#if he was a real guy id shoot him in the back of the head execution style

[crunchsomebones]

Ohhhh manga knives you are so fucking slimy you need to be put down like a rabid dog immediately I love you so much please kill yourself

[sweet3nerrr]

here?

drunk fucking in a pool at a party

imagine back it up- josh baker is playing in the back fr (unreleased so listen on soundcloud TRUSTTT)

---------

"I love this song", you slurred as you tread water in the pool with your friends. it'd been a couple hours since you got to the party and with you shotting back pure vodka, you were pushing drunk. "I know, me t-too", your friend joins in, pushing the water towards you. as you messed around with your mates, a random guy comes over to you.

"god damn, you look fine", he says biting his lip. you ignore him, trying to swim over to your friends who've now swam over to the pool ledge and are talking. "hey, come on, im just tryna get to know you", he smirks standing in front of you. "thanks, I need to get to my friends", you exclaim looking over his shoulder. "dont worry about them, I can give you what you need", his smile now grossly large, eyeing you up and down. "you wanna join me upstairs?", he leans in moving his hands towards your hips.

"fuck off, dude", a voice comes from behind you. you spin around to see billie, your girlfriend. "she's fine here", she adds, wrapping her hands around your waist as she pulls you into her. the water warm on your skin, you smile at her feeling safe in her touch. "uhm, who are you?", he laughs moving even closer to you. billies demeanour changes. she goes from being nice to now looking like she wants to beat the shit out of him. "seriously, fuck off", she says locking eyes with him. he glares at her before calling her a crazy bitch and swimming away.

"finally made it", you mumble as she kisses you, wet skin pressing on each other. "perfect timing too, right?", she teases. the way her two piece swim suit hugs her has you going crazy. her blonde strands falling over her face perfectly. "I told you id come", she says before pulling your thighs around her. not many people were outside but, your friend who was throwing the party calls everyone in to watch her cut her birthday cake. "lets go". you move towards the stairs as billies hand grabs your wrist. "how about, we have some fun, now that everyone will be away, hm?".

she knew what you were like, how risks excited you. "are you for real?”, you ask your voice an octave lower. she nods sliding her hands down to your ass. it was only you guys outside, you could see the silhouettes of your friends faintly through the glass door. they weren't paying any attention to you.

taking the hint, you wrap your arms around billie, kissing her harshly as she roams your body. "fuck me", you whisper, biting her bottom lