#everyone *looks at the camera like theyre on the office to stare at me writing this fic*

[good-beanswrites]

Some LCSYS thoughts to make me feel better after the new update ;-; More Mahiru-centric, but Haruka and Shidou are definitely here chillin. At some point I'll need to rewrite that last chapter, too, ough...

“Alright, is everybody ready for Curtain Ca–”

“Stop!” Mahiru pressed a finger to Jackalope’s lips, despite the look of exasperation he gave her. “No work talk at a party.” She breezed away from him to the table where the others were gathered.

At the very beginning of planning, as she was pitching the idea of recognizing everyone’s birthday along with hers, Mahiru had placed an order for ten whole cakes. She insisted that the others would miss out on getting a proper one during the trials. Jackalope insisted that ten was a ridiculous number of cakes to have. They ended up comprising on three – a personalized one for each of the prisoners that would be staying behind. (Jackalope would have pointed out that it defeated the purpose, since they were the ones that could now ask for a cake any day they wanted, but he was just glad she had agreed to the terms.)

He followed her to the spread of treats. “I know you’re disappointed, but eventually you’ll have to face that the others are leaving. We have a few last timelines to write up, and then you’ll have to deal with a very short break from–”

“Please!” She pouted her bottom lip. “It’s Mahiru’s birthday, for goodness sake!”

Jackalope crossed his arms. “I thought you said today was everybody’s birthday…”

She looked pointedly away. “I said we’re celebrating everybody’s birthday, but we’re holding it on my birthday.”

“Interesting.”

He reluctantly left her as Yuno called him over to the games corner. Mahiru fluttered a goodbye wave. Shidou and Mikoto joined them at cake table, both sipping from color-coded cups Mahiru had organized.

“Oi Mappi,” Mikoto held his drink out to her. “You should try one of these! Kazu-san’s been making them, I forget what he calls them, but they’re great. You want a sip?”

Mahiru turned him down. A hand tugged gently on Mikoto’s sleeve.

“U-um! Can I try a sip?”

He stayed firmly facing away, feigning confusion. “Huh, what was that?”

“Just a-a little sip.”

“Ahhh… you know, I really miss Haru-kun.”

“Mikoto-saaaan.”

He wiped a nonexistent tear from his eye. “You know, sometimes I can still hear his voice…”

“Pleeease? Y-you said you were gonna see how many you could get Fuuta-san to-to drink tonight!”

Mikoto choked back a sip as Shidou’s eyebrows raised. “Fuuta’s over twenty! I wouldn’t give alcohol to a kid, that’s a crime, y’know?”

Before any of them could poke fun about his choice of words, Muu marched over to them. She held out a slice of purple-frosted cake on her plate and wrinkled her nose. “Shidou-san, something’s wrong with your cake. It’s horrible.”

“Oh no, there’s nothing wrong with it.” Shidou smiled. “It’s vegan.”

“Oh.” Her scrunched face didn’t change. “Muu’s going to get a different piece…” She grabbed Haruka by the hand, leading him away to his own cake. Mahiru noticed she was wearing the gift that Haruka had given her. Birthday presents hadn’t been part of the big party plan, but a few sentimental gifts had been exchanged. Jackalope was still mentally weighing what could be taken into the prison without raising suspicion, while the prisoners were mentally weighing what could be snuck into their cell whether he agreed to it or not.

Shidou frowned. “You better have been joking about Kajiyama-kun.”

“Eh, that’s not a crime.”

“Please.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m already losing sleep about the toll this all will take on Es-kun. Don’t do anything next trial to make me worry about the rest of you, too.”

“Es-kun…” Mahiru’s expression darkened.

Across the room came a laugh. “Come on doc, don’t you trust us?” Kotoko asked the question with a crooked smirk, heading over from where the game was breaking up. By the way Yuno lead Amane in a gloating walk, it was clear who had won. “I can assure you, everything is under control.”

“Why don’t we talk about something else?” Mahiru offered, her wide smile bordering on frantic. “Everyone keeps talking about Milgram, Milgram, Milgram! Let’s talk about something nice, mm? Kazui-san, tell me that funny story you were just telling Shidou-san!”

Kotoko gave her a look. “Have you already forgot your big conversation…?”

“Not at all! I remember every word he said to me.” Mahiru clasped her hands together. She relaxed her face, her eyes closed in perfect peacefulness. “I’m learning to live in the moment. That’s what I’m doing right now.”

“No. You still need to deal with your negative emotions head-on. So, do you have something you want to get off your chest before we head back in there?”

Mahiru was met with pleasant gazes from all sides. A few nodded in encouragement. “I… I actually do.”

She inhaled for a moment. She exhaled just as long. She looked around at the faces around her. She saw the half-eaten cakes. The board games scattered around. The gift wrapping and the cards. She studied the smiles all turned her way.

Lunging at Kotoko, she wrapped her in a tight embrace. Her voice trembled with tears. “Happy birthday.”

She was met with a loud sigh, and Kotoko returned the hug.

“Ah… you’re nuts.”

From the back of the group, Jackalope frantically typed something up on his phone. “Damn, that’s good,” he muttered.

[goffilolo]

Demise!Izuku as a Youtuber?

Yep! You heard me right. Demise server is a strange little land, full of strange little ideas, unfortunitely this one idea in particular wasn’t so little. So without further ado here’s all the shit we came up with in the server in regards to izuku as a youtuber within demise!au:

If Izuku was a YouTuber can you imagine the fucking chaos dumpster fire his channel would be

He's be like an edgy twink Jenna marbles(edited)

Doing Me time every damn day

bandit is jennas dogs

tenya is julien

He'd have weird ass videos like dipping bandits feet in red pet dye then putting a sign on him that says "you pet and you'll meet the last person who dared to"(edited)

And he's also make videos about him breaking into UA and interrupting classes and stuff

"hey gamers, today we're breaking into UA to see my boyfriend and read all of my friend's secret files"

And a video just of him filing Aizawa in weird places and at the end putting him on an inflatable mattress and watching him float away 

He wakes up in Canada

They don't know how or why

He just attaches a go-pro to trash bandit and let's him run wild. He probably has a seriesJust letting him loose in weird places

DONT LET TRASH BANDIT EAT AIZAWA'S SLEEPING BAG AT 3AM | VERY SCARY"hey guys so today ill be doing the 'How many bottles of quil can i steal before i get caught by Tsukabitch' challange. feel free to make a video of your own!" 

