#i wanna play ghost recon again

[haldenlith]

Trajectory ch 4

Another chapter in Ardwynn's little story I'm working on.

Also on AO3

“Oh, and the Hunter is down! Looks like it’s up to the Warlock on the team to deliver the finish!” The audio crackled on the television as it played the Crucible match. Ardwynn was only half paying attention to it, busy replotting points on his maps, updating new data points reported by his scouts. The EDZ was more of a place of careful patrol than for raiding anymore, what with The Witness’s forces lurking about.

Not that it stopped an enterprising group to sneak back into the old base, stuff the old jukebox Ardwynn had to leave behind into an engram, and bring it back. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be touched or incredibly irritated that they risked their hide for something so trivial. Ardwynn briefly wondered if this was what having children felt like, only these “kids” were adults. Most of them, anyway.

Ghost, meanwhile, had proven incredibly useful, even if Ardwynn was still incredibly leery of why the little one hung around him. He cast a sidelong glance to the Ghost, who was sorting through new reports. He’d yet to leave his side, and was annoyingly sympathetic and chummy. Ardwynn pursed his lips and returned to his work. People he could read, at least to some degree. Ghosts were a mystery to him… but… they were virtually invisible in The City.

And The Tower.

Ardwynn paused and looked back to Ghost. “You think you’d be willing to run a little recon for me?” Ghost looked up from his work, blinking his blue eye.

“That depends.”

“On?”

“Where I’m going,” Ghost replied matter-of-factly. The Awoken hummed softly, leaning on the table. The base was in good working order, everything was ready to get business rolling again. Everyone was itching and antsy, him included. The Vanguard would be the perfect target, given how preoccupied they were now. Granted, it broke his rule of “don’t kick a man when they’re down”, but this wouldn’t be a kick. More like… a tickle. A lovebite.

“I want to know what’s going on with The Vanguard.” Ghost’s response was a collection of disgruntled chirps and beeps.

“Ardwynn.”

“Don’t ‘Ardwynn’ me. I need to know what’s going on with them.”

“Then ask them.”

“Not that kind of need to know,” he responded coyly. Ghost narrowed his eye.

“You wanna rob The Vanguard, don’t you?” Ardwynn threw his hands up.

“Whoa, whoa, okay, hold on! ‘Rob’ is a very strong word, little guy. You’re making it sound like I wanna run in and steal their shit at gun point. I’m more like…” He trailed off and twiddled his fingers in the air. “Like reaching into their pocket and helping myself. I bet they won’t even notice.” Ghost sighed and shook his shell.

“That’s not much better, you know.” He bobbed in the air. “And they’re trying to find a way to go after The Witness! They don’t have time to deal with you and honestly, we all need to be on the same page right now.”

“Exactly! They won’t even notice me. This is more of a… formality. I’m just letting them know that our business is concluded. They can focus on universe ending mumbo-jumbo, I can focus on all the little people that are forgotten in the process.” Ghost chirped quizzically.

“People forgotten in the process? What exactly do you mean?” Ardwynn’s shoulders slumped as he affixed a deadpan look to Ghost.

“You really think anyone is keeping tabs on the folk out in the settlements in the midst of this chaos? Everyone’s great idea to deal with it was to just get people to leave their homes and go to The Farm or move into The City. Come on. As usual, their eyes are in the sky, not on the ground.” He shrugged and turned back to his map, sticking a pin into a spot. “Which is fine, I guess. Just let’s not pretend people don’t need a little extra help.” He then turned his attention to the ethereal purple map on the wall. Carefully cobbled together Awoken tech, showing readout of a map of The Reef. If they were careful to avoid Pyramid ships, they could use the chaos to slip in and do a few runs.

“That’s noble of you, but I just think you could be putting that energy elsewhere. Just my thoughts on the matter.” Ghost floated over to be next to Ardwynn. “… I’ll do one run through of The Tower. That’s all you’re getting. … Is this The Reef?”

“… It is.”

“Wow, this map is actually quite beautiful, and impressively detailed. Not that I’d know. I’ve never been up that way.” Ardwynn glanced at Ghost.

“You’re not missing much,” he muttered. Ghost turned to him.

“… You steal from them too, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“Why? I’ve talked with everyone. They said The Magpies do all this to help people. Well, not everyone said that, but most of them. But I’ve not heard from you. Everyone points to you as the one starting all this.” Ardwynn shrugged, swiping his fingers across the map, zooming in on a location.

“They pretty much nailed it. Started this via raiding The Reef for supplies during The Red War, because refugees needed them. Kept doing it, expanded the scope of who we stole from. We occasionally skim a little off the top, because nobody’s perfect,” he replied with a broken smirk, stretching the scar that split the right side of his mouth. “… Why? Having a crisis of conscience, little shimmershine?” Ghost eyed Ardwynn. He’d worked to make sure he had some value to the crew, while also making it a point to observe them. Observe everyone. Some people were a little questionable, but for the most part, they were actually good people. Rowdy misfits doing things their way, led by a wild man who seemed… more than he was. Or, at least, more than he let people see.

Ghost looked back to the map on the wall.

“No. Just… curious.” Ardwynn’s orange gaze turned suspicious, eyes narrowing.

“I still think it’s weird you’re hanging around like you do.”

Ghost chirped and shifted his shell as if mimicking the motion of “shrugging”. “Maybe I just want to be a part of this? What you’re doing. I can be pretty useful, if you haven’t already noticed.” Ardwynn wasn’t entirely convinced, a rumble of suspicion sounding from his throat, eyes still narrowed.

“I hate that I can’t deny that. You are handy to have around… Just not really used to having one of you little guys around without a Guardian attached, and though Guardians tend to mean great loot, they also mean trouble. I ain’t about that brand of trouble outside of very particular circumstances.” It was Ghost’s turn to hum suspiciously.

“Oh? Then what about Crow?” Ardwynn arched up a brow in response.

“That’s different. Speaking of, how do I know you won’t just… magically find your Guardian and run off on me, huh? I feel like you being unpaired is almost a liability.”

Ghost shook his shell. “You don’t have to worry about that. I’ve… pretty much given up on my search. Besides, I don’t need a Guardian to be useful.” As if to prove his statement, he floated back to the reports, returning back to work. Granted, his stack of “finished” reports were a mess, given that he could only nudge them around on the desk. Sometimes he hated not having hands. Or arms. Or any appendages, really. Ardwynn sighed, staring at Ghost for a few moments.

“Fine, fine. I’ll take you at your word, for now.” Ardwynn returned to his work, muttering softly, “Suspicious little bastard.” Ghost glanced up for a moment at Ardwynn, spinning his shell. If he could have, he would have smiled.

Observing Ardwynn was an interesting task. He was chaotic, certainly, but he had his own form of a routine. His days started in the early morning, sometimes before the sun was even up. Ghost assumed he’d be the type to not rise until well into the late morning. Ardwynn rarely ate anything in the morning. He generally started the day with tea, coffee, or whiskey, and little else. Or some combination of all three. Ghost didn’t approve of that, but he learned quickly that Ardwynn was skilled at tuning people out when they nagged him (most of the time), so he stopped.

Like clockwork, Ardwynn always did a walk-through of the base, taking the time to check up on everything – and everyone. Asking how they were doing, about their lives, about the little things, not just about reports, hauls, and general business. He sometimes took the extra time to do little things for people. He repaired Kenta-2’s buffer. He knew how much the Exo loved to make sure his purple and black duochrome plates were shiny. He sparred with Billy, to keep her sharp, and just blow off some steam. He loved to tease Eurydice while working alongside her on dismantling a recently stolen Sparrow. Sometimes he liked to get a rise out of her, but mostly just to keep her company in her quiet workshop corner. Ghost took note that he even got her some new tools (shockingly purchased legitimately, and not stolen).

Next came reports, updating the maps, and general logistics duties. Ghost didn’t expect that Ardwynn knew how to be quiet, serious, even diligent. His demeanor only changed when someone else entered the “war room” (as Ardwynn loved to call it).

That said, Ardwynn never stayed there for too long. After an hour, he generally wander off to do other things. Sometimes it was temporary, and he’d get back to work eventually, sometimes not. Today, he played soccer with a mixture of Eliksni and human children. The winners got piggyback rides.

Ghost’s incessant nagging in an attempt to get Ardwynn to eat eventually resulted in him stopping to get food somewhere in The City. He ended up running into Crow. To Ghost’s dismay, Ardwynn pulled him aside and told him to go do his little mission while he had Crow busy, so he was unable to chat with Glint. No matter, Ardwynn was finally eating.

Ghost confirmed Ardwynn’s suspicions that he would be, largely, unnoticed. Ghosts were everywhere in the general area around the official Vanguard offices. One more was hardly noteworthy. He was easily able to go and peruse reports. Apparently attentions had shifted to Titan (Titan was back?), answering a distress signal (and there’s someone alive there?!). Drifter was apparently a part of the on-going operation. And they found Oryx’s body?! Further perusal found a few reports on Eris’s research and autopsies of Savathun’s corpse (eugh), and then a few spare quartermaster reports. It must be mighty lonely in The Hangar now that Amanda is gone. Regardless, Ghost got the information he assumed Ardwynn wanted. How he’d use it was anyone’s guess.

He was honestly almost afraid to ask. Either way, he was his accomplice now, which… was oddly not a bad feeling.

Ghost knew trying to hail Ardwynn was pointless. The man never kept much any communication tech on him unless he intended to need to be reached. So, returning to base was the better bet on finding him. He could still be with Crow, too, but who knows whether they’d still be where he last left them. If he wasn’t at base, there were a few likely spots Ardwynn could be, as Ghost had learned in the short time he’d been hanging around.

There were a few clubs Ardwynn liked to slip into – at least the ones that hadn’t thrown him out on principle yet. The man loved music, loved dancing, loved drinking… loved being dragged elsewhere by someone for other activities, much to Ghost’s dismay. Unmistakably, Ghost had decided to associate with a hedonist. Following that same line of thought, Ardwynn could also be at his favorite brothel. A higher end affair that made it a point to welcome Ardwynn with open arms. Ghost was concerned just how much glimmer the man had dumped into their coffers to be welcomed so warmly, and with such familiarity. Either way, Ghost never stuck around either establishment to find out Ardwynn’s preferences of nightclub or brothel. He found that he didn’t have the luxury of dematerializing, so he had to physically relocate elsewhere and wait until Ardwynn was done.

If the Awoken was at either of those, well… it was just better for Ghost to simply wait him out. He’d eventually come stumbling back into either his living quarters via the Eliksni Quarter entrance, or the back entrance from base. Of course, that would mean Ghost’s findings would have to wait until morning, because Ardwynn usually fell asleep immediately after arrival.

Luckily, Ghost got confirmation from the other Magpies that their fearless leader had returned not long before Ghost’s arrival, and in good spirits, but that he had retired to his quarters that he’d setup in the abandoned Vault Ebisu.

“He did say he was going to grab a nap, though, so he might be out cold when you get to him.” Inconvenient, but not a problem in the grand scheme of things. Maybe he was falling victim to a food coma? The idea pleased the little Light. That would mean he ate a lot of food! It’d make up for him not eating breakfast! A big, active guy like him should be eating three square meals a day. Ghost spun his shell with determination, making note to harass Ardwynn into eating more often. Someone clearly had to look out for him.

Ghost floated along into the dimly lit corridor that lead to the main area, and subsequently Ardwynn’s living quarters. Unexpectedly, he didn’t see the man immediately. Just as he was about to call out, he heard a soft hiccup, and an intentionally quiet sob. Slowly, he followed the sound to find the man he was looking for, seated on the cool concrete floor, back against the wall. While he wasn���t curled up tightly, his knees were still nearly pulled to his chest. Another choking sob escaped him as tears stained his scarred face. Ghost’s shell tightened with concern, and he slowly approached.

“Ardwynn, what’s wrong?” He asked softly. Orange eyes snapped up to lock onto him, wide and surprised. Like a wild animal caught in a trap, Ardwynn was quick to spring to terrified action, swatting and then throwing things at the Ghost.

“Fuck off already!” Ghost dodged Ardwynn’s attempts at lashing out, at chasing him away, instead finding a shelving unit to hide under, though the glow of his blue eye still illuminated from the darkness of his hidey-hole as he watched Ardwynn. The man growled, but his hostility melted swiftly into more despair. This time, he curled up tightly, hugging his knees, trying to block Ghost out, block everything out.

Sometimes you forget the scars of old memories, old wounds, people and places lost to time. Sometimes something reminds you, and makes them ache and sting and hurt. He wasn’t even sure what it was that triggered the sudden, fast onset of sorrow, but something about hanging out with Crow triggered something lonely and sad deep inside him, and it crawled back up out of the pit he’d previously shoved it down into, grabbed his heart, and squeezed. It squeezed tighter than he could bear, claws deeper than he could handle at the moment.

The tears set upon him before he could start drowning himself in whiskey.

And now here he was – vulnerable in front of some weird little machine that stared at him from below the bottom shelf.

Ghost slowly left his defensive position, floating scarcely two or three inches above the floor as he traveled towards Ardwynn. He stopped a foot away, looking up at him.

“Ardwynn?” He was prepared to flit away again, should Ardwynn lash out once more. He was pleased to find Ardwynn simply didn’t respond, remaining curled up, face buried. “… I’ll go if you want me to go, but I just want you to know, I’m here, if you need me. I might not have shoulders you can cry on, or arms that can hold you, but… I can listen. Or I can just… be here, in the room, if that’s what you need.” He was met with a silence that was thick and pained. It said enough. He waited a second or two more before turning to float away, and let Ardwynn have his space.

“Stay.” It was muffled and soft, but the reply did eventually come from Ardwynn, causing Ghost to pause. He blinked before returning to Ardwynn. Instead of maintaining space between them, he closed the gap, gently pressing his shell into the Awoken’s shoulder.

He saved the report for the morning.

[bringing-sixy-back]

Can you post some details on Cav x Twitch DLC

Ok for some context, Cav goes AWOL in Bolivia and Valkyrie, Twitch, and Nomad (your ghost recon character) have to find her. Play through the mission, and you’ll find out that Cav is trying to save her brother, an undercover federal agent, who just blew his cover in the cartel. 

some Important Dialogue:

(This is before we find out Cav has a brother)

Twitch: That’s Caveira. This proves she has some connection to Dengoso (the federal agent) Nomad: An ex-boyfriend? A former lover?

Twitch: Definitely not.

Nomad: Cause he’s Policia Federal?

Twitch: No. Let’s just... leave it at no.

Nomad: His full name is Joao Pereira.

Valkyrie: Pereira? That means--

Nomad: Yeah. Caveira’s his big sister.

Twitch: I keep saying we have to go out more, but this isn’t what I meant

Caviera: I didn’t want to get you in trouble.

Twitch: It’s not going out if you can’t get in trouble!

Caveira: Why would you get yourself in that situation? You could’ve gotten killed!

Joao: You would never let that happen. Ever since I was a boy, she’s always looked out for me.

Here’s a link to a full gameplay if you wanna know more, cuz I’m sure there’s stuff I left out.

I could talk about this shit all day tho. Cav being super protective of her brother, showing a different, softer side to the fearsome operator. Twitch and Valkyrie treating Cav like family, the playful tone in Twitch’s voice when they finally find Cav, like she’s so happy to see her. Twitch vouching for Cav throughout the mission. Idk they love each other. 

[ladyorlandodream]

Lady Dimitrescu-tag FanFiction List PART 1

Since it has become a case among gamers and non-gamers, I decided to create this post containing the FF dedicated to Alcina Dimitrescu (Lady Dimitrescu / Tall Vampire Lady) that I can find on the Internet This post will be updated as soon I find something new, therefore, feel free to send me links to add to the list and come back anytime, because from the reposts you will lose the updates!!

part 2   part 3   part 4   part 5  part 6   part 7

1) In Vino Sacrificium (Series)

2) Feast Your Eyes (short story)

3) The Woman in the White Dress (Chapters in progress)

4) Lost (short story)

5) Resident Evil Village but Awesome (short story)

6) We Are Marionettes By Strings Animated, Yet Like Lovers Of Strings Liberated (short story)

7) Village (Chapters in progress)

8) The Lady of the House (Series)

9) Intruder (short story)

10) Resident Evil: Lewd Village (short story)

11) The Surprise (short story)

12) Nothing Fucks With My Baby (Except Me) (Chapters in progress)

13) Hers, forever (short story)

14) Lady Dimitrescu and her Good Girl (Stories completed)

15) Be a good pet (short story)

16) The Lapis Inferno (Chapters completed)

17) Our secret love (short story)

18) Bad day (short story)

19) Its a superiority thing (Chapters in progress) 

20) The Lady’s Kitten! (Chapters in progress)

21) her new toy (Chapters in progress)

22) Why Are Humans Like This (short story)

23) The Cold is in Her Bones (Chapters in progress) 

24) Lady of Legend (short story)

25) Sweet Pet (short story)

26) Beloved bound (short story)

27) Fuck You're So Gorgeous, (And I Wanna Touch You). (short story)

28) Dessert (Chapters in progress)

29) Taken from the village (short story)

30) Resident Evil Drabbles (short stories in progress)

31) I'm Here, I'm Safe (short story)

32) For Old Times' Sake (short story)

33) Virgin Dog (short story)

34) Akaibara (Chapters in progress)

35) So This Is Love (short story)

36) Who's The Master Of Tall Now, Huh? (Chapters in progress)

37) The Mistresses New Daughter! (Chapters in progress)

38) A Willing Maiden? (short story)

39) Beloved [SCRIPT OFFER] [F4TF VARIATION] (short story to fill)

40) I trust you (short story)

41) Little Fly (short story)

42) Never Mind That Moaning In The Halls, There's No Such Thing As Ghosts (short story)

43) I know what you’re after (short story)

44) neither pink nor pale (short story)

45) what of the body isn't an unbecoming (Chapters in progress)

46) Blood and Byrrh (Chapters in progress)

47) Beginnings (Chapters in progress)

48) To Live Forever (short story)

49) Skelly Meets His Match (short story)

50) Just a toy (Chapters completed)

51) Stormy Illusions (short story)

52) I'm Falling (Don't Catch Me) (Chapters in progress)

53) Desperate Escape (short story)

54) Ignis (short story)

55) finders keepers (short story)

56) Roses Before Dawn (2 chapters story)

57) Aftertaste (short story)

58) Liar (Chapters in progress)

59) Alcina's Ultimate Form! (short story)

60) Love makes monsters of us all (Chapters in progress)

61) Cursed (Chapters completed)

62) Where It's Warm (Chapters in progress)

63) The Witch, The Werewolf And The Vampire (short story)

64) Death Trap Clad (short story)

65) Plaything (short story)

66) To become something more! (Chapters in progress)

67) Lost, but not forgotten. (Chapters in progress)

68) I Love Human Stupidity (short story)

69) Lady Dimitrescu A-Z NSFW (short list)

70) Danse Macabre (Chapters in progress)

71) Game Over! (short story)

72) A Pet That's Not You (short story)

73) The patterns of your heartbeat (Chapters in progress)

74) Survival (short story)

75) It Was A Wicked Thought (Chapters in progress)

76) Blackbird (Chapters completed)

77) How vampires are born (short story)

78) I Like My Coffee Like I Like My Women: Hot and Venti. (Chapters in progress)

79) Kiss of Blood (Chapters in progress)

80) You're Not What I Asked For (short story)

81) I walk My Days On a Wire (short story)

82) Team Dimitrescu (short story)

83) Daughter's Plaything! (short story)

84) It Starts With a Spilled Cup of Tea (Chapters completed)

85) There You Are (short story)

86) Fanfic of: "I Like My Coffee Like I Like My Women: Hot and Venti" (short story)

87) Lady Dimitrescu's new slave (short story)

88) How The Mighty Have Shrunk? (short story)

89) Lady dimitrescu x oc (Chapters in progress)

90) Novitiate (Chapters in progress)

91) No More Tears Left (short story)

92) Taming One Of the Beasts! (short story)

93) In the Shadows of the Enemy (short story)

94) Rebirth series (short stories)

95) Comfort's Embrace (short story)

96) A Maids Tale! (short story)

97) To Have Tea and Crackers (short story)

98) Me of all People!? (Chapters in progress)

99) The Tall Mistress (short story)

100) A Dance Of Death! (short story)

101) Retourne-toi! (Chapters in progress)

102) Roses, Hearts and Wine (short story)

103) Care to Dance? (Chapters in progress by me!)

104) Happy Valentine's Day (short story)

105) Share The Love? (short story)

106) Vampire (short story)

107) Between monsters (Chapters in progress)

108) Giant Woman (song/rewriting)

109) Steeplechase (short story)

110) In The Shadows (Chapters in progress)

111) What is it Worth? (Chapters in progress)

112) The positives of being a maiden (short story)

113) Young And Beautiful (short story)

114) Queenslayer (Chapters in progress)

115) Life in Castle Dimitrescu (Chapters in progress)

116) A Soak (short story)

117) Child’s Play! (Chapters in progress)

118) Forbidden (Chapters in progress)

119) The Vampire's Groom (short story)

120) Vampires Can Wear Sweaters Too (Chapters in progress)

121) Don't Cry Mercy.... (short story)

122) Hear Me Out (short story)

123) Sanguinis et Mortis (short story)

124) A Warm Bed (short story) 

125) The Bite That Binds The Gift That Gives (Chapters in progress)

126) Two Hearts Beat As One! (Chapters in progress)

127) Cat Got Your Tongue? (Chapters in progress)

128) The Truth Can Make a Rose Dead (short story)

129) The Mistress's Artist (short story)

130) The Art of Submission (short story)

131) Her Name Upon My Soul (short story)

132) Mine only (short story)

133) Don’t leave me (short story)

134) The Morning Sun (short story)

135) What About What I Want? (Chapters in progress)

136) Facing the Leviathan (short story)

137) No Title (from Deviantart) (short story)

138) MILKERS: The big Smoke | Libro 1: Dimitrescu (Chapters in progress in Spanish)

139) Rolling Stone! (short story)

140) Moonlight Reflections (Chapter in progress)

141) In Sanguis Virginis Veritas (Chapters in progress)

142) Video Games? (short story)

143) Fragility (short story)

144) Pet Lessons (short story)

145) Symphony of Destruction (short story)

146) The Protectors (Chapters in progress)

147) Such A Messy Affair (short story)

148) nourishment (short story)

149) Ma Belle Evangeline (short story)

150) Big Tall Vampire Lady (Chapters in progress)

151) Plaything (Alcina Dimitrescu x Male Reader) (short story)

152) Unexpected (short story)

153) All Hallows’ Eve (Chapters in progress...by me!)

154) Affliction (Chapters in progress)

155) Adapt and Overcome (Chapters in progress)

156) So We Meet Again (short story)

157) Stole (Chapters in progress)

158) Unexpected expectancy (short story)

159) Blood Moon! (short story)

160) Under Your Spell (Chapters in progress)

161) Kitten Likes To Play! (short story)

162) A Good Servant (short story)

163) My Huntress, My Wife (short story)

164) Mother Is God In The Eyes Of A Child! (short story)

165) Memento Mori (Chapters in progress)

166) Hunter Becomes The Hunted! (Chapters in progress)

167) The One She Spared (Chapters in progress)

168) From Eden (Chapters in progress)

169) it takes a village (Chapters in progress)

170) This one time in Romania... (Chapters in progress)

171) One witch dead. One more to go. (short story)

172) Surprise Visit! (short story)

173) Falling into Darkness (Chapters in progress)

174) Finding What's Lost! (Chapters in progress)

175) Call Me Mistress (short story)

176) Burn Witch Burn (Chapters in progress)

177) Scare Tactics (Chapters in progress)

178) a one shot from tumblr (short story)

179) Recon (Chapters in progress)

180) Tea and Ice Lattes (Chapters in progress)

181) Yes, Dear (short story)

182) Use Somebody (Chapters in progress)

183) The Party (short story)

184) Dimitrescu Winter Ball (short story)

185) Learning The Hard Way (short story)

186) The Vamp & The Wolf (Chapters in progress)

187) Trust Is Worth A Thousand Words (Chapters in progress)

188) Family Portrait (short story)

189) The Long Journey Home (Chapters in progress)

190) ~Iubire nemuritoare~ (Chapters in progress)

191) A New Breed (Chapters in progress)

192) Part of the Job (short story)

193) Lingering (short story)

194) Dani’s Mom (shorto story)

195) What Do We Do With A Drunken Vampire? (short story)

196) You're Such A Royal Pain In The Fang! (short story)

197) Woman in White (short story)

198) One shot from tumblr

199) Night Light (short story)

200) The Goddess And The Vampire! (short story)

HOUSE OF DIMITRESCU FF

1) Between Thirst and Affection (short story about Daniela)

2) Series about new character Rosemary Dimitrescu: Part 1 When A Rose Blooms In Winter (Completed); Part 2 Every Rose Has It's Thorns (Completed); Part 3 A Bed of Roses (In progress)

3) Potential Bad Idea (short story about Daniela)

4) Supermarket Flowers (short story about Daniela)

5) Good Girl! (short story about Daniela)

6) Taming one of the beasts! (short story)

7) Into the Unknown (Chapters in progress, multifandom)

8) One Of the Girls (short story)

9) Can't Sleep! Won't Sleep (without you)! (short story)

10) A Mix of the Species! (short story)

[cuddlemen0w]

daily dose of failure | peter parker x reader

(+ the group aka mj, ned and harry)

a/n: heyaaa here’s part 2 and it’s longer than the first part so i hope it’s ok! ;) i’m still going with mostly peter’s pov cuz that’s what i wanna do duh.. also mj is gay now. deal with it. and i fancasted harrison as harry osborn :)

warnings: language, anxiety. are those warnings?

gif is from pinterest

previous

“For the record, I did not ghost you,” Peter said as he walked through the crowded hallway, Ned and Harry on each side of him.

“Yeah, yeah,” Harry huffs and rolls his eyes. “What were you doing then?” He shoots him an accusing eye.

“Self loathing?” Peter avoided eye contact, instead he played with the strap on his backpack. His two friends stare at him more intensely. “Fine! I ghosted you.”

“What are you taking about?” y/n’s cheery voice made them jump.

“You,” Ned immediately says, receiving a slap to the back of his head from Harry. “Did you not learn from yesterday?”

But y/n nor Peter heard Ned’s or Harry’s comments. And if one of them did, they ignored it.

“So, I saw you enjoyed yesterday?”

“Oh yes! But it’d be way better if you were there,” y/n’s voice softens then. “But at least I could have cheese nachos,” she joked.

“Ew,” Peter made a face as he shivered all over. “But whatever makes you happy.” His face was still crunched from the thought of the ‘nasty looking garbage food’ as he called it. The girl before him only laughed.

“It’s good, you’d know it if you’d actually try it.”

“Hell no, I’m not touching that.”

“Fine,” she says, her back already turning to go to her first class.

“No! I didn’t mean it! I swear!” he smiles finally. “I never mean it.”

y/n stops in her tracks, her beamy grin back on her face. “Sure thing, Petey.”

Peter’s cheeks warm up at the nickname, still not used to it even after all the years. He’s loved her for all of them.

He remembers the first time she called him that. They had one of their movie nights, this time at his place. With May gone to work, he had permission to let his friends stay the night. MJ was in the kitchen making popcorn along with Harry who was grabbing some soda. Ned was on a ‘pee break’. y/n cuddled up to him, her head on his shoulder, her breath brushing his neck. “Thank you, Petey.” What for? he asked that night. “This, all of this.” She broke up with a boy that night. He felt bad for being happy about it.

“Peter?” she broke him out of his thoughts. “You have math now right?”

He made a noise in response. If it was an agreement or confusion, she didn’t know. He stared at her for a moment longer. “Oh! Math!” he realised, he grabbed his books from the locker and sprinted away.

“Weirdo,” MJ appeared out of nowhere, startling the girl. Her hand shot up to her chest.

“I told you not to do that!”

“Well, you should know I never listen. Anyway, are you going to tell him or what?” MJ asks, swinging her arm around her friend’s shoulders.

“Tell him what?” y/n tried to play innocent. Her act faltering at the sight of MJ. Her brow raised and a knowing look on her face.

She groaned, “I’m still waiting for a sign if he even likes me like that.”

“You’re so oblivious.” MJ said quietly, shaking her head.

Peter locked his screen just as he saw Ned, y/n and MJ entering the lunch hall and heading for his table. His food splayed all over it along with a few of his textbooks, serving as a clear sign of holding someone’s place. He started cleaning his mess up when they neared him.

“If it’s another party I swear I’m ending our friendship,” MJ said as she bit into her sandwich.

“I’m with you on that,” y/n nudged her friend. “But if there’s any cute girls,” she wiggled her brows at MJ. Giggling slightly.

“Oh shut up!”

“What— What do you mean?” Peter panicks. All the colour from his face is out. What if she isn’t into boys at all? HOW COULD I NOT NOTICE? he freaks out internally.

MJ joined y/n in her laughter. She laughed so hard a few tears escaped her eyes. “Oh my!”

The latter is the one to break out of it first. Coughing slightly from laughing in between bites. “Cute girls, as in, for MJ.”

Peter’s eyes narrow. “What?” he said, his mouth open in confusion. All around the table, they could almost see the gears turning in his head. “Oh!”

“Yes, oh!” MJ’s laughter died down a bit. Only a tiny bit.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t—”

“It’s ok Peter, although I recon I told all of you,” MJ narrows her eyes now.

“Yes, but Peter wasn’t there,” Ned is the one to speak out. “He was doing— eh.”

Peter panicks again. Think of a quick lie! “Laundry!”

“Riiight,” MJ slowly nodded. “Because you totally know how to do that.”

y/n saved Peter from the intense stare of their friend, “C’mon MJ, let him breathe.”

“I just want to know what he’s doing all these times he ghosts us.” Well that’s a good point.

“As I said laundry.” Stick with one thing, he thinks to himself. “May wants me to learn, so I’ll know in college.” Damn, I’m good at this.

MJ glared one last time, “Sure.” She bit into the last piece of her lunch and left him only with Ned and y/n.

His palms sweat from being almost caught. He looked to his left, exchanging weird looks with Ned, then he turned to the girl opposite him. Her skin looked so beautiful in the midday, spring sun. Her hair looked soft for touch and her eyes coincidentally matched her shirt. “I— uh.. I gotta do laundry now actually, before we go to Harry’s. Okay, bye!” he excused himself quickly and almost ran out of the lunch hall.

“Weird huh?” Ned awkwardly said when only him and y/n remained.

“Yeah, weird.”

Peter was doing ‘laundry’.

He swung along the many buildings in Queens, checking if the neighbourhood was friendly and safe. His mask clad face scanned the many little alleys. It was a moment of peace for him, he felt free flying above the streets.

But it faltered when his phone dinged in his suit. He jumped to one of the roofs and fished it from the pocked that Tony installed into his new suit.

He opened the phone to find out Harry’s text.

“Yeah,” Peter said out loud. “This better be good.”

Everyone showed up at Harry’s. His football friends, few cheerleaders, the squat — all except Peter.

“Of course,” MJ muttered as soon as she got there and the brown haired boy wasn’t present. “Dude’s gonna miss his own funeral at this point.”

“Yeah,” Ned laughed nervously. His fingers fidgeted and teeth bit his lower lip. MJ took notice of that after his laughter lasted suspiciously long. But she choose not to say anything, yet.

Harry was the one to ease the bit of tension in his house. “Don’t worry, he’s gonna show up.” He paused to grab a drink. “Told me himself. And he’s got a surprise.”

“Surprise would be him showings up.”

“Well, who am I to tell what it is?”

MJ looked between her two male friends. Her eyes almost boring into their soul. “You two know something,” she stated. “And I’m gonna find out what.”

y/n entered the room right after Ned almost choked on his drink from fright. “Something wrong Neddy?”

“No, no. Not at all,” he smiled, like a kid caught doing something they shouldn’t. “We’re just talking about Peter.”

“What about him? Have you seen him? Is he going to show up?” she could go on but Harry saved them all.

“Yup, he’ll be here any moment now.”

The girl let out a relieved sighn, her shoulders relaxing and the fake half smile dropping from her lips. “Thank god, the more time I spent with your damn friends the more I wish I was ghosting you too.” She points to Harry.

“Peter is not ghosting us, remember? He’s doing laundry,” he points out. Making y/n laugh, Ned chuckle nervously and MJ to huff. “Don’t worry, he’ll show up. I threatened him.”

All of sudden, the door bell rang though the big Osborn house. Everyone around the living room fell silent, only the music played from the speakers. A blonde boy, that was closest to the hall went to open the door.

After a very awkward two minutes of silence, the guy returned with a stunned expression. His eyes wide and mouth hanging open.

“Who was it?” one of the other boys asked, but he didn’t need an answer. Right after the blonde, a red clad man walked in. Spider-man. In Harry Osborn’s house. The murmurs started to float around the room.

“Hi!” Peter said from his spot. He remembered himself. “Hello,” he said more deeply. There’s too many people, he thought. And all of them are looking at me. He had a sudden urge to mess his hair, something he did when he was nervous or stressed. Right now, he was both. But the superhero mask was in the way.

“I uh,” he paused to look at all the faces. Most had hanging mouths out of shock, some had eyes full of awe. His vision quickly found the one he was here for. y/n was standing between MJ and Ned. She was one of those in shock, but her mouth wasn’t hanging, nor were her eyes wide. She was one of those pinned to their place, unmoving, utterly shocked to do anything.

“I’m here to say something.” Peter’s voice trembled. All the confidence he told himself he has in the suit was gone. He was just a boy, standing before a girl in a room full of people. “My friend,” he nodded to assure, more himself than others. “He uh,” his breathing picked up. “He’s in,” his eyes glossed inside the red suit. “He’s in danger!” he let out.

“Peter?” y/n almost yelled out.

Peter freaked out. He was sure he fucked up now.

To his relief, she worriedly continued, “Peter is in danger?”

“Yes!” Play it cool Parker, play it cool. “I— Peter needs Ned, Ned Leeds.”

Ned pointed at himself, unsure what his best friend meant. “Yes, you! Now hurry, or he’ll be in much bigger trouble!” He then grabbed Ned’s arm. “Come on,” he whispered furiously.

They only stopped once they were far enough, that no one could eavesdrop or see them from a window. Ned panted from the quick pace Peter set. “What— what is— what’s going on?”

“I can’t do it!” Peter whisper-yelled. His mask in his hand now. “I thought, maybe if it wasn’t entirely me, I’d say it. But I can’t!” the vision of the mask in his hand blurred behind the tears. “I’m a coward! As always I am!”

Ned neared his best friend. “It’s okay, Pete.”

“It’s not!” he burst out, throwing his hands into the air, his face red. “I’m the biggest fucking loser in the goddamn universe!”

“It’s really not that bad.”

“How can you say that?”

“Because she likes you too.” It was a familiar voice. Behind them, MJ stood with her hands crossed. Both boy’s breaths hitched. “Yeah I know, Peter is Spider-man. What a surprise!” she mocked. “You really thought you were slick huh?”

“How?” Peter motioned between himself, the mask and her. His tears long forgotten, replaced by disbelief.

“Well, I started to notice your weird disappearances, and that,” she pointed far to the house behind her. “Was very obvious.”

“Does anyone else—”

“Know? If Harry doesn’t, then I don’t think so.”

Peter shook his head. “Good,” he breathed out.

MJ cocked her head, “Don’t mind me asking. But what the hell was that?” Again, she pointed to the big house.

“I tried to tell y/n my feelings,” he said, as a matter of fact. “Didn’t go very well.” He shook his head and chuckled. “Didn’t expect anything more from myself.”

Ned and MJ shared a look. Both stepped closer to the now kneeling Peter. Their hands soothed his back as they too sat down on the lawn under the night sky. “You should’ve told us that you wanted to tell her. We could’ve helped,” MJ said into the dark night. “She would’ve told you the same, you know.”

“What?” He looked up from the green grass. His head turning from MJ to Ned for reassurance, only to receive a nod from his best friend.

“She likes you a lot.”

“Like a lot lot,” Ned added in and nudged his friend.

Peter breathed in the night’s air. His heart beating a bit faster, not from anxiety anymore, but from joy. His tears dried out completely now, he only sniffled here and there.

“Okay then, what’s the plan?”

next

[whirlybirbs]

                                          (   gif, again, by @barissoffee​ !    )

     —   STARJOCKEY & CO.   ;   2 of ?

summary: the bad batch gets a pilot, and they get a mission. acid rain happens. hunter & zip still don’t get along. no one is surprised. pairing: twi’lek!reader (zip nickname) x hunter word count: 3.2k a/n: pumping this out so i can write some hunter/reader content tonight to follow this character arc! we love some good ol’ action adventure acid rain! also, don’t try and neutralize acid with water, kids. that’s not how that works. but this is star wars, and it works here.

previous chapter   |   next (coming soon!)

It’s too early for this. 

Despite having a steaming thermos of caf in your hands, you still have to pull your eyes open wide and try not to sway on your feel as you remind yourself this debrief is important. Very important. 

Very early, but very important

Sleep, too, especially after the amount of hours you poured into repairs on the Havoc Marauder last night, is equally as important — but the debrief takes priority. For now. 

Maybe you can bribe D-M1 to pilot for a bit once you take off. Just so you can plant your head on the dash and doze for a minute. A loth-cat nap. 

Ugh -- a nap sounds good right about now. 

You take a long sip of caf and rub your face as Cody continues to speak, gesturing to the glowing blue holomap that casts a glow across the entire room.

Through the thick of the swirling mission debrief, Hunter is staring.

Well, more glaring, really.

(Can you blame him? His senses have been cranked to 12 since he was made, and still, he can’t ignore the smell of your morning beverage of choice. All he can smell is your caf and the elaborator creamer you’d put in it. It smells like cocoa and star-cherries and caf and it’s all Hunter can smell. It’s giving him a damn headache.)

You’re beginning to wonder if that’s all his stupid -- albeit handsome -- face does. The scowl there digs in deep, and you have to try your hardest not to roll your eyes as you take another sip of your caf. 

He’d walked in here, hauled the helmet off, and you’d realized Cody was right when he said they didn’t look like the other clones you knew. They were all different -- higher cheekbones on Crosshair and a sharper profile on Hunter. Tech was small and boggly-eyed, while Wrecker towered over everyone in the room with his round ol’ dome.

They were nothing like the others from the 212th. 

Your lekku twitch, swatting a bit, as your attention moves from challenging Hunter’s glare back to the debrief at hand. 

Hunter, as he pries his eyes away from your cock-hipped posture, wonders how  in hell a civvie like you managed to land this job. He’d much rather have a reg flying him and his brothers around than a ex-criminal and her junkyard droid.

... He heaves an inward sigh. 

Maybe he’s being a dick. 

Cody trusts you. Hunter can at least try... 

... Right?

Hunter diverts his attention back to Cody’s words, ignoring the unsettling idea of being civil with you. “What’s the status of Yanibar’s alliance?”

“None,” Cody drops a hand to his hip, resting it on his holster, “Neutral -- but it lays between the Outer Rim and Unknown Regions. The inhabitants tend to be those running from things like the war. But, I’m sure the Separatists will have their eye on the space ports for GAR officials. It’ll be basic recon. You fly in under the radar, scope out the manufacturing lab on Yanibar, and get out.”

Cody pauses, takes in the affirmative nods of the room, then continues:

“And lucky for all of you -- that ship in the hangar has no Republic tags. You’re gonna be a ghost.”

“No Republic tags?” Hunter asks, dark brow lifting. 

“We’ll be off the books -- Seps will think we’re probably just smugglers,” you shrug, explaining as Tech hums quietly at the realization, “Knowing them, they won’t wanna start anything with locals. Especially if they’re break neutrality laws and mining a planet in the grey zone.”

“Exactly.”

You cop a smirk Cody’s way. “Now I know why you kept that bucket of bolts.”

“Repo’s have their uses,” the Commander shirks, “And civvie pilots, too.”

Now this is all starting to make sense. They wanted you to play the part -- and with any luck, the boys in the back cargo hold will go unnoticed as you carry on on Yanibar. 

D-M1 pipes up from her spot below the holo-map. “Zip plays a wonderful smuggler. Four varying counts of weapons, drug and wildlife trade have made her --”

“Alright, alright,” we swat at the droid’s bobbing head, “I swear, who ever programmed you should be shot.”

The droid makes a sound akin to a laugh. Cody snorts.

Hunter ignores the distrust settling under his skin. 

“Everyone got the plan?” Cody asks, looking around the command center. When he’s met with silence, he nods to dismiss the Bad Batch and their new pilot, “Alright. Head out. Comm in if there’s any trouble.”

“You got it, Commander.”

“Hunter?” Cody calls, “Zip?”

You both linger in the doorway. 

“Play nice, yea?” he grins, “And good luck.”

--   ↯   --

You realize, six hours later, as you hang yourself out of the landing ramp mid-flight, trying desperately to get a hold on Crosshair who’s trying to get a hold on Hunter, that Cody jinxed you.

He most definitely jinxed you.

--   ↯   --

The mission had started just fine, after all -- the ride was fast, the travel checkpoints passed with no trouble, and you’d entered Yanibar’s airspace on a pretty mild day. No questions were asked when you dropped the Havoc Marauder down fifteen klicks outside of the nearest space port. The boys off-loaded and headed for the manufacturing plant. 

The landscape gave enough cover as if it. 

Large, sweeping stone outcroppings punctured the dunes and climbed high towards the sky, casting long jagged shadows in the golden sand. Creatures moved with the shade, relaxing along the cooling surfaces as the suns moved high in the sky. 

Parked in a ravine and hidden from sight, you’d spent the first two hours monitoring the location of the Batch; every half hour, Tech would radio in giving an update on their location. By hour four, they were close. By hour five, the line had gone silent.

And you were starting to get nervous. 

Their geo-coordinates marked them about 30 klicks East -- in the estimated area of the manufacturing lab they were slotted to recon. 

By hour five and a half, the sun was disappearing. Slowly, with clouds shrouding the sky, but... the spaces between the brown clouds were turning a muddied color. You leaned, squinting over the dashboard with a confused look, before moving to the back of the ship and punching open the landing ramp. 

When you stepped into the hot, mid-day heat, you realized exactly what was happening. You kicked yourself for not realizing sooner.

D-M1′s the one that made a panicked sound. 

“We’ve got a problem!”

You were fast, bounding up the ramp and skidding inside as you slam the lock for the door on your way to the cockpit -- in a flash, you’d started up the engine and flicked alive the comms.

“Boys,” you yelped, pulling the headset on over your lekku, “We’ve gotta get a move on, now.” 

Hunter, elbows deep in a dune with his eyes plastered to a pair of specs, cursed. Your voice crackled from his helmet, resting between him and Crosshair, and Hunter was almost inclined to ignore it.

