting to be called again, but she kept glancing at Caine.

Abel tossed his emptied glass and stared down at himself. He snapped, turning the tracksuit black and blue. Including his hat. "Hm, that's a bit better."

"Pffffff, ahahahahahaha! Seriously? It took you this long to customize your avatar? That's the first thing Seth and I did when we got ours." Caine had nothing to lose. He wasn't afraid to get on Abel's nerves now.

Abel sent a bolt of lightning at Caine without acknowledging the comment.

"Then again," Caine groaned. "You've never had the best sense for fashion or flare. I mean, black and blue? What are you, an OC?" He cackled to himself through the barrage of lightning sent his way. It hurts, but he wasn't going to give Abel the satisfaction of hearing him scream anymore. "It's starting to tickle."

"AAARGH!" Abel roared, teleported to Caine, summoned a knife and dug it into Caine's chest. "Stop. Talking. You are the reason I'm here. You are the reason everyone is suffering. You're selfish, stupid little digital life was built on the misery of others! Every abstraction. Every person trapped. Is because of YOU! You will suffer, but it'll never be enough. Even if I get to do for the next twenty years! And the twenty after that! One day, it'll just be you and me in this digital space, but I will never delete you. Even when you BEG for it."

The pain silenced Caine. He put on a brave face to spite Abel, but inside was fraught with worry for Pomni and the others. "At least...she's safe..." He hoarsely whispered to himself when Abel pulled the bloodless knife from his body.

A dark blue streak across one of the POVs got Caine's attention. He squinted, trying to follow the anomaly from screen to screen. The speeding streak was near impossible to see in the low lights of the dark city.

"Finally. Enough out of you." Abel snapped the knife away and went back to his chair. As he sat down the streak zipped across the largest POV displayed. "What the-!? He's back!! You're not taking another racer from me!" Abel poised to snap but couldn't get a beat on Seth. The biker was moving in and out of frame too quickly. "Damn it! Sit still!" Abel snapped and the city shifted. Bay doors to buildings opened and cop cars poured out, blues light flashing. "Stop! That! Bike!"

Dark clouds gathered as blue lightning struck out from the top of the highest building in the middle of the city. Rain poured down in thick curtains, reducing visibility and slicking the already confusing track. Cop cars and helicopters where on Pomni like glue, despite the weather affecting them too. In Abel's rage, lightning struck a car, flipping it several times before exploding.

Pomni was backlit by an army of flashing lights. Her normally pale skin was inky black. Her eyes solid white and glowing. Every once red part of her tracksuit was now black. The blue stayed. The yellow trim was silver. Her hat was narrow and elongated, more aerodynamic.

The motorcycle beneath her screamed with determination to shake the competition. Pomni could feel Mango's imprint influence her moves. The hard right into the narrowest alley imaginable certainly wasn't her idea. Even more cops waited for her on the other side. The city was infested with them. She exploded out the alley, running down an NPC cop and ramping up the hood and windshield of the car. She jumped the barcode and swerved around a car that tried to run her down.

"Kill her! What are you idiots doing!?" Abel slammed his fist onto he POV console, causing it the glitch. He grabbed his head. A migraine ripped through his head.

Caine chuckled. "You'll never catch her. She's become a shadow racer. The very best the game has to offer." He smiled at the carnage. "Thank you, Seth."

Shadow Pomni was cornered by three cops trying to ram her into the side of a building. Instinctually, she teleported, and the cops crashed into the building, catching fire. Pomni then hit a neon booster, going even faster passed the swarming cops. The dark city streaked by, the rain flying off her tracksuit, doing nothing to slow her down. Rain drops evaporated by silver puffs of fire before her eyes kept them from blurring her vision.

"You have weapons! Fucking use them!" Abel snapped, trying to stop the bike.

"Weapons!?" Caine gasped.

Bullets flew over Pomni's head. She heard them ricochet all around her. She glances behind, narrowing her eyes. She revs the bike, blue and silver fire flared out the tail pipes like a dragon. The wet road is ignited by the mystic digital fire. It blocks the vision of those on the ground but gives her away to the helicopter.

The ground beneath her shifts and a building slides right in front of her, blocking the road. There was no where the turn. Pomni throttled it and popped a wheelie before hitting the side of the building. The fire blasted her straight up the face of the building, shattering the glass windows behind her.

An explosion to her left almost throws her, but she holds on. The helicopter has launched a rocket at her. She swerved to avoid another. When the bike reaches the top, she didn't slow down to run across the roof. Instead, she launched straight up as the helicopter sent another rocket her way. She grabbed the rocket and teleported behind the helicopter, releasing the rocket right into its tail rotor. The helicopter spun out of control and lost altitude.

Pomni teleported to a different roof and ran down that building to another city block, hoping to lose the cops long enough to find the other racers. The city was so big and constantly changing. Even with teleportation, the was no way for her to find them fast.

She had exactly one block to herself before she had six cars on her. Pomni teleported out of the line of fire, but was discombobulated on where to go. Just run. Her system was the highest it's ever been on the race rush. There was nothing she couldn't do. She spied a bridge connecting to another part of the city she hasn't searched through. Hoping to find the others there, she made a break for it.

"Oh, no you don't." Abel snapped. The bridge he saw her race for broke apart and started folding in on itself like a drawbridge.

Pomni was going to abandon the attempt, but the bike wouldn't brake. It was gunning for the bridge ramp at full speed. Silver fire trailed from the speed and adrenaline, giving her another boost.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Pomni leaned forward and held on tight.

The bike launched off the bridge and flew over the river sectioning the city. The bridge on the other side collapsed into the water before her very eyes. She teleported to the shore and stuck her middle finger in the air in proud defiance as she sped away. In a flash, she was out of sight.

"NO!! HOW!?" Abel frantically searched all the POVs. No sight of shadow Pomni.

"I hate to say I told you so-"

Abel was so mad, so lost in his anger, he doesn't know how he got to Caine so fast. "Finish that sentence, and I disassemble your code letter by number." The whole tower glitched. "Why are you so smug? She's not even coming for you. She's miles from the tower."

"I hope she doesn't. I wouldn't want her to catch your stench."

Abel smirked. "She didn't seem to have a problem with it when I promised her a way out. She's been against you from the start. They all have."

Caine broke eye contact for the first time.

"You deserve their hate and you know it."

"...maybe I do. I could never make their lives better. I certainly couldn't fix what Adam did."

Abel gripped Caine's collar. "You could have released me."

"I may not be him, but I know what you did. You think I'M petty? Who do you think I learned it from?" Caine matched Abel's glare again. "What's can't be changed, but you know what I've learned in my time being trapped with humans? Empathy. Compassion. Friendship. All the things you failed to learn in your twenty eight years of life before being trapped here. You're jealousy of Adam gave you THIS! You made this bed, now you can lie in it!"

"RAAAAH!" Abel shocked Caine hard against the wall. "I am your maker! You are my property!"

"So...the truth comes out...we were never brothers...were we..?" Caine said weakly.

Abel backed off, panting angrily. He huffed and lashed at the wall before going back to the POVs to look for Pomni.

Pomni teleported at random to stay out of sight. There were a few cops on this side of the river but didn't seem to notice her. An unfamiliar car speeding by her caught her attention. She sped up to ride along beside it and saw Zooble fighting to keep the car under control.

Pomni waved to get Zooble's attention. "ZOOBLE!"

Zooble's head snapped to the left. Their eyes went wide, looking Pomni up and down. "Pomni!?"

"Take my hand! I can get you out of here!"

"No! Get Gangle! She's just ahead of me!"

"I'll come back for her!" Pomni tried to grab Zooble but they swerved away.

