#es writes fic

[eveningspirit]

Huh? I wrote a fic. Yay me... (now need to re-read, edit, whatever ;) )

[deskraven]

Chaos Terrans, Chaos Energy, Terratronus, Starscream

Read time: 5 minutes

TLDR: Starscream ordered the Chaos Terrans to stab each other with the Cyber Slayer to charge it; The Chaos Terrans cared about each other genuinely; I wish Starscream studied Mandroid corpse.

ID: A clip from Earthspark S2E09. After Hashtag and Mo discover the Witwicky underground tunnels form a humanoid shape, we see Aftermath and Spitfire attempting to enter the tunnels with the Cyber Slayer at the entrance where the cave water was first discovered in S1E07. Aftermath unleashes a massive chaos energy blast through the weapon, shaking the chamber the Maltos sisters are in but having no effect outside. Spitfire takes the weapon, taunting, "My turn already - and you have to it with STYLE!" She spins the weapon coolly, only to release a tiny streak of energy. Aftermath teases, "Some STYLE you got there, Spitfire… or should I call you, Nofire?" Spitfire retorts, "Ha-ha-ha, and I thought you were just funny looking." Possibly misreading her mockery as praising, Aftermath proudly declares, "Aftermath is the complete package," before launching into a random battle cry. "I don't think you -" Spitfire's confused look changes into resignation. "You know what? Never mind." She lifts up the weapon and points it at her brother, "Just hold still while I recharge this - what's it called again?" "CYBER SLAYER," Aftermath reminds her, leaning down. "Wicked cool name for a weapon if you ask - Aaargh!" His words are cut off as Spitfire taps him sharply on the head with the weapon. He stumbles back, clutching his head as his embershard dims, emitting garbled sounds. Spitfire tosses him a bottle of cave water. After a long gulp, his embershard lights up again. Wiping his mouth, he smiles, "That does NOT get any easier, but what a rush!" Seeing the weapon charged with Aftermath's own energy, Spitfire grins, "Yeh? The next time we will trade." This time, she manages to unleash a powerful blast into the cave walls, causing rocks to fall around the Malto sisters but still no external effect. Frustrated, she asks, "Any doors open up yet?" "Ha! That's what we are doing here, sister?" Aftermath shrugs. "I stopped listening after Starscream said - " Switching to a more high-pitched voice, he imitates, "Take the cyber slayer - urrhhh". "Well, apparently, this thing's supposed to get us inside the - " Spitfire says as she continues to stab the cave walls, unleashing loads of energy. "Where?" Aftermath asks. "Yeh, Starscream left that part out." Spitfires stops, contemplating. "But he did say it will help with his BIG PLAN for taking out the Maltos and the Autobots." She seems to be convinced by the reasoning, and returns to her job at hand with an even stronger blow. This time, the wall shatters and starts glowing in red - the color of the chaos energy. Cybertronian letters appears on the wall with Quintus' symbol, "IN TIMES OF NEED HELP SHALL RISE TO YOUR CALL". Marveled, both Chaos Terrans paused, though they likely can't read it, and Spitfire soon resumed her stabbing.

Thought 1: Wow this is quite messed up!

I'm probably just slow, but on first watch I assumed the Chaos Terrans were able to channel chaos energy through the Cyber Slayer naturally, and thought Spitfire hit Aftermath with the weapon as a part of their mutual bickering. I only just realized they were taking turns stabbing each other with the weapon to keep it charged, and they were ordered to do so by Starscream.

Wow this is pretty messed up! "Hey kids take this weapon and go open a door for me. If the weapon runs out of energy, just draw each other's blood to recharge it. Try not to kill each other in the process and good luck!"

This seems extremely dangerous. The Cyber Slayer is not fatal, but it is fatal if the victim doesn't have access to treatment. And we all know if one of them accidentally goes completely offline, Starscream won't bother to treat them. I wonder if this is part of his plan.

Thought 2: Awww Siblings

The interaction between Aftermath and Spitfire is suddenly more wholesome, too. Spitfire didn't stab him out of malice. She warned him about the charging, gave him a very controlled knock on the head, and immediately tossed him a bottle of cave water.

Despite the contact being short and controlled, Aftermath was immediately sent into severe energy deprivation, falling and whining in pain.

It seems like prior to this Aftermath was the only one taking the blows, as Spitfire suggested "next time we will trade." I have been wondering how much Spitfire cares about her sibling, and it turns out she cares about him enough to volunteer drawing her own blood so he doesn't have to suffer repeatedly. And he didn't even complain about it, possibly because 1) he has one braincell and didn't realize it's unfair, 2) he cares about his tiny little sister and volunteered to take up more responsibility as the large big brother.

So it's... both messed up and awwww siblings. Wish to see them more in S2C / S3B / S4 ^ ^

Theories and Implications

This also gives a clearer definition on how they broke through Terratronus's defense system. Basically they just hit her repeatedly with condensed chaos energy. This might imply that Cyber Slayer enhanced chaos energy is stronger than Quintus power.

I wonder if Starscream would have been able to get himself out of Terratronus if he had access to chaos energy. And, maybe the Decepticons could have been able to escape the Quintus-powered bubble if they had access to the Cyber Slayer.