But, the sniper tapped his wrist without looking from his scope and spoke. 

“Go ahead, Zip.”

“Acid rain storm,” you blurted out, leaning as D-M1 points at the meteorological gauge in her little hands in a panic. The radar swept across the map once and showed the brewing storms, “About five klicks South of me.”

You knew acid rain storms. The planet you’d grown up on had them enough -- and even Coruscant had them. But, the color of these clouds...

Your father always used to say, the dirtier the cloud, the quicker the shroud. 

Y’know, like death shrouds? 

“-- Shit.”

Hunter was hoping that feeling in his gut was nothing. He should have listened to it.

“She couldn’t a’ told us sooner?” Hunter gritted out, pushing up from his elbows in a flash. Not entirely fair, but damn. This was not going according to plan. First the patrol droids and now --

A deep bellow of thunder rolled in the distance, then.

And now this. 

Crosshair inhaled sharply and proceeded to silently snap the attached scope from his rifle in one swift, practiced move. He’s not gettin’ in the middle of this.

“Unless you boys wanna melt your pretty armor,” came your voice, crackling alive in Hunter’s helmet as he pulled it over his head, “I’d say we hurry this little play date up --”

And that’s the precise moment Wrecker snapped one of three patrol droids over his thigh, much to Tech’s despair, and sent the entire op down the shitter. 

You found the squadron, then, pinned in a rain of blaster-fire, trading shots with the handful of B1′s -- their shots lit up the kicked up sand from the winds, beginning to howl as the dark brown clouds to the South began to loom over the once sunny dunes. 

“Bring it down low, Deemi!” you hollered, throwing your headset as you moved to the back of the ship, “Get ready to go when they’re loaded on!”

“Got it!”

You punched the ramp, pulling your green tinted goggles down over the slop of your nose as the door opened. Taking a braced step out, you were fast to spy the boys as the Havoc Marauder began to lower itself slowly. 

Then, a blaster bolt skimmed your head -- it leaves a charred sizzzzle against the matte black paint job of the repo’d ship.

You leaned back, tugging your pistol from you hip and firing a quick volley back at the droid who’d aimed for your head. After three shots, you nailed the B1 unit down, and turned your attention back to the Bad Batch. 

You’re about to wave Deemi down, to tell her to plant the ramp on a rising dune then, when an entire squadron’s worth of battle droids lumbered from the back entrance of the manufacturing plant and began laying down fire on you and the ship. 

“SWING IT AROUND!” Hunter screamed, waving you off.

Deemi listened, and you fell back through the door as the ship pulls away fast from the oncoming fire. Your back hit the navicomputer’s paneling hard as the ship banked left, and your breath flew from your lungs as you did, gritting your teeth tightly at the impact. 

You scrambled, quickly, to watch from the open side-ramp as the entirety of the plant came into view. 

It’s huge. 

A main control tower rises high in the sky, above the three conveyor bays that spark through the small slitted windows three stories up. The walls are encroached by dunes, and the desert threatens to swallow it up. 

As Deemi banked wide, you planted your boot on the doorway as you watched the firefight disappear around the edge of the massive building. 

And that’s when it started to rain.

You hissed loudly then, immediately drawing a hand back when a fat droplet of brownish water hits your skin. Cursing as you swiped away the acidic liquid, you scowled at the welt it left behind. 

And if the from the drop in temperature was any indication, it was about to pour.

“Deemi,” you screamed, “I’m gonna need you to speed it up!” 

You were fast to stagger back from the doorway, moving to haul the bottom of your flight suit up -- the sleeves, tied neatly over your belt, are yanked onto your arms and over the black compression top. You zipped the collar up tight and moved to the storage built into the bunk atop the navi-console.

“Come on, come on,” you muttered, digging around. You knew you saw a poncho somewhere and -- “Aha!”

It’s not much, but it at least covered your lekku. If anything it will keep the sensitive skin of the head-tails safe enough for a few minutes. You hauled the black, weatherproof poncho over your head and ignore the musty smell coming from it -- just in time, too, as Deemi had propelled the engines into a kick for the banking maneuver and the Bad Batch was in sight again. 

The moment you and Deemi get in range, the skies opened up. 

It starts raining so hard you could hardly see -- and the headlamps of the boys illuminated the muddied downpour a few feet ahead of them. Deemi bought the ship down low enough that the ramp connects with the tip of a dune, and you staggered a bit on the impact.

The ship’s lights cast bright cones of light into the acid rain storm, and Tech is the first one through the doors. You curse, ignoring the tingling sting of the rain splashing on your face, and call out to the others. 

“GET ON!” 

Wrecker is next, passing you and launching himself through the doors with a curse -- the droids have seemed to back off, leaving the squadron to book it as the acidity begins to gnaw at their armor. You can hear a commotion behind you, and assume it’s Tech snagging the gallon of filtered water stored under the refresher sink to dowse himself and the heavy artillery man. 

Next is Crosshairs, who you reached out to as he planted a boot on the edge of the ramp -- without warning and rather suddenly, the ship gave a terrible moan. Then, unceremoniously, the dune the ramp had been perched upon tumbled downwards into a slip of mud.

The landscape was melting, and so was your poncho.

In a panic, you grabbed Crosshair’s vambrace and barely managed to snag the ramp’s guard rail; in a flash, Crosshair had Hunter’s hand secured in his own. Good thing, too, since the Sergeant’s boots now hung thirty feet in the air where the tip of the towering dune used to be. 

And that’s where you find yourself now.

Cursing, you strain to readjust your grip on the railing as rain runs down your chin. It stings like a bitch -- but you can’t help but think the pull of your arm is a little worse. 

You curse sharply in Ryl, and scream Wrecker’s name so harshly the trooper’s heart nearly stops. His helmeted head whips around.

“DON’T JUST STAND THERE!” 

Your knuckles, beneath the thick flight gloves have gone from a warm peach to a pale yellow -- the strain there is only relieved when Wrecker finally moves to the other side of the ramp and grabs Crosshair’s upper arm; together you both haul the two troopers up onto the ramp as Deemi’s banks backwards -- a few moments too late -- and sends a pile of acid rain soaked bodies tumbling back into the belly of the ship. 

The droid closes the ramp as she banks away from the manufacturing plant.

You don’t even have time to celebrate the sheer survival of the stunt -- you’re instead stripping off the poncho that’s now got Republic credit sized holes eaten into it. You whip off your goggles, and curse again -- your flight suit is starting to sizzle and the acid on your face hurts and --

Suddenly, you take a whole bucket of water to the face and it all stops.

Tech, standing there clutching the now empty bucket, looks rather sheepish. 

Your shoulders immediately sag in relief, and the troopers behind you are the next victims of Tech’s hose-down. Deemi, from the front of the ship, asks if she should drop into hyperspace and the entire cabin gives a dejected chorus of yes at the same time. 

You wipe the neutral water, running over your nose and chin, from your face as you sit down in one of the chairs by the navicomputer. 

Hunter drops his hands to his waist, chest heaving as he tries to catch his breath, and opens his mouth to speak.

You, instead, cut him off with a single raised finger and a pointed look.

“You,” you snap, “Don’t get to say a word to me until my face is not swollen and Tech can confirm I don’t have acid rain poisoning. Understood?”

Hunter just snaps his mouth shut. You have welts down your cheeks from where your goggles met your skin. Your lekku, too, don the same blistered orange marks. Guilt suddenly washes over him, only for a second. He’d gotten off easy. The acid rain had only eaten through the first layer of his composite armor.

The whole cabin, suddenly incredibly uncomfortable, decides to go their separate ways. Hunter, though, doesn’t move. Instead, he watches as you stand and inspect the now shredded flight suit that hangs off of you. You move across the cabin quickly, not bothering to avoid him. 

You slam your shoulder into his and keep moving.

--   ↯   --

You don’t have acid rain poisoning.

Which is good, you guess.

But, the residuals still hurt -- bad. 

You throw yourself into the far-too-small ship refresher for a rinse off -- Wrecker was nice enough to insist you get to go first (“For savin’ our skins an’ all, Zippy!”) and you can’t help but snort at Tech’s face when you emerge in a clean flight suit. He looks worried.

You’ve got welts all over your face. 

“I think it’s a cute look,” you jab playfully, leaning to inspect your reflection in the polished chrome door, “Don’t you, Tech?”

“Looks painful.”

Crosshairs laughs. 

The welts on your lekku are. You’d had to smother the startled yelps with your hand when the hot water made contact. You hope the boys hadn’t heard.

(Hunter certainly had, and he wasn’t even in the lower level of the ship. He was up top, ignoring the dull ache in his arm and pretending he didn’t need to rinse off. It had sparked a little worry in him, though, and he’d casually muscled his helmet on to do some digging on the holo-net about potential complications from injured lekku. The results were... not ideal.)

You massage the point on the back of your neck where your headwrap normally clasps together, keeping the animated little appendages under control and out of the way. You’ve forgone it now, and Crosshair watches as you sigh quietly as you rub the tension point. 

You look different without it. A bit softer.

“It doesn’t feel great, but,” you shrug, shoulders a bit more relaxed than before, “I’ll be fine. Definitely the worst acid bath I’ve had in a while.”

“You’ve been caught in those storms before?” Tech asks, surprised. He’s placing his helmet down, stripping his armor as he speaks. 

“I grew up in the South Tann Province,” you explain, “The jetstreams would carry polluted air through during the summer months, and sometimes the rain would be bad -- tarkona taka, my dad used to call it. But, that, back on Yanibar? That was worse than anything I’d ever experienced when I was a little girl.”

“Tarkona taka,” Tech sounds out, “What does it mean?”

“Brown weather -- or, storm, actually,” you grin, “Tak is brown, and tarkona is storm.”

“Yeah, well,” Wrecker supplies, muscling around through the barely stocked fridge in the far corners of the meager living quarters. Behind the microscopic kitchenette lay a hall of four bunks. Wrecker closes the door looking dejected, “I can’t wait to be back on Coruscant. No brown rain there.”

“On the lower levels there is!” you call out, spurring Wrecker’s shoulders to sag.

You move towards the ladder, planting a boot on the bottom rung when Crosshair’s calls out.

“Careful, Zip.”

“He still pissy?” you ask, loud enough that you know Hunter can hear, “Shame.”

The three members of the Bad Batch snort quietly as you move up the ladder anyway.

They like you.

And Hunter, still, doesn’t. 

[belliesandburps]

Non-Kink:  Top 12 Best Stealth Action Games

I was inspired by my dear pal, @twistedtummies2, to share a lil bit of non-kink related stuff about myself with’chall.  One thing to know about me is I’m a huge lover of video games.  I may not have as much time to PLAY ‘em much these days, but dammit if they aren’t one of my biggest joys beyond writing and the great outdoors. 

And my favorite genre in all of gaming is the stealth action genre.  Anyone who knows me knows that I adore the Metal Gear Solid series, but I also love a whole bunch of other stealth action games because, to me, this genre is the one with the most meat to come back to.  Stealth action done right is you being put in a room or outpost or whatever with a bunch of bad guys, and trying to carry out an objective without engaging with the enemies.  OR, it’s picking off the bad guys one by one, quickly and quietly.  Oooooor it’s you try to be sneaky, get caught, say fuck it, and wage war with an armada of Russians because isn’t it always Russians.  XD

I love that so many stealth action games can play out so many different ways.  And the feeling of escalation, like trying to be sneaky, and being overwhelmed when you’re caught and having to escape a hectic situation?  That, to me, is more thrilling than ANY set piece or scripted, linear mission from any game I’ve ever played.  It’s why I’ve replayed many of these games time and time again, and haven’t even THOUGHT about most of the biggest AAA blockbusters upon beating them.

Now, this list is subject to change.  I have a few games I need to play and they may beat out a few on this list.  But for now, here’s my Top 12 Best Stealth Action games because on top of being a thirsty old bastard, I loves me some espionage and bandana action.  :P

12) Batman: Arkham Origins (2013)

This game gets a lot of flak, but believe it or not, it’s actually my favorite in the Arkham series.  It’s City with a new coat of paint and a few more bugs, but City was still awesome, and so is this game.  It had plenty of clever predator stealth sequences, with more enemy variety to shake things up, that always made wiping out the bad guys swiftly and silently deeply rewarding.  AND it had more stealth action boss fights.  City had Mr. Freeze and a single predator fight rehashed twice with Two Face and Harley.  Origins had Mr. Freeze again, but with new additional options, and a pre-fight stage where you had to stay outta sight.  It also had Deadshot, the best of the three basic “predator boss” types, as well as TN-1 Bane as the final boss, and damn if it wasn’t intense.  With more gadgets and clever ways to mix and match, I think this game would be higher, but it’s still a great one for lovers of more approachable stealth action paired up with excellent brawler combat.

11) Assassin's Creed (2007)

The other AC games may be better, but AC1 is the only game in the series to stay consistent and simple with its design philosophy.  Here are targets for you to assassinate, here are bolstering crowds with beautiful cities to Parkour across or hide within, and at every turn, there are hiding spots but also enemies, making situations escalate organically and entertainingly with each assassination.  Hence why, despite most people regarding AC1 as the weakest entry, it's my personal favorite.  It's the one I replay the most and the one that just stays consistent with what it advertises.  No more, no less. 10) Hitman (2016)

I've yet to play the other Hitman games, and by accounts, each sequel is better than the last.  But you've seen the Jackie boy vids.  What more need be said?  :P

9) Death Stranding (2019)

Death Stranding's kind of a jack of all trades in the stealth action.  On one hand, you have conventional stealth action where you're infiltrating enemy camps and can either pick off all the bad guys one by one or go nuts and fight everybody head on.  On the other hand, you have BT's, whom you sneak around by holding your breath and moving slowly, lest these ghostly monsters drag you out to a tarpit for a boss fight.  The stealth is fairly simplistic but functional.  Combat as is would be fairly shallow, were it not for the sheer quantity of options you have in any given battle.  Seriously, you have a sticky gun that lets you snatch cargo straight off a bad guys back then immediately bludgeon him unconscious with it, and snatch HIS cargo to smash his BUDDY out cold with that in one fell swoop.  The way situations can organically just bleed from stealth to action and give you options for both makes it a blast.  And the boss fights against Cliff and Higgs are almost all I could ask for from stealth action battles. 8) Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020)

I DO wish the game had some stealth action boss fights, but far as superhero games are concerned, no game has better stealth action than Miles Morales.  It hits fast and is deeply gratifying.  You have corridors with as much as twenty plus bad guys, and you can clean it out in minutes thanks to being able to hide in plain sight through invisibility.  Venom Takedowns with let you wipe out a chain succession of enemies all at once.  Corridors have TONS of environmental advantages to wipe out a bunch of bad guys with one move.  And unlike Spider-Man or Arkham, if you're caught, just go invisible, flee, and go right back to picking off baddies in seconds.  It's like playing a predator sequence in an Arkham game on steroids...and in fast forward.  And the sheer volume of enemies you're often up against keeps it from feeling too easy. 7) Ghost Recon: Breakpoint (2019)

This game SUCKED at launch.  Like, it was actual trash that became a chore to finish when it first came out.  But fair's fair, Ubisoft stuck with it and the end result is one of the most customizable experiences I've ever had in gaming.  Like, this game is straight up now designed to let you change the entire experience simply by pausing the game and flipping a new options on and off and have it immediately go into effect.

I hated the injury mechanics of the first game because it slowed you down and led to a lot of random, unfair deaths because you could never predict which attacks would be critical and which wouldn’t.  So now, I can turn them off.  I thought bad guys were brain-dead.  So I can make them smarter.  I thought constantly slowing down when I'm running from bullets was detrimental, so now, I can make stamina limitless. 

I thought some areas had way too many guards to viably take out without co-op buddies...soooo I can activate an entire squad of AI partners all throughout the game with me and there's a lot of coordination you can do with your team for really covert missions...and you can even customize their look to create a team that looks as cool or goofy as you want.  It’s a really dorky thing, but I LOVE customization in shooters and being able to fully customize, not just yourself, but your team to look however you want in missions is really fun.

And if you think the enemies are too easy to take down?  Turn on Terminator mode and have T-800's storming the place.  Yeah, freakin’ Terminators.  XD

The game gives you literally all the options you could ask for to have an experience perfectly tuned to what you WANT to have.  And the options you have make it so the game can feel like an entirely different, borderline strategy game instead of a solid third person shooter.  You can activate a drone now to coordinate your three AI buddies to stop and go where you want, mark targets for them to eliminate and have your eye on the entire battlefield.  It's honestly staggering how many options this game has.  And were the missions not so boilerplate and were the boss fights actual boss fights and not just reskins of basic enemies, this would be one of the best games ever.  As is, it's a genuinely impressive comeback story!  6) Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (2016)

Mankind Divided is the game Cyberpunk WISHES it was (Spoiler Alert: Cyberpunk isn’t very fun or responsive yet).  It's a game with some spectacular level design where there are dozens of ways around any given enemy and tons of options for any mission.  You have a wide assortment of augmentations to let you sneak or fight your way through any scenario and they give you the tools to use your robot powers in really clever ways for navigation purposes.  This is a game where even the simplest side mission has about a dozen different outcomes, and most of them are wholly organic.  What it needed was more...well, GAME.  After all, MD is a third of the game it was meant to be.  But it IS a marvel of stealth action goodness. 5) The Last of Us: Part 2 (2020)

I have a BUNCH of issues with this game, but on the subject of stealth action, TLOU2 is one of the best in the genre.  Every single encounter is highly difficult, but has dozens of variations.  The levels are all designed with tons of varied cover spots and hidden paths to let you navigate as you either pick off the bad guys one by one, or sneak past them.  The enemies range in their weaponry, but possess self preservation, so they aren't just standing around shooting aimlessly. 

And on top of that, combat is brutal.  Every bullet counts, and you feel the impact of every shot fired.  The melee system is simple but complements gunplay fantastically.  So if you wanna save bullets, you can shoot someone in the leg, and as they stagger, you can bumrush them, grab a hammer or brick you find on the ground as you're running and bludgeon them to death to save bullets.  The game also has a great lil "MGS4 Battlefield Stealth" system.  Several encounters have humans and infected, and you can pit the two against one another and either sneak around the carnage or use it to pick off the harder enemies.

The game also has a FAR better predator fight that's basically David's fight in the first game, but with way better mechanics.  The boss increasingly upgrades their weapon each time you attack them, the environment is perfect for this fight, and if you're caught, you aren't just dead, you have a means to escape a hairy situation.  TLOU2 may have been deeply polarizing, story-wise, but as a GAME, it's terrific.  And best yet, once you beat the main game, there's an encounter mode that lets you skip all the BS and just jump right into every single stealth action encounter and boss fight throughout the whole game risk free.  What's not to love about that? 4) Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater HD (2004 / 2010)

MGS3 is the first really great linear MGS game.  It ditches that terrible fixed camera, simplifies the controls, and has more than ten rooms where you do any sneaking.  Its best moments are proto-MGSV outposts, where you have an area with tons of guards and multiple paths to your objective, and a whole lot of opportunities to get creative.  It was also the first MGS game that made combat just as viable as stealth.  You CAN actually just punch your way through the bad guys now, and the end result is shockingly fun thanks to all the weapons and more intuitive controls.  But the real star is the boss battles.  MGS3 has some of the best bosses of any video game I've ever played in my life.  And MOST of them incorporate stealth beautifully.  To the point where you can eliminate half the bosses with any of 'em ever even knowing your location, and giving you a plethora of variety in the bosses themselves AND the means in which you fight them.

3) Splinter Cell: Blacklist (2013)

Splinter Cell's an odd series.  The story is nonsense yet also pretty drab and simplistic.  Sam Fisher REALLY isn't an interesting character, none of the characters are except the villain and anti-hero scumbag.  But as a VIDEO GAME, Blacklist is the peak of linear stealth action.  MGS3 had boss fights, and THAT was the biggest mark for the game.  And Blacklist only has a single boss fight, which is basically a slightly elongated version of Deadshot's "fight" in City. 

But the moment-to-moment gameplay is out of this world good.  You have brilliant level design that makes sneaking from A to B deeply gratifying, but you also have insane mobility that makes you feel like the biggest badass when you play.  There can be a room full of guards.  And like a game of chess, with the right moves, you can end them in seconds, which requires skill to pull off, rushing the first guy and taking him down, shooting his buddy, then using execute to auto-kill up to three guards you've marked who were in range.  It's about using the systems the game gives you to maximize efficiency on the field.  And you can pick off bad guys using your environment, or climbing a plethora of terrain. 

The game almost plays like Arkham half the times when you're climbing walls or pipes and dropping down on bad guys or shooting them from overhead.  It has a huge variety of gadgets to aide you as well, and combat is incredibly difficult but doable.  Sam can only take a few hits before he's dead, but the means to shake off enemies is fair, and recovering from a slip-up is more fun than it is frustrating.  The campaign has several excellent missions which would satisfy a person as is.  But it also comes with over a dozen bonus missions you can access from your allies, each one taking place in entirely new settings with new enemies and storylines, each one with simpler and more streamlined objectives (perfect stealth, predator missions where you kill all the enemies, and survival waves where you have to fend off increasingly harder enemies).  AND it has the best kind of co-op.  Like Peace Walker, you can play any side mission with buddies.  But it also has missions exclusive to co-op, designed to be fully embraced with a buddy you can play with on the couch or online.  It's a game with tons of content, and all of it is mostly excellent. 2) Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015)

MGSV is the best game I've played.  That's because it's a game that hits all of my buttons.  The outposts are examples of perfect level design.  Each one is designed with a huge array of cover spots and multiple paths, direct or secret, to an objective area.  As a result, every mission allows you to get in, carry out your objective, and get out without raising a stink.  And when you screw up, it doesn't feel like punishment, because the combat of this game is fantastic. 