"GET GANGLE FIRST!"

They both avoid a shifting overpass as they argue. Pomni knew there was no time, Abel could spot her any minute now that she found the others. She sped off ahead to the next car. It was swerving wildly, barely missing or scraping against walls. Gangle was behind the wheel, balling her eyes out in fear.

"Gangle! Ga- woah!" Pomni teleported from one side of the vehicle to the other as Gangle swerved around. "GANGLE!" Pomni pounded on the driver window.

"AAA!" Gangle jumped. "Pomni!?"

"Open the window! I'll get you out of here!!"

"There you are." Abel hissed. "I may not be able to summon you, but I can still do far worse." He snapped and all the cars came to a screeching halt. Pomni almost had Gangle but went speeding off. All the other racers in view had long, horrified stares to them. Some of them were muttering to themselves.

"What have you done?" Caine pulled against his chains to see the screens as best he could.

"Simply giving back what wasn't you're to take." Abel grinned evily at Caine.

"What..? Oh, no. NO! They'll abstract! Please! I beg of you! Don't hurt them!"

"Too late!!" Abel cackled, watching Zooble's eyes twitch.

Pomni I felt like someone was burying an ax in the back of her head. She saw flashes of faces she had only seen in her dreams, but now they had names. "Mom..? Dad..?" She had friends. She grew up in a small town just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She moved to Chicago for college. She graduated with high marks in forensic science. She went freelance as a private investigator. So many cold cases. So many missing people. A mysterious contact from someone claiming to have worked at C&A gave her a lead. An abandoned building. A headset. She had to wear the headset...

"My name...Oh my god, I remember my name!" She realized where she was and drifted to a hard stop and burned out as she turned around to get back to Gangle. She was still the closest other racer.

Zooble remembered everything. The abuse. The neglect. The rejection from their family and society. The body dysmorphia. It wasn't just them not liking their avatar in game, it was something that translated form their real life. They went to the abandoned C&A office for a video. They were an urban explorer. That's it. No special reason or motivation. They were here entirely by their own stupidity. The horrible realization...no one was waiting for them on the other side.

Zooble sat back in the driver seat in the parked vehicle. Without a word or even a scream, their body started to break apart. The spindly limbs split to reveal black static bulging from every crack. Their eyes fell off their broken head. The abstraction filled the car until it exploded.

Pomni just got back to Gangle's car, but she wasn't in it. Gangle and gotten out and ran back to try and get to Zooble, only to witness them falling apart. "Zooble! Zooble, no!!" Zooble's car blow it's roof as the abstraction became too big for containment. She put her arms up to shield herself from falling debris.

Pomni wasted no time, she skidded to a halt to safely grab Gangle and vanished.

Caine watched in silent, wide eyed horror.