He probably dyes Bandit according to holidays and puts him as the profile picture. The kicker is, he only does it for holidays that his country doesn't celebrate

Like 4th of july

And Canada day

"Hewo soulless fuckers it is me your overlord, King of the soulless fuckers. Today I'll be going up to people in the streets and telling them that I killed God and Satan. But y'all know me, that's not enough. So I'll be asking them which one I killed first and if they get it wrong I take a shot of quil. The quil I'll be taking is the plain ol kind so don't worry your little marshmallow heads about it." 

He only makes text posts in OwO speak this just makes me realise demise!izuku would make a great youtuber

He would twitch stream all the time doing the weirdest shit for hours on end

"what is up gamews! today i wiww be weviewing the new game cawwed life! i have been pwaying it fow about 16 yeaws now and i have to say it's pwetty bad my guys!"

I feel like he'd be absurdly popular and whenever someone mentions him and they look up the channel they are like "wth have I stumbled upon?!"

I'm just imagining what his front page would look like

The seasonal trash bandit profile picture, the banner would be a flaming hellscape with people he dislikes burning and trash bandit looming on low opacity in the background 

(He made it so that only people who view it on TV get the full experience.)

He probably has his own segment on buzzfeed unsolved

Not talking

Its about him

The intro video would just be him staring into the camera while mixing together a horrible concoction of quil then downing it without breaking eye contact(edited)

His about section is written in 3 different types of code and it's all in owo if you manage to crack it

i love demise|!izuku as a youtube cryptid

Clown Speak and OwO speak mixed together

I feel like in the beginning Izuku was this obscure YouTuber that you only find out about if someone in the know tells you about it until a bigger YouTuber found him out on a deep dive video and just couldn't stop watching yes

i imagine once he gets big people from react channel would invite him to react to videos of people reacting to his videos 

What if in one of his videos he started acting like his old self just to freak everyone out. He didn't say anything about it instead he talked about hero analysis with a bright smile and trail off into muttering a few times only to blush when he realized it. He have his hair in a ponytail with only bangs framing his face and some messy pieces falling out. Also her be wearing something plain but like old Izuku, maybe hero merch or something. The comment section was just people flipping out and shit

He never acknowledges the video after he made it

No matter how many comments he gets he acts like it doesn't exist

omg you know wha tthat would actually allign with the demise and canon swap places for a da

yand you know what that gives me a lot of feels

the millions of subscribers get to see the old izuku

Maybe after a milestone he would post a video he made in middle school of him analyzing a quirk in video format to make sure it wouldn't get destroyed

And he put a couple videos of younger him after it

But it starts being supporting Izuku

And his present and past self and stuff

PEOPLE MAKE FAN ART first Its all full of trash and memes

What if that picture of canon Izuku meeting demise Izuku was a fan art someone made of his old self meeting the new him 

Kids from his class kinda Piecing together they really screwed up?Some even sending in apologies, perhaps

For mental health day I could see him posting a serious video about what he went through and his time in the mental hospital 

And on national stop bullying day he would talk about his decade of abuse including the details of how the school and teachers fucked up and everything aboutbakugou

izuku using youtrube for shitposting and advocating

And for mothers day he features both Rei and Inko?

Endeavor exposure video

What if Rei helped edit or something?To help pass the time for her

Give her something to do

People love the mysterious editor

I feel like villains watch his content like maybe Dabi

rei and fuyumi sometimes make appearances

Dabi just shows up in the videos

Quickly become faves

I feel like Dabi would become a fan and start crying after seeing his mom happy in one of Izuku's videos

"...and this is rei, my hospital mom and this if fuyumi, her daughter so like my sister she helps me keep my shit together and sometimes gives me quil.." 

dabi crying from seeing his mom happy in some lunatic's youtube videos

“...and this is shin, dont let the looks deceive you this man went to jail"

Shin comes in and covers the cameras a lot

FATHERS DAY IS A PICTURE OF TRASH BANDIT WITH HIS DADS VOICE SCRAMBLED OVER IT

“and this is the local florida woman and her alligator

WHAT IF BNHA VERSE HAD QUIRKLESS AWARENESS WEEKizuku would go ape shit during that week

"who needs a quirk when my dad gave me a gun!"

He would give axe sharpening tips

"Remember kids! Society won't help you, so you gotta help yourself!"

he would make 'how to cook videos' except it would only be quil combos

What if one day he just put quil in the ovenand pulled out a muffin

Remeber, don't try this at home kids." makes A horrifying quil combo "rememer never ever do this even if you have a quirk that allows it." downs the horror concoction

"so today were gonna do my boyriend does my makeup challange and since both me and tenya are dumb and know nothing i borrowed my mums makeup..." 