I'm also curious how Starscream learned he could break Terratronus' defense system with chaos energy. The only other person who's aware of this seems to be Terratronus herself. Starscream also seems to know it even before getting Croft's hard-drive. And it's unlikely that he got the information during GHOST imprisonment - GHOST knew nothing about the Emberstone until Mandroid told them about it in S1E20. Starscream escaped in S1E21, likely during he power outage in S1E20. And Croft didn't retrieve the stone for Mandroid to study until S1E22.

I think the only two possibilities are:

Starscream's science degree thesis was about chaos energy and it was a such niche field that none of the other scientists know anything about it.

Starscream got the information from Mandroid. Either he unearthed some of Mandroid's top-secret research on the Emberstone while helping the Autobots clean up the mess, or he reached this conclusion by studying Mandroid's corpse.

[good-beans]

Last Line Challenge

Rules: In a new post, show your latest line (artwork or written), and tag as many people as there are words (or as many as you feel like)!

Thanks @thepatchycat for the tag! I'm currently tackling a gigantic choice-story fic project so have a quick choice result😅

The fire extinguisher’s weight is a reassuring one. You can relax having some control over the chaos that surely awaits.

Tagging people who I know are working on things rn but I feel bad choosing so PLEASE jump in if you want to share -- I'd love to see! :D @fayesdiary @rainbowghostcat @kyanako5972 @luce-speaks @lostxmelody @justzosiahere @yaraneechan @igotbones

[teecupangel]

Do we have a Phonenix yet in the menagire? We need one.

Phoenix!Desmond, probably looking like a normal bird for the most part, and stays with Sef when they go after the mongols (Altair probably thinks he's getting too old he looked a bit ratty lately) and takes the hit when Swami tries to kill him.

Idk whether to have this crack or angest with them thinking Desmond died, had a chick, and was apparently a female bird the entire time.

Okay, so I was checking the Phoenix wiki page for any information if it would be possible that Altaïr would know what a phoenix is and there’s this part written by Herodotus (yes, Kassandra’s Herodotos)

[The Egyptians] have also another sacred bird called the phoenix which I myself have never seen, except in pictures. Indeed it is a great rarity, even in Egypt, only coming there (according to the accounts of the people of Heliopolis) once in five hundred years, when the old phoenix dies. Its size and appearance, if it is like the pictures, are as follow: The plumage is partly red, partly golden, while the general make and size are almost exactly that of the eagle. They tell a story of what this bird does, which does not seem to me to be credible: that he comes all the way from Arabia, and brings the parent bird, all plastered over with myrrh, to the temple of the Sun, and there buries the body.

… which may be a reference to Bennu, the Egyptian deity connected to the sun, creation, and rebirth.

So Altaïr would meet him during his travels with Maria and he just stays. They assume he’s an exotic bird (or eagle), maybe a native to one of the places Altaïr and Maria visited.

Altaïr never told them that the bird flew into his room one night and began to chirp at him as if trying to tell him something. He also tried to tap the Apple but all it did was glow a bit.

The bird had been quite annoyed by it and began to hit it with his talons so quickly the Apple had a taptaptaptaptap sound rapidly before Altaïr could take the Apple.

After that, the bird just decided to sit on Altaïr’s shoulder when he left his room the following morning and Maria assumed he had bought the bird yesterday when they went their separate ways.

Her guess sounded so much better than the truth which was Altaïr spent the entire day yesterday holed up in his room, writing letters to be sent back to Masyaf as part of his deal with Malik in exchange for letting him go on this trip (which was to send letters detailing the geopolitical situations of the places he travels to with suggestion on what the Brotherhood should do in those parts… if they could do anything).

So nobody ever questioned the mentor’s newly acquired bird (except Malik but Malik had been more focused on the ex-Templar that Altaïr brought to Masyaf and married).

Then Darim and Sef were born and the bird (named Desmond because Altaïr thought of the name first when Maria asked what the bird’s name was) usually stayed with the children, letting out loud screeching cries whenever one of the two children were doing something they shouldn’t do.

When they got older, Darim and Sef learned the word ‘bribe’ and how Desmond can be easily bribed to look the other way in favor of delicious food.

Desmond stayed in Masyaf though, regardless if Altaïr or any of his sons left for a mission or to travel to a bureau. At some point, the bird had become a symbol of Brotherhood with its gold and red plumage.

So when Altaïr left with Maria and Darim to take down Genghis Khan, it was only natural for Desmond to stay with Sef in Masyaf.

Altaïr had been a bit conflicted though as Desmond’s feathers had grown quite… dull and he was moving slower than usual.

Maria and Malik both told them that Desmond was growing old and maybe it was time but the Ibn-La'Ahad boys refused to believe that.

Darim also believed that they might find medicine in one of the camps of the Mongols as they have been to many lands.

So when Desmond flew to protect Sef and got stabbed on the chest by Swami, Swami screamed as Desmond became shrouded in flames.

Swami burned as well and Sef could only watch in horror as white hot flames consumed the both of them.

Swami was left as a corpse charred beyond recognition.