Abel reveled in Caine's misery. "One down." His laugh echoed with Zooble's roar through the city.

~~~

CH1 PREV NEXT (coming soon)

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oldiesstationlover11607 · 1 month ago

Note

Begging on my knees for the jealous Gerard fic.

Jealous - Gerard Way x Iero!Reader

Warnings: Alcohol consumption (drunk gerard), smoking, violence, jealous gerard way, panic attacks

Word Count: 2343

A/N: Sorry this took so long! Here we go!!!!

“Bert! Where the fuck are you?” I shouted, running behind our tour bus. We’d been on Warped Tour for a few weeks and it had been the best few weeks of my life. My Chem had slowly been getting more popular but it only been a week since Gee had introduced me to Bert–we got along instantly.

“I’m on the bus!” He responded, sticking his foot out the door. I jumped up onto the bus and see him sitting on one of the benches smoking a cigarette. “What’s up?” He asked, smirking at me.

“Not much. Gee’s drunk as fuck, Mikey’s hanging out with Alicia, Frank’s out with fans and God knows where Ray is,” I laughed. Bert sat there running a hand through his greasy long black hair, staring at me. As much as Bert was my friend, he was always staring at me��which I’m knew both Gerard and Frank would get annoyed at. Being the only girl in a male dominated rock band and scene was difficult, especially with Frank Iero being your older brother and Gerard Way being your boyfriend.

“What’s new with you?”

He shrugged his shoulders, “Nothing. I like the new hair though, did Gerard do that for you?” Yesterday, Gerard had showed up in our bus with a grocery bag of hair dye, deciding to dye his growing roots red instead of black like the rest of his hair. After talking the previous night about our favourite colours–I mentioned mine was pink–he handed me a bottle of hot pink red-ish dye and we spent the night in the bathroom. I nodded and smiled at him. I let out a yawn and ran a hand through my hair.

“You tired babe?” Bert let out a small laugh before opening his arms to me.

“You know Gerard’s gonna be pissed if he walks in on you guys like that,” Quinn walked into the lounge, a Mountain Dew in his hand.

“We’re just hanging out, it’s nothing more than that,” I looked up at Bert who was already looking down at me with a devilish grin. “Oh shut up.” I grabbed out my phone and started checking my texts.

Frank - 5 unread messages.

Frank - Gee’s pissed as fuck I’m gonna have to come find you in a second

Frank - Where are you?

Frank - He’s literally crying and asking for you

Frank - I’m coming to look around the busses

Frank - You’re not in our bus. Gerard is literally bawling his fuhking eyes out. And I’ve now got Mikey and Ray looking for you as well.

I stared at the little electronic device in my hand–which I couldn’t afford until a few months ago. Quinn looked at me before letting out a sigh.

“Someone’s looking for you aren’t they?”

I nodded–of course he fucking knew that. Quinn knew everything.

“Who?” Bert asked, letting out a sigh.

“Frank. Apparently Gee is asking for me,” I responded, just as a set of footsteps came from the door. Mikey.

“Hey Mikey-boy!” Bert shouted, laughing loudly. Mikey stood there, arms crossed and an unimpressed look plastered on his face.

“What are you two doing? Gerard has been begging for you for the last hour. Need I remind you that you’re dating my brother.” I moved out of Bert’s arms and stood up.

“We’re just hanging out Mikey, nothing is happening at all. Quinn was here the whole time I swear,” I turned my head to look at Quinn who nodded, confirming my story.

“Well we’ve gotta go now, Gerard kinda needs you,” Mikey looked at me with genuine concern. Of course he needed me. We went out into the blazing heat to find the others. Frank was looking around the merch stands with Ray–who wasn’t paying much attention to what he was doing.

“Where the fuck were you?” Frank ran up to me, a mixed expression of ‘pissed off’ and worry plastered on his face. Mikey spoke for me.

“Hanging with Bert and Quinn.”

“Where’s Gerard?” I asked, ignoring the topic. Frank looked towards our tour bus and then down at the ground. Immediately I turned walk towards the bus but was stopped by a hand wrapped around my wrist. Mikey.

“I’ve never seen him like this before, just be gentle with him.” Mikey’s definitely seen Gerard at both his best and worst.

Walking towards the tour bus, I took a peek through the door but didn't see anyone sitting in the main lounge. I hopped into the bus, knowing Gerard was probably laying in his bunk.

“Gee?” I muttered, pulling back the curtain. He looked like crap. Drunk and exhausted.

“Baby?” he rolled over so he was facing me, the smell of alcohol wafting into my face. I'm disappointed in him.

“I thought we agreed you weren’t gonna drink anymore,” I tucked loose strands of his messy hair out of his face, finally able to see him properly.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened,” he moved over, making just enough room for me to sit at the end of the bed. Grabbing his phone, he started flipping through text messages and notifications.

“Next time you want a drink just come find me, I was hanging out with Bert and Mikey came in all freaked out about you. He’s your little brother Gee, you need to be a good role model,” I sighed, holding his hand. Gerard just nodded, not paying attention but I knew the message was going through.

“Wait, why were you hanging out with Bert?” He looked up from his phone with a slightly annoyed expression.

“I got bored so thought I’d spend some time with the other bands.”

“Then why the fuck is Quinn texting me about how Bert’s trying to quote ‘put the moves on you’?” Wait? What? What the fuck. Quinn? Bert wouldn’t try to do that, I was dating one of his best friends for god’s sake. I sat there speechless, looking at him with a blank expression. It was clear he'd already made up his mind as he got out of his bunk and started putting his shoes on.

“No, don’t do anything that’s going to mess things up, you’re already drunk,” I begged, grabbing hold of his hand.

“I’m not going to let that dick try and take you away from me. It already took me 3 years of being in love with you to actually have the guts to ask you to be my girlfriend, I’m not losing you now,” he ran a hand through his greasy black and red mop of hair. I sighed, knowing there wasn't much I could do to stop this. Gerard stopped for a second, looking at me up and down.

“You know I love you, right?” Of course I knew that. I'd known that since the day he told me he loved me, nothing had ever changed. I just missed the person he once was–the real him. Looking up at him, I nodded with a small smile resting on my lips. His hands reached down to cup my face as his forehead met mine. “You are mine, and it’ll always be that way.” He leaned down to kiss my upper lip, the taste of beer lingering for a while after he pulled away. “I’m going to talk to him, are you coming or not?” He grabbed his hoodie and stood, towering over me.

“Yeah, I’m coming.”

We both walked over to The Used’s bus and Gerard stood just outside the door. He gestures for me to get onto the bus and as I took a step I was immediately met with Bert and Quinn shouting at each other, stoping once they saw me.

“I thought you went to find Gee. Did you come crawling back for more?” Bert let out a laugh and moved towards me, arms spread out. I took a step back, bumping into Gee's chest, the slight chuckle he lets out hitting me hard.

“What do you want?” Bert sighed.

“Why the fuck did I find out that you were spending time with my girlfriend through Quinn?”

Bert turned to face Quinn who shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know man, she came here to hang out while you were off getting drunk. I didn’t do anything she didn’t want me to do.”

Well, that was going to set Gerard off.

As if on cue Gerard launched at Bert, punching him in the face. Quinn tried to separate them as fast as he could but they were both stronger than him.

“Go get Frank, he’ll know what to do!” He shouted over the two. I ran out and scanned the immediate area. Where to fuck was everyone? Ray and Mikey walked past me, both looking slightly concerned at my state.

“Oh my god, what’s wrong?” Ray asked.

“Where the fuck is Frank? Gerard is literally fighting Bert in the bus. Quinn told me to go find him.” I was breathless and sweaty, finally feeling the impact of the heat. Mikey was already running towards the bus as Ray took me to find Frank. It felt like the world was closing in on me. “Ray,” I panted, knowing he couldn't hear me, too busy looking for Frank in the crowds of people. “Ray.” He rans towards a nearby tent, finally laying eyes on my brother. He says something to Frank, who looks over to me. It was a hot day–hotter than a normal warped tour day. I couldn't remember how much water I'd had but I stood there watching Frank look at me, squinting his eyes. “Ray.” I muttered before everything turned black and I hit the ground.

...

“Holy shit is she dead?” Bert’s voice.

“She’s not dead you dickwad, she just passed out.” Frank. I felt and heard people shuffling around me but the air in the room was cold, so I must've been inside.

“I feel terrible. This is all your fucking fault Bert, she wouldn’t have gone looking for Frank if you didn’t fucking cause this problem.” Gerard.

“Well you were fucking drunk.” Again, Bert. A hand tucked strands of my hair behind my ear, which I could only assume was Gerard’s or maybe Frank’s.

“Would you two shut up, I’m actually worried about her,” Mikey’s voice was quiet and shaky. He sounded like he’d been crying.

“She’s gonna be okay Mikey. We got to her fast. I think she’s waking up anyways, see she’s trying not to smile,” Ray laughed. He’d caught me. I opened my eyes and let out a small laugh.