Everything is highly responsive, so your inputs happen with no delays.  You can go from diving to shooting from the ground in a tenth of a second.  And combat lets you seamlessly go from shooting, snatching guns from bad guys and blowing away with it, to taking breathers behind cover or with a human shield.  The enemy AI is the best the series has ever had.  They have way more self preservation, they're liberal with grenades, have way more variety in their weapons, and actually use turret guns and mortar cannons now. 

The missions themselves can be resolved tons of different ways.  Assassination missions play out like small-scale Hitman missions, without the frustration of screwing up and restarting because missions are so short, you just roll with the punches.  And the overall feel of a mission changes dramatically, depending on your loadout, the paths you choose in the level, your playstyle, and the time of day you select when you start a mission. 

There are only a few major downsides to the gameplay.  The bosses lack variety, like, I REALLY wish MGSV had more XOF assassins like Quiet to confront along with the Skulls and MoF.  Some missions are a bit too samey, and there aren't enough larger scale outposts.  Some more enemy variety wouldn't have been remiss.  And finally, the open world itself is pretty lifeless.  It works to complement the missions, like giving you a whole stretch of land to carry out ambushes or battle the Skulls anywhere you please.  But open world games are best when they have more to react to and engage with, or secrets to find.  Oh yeah, and the main villain should've had a boss fight, a stealth action shootout at that because that’s what the OG plan was until Kojima decided to be slightly more pretentious than usual. 

But beyond that, this game is a freakin' masterpiece.

So why is number 2 on the list even if it's the best game I've ever played?

Because this game exists... 1) Deus Ex (2000)

Deus Ex isn't as mechanically good as MGSV.  It's even that good mechanically, like, playing it now, it feels pretty clunky and not the least bit smooth.  Still fun, but you feel the age.  So why is it number 1?  Simple.  Deus Ex is the most open-ended video game ever made.  It's a stealth action RPG where every, and I mean, EVERY single level has dozens upon dozens of different paths to choose and make your own.  It has class specialization, meaning the build you create gives you a whole ton of new paths and strategies to use for hacking or flexibility. 

Every single mission takes place in a sprawling area.  You have an objective, obstructions blocking your way, and a whole bunch of guards.  You can blaze right to a solution, resolving a situation in minutes.  Or, you can take your time and find any number of different paths to your goal.  And all throughout each mission, there's tons of things to find as you explore.  There's entire other side missions with their own plethora of options.  Lots of really clever flavor text.  Upgrades to bolster your augmentations.  And really ominous messages you can find that'll come into play later. 

The bosses may lack variety but each one is a perfect stealth action battle where you can choose any number of options against the bosses, right down to running away from them and the game outright acknowledging that the boss enemies weren't killed.  Best yet, it's a game designed to be broken.  Unlike Human Revolution, all the bosses are recurring characters you spend plenty of time with.  But you can outright blow them away WELL in advance and the game will acknowledge their deaths and keep going anyway.  If you engage in a boss battle during a designated boss fight, but avoid them or run away, then that boss will turn up again for a rematch later. 

This is a game where you can create your own cover spots or platforms by gathering vending machines and dumpsters and piling them on top of each other.  Where specialization changes the entire feel of the campaign and incentivizes repeat playthroughs just to come up with different builds and experience missions in whole new ways.  And best yet, this is a game where when you're in a hub, whatever you see around you, you can interact with.  If you see buildings in the distance, you'll be able to go in and explore, and there's always something to find. Deus Ex is number one because there will never be another game like it.  It's debatable that no other game will ever be as FUN as MGSV, but no other game will ever be as open ended as Deus Ex because it's literally impossible.  The game is clunky and cheap looking because the engine it was built on was a low-memory one.  They traded in graphics fidelity and more impressive flow for the sake of creating a vast video game with an impossible amount of content to constantly stumble upon.  And unlike all the other games on this list, that open endedness actually DOES translate into the story, giving you dozens of different branching paths to the story, and sadly, only three fairly weak endings, but damn, if the journey up ain't a blast.  

I have a whole slew of other lists I’ve been meaning to post for the better part of two years, and honestly, they’re fun to write.  So, who knows?  Don’t worry though, they won’t get in the way of bellies or burp content either.  XD

[dazzlingfantasiesblogs]

A Killers True Strength

Happy x Original Character/You

Warning: Violence, Cursing. 18+ ONLY. I will block under 18!

Notes: Hey Loves, I had a random thought tonight. Let me know if I should keep going! <3

She looked through the scope of her gun. “Ugh, fucking bikers..” Pulling her finger off the trigger she stood up. Looking below her from the roof, she seen a pathetic triangle tactic. Sitting over the edge of the roof, she was interested to see how this little action plan played out.

Soon gun shots where fired, the sound not bothering K one bit. She grabbed her sniper rifle, jumping to the next storage building roof with ease. She watched as a few more of them snuck around the building, slowly and quietly. “They are not here.” Her voice calm as she looked off the roof down to a man that had a snake on his head and a man with long blonde hair. “They left about a half an hour ago. Three of them leaving in a body bag.” The smirk growing across her face said it all, she had no reason to hide what she did for a living, especially to a bunch of outlaws. A gun was pointed at her, the smirk grew a bit bigger, jumping off the roof, landing on her feet. “I doubt you wanna do that love.” She slid her hand over the end of the gun. Happy looked at the woman who showed no fear in front of two bikers and two semi-automatics. “K, you alright?” she hurd over the intercom. “Yeah, I am fine.” Looking Happy in the eyes, there was a glimmer of mischievousness. “Sorry boys, but these men are my targets. Your little pitiful planning gave you away. Next time, do better recon, because frankly. .  . that was straight trash.” “Says the girl who has a gun pointed at her.” Jax spoke out. Blinking quickly there was red dots that lined Jax and Happy. Both their eyes widened. “Darlin, next time you mess with the bull, you will get the horns. Remember who confronted who. I watched your execution from the beginning. Pitiful.” Chuckling K walked away, her hips swaying as she walked. Happy couldn’t help but stare at the woman who not only insulted them, but was the hottest thing he had ever seen.

“I want to know who she is and what organization she belongs to.. NOW!” Jax hollered at Juice as he paced around the reaper table. That woman engraving herself in his memory. “No need. .  . She is here. . .” Happy spoke quietly. He watched as the woman walked in,  in six inch heeled boots, fishnet tights, a black pencil skirt with a white tanktop. “You have some fucking nerve..” Jax growled towards the woman who still had her sunglasses on. “Darlin, I would watch the tone before I list off your social security numbers, all your passwords and how much you have in that safe right there.” Jax drew a gun towards her again. He watch her not even flinch. “This is something that can kill you, you are aware of that right?” He watched that same smirk appear on her face. “I wish you would.. Honestly.” She grabbed the gun and pushed it between her breasts. “Pull it sweety.” She winked at him. Jax was unsure what to do. He had never had some one so intimidating on his grounds. Someone who he could not figure out quickly. “Come on now K, you are terrifying them.” The clicks of multiple guns where hurd when a man walked out of the reaper room. “You really should make sure those windows are locked man.” “Why are you here and who the fuck are you?” Jax spoke lowly “Stay away from my target. Or ELSE, I will kill you.” K took off her glasses, staring him directly in the eyes. “I have no problem, killing everyone to get my fucking mark.” K stood toe to toe with Jax, looking him in the eyes. He went to shove her back, she grabbed his hand quickly, kicking him sideways in the knee, dropping him to the floor by his knees. Her heel pushed to the side of his neck. Her eyes glossed over as she gazed down at him. “Who the fuck are you?.. What the fuck are you?” Tig, Chibs and Happy stood there frozen. “K?” Gemma walked into the club house looking at you wide eyed. “Chain your fucking son before this fucking place goes in flames Gemma.” Gemma walked over, her eyes wide. “I thought you died… They said..” K chuckled a bit “Gemma, you know I don’t fall easy. Seriously, tell them to back off before I kill your son.” K lifted her heels stepping back from Jax walking torwards the door. “Jax, just because you are a president. . doesn’t mean you are a good one.”

“Jax, do not mess with that woman.” Gemma helped her son up off the ground. “Who the fuck is she?” Gemma shook his head. “If she has business in Charming there is a bad player here. Something we can not deal with. The government doesn’t even deal with the sort of stuff she does. She… She is a ghost. She owns a business and her side business is taking out terrorists that the CIA, Navy Seals, Military.. FBI want nothing to do with. Do not fuck with her..”

Two weeks later.

“Fuck!!” Tig yelled as he got shot at, hiding behind the refrigerator. “We are out ranked, there is not a way…” Tig yelled to Jax and Happy. Suddenly the guns stopped. Happy looked over seeing a woman walked in behind the man that was shooting at them. She jumped up twisting her legs around choking him out, his body falling limp. She landed quietly on top of the man standing up. She put her pointer finger up to tell them to keep quiet. Happy nodded as he watched her every move. “You got them Jonathan?” Another man spoke followed by two more men. K stood next to Happy, waiting till they got further out. She grabbed three knives from her boots, one being thrown in a mans chest, she jumped out kicking the other man back, grabbing the gun concealed in her pants pocket, shooting the third in the chest. “You have one alive to interrogate. I have another mission to get to” K spoke coldly as she withdrew her knife from the dead mans body. She walked over to the kitchen sink cleaning it lightly. “How.. How did you know we where here..” “Simple, I told you to leave my mark alone. Your just like Clay, you can’t leave a mother fuckin mark alone.” Hearing a rustle she seen a glimmer of a gun pointed at Jax and Happy. She jumped over the table, pushing the two of them down. The gun going off, hitting her in the ribs. “Shit!” Tig ran outside, shooting the man in the bushes.

Jax laid her on the reaper table gently. “What the fuck did you do to her?!” Gemma yelled at her son. “She pushed Happy and I down taking the shot.” “K!” The man from a few weeks ago ran in. “K.. K!” HE kept hollering as he shook her. “Get me a bottle of tequila, at least 20% proof. Get me a first aid kit and a straw.” Everyone stared at him. “NOW!” “Don’t… It grazed me…” K woke up slightly, trying to sit up. As she tried to slide her body off the table her body was weak from blood loss. Stepping on the ground her body was not cooperating with her. Internally K was mad at herself for not eating that day. Happy gently held her up. The moment he touched her skin, it felt like a shock went through his body. She stared up at him taking a deep breath. He looked into her bright blue eyes, a small smile tickled both killers lips.

[indigomasquerade97]

Brothers Abducted

@brothersapart

Chapter 6 – First Encounter

 Jason watched from his perch. His target was just leaving the bar.

The man was young, with spiky hair. He was still wearing the same pristine suit he’d worn earlier in the day while he worked. Barely in his twenties, Jason wagered. Handsome, too.

And he was a hunter.

The community had been attacked by hunters already. The men had been hunting vampires, and had stumbled across one of the Mandimal havens once their case was finished. They were a hardy, stubborn bunch, he had been told. Nothing any of the other Oaks said had been able to get through their deep-seated rage and hatred for anything supernatural. And unfortunately, that included the Mandimal’s.

In the end, those three men had gotten out and attacked, resulting in two injured Shifters and one of the men to almost get killed in retaliation. The three hunters were left in the Dataspace Prison after that, where they would be suspended in a computerized reality until the higher-ups figured out what to do about them.

Jason watched as the target ambled over to the parking lot. His eyes narrowed. Jason was merely doing recon, finding out if this man would be as dangerous as the others had been. He didn’t want to kill him if he could. Hunters could be dangerous, but they were the only humans who could deal with the threats in the shadows. There were already so few of them as it was.

Although, he mused, tapping at his knife with a slight smile, if he is a threat, we can take him.

The man was on his phone as he pulled out his keys. He seemed irritated, rolling his eyes as the person on the other line talked. He snapped something, quickly jumping into a black car. An Impala, if Jason wasn’t mistaken.

… A 1967 Chevrolet Impala, to be exact.

Jason blinked, leaning forward to get a better look. A hunter, with that style of car…

No. Surely not.

‘… Jason? What’s going on?’

Jason hesitated. He watched as the hunter’s car roared to life, resting at a powerful purr. He reached into his vest, pulling out a small device. He pressed the button, resulting in a blue light activating, then threw it. It soared through the air and landed on the back of the car, an electric field resulting in it clinging to the metal. For a moment it moved, slipping behind the plates of the car, where it finally stilled, cementing itself to the car. The tracker was in place.

‘This case just got interesting,’ Jason finally answered, watching as the car sped out on the road and disappeared around a bend, ‘I’m fine, Mouse. But I may be home late. I… I need to check this out.’

…

Dean sighed as he parked outside of Bobby’s. When the older hunter had called him regarding those missing men, of course he’d gone over immediately. He wasn’t about to ignore the old man, after all. But he hadn’t realized how troublesome the case would be.

It wasn’t strange for hunters to go missing like this. With their line of work, deaths in the field were bound to happen. But Dean and Bobby had been working on this case for a number of days, and there was nothing there.

Okay, not quite true. There had been a nest of vampires. But they were dead. The hunters had cleaned the entire nest, and had been in the process of celebrating, if the drinks in their room were any indication. And then they had disappeared. No traces. No blood, no shining eyes in the cameras, nothing.

It didn’t sit well with Dean or Bobby.

The two had left the town and returned to Bobby’s place, where they had been researching for three days straight. There had been a couple of suggestions, but in the end, each creature was debunked. The entire town was clean, the vampire nest seemingly the only incident there was. It was quiet. There weren’t even any ghosts around, even though there seemed to have been only recently.

If he didn’t know better, it was almost like someone had swept the entire place, destroying any supernatural creature in a hundred-meter radius of the town.

Dean sighed, grabbing the bag and beer on the passenger’s seat. The research was going nowhere, making Dean long for a drink. But in his time at Bobby’s, he had gone through all of the beer. So, he’d gone to town to replenish their supply, and get a pie while he was at it.

He wasn’t looking forward to another night of sleepless research. He locked the car, swaggering into the house.

‘Hey Bobby,’ He called, stretching, ‘I’m back!’

‘Dean! Get in here!’

Dean had expected the man to still be in the library going over his books. But his voice was strained. That alone made his hunter instincts instantly take over. Dean dropped the pie and beer, running to the library even as he pulled out his colt.

Bobby was holding a shotgun just outside of the library. Inside sat what appeared to be a teen boy, wearing a dark green hoodie with the hood obscuring his features. He was leaning back on his arms, legs crossed in front of him. While the hunter was tense, still pumping with adrenaline, the kid was calm, unbothered by the two guns pointed at him.

Dean frowned, glancing at the devil’s trap. The kid was lounging right in the middle of it.

‘Demon?’ He asked Bobby. He nodded. The kid’s shoulders shook slightly, as if he were laughing.

‘He just showed up,’ Bobby said, slowly lowering the shotgun, ‘Didn’t even realize he was there ‘til he started talkin’.’

‘Daww, thanks mate,’ The kid drawled, pulling the hood back to reveal a shit-eating grin, ‘I do like to make an impression.’

‘And now you’re stuck!’ Dean snapped, lowering his gun, but not putting it away, ‘Why are you here?’

‘Recon.’ The demon said simply. His eyes flashed white for a moment as he regarded both hunters with interest. Dean and Bobby glanced at each other. A demon with white eyes? They had never seen that before.

At least it isn’t Yellow-Eyes, Dean thought.

‘Recon?’ Bobby asked, placing the gun down, ‘What for?’

‘To see if you guys would be as bothersome as the others.’

‘Wait, are you the one who killed those guys over in Jasper?’ Dean demanded. The demon frowned, an eyebrow raised.

‘Killed? No, no, they’re fine,’ He said, sounding almost affronted by the very notion, ‘They’re being cared for by our medics, last I heard.’

Bobby grimaced, grabbing at the closest bottle of holy water. He quickly flicked some of the liquid at the demon, causing the creature to flinch away.

‘Like hell they are!’ Bobby said with a growl. A demon only tortured and destroyed, playing with their prey like the monsters they were.

But something was wrong. The demon raised both eyebrows, casually flicking the holy water from his face.

‘Really?’ He demanded, sitting up straighter, ‘Was that necessary? I only wanna talk.’

‘We’re not talking with a fucking demon,’ Dean said, ‘Bobby. Get rid of him.’

The demon’s eyes narrowed slightly at hearing Bobby’s name, almost as if it recognized it. Bobby promptly began the chant. But the demon just shrugged, slowly standing up from the floor. Dean shivered, holding the gun up higher. This demon wasn’t reacting to the Latin words being spoken, like any other demon they had encountered. He sighed, crossing his arms. Bobby said the final words, and the hunters braced themselves.

But no cloud of dark smoke appeared.

‘I don’t get it,’ Bobby said, backing away as he stared at the kid, ‘A demon can’t-‘

‘Mate,’ The kid said with a smile, ‘Who ever said I was a demon?’ Then he stepped towards them.

Outside of the circle.

Dean stepped forward to shoot. But the creature reached out to him, twisting his arm as it ripped the gun from his hands and pushed him against the wall. It wasn’t a particularly strong attack, but it gave the creature room to move. Bobby had grabbed his shotgun, but the kid spun, kicking the weapon out of his hands. It then rushed forward, hitting Bobby on the side of the neck. The man gasped, then began to fall. He would have fallen hard if the creature hadn’t quickly grabbed him, gently placing him on the ground.

Dean groaned as he pulled himself up, staring at the monster as it placed Bobby down. He was unconscious. Or dead. He couldn’t tell. Dean growled, pulling out his silver knife from his jacket.

‘Calm down. He’s alive,’ The monster said as it stood up, looking over at him, ‘Besides, it was you I wanted to talk to, anyway.’

Dean growled again, launching himself at the monster. He didn’t know what this thing was, but he had to do something. He tried to stab the creature in the heart. But with a blur of movement, it stepped out of the way, ripping the knife from his hand as it swept his legs from under him. Dean grunted as he landed hard enough to knock the wind out of him.

The monster stepped away, twirling the knife in its hand. It looked away from Dean, admiring the silver blade.

‘Good craftsmanship,’ It mused, then frowned, ‘Though, a little rough, by the looks of this. First attempt at making a knife?’

Dean slowly stood up, eyeing the creature. He glanced briefly at his silver knife. The one he had made as a child as practice before… no. Don’t think of that.

The monster was watching him, waiting for his reaction. But Dean just glared at it.

‘What do you want?’ He demanded. The monster smirked, leaning against the desk.

‘Relax, would ya?’ He said, tossing the blade in the air. He caught the sharp end, then held the handle out to Dean. ‘Like I said before; I just wanna talk.’ Dean hesitated for a moment, then slowly stepped forward. He didn’t take his eyes off the monster, searching for any signs of aggression. But it just watched him, patiently holding his knife out. Dean gingerly took the handle, shoulders tense. If the monster attacked now that he was closer, he would be ready to dart back.

But it just relinquished its hold on his knife, smiling.

‘Was that so hard?’ He said cheekily, a laugh hidden in his jaunty tone.

‘You didn’t answer my question,’ Dean snapped, holding the knife ready, ‘Get on with it.’

The monster sighed, sitting up straighter. It opened its mouth, but sighed again. It didn’t seem to know where to start.

‘Look mate, like I said before, I was meant to be doing recon. The rest of us don’t want to deal with you hunters, so I had to see if you were getting close, and get you off our trail if necessary,’ He started, then smirked, ‘Should have been done ages ago, but… if you’re who I think you are, then we got a lot to talk about.’

‘And who do you think I am?’ Dean asked. The monster chuckled.

‘Don’t worry, I don’t plan on killin’ ya. That would be… counterproductive, to say the least,’ He said, then looked over at Bobby, ‘Wasn’t hard to figure out your friend over there. But you… you were harder to trace. And three days of watching from afar wasn’t giving me any answers. So, I decided to just talk to you about it.’

Dean’s grip on the knife tightened. This thing had been watching them for three fucking days? What did it even want?

‘I just need to know… Your name is Dean Winchester, right?’

Dean frowned. That was what it wanted to know?

‘…Yeah?’

‘House burnt down when you were about eight? Been on the road with your dad hunting ever since?’

‘Yeah.’ What is going on here?

‘’Kay, this one might hurt a bit,’ The monster said, tensing up slightly, ‘You lost Sam at Trails West, didn’t you?’

Dean stiffened. How? For a second, he saw a flash of white, could hear the witch’s voice as she cackled. Dean had tried to find that witch for years, to avenge his brother’s death. But she had disappeared completely.

How did this thing know about that night?

‘Were you with that bitch?!’ He demanded, stepping forward, ‘Did you have something to do with Sam dying?!’

The monster frowned, looking Dean over closely. Its fingers tapped idly against the wood. It looked troubled by his outburst, but Dean couldn’t think why. It hummed thoughtfully, looking away from him.

‘He didn’t die, Dean.’ He said so softly that Dean almost missed it.

‘W-what-‘

‘Okay, I think I got what I needed,’ The kid said, standing up at stretching his arms over his head, ‘We’ll be in touch later, ‘kay?’ Dean darted forward to grab him, to demand answers. This was the first mention of that night he’d heard in over a decade. A possible lead. But the monster was gone, having disappeared in the time it took Dean to blink.

Dean spun around, trying to find some sign of the monster. But it was gone.