While Desmond…

Only ashes remained…

And from those ashes…

Sef heard a small chirp.

As a little chick with red and gold plumage poked his head out of the ashes, shaking the ash from his small body.

Sef could only stare as he asked, “Desmond?”

And the bird gave him an enthusiastic chirp while jumping.

[chaesonghwas]

justi. jus. jus babe. justi.

the one with the flowers. i need that ficlet.

HI BABE!!! FLOWERS!!!!!

y'all mentioned sunflowers being charles' fav flower on anna's bday fic and now that will be my headcanon forever, so have this little ficlet in return 💖💖 i hope u like itttt

"i brought you flowers." "for what?" "there has to be a reason?"

It all starts with a stupid interview - one of those TikTok things for the F1 page, asking unconventional interview questions.

“What’s your favorite flower?”

“Huh.” Charles had looked deep in thought, brows furrowed and lips pursed. Utterly adorable, like always. The backdrop of the bright pink flowers in the Singapore paddock made his green eyes pop. “Sunflowers, I think.”

And it made Pierre pause because -

Even after so many years, he doesn’t know everything about Charles. This silly video that Ilies had sent him with many laughing emojis - mostly because it also contains a diss at Pierre’s football skills - has revealed a truth about his boyfriend he never knew and, most importantly, that he never even bothered to ask. A twinge of guilt twists a way in his stomach because Charles deserves the best - he deserves someone that cares about what his favorite flower is and someone who won’t give him generic flower bouquets.

That’s why he ends up at Charles’ doorstep in Monaco carrying a sunflower bouquet he can barely fit in his arms, when he most definitely should be in Milan preparing to train with Ben. Pierre might have gotten a little carried away, he’ll admit.

“Hello?” Charles asks over the intercom after Pierre rings the doorbell, a little confused. Maybe he should’ve texted ahead, Pierre thinks. 

Pierre puts on his deepest voice as he answers. “Special delivery for Charles Leclerc.”

He doesn’t expect that to work, but Charles buzzes him in so Pierre rides the elevator up to his apartment. A wave of doubt washes over Pierre, but he trudges ahead and knocks on Charles’ apartment door. “Delivery!” he repeats in that deep voice.

When the door flies open, Pierre hears Charles gasp of surprise and he just about melts into the floor in a pile of goo. He loves him - he loves him so much. “Oh my god, Pierre.”

“Hi, calamar.” He tries to poke his head out from between the stems, but he’s mostly unsuccessful. “I brought you flowers.”

“For what? Shouldn’t you be in Milan right now?” His words are formatted like a reprimand, but his tone is more emotional than anything.

“Does there have to be a reason? Can’t I just be a good boyfriend?” 

Can’t it just be because I love you and you deserve good things?

Pierre thinks that but he doesn’t say it because this thing between them is still fairly new and raw and growing - they haven’t said I love you as a couple yet but Pierre can reel it in and wait, because he wants to give this time and he has known Charles is the big love of his life since he was about thirteen, so he’s not worried. He hopes that for now the sunflowers will be enough to communicate to Charles how he feels - I love you, I care about you, you’re my sun.

“You are the best boyfriend,” Charles answers, a little choked up. “It’s beautiful, thank you Pear. Now come in and set the flowers down so I can kiss you stupid, yeah?”

“Nothing would make me happier.” Charles giggles at Pierre’s words and grabs his wrist to lead him inside, sending sparks flying up his arm. When he finally manages to set the flowers down on the table, Charles kisses him and walks them backwards into his bedroom. 

“Sunflowers are my favorite, you know?” Charles muses after, in a post orgasm haze. Charles has a hand splayed across Pierre’s chest and his head tucked in his boyfriend’s neck, content and relaxed.

“I know.”

Charles doesn’t give a verbal answer, he just lifts his head and squints at Pierre. When Pierre chuckles guiltily, knowing he has probably clocked on to him listening to the interview, Charles just lets his head fall and cuddles back into Pierre with a quiet hum.

[terriblyrenderedenigma]

The Coveted Star

(A/n: This is my first little attempt at a little transformers blurb of Megatron x OC/Self insert who will be greatly elaborated upon in later posts. Just thought id dip my toes in the water here.)

Tags: Nonspecific Transformers continuity (As of current at least, leaning towards TFA, or maybe changing context and interaction before going earthspark) Description: Megatron trying to persuade a human turned unaffiliated bot into joining the Decepticons. Word Count: 637 Warnings: Probably ooc Megatron x Fem oc/self-insert; Probably confusing lore but will have an oc lore dump post laterrr; brief corpse mention but not serious; Religious Imagery - hell mention; slight xenophobia; eye strain because colored text; probably poor use of cybertronian anatomy

“Look at you! A great star in the sky among walking corpses with withering souls! You hold amazing power… it would be such a waste for you not to use it…” The dirtied grey mech held out his servo in offering to Aquarion, his broad digits scratched and deeply scarred from decades of fighting, of war. The sleek femme’s purple optics moved with trepidation from the dark flat palm of his servo, flitting across his dented plating until their optics met.