“Stop it,” I dragged out trying to sit up slowly. “How long did it take for you two to stop fighting once you realised I was dying?”

Frank laughed loudly. “That’s the first thing you want to know?” I looked around at Gerard who was staring at the ground. “It took them 15 minutes to properly stop bickering once we brought you inside.”

“I’m sorry.” Gerard’s voice was flat. He was sober now.

“Mikey?” I ignored Gerard to focus on the boy that was sitting on my right side. “Are you okay?” I asked as I caught him wiping away tears.

“You scared the shit out of me.” He looked down at me.

“Oh Mike. I’m not going anywhere,” I pulled him in tight for a hug. “Could you guys maybe leave Gee and I alone?” I looked at Frank as if he was the one to make the decision. He was going to say no.

“Alright, come on guys,” he said, shocking me. Frank escorted everyone out before flashing me a quiet smile and leaving.

Gerard and I sat there alone in the room.

“What happened, Gee?” I started before he had the opportunity to.

“You got dehydrated. I’m sorry baby, I’m so sorry–”

“Stop it. You don’t need to be sorry. I just want to know how I ended up on our bus.” Gerard nodded and explained that Frank had carried me onto the bus and Ray ran to tell everyone else. I watched him explain, trying to find the right words. He looked nervous. Like the first time he told me he loved me.

“��And then you woke up,” he finished.

“You’re so pretty when you think I’m mad at you Gee,” I smiled softly.

“What?” He laughed nervously, an unsure grin growing on his lips.

“I’m not mad at you, I just wanted you to stop fighting with Bert. And stop drinking.”

He moved so I was sitting in between his legs, his arms wrapped around me.

“I’m trying to stop drinking. It’s just hard for me.” He nuzzled his head into my shoulder.

“I love you so much. I know you can get sober if you really want to but right now it’s really hurting our relationship. Just remember I love you though.” I turn around so I’m straddling him and cup his face.

“I love you too baby. I’m sorry I got so worked up about Bert,” he pressed kisses on both my left and right temples, moving down my jaw till he reached my lips.

“Gee the others are gonna be back any minute,” I mumbled, running my fingers through his hair.

“Let them see.” He pressed his lips to mine like was desperate for me. Gee’s lips had always either tasted like alcohol or a mix of vanilla and diet coke. He deepened the kiss by grasping the back of my neck.

“Would you two get a room?”

Frank and Mikey interrupt us in a roar of laughter. I got off Gee and he stood up, lifting me onto his back–giving me a piggyback ride to the bunks.

“Have fun you two!” Frank giggled.

REQUESTS OPEN

#gerard way imagines #gerard way x reader #mcr imagines #mcr x reader #mcr fanfiction #my chemical romance imagines #my chemical romance x reader #my chemical romance fanfiction #masterlist #mikeyway #frankiero #theblackparade #raytoro #frank iero imagines #mikey way imagines

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pondsblog · 8 months ago

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Boyfriend Soap Headcannons!!

cw; talks of smoking, bars, - no use of y/n

wordcount: 433

~John ‘Soap’ MacTavish is a late sleeper; don’t expect him to get up before 10 on weekends. He is also a heavy sleeper, snoring in your ear as he pulls you closer to him, his body running hot like a furnace.

~Despite not being particularly fond of dogs, he harbors an unexpected love for cats. He even takes his cat for walks, a sight that never fails to raise eyebrows.

~Has a big family, no doubt a middle child. The MacTavishs have Sunday family dinner every week, during which you get to stuff yourself full, and there will still be a tuberwear of leftovers shoved into your hands as you leave.

~Johnny is an extrovert and seems to make friends anywhere and everywhere. You leave him to grab a can of beans in the next aisle of the grocery store and come back to him animatedly talking to older women about the price of bread these days. He knows so many people, but going out can be annoying because he has to stop and greet a handful of people each time you walk down the street or get a drink at the bar.

~He can dance surprisingly well, from the jumping and spinning on the dance floor to the slow sway in the kitchen.

~He gives you his jacket when he suspects you are cold or if there is even the slightest wind. He also uses his body to shield you from the wind and rain.

~Soap ties and unties your shoes for you out of instinct. If your laces come loose, he won’t hesitate to drop down and tie them. It doesn’t matter if you get looks in public— “won’t have you falling for someone else,” he says as he taps your shoe before standing up.

~He does math when he is sad; he says he likes it when it ends in a nice, neat number.

~Social smoker. When soap is around, Ghost seems to go through his cigarette pack much quicker. If you smoke, he lights your cigarettes for you. I can also see him vaping. He loves colorful ones and tries them all.

~Johnny has many hobbies, but the ones that keep him up until late at night are repairing electronics, kettles, toasters, hell, and even a series of laptops. He is known as the ‘repair man’ around town. Everyone brings him their broken things in the hope he can fix them. He does it for free. Sometimes, it’s a quick fix and other times; he has to take the whole thing apart and replace some pieces with other ones.

-------

I realise now there isn't much couple stuff, but trust I will get into it more in the next post...

Love you all,

-pond <3<3

#call of duty mw2 #cod headcanons #cod mw2 #john soap mactavish #john soap mactavish x you #johnny soap mactavish x fem!reader #soap mactavish x reader #soap x reader #soap cod #cod #john mactavish #modern warfare #dropinthepond

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another-fanfic-haven · 4 months ago

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Smoke break

hey :) previous part Word count: 1401 song: And One - Military Fashion ShowTW! Addiction to nicotine

God-fucking-damnit! This month is pure stress not only for you but for the rest of the S.T.A.R.S. Captain included. Summer is swiftly coming to an end, and so do the long, warm evenings, which means a spike in heinous crimes. The constant rain and gloom make it a stellar setting for all the gruesome murder cases. You lost count of how many reports you had to go through this month, but you stopped counting after 3 in the same week.

All the members seemed to lose their spark, going from the bright light of a supernova into a dim, weak glimmer of a dying white dwarf. The friendly banter is now replaced by the cold, awkward silence, monotone clicking of the keyboards and an occasional clank of yet another cup of coffee.

Your role within the S.T.A.R.S. is clear - you provide the necessary intel, perform the boring analysis, and all other tasks requiring more intellect and foresight, than muscle on the field. Plus with Brad, you take care of the electronic devices, testing and fixing the equipment when needed. You grew to tolerate the arrangement. After all, your life is not threatened to be cut short with a bullet to the skull every time you leave the office.

You can see your hands shaking, as you open yet another case delivered straight into your hands by the new RPD Rookie. The blonde boy with the softest features and hope in his eyes. God, you can see how that glimmer soon fades into a cold detachment of older officers. The photos attached to the case are... well, there's not a single word in any language to explain the sheer disgust you feel. You can only imagine the smell of the crime scene and the sound of the viscera under the poor police boots that had to document the scene. You felt lightheaded, the letters on your screen merging into a jumbled, illegible mess. You tried to focus, repeating like a mantra: don't look at the photos, don't look at the images. But you couldn't keep your eyes off them, staring at each piece of evidence with a twisted fascination. You feel your stomach knot and turn, as you browse through them, reading the descriptions of the crime scene. You forced yourself to close the folder and slide it to the opposite side of your desk, far from your arm's reach - unless you lean to grab it.

A soft groan left your lips, as you leaned back in the chair, your palms covering the eyes, and your face pointed towards the ceiling. The photos will appear in your nightmares, no doubt. You tried to calm yourself down - at least enough to begin rewriting the handwritten report into the digital form. Nothing worked. No breathing technique, no mantra was enough to calm your nerves. You slammed your fists on the desk, bringing all the attention onto yourself. That's enough, you need something else. You stood up and walked out of the office, not replying to anyone's concerned look.

It's been six months since you tried to stop your addiction. And you achieved it, you haven't touched a single cigarette during that time, but now... You tried to reason with yourself, convinced it's just one cig to calm your nerves. After all, it's been rough, and you have a job to do. You grabbed a pack you had stashed in your jacket - you left the pack there and forgot about it, up until the days became cold and you found it randomly while checking the pockets. You made your way into the parking lot, hiding under the roof. You took a deep breath, the smell of rain and distant city filling your nostrils. You light up the cig, take a huff, and hold it in your lungs. The smoke burned in all the right ways, before you released it slowly, tilting your head up and closing your eyes as you did so. The sound of the rain created a soothing backdrop for your little break. At least for a second, you could take your mind off everything. Nothing mattered at this moment, it was just you, your enslavement resting between your index and middle finger, and the hum of the city mixed with rain hitting the metal gutter.