It’s a given he’s gonna do makeup tutorials. The real question is would they be good or absolutely horrendous?

good or horrendous? Both

Amazing makeup at horrendous things? Hmmm interesting

“Hey guys today I’m turning myself into a real like eldrich abomination with the help of eyeliner and glitter!”

izuku has a whole playlist of videos dedicated to tenya and UA

theyre all jsut shitposty compilations of some footage when tenya isnt looking

Even tho it looks like he couldn't give a fuck he is very selective with which footage makes it online. He's very careful at how much is revealed and makes sure no students or secret identities would be in danger with his content

izuku isnt stupid...hes jsut having a good time

Sneaking into UA highschool by hiding in pro hero eraserhead's sleeping bag | NOT CLICKBAIT

Izuku would totally play carefree and childish games while just being Izuku

Like his animal crossing series

Fucking legendary on his channel in terms of gaming

izuku's sims lets play

it's like a 10 generation long telenovela lowkey based off the todoroki family

He has no straight sims, he recreated UA and class 1a in sims

the wedding of sim izuku and sim tenya is like the biggest party in the sim neighbourhood

He creates endeavor just to lock him in a room with 50 ovens

Omg his draw my life has got to be super depressing

He'd be super blunt and monotone during his whole draw my life going through all of the abuse and bullying that he went through because of his quirklessness and also his suicide attempt and all that jazz(edited) 

izuku would paint on a potato

Izuku would make a get ready with me where he does something totally batshit crazy then ends it with "Ah. Yet another day in my life."

Izuku meets Marie Kondo

“Only keep what brings you joy”

“Well this gun from my father sure brings me joy”

Knifemaking videos but with axes

Izuku decided to do a wardrobe tour and like 4 things were bloodstained which he never addressed. The most popular comment was what happened, which of course he never answered.

Izuku does these new year (like all of the questions from last year) or milestone Q+A’s/AMA's which are basically people just asking a bunch of the things he wouldn't answer or address before. A lot of his viewers write down and timestamp when he does something and doesn't address it. If you don't you'll never hear an answer.

He has his boonk gang phrase which is probably like Bandit gang or some shit like that, which he shouts while breaking into places. UA dorm rooms, UA facility office, UA, Hero Agency’s, Endeavour's bedroom (Don't ask), etc. 

He has a variety of videos where he does things from different communities. For example he has a few hair tutorial and following hair tutorial videos. Same for makeup.I feel like Izuku would also have some dresses and slutty Halloween costumes that be put on in a video all while looking like someone who just had finals and was studying for 4 days straight beforehand.

At like 4AM a thought hit Izuku to have Trash Bandit meet Kouta for the first time and learn what his sheep talks about and what he has to say. Needless to say he took his camera, went to UA, stormed the dorms, went up to the shy kid sheep in hand, looked him dead in the eye, and asked “What is my sheep saying.” bandit speaks and Kouta goes from confused and slightly scared to disgusted and horrified. What did Bandit say? Who the fuck knows…

Izuku loves analysis and while he doesn't do it for heroes anymore when he misses it too much sometimes he does it with tv shows or other things.

Idk what yet but Izuku is weirdly good at something and only showed it on camera once. (He's casually known to be a good artist) Whatever he's good at he did it once for a video and it's in one of the most popular compilation videos of him. 15 minutes of Izuku being a cinnamon roll.

Izuku has a shit ton of videos featuring the UA kids. He has some playlists dedicated to certain ones even if all you see is the back of their head.

Any proceeds Izuku manages to get (he is popular but he gets demonetized a lot) goes to different charities for the quirkless.

He made only 1 serious cooking video on his birthday, but instead of using a knife he used an axe.

He has a video called “My sharp things (tour)” where he just shows off all of his knives and axes and shit along with a massive pair of scissors he got Momo to make.

Izuku makes videos of himself destroying endeavor merch while staring at the camera.

[writeouttaluck]

A story about Racing, Police ignorance, and Love Ft. This Corny Ass Title.

((Wrote this over two days. little editing, lots of writing.))

The camera in my hand could hardly hold steady and I had a grin ear to ear on my face like a village idiot. From the passenger seat, I could see the excitement on Jessie’s face as she brought the car to a slow. It was 1:00 AM and she had somehow gone undefeated, back to back, in a series of drag races on the street. Five races, five wins, and a whole lot of promised money would probably make anybody grin ear to ear.

I turned the camera to her and without missing a beat, she turned and stuck her tongue out at me.

“Tell me, Jessie, How does it feel to win three grand without lifting a finger for work?” I asked in my best fake news anchor voice.

“Feels fucking good!” She shouted, slapping the steering wheel in joy.

I was caught on a laugh and it almost felt like that teeth chattering cold feeling running up my spine. Pure electricity. We were both having the time of our lives and I felt closer than ever to her.

“Woah, what the hell?” She murmured under her breath.

I must have held the camera on her longer than i thought because when i turned to look out the windshield, the crowd was dispersing fast. All the people that were once watching were now either running to cars, their friends with cars, or just plain running. They scattered like ants before us. I zoomed my camera in and followed two people as they ran and hopped a fence into someones backyard.

Thats when we both noticed the bright red and blue flashing lights up ahead. Fuck.

A portly man jogged through the crowd and towards our car, reaching to his hip. He stopped in our headlights and yelled something. To our suprise, he drew his gun and aimed at us through the windshield.

“STOP RIGHT THERE. STOP RIGHT THERE” He shouted at us.

I looked to Jessie who seemed to be weighing her options. She stared at the cop infront of us and chewed her lip, a nervous tic i've noticed over the years. Illuminated by the flashing lights, she grew a small smile.

“Put on your seatbelt” she said quietly.

“Its already on” I replied.

“Good”

She shifted the car into reverse and stuck her hand out of the window, raising her middle finger.

“FUCK YOU, PIG!”

I didnt even have time to laugh at her tenacity before I was thrown forward in my seat. She had hit the gas so hard that we spun the tires going backwards. She turned around in her seat to look out the back window and I raised the camera out the windsheild. The cop knew that pointing his gun was useless since he had no real reason to use it. He wasnt about to kill us over a drag race.

He started talking into his radio and I laughed. I laughed hard. One hand on the steering wheel and one on the top of my seat, Jessie watched the road behind her as she drove backwards at high speeds. I watched her through my camcorder. Her eyes said determination but her lips said fun. I looked at her skinny form admirably. Her dyed hair fluttered in the wind and her silver lip piercing caught the dashboard light just right. Watching her in her element like this was stunning. She did it all with such a natural grace. Her motions sharp and accurate like a blade under flesh.