The crimson glow of his optics burned like the fires of hell that made old historians writhe in their sleep before vomiting their horrors onto withered pages in striking raven ink. If his passion was inferno, he burnt like the lake of fire he'd be condemned to for the sins he held heavy servo'd against his fellow kin. Palms bathed in enough energon alone to rejuvenate his dead and broken home...

“I cannot take a place at your side…” Aquarion’s soft tone breaks with static, vocalizer quickly correcting as she vents a heavy puff of steam. White plating shone like freshly fallen snow, violet bio-lights peeking out between the crevasses, the breaks in her armor.

Her frame ran hot. Wiring burning with unease much like the nerves that used to sting her once human flesh with sensations deeper than this by tenfold. “To take up my burdens and follow you would be to turn my back on the people that I used to be a part of.” As the words left her, a frown wormed its way across her faceplate.

“Used to. Have you not experienced the hateful gazes? The fear and scrutiny in their fleshy eyes as they look up at the form that has consumed you. Changed you-" The leader of the Decepticons arms swing out dramatically, gesturing to the femme in all her new glory. The body that held her conscious was strong and sturdy, powerful, volatile, capable! It would kill Megatron to see the potential in her circuits wasted on neutrality -- or worse, the Autobots. "-Named you Aquarion and chose you out of all your kind for a higher purpose! This is a gift... You are no longer one of them! You are one of us!” Megatron demands, the deep timbre of his voice echoing not only within the gears of his own chassis, but hers as well. There’s an echo of desperation, an anticipation to make her understand that things are not the same anymore, her life is no longer what it was and never will be again.

No longer human, but hot blooded cybertronian... "I can't-"

"Take my hand!" Megatron demands harshly now, thrusting his servo forward once more at her continued hesitance, the swift movement of his hand towards her making her massive wings flare in a defensive stir. "Take my hand, and I will show you greatness you've never known! Teach you who you were meant to be..." The roughness of his vocalizer tapering off into a tender request.

Why did he persist so strongly? Demand so insistently that she follow him? Go with him into the deep dark night into even more mystery?What fears would she have to conquer as her palm fit smoothly within his own?

What manipulation, scheming, plotting would she be forced to be a part of? The decepticons certainly weren't the kindest or truthful of all beings. But Megatron their great leader, strong, dangerous, downright terrifying to any normal human... Stood face to face with her and-

"Please."

His pleading, set in motives unknown sent her over. Aquarion relents and takes his servo firmly and without another thought.

"Alright then... why don't you show me what I can do?"

Aquarion knew not what path this choice would lead her, but she was sure of one thing. This was going to end terribly.

[freneticfloetry]

So I'm two days late with Starbucks, but I'm here. (Does this count toward Seven Sentence Sunday?)

The Reyes family has opened their hearts to him in so many ways. Tonight, TK’s determined to open their home in return, no matter how clueless — or Carlos-less — he might find himself in the process.

Three days of discovering new traditions.

“Okay,” TK says, frowning up at the underside of his favorite jawline, “I’m confused. I thought there were twelve days of Christmas.”

In general, this is a love letter to the mass insanity that is the Mexican holiday season. Specifically, it's a @tarlos-santa gift especially for @sugdenlovesdingle!

esta noche es de alegría (read on AO3)

It’s technically a three-parter, but could be read as a slice-of-life standalone. Will update again on Saturday, and finish up the Saturday after that.

As always, huge thank you to @ambiguouspenny for all the support in my time of flailing (especially since they were plotting in the process).

Merry Christmas Eve to all those who celebrate!

[rainachaeri]

i realized i can just canonically kill athena, like really. i can literally just do that. because im the one who wrote this fic. what

[arcy-lethra]

AU Touken

"¿Qué pasaría si en cada luna llena, en vez de que el hombre se convierta en lobo, el lobo se convierte en hombre?" Kaneki es un lobo (o un hombre maldito que vaga por la vida siendo un lobo) Solo las lunas llenas se convierte en humano. Y en una noche en la que termina dentro de las tierras de un fundo, decide adentrarse en la fiesta que han preparado en la casa. Se adentra como músico dentro de la banda, luego de robar la ropa de alguien. Esa noche se enamora de Touka. La hija mayor de la familia. Y ella es tan amable, pero mordaz a la vez. "Es raro que haya hombres como tú aquí, eres un trovador?" él sabe que no tiene la oportunidad de verla más, cuando finalmente se tiene que ir antes de que su propio cuerpo se desgarre en una maraña de pelo, garras y colmillos. Desde ese momento la adora como lobo y la ve cazar o montar a caballo. Es dolor puro porque NO PUEDE comunicarse con ella hasta la luna llena. Y ella se ríe cada vez que la visita a partir de ese momento, porque parece un hombre bastante osado por visitarla en el claro del bosque a medianoche con ropas bastante escasas. Se termina convirtiendo en costumbre. Hasta ella empieza a esperarlo cada luna llena con prendas más adecuadas. "No podemos vernos mañana?" Kaneki no sabe cómo explicar que no puede, que nunca podrá, que está condenado a verla brillar desde lejos. Es un ciclo de dolor para ambos.