[bondedbrotherhoodau]

Complicated Part 1

Written by @YesImAGlowstick and @VishousBDB_  (AU)

*~*~*~*

Vishous: *I walked into the gym and was glad no one was around. I put my earbuds in and played Nowhere fast by Eminem, as loud as the volume would go. I was trying to drown out the voices in my head, my thoughts, and the world around me. I was getting antsy and the only way to get a quick fix was sex or exercise. And atm I didn’t want to think about the first choice. So cardio and pumping iron it was. I did some quick stretches and then hopped on the treadmill. I started off at a slow jog to warm myself up. One foot in front of the other. Breathe, in through the nose and out the mouth. My arms making a quick pace beside me to match my pace. After about ten mins I jacked the machine up to a four incline and was running at full pace.*

Lassiter:

After my little spontaneous fight club the last time I’d hit the gym, I’d taken a step back from hitting the weights and fucking up the treadmills. Going a few rounds with whoever looked at me had done a lot to let out the last of the guilt and the anger, but that didn’t mean every other part of my life was sunshine and roses.

Between the happily mated pairs and the not so happily mated pairs, I was on struggle street heading uphill with a broken fucking clutch. And fuck me, it wasn’t like I was itching to be paired off. I’d known when I became an Angel, known that serving Him would take priority over all else. The past centuries I’d done my best to avoid the kinds of emotional connections that would cripple me if He ordered me away. How was I supposed to survive centuries of constantly losing loved ones?

Yet undeniably, all the Brothers and their mates meant more to me now than simple tasks set by Him for completion. If the Creator chose to pull me away, I would bleed inside.

That didn’t change the fact I was all but itching to get away from them right now. And thank fuck, The Pit was far enough away from the gym that I could pretend I couldn’t hear Vishous tapping away at a keyboard, or listening to a Red Sox game, on repeat, that nobody but Vishous, Butch and the Red Sox cared about.

Pushing open the gym door, I almost fell over myself in an effort to come to a dead stop.

“Oh motherfucker…”

If I backed out slowly… I could still get away. No sudden movements. No further expletives. Just leave…

Vishous: *I was sweating. My black shirt clung to my body like a second skin. I powered through my legs feeling like they were going to collapse. The pain shooting through my muscles a much welcome distraction. After a few more mins I could feel my body reaching a numbing point. I ran and ran until my playlist started to repeat itself. My body spent, I put the incline to zero and walked for a minute or two before turning it off. Shower. I popped out my earbuds and peeled off my shirt. That’s when I noticed the angel. He was staring hard.*

Lassiter:

Those diamond eyes locked on me as I stood in the frame, caught on the precipice of what was arguably heaven n’ hell. Somehow swallowing the slew of curses that ‘really’ wanted to come out, I reminded myself that I couldn’t pussy out. Instead I wrenched my gaze off the male and picked a bench halfway across the room, beelining it for the leather and throwing my towel over it.

Rather than glance back over at Vishous, all glistening skin and fearsome features, I grabbed a few discs of weight and racked them on.

Vishous: *His white gaze shifted and I waited for him to say something but instead he moved to the complete opposite side of the gym and was busy with weights. I went to my locker and as I opened the door, my phone buzzed in the pocket of my gym shorts. I pulled it out and had to bite back a curse. It was from Tohr saying I was on rotation with Lassiter tonight, because cop had tests to set up for the trainees. Fuck. I put my phone on the shelf in the locker and took off my shorts. I grabbed my towel and went to the showers.*

Lassiter:

Vishous doing the shortless walk to the showers did NOT escape my attention, FYI. That motherfucker’s rear was clearly crafted by Gods, though hopefully not his mother. Ew. Awkward thoughts…

I’d barely finished racking on the weight when my phone buzzed. I almost leapt on it, needing the distraction, hoping it was Tohr with a job to do or a request. I’d even play delivery boy tonight if it got me away from the manse.

But of course…

A string of colorful words left my lips at the directive to go on rotation with Vishous, and for the first time in a long time I almost considered replying with a ‘no’, or perhaps a ‘fuck no’. Then again…

Casting a glance toward the showers, I took a deep breath and tried to think it through. It wasn’t like we’d be doing anything but patrolling and fighting. And a good fight… damn, I kind of needed the exertion. I kind of needed to hit something.

Tucking the phone back into my pocket, I unloaded the weights and strode toward the showers. Stepping onto the tiled floor, steam wafted out to greet me, my hair sitting flat as I peered through the mists to find Vishous.

“Yo,” I called, my voice nice and steady. “We’re working tonight. Where do you wanna meet up? Upstairs or downtown?”

Vishous: *I turned the knobs to pretty fucking hot and stepped under the pounding spray of the shower head. I grabbed the shampoo and did quick work of washing my hair before moving to the bar of soap and giving my body a wash. The hot water felt good on my sore muscles. The sound of the water slapping against the tiles was calming. I put both palms flat against the tile wall and just let the water run over my head, chest, and shoulders. I heard footsteps come into the shower room and I turned my head to see lassiter a few feet away. I turned of the water and stepped out to grab my towel off the hook. I quickly began to dry myself off and wrapped it around my hips. I bit back a curse. I was hard as a rock. The towel did nothing to hide “it”. * Give me an hour and meet me on top of the iron mask?

Lassiter:

“A whole hour?” I muse, arching a brow at the request. “What, you gotta do your makeup n’ your hair or some shit? Don’t worry V, you’re pretty without all that extra shit,” I offer, doing my damndest to be both cheery and annoying. Judging by the look on the male’s face, I was hitting the target dead on.

And I mean, it wasn’t like I was wrong. Vishous /was/ pretty. The whole ‘son of a deity’ was working for him when I breezed in to see his glorious form all but splayed against the wall. Running water, steam, and an ass carved out of marble.

Was it possible to tempt angels into Hell like this? Cause dayum, I was suddenly grateful that He had never put a caveat on impure thoughts. I’d never get out of Hell.

“Aight, I’ll give you your hour. I’ma shower n’ get ready myself.”

But oh… did I dare shower down here? …nah, probably a bad idea.

Vishous: *The angel had his way of annoying the fuck out of me but at least it let up the tension in the air. I started towards my lockers and pulled out my leathers and shitkickers. Making quick work of getting dressed, I called back.* Yea cold steel is goin to look real fucking pretty. *I closed the locker up and walked out of the training center. I was headed to the pit, without another word to Lassiter.*

Lassiter:

Well… I guess that solved that problem. Being so annoying as to drive the male off was one way to get the showers to myself. As he went for his locker I shrugged, trying to ignore the twisty feelings in my gut and instead stripped off my shirt. Kicking off my sweats and joggers, I took one of the still cold showers and cranked the tap into ‘melt my fucking bones’ hot.

Yeah yeah, I can hear you all cautioning that I should’ve been having a cold shower, but hey, he was about to leave and I had the place to myself. Hot was gonna be fine.

Rolling my shoulders, I felt the scar down my back pull only slightly. Weeks of training and conditioning until I could barely feel the thing had done the trick, though I still didn’t bother summoning my wings anymore. And ironically, Vishous was one of the few I could tolerate showing it to at any point. Vishous had scars of his own - in that… we matched. Sadly.

Vishous: *I had dressed in my leathers and loaded up my dagger and gun holsters, checking everything a second time. I was really fucking hoping I wouldn’t have to use them. The night would be a quick recon and I could get back home and start drinking to forget all about Lassiter. To forget about cop. To forget who the fuck I was. I stepped outside the mansion and demateralized to the top of the iron mask. I lit up a handrolled as I waited for the angel.*

Lassiter:

The shower was magic, if not lonely, and rather than don my usual visually aggressive clothing line afterward, I instead pulled on the leather, shitkickers and all black ensembles the males were used to rocking in the night. Some days I figured they were all just shy of a few extra props to get a YMCA dance going.

A hop skip and a jump of ghosting across town and I appeared on the rooftop near Vishous, in invisi mode. I appreciated the view, and ironically, I wasn’t talking about the male. After a few seconds, I popped into existence beside him. Dear Creator, let this night not be a clusterfuck.

“Evening.”

Vishous: *As the angel appeared beside me I had just finished my smoke and was putting the butt in my breast pocket. My diamond eyes gave the angel a once over.* We start with the rooftops and then check the alleys. You move when I move. If its all quiet after a few hours we get to split as per Tohr. *Part of me wanted a good fight. The other part wanted to drink myself into a coma.*

Lassiter:

“No shit Sherlock,” I reply cheerfully, trying not to give Vishous the finger as he treated me like some rookie who’d never been on a rotation before. Some days it was a struggle not to remind these grouchy motherfuckers I was actually older than them. Respect your elders, bitches.

“Here’s hoping all the ickle Lessers are safe at home in their beds n’ we have a cruisy night. Dunno about you, but m’ not really in the mood for your bright n’ shiny personality,” I add bluntly, still faking the whole cheery smile routine. I was an angel, after all.

Vishous: Ditto angel. *I demateralized a few buildings down and into a nearby alley. I crouched low staying close to the building before I rounded the corner. A black truck hid me as I peeked around. I could smell them before they were even close. Baby powder and rot filled my nose. I wanted to gag. I didn’t bother turning around or waiting for Lassiter to keep up. He was tight on my ass. Had to give him props when it came to hunting. Gone was the cheery eyed school girl. Lassiter was all business. I whispered.* “I count three of them about a mile out. They smell new.” *I palmed a dagger and waited.*

Lassiter:

“Sure, if ‘new’ is rancid three week old meat and sugar,” I mutter, taking a deep breath and getting the same whiff of putrefaction.

Noting V drawing a dagger, I opted for the silent method too, ignoring the twin glocks and going for a nine inch stainless steel blade that’d slide home between a Lessers ribs no problem. I, however, wasn’t locked into the whole ‘hide and seek’ thing. Stepping past V, I shot him a quick look, my voice a whisper.

“Play distraction as they get closer.”

There were perks to being an angel. I didn’t have to dematerialize to go invisible, instead vanishing from sight and moving down the street like the grim fucking reaper, leaving Vishous in the shadow of the truck. Getting into place behind the Lessers, I mirrored their steps as they got closer to V’s spot.

The Creator himself could ask me and I’d deny it, but being on the other side as Lessers approached Vishous got my heart rate jacked. Regardless of our bullshit… protecting the male was right now at the top of my ‘to do’ list.

Vishous: *I stepped out of the shadows as Lassiter called it distraction. I knew the angel was near. Did I trust him not to get my ass killed? Short answer? Yes. The lessers caught a glimpse of me and started running. I didn’t see any automatic weapons so I didn’t draw my glocks. Instead, I widen my stance and moved in a blur of speed. I plunged my dagger in the chest cavity of the first lesser. He let out a screech and then pop. Flash of light and the fucker was gone. I turned toward the second but didn’t move fast enough before he sliced up my bicep with the butterfly knife he was carrying. I forced myself to kick the lesser, crushing his knee cap and sending him stumbling over. I backed up to give myself space, that’s when I saw the angel.*

Lassiter:

Good to see that as distracting as Vishous could be for me, he was even more so with Lessers. Whoop-di-fucking-do-dah.

Despite their running act, as soon as the two moved forward to engage V, I came up behind the third. Putting the invisible man to shame, I used the little blinding light moment from the Brother’s popped Lesser to insert my knife right through the top of the demon’s spine. The rest of his body went limp, his weapon clattering from lifeless fingers as his meat sack crumpled into a pile. Before I could drop down to provide my own little light show, everything shifted.

The scent of V’s blood in the air hit me like a truck. I didn’t think as I became visible again, my head whipping around to see the Lesser staggering back from the vampire, catching sight of me. V’s arm leaked red; the only color I saw as I darted forward. I barely felt the kiss of the blade as the Omega’s spawn took a slice at me. It glanced off my shoulder, silver blood spattering the concrete. I snarled, seizing the things head and wrenching it sideways. Its neck broke with a loud SNAP.

His body hit the pavement. My knife went for his heart. With another burst of sound and light, the corpse was gone. I looked to V.

“I said distract them, not introduce yourself to their weapons,” I managed, my tone mercifully even. “That cut deep?”

Vishous: *The angel made quick work of the remaining lessers and I have to say, the male was good with his hands. The adrenaline in my blood was so thick I didn’t feel the pain in my bicep…yet. I looked at my arm and holstered my daggers.* I’ll live angel. *A smirk on my puss as I went in my pocket to get out a smoke. I didn’t have time to react to what happened next. Fuck me this was sloppy. Noob move. I should of scanned better. My legs buckled and sent me flying face down kissing the concrete. I heard Lassiter saying something but I couldn’t make out what he was saying. My vision was blurry and getting dark. I tried to get up but my body was failing me.* Lassiter! *I screamed his name.*

Lassiter:

‘I’ll live’.

Famous last words.

The bullet ripped through the vampire like he was butter. For one impossible second my brain struggled to process it. The spray of blood. The whiplash of his body. The echoing crack that finally followed, the sound so much slower than the metal.

Then I was moving. Vishous hit the pavement and I was over him, my body a shield. Sliding my arms under his I dragged, hauling his leather coated rear out of the line of fire until we were tucked against the building.

“V! Vishous!”

I was snarling his name, but even if I’d screamed it he wasn’t about to pop those diamond eyes and flash me a smile. My fingers pressed against his throat, adrenaline hitting every nerve and frying my concentration until I felt that wonderful, incredible thing.

Tha-thump.

A pulse. He was out for the count but he wasn’t dead. But now I had two problems. Getting Vishous back to the med suite, and doing so without also getting my head blown off. Logic dictated I find the Lesser and rip him to pieces, but logic so often took a back seat for this sort of shit that now was no exception.

I ghosted, leaving the shelter of the building in my invisi state and flying down the street to the nearest car. If you think I cared that it had one window made of duct tape and barely four wheels, you’re dead fucking wrong. It was a stallion, a chariot, Willy Wonka’s magic elevator. It was the escape hatch and I broke into that bitch and started her like it was the Fast and the Furious and Vin Diesel was waiting for me to race.

Screaming back down the street, I jerked the car around and threw open the door. It offered some modicum of a shield, but already I could feel the hood of the car taking punishment. Dragging the male into the car, I didn’t wait for the door to shut properly before I stepped on the gas and lurched us forward. The windshield pinged, shards of glass scattering over me as bullets made almost perfect holes. A dodged lamp post, a mounted curb, and the car lurched onto a new street. The rain of gunfire ceased.

“Vishous!”

Glancing over at the male, I cursed and fumbled my phone out of my coat. A near flat battery. The time leered out at me from the screen. Just when I thought I’d lost a problem, I gained a new one. Dawn was barely twenty minutes off. Much as I liked to think this piece of crap stallion would make the manse in time, there was no way in hell.

I swung off the main road and changed direction, my brain racing ahead. There were parking garages and storage areas nearby that would provide the privacy and shade I’d need for the male for the day, but if I didn’t get to one fast enough, it wouldn’t matter. He was bleeding, and the amount of blood was upping my anxiety about a billion.

“Vishous! I need you to wake the fuck up and answer me!”

Vishous: *I was floating and Lassiter came to me with those huge white and silver tipped wings of his. I knew they were incredibly soft. I had touched them more than a few times. They felt like fucking clouds, being so strong as to lift the angel gracefully towards me. Everything was white so as shiny as Lassiter usually is he actually stood out from the background. He lifted me up in his arms. For some reason I couldn’t move a fucking muscle. I looked into his white eyes and for the first time in a while I felt comfort. The angel smiled at me and before I could ask a question he shook his head and I could hear him yelling for me to wake up. The sound was distant. Then it came closer, and closer until I closed my eyes and opened them again. Lassiter was driving and I tried to answer him in a raspy voice.* Miss me?

*~*~*~*~*~* End Part 1 *~*~*~*~*~*

#Complicated #BondedBrothersAU

[nightcoremoon]

I have had a weird twitch experience these past few days

okay so I was on a speedruns kick specifically agdq and saw one by kotti that made me wanna see the rest by kotti so I watched them and when I watched the last one I followed him in twitch, and then I saw that protonjon was streaming and I've loved protonjon ever since I saw him play resident evil 5 with his friend which I watched because at the time I loved resident evil but never could play any of them because no money and he was the first guy I clicked on on YouTube when I first discovered let's plays (before I found markiplier, even; god that was so long ago). anyway I watched his stream and it was ending so he raided this guy mikecade and he was on the last level of ninja gaiden on the nes and I watched him try for a while and at the end of the stream he raided a friend of his, fraswhar, and I loved that stream. I joined the discord, that community is cool. but the story isn't over yet. the next night that mike streamed I watched and it was the one where he did it! anyway since the game's hard I made a dark souls 2 joke and all of us started talking about dark souls and how 2 was so easy. one guy, rincewindthegreatwizzard, bragged that dark souls 2 was so easy that he beat it without any weapons or armor. two days later i'm on protonjon's stream again and I see that rince is streaming guitar hero. I figure hey it's that or watch mrrknight do double dragon 2 (cool guy, meh game) or carcinogen do splinter cell (very cool guy, not a game i was interested because ghost recon all the way babey) and rince only has 2 viewers. well that's not very nice, I'll pop in. I go in and he looks like, well, a stereotypical standard neckbeard with a punisher t shirt. he also looks very sick, very sweaty, and very red. I'm like, okay let's not be a dick and judge people by their appearances. he looks at the chat and immediately perks up and recognizes my name and asks if I have any requests. time goes by and we have a very lovely conversation about power metal and hype out about blind guardian and metal covers of katy perry songs. eventually he has 5 watchers and decides to end the stream so he browsed people. I suggest mrrknight since I was gonna listen to his stream to fall asleep to anyways but rince raided knight before. I then joke carcinogen is streaming and rince is like "who's that" so I'm just like "oh he does speedruns and guides and stuff, and has world records for resident evil" and rince is like "AH SWEET HES DOING SPLINTER CELL I LOVE THAT GAME" so he raids carcinogen and they have a really nice conversation about deus ex, a game they both love a lot. carci mentions he speedruns human revolution, I'm like "sweet!" because I fucking love human revolution you don't understand adam jensen HE IS MY FUCKING HUSBANDO, rince dips out, carci realizes it's 4:30am and unceremoniously says good night and goes to bed. so I go to knight, say hi and that I'm there to lurk until I fall asleep, and I did exactly that.

twitch is honestly so great. yeah there's a shitty fortnite community ruining everything and there are a LOT of crappy streamers out there who are terrible people but that's true for every platform. twitch is great. you can just sit in a chat room and watch someone play a video game. it's the very best of the late 00s and early 10s rolled into one. I'm glad that it exists.

[geek-gem]

So after 14 years or basically 15 if we count 2020. The Predator finally gets it's own game after 2005's Predator Concrete Jungle.

Just looked and found out this was posted yesterday. I had just watched the teaser but it's nice and short anyway. It's just a cinematic trailer like it says.

Basically I recommend checking out the source. But I wanna talk about it. It's gonna be a multiplayer only game and it's very possible it's only gonna be PlayStation exclusive. Including they mentioned in the article and I even had thought of the Friday The 13th game being similar to this.

Basically your a group of soldiers taking on a Yautja or Predator and just check out the article.

While I know the Predator has made appearances in games like Call Of Duty Ghosts, Mortal Kombat X(Including I've played those games), and Ghost Recon Wildlands. Those were only guest appearances but now the Predator is back fully.

It feels like a dream come true after so many guest appearances the Yautja get their own game again. I really dig what I saw even if it was a cinematic trailer. While even though it's not a single player. The idea of it seems very fun. Yet I hope their is offline single player too like what Friday The 13th had. Especially I hope we get different looks for the Predator or whatever the hell this Yautja is gonna look like.

I weirdly don't want Predators or The Predator 2018 to be referenced in this but what the hell it's great to get a new Predator game. Especially next year in 2020.

Edit should of found out about this earlier and should of realized this. Just read a comment by Darkness you can read under the article. It's the same team that did the Friday The 13th game. I'm honestly excited now. Even though that game had it's flaws. Including I got into the game late. It's cool they are working on this but this makes me wonder about the fate of the Friday The 13th game now. Anyway cool announcement and it was announced on Kevin Peter Hall's birthday which I didn't know.

[espressoo-patronum]

Fairytale gone bad - part 2

Warnings:  swearing, smoking?

A/N: not edited. sorry for the grammar mistakes, i am too tired to edit it now.

      It`s been 3 days since you broke up with him. You haven`t been yourself during this time. Your friends tried to comfort you but you just shook your head and told them you`re fine. You needed time to sort everything that was going into your mind and heart. You belived that you should have been happier than this because you finally  escaped that endless circle of pain and disappointment, but you weren`t. You needed to be next to him, to snuggle into his chest and be told that everything was fine.

     You shook those thoughts out of your mind and entered the Great Hall for breakfast. You sat down next to Remus, not paying attention to the looks your friends were giving you. You stared at the food when you heard a worried voice.

“You haven`t eaten well lately, (y/n/n).”

  You didn`t  bother to turn your head to know it was Remus. You answered so quietly that if  Moony wouldn`t have been so close to you, he would have missed it.

“ …-not hungry.”

“You should try to eat a little.” Lily squeezed your hand gently.

  You sighed and grabed a slice of bread, trying to bring yourself to take a bite. You hated feeling so weak. Yes, it was true, you loved Sirius more than anything, but he didn`t seem to do the same. That`s just how it was. You kept telling yourself that everything will be fine in the end.

   Out of nowhere you felt a hand on your shoulder. You could swear you almost snapped your neck from how fast you turned around. Behind you was a tall boy with light brown hair and deep green eyes. You reconized the boy from your house. He was a muggle born, same year as you.

“Hey, (y/n), sorry to bother you, but can we talk for a second?” he asked a little hesitant.