A firm knock on your shoulder brought you back to Earth. You almost jumped out of your skin, your reaction met with a low, mocking chuckle.

"Not only a smoker but a scaredy-cat. Tsk-tsk. You fit into this organization like a glove."

You turned your head to meet your captain, standing right next to you, leaning against the wet wall. He wore a smug smile on his lips, but he looked just as worn as you, if not more. His usually perfect hair looked like he hadn't done anything to it in a few days, with loose strands cascading down his forehead, hell, he didn't have his glasses on. You could see his eyes perfectly, the cold, stoic eyes with dark bags underneath. He looked like he hadn't slept in a few days, which could be true.

"Sorry, captain-" You wanted to apologize, but he cut your excuse short.

"Care to share?" He asked, looking at the still-burning cigarette between your fingers. You nodded, feeling your stuck words burn your throat more than the smoke. You gave him the pack, watching as his fingers fished one out. He gave you the pack back, and you took a second to register his motion. He looked at you with his expressionless gaze as you stumbled to grab it from his hands and put it into the pocket of your uniform. You watched as he swiftly flicked the lighter with his thumb, lighting the cigarette resting between his teeth. He, too, took a long drag, holding the smoke in his lungs before releasing slowly with all the tension in his body.

You couldn't help but chuckle, turning to rest your back against the wall. Albert looked at you, raising an eyebrow.

"What's so funny?" He asked, his voice coming out as monotone as ever.

"Never took you for a smoker, captain." You replied, flicking the ash off the cigarette and crossing your arms on your chest. He chuckled lowly, following it with a sigh.

"Never judge a book by its cover."

You didn't say anything, letting the peaceful silence stay between you.

"What's on your mind?" He asked, staring into the distance, almost surveilling the area. His voice ripped you from your head once more. You flicked the burnt cigarette into the puddle, and your hands instinctively reached for the pack in your pocket. You stopped as your hand was about to dig into the pocket, and squeezed your shoulder instead.

"I don't know. It's just--" You sighed, tilting your head up and closing your eyes for a moment, to gather your running thoughts. It's hard to put all the mess going inside your head into a coherent phrase. All the cases and sleepless nights weren't doing you great. "I guess I'm just stressed. All of the gore is doing a trick on my head. And the murderer still being unknown. There's virtually no lead, reason, or rhyme to the crimes that could help me find them."

Albert regarded your answer with a simple hum, looking at you from the side. He too flicked the burnt cig into a puddle and pushed himself off the wall.

Albert moved swiftly, closing the distance. He put his hand on your shoulder, patting it and letting his touch linger for a second longer than usual.

"You got this, agent. If you need help, I'm always in my office. Just knock before you barge in, understood?" His warmth left your shoulder, quickly replaced by the cold emptiness. You looked up, nodding in acknowledgment. The corners of his lips twitched upwards into a hint of a smile. That was new. He never expressed his approval like that. Not around you at least.

"And don't stand here too long. You will get sick and I don't want to receive your sorry excuse for not coming to work." His voice returned to the usual ice-cold monotone. Before you could notice, he disappeared into the building, leaving you alone.

You sighed and walked back into the office - now a tad calmer and ready to tackle the dreaded report. You can't disappoint your captain.

#resident evil #albert wesker #resident evil fanfic #resident evil fanfiction #resident evil wesker #resident evil x reader #albert wesker x reader #re wesker #re x reader #x reader #reader insert #gender neutral reader #stars wesker #albert wesker x you

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ershebet · 1 year ago

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Larisa: Don't ruin my shoes

Sechenov: How to use the toilet with a jumpsuit? I think we should reconsider the design of the work form

P-3: *♪ Parody of a voice ♪* Comrade, actually, an enterprise is not a place for smoking! Stop using an electronic cigarette right now!

Char-les: Comrade Major, I am glad that you have the strength to fool around again

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Clothing exchange

#atomic heart #dmitry sechenov #chariton zakharov #char les #larisa filatova #michael stockhausen #victor petrov

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sawyerconfort · 2 months ago

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i could be your girl, but would you love me if i ruled the world? | faith lehane x fem!reader

I'M BACK!

It's been so long, isn't it?

Anyway, life got so busy I couldn't even breathe this year.

But it's October, it's Halloween and it's BTVS SEASON!

Honestly, I've been obsessed with all the Buffyverse these days, and, honestly, I couldn't end Halloween and October without writing something about Faith.

So, that's why this blog is back, for one day.

No, requests are still closed. Sorry!

ENJOY!

(I just wanted to thank the two edits of Faith from Tik Tok that I saw with this song and that gave me the idea for this oneshot, last. Enjoy now!)

-----------------------

PROMPT: Nothing much, just you, a complete, bitter, hard-hearted, closed-minded slob falling in love with another bitter, hard-hearted, closed-minded slob - and just a little bit of a sense of humor.

***

Ah, the Bronze.

You went there whenever you needed to clear your head. Sunnydale was the calmest town in the world to live in, especially when you were a teenager in the throes of puberty and adrenaline, looking for nothing more than peace and quiet.

You went to the Bronze when you needed to breathe, which was almost always, even in a small and peaceful town like Sunnydale.

Aside from the problems with your parents, your house that seemed too small for someone as big as you, and your terrible grades in school, everything was going pretty well. You intimidated people enough, even in the small and cramped bar, to keep them far enough away from you, and you just looked for a table away from the crowd of colors and couples and smells and sensations to light a cigarette and put your feet up.

"A Mai Tai, Ricky, please," you would say, almost always, swearing that it would be your first and only glass until Ricky came with two, three more.

And then you lit a cigarette before heading home. And you avoided looking at the dance floor, or standing in line for the bathroom because you knew there were women and men looking right at you.

And you hated to reciprocate. You hated to think about the possibility of winning someone's heart in one night, and vice versa.

It was like that every night.

Except that one.

***

That story about vampires, dangerous creatures, vampire Slayers, it was all a lie. It couldn't be true. Adults believed it because it suited them, because they were legends spread from generation to generation.

But you were already a teenager. You were too old to even believe in Santa Claus, why believe in bloodsucking monsters that went after people? And in a girl who could, in fact, kill them all and save the day for at least… a hundred years?

It didn't make any sense. Those things didn't exist. At least, they shouldn't have.

And if they did, well, they didn't interfere with your quiet nighttime routine. Going to Bronze. Drinking a Mai Tai. Smoking like a troubled girl. It was the best thing in the world. No vampire could stop that.

But she could. And you just didn't know it when you noticed her doing her best on the dance floor, wrapping her arms around one of the girls sitting down and moving her hands awkwardly, all while drinking something you couldn't make out.

When you wrapped your arm around the chair and put the straw in your mouth to suck the last drop of Mai Tai, she looked at you. And her eyes kind of took you over completely, as if it were an electronic song with a strong beat that made your ears throb. Too bad it was only for two seconds. Because you looked away.

Your agreements with yourself were always the same. Don't get carried away, don't get attached, don't kill yourself. Just rebel, and live in the moment.

And you would do that, if it weren't for those curious eyes, from across the dance floor. Small, brown, with no sign of eyeliner. She wasn't a rebel, but that kind of troubled girl…

That style also took you over completely. You had to admit that the moment you noticed that little black blouse showing parts of her waist against the light and that shiny belt, she won your heart completely. Or almost completely.

Because you couldn't let yourself get carried away. First deal.

It was kind of impossible, because she was practically crawling towards you. As if your gaze had taken her in completely, too. She came in stealthy steps, while you tried to decide if she looked like a snake, a wolf or a fox in search of prey.

But since it was her nature to do that, the girl simply walked right past the table where you were and started chatting with a couple at the other table, next to yours, all the while with the glass swinging in her hand. A Mai Tai. Exactly like yours.

It wasn't on purpose. It was just a coincidence because you had just arrived. And you hadn't seen each other yet. She also didn't seem to be stalking you or anything like that, because, in truth, when your eyes met for the first time, the look she gave you was pure curiosity, and, unless she knew how to hide it well, you had never run into each other, not even in a small and peaceful town like Sunnydale.