[according2thelore]

i just reread ur Love Potion no. 9 and now I’m thinking about es!dean cooking ls!sam a ribeye bc he has a KITCHEN here and ls!sam trying to make himself eat it <3 anyway love ur stuff so much

EEP! thank you anon! i love domestic winchesters so much, lol!

this idea crawled into my head and stuck there until i wrote it. this is humiliatingly long but thank you for the prompt!!! your brain anon!!!

mwah!! mwah!!! <3

the smell brings sam into the kitchen. younger dean is standing near the stovetop, shuffling dishes around. when sam clears his throat, about to ask what he's making, the kid jumps.

"are you making dinner?" sam asks, confused. dean picks up the dishtowel, wiping his hands. sam's younger self and older dean went out to get extra spark plugs for the old junker in the garage an hour ago, and sam was planning on reheating some takeout from the other night.

dean hasn't dropped the dishtowel, kneading it between his hands like he's trying to strangle it.

"yeah, y'know. grandpa told me that i--he--us. we? do a lot of the cooking."

sam rolls his eyes because dean has gotten in the habit of calling older dean 'grandpa' and 'the geezer' and 'ol dusty.' it's cute.

but gosh, the smell. sam's stomach roils. dean must see something shift on his face because he's quick to explain.

"d'you remember when we were stuck outsida asheville? and the only thing we had were those hotdogs?"

sam can't help but wrinkle his nose. he definitely remembers. dean had done everything he could do dress them up and make it different, but they went on a hotdog strike for months after, only choosing other food if they had a choice.

"i got real handy with the grill. that's...kinda the only gourmet cooking i've got under my belt. i asked, but. uh. anyway. i made you steak? a ribeye steak?"

it sounds like a question at the end and sam's stomach sinks because oh shit. dean made this. dean made this for me. sam looks over dean's shoulder, easier than it would be if dean were his older self, pounds of muscle not packed in yet.

that's where he's been. he's been in here since before the other two even left. cooking dinner. for sam. to eat.

it's not even a question of if sam's going to do it. because he is going to do it.

it's a question of how neutral can he make his face as he chokes it down.

and oh god, it's huge. the steak is as big as dean's face, and sam knows for a fact that he must have picked it out specifically, because dean did not have that thing in their fridge.

sam's stomach goes wobbly with the image of this little dean, trailing in aisles in the local grocery store with a hat pulled low over his eyes (like they had all agreed to do until this blew over), deciding which steak sam would like the best.

"oh wow!" sam says, trying to sound encouraging. "it's big."

dean flushes fourteen different shades of pink over a period of ten seconds, and yeah. sam sighs. he's going to eat the fucking steak.

six minutes later, after dean had pushed sam down into a chair and let his hand on sam's shoulder linger for two seconds longer than it should have--

(and really, dean is not smooth. sam wished he had known back in 2006 that dean was this easy to fluster because he would've fallen to his knees in shitty motel carpet ten years early and saved them all a lot of heartache.)

--sam is staring at easily sixteen ounces of meat. to dean's credit, it looks like it should feature on a grilling magazine or something. but all sam can smell is the slightly seared odour of flesh.

"and i heard that you like greens, so--" sam tears his eyes away and dean awkwardly balances a bagged salad in his hands. sam feels like crying. this is going to be a rough few minutes.

"share it with me," sam asks, begs really, but dean just shakes his head.

"nah, man. i made it for you. i've got one for me." and sure enough, sam's stomach sinks as dean brings over another plate to the table with a much more reasonably sized offering.

"great." sam says, smiling bleakly. his throat is clogged and thick when he swallows. he tastes acid at the back of his throat. they sit in silence for a few minutes while sam pops the salad bag, trying to frantically puzzle out how he's going to eat this thing.

he could eat it as fast as possible? give his nerves less time to process the hot skin sliding down his throat. but the chances of him throwing up would increase exponentially. he could chew and hide bites in his napkin? but dean would catch it.

sam's stomach sinks. he's going to have to chew it. and swallow it. and let it sit in his stomach. heavy and full. skin grease and meat tearing under his teeth. sam's mind whites-out with the memory of the cage, of being forced to eat his own thigh down to the bone.

"so..." dean asks, "how long have we lived here?"

sam looks up, and realizes that dean is gripping his beer bottle so tight that it looks like it might shatter in his hand. sam softens. kid looks like he's going to shit himself.

"you know i can't tell you that." sam chides. and he picks up his fork. he picks up his knife. he braces himself. and he cuts.

"and what are your...what are your plans?" dean asks, thirty minutes later. they've been talking back and forth, trading memories of things pre-2006. sam's been trying to keep this strictly common knowledge, and dean--unlike sam's younger self--takes it mostly in stride.

sam feels an automatic reflex to burp rising in his throat, and he locks his muscles as much as he can because if he feels the taste of aerosolized meat in his mouth again, he will vomit.

half the steak is gone, and dean's food is completely gone. he doesn't seem to be in any rush, and keeps giving sam more beer. sam keeps having to take sips after each bite to wash the taste away as soon as he can, so he appreciates it. dean seems more and more surprised that sam isn't letting more slip, and sam smirks to think of how much of a light-weight he used to be.

is dean trying to get him drunk? sam's kind of flattered, he thinks.