   You nodded and got up from your seat. You waved to your friends and left the Great Hall with the boy.

“How can I help you, Dearborn?” you asked as you two walked slowly.

“I know you are not ok right now, but i need your help with something.”

  You raised your eyebrow and nodded for him to continue.

“I`ve been dating Marlene for quite some time and I just can`t take it anymore. She is cheating on me and I want to make her pay somehow.”

“And that is my buisness because…?”

 He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“I want to break up with her. In public. I liked the song you sang a few days ago. Do you think you can help me write one too?”

  You were surprised. You thought a little about it, not feeling good about doing this to the poor girl, but you never agreed with the lack of faith she had. You looked into the boy`s green eyes and smirked.

“Wait me in the common room after dinner. Bring a quill and a piece of parchment.”

  He thanked you and ran away with a wide smile on his face, passing by the marauders. They turned their heads towards you who still had a smirk on your face and frowned. This is gonna be fun.

***************************

  It was already dark when you left your bedroom wearing a pair of black jeans and a (y/f/c) sweather that made your (y/e/c) eyes seem brighter. The common room was still pretty busy. You saw the boys in front of the fireplace before your eyes fell on the tall boy with green eyes waiting for you. He carried the items you told him to. You smiled at each other when you reached at the end of the stairs.

“Ready to write your overly-dramatic break up song?” he laughed at your comment.

“I`m as ready as I can. So where are we going?”

  You already started to walk towards the portrait hole so you had to turn around to look at him, your (y/h/c) hair flying around you.

“I`m thinking about…the lake?” You raised an eyebrow, waiting for his answer. He nodded and you two left, missing the daggers Sirius was sending the boy.

  You sat down by the lake and wrote lyrics, laughing from time to time at a silly joke or story about his soon-to-be-ex. You were having fun. It was the first time in days when you had a good laugh and you missed it. Sometimes your mind would wander back to your friends and him, but you shoved those thoughts away. 

  You kept working on the song with the boy during the time you were in the Great Hall or in the common room. You could feel a pair of eyes burning your back whenever you spent time with Dearborn, but you did your best to ignore it.

************************

       It was late in the night. You couldn`t sleep because of the storm so you slipped out of your bed and out of the dorms. You went to the Astronomy tower where you sat down somwhere dry and lighted a cigarette, watching the rain. It calmed you somehow.  You remembered how you used to do this with Sirius. You felt tears forming into your eyes when his smiling face came into your mind. You missed that idiot so much. He didn`t try to talk to you since you broke up with him and it hurt you. A disappointed chuckle escaped your lips.

 “What was I hoping for? Him running after me? Him asking me to come back? That bastard is too proud for that.”

   As your mind wandered you didn`t heard the footsteps approaching so you jumped a little when you hear a voice behind you. His voice.

“Well, I won`t deny it, but what was I supposed to do when you`ve putted me in my place like that?” you turned around and saw him smirking, holding a cigarette.

  You frowned , trying to figure him out. He lifted his hand.

“Do you have a lighter?” He said his face becoming serious.

   You nodded and took it out of your pocket. He stepped closer to you and lighted his cigarette.

“So what are you doing here alone? Where is your friend?” he spitted the last words as they were venom on his tongue.

“I couldn`t sleep because of the storm. And he is not my friend. I helped him with something.” You turned your head to look at the rain again.

“You seemed to enjoy yourself.”

“Is that a crime?!” he started to piss you off.

“No, I`m just surprised to see that you are the first one to move on. Quite easily too.” his words were bitter. 

   He sounded angry and sad, almost like he was…jealous. The thought made you smile but you made sure to erase it as soon as it appeared on your face.

“Jealous, Black?!” You saw pain on his face when you called him by his last name.  “I`m surprised you didn`t come to tell me how you jumped in bed with another girl the next morning and how I never meant anything to you.” You looked him in the eyes. 

   He frowned at your words and opened his mouth to say something when he saw you shivering from the cold wind.

“Are you cold?” You nodded in response. “Come here.” he opened his arms and before you knew what you`re doing, you were hugging him. You could feel him relax after a few seconds and holding you tighter.

“You mean the world to me, baby girl. How could you say that I don`t care? I haven`t touched anyone else than you in a very long time.” he kissed your forehead as you snuggled into his arms. 

  It was raining and it was cold, but right there, everything felt right. You felt like you were home and if you weren`t so close, you would have missed next words because of the storm. He bringed you closer if it was even possible and whispered in your ear. 

“I love you.”

****************************************

     The next morning, everyone was in the Great Hall for breakfast. The other marauders seemed to notice Sirius` good mood but he refused to answer what happened when they asked.

    You sat down next to Remus and filled your plate with everything you could. He laughed and shook his head amused.

“Looks like someone got her apetite back.” You looked at him, your mouth full of food and smiled.

   You heard Dearborn calling you so you turned your head in his direction.

“Wanna sing it with me?” You swallowed your food and shaked your head.

“It`s your message, mate. My job is done.”

“How about you give me a beat then.” You laughed and nodded.

“Say no more.”

   He turned around and called for Marlene.

   James gave you a quizzical look and you mothed the words “ wait and see.” You took a deep breath when the boy with green eyes waved his hand for you to start singing and gave him a beat.

“ Do, re, mi, fa, so” 

 And he continued.

“ Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh

Do, re, mi, fa, so

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, if I could go back to the day we met

I probably would just stay in bed

You run your mouth all over town

And this one goes out to the sound

Of breaking glass on my Range Rover

Pay me back or bitch, it’s over

All the presents I would send

Fuck my friends behind my shoulder

Next time I'ma stay asleep

I pray the Merlin my soul to keep, oh.”

  He looked straight into Marlene`s confused eyes and you couldn`t help the smile spreading on your face.

“ And you got me thinking lately

Bitch, you crazy

And nothing’s ever good enough

I wrote a little song for ya

It go like.”

  You started to dance on your seat and sing with him.

“Do, re, mi, fa, so fuckin’ done with you, girl

So fuckin’ done with all the games you play

I ain’t no Tic-tac-toe

Send the X and O’s on another note

I’m do, re, mi, fa, so fuckin’ done with you, baby

So send the X and O’s on another note, I’m ghost.”

  James looked at you and asked if you wrote it. You nodded and kept singing. He smiled and laughed, he seemed proud.

   When the boy stopped singing, a crying Marlene rushed out of the Great Hall. He came to you and grabbed your hand, kissing it lightly. It took Sirius all his control not to jump on the poor boy right there.

“Thank you for helping me, (y/n). You are amazing. How about I take you on a date on our next trip to Hogsmade?” he winked at you and you laughed, looking at Sirius who shot daggers at Dearborn.

“That won`t be necessary, but thank you.” the boy followed your eyes which landed on a jealous Sirius. Realisation hitted him.

“Oh, so you two are back together then. Such a loss. Well, if he ever break your heart again, you know where to find me, love.” 

  You turned around and looked at Sirius who gave you his signature smirk.

“So I guess you are free this saturday?” he raised his eyebrow.

“Maybe.”

[jfc-its-felix]

project e.l.f [chatzy]

featuring Ezra, Luther, Felix, brunch, a shootout, accidentally sentimental nicknames, and a Backstreet Boys poster

@ezracarsonx @kinglutherofsousa @ghost-with-no-name

[ezra] Ezra had settled and arranged the outing with Luther and Felix - separately, of course. The truth was that Ezra had never actually witnessed the pair interacting, despite how close they seemed to be. He was curious to see the Luther-Felix dynamic in action. And Ezra was also incredibly grateful to have this little (hopefully little) mission to get through. Get Felix to the depository and create enough of a diversion to get Felix into the building long enough to get all the surveillance set up. From there it was just keeping an eye on the guards and making sure they didn't do anything too unconventional, ensuring Felix gout out safe and no one the wiser. Oh, and of course, going to brunch and possibly dinner with Luther. Two rather separate outings, blended into one full day. Why not - Ezra found himself trusting Felix as a greatly competent person, marveling internally at just how well (he thought) Felix had bounced back into full recover from losing an arm. The kid was resilient as fuck. And Luther was...well he was Luther. What wasn't there to enjoy about Luther Sousa?

Ezra arrived at Luther's penthouse, knocking on the door at the appointing time, already kitted out. The surveillance equipment was already packed in a small black ruggedized case, which Ezra wore as a little tidy backpack for now. This way Felix wouldn't have to carry it in his hand when he broke into the depository.

[luther] "Felix, just put the goddamn leather pants on! We're going on a MISSION! You can't be in your shitty sweatpants for something so important," Luther yells all the way through opening the door. "Hey," he smiles at the older man, expecting him. "Come on in, we'll just be a minute. Felix is struggling to put his turtleneck polo on. Among other things," the comment made by Luther turning a head towards his bodyguard.

[felix] Luther seemed to have this /idea/ of a very specific kind of 'mission clothes' -- and it apparently consisted of leather pants and polos? Felix wasn't even sure where he'd gotten that shit from, maybe Hollywood. "I'm not wearing fucking leather pants, holy fuck," he called back. Honestly. The /squeaking/ alone would be a problem. So, no, he was wearing fucking normal clothes, like a normal person -- if a bit tighter and darker than usual, because, y'know, sneaking. Just not /leather/.

By the time he was dressed and managed to get out to Luther and Ezra, he's scowling as he tugs a glove over his prosthetic hand. He wants to ask why Luther is even coming on a mission, but honestly, he doesn't want to imply Luther is useless, so. He avoids that question for now. Luther's feelings are delicate. "'sup, peaches," he greets Ezra. "Sorry about Luther, I think he thinks spies wear leather catsuits? Which isn't to say I wouldn't look /rad/. You got everything we need?"

[ezra] Well...it is sort of true that Luther is useless. Or rather (as Ezra likes to view it) he hasn't yet seen Luther in action. Frankly he was surprised that Luther agreed to this when Ezra extended the casual offer. And since Felix didn't exactly protest, Ezra decided maybe Luther had some secret hidden badassery that he liked to keep hidden under a veneer of richboy snottyness. He smiled at Luther and grinned at Felix. "Hello Eartha Kitt," he wryly greeted Felix. "Don't worry - you both look beautiful. I ah...I figure we should head out a bit early to recon the place just to make sure nothings changed from my last check. If it all looks normal, then we can get...some," Ezra's gaze flicked to Luther. "...brunch?" The idea felt so wonderfully absurd, but then, they would be in Brooklyn, and Brooklyn prided itself on hipster eateries that proudly served 'brunch'. He showed Felix the briefcase/backpack and then turned to head out.

[luther] Luther breaths in through the nose, trying to compse himself. "You know what? Fine. Wear the clothes you wear every day. I know you'll regret this half an hour from now anyway." Because that's how Felix works --- he hates stuff, then later decides he wants the hateful stuff in his life. The exchange between the two men isn't as steamy as Luther hoped it would be, but that's alright. They have time, passion will awaken in them by noon, when there's food around. "Brunch, yes," Luther nods at Ezra, giving him a bright smile. "We have time to stop for Starbucks on the way, right? I just woke up, I need my caffeine." He puts his sunglasses on and grabs some monoculars, along with the keys. "So what's this job all about again?"

[felix] Felix still isn't sure why they're stopping for fucking brunch in the middle of this, but, whatever. Luther probably wants to watch a first-hand account of how he flirts with Ezra, so Felix will make sure to really bring out his Innuendo A-Game. "Yeah, yeah, we can get your weird shit coffee," he snorts, leading the way out of the suite and down to the garage. And steals Luther's sunglasses and puts them on, just because he can. "Shit, I need some caffeine too, we might as well. Ezra, you wanna fill Luther in on the job while we walk down?"

[luther] So predictable. Luther pulls his second pair of sunglasses out of the inside pocket of his jacket and puts them on, hoping Ezra doesn't try this shit as well, because he's out of pairs. "I'm not what he wants to fill, as far as I know," he snorts, feeling so smart and funny with his joke.

[ezra] "Isn't there coffee at the brun...? You know what never mind. Coffee at Starbucks then," Ezra said, glancing at his watch. Which was a passive-aggressive move, but he figured it would be lost on Luther and Felix would just snicker. Luther's joke was cute, although it did get Ezra daydreaming slightly about 'filling' Luther...perhaps the opposite effect of what Luther intended. As they rode the elevator, Ezra summarized the mission for Luther's benefit, but Ezra figured most of his role would be babysitting. As for the diversion part of it, he unslung the backpack with a smile. "To create a diversion in order to get Felix access into the depository, I've acquired something rather fun from the MacNamara R&D. Maybe that Asset Lochlan fellow watched Ocean's Eleven recently, but--" Ezra tugged out what looked like a toy car remote control. When they got to the garage, he stepped out, and used the controller. Eventually, a sleek black sports car towards them, parking gently in front of them. "Neat hm? Luther, you and I will use this car to make the diversion once we get down there. Men can't resist mysterious expensive sports cars - the guards will be distracted and Felix can get inside and do this thing." Ezra handed the control to Luther while he turned the open briefcase towards Felix, letting him see the surveillance equipment within. "Does this sufficiently meet your needs, Mr North?"

[felix] Clearly, Ezra has yet to learn one very important thing about Luther: when you're around him, you're working on Luther Time, in Luther World. Felix has just learned how to adapt. He takes a glance at the equipment in the briefcase, another at the remote control car, and makes a noise that might be approval. It's hard to tell. Felix is a fucking tough sell when he's gearing up to mission mode. "We'll drive in Luther's car, you remote-control the car to follow us," he says, getting into one of Luther's less ostentatious cars. "Since I assume by 'distraction' you mean 'blow it the fuck up', we'll need the real car, too. Please tell me you're gonna blow it up."

[luther] Luther notices the watch move, but only because he wants to check the type of watch a man like Ezra woulf wear (a cheap and ugly one, fyi). "Pfff," he snorts, putting his hand up to cover his mouth. "Mr. North," he repeats in Ezra's tone, elbowing him playfully. "Or, you know, instead of blowing something up, /I/ can be a diversion." Luther is certainly pretty enough to distract a man from the sunset, in his humble opinion. "No, Felix, I don't want that car today. Let's take the pink limo."

[felix] "No and no," Felix says, very nicely. "Get your ass in the nice black car."

[luther] "What do you mean no!? I can be a distraction if I want to be," he argues, entering the car, because due to his limited attention span, Luther can only argue about one thing at a time.

[ezra] "I wasn't planning on blowing it up..." Ezra said with some slight petulance as he gazed as his shiny new toy. He paid a lot to liberate it from the clutches of R&D. Granted, he had equipped it with an explosion device as a contingency - but that was what it was: a /contingency/. Ezra was hoping to drive the beautiful thing away unmolested, for him to play with another day. Damn Felix and his love of big explosions. Since he assumed Luther and Felix would sit up front, Ezra stretched out in the back seat of the sedate black car. "We could blow up this car instead. No need to waste the...ah...pink limo in a diversion. And Luther, I don't want you distracting these guards, the less they realize they're being duped, the better. If they see your highly-recognizable face, that could spell trouble." The elbowing from Luther puzzled Ezra, but he didn't pay too much mind. His mind was too focused on the mission - and of course the remote control car. "Vamos, fellas."

[felix] "I'm not letting you get near these people," Felix tells Luther. "They're assholes." Probably? Felix assumes so. "So you can stay in the car and watch, from a safe distance, the nice big explosion Ezra's gonna make." Felix gives Ezra a Meaningful Glance in the back mirror as he pulls out onto the road. (Shut up, he loves explosions).

[luther] Felix is being a jerk. Because of that, he abandons his spot in front and crawls back to sit next to ezra --- a far more deserving of Luther's close proximity man. "I don't feel like watching an explosion today," he yawns. "Ezra, lets not destroy the car. It's nice. Lochlan probably worked on it for a long while, so we should keep it for something really special and important."

[ezra] How could Ezra glare at Felix when he was giving Ezra the 'caring Mom look' at him in the rearview? Honestly, Ezra was a sucker for Felix, even if he wouldn't admit it, no matter how much Luther elbowed him and arranged for chaperoned playdate brunches. He gave Felix a quick nod in return, then smiled as Luther joined him in the backseat. Ezra pat Luther's shoulder reassuringly. "Well we'll see how it all pans out. Luther, you'll stick with me. We're going to set up in an abandoned building a city block from Felix's drop point, hm? We'll wait for him there. We'll have a good vantage point from there, don't worry. I have binoculars and we'll have mics to talk to Felix if he needs us."

[felix] "We'll have to come up with codenames," Felix says absently, scouting out for the nearest Starbucks as he drives. They don't actually need codenames. But he's pretty sure Luther would love to have them. "Luther, you can be... I don't know, what do you want to be? Something with Leader in it. Or Eagle. Or Commander!"

[luther] "Can you not sound like my dad when he's taking me out on a field trip?" he asks, lifting his glasses up to give Felix a look. "Leader Eagle Commander is fine, but I didn't know you turn into such a tight ass when you go on a mission."

[ezra]  "Is that what your dad sounds like?" Ezra asked Luther as he concentrated on guiding his fancy remote car. "Leader Eagle Commander is too long. It needs to be short and concise like...oh I don't know. Optimus. Felix can be Bumblebee, and I'll be Starscream."

[luther] Luther laughs, looking at Ezra like he's a kid. "Starscream? That's cute. Is it, like, an inuendo about how much you scream in bed?"

[felix] Jesus. Christ. "Don't even compare me to your dad, that's the worst insult," Felix grumbles, doing an about turn as he spots a Starbucks that looks slightly less horrendously busy than the others.

[luther] "Oh my God, what!? My Dad is wonderful! You're giving Ezra the totally wrong impression of him! What the hell?"

[felix] Luther Sr. is /not/ wonderful, but Felix relents anyway. "Fine, okay, he's the best dad ever. Hey, Starscream," Felix muffles a laugh, "what's your coffee order? We'll go drive-through."

[ezra] He looks up at Luther with a slight grin. "No they're Transformers, you know. The old cartoon? Never mind - I want to hear more about Dad." But they were at a Starbucks and the car conversations fell to the wayside when one needed to pick your perfect Starbucks cuppa joe. "Christ I still don't know why we can't get coffee at the restaurant. Alright ahhhhh..." Ezra gazed at the fancy menu, trying to decide what would go well with his flask of bourbon. "Get me a caramel latte, but ask them to use coconut milk."

[felix]  "/Coconut milk/," Felix says, barely managing not to screech it in his horror. What the fuck even is that? Is that a thing? Why is Ezra drinking it? Why is he stuck in a car with two people with weird coffee choices? Long-suffering, he rattles off Ezra's order, Luther's order (which he knows by heart now), and his own. A plain fucking black coffee. "Why does it not surprise me that you love Transformers," he drawls. "Between that, your bike, and this remote control car, I'm starting to think you're a vehicle fetishist, man."

[ezra]  "Coconut milk tastes nice when it's all sweet. A perfect blend," Ezra said, leaning forward and giving Felix a light cuff on his shoulder. "Bumblebee is a coffee snob, jesus. He buys the most obnoxious fucking cocktails he can design but then butches it up when it comes to coffee?" Ezra psh'd, then smiled at Luther's wonderfully elaborate order. That Felix memorized, what a good bodyguard and friend. Really, he was looking forward to hearing the specifications required to please Luther Sousa. "Just remove 'vehicle' from that and you got it in one, Felix. What're you a fetishist about? Everyone's got /something/."

[felix] Felix could give so many answers to that question, either serious or funny. But since he's not about to get all serious talk about kinks right here and now, Felix glances in the rear view mirror, puts on his most winning smile, and says, "Mustaches."

[ezra] His face split into a wide grin at the unexpected response, and Ezra put down the remote control long enough to mime a rim shot on a drum set. Ba-dum /tish/. "You cheeky fucker," Ezra said at the rearview. It occurred to him belatedly that - Felix was an Asset. How was he paying for the coffee? But then of course Felix had access to the largest source of money he could ever need: the Bank of Sousa. When he got his coffee, Ezra added his tipple before taking a drink. "Alright, we're on a schedule, so let's got something to eat, I'm starving."

[luther]  Luther checks to see if Ezra got a boner from that line/smile. "It's not a cartoon, Ezra." Poor old man is confused by all the high tech animation in the Michael Bay movies. "We're eating after the mission, because F-bomb is ticking from excitement, here. Sorry, I meant Bubble-bee."

[felix] "Who says I'm joking? The height of the hipster era with all those fake mo's was boner hell for me," Felix drawls, putting his coffee in the cup holder, handing Luther's back to him. "Brunch after the mission, then? Make up your minds, jeez."

[ezra] When the hell does Luther think brunch is? It was currently 10:30 in the morning, the ideal bunching time. "Brunch now, mission, dinner afterwards. The mission's going to take a couple hours, Luther." Ezra pitched an eyebrow at Felix. "Fake moustaches, really? And it's Bumblebee, not...Bubble-Bee." Ezra muttered into his cup, "Might as well just call him 'Bubble-butt'."

[luther]  "He does have an awesome ass, ezra. You're in for a treat." There's the elbowing again. Poor Ezra is coming out of this with bruises all over his sides. "Thanks," Luther tells Felix when he takes his drink and slurps up from the straw. "Fine, then, Felix," Luther gets between the two front seats, unintentionally giving Ezra a full on ass view, "Turn left here. We're not going to that place where I fainted. You have my credit cards, right?" he asks, double checking.

[felix] "I accept Bubble-Butt as a nickname," Felix says graciously, following Luther's directions. He has to suppress a smile at the memory of That Particular Restaurant. "Yep, I've got them. My prosthetic's pulling double duty as a wallet, there's a hatch on there, it's rad."