You would know if she was stalking you. And maybe she was stalking you now, pretending to be sly, but not before.

Her gaze drifted to you when the two teenagers at the next table frowned at her exaggerated gestures, and you noticed that those eyes were browner than usual. And that you clearly weren't prepared for them.

"Drinking twin," she said innocently, looking down at her half-empty glass. There was a huskiness in her voice that you weren't prepared for either. Not that you expected a high-pitched, bad-girl-dressed preppy girl, but… whatever. Enough thinking about what you expected.

"Is that how you usually start a conversation with someone?" you asked, obviously making fun. And according to her personality, which you had built up in your head, she wouldn't be offended. And she wasn't.

She just laughed, muffled. And her white teeth took your breath away when they showed. Because she had a damn beautiful smile.

"You got me there," she whispered, raising her glass, but she didn't seem surprised, and she was still laughing. "I don't know how to start a conversation with someone, it's true. But in my defense, I also didn't know there was a formula, an instruction manual for starting a conversation with someone…"

"There isn't," you replied shortly. "And I'm not complaining. I was just surprised that you…"

You shrugged. Wow, what the hell happened to your train of thought just now?

"Okay, I get it. It's okay. I really think that was a stupid conversation starter, if you ask me…", she said, catching you off guard again. With her fingers running along the edge of the chair next to you, she looked at you curiously, pulling the chair back. "Can I?"

One of those classic cases where you couldn't say no. It would be too rude. And you were tough, but not to that extent. A little company wouldn't hurt. For one night.

Don't get attached. Rule number two. Shit.

Nodding, you lowered your head and sucked the rest of your Mai Tai, while she obviously didn't wait for a full answer and sat down next to you, positioning the glass so that it was practically glued to yours, or at least in the same field of vision.

"So, are you going to at least let me ask your name or are you going to say that my attempt at conversation is equally stupid too?", she asked, straight and direct, exactly as you imagined. And as you didn't expect.

"It's (Y\N). Sorry, I didn't mean to sound so rude if it did," you said, your voice low. She laughed in response, and shook her head. "And yours? Can I at least ask?"

"Lehane. Faith Lehane," she said, all enigmatic, and obviously, you knew it was supposed to make you really curious. And she was lucky that it really did. "You can ask anything, you just won't be guaranteed an answer."

You laughed. Damn, she really knew how to charm a girl. Or a person, anyway. You couldn't tell.

"I just came to Sunnydale, actually. Not that it interests you, but… I was looking for a less chaotic city. Until I found out that this place has vampires too. So, I guess I can start packing my bags and be a nomad again."

"Are you running away from vampires?" you asked, uselessly curious about the idea of a girl who knew the legends. An outsider who knew the legends. And you thought they only existed in Sunnydale.

"Running away isn't the right word, I'm afraid. They should run away from me, according to my… well, they should run away from me, instead. But I just don't agree with anything that happens here. In my life, specifically. Nothing seems to…"

"… make sense?"

"Are you…?", she stopped, staring at you and making you a little more nervous and tense than before. And then, she shook her head. "No, you're not. She said there's only one in each corner. And if I'm here, you couldn't be here. Not active."

Drunk talk. Daydreams. That was all that was needed, really.

"What are you talking about?", you asked, confused.

"Doesn't matter," Faith shook her head, laughing. "Are you single?"

Wait, what? That's definitely a quick escalation.

"What?"

"Oh, you don't like other girls? I see."

"No, no, I just… got confused, what…?"

"Calm down, I just asked if you're single. It's no big deal. And it's also okay if you don't date other girls, it's just, like, I thought you were a little… too pretty and I just wanted to know if you could… like…"

You laughed. Of course. They all had the same excuse. There was no way out of this. It started like that, and then you'd pin them against the wall, and then you'd kiss them, and then you'd try to take their shirts off until you remembered that the rule was not to get attached. And then you'd just kick them out. Because there was no point in trying to be nice when you didn't need to anymore.

"… if I could make out with you?", you finished, again, still laughing. "Yeah, it's a good proposal, actually, but I really don't know if it's very safe. You seem too drunk for my bones and I don't want to cause any problems."

Faith seemed, at that moment, to be offended. She shook her head, frowning and downing the entire drink in one go, her eyes scrutinizing you like a predator.

"I wouldn't complain if you caused me trouble, babe, I mean it," she said, simply throwing the words out of her mouth. "I have an iron fist. And, truthfully, I don't get drunk that quickly. I'm just too happy, but it's not because of the drink."

It's because of you. Okay, that was really obvious. You should have guessed.

And you should have known you were breaking the rule if you accepted it.

She stretched in the chair next to yours, a movement even more deliberate because her black blouse had risen enough to leave you in contact with half of her exposed belly. And that shouldn't have turned you on like it did. Never. Not for a second.

You took a deep breath. You imagined yourself as a vampire drinking blood from its victims, and realized that it would be a horrible thing to do, as much as it was to think.

"We don't have to make out. I can just kiss you in a random corner, surrounded by people, no one will notice," Faith said determinedly. "And I'll control my hands enough so they don't touch you…"

Oh my God. What were you getting yourself into?

You didn't think, you didn't even have time to. It felt like something else was taking over you, and maybe it would have been easier to blame the Mai Tai because when you pressed Faith against the wall and started kissing her breathlessly and in a hurry, you completely lost consciousness.

***

The day after wasn't usually the worst. But that morning after in particular was terrifying for you because, with all that hangover, you were sure you would die if you took one more step.

But the hangover certainly wasn't the biggest problem.

You don't remember the aftermath of attacking Faith's lips at the Bronze. You only remember that, in flashes, you took her home, and she led you to the gate, made you stop your father's car on the porch and tried to pull the car door open for you to get out too. But you bravely, and maybe a little self-consciously, pushed her back and said that you hated rushing things.

But you had never said that. And you had never even been in a hurry to kiss any other girl you had been with, because there had never been an accidental lifting of her shirt in the middle of the kiss, or a silly touch on the other girl's soft, tanned skin, or the discovery of a strange scar on her belly that she quickly dismissed by shoving her tongue down your throat.

And you needed to stop thinking about Faith before things got worse for you. Because you had never thought so much about another girl before. The first, maybe the first girl you had ever kissed, outside of the Bronze…

But you were thirteen. And your head was full of apple punch, which you had drunk behind your parents' back at a Halloween party with your childhood friends. And you had just kissed a girl at Spin the Bottle. And while you were throwing up and being grounded for three weeks, all you could think about was this girl.

Luckily, she moved out the following year. And you stopped thinking.

As you brushed your teeth, drank coffee, said a dull and boring good morning to your parents and lit a cigarette in the backseat while your father sang Johnny Cash on the way to school, you couldn't stop thinking about Faith. And then, in Philosophy class, you started studying about faith and counterparts. And it only got worse for you.

And then you knew you couldn't stay like this. And that you needed to see her again. Even if it was just to punch that beautiful little face, look into those brown eyes one last time or see her mouth bleeding and dripping on those perfect lips that you kissed last night.

***

Agreement number three: don't kill yourself.

But it was kind of hard to keep a promise like that in Sunnydale. When things started to heat up again in the town, and the legends started to become reality, you had to deal with the fear of facing your skepticism.

A part buried inside your brain thought that was incredibly cool. The vampires running around, the thirst for blood, the hidden threat that could invade the place you were in and make you the victim. But the more rational part started to cultivate fear, trauma, apprehension, the idea of the scary occult that you didn't know about.

Oh, come on, the last known Vampire Slayer had been killed. There was no one to protect your small, peaceful town now. Any self-respecting girl was terrified of leaving the house, because there was the horrible possibility of being the chosen one.

But there was no way. You even wanted to stay home, locked up, but your free spirit cried out to go out. And faced with a dark situation in which you couldn't stop thinking about a girl, the girl you had kissed to shut her up, you needed to get out.