"my plans?" sam repeats, raising an eyebrow.

"yeah. y'know. for the future."

sam looks at dean appraisingly. it could be a ploy for information, but for some reason, dean looks prematurely disappointed, like he's bracing himself for bad news. sam quickly takes another bite, thin enough that he can swallow it down without chewing at all.

"well." sam says, slowly. taking another swig of beer. "i've always wanted a dog. but--" he smiles. "'grandpa' says no. he's afraid it's going to get hair all over the car."

dean blinks at him. like he's waiting for something else. but when sam just stuffs another bite in his throat, dean cracks a hesitant smile.

"well. grandpa's very wise. i've always said so. dander is shit for leather."

sam smiles, rolling his eyes, when he hears footsteps.

"did someone grill out inside--" dean. older dean. he rounds the corner, and freezes when he sees the steak in front of sam. his younger self sitting across from him. "what the fuck?"

"dean, it's okay--" sam says, quickly, before dean can say anything, but dean is already storming across the room.

"did you eat this?" he demands, but before sam can say anything, dean whirls on his younger self. "he doesn't eat meat, jackass."

the younger dean blanches. "what? yeah he does. we eat burgers all the time."

"not my sam, one tree hill." dean turns around to face sam again. "are you okay?"

in truth, sam already feels the meat settling oddly in his stomach. he feels like he's going to be sick. but he just glares at dean instead, furious. the cage is sam's to tell--or sam's to bury, in this case. dean's tone is too acerbic for young dean to not pick up on the weight of it. it's clear from dean's tone alone that sam's aversion to meat is not a choice made on ethics.

younger dean looks like he's about to cry, sitting back in his chair. silence stretches for a second.

"give us a minute." sam snaps. dean flushes a furious shade of scarlet.

"what the hell? i'm not--"

"dean." sam says, cutting. dean peters into silence, and sam looks at both deans, one furious and one crestfallen. "he was doing something nice."

"by forcing you to--"

sam puts a hand on dean's, pushing the plate in his hands down. he makes eye contact, and sees the concern there. dean's never been good at letting sam take care of himself, and sam can already see how a version of himself 'hurting' sam is making him ready to start throwing punches. he softens.

"i'm going to be fine. let me handle this, please. i'll catch up with you later."

dean's mouth twists up in a snarl. "sam--"

"later." sam repeats, and dean growls something unintelligible as he storms out of the room. sam sags forward, finally allowing himself to process how full and ill he feels. how the alien flesh in his stomach feels revolting, thick.

"why didn't you say anything?" a quiet voice. sam looks up, smiling a genuine smile this time, and allowing it to look as weird as it probably does.

"i can't." sam says, apologetic. he's not going to tell dean anything about it. he can't know. dean rubs a hand over his face.

"i'm not used to not knowing you, sammy." he murmurs, looking sick. he looks so young that sam's chest contracts. what a sorry pair they make.

"you know me." sam reassures softly. "i'm your little brother."

dean looks up at him then, huffing an unamused snort. they look at each other for a long while, sam tracing the round curves of dean's face. his wide eyes. sam wonders what dean sees when he looks at him.

"yeah. okay." dean says, finally. "'m sorry."

sam shrugs. "how about we get outta here? there's a diner down by the movies that makes a mean veggie burger."

dean nods, still looking lost.

"they also make the best pecan pie in the state. we've checked."

dean snorts, and there he is: sam's big brother. young, and lost, but undeniably here, in the swoop of his bottom lip as he smiles.

sam's chest expands with his first full breath in almost an hour, and something else. something warm.

"i'll be the judge of that." dean says, cocky and all false-reassurance. sam wants to kiss him. but he stands instead, and nods towards the door.