[ezra] "You nearly fainted? Why?" Ezra said, focusing his alarm straight at Luther's pert skinny butt. But then Ezra remembered: this was Luther. He had a tendency to opt for the most...dramatic scenario. Once they got there, Ezra double-parked the remote car with Luther's since they'd be moving as a unit anyway. "Fine fine, Bubble-butt it is. Although I've yet to see it without the inconvenience of clothing."

[luther] "You guys, we can totally do this thing another day, if you'd like to stay in the car," Luther says, being oh so subtle, as he slurps and exits the car.

[felix] "Gracefully avoiding the fainting story, I see," Felix says dryly, getting out of the car as well. "C'mon, tell Ezra about it. He can pull double duty, he can listen to the story /and/ imagine how great my ass is without pants in the way. He's talented like that."

[ezra] "I am a good multitasker," Ezra said, letting the young 'uns saunter ahead as he checked out both their asses. Sometimes it felt good to embrace the whole 'dirty old man' stereotype. They got inside, landing a table once Luther dropped his name (Ezra assumed, anyway. Maybe dropped a couple Benjamins as well) and Ezra ordered himself an omelette before he looked expectantly at Luther. "So you fainted?"

[luther]  Luther sadly did have to drop some Benjamins, because Felix always looks out of place in these establishments. A bribe is a must. "I--- A little. But Felix unhooked his arm and there was some splashing and my shirt got stained while people were looking---" Luther stops talking and inhales deeply. He's feeling faint just thinking about it. "Anyway. So what do you like best about Felix, Ezra? Besides his ass, apparantly."

[felix] Ah, yes, there it goes. The story about how Luther can feels social shame so keenly that he actually faints from it. Felix loves it. But he does have to stifle a groan at Luther's new topic, and covers it up by looking smug as fuck, leaning back in his chair. "Yeah, Ezra, what /do/ you like best about me," he deadpans, amused.

[ezra] The tale was disjointed and led Ezra to just assume that the young Sousa was like a fainting goat. Besides, Luther was good at diverting to a topic that really did please Ezra. He leaned back in his seat, legs sprawling as he looked at Felix from across the table. "Best? That's a hard choice, there's so many things to choose from. Are we talking purely physical here, or you know. The internal blood and guts stuff?"

[luther] Since ezra asked for it--- "One of each," Luther smirks.

[felix] "Oh, yeah, please do make sure to pick which of my organs is your favorite," Felix snorts.

[felix] Luther gives Felix a warning look. A stop-mocking-and-start-t​aking-this-flirting-thin​g-seriously-dammit.

[ezra] God he wished he could have a smoke right now, just for something to do. As it was, Ezra took his napkin, rolling a corner of it, up and down. "Ahhhhh fine let's see. He's got a lovely mouth. I like watching it talk." Ezra grinned at Felix, knowing the kid was just taking the piss - that was perhaps the best thing. "I like Felix's bones, they seem very sturdy. Especially when he's punting some pendejo around."

[felix]  "I'd tell you to pick a favourite bone, but we both know which you'd pick." Heh, boner joke. "Now stop putting the poor guy on the spot, Luther. Our flirting has to happen /organically/. You know what you wanna order yet?"

[luther] Ezra gets his shin kicked under the table. "You two are impossible together. But at least you're bonding." Which is the desired effect in the end. "Well, I think Felix is really handsome and funny and sweet. I like those things best about him. You do too, right, Ezra?" Luther snaps his fingers like a prime A asshole and orders for them all, because he didn't ust pick his own meal --- he picked all of the meals.

[felix] "I am not sweet, oh my /god/," Felix mutters mutinously.

[ezra] "I don't know about the sweet, but then I don't have a sweet tooth. I'm more of a salty sort of guy," Ezra replied, but then looked alarmed. He really wanted the omelette, dammit Luther. "Is that what we're doing, flirting?" Ezra leaned forward towards Felix, nodding his chin over at Luther. "Your turn, Felix. What do you like about Luther, inside and out? Boners notwithstanding."

[luther] "You're supposed to ask what he likes about /you/, Ezra." Gosh. It's like flirting 101 and the old guy is failing already.

[felix] "When we first met, Luther said that bacteria like me shouldn't be around superior beings like him, and then called me a dirty prostitute. That's my favorite thing about him." Felix beams fondly over at Luther. "And my favourite inside bit is your spleen. I'm sure it's... a great example of a spleen."

[ezra] "No now you Luther, can tell me what you like about me..." Ezra glanced from one to the other. Motioning his finger between the three of them. "This /is/ supposed to be a hook-up for a threesome, right? I mean, that's what I'm going for. Why limit our fun?" Of course Felix would go for the most useless organ inside Luther, which was strangely endearing. "Bacteria...that's creative."

[luther] Luther leans over the table, elbows on top, hands connected like he's about to close a business deal. "I guess the kick under the table wasn't hard enough for you. I'll definitely aim higher when I swing next time." They can't be joking, Luther is pretty sure he is smelling sexual desire in the air. Unless--- is it directed at him? God, the last thing he wants is to steal Felix' potential hook up and future boyfriend. "I like your..." Crickets can be overheard in the silent pause, "Hair. It's still there, which many men your age can't brag about."

[ezra] Ezra rubs the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "Ay dios mio..."

[felix] "Luther thinks you're my future husband," Felix says, darting an amused glance at Ezra. "He's just trying to nudge you down that path. Right, Luther? You're such a great wing man. Even if you're, like... really bad at giving compliments."

[luther] "Luther /knows/ you're his future husband," he says, blushing a little at the comments. "I'm not bad! Having hair at forty is really really great for most men!"

[ezra]  "Luther I'm sorry, I don't think Felix is the marrying type," Ezra said, totally throwing Felix under the bus for this, because why not. He waved a hand at them both. "You're both terrible, I'm done with the both of you." Fortunately the food came though, and even if it wasn't exactly what Ezra wanted, it was still warm and delicious.

[felix]  ...Did he just get /fake rejected/? Felix isn't sure whether to feel miffed or not. "Yeah, the whole Class C asset thing kind of gets in the way of marriage," he says dryly, staring down at his plate. "Also, what the fuck is this? You know I don't know what fancy food is."

[ezra] Ezra paused and looked up at Felix thoughtfully. What an interesting why to deflect the marriage topic. Did that mean...if he could, Felix North would want to marry Matteo D'Ignazio? The thought of Felix being as romantic as that made Ezra somewhat dumbfounded. The kid was an onion.

[luther] "It's Lobster Frittata and you will love it." If nothing else, Felix has to trust Luther with his taste. It's then when he notices Ezra and how he's lovingly gazing at Felix. Perfect. Except Felix is pigging out, looking disgusting and very non-fuckable. "For fuck's sake, use the fork! Chew!"

[felix] In the middle of picking up said frittata with his hand, Felix blinks owlishly at Luther. Why does he need to use a fork? The food is perfect hand food. (Every food is perfect hand food as far as Felix is concerned). "Nah, I'm good," he says blithely. "Thanks."

[luther] "This is why I tip extra," Luther whispers not so quietly to Ezra.

[ezra] "What about you, Luther? Do you want to get married someday?" Ezra asked, intrigued by the idea now. He ate with a quick efficiency, giving a nod at Luther as Felix massacred his frittata. "It's obviously delicious. Good choice, chico rico." Ezra was surprised by his eggs benny too; the hollandaise was exquisite.

[felix] They're both just lucky that Felix hasn't made a sea food joke yet. "I better be best man if you ever do," he garbles around a mouthful.

[luther] "I'm not getting married. Love is a sham," he says politely, stabbing whatever's in his plate.

[ezra] Ah, now Luther is starting to make sense, and Ezra grunts in agreement. "There we have it from Mr Sousa himself. Felix, my dear, I'm afraid I can never love you. Love...is a sham."

[felix] Felix gives a depressed sounding sigh. "There goes our amazing future marriage and 2.5 adopted kids."

[luther] Crap. "No, not for you guys! It's just me, marriage is a sham for. I'm cursed. You'll be fine, it's going to be awesome."

[ezra] Ezra finished his meal, wiping his mouth on his napkin before he sat back to finish his coffee. "Double standards, Luther. If we have to get married, then you have to get married too..." Ezra looked over at Felix giving the kid a brief wink. "Then we'll all be a little less jaded. A double-wedding, how lovely would that be, hm?"

[felix] "As long as I can pull double duty as groom and best man," Felix muses. "I can't even imagine a Sousa wedding. It'd probably be bigger than a fucking royal wedding."

--

[luther] Luther uses the time Ezra is in the bathroom to corner Felix into The Talk. "I think he's into you. You two should totally go on a date when the mission is over."

[felix] Felix spends half a second wondering if he can 'accidentally' spray food at Luther when he talks, thus driving Luther off this particular topic -- but he decides not to, for fear of making Luther faint. Again. "I'm starting to think you're projecting, man. Maybe it's /you/ who wants to go on a date with Ezra," he says blithely. "Ever read Freud?"

[luther] Come on, Felix. You know Luther doesn't read anything besides magazines and social media update posts. Get real. "No, but I know he has an obsession with his mother. Which ---even if I did have it too--- isn't relevant to this topic?" Luther uses the dirtiest trick in his book and slides his half eaten desert over to Felix. No way the asset can resist complying now. "Me and Ezra aren't like that. But you two? I really think he's into you. Like, who wouldn't? You're amazing. And he has a mustache, which is a kink for you." As Luther learned today. "What do you really think of him, F-bomb? Hm?"

[felix] "Who has an obsession with his mother? Freud or Ezra?" Felix asks, bemused, eyeing the dessert he's being presented with. He's not going to cave to Luther's whims just for tiramisu. Even if it does look like... really good... tiramisu... Felix misses most of what Luther says next because he's too busy staring like a dog with a bone. "What? Oh. Yeah, mustache. Cool. Can I have that tiramisu?"

[luther] Luther casually slides the plate with his dessert right, then left, smirking when Felix's eyes don't even notice the movement --- they just stay glued on the food, while the mouth is busy collecting saliva. "Yes, of course, man. But you'll have to ask Ezra on a date after the mission is over. Like, a real date. With a kiss in the end. Okay?"

[felix] Like watching a tennis match, Felix's gaze goes left and right too, tracking the dessert. Or, less like a tennis match, and more like that one gif of the row of kittens all avidly swiveling back and forth in unison as they stared. "Uh-huh," he agrees absently. "Fine. Dessert, gimme."

[luther] Luther notices Ezra finally making his way back towards the table. "Eat fast, we need to go," he tells Felix, giving him the food. "Ezzy, check is covered and if your bladder is empty we can finally go."

[felix]  "Ezzy," Felix repeats, amused and probably incoherent through the triumphant way he's stuffing his face. Tiramisu is like the food of the gods, man, he's allowed to be gross while he's eating it. "ETA thirty seconds. Just gotta lick the plate."

[ezra] Ezra notices the empty plate that was once tiramisu and looks just slightly envious. Who can ever resist tiramisu after all? Regardless, it looks like the boys are ready to up and at 'em, so Ezra doesn't sit back down, and instead gets his jacket on, eyes still lingering on the empty dessert plate. "Ready?" he asks, but just heads out anyway, leaving them to gather themselves while Ezra lights up a quick post-brunch smoke. He looks at Felix, who's the first to emerge. "Is Luther primping?" He looked at his watch and grinning slightly. "I allotted time for that."

[felix] "Yeah, I told him he had some broccoli between his teeth. He had a panic attack and ran for the bathroom," Felix replied, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. Of fucking course Ezra allotted time for that -- he probably had everything planned down to the minute. "How much time did you give him? Because if it's anything under ten minutes, you've underestimated him."

[ezra] He looked up at Felix, genuinely worried, the smoke bobbing between his lips as he said, "Shit. Five isn't enough? Was he even /eating/ broccoli...?" Ezra started to ask, then suddenly chuckled to himself, shaking his head and looking down at the gum-stained sidewalk. "I'm sorry, gato. When I invited him I honestly thought he'd refuse because it was too...dirty or boring or gruntwork or something. I had no idea Luther was on a mission to matchmake." He pitched an eyebrow at Felix. "He did rant some alarming things about Matteo, though. What can I believe and what should I chalk up to Luther just being Luther?" Obviously Luther's heart was in the right place - looking after his friend Felix - but Ezra realized by now that Luther's mind tended to get a little creative in his perception of things.

[felix] No, Luther hadn't gone anywhere near broccoli, which just made the lie and the reaction even funnier. At the apology, Felix just lifts one shoulder in an idle shrug -- sure, Luther is slowing the mission down, but really, it's entertaining, if nothing else. And Luther needed to get out of the tower and stop moping over Salinger, so, win-win. "What do you mean, alarming?" he asked, curious despite himself.

[ezra] Felix certainly had a way of letting things roll off his back, but then it's understandable all things considered. The Tower wasn't really conducive to letting things get to a person, especially if they were an Asset. Especially-especially a class C Asset and...well we all get the point. Felix's life was rougher than most. "Ahhh let's see. I think it was the beating-up part that alarmed me the most. Luther said you two called it sparring so I assume that is what it is: sparring. D-Ignazio's a ring fighter, right?"

[felix] Felix groaned, letting his head fall back against the wall they were leaning up against -- if only, somehow, by smacking his head against it, he could somehow smack the truth into Luther's thick skull. "Did he tell you Matteo's abusive or some shit?" For fuck's sake. He glanced over at Ezra, eyes narrowed, hoping he didn't find anything resembling belief or misplaced sympathy on his face. "Yeah, it's sparring. He's a boxer, I'm... y'know. Me. Luther's weirdly horrified by it, I don't even know why."

[ezra] Really, Ezra just wanted to be convinced. He held a neutrality until he got Felix's opinion. And really, it wasn't as if 'abusive relationship' really had too much merit in a place that kidnapped and enforced sexual slavery. So Ezra just nodded, exhaling smoke through his nose. "Alright." He looked away from Felix, people watching from across the street. "I suppose Luther just needs to ensure you're happy...according to his specific terms. Why he chose me to guarantee that is beyond me." He paused and then added, "And he said D'Ignazio smacked him around too."

[felix]  "If by 'smacked him around' you mean 'punched him once in the face because Luther insulted Gus and Matteo really likes Gus', sure," Felix drawled dryly. On a whim, he stole Ezra's cigarette and took a drag, handing it back. "Whatever reason he chose you, it's clearly a compliment." He stifled a laugh, nudging Ezra with his elbow. "He's /incredibly/ picky."

[ezra] Ezra let out a small 'ahhhhhhh' and at the reference to the other Sousa, now Ezra was content to let the conversation drop. Family business that seemed a little more sticky than Ezra had realized. Which was fine - everyone had their interpersonal drama. God knew Ezra was currently embroiled in drama of his own, much to his discomfort. Hence this mission. What a convenient way to escape and avoid all the bullshit happening back n the Tower. "It is a compliment. Only the best for his Felix North, hm? Caviar tastes and champagne dreams, our Luther." He handed the rest of the cigarette to Felix to finish up, blowing out another stream of smoke. "Who knows, maybe he'll grow to accept D'Ignazio, eventually." Ezra snorted; as if. "You just /had/ to go be with the literal MacNamara enemy, didn't you. Just to make things harder on him," he tutted.

[felix] Felix didn't particularly want the rest of the cigarette, so he took a look at the people passing by, and flicked the cigarette, sending it flying in a neat arc to land in someone's open coffee cup. "Yeah, I make all my decisions based on how hard they make Luther's life," he agreed airily. "Now, we've got five minutes before Luther deems himself acceptable and re-emerges. One of us should have a hickey by the time he gets out. It'll make his week." Felix beamed a shit-eating grin at Ezra. "You wanna do the honors, or should I?"

[ezra] Ezra looked genuinely surprised at Felix's suggestion. "When you're dedicated to a prank, you go all the way, Felix. We better not eventually end up fucking just to have a laugh on Luther. I mean if we to end up fucking it should be for a better reason that messing with Sousa's mind, hm?" Ezra admired the way the cigarette arced, and then the aggressive stockbroker suit took a deep drink while yelling on his phone, only to spit the coffee out over some other guy. Then, an argument ensued. As per usual, where ever Felix was, pandemonium ensued. "Alright come here," Ezra said, motioning for Felix to come closer. He looped an arm around the kid and nuzzled into his neck, kissing at a spot of delicate skin first before he sucked in hard, adding just enough of a bite to make the skin bloom. Ezra loved marking people after all, so he was rather efficient. A brush of his tongue to seal the little bruise, before he leaned back to inspect his handiwork. "He looks at you more, anyway. Mm, bueno. He'll definitely notice this."

[felix] Over the sound of an aggressively Texan asshole yelling about how his ten thousand dollar suit was ruined, Felix just very sternly reminded himself that they were in public. Which, y'know, he normally wouldn't care, but they had a mission, and Luther was getting back soon, so Felix didn't want to get /too/ into getting a bruise sucked into his neck. (It was really fucking nice, though, goddamn Ezra). Felix prodded at it. "Good location," he approved. Some idiot walking past jeered at them to get a room. Felix gave him the finger. "I'm beginning to learn you're strategic about pretty much everything. Including hickeys."

[ezra] Brushing his thumb along the curve of Felix's jaw (he really couldn't help himself, Felix had that blonde peach-fuzz around his jaw that was just so enticing), Ezra smiled in satisfaction. "Oh here's the man of the hour," Ezra announced as Luther stepped out, in his usual Luther way. Rather hilariously oblivious to the hickey though, for the entire car-ride to the abandoned building. The longer the hickey when unnoticed, the more exciting Ezra found the prospect of Luther /eventually/ discovering it. But they were here, on time, and they had a mission to complete first. Ezra took about ten minutes to inspect the depository through his binoculars and fortunately everything seemed normal. Three guards at the front, a fence to scale, but there was a locked side gate that Ezra pointed out to Felix, for him to squeeze through. "You're skinny enough," Ezra said to Felix. One guard patrolled and the other two were stationed at the only door that led in and out. The windows were small and clearly renovated with thick glass, hiding what lay inside. "There might be an exit on the roof, but I couldn't see for sure in the recon, unfortunately. This should just be a straight in-and-out though, hm? There shouldn't be anyone inside, so just work fast and work good. If you run into any trouble --" Ezra tapped at the bluetooth he had affixed to his ear. "Let me know when you're in position and then I'll...." Ezra huffed slightly. "I'll drive my remote car over and blow it up."

[felix] "I'm not skinny," Felix grumbled, but it was just a token protest -- he was more interested in scoping the place out, watching the movements of the guards. Luther seemed bored as fuck, practically squirming in the backseat. Poor guy. Felix hopped out of the car, pulling the backpack of gear on, and pulling his hood up so it at least covered some of his hair, staying behind the car as he got ready. "I'll be... let's say an hour. I like to give myself some wiggle room. Hey, Luther." Felix tipped his head, oh-so-subtly (read: not) showing off the hickey. "You gonna be cool to sit here for an hour?"

[luther] Pop quiz time --- is that a hickey or a bug bite? Luther narrows his eyes, trying to figure it out. "Sure, sure. I'm always cool," he mutters, giving Ezra a glance in an attempt to figure it all out. "Where's my ear piece?"

[ezra] "Your...earpiece, right of course..." Ezra didn't pack one for Luther, whoops. So instead he tugged out his phone and got the bluetooth on his phone and put it on speakerphone (because that's who technology works right? It does now). "There we go. Now we can both talk to Felix." He handed the phone over to Luther, then looked at Felix. "Everything ready?" Ezra said, then looked a little 'shocked' to see the hickey. "Oh my..."

[luther] Nice try. With a huff, Luther steals Ezra's earpiece and settles back into his seat, monocular in hand. "Good luck, F-bomb. Don't blow anything up," especially not another limb, since Felix is already short on those.

[felix] While it's tempting to just shout IT'S A HICKEY, YOU DUMBSHIT, GAZE UPON EZRA'S WORK, YE MIGHTY, AND DESPAIR, Felix doesn't do that. Sadly. Instead, he plays along, looking mildly embarrassed as he tugs on his jacket to cover the mark up. He even makes himself blush a little. "Nothing's getting blown up. Except the car!"

[ezra] Unbelievable. Felix is doing a bang-up job, even managing to look...shy. Felix North, shy?? If it was lost on Luther, honestly Ezra would be mildly disappointed. Then again, it was worth it because Felix's skin tasted really nice. Bright and citrusy. "No blowing up anything. Go on let's get this done," Ezra said, taking the phone back from Luther, and giving Felix a quick nod. No 'good luck', it seemed too trite. But he did clutch Felix's forearm briefly before the kid departed. Ezra sat back, looking over at Luther. "He'll be fine. He's always fine, isn't he?"

[luther] Instead of consoling Ezra, Luther immediately jumps on him with questions. "So, a hickey, huh? You animal. Where'd you do it, because it wasn't in the bathroom. Were you so hot for him you did it in /public/?!" Luther gasps, doing a bang up job with sound accommodations to his own story. "Are you dating now? Felix plans to invite you to a date when this is over, you lucky asshole. He he he." It's all great, because the ear piece is totally working, so Felix is getting a live stream of the show --- sound wise at least.