She dropped back into the drivers seat and wrapped her hand around the e-brake. With one hand grabbing the ‘oh shit’ handle above me and another on my camera, I braced myself.

She yanked the handle back and spun the steering wheel, throwing our momentum to the left. As the car spun, She grabbed the shifter and threw it into first. She dropped her foot into the gas pedal and the car caught traction. I sank back into my seat as we took off again. The engine roared in a fury, drowning out all noise around us. A light flashed on the dash and she hit the clutch, shifting again. The car lurched and went faster.

She was grinning wide as the blue lights became distant behind us. She shifted again and gained more speed. The houses, trees, sidewalks, all became a blur as we blasted through the neighborhood.

All of a sudden a police car with the blues on pulled out infront of us and stopped, blocking the intersection ahead. Jessie laid the gas into the floor and shifted again. I looked over at her like she was crazy. She smiled and concentrated on the car ahead. We must have been going at least 80 at this point.

The car was getting closer when all of a sudden i felt our momentum swing again. Jessie had pulled the e-brake again and hit the gas, sending us swinging around to face where we came. I could smell the burning rubber around us. The smell got worse as Jessie put the car in first again and slammed the gas, taking off in the opposite direction of the cop car.

I looked behind us to watch as the cop car turned to follow. Of course, considering how Jessie was driving, I wasnt sure If it would be able to keep up. The car lurched as Jessie shifted. The mustang revved hard and kept pace, sending us down the street.

Two more cop cars showed up in the distance. I could see their blues before i could see their headlights. They were headed straight for us, side by side. No way around them.

I watched Jessie analyze it all. She was quick like this. She knew the curb was too high to climb without popping any tires. She also knew that these dumb ass cops werent backing down.

One cop car behind us, two infront of us.

She took her chances with the one behind us.

She slammed on the brakes, coming to a skidding stop in the middle of the street. The cop behind us, who had been picking up too much speed, had no choice but to either crash into us or swerve around us.

The cop car swung itself around our vehical and came a stop in the center of the intersection. This also blocked off the two cop cars ahead. Jessie threw the car in reverse once more and hit the gas, sending us backwards. She looked behind her for an opening and as soon as she found herself in a spot with no cars parked on the side of the road, she swung the mustang around again and put it in first, launching off for the final time tonight.

We peeled out and we were gone.

…

The street lights strobed through the windshield as the mustang flew down the street. Tunes poured from the radio and filled the car with good vibes. Every so often the car would lurch as Jessie shifted, but otherwise it was smooth sailing. Cops were long gone, probably trying to pull the fingers out of their ass so they could keep harassing people like us.

“Fuck the po” Jessie stated, turning down the radio a bit.

“They really are fucking worthless around here” I replied in earnest.

“You think theyre still stuck in that intersection trying to figure out how to get around one another?”

I laughed a bit at that.

“Probably” I said.

It was quiet for a bit with no other sounds save for the engine and the semi quiet radio. I stole glances at her from the passenger seat and I could tell she was thinking kinda hard about something. It made me wonder what the next step in the night would be.

“Tonight has been fun” she started, “but it kinda sucks that im gonna have to have my car painted again”

“Why is that again?” I asked

“Well, I cant exactly drive around freely in this thing when the police are on the look out for a red Ford Mustang. Kinda beats the point of running from the police”

“I get that...Still, you made a good chunk of change tonight. I imagine it wont run you too much to paint it, will it?”

“Nah” She replied, “but I dont know… I liked the red. I thought it looked nice…”

“Well I think you look better when youre not behind bars…” I said softly, almost wishing she didnt hear me at all.

“Yeah, its not exactly something I wanna see in the mirror every morning”

We sat in silence for another moment before i could scrape up the words to keep the conversation going.

“What color?” I asked.

“Hmm?”

“What color are you gonna paint it this time?”

The corner of her mouth twisted in contemplation.

“Well it was black, then that color got too hot...I liked red but this just isnt gonna do anymore…”

“How about pink?”

“Ew, no” she grimaced, “Talk about a big red flag saying ‘Im a female and i think its important above all that everyone should know that””

“I think thats a bit of a stereotype”

“Yeah? Well stereotypes exist for a reason.”

“Ok, ok, what about something fancy?”

“Like…?”

“Well, ive seen a few cars do a sort of sunburst color. Im not sure how expensive it would be to get that, but i think it could look nice. Besides, you could still use the red on your car for either the top or bottom depending how you do it.”

“Hmm...ya know, thats not a bad idea….”

“I also think it would be cool if you made the center black. Like a zero sun or something”

“Im gonna have to have someone sketch something but… I think i dig the idea of it…”

Jessie pulled the car to a slow and turned into her driveway. Hitting the button she had strapped to the visor, the garage door slowly rose open. She drove the car inside and hit the button again, closing it behind her.

With that, she turned the car off and opened the door, getting out. I followed suit.

As I stood from the car, the first thing Jessie did was pop the hood and walk over to the mini fridge in her garage. She leaned over and opened the door, grabbing two beers from the rack before shutting it. She brought one over and put it in my hands before cracking her own and taking a sip.

She sighed deep and walked over to her tool box, grabbing her socket wrench and bits, before standing over the engine bay.

“Timing is always a bit off with this thing…” she muttered as she went under the hood.

I cracked the top of my own beer before sitting down in the office chair she had lying around. I took a hearty drink from the bottle as I was quite parched. Moving fast and dodging cops really worked up a thirst, even though i was only filming it.

I watched Jessie tinker with the motor again. I don't think she will ever be satisfied with it even though it does the job just fine. Thats one part of her that really gets me. She loves her car a lot, Almost too much. She loves it to the point where I sometimes wonder if she really can really love another person beyond a one night stand. I can almost understand such a fondness for something inanimate, I mean, I love my camera to death and I use it almost as much as Jessie drives her car, but it almost makes me feel... Jealous. And even thinking that makes me cringe a bit. The idea that I would be jealous over the way someone treats an inaminate object over me is just silly. But god damn it if sometimes i dont get frustrated.