"lead the way."

~~~

i saw something the other day that suggested veggie!sam was a hot take, and i think i'm only a partial veggie!sam believer. i think it comes and goes--he has good and bad days.

i can only imagine the cage made sam's relationship to consuming meat weirder. but who knows! thank you again for the prompt anon!!!

-lizzy

[if-not-now-tell-me-when]

Me about 8 months ago: I'm going to publish this short, fluffy one-shot! And then never think about it again!

Me now: *30,000 words deep in an exploration of faith in the face of unimaginable adversity, the human capacity for survival in the most desperate conditions, the power of memory, the endless capacity of the human experience, and how survival stories can show us the very best of humanity*

[sealed-fate]

calling someone every unprintable name under the sun but affectionately—? that’s is so latino shepards coded (to me)???

[oboetemasuka]

A crack fic in which Amane finds out that Es made up the tidbit about them being an adult in Puerto Rico and Haiti.

It's what she deserves after all the "Order of Attack" stuff I put her through.

[leorosenberg]

Lonely heart. Nightmares (pt1) Tybalt was looking at candle’s flame, which was casting reddish reflex on the walls. He had a bad feeling, but he didn’t understand why - Julia was staying in her room all day, and there was nothing to worry about… But Tybalt had a heavy heart. Tybalt sighed and pushed back a strand of hair from the forehead. He decided to check on Julia and got up from the armchair. After thinking about it, Tybalt didn’t put out the candle and left his room, trying not to make any noise - he didn’t want to wake somebody up in the middle of the night. He carefully closed the door and went to Julia’s room, trying to keep quiet.

In the night Capulet’s house was a dark and ominous place, full of shadows, where Tybalt felt especially lonely. Sunlight saved him during the day, but at night he was alone with himself and his thoughts, which ate him alive. Every night he was trying any ways to escape from obsessions, arising in his mind. It was exhausting training, reading, long walks… He even tried to write - poems full of pain and hopeless love, that he never showed to anyone. He was ashamed of them… Tybalt, proud heir of the Capulet, who writes tearful nonsense… Ridiculous! He couldn’t let himself be sentimental.

Every night became a nightmare for Tybalt. It was easier for him during the day, but at night it just became unbearable. He could only look for any way to distract… Or just crying all night. Nobody knows who is Tybalt Capulet in fact. Maybe even he himself doesn’t know. Orphan, duelist, son of a noble family… It was the image which saw people. The image which Tybalt made them see. Vulnerable boy, a stranger in his own house, sad ghost of Capulets who never showed his feelings for anyone. For anyone except Julia… Julia, who fell in love with this Montageu’s scoundrel. Tybalt almost coped with it. He knows that Julia would never be his… But it hurt him anyway. Even knowing that she will be Paris’ wife, Tybalt was jealous.

Julia loves Romeo, but Tybalt will not allow him to appear here. Tybalt will never let any Montague to be here.

Tybalt sighed again. Well, here he is tormenting himself again. He pursed his lips. No more thoughts. Tybalt went up to the second floor and headed for Julia's room - oh, he knows this way very well. How many times did he come here for these useless talks… She was never serious about his feelings. She only saw Tybalt as a cousin… Brother. Relative. And now, when this bastard appeared, Tybalt had no chance. He had no chance without Romeo also… But he didn't think about that.

Why does Julia, his little Julia, love Romeo? What did she find in him? Why even Julia is in love and only Tybalt is miserable?

-You will break a lot of girls' hearts… - saying Lady Capulet stroking her nephew's hair. - My handsome boy…

Tybalt didn't believe her. She always told him encouraging things. Tybalt thought that she was saying it just because they are relatives and he is an orphan who needs support. He didn't consider himself handsome… Mostly because nobody except Lady Capulet called him handsome. Tybalt didn't see “handsome boy” in the mirror. He saw only a ridiculous kid loved by no one except relatives… And even in their love he couldn't believe.

Tybalt frowned, approaching Julia's room - he saw the light under the door. Why doesn’t Julia sleep at such a late hour? Tybalt came closer and frozen in place - he heard voices from the room… And one of them was not Julia's. It also was not Romeo’s voice…

Mercutio.

Tybalt was shocked. He wanted to break into the room and start a scandal but tried to restrain himself. He didn't want to wake up the whole house. What does Mercutio need here? Tybalt decided to listen to their talk.

-He is so gloomy… - Mercutio

-It's just an image. - Julia

Who are they discussing?

-You are so different. Cousins, but looking like strangers. - Mercutio

What does he mean?

-I told it to you as a friend to friend. I hope… I hope you won't tell him. I'd like to deal with it myself. - Mercutio

-Ah… Sure. As you want. - Julia

-Montagues and Capulets… I never thought that I might like him. - Mercutio

Tybalt, barely standing on his feet,   decided to show himself:

-Julia, why don't you sleep? It's too late for young girls.

  He heard rustle when Julia answered.

-Ah… I just had been reading… - she said.

-You should have slept for hours. - Tybalt’s voice became serious.

Someone jumped into the bushes under Julia's balcony. Tybalt pretended not to notice it.

-I'm already going to bed! - Julia said. She extinguished the candle.

Tybalt sank to the floor and gasped nervously.

Mercutio likes him.

And he should do something with it.

The premonition didn't deceive him.

It is real trouble.

Tybalt ruffled his hair. Yes, mistress, girl's hearts. He thought. Tybalt couldn't say that he's happy about this news, but he was flattered… Someone (even if Mercutio) finds him handsome. Attractive. Someone saw the real Tybalt behind this image that he made.

“Cousins, but looking like strangers”

Mercutio was right. If you do not know that they are relatives, you will not guess about it. And they were different not only outwardly. Julia is the sun, Tybalt is the moon. Even Lady Capulet thinks so.

Tybalt got up from the floor and went to his room.

-I deserve to be loved. - he whispered into the void. Even be loved by Mercutio… Maybe he is not that bad. Could he be a good person? Tybalt didn't know. He will think about it tomorrow. Now he just wants to sleep. At last he wants to sleep.