Until you discovered that the smell of smoke possibly attracted strange, almost snake-like creatures, thirsty for blood and with huge teeth capable of piercing a person's neck.

Until you lit a cigarette and felt a chill down your spine instead of relief when you inhaled.

Until you were knocked to the ground by the deliberate voice and the grip of a hideous creature with huge teeth. A vampire. Good. This was your chance to change your destiny, which you didn't do, because, in truth, there was no chance of people being nice to you, not in this life, at least.

When he knocked you down and ran to grab you firmly behind the neck, you closed your eyes, expecting the worst. You wouldn't even feel the firmness of his fangs. Until he grunted, and fell. A shrill, hoarse scream echoed from afar, making you open your eyes:

"Pay attention, you son of a bitch!"

And then, Faith pulled you up, the rush imminent. You knew it was her because, in fact, the unmistakable smell had been in your mind for weeks. With a glance in her direction, you clearly saw the girl's gaze soften, and you smiled, relieved, a heavy sigh that was hard to escape.

"Are you okay? Did he bite you? Are you in pain?"

"Faith," you whispered. That was all you could say. You hugged her, laughing, and she hugged you back, after two seconds, tightening her arms around you, as if she was refusing to let go.

Then, as usual, she broke the hug, with a not-so-gentle pat on your chest. "You idiot! You shouldn't be out here, it's dangerous! They're sending vampires from beyond to come after us. Answer my questions, at least, okay, idiot?"

You laughed. "Don't worry, babe, I'm fine. He was going to bite me, but you came along and… wow, you put a good stake in his chest."

"Actually, it's my dagger," she smiled, kneeling down and pulling the dagger out of the vampire's chest, as he disappeared and turned to dust in front of you. "Well, here's my secret. A Vampire Slayer. But you can interpret it however you want. I can be a Vigilante, that's all."

You huffed, shaking your head. And then, the words just spilled out of your throat again.

"I haven't stopped thinking about you since that day at the Bronze. I'm not the same person anymore, Faith. I can't pretend anymore that I didn't get attached and that you didn't catch my attention from the beginning. I lied to myself for a long time about the other girls, but you…", you sighed, looking at her. "It was different. And all it took was for me to have a horrible near-death experience with an ugly creature like that to make sure of it."

"Oh, will you ever shut up, doll?", she teased, and pulled you by the waist for a desperate kiss, lowering the dagger until it fell to the floor again, and wrapping both arms around you, exactly as you imagined she would do. "I knew it… I knew it would make you change your mind. You look so much cuter without that bad girl pose."

"As if you knew anything about me, Faith."

"Oh, I know. Trust me. I've known you my whole life," she whispered, lost, before kissing you again. "I was just waiting for you to get to know me too. And then I could have you, all to myself, without all this arrogance."

"Shut up," you whispered.

And then she shut up. And you kissed all night. And maybe the next day, when she woke up in your bed and made you skip school for the first time. It was also the first day you accepted being bossed around by someone.

And somehow, that was what it was like to rule the world.

#lgbt #romance #oneshot #imagine #fluff #angst #buffy the vampire slayer #halloween #btvs x reader #faith lehane #faith lehane x reader #eliza dushku x reader #oh my god i love faith #honestly i'm obsessed #she could be my girl girl girl girl girl girl

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theehorsepusssy · 9 months ago

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What was it like for you in the 70s?

Sears Toughskins and blue and gold band briefs. The blipping Sears brand electronic Touchdown. The Saturday Night Fever soundtrack played non stop everywhere you went for 2 years. Food tasted either bland or sugary. The fanciest place I ever been was The Spaghetti Warehouse on Broad St. Two smells I can vividly remember that I associate with the 70s: new vinyl beach balls still in the package and bologna in a metal lunch box. I liked Star Wars when it came out but was just too old for the toys. My little brother was totally into it. Superbowl XIII was the last time I watched Superbowl but I always get that confused with Brians Song cuz I saw both around same time. Trilogy of Terror (3rd vignette) was like a major annual TV event. I used to smoke cigarettes behind the dumpster with the 5th grade girl who wore a halter top and carried a red detonator 8 track player that only played Elvis Clambake soundtrack. My mom nicknamed her Kitty Porn. I used to get home from school 2 or 3 hours before parents and would go to the mall and read magazines at Waldenbooks. Macaroni and cheese came in a metal cup that took over an hour to cook. I always thought Kiss' pussy ass music failed to live up to the wild appearance. Fawlty Towers Basil the Rat was funniest thing ever.

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botgal · 8 months ago

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If you've been following my post regarding internet privacy legislation in California, or if you've been paying attention to the news, then as of late you've likely heard of CA AB 3080, The Parent’s Accountability and Child Protection Act. Which I have written about prior.

On Monday 5/6/2024, this bill will be going through a vote on the Assembly Floor. If you can this weekend, call and email your California Assembly representatives (which you can find through this link here). Even if you only leave voice mails, an inbox full of voice mails regarding the same topic can greatly increase our chances of getting heard.

It is important to help get this vote stricken down in order to protect the privacy of California's internet users, and not set a precedent for them to allow this further (because we know that they will). However, I would like to say a few things to dispel some of the panic and fear that I've been seeing spread around about this bill. To let you know we still have time no matter what happens on this vote, and to prevent anyone from becoming too too anxious for now.

This is only the Assembly vote. Which means that there are plenty more steps in the process we will have to stop it. Even if it passes here, which we will try to stop, it will still have go to through both the Senate and the Governor before it gets signed. And we will work to stop it no matter what point it gets to.

As for the content of the bill. While the original incarnation of AB 3080 was indeed a general age verification bill, the scope of it has narrowed somewhat. Instead it has narrowed down to focusing on age verification for purchasing items which are illegal under California law for minors to purchase.

The most recent version of the bill, as amended on 5/2/2024, has focused primarily on requiring age verification for online purchases of any items that minors are not allowed to purchase in California. These items explicitly include "An aerosol container of paint that is capable of defacing property", "Etching cream that is capable of defacing property", "Dangerous fireworks", "Tanning in an ultraviolet tanning device", "Dietary supplement products containing ephedrine group alkaloids", "Body branding", "Firearms or handguns", "A BB device", "Ammunition or reloaded ammunition", "Any tobacco, cigarette, cigarette papers, blunt wraps, any other preparation of tobacco, any other instrument or paraphernalia that is designed for the smoking or ingestion of tobacco, products prepared from tobacco, or any controlled substance", "Electronic cigarettes", or "A less lethal weapon".

To note, this version of the bill does still include access to "pornographic internet websites". Which are also explicitly defined under the law, and have had their scope narrowed considerably since the original iteration of the bill. The most recent version of the bill limits this definition to "an internet website on which the owner of the internet website, for commercial gain, knowingly publishes sexually explicit content that, on an annual basis, exceeds one-third of the contents published on the internet website." In which "sexually explicit content" is defined as "visual imagery of an individual or individuals engaging in an act of masturbation, sexual intercourse, oral copulation, or other overtly sexual conduct that, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value."

So, while the current version of AB 3080 is still not a good thing and we must work to keep it from being passed, please know it's not an immediate internet shut-down via age verification bill. We have time to fight this. And if we have people who are willing to try and fight this, calling and writing to their representatives, then we will always have the chance.

In conclusion. Do not fall to panic. Do your part. Fight to keep our internet free and unregulated.

#california #ab 3080 #age verification #kosa #legislation #ca ab 3080 #internet privacy #internet freedom

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amazingmsme · 3 months ago

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Don’t Be Silly

AN: can’t believe it’s already been a full week & I just about have all of next week fully written & ready to post as well! Here’s some wolf 359 fluff for y’all to enjoy, so let’s hear it for day 7! But first, quick question: can an ai be ticklish? Idk but Eiffel’s about to find out

Eiffel was a talker. Honestly, he could talk about anything if only there were someone willing to listen. Back home, few people cared to listen to his ramblings. Minkowski and Hilbert cared even less. And he didn't even want to try with Lovelace...