Ive had a crush on Jessie for nearly 2 years. She means the world to me and im not sure if she even knows that. I spend most of my free time with her. Ive loaned her cash many times either to put into her car or on tools. I mean she always pays me back and thats fine, but i just wish that I could say the thing that I wanna say without coming off as some weirdo. I dont even think she sees me in that way and it hurts.

It hurts really fucking bad.

I take another long drink from the bottle until its empty. I place the empty bottle on her work bench and grab another from the fridge, quickly popping the cap off.

Its not even her fault. Its not her fault at all. Its my fault for always being such a chickenshit anytime the moment arises. She even teases me about getting a girlfriend so she can steal her. (She is bi, but i dont think she would actually do that to me. Jessie is a good friend and if anything, she would probably act as my wingman. Shes cool like that.) It really blows that she pretty much sees me as a brother...or a lamp.

I dont wanna be a fucking lamp.

I watch as she cranks away at some form of machinery under the hood. Youd think after all this time spent around her, talking about cars and racing, that i would learn a few things. And i cant tell you that youd be wrong. I. Am. A. Dumbass. When it comes to cars.

Ask me about film or editing or what-have-you and i can pull answers out of my ass all day long. But anything beyond a standard oil change? No idea.

I watched as she went to take a sip from her own beer only to find it empty.

“Hey nerd boy, wanna grab me another beer?”

And like the whipped dog i am, I got right up and grabbed her another bottle.

I set it down on the car just a tad harder then i intended and winced when she took notice. It did not damage the car or anything, but there was a notable change in mood.

Fuck.

She set a hand on my shoulder before i could go sit back in my pity corner.

“Is something wrong, dude?” The way she looked at me pierced me. I was stuck. And if i didnt say something soon i was gonna look like a weirdo.

I sorta shook my shoulder, the one her hand was on, a bit to see if she would remove it. She didnt.

“Its nothing, really. Im just thinking about something shitty that youtube did, thats all.” I spoke quietly before looking away.

Her hand stayed on my shoulder, firmy clamped. Not enough to feel pain, but enough to know she was squeezing it in consolement.

My lonely ass practically shivered at the touch. Ive been starved of human contact for far too long.

“Yeah, im not buying that. Look at me” she said firmly.

When i didnt move my head from the side, she set the tool in her hand down on the car and grabbed my jawline, moving my head to face her.

She stared at me in something mixed with concern and...i guess something like motherly instinct?

“Why dont you tell me whats really going on? I know you too well to know that something small would bug you this much.”

I decided that I could probably get away with a half lie. Probably.

“I uh… Ive been having trouble with this girl…” I started sounding more unsure than id hoped. Motherfucker…

Her eyes lit up for a second. Shock? Suprise? Yeah I wouldnt believe me either.

“You actually found a girlfriend?” She asked quickly, somewhere between suprise and excitement.

“Well, I uh...No… Its more like I have a...crush…on this girl.” I spoke slowly trying to keep my tone even.

She then let go of me and speed walked over to grab both of the wheelie chairs and set them so they faced each other. All in one motion, she made sure we both had bottles in our hands and we were sitting down facing each other.

“So…” She started, “Tell me about this girl…”

I sat and thought about the most vauge things I could bring up so that I could wiggle out of this.

“Well, uh, shes got shorter hair. Not quite short, but about shoulder length. She has these beautiful eyes. Amazing, stunning, eyes…. Shes uh, a bit on the shorter side but i think thats adorable, really…”

“She sounds cute!” Jessie started, bouncing her legs in place excitedly. “Whats she like?”

“What do you mean?”

I knew what she mean.

“Ya know… like her personality or whatever…”

“Oh, yeah” i said rubbing the back of my neck nervously, “She uh...Shes real tom boyish, likes to play rough and have fun on the wild side of things...She also isnt afraid of anyone or anything and could probably take down people twice her size anyday of the week...She also has a really cool music taste...Shes one in a million, really”

I saw something flash real quick in her eyes before switching back. Oh fuck. She knows…

“Well she sounds like someone special” She said taking a sip of beer, “Have you thought of how youre gonna tell her?”

My heart started pounding. It was pounding harder than it was when the police were on our ass less than an hour ago.

“See now, thats the frustrating part. Im always trying to figure out how im gonna tell her...but im afraid she will be put off by me…”

“And whys that?” Jessie asked me.

“Because...uh...because…” I stammered trying to think of something to say.

Her eyes shined brightly and bored into my own. She concentrated on me like I was the only thing visible to man. I could feel my palms start to sweat.

“Because….me and her...got really close over the past two years...and i dont think she shares the same feelings...thats why its frustrating.”

Jessie leaned back in her office chair and drank down the rest of her beer before continuing.

“I see…” she started, “And would this girl happen to own a red ford mustang that she enjoys racing with and using to run from the police when the occasion arises?”

I looked down at my feet and nodded my head yes.

I heard the glass of her bottle clinking against the concrete floor before she rolled her chair closer to mine. I felt her hand around my jaw line again. This time it was more of a caress than a grab. She slowly lifted my chin up to meet her and my first expectation was to get laughed at for my burning red cheeks.

Once we were both staring at each other, I saw her move in closer to my face.

Her eyes drifted shut and before i knew it, her lips were against mine. It was a light kiss with hardly any movement. Timid and testing, like a deer investigating something new in the wild. I felt her head tilt more to the side and i did the same in the opposite direction.

I….I didnt really know how to feel. I was overwhelmed, trying too hard to read the situation at hand. My brain was going so fast i felt like my head was gonna explode.

And before i realized how amazing this moment truly was, she broke away from the kiss.

To my suprise, her breath was actually a bit laboured. And she stared at me with a big smile on her face.