[good-beanswrites]

🎬: About Es being a past prisoner and the secret 11th prisoner in your AU. But advance apologies if I'm overstepping into your AU!

I had this idea from a story that pretty much did the same thing. Going off there are novels/manga on Milgram and there being another Es and their own prisoners running another Milgram (but differently) I imagine this Milgram projects has been going on for a while, and our Es was from a previous project who might have gotten the worst verdict (or the most spared out of everyone), and was given this final task as a warden for the next group of prisoners. This is why they so readily agreed and had their memories wiped for this Milgram project instead of being weary on a shady project on judging an almost crime, they've already been through this.

(BTW is it bad and worrying for one of our ten fav prisoners to be the next Es if this is legit...)

Anyway, that's why Es is in Milgram in your AU, I guess? And the lore drop that Kotoko picks up on them being the 11th prisoner, I can imagine her also talking to Kazui since he's a policeman to see if she could cross out any theories on who Es is (Did they look familiar. Possible missing child. Any cases to do with an almost crime by a child other than the 10 of them here). Kazui knows Kotoko wants to investigate, but reminds her that, like in their prison while the trial is on, the facilities they're in have high security too. They do have the freedom to move about, but still limited.

If they're trying to investigate Es, maybe Fuuta, Kotoko and Mikoto can try to do the hacking on the comp Mikoto's allowed to use to Photoshop some shots for the MVs and photos (Fuuta and Kotoko seem to be able to search up info they need I think...). Yuno, Mahiru and Muu can work on charming the staff to see if they can spill more deets on Milgram. Not sure how much the group can gather, but oh boy fun times in Milgram can turn into another sort of stress in this AU...

No worries!! Like I said before, this whole au has been a fun collaborative project, so there's no overstepping :) I am sorry I won't be writing a lot on the ending until we get more info, but that's just the perfectionist in me who doesn't want to be proven wrong 😅 Still, I love tossing around and digging into ending scenarios, I really love this!

Because that would make a lot of sense why they're so willing to subject themself to the whole experiment! They remember how tough their experience was, and are confident they can care for the new set of prisoners while doing their job. I'm imagining they get the opportunity to return as guard, and get to have a nice talk with their own guard first. Once they fully understand what it's like, they're know they can handle it and sign up. It adds a bit of drama, too, since they must have been really young committing their crime in order to complete a years-long experiment prior to this one. They would have been like 10? Oof. (Now I wanna see their three trial songs 👀)

And like you said, that also brings up the question of the new warden. Though I think it's based on verdict results, I can just picture Jackalope keeping an eye on everyone during filming. He studyies their interactions and personalities, keeping his own set of notes on who would make a good successor. (I'm not going to go through every character but there are pros to any choice, it's very fun picturing them all taking the job.) Haha, on the other hand, maybe the reason Kotoko keeps bringing up her role as Es' partner/bringer of justice is because she did discover the truth. She drops as many hints as possible so she can be chosen next 😅

Ooh, I love her working with Kazui on an investigation! The fact that eh may know details on recent crimes (and almost-crimes) is super fun to work with. He's the last person who's going to spill a secret, so the group could go several trials without realizing Kazui had actually heard all about their situation this whole time.

(Getting sidetrack for a sec, I'm suddenly realizing that he and Kotoko may have heard things about the crimes in canon, too. They're a bit unclear about how much time passed between the murders and arriving to Milgram, so maybe he heard some things. I don't know how well-connected Tokyo police departments are, but Yuno, Fuuta, Muu, and Shidou are all nearby. There's definitely a chance he caught word of the vigilante nearby, and she heard about the odd policeman's suicide. Both of them could have heard about the tragic housefire, the disgraced doctor, or horrible schoolgirl murder nearby.)

Anyway, I like that idea of Kazui wracking his brain for any similar cases. Though, if he had, Milgram may have had the foresight to wipe parts of his memory, too. Maybe he does end up using his call to reach out to Hinako and have her look into it from the outside. Sadly, Kotoko seems the type to sacrifice her personal call to reach out to a connection who can help as well. I'll have to think about how closely Jackalope monitors those calls, hm.

I'm going crazy over prisoner investigation team !! Kotoko and Fuuta had the online knowledge to find some good info, and Mikoto and Kazui seem like they'd have a huge network of people they can ask for info and favors from. Haha, I'm torn whether Mahiru would have flirting down to a science or if she'd refuse to do it since it wasn't real love 😂 Still, she's very good at reading people and could definitely help the others charm and bribe their way into some restricted areas. Amane and Haruka can also charm with their innocence/cuteness (though I'm not sure Amane would). Shidou seems very organized, he'd have a plan and backup plan and backup-backup plan ready, no matter what happens. I think it's even funnier, then if Milgram had run several experiments prior. Jackalope would think this was just another runthrough, and for the first time the ten subjects decided to organize together and Cause Problems.

I think there's a beautiful irony in a story featuring ten prisoners planning a jailbreak to save the prison guard...

[daughterofhecata]

true colors

a.k.a. die Gefangenendilemma-Fic

Als das FBI Cotta in Victor Hugenays Hotelzimmer überrascht, droht ihm plötzlich eine mögliche Anklage wegen Mittäterschaft an Victors Diebstählen. Ohne sich mit ihm absprechen zu können, muss Cotta sich zwischen Zusammenarbeit mit dem FBI und dem Risiko einer Gefängnisstrafe entscheiden und gleichzeitig versuchen, abzuschätzen, ob Victor schweigen oder ihn belasten wird.

-> hier auf ao3 -> hier auf ff.de