[ezra] Dammit. Ezra bristled, annoyed that Felix wasn't here to reap the rewards of his own damn prank. Luther was actually waiting to get Felix out of the car, like Felix was some blushing bride in an arranged marriage. He tugged his jacket tighter and shifted in his seat, giving Luther a sour look. "Shouldn't you be asking for the details from your bee-eff-eff," Ezra said, the term 'bff' coming out a little awkwardly in his mouth. Once Felix gave the signal, Ezra took the remote. "Let me concentrate I need to get this done just right...." He steered the car out in the front of the depository, driving it around in front like waving a carrot in front of a burro. Eventually as it drove slowly away, Ezra sighed and let the thing explode. Such a pity. But it did the trick - the guards went running and Felix had his clear to get inside the building. Ezra replied to Luther, hoping Felix was hearing them talk, at the /very/ least. "While you were in the bathroom, and yes in public. We're in Brooklyn, no one cares here."

[luther] "Oh, trust me, Felicity and I will talk about this a lot later," not that Felix will want to talk, but Luther has ways of making that happen ( it usually involves food, or hugs, or nagging ). Luther isn't even impressed by the explosion, because Ezra is stalling! "Okay, so here's the thing --- you need to be very nice to Felix, because he likes nice people. He's just a little dumb and doesn't realize it, or if he does, he denies it in his own head. He's not a fan of flowers, but if you want him to ever forgive you --- use food."

[ezra]  'Felicity'. Christ almighty. The longer Luther talked, making actual plans for Ezra and Felix, the more agitated Ezra got. Felix needed to be here to diffuse everything! The mission was the important thing right now! Ezra took the bluetooth back from Luther, taking it off of speakerphone so that Felix didn't have to hear anymore. The kid needed to concentrate on his work right now. Ezra raised the binoculars, as he answered Luther. "You've tried giving him flowers before?"

[luther] "Hey! My earpiece..." Luther rubs his now empty ear, feeling like he just got scolded. "Yeah, when he was in the hospital. I had Bob bring fresh flowers every day. It's good for lifting up someone's mood, usually."

[felix] He hadn't gotten to see the explosion, which was sad, but he'd sure as fuck heard it, and it had given him the opening he'd needed to get in through the roof. It turned out these assholes were terrible interior decorators. Like, really bad. Also, on the topic of things that were really bad: Ezra and Luther chattering in his ear about goddamn flowers. "Hey Starscream, I'm seeing a Backstreet Boys poster on the wall," Felix announced as he wired a camera. "It's concerning. Ask Optimus if he wants a souvenir. I can totally grab it."

[ezra] "I'll keep that in mind..." Ezra paused and looked over at Luther. "That was very sweet of you, though." Ezra returned to Felix, "Eye on the prize, Bubble-Butt, don't get distracted by pretty boybands." But Ezra himself was distracted however, when another car came screeching past them and towards the depository. "Ay chinga, what - what the hell --" Ezra sat up, ignoring Luther for the moment as he watched five guys piling out of the car, heading into the depository. "Felix -" Ezra said, forgetting their codenames as he spoke through the mic. "Incoming, what's your ETA?" But whatever Felix's situation was, Ezra knew he couldn't get out, not with five guys charging in through the front door. Ezra made sure he was holstered properly, before getting out of the car. "Luther I'm going to give Felix a hand. You know how to drive right?" He handed Luther the bluetooth. "Keep this, and when we need you, we'll call. You got it?"

[luther] Now, Luther's mind works a little differently than Ezra's, because when he's asked about driving, he doesn't think it's done with the intent of him running away. "Yeah, sure. Go," Luther nods seriously, sliding in the driver's seat. "Bumble-ass, how long do you have left on the mission?" he asks, turning the engine on and driving the car towards the newcomers, after taking a sharp turn, wheels screeching. "I'm gonna get them off your ass for now, so let's say, ten minutes?" Luther crashes the side of his car into the newly parked car, managing to knock it backwards and trap a couple of guys between their car and the wall. The attack results in open fire, which Luther isn't too impressed about, due to his bullet proof vehicle.

[felix] What the fuck is happening out there? Felix can hear tires screeching and a buttload of footsteps, then more tires, then fucking gunfire, and-- if Luther is getting fired at, Felix is going to kill all of them. Every single fucking one. He was in a sideroom when the commotion started, and he can hear three guys making their way through the building. Ugh. "Ezra, fucking stay where you are," he says, bland and mission-appropriate, despite the cursing. "Or get to shelter. Either one. I'll deal with the assholes in here. You just keep Luther safe."

[ezra] "You have got to be fucking kidding me..." Ezra mutters under his breath, as he watches Luther blithely drive forward in their getaway car and careen into the other car. It was well-executed of course, but the repercussions, ay dios mio . Why did no one ever thing of the repercussions? This was supposed to be an in-and-out mission and Ezra already indulged in the explosion of the remote car, and now this. More excitement, more alarms, more suspicion. At this rate, the only thing Ezra could hope for was two things: 1) that these mooks don't suspect the attack is from the MacNamaras; and 2) that they don't grasp why they were attacked in the first place, hopefully assuming it was just to steal shit not set up surveillance. Oh and 3) that Luther doesn't get his ass killed. Ezra and Felix were expendable but not Luther Sousa. Dammit. Fortunately Ezra still had Felix on his phone, and he trusted the kid to make it through. Protecting Luther was now Ezra's first priority - they both seemed to agree about that. He remained outside with a glance towards the building, returning to Luther's car and opening the door to duck behind. "I told you to stay put!" he yelled at Luther, but of course he hadn't actually specified that. His mistake. Three guys now were dedicated to the gunfight outside of the depository, two were incapacitated thanks to Luther's Fast&Furious antics, which left three guys inside for Felix to deal with.

[luther] "Oh my God, you can't just barge into my car and yell at me!" Luther yells right back, shifting gears, so he can completely crush the two men trapped in place. "Grab the wheel, I'll try to shoot the others before they get to Felix," he says, no urgency in his voice (you can tell he doesn't think of this as a life or death situation). Luther pulls his guns out and opens the roof window, popping out to shoot after the remaining men and attract their attention. "Ezra, can you drive into the building? I need better visibility."

[felix] Over his earpiece, Felix can hear Ezra yelling at Luther, and then, faintly, Luther asking if they can barge into the fucking building. Felix wants to be horrified, because it's his job to make sure that Luther does /not/ need to kill people and get shot at, but there's a problem. See, he's killed two of the guys. But the last guy has a fucking submachine gun. And Felix is pinned down behind a goddamn couch. "Uh, guys," he starts, breaking off at another round of rapid gunfire. "Maybe--" more roaring gunfire, "--fuck."

[ezra] "No Luther, jesus christ, I am not driving into the building. Please listen to me," Ezra said, angry now at one more mission completely gone to shit. This was a complete write-off now. The sheer amount of destruction and visibility meant there was no way out of this except with everyone dead. And now there was absolutely no point in surveillance, as the depository would just be moved from here to some other secret location. They'd failed. And now Luther and Felix were both in danger and Ezra could feel his anxiety rise. The only silver lining in this was that Luther /was/ all this time just pretending to be scared of gunshots and the like, because now he was playing fucking Rambo. He was playing it well but /goddammit this wasn't the time/. "Felix, abort the mission, it's over. I'm coming in. Luther - stay the fuck here and wait for me to get Felix out." The gunfight was manageable outside at least, and Ezra could only trust Luther not to get shot. He headed inside, clipping one guy in the head as he passed by. Two guys left for Luther, one guy going buck-wild in the depository. Ezra managed to find Felix and shot the Submachine asshole, but not before Mr Submachine lobs a grenade towards Ezra. The explosion inside is loud and Ezra's thrown like 20 paces back, slammed against a wall. Felix, he notices hazily, is unharmed. Thank god. "Fel - " Ezra burbles, coughing blood not really realizing that he's been blown up just yet. "Luth - outside -"

[felix] Explosions are the game of the day; Mr. Submachine lobbing the grenade gives Felix enough time to finish him off a second later, a nice double-tap in the head to make sure he's really down. He approaches Ezra with no real expression -- no concern or irritation, not now, that'll come later -- and gets a good grip with his prosthetic hand in the back of Ezra's shirt collar. He likes his robo-arm right now: it's sure as fuck strong enough to drag Ezra out.

[luther] Luther's weird instinct leads him inside the building when he hears the explosion, heart racing out of worry for the two lovebirds. It's such a Felix!thing to take the guy out on a shootout for the first date. "F--- Bumble-boo!!" Luther yells, coughing from the smoke created by the explosion. "Ez--- Starscream! Guys, answer m--eeeek!" Luther can feel the nausea rising in him when he finally finds Ezra. Ezra who is bloody and dirty and looks like he's dying. "Oh my God, is he dead?" he asks Felix, rushing over and hesitantly throwing Ezra's free arm over his shoulder, trying not to think of him as a corpse.

[felix] "No, but he /will/ be dead when I'm done with him," Felix mutters. "Did you kill everybody outside?"

[luther] "So, maybe we should leave him off in the hospital wing instead of your room?" Luther offers, being as helpful as ever. "I think so. Haven't checked for pulses. Did you plant the... whatevers? Everyone's dead, so now's like the perfect time to do it, right?"

[ezra] Ezra is disoriented, his ears muted and ringing at the same time. He can feel a hand or a claw grabbing him - it's like being a toy in one of those claw-machine games - and dragging him, and Ezra makes no effort to stop it. He can't, not really. One arm feels crooked and the other is burning in agony, but he doesn't say anything yet. He needs to make sure that Luther and Felix are okay first. He's pretty sure he hears one (or both?) of their voices. Luther's definitely. And Felix's...well who else would have a Terminator hand?

[felix] When they get back outside, two of the idiots are in the middle of staggering upright, looking like they've been run over. Felix stifles a sigh, aims, and very neatly put them both down, like swatting a fucking fly in the middle of a summer stroll. "Yeah, we'll need to take him to the hospital wing when we get back. Help me get him in the back seat, there's no point planting the rest of the bugs."

[luther] "What? No, Felix, look." Luther grunts a little as they try to shove Ezra in the backseat of the car. "Just go in, plant the remaining shit and steal some shit. They'll think we came for whatever, not to spy on them. It's the /perfect/ distraction."

[ezra] Ezra can see them now (sort of, his vision is a little blurred) and he considers struggling to stand up on his own two feet, but there's no real point once they reach the car. At least they're safe and alive and quarreling about something. He grunts, shutting his eyes tightly and wishing this day was over. He was not looking forward to the write-up he'd have to make for the MacNamaras. He was the only one held accountable for this fubar, after all. Not Felix and certainly not Luther Sousa.

[felix] He's as gentle as he can be as he gets Ezra into the back of the car, and if his hand lingers on Ezra's throat to check his pulse, well, he'll admit, he's worried. He doesn't want to go back in there, because the entire place is a bust, now, they'll probably relocate -- but Luther has an interesting point. And it's worth a try. "Alright. Stay here, keep an eye on Ezra. Make sure his breathing's steady. The second it's not, you call me. I won't be long."

[luther] Luther nods and climbs inside the car, putting Ezra's head in his lap, stroking his hair back. "Ezra? You awake? It's all good, Felix is finishing the job. We made it through, man. Total success."

[ezra] This is where the pain finally filters through the shock, and Ezra wants to shake his head, but everything hurts. He feels pillowed though, forcing open his eyes to look up and see Luther staring down at him. "Luth...Optimus..." Ezra says, but honestly tears trail down his face from the pain, even if he doesn't realize he's crying.

[luther] "Oh fuck... Oh, fuck... Ezra, man, come on. It's alright, where does it hurt, hm? Tell me?" Luther starts patting ezra all over, trying to locate the wound and put a hand over it to stop the bleeding. "It's okay, Starscream, I've got you. You're going to be fine. Felix is coming back super soon and then we're getting you home, okay? Don't worry, shhh."

[ezra] "Okay," Ezra said, not really in any position to say much else. He stilled and concentrated on his breathing and shivered slightly because it was getting cold. He knew this feeling, he recognized it. "It's pretty bad, innit," he asked Luther, and in truth Ezra didn't really mind. At least no one else was gong to die. Ezra smiled slightly, his head swimming. One arm definitely looked broken, the other burned badly. The impact against his chest, even with the flak jacket, made Ezra's chest fairly mushy underneath. But he needed Luther to know": "You were fucking badass."

[felix] And with that, Felix is climbing back into the car, slamming the door behind him. The Backstreet Boys poster is tucked under his arm, various drugs and other shit in the backpack. He was just in time to catch Ezra's mumbled compliment, and he snorted. "If you're trying to say your dying words, save your energy. Fucking idiot. Asshole." He needs another insult to satisfy himself as he pulls the car out, sending it screeching out onto the street. "Cockmonger."

[luther] "Felix, he's /crying/!!" Luther yells, interrupting him. "What do I do!? He's old, I didn't know old people can cry, oh my god," Luther stops talking, because now he's crying.

[felix] Oh god, now they're both crying. Felix is in Hell. "I don't know, fucking make out with him or something, that'll perk him right up," he suggests helpfully, squinting out the front window as he tears around a corner.

[ezra] "I'm not crying," Ezra grunts but then has a coughing fit of mostly blood. "Fine...those aren't my last words. My last words are..." Ezra sighs in relief when he feels the car speeding off, because it meant it was over. No more shooting and destruction for today. "...wink wonk."

[asimplecannoli]

I wanna get Ghost Recon Wildlands but I feel like I need friends to play with, but then again I'm not that good at the game, but if you wanna add me on Xbox my tag is Scientistpuppy

[fishphobic]

Toukiden 2 - Underrated Game - My Vita Saver

At first, I was really skeptical about Toukiden as a game. Mostly because of it being the same developer as DW, which is evidently getting more and more lousy over the years. Not only that, it was also partly due to the anime style, which I'm not really into, and the oversized weapon which seems a bit cliche in 'man vs monster' anime games.

At this point of time, English Toukiden 2 have had been released for about a month. I was also neck-deep in Ghost Recon Wildlands. And then I looked at my PS Vita. Stranded there, nothing to do for months. Not even recharged. I was planning to sell it while it's still working. But considering it was a birthday gift from myself, I gave it a chance. I wanted to have a 'melee action' for my Vita and looked at Toukiden 2 again. After going for research around YT and Gamefaqs, I decided to download the demo. Twice I did the demo and was turned off by the talkativeness of the game. Then I gave the demo another chance, starting over clean slate, seriously creating my character, and I decided to get the game.

Unfortunately, the game didn't have a physical version for Region 3 Vita. It made the decision kinda hard again because of the non-sensical price of the game in PS Store. After further calculations and stuff, I bought the game few days later. And I must say, I'm glad adding this game to my library. My opinion about the game turned upside-down. The RPG mechanism worth applause. The characters aren't cringey anime characters. The game balance is great. To put it more eraborately, here goes:

Flexible stats scaling. This game doesn't have Level system intact to your character. Your character has a fixed stat. Your equipments (armor, weapons) determine them. Your equipments have Rank and Level/Upgrade. This means, when let's say you're playing online and meeting with someone with way lower equipment strength than you, you can simply re-adjust yourself to his strength to avoid being over-powered for the stages they are eligible to play in.

Flexible character building Unlike other (J)RPG game that requires you to start over everything you wanna try out a new build, thanks to the Mitama system on this game, you don't have to do that. Mitama gives you weapon skill such as to heal, buff, or debuff, defensive skill that will activate upon hit or death or any other criteria needed, and offensive skill that basically works like special skill that gives significant effect for a short time and long cooldown. On top of this, we have something called Boost. Each mitama has a long list of Boost and you can equip three boost in a single mitama. You will use 3 Mitama and 9 active Boosts in total. This is where it comes to play. You can freely switch and create combination, outside battle zone, and find out some outstanding effect! Complete with the freedom of changing weapon type, as a person who despise re-doing something from square-one just to make a build, I appreciate this game design a lot.

Noob and Pro friendly This game welcomed me a lot as someone who never played hunting game. The way the AI teammate carry you and how they reflect to your equipment makes the game forgiving for noobs and casuals. However, serious player can also take it to the next level by making builds and equipment setups and going solo against hard boss. This is a reminisence to Pokemon. In Pokemon, casuals can just bring any pokemon they like for the rest of the game. While pro players would build a synergic team of Pokemon.

Toukiden 2 is an underrated game. Hell, underrated series even. This is yet another game that has its quality undeservedly buried under other ‘high-rated/famous’ games.

[coumatous]

I had a fun time going to this one of a kind event for avid gamers all over the country. Pinoy Gaming Festival (PGF) 2017 is a very successful event for me by the way. I just wanna thank them for the opportunity to cover all the happenings right there. Well, I attended just one day only which is their last day on April 30. But on the plus side, I am so happy to be part of this event. Now let me tell you on what I covered on that day. Let’s begin.

Pinoy Gaming Festival is a gaming event that focuses on e-sport tournaments. PGF announced that they will be having a 3-day gaming event in which gamers were hyped at that time and willing to attend for some exciting activities, prizes and lots of surprises that PGF brought in store. This event happened on April 28-30, 2017 at the Trinoma Activity Center, Quezon City, Philippines. Pinoy Gaming Festival is the E-Sport Event of the Summer. There aim is to showcase e-sports and gamers never fail them down. In fact, all of them are so happy (including me) because they provide the best festivities, prizes and games for them to enjoy about. 

The event is so huge and with tons of people were attended on its last day. I mean this is literally a festival that you’ll ever think of. Every person has a smile on their face as I go around for my coverage. Everyone is so amaze on PGF. Oh and by the way, this event is also Free Admission for everyone to enjoy and enter the event freely. Let me share you a tour inside the event itself.

Entering the event, they’ll give you raffle stubs, ballers and stuffs. Right after that, I saw the booth of one of my favorite games that I’m playing on, the Just Dance 2017 Booth. My friends were there and they were dance and dance all along as the pumping start of the event. Behind from the booth was the Ghost Recon Booth which these two are under the company of Ubisoft. Ghost Recon is a shooting game that tends to do missions or tasks and clear objectives with some intense action and some kind of a survival insanity because when I saw this game, shooting guns are everywhere in my opinion. But it’s great. One of the best action packed games to rely on.

On the other hand was the Vain Glory Booth with a comfy set for gamers to stay on which is nice. I like the fact of  a living room themed booth with comfy chairs and table in the middle but overall the gamers are so hyped playing their mobile devices and fight along with their fellow competitors right there. Vain Glory is an e-sport mobile game and also tops to the app stores worldwide. 

In addition to that, Project Xandata is on board too. This is a Filipino developed online shooting game for fellow Pinoys to watch out for. Let’s support it guys when its released by public. Well all I can say that this is action-packed, very intense gameplay, and ground breaking game. 

Also adds to this festival is the ViewSonic booth. I’m so shocked and wowed at the same time as they feature some of their best products for gamers that will truly give a good gaming experience like no other. Featuring their XG3202-C (1800R, 144HZ) for Ultimate Immense Performance, XG-2703-GS (165HZ IPS, G-Sync) for Hardcore Gaming Power and XG2401 (1MS 144HZ, Free Sync) that truly dominates when you’re on a match. Gamers were also give a chance to play games like League of Legends and DOTA 2 to experience this products. I wish I can buy one of those someday.

As the main presenter, Globe gives away lots of freebies and perks for solid gamers as a token of appreciation for patronizing their latest promos. Globe also features the Mobile Legends Tournament. Mobile Legends is the top most downloadable and trending game for Pinoys right now.  Thank you Globe for helping on this event.

Bacchus also includes in the festival as they give energy drinks for gamers to pump up their adrenaline. Bacchus made fun activities and prizes for everyone. 

  Garena also joins the party as they giving away lots of free skins for gamers by referring a friend. This booth is the most populous of all though. 

You might wanna check out Gamdias’ featured products though. Those keyboards are awesome to me. Any one of them is perfect for my gaming experience.

Don’t forget MSI though. They featured their best products for your whole gaming experience and very good performance. MSI also gave a chance for gamers to experience the Virtual Reality itself using their VR equipments. 

Pinoy Gaming Festival is really fun. While the booths are busy during the event, the program itself on the last day is also the hype of everybody. Starting off with tons of raffles and giveaways and lots of winners were announced on that day.

  This segment is also the hype of everyone that they’ve been waiting for all along as I watched this match of Sakitan Nights Crew vs. Team Suhweeg in DOTA 2. Now even though I’m not playing this game but the cheering and clapping of fellow gamers brought me here watching this segment. I love the match in my observation. It was very intense and some clutch moments were the ones that will remembered by everyone. But in the end, Team Suhweeg wins against Sakitan Nights crew. What a good game and very sport for these two teams.

  The program also features Disney’s Crossy Road. You can download it now on App Store or Google Play.

    In addition to that, Just Dance 2017 presentation was great. Three of the best crews who won at Avatar EVO Championship gave an astonishing and very wow performance onstage for everyone. 

    I also encountered the moments at Project Xandata Finals Championship. Team ANBU and Team EMZ did a great job defending and offensing the game itself. But overall it was a Good Game Well Played to both of these teams. In the end, Team EMZ wins against Team Anbu. Check these highlights and awardings.

    It was truly an unforgettable experience for me covering this kind of event. And it’s so fun to watch these moments. Thanks again Pinoy Gaming Festival for giving me a chance to cover all the happenings at the E-Sport Event of the Summer. I will tune in for the next gaming event

Pinoy Gaming Festival is organized by Gariath Concepts and presented by Globe. PGF sponsored by Bacchus, Gamdias, MSI, TNC, and ViewSonic with their gaming partners: Garena, Secret 6, Super Evil Megacorp, Ubisoft.

For more info, check out Pinoy Gaming Festival’s Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/PinoyGamingFestival/

  Pinoy Gaming Festival Experience Like No Other I had a fun time going to this one of a kind event for avid gamers all over the country.