“Ive been waiting....two long years for that, nerd boy.” she whispered so softly.

This time, I grabbed her chair and pulled her too me as I met her with my lips again. Our faces came together and this time it was all a lot messier. She moved her lips against mine, roughly, hungrilly even. I tried to mirror what she did but to be honest, my experience with kissing was minimal. Then I felt something poke between my lips and at my teeth.

I opened my mouth a bit more to accept her tongue. I could feel her reach behind my head and grab on, shoving us closer together. I ran my hands up her back, watching not to cross any boundies.

It was like a dance, really. She lead and i followed. And what a dance it was.

We broke apart for air and stared at each other. My hands had rested at her hips and she had a hand on each shoulder. We were both just about hanging off the edge of our chairs.

Out of breath she spoke quietly.

“Backseat?”

I nodded frantically, like my life depended on it.

“Backseat”

[midoridragonuus]

< previous | compendium | next >

- x -

from: schwartzellie@schwartzind.co to: gabe69@schwartzind.co cc: maeharamahouji subject: hey

hey gabe can you log into siims? thanks

- Secretary and Head of Divisions, Ellie Schwartz

- x -

from: gabe69@schwartzind.co to: schwartzellie@schwartzind.co cc: subject: RE: hey

hey elliepop! u ok??? this doesnt sound like one of ur usual mails dont think ive ever seen u write wo grammar n punctuation also y cc that guy

- gabe bar owner. business guy. stud.

- x -

from: gabe69@schwartzind.co to: schwartzellie@schwartzind.co cc: subject: FWD: RE: hey

ellie? gurl whats ^ reply soon i miss u

- gabe bar owner. business guy. stud.

- x -

from: gabe69@schwartzind.co to: schwartzellie@schwartzind.co cc: subject: FWD: FWD: RE: hey

ok ok ill be right on dont b mad at me ily

- gabe bar owner. business guy. stud.

- x -

gabe69 has signed into the Schwartz Ind. Internal Messaging System (SIIMS)

gabe69: hello??? anyone here?? woo hoo????

schwartzellie has signed into the Schwartz Ind. Internal Messaging System (SIIMS)

gabe69: ellie! hey honeybuns. ive missed u whats ^

gabe69: ellie?

maeharamahouji has signed into the Schwartz Ind. Internal Messaging System (SIIMS)

gabe69: whats going on here

maeharamahouji has uploaded a file: sserver470.exe

maeharamahouji: hey gabe. can you test this for me? thanks. send me a report when you're done.

gabe69: what

maeharamahouji has signed out of the Schwartz Ind. Internal Messaging System (SIIMS)

gabe69: whats going on

gabe69: ellie cmon what the hell

schwartzellie: Click the file, stupid.

schwartzellie has signed out of the Schwartz Ind. Internal Messaging System (SIIMS)

gabe69: fuck

gabe69 has signed out of the Schwartz Ind. Internal Messaging System (SIIMS)

- x -

> initializing sserver470.exe > protocol and logs will be erased upon exit > "hope it helps. - m."

gabe69 has signed into SSERVER470

gabe69: what is this place?

schwartzellie: Oh thank the Gods.

gabe69: elliepop? what the entire fuck is going on?????

schwartzellie: Look. I couldn't talk to you sooner. I wanted to. I really did. I couldn't... I was afraid to contact you.

gabe69: what? y? whats wrong with me? hon if u didnt want a follow up

schwartzellie: It's not you. It's who's listening. I'm pretty sure my office is bugged. My phone is too. I've had to be really careful with what I say in case it's distorted. I don't know how to explain it better than that.

gabe69: ellie i dont get what ur saying can u start at the top?

schwartzellie: Okay. Okay. Do you remember a few weeks ago when Carlos interrupted our dinner and told me it was an emergency?

gabe69: vaguely. i remember his smug ass ruining a nite w ur beautiful face ♥♥♥

schwartzellie: Right so, I went with him. He was silent through the whole walk to the archives.

gabe69: the archives?

schwartzellie: Yeah. Where we keep files on literally everyone and everything. You know. Contracts. Secret info? Well, we got stopped by security, so I know there's at least one witness out there that knows we entered the archives; that the whole thing really took place.

gabe69: what do u mean "took place" ???

schwartzellie: Shut up and let me type!

gabe69: k

schwartzellie: So we entered, and we walked into the middle of the room. I'm not sure if it was the exact middle or anything, but that's what it felt like neck deep in the rows of file cabinets and servers. Anyway, the archives are heavily guarded. I'm pretty shocked he had clearance but in hindsight, but also? Not really. I told you his files were a fucking mess and his permissions were probably redacted as well.

gabe69: uh huh

schwartzellie: There's cameras all over. Lasers. Devil's traps. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if any flat surface read DNA or heat signatures or something. Schwartz is really out-there about security. I mean, there's less than a handful of people who can get into the archives, and they're 99% accompanied by Schwartz herself.

gabe69: sounds high key

schwartzellie: It is. As far as I know, the only people with permissions to enter the archives are Schwartz, Irkalla, myself, and now... Carlos. It's under such heavy security that two people on shift have to watch it. One physically, and the other in a special cam room somewhere on site. Like... it's really guarded.

gabe69: and u 2 just waltzed in there huh?

schwartzellie: Yeah. And when we got to the middle, he just stood there and wouldn't look me in the eyes. He literally titled his head back and locked eyes with one of the, what I assume was, a camera. Stared into it the whole time we talked.

gabe69: what a fuckin weirdo. whatd he tell u babe?

schwartzellie: I don't.... I don't really remember. I was so weirded out by the whole experience... I remember getting goosebumps. My stomach hurt. I was feeling pretty nauseous and

gabe69: ok but it wasnt my food so

schwartzellie: Oh my Gods, I didn't say it was!

gabe69: just makin sure ;)

schwartzellie: Ugh. But...

gabe69: but?