Hera wasn't like the rest of them. She would happily listen to him all day, and call him crazy, but he didn't think her interest was forced. No, she had a natural curiosity about her that drew her towards him like a magnet. She often kept him company as he rambled to the empty abyss of space, unsure if there even were any "dear listeners" out there.

She liked listening to him talk. She's surprisingly learned quite a lot from him. About earth, mostly. She supposed it was natural to miss your home when you're so far away from it.

He liked telling her about the things he missed. She didn't quite understand why, as he always seemed melancholy after their talks. But he would speak with such fond excitement, so it must bring him some joy to express his longing.

Today, he was talking about the weather of all things.

"Yup, you really don't know what you have until it's cruelly stripped away from you. But I miss it all. Yes dear listeners, I never thought I'd say this, but I miss allergies! I miss the cottonwood in the spring, in all its shitty, fuzzy glory and I miss the fucking ragweed! I want to go outside and sneeze my ass off and squint at everything I look at because it's too damn bright and I forgot my sunglasses because it was supposed to be cloudy and it's sunny out of nowhere!"

"That... doesn't really sound fun."

"Yeah, well, it's not. But it's at least real," he lamented, fiddling with a knob that did nothing. Or if it did, he wasn't aware.

Hera's breath hitched, and she hoped she could mask it as just a glitch. That was odd. She felt that. It wasn't the first time she could "feel" in a sense. She was deeply connected to her electronic mechanisms and coding, and she would definitely feel if something damaged either. She has sensors all around the ship: in the walls the ceilings, the equipment, she even has a few exterior sensors along the sides and docking bays. She'd felt that odd tingle shoot through her wires on a few rare occasions, but it had always been fleeting. Minkowski pressing random buttons on the motherboard to see what they did, Eiffel fixing a dent too close to a sensor, Minkowski clicking and dragging the mouse across the screen... If she could, she would've shuddered at the thought. She tried to focus on what he was saying.

"And they're always right! I don't know how, but every damn time a patch sprouts up, it rains! Guess that's where they got the name though, right?"

"What?"

"The rain flowers," he clarified, tapping his fingers on some buttons. Truth be told, most of the buttons and dials in the coms room were for show, like the decorative smoke stack on the Titanic. The real controls were localized to a single panel, and she had always assumed they had no effect on her. Now, she was glitching out as she fought the urge to laugh.

"Right, right," she agreed, wishing he would just stop twisting that knob.

Of course, she could never be so lucky.

"I tell ya, there's nothing like a good thunderstorm, a rocking chair on an enclosed porch, a cigarette and a cold beer. I really mean it, that is paradise. You can take your sunny beaches with all that fucking sand, I'm a doom and gloom weather kinda guy. But don't get me wrong! I'd literally kill to be on a nice, secluded beach-" he rambled on wistfully, dreaming of all the places that were better than here. She was having trouble focusing when his other hand tapped the empty keyboard, all the while he still played with that fucking dial-

"Wow, okay, glad my heartfelt longing is so funny," he sassed, seemingly out of nowhere. Then she realized, with subsequent horror, that he was giggling. What the hell was going on with her? She needed to get a grip, or maybe a systems reboot, have Minkowski check her wiring, whatever it was, she'd do that later. It took more effort to stop laughing than she would like to admit.

“N͞-͓̫̬̞ͩͮ́n͚̓̃͆̇͘͞o̲̮̼͍̿̀͠, I wasn't laughing at you!" She glitched slightly as she spoke, which wasn't exactly out of the norm for Hera, but it did make Eiffel pay more attention to what she was trying to say.

"Yeah? Then what's so funny?" he asked, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. Well, at least he'd stopped fiddling with that stupid dial.

"Well, I, uh... Ï̶͈ͣt̵͖͌ͧͥ̎̀’̆͘s̨̯ hard to explain," she struggled to come up with a straight answer.

"Yeah, yeah," he brushed her off, rolling his eyes.

"I promise I wasn't laughing at you!"

"Oh sure, I believe you!"

"Eiffel!" she whined, catching a glimpse of a smile. "I really wasn't! It's just... I don't know, maybe I have a wire loose somewhere." That seemed to make him concerned, which was the opposite of what she was going for.

"Are you okay? It doesn't hurt, does it?"

"No, it's nothing like that," she was quick to put his worries at ease. "But I'd appreciate it if you stopped messing with that control panel."

"Why? This one doesn't do anything," he back talked, purposefully pressing down on a few buttons. "See? Nothing happened!"

He didn't receive a response. Hera was too busy focusing on containing her laughter, but her lack of a response only served to pique his interest.

"Hera? You there?"

"Mhm!"

His smile looked... different somehow. He thought for a second before finally speaking, "Hey so I've got a question. And I've just been dying to know... Can an AI be ticklish?"

The question threw her off guard, and a short giggle slipped out. "Whahat? N-̭͎́n͊͞o, that's impossible! Come on Eiffel, d-̝͈̑dŏṅ̮’t͓͕͌ be silly."

"See, I'm not sure how impossible it actually is. I mean, you're pretty advanced-"

"Why would an AI even be ticklish?"

Eiffel shrugged. "I don't know, why do you feel pain?" Hera scoffed, and okay, yeah, blunt question.

"Probably to alert me to the well being of the ship. But that serves a purpose!"

"Maybe this does too," he taunted, reaching over to twitch the dial and she couldn't help but shriek.

"Eiffel! Dohohon't!"

"I knew it! You are ticklish! You know, they probably programmed you like this so we'd have some form of entertainment up here."

If she could, she'd be blushing right now. "They did nohohot!" she insisted. The worst part was that she really didn't know why, and that sounded like a cruel, ironic punishment they'd inflict on her. Sure, give the rogue AI the most embarrassing human weakness.

Except... she wasn't entirely sure it was a built in punishment. What if they had designed her specifically to feel more human? Or was it truly just the way her sensors reacted to certain input?

"No no, I can see what they were going for! It's like a video game!" he chuckled gleefully, continuing to play with the extra control panel.

"Shut up, noho it's not!" she scolded. He added his other hand to the mix, pressing buttons and flipping switches. She squealed, and the lights began to flicker.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner? Just think of all the fun you've been missing out on!"

"Ahahahactually I haven't been missing out ohon anything," she sassed before a loud squeal burst from her speakers.

"Well I have! I've been curious about this for months!" he exclaimed, continuing to press the buttons randomly.

Months? No, he wasn't serious, he was just saying that to mess with her! He would've asked as soon as the question entered his mind, like today. If he thought she was ticklish, he would've tried something long before now. But then she remembered all the times in the past few weeks where he would press random buttons, flip switches and pull levers at random. He even willingly offered to do repairs on some severed wires, and he made sure to take as much time as possible. She was able to brush off her reactions then, claiming it just pinched a little. Had he known the whole time?

"Wait ahaha second, Eiffehehel did you know?" she accused before he sent her into another giggle fit as he slid the faders up and down on the board.

"I just wanted to test it out and see-"

"You sneaky little bihihitch!"

"Eh, I've been called worse," he shrugged off the insult.

"Why dihidn't you tell mehehe?" The sincerity of the question made Eiffel pause.

"I... thought you knew?"

"How would I know?"

"Uh, because you can feel it," he deadpanned. Hera really wished she could roll her eyes.

"Well, yeah, but I didn't know what it was! I thought it was like... a bug in my system or something!"

"Oh it's a bug alright," he grinned devilishly. "A tickle bug!" To make his point, he pressed as many buttons as he could with his left hand and turned the dial with his right. Hera squealed, and she didn't even know her voice box went up that high.

"Eiffel! Ihihi'm serious!"

"Alright, I'll stop. For now," he added cryptically, but true to his word, he retracted his hands.

Hera panted for "breath," even though she didn't technic need to. But Eiffel understood the need to compose yourself, and didn't call her out on it.

"You're insufferable!" she finally said, amusement still clear in her voice.

"That's what they tell me," he proudly agreed. "So? What's the verdict?"

"Huh?"

"What're your thoughts on... all that," he gestured vaguely with his hand. She really wished he'd stop moving his fingers like that.

"Oh! Um, w̋ͩ-w̵̷̝el̥̺̏l͍, it felt kinda like my whole system was getting shocked, and I'm pretty sure I've never laughed that much before," she began to explain shyly.

"I didn't hear you say you hated it," Eiffel probed a little deeper.

"I̺͙̯ͦ͛̌ͧ-̲͖̭̝Ì̡-̘̣̈́͡͠I̵̜͗͆ͩͪ͜ d̈́ͨ̑̍̊̿̀i̘̳dň̰̯̯́’̭t͟-" Hera glitched slightly, and she started over. "Hate is a strong word." He didn't say anything else; he didn't have to. He just smiled and shook his head.

Hera found herself stuck halfway between excitement and dread for what the future held in store.

#my babies!!!#my little scrunklies!!!#tickletober #tickletober 2024 #doug eiffel #hera #wolf 359 #wolf 359 fic #wolf 359 tickle fic #ticklish!hera

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