schwartzellie: I remember staring at him really intense-like. Squinting and trying to figure out what his motive was. What he was saying. Like, his mouth was moving and words were coming out, but my brain couldn't figure out what they were! I even tried to remember later on, but none of the sounds or words I made felt right. I don't even remember leaving, or how I got back to my room... I slept with a diary that night in case I remembered anything in my sleep, but my dreams were blank. When I went to the security office, there was no record of us visiting the archives. And the guy on duty who stopped us outside the door? Gone. Vanished. I asked around and no one knew of anyone who matched that description ever working at SI. No one knew who I was talking about, and by then, his face was too blurry in my memory to ask again. After a few days of frustration, I asked Jade to help me. He reads lips, you know. So I tried to make the same movements I remembered Carlos making with his mouth, but Jade had no idea what I was trying to say. He said it was just gibberish.

gabe69: ellie this is fucking weird

schwartzellie: I know.

gabe69: so what ur telling me is that that dick took u 2 a place w heavy security did some mumbo jumbo magic shit that u cant remember and now ur phones being bugged and a guys missing???

schwartzellie: No, there's more to it than that. I think...

gabe69: ???

schwartzellie: So I tried to do some more digging about him, in hopes that it might.... I don't know... tell me something? Anything? But then more people disappeared.

gabe69: what do u mean? who disappeared?

schwartzellie: I... don't know.

gabe69: then how do u kno theyre gone??

schwartzellie: I have a list of employees on my desk for the monthly newsletter that have left the company. We publish goodbyes every month, but I don't remember any of them on this month's letter ever working here.

gabe69: well SI is a big company! surely a few slip by ur ever watchful eyes. u cant do everything doll

schwartzellie: No, but I sign every employment contract as Schwartz' witness. Even when they're mostly redacted. I've seen every person who enters this company, including business partners in different districts, contracted/affiliated help, and even have the names for people who work FOR our associates. But I don't know any of these names or faces.

gabe69: and ur sure they worked for SI

schwartzellie: The list is from Schwartz. I'm sure of that. But even she's been... off? There's something going on with her too. She won't reply to any non-related business mail.

gabe69: and ur surprised by that of all things?? ms unfeeling not talking about feelings?

schwartzellie: Well, no, but you don't know her, Gabe. It's like she's shutting down.

gabe69: uh huh

schwartzellie: With SI off the table, I told Wendy I had to look up something in Crowley's office, so I shadowed her to work. I wanted to check if maybe the city had those names on file, somewhere. They didn't.

gabe69: and?

schwartzellie: What they did have, though, was a blank space where those names SHOULD be. I don't think the person who was supposed to clean up got rid of the dividers.

gabe69: elliepop this is nuts like wacky pistachi kiddo! people fuck up on putting dividers in. it happens. i sometimes order double my stock on accident

schwartzellie: Okay, one? Wasteful. Two? I know I sound paranoid, okay? I know it. But something's going on. There's more, okay?

gabe69: more?

schwartzellie: Yeah.... After I left Crowley's office, Wendy stopped me on my way out. She asked if I found what I needed, and I told her I did. As she turned around to go back to work, I saw something around the corner. At first I thought it was a shadow. Maybe my eyes playing tricks on me. Shit happens, right? But I know someone was watching me.

gabe69: ellie

schwartzellie: No, listen! So I.... I didn't go straight home. I decided to take the bus, rather than get a cab, just in case. Better safe than sorry, right? And as I was waiting at the bus stop, I felt eyes on the back of my head.

gabe69: ellie....

schwartzellie: Gabe will you shut the fuck up? I know I sound crazy, but just let me finish. Please. You owe me this.

gabe69: ok elliecakes. im sorry :((

schwartzellie: I felt really antsy, rocking back and forth. I knew someone was watching me. I just knew it, okay? So I get on the next bus, not knowing where it was going. If someone was really following me, they probably wouldn't go somewhere random, right? Risk being seen by a lot of people? Turns out the next stop wasn't too far from Karen's, so I got off there. I went in, grabbed a latte, and sat down until my nerves returned to normal. I thought I was also being pretty ridiculous and letting weird events turn me into some sort of conspiracy theorist. Half way through my drink, I looked up and... there was nothing wrong. I didn't feel anyone looking. There were just some random people in there eating breakfast and drinking coffee. I was so relieved. Honestly, I felt so stupid.

gabe69: :( i love ur smarts

schwartzellie: So I paid my bill, and waited for the next bus. I rode back to SI, got off, and felt like a huge idiot for being so nervous. I was home! No reason to feel afraid when we have the best security in the District. I waved to Kat and sat in the lobby for a minute with weak knees. Like, I was just really relieved it was all in my head.

gabe69: that sounds good

schwartzellie: Until

gabe69: o

schwartzellie: I checked my phone for any alerts I might have missed while snooping, or trying to chill in Karen's. A few e-mails, a few texts, and then one weird notif from an iSpy app? But... I never installed anything like that. I checked my apps, but there wasn't one installed on the phone or the SD card. I started to get really freaked again. I mean, iSpy? Of all the alerts that could be the result of some virus or something... So I took the next elevator to the Tech Division. Mahouji was on shift, so I gave him my phone to look at.

gabe69: let me guess he found something

schwartzellie: He sure fucking did. He ran a scan while I was standing right there. The first one didn't pick up anything, but I insisted that there was something on it that I didn't put in there. After another unsuccessful scan, he ran his own with his.... I don't know. Whatever it is he works with. Personal code or program or something? I don't know. But he looked really disturbed. He fiddled with it, then downloaded an iSpy game from the app store.

gabe69: what

schwartzellie: Yeah, I was really confused too. He explained to me that it was probably just an advertisement for a new game that was mass spammed from a link I might have clicked and that, with the actual app in, he was able to turn off the notifications. But that's what he said, not what he showed me.

gabe69: what i dont get it

schwartzellie: While he was telling me all this and pointing my phone at me with his left hand, he pulled some paper and a pencil out of his own desk and wrote on it with his right hand. "Ellie, there's a nasty program on here. I don't know what it is, but I know it's not something anyone should tamper with. I don't even want to try to debug it. It has access to everything, including your cam and mic. Getting rid of the phone will only make whoever's watching suspicious. I recommend playing dumb while I investigate."

gabe69: holy shit

schwartzellie: I... I thanked him and left. I thought that it might just be a huge prank on me, but I don't think he's that kind of guy. I mean, we're not close friends or anything, but of all the people in this company? I think I can trust him.

gabe69: u sure u dont trust him just bc he validates w/e ur thinking is going on

schwartzellie: So you don't believe me?

gabe69: no elliecakes its not that. u kno im always on ur side. i just gotta play devils advocate yea???

schwartzellie: Yeah. Yeah. So.... Like.... I took the phone with me. I tried to keep it pointed away from me unless I had a message. I've been really jumpy and trying not to give too much info away in my emails or texts. I've tried changing my writing to kinda make it seem like it might not be me in case I disappear so people can figure out the dates things went wrong.

gabe69: ellie wtf nothings gonna happen 2 u. not when im around. i promise. u kno that.

schwartzellie: No, but-

gabe69: that y u emailed me the way u did earlier??

schwartzellie: Yeah, I wanted to leave a trail, okay? So anyone else who looked into it could tell something was up and I wasn't just making things up. And I thought that things were finally going back to normal, you know? I wanted things to be less weird, and they were, until earlier today.

gabe69: what happened??

schwartzellie: I was coming back to my office. I was thinking about finally getting back to my social life.

gabe69: so me

schwartzellie: Sure.

gabe69: :( cmon u love me

schwartzellie: Sure.

gabe69: ;*

schwartzellie: And on the way, I saw a guy standing in front of one of the windows in the hall. I didn't recognize him, so I asked him who he was. He didn't answer. I asked again, and still nothing. So I approached him from the side.

gabe69: ellie!

schwartzellie: I know it wasn't the smartest thing. Approaching some rando? But he was weird. Out of place weird. Because I know all of the employees. I know who has access to my floor. And this guy! Was just standing there! Looking out the window! I sent a text to security as a precaution, and then went to tap him on the shoulder. Then I blinked, and the window was broken. Alarms were going off. There was a woman screaming from below. The wind blew my hair out of place! I remember the tears coming down my face at the shock because what the fuck just happened?

gabe69: wtf i dont remember any alarm

schwartzellie: My legs gave out, and after a few seconds, I crawled to the window to look out. I was expecting to see the guy on the pavement below, you know? All bloody and broken and... yeah... But the window was fine.

gabe69: what

schwartzellie: The window! Was fine! It wasn't broken. There was no one below but regular day traffic! I was still on the floor, still with tears, but nothing happened? I checked my phone for the text I sent and it was in my drafts folder, saying "Message failed to send. Try again." I called the security office to ask for video of the hall, and got sent a video where I just walk by the window like nothing happened. Then I come back, sit down, and cry.

gabe69: ellie

schwartzellie: Gabe, please. Please just... I'm almost done.

gabe69: ok

schwartzellie: I called Mahouji and asked him to come pick me up from the hallway. He thought it was weird, because one? He was asleep. Two? We're not friends. Not really. And three? He's def. not security. So he was concerned.

gabe69: yea so am i y didnt u call me babe??

schwartzellie: Because when he got there, I showed him the video and told him that I must have not been paying attention because I was playing my iSpy app. He's smart enough to figure out the hidden meaning there. He asked if I needed to go to see a doctor in case I hurt anything falling down, but I told him that no, I'd be alright, but I did want to see you. Privately.

gabe69: oh hon hon hon baguette

schwartzellie: Can you be serious for one fucking second? Like, this is my life, Gabe!

gabe69: sorry go on

schwartzellie: Again, being the smart man he is,

gabe69: >:|

schwartzellie: he figured out what I meant. Told me that maybe it wouldn't be smart to go see someone if I was dizzy from the fall, and that I should message you instead using his computer.

gabe69: that y i had 2 click that weird file?

schwartzellie: Yeah. It's something he made to delete all records after we're done talking. It's safer that way. Because Gabe? I'm scared.

gabe69: ellie....

schwartzellie: I'm really scared. I don't know what to do now. Mahouji told me to try and back off. To forget the whole thing.

gabe69: suspicious

schwartzellie: No, I think he's really just concerned. He doesn't seem weird? Not like that hallway guy. Not like Carlos. I think he's worried. I think he knows there's something going on but I don't think he knows how weird it is. How twisted it is? There's something going on, Gabe, and it's so big. People are disappearing. Things are happening and not happening at the same time. Schwartz is off. I'm going crazy. There's something going on and someone who's not this deep in needs to know before I don't know anymore. Does that make sense?

gabe69: ellie where r u? u still in the tech div?

schwartzellie has signed out of SSERVER470

gabe69: fuck

gabe69 has signed out of SSERVER470

>initializing shut down of sserver470.exe >initializing self-deletion sequence >del470.exe in progress, authorization m confirm >ERROR >ERROR >ERROR >ERROR >ERROR >ERROR

- x -

from: gabe69@schwartzind.co to: schwartzellie@schwartzind.co cc: subject: HEY

um where are u elliepop? wanna get a coffee? nite cap? ;))

- gabe bar owner. business guy. stud.

- x -

from: schwartzellie@schwartzind.co to: gabe69@schwartzind.co cc: subject: RE: HEY

Downstairs at the cafeteria. Why? Wanna join? lol

- Secretary and Head of Divisions, Ellie Schwartz

- x -

from: schwartzellie@schwartzind.co to: gabe69@schwartzind.co cc: subject: RE: HEY

error

- Secretary and Head of Divisions, Ellie Schwartz

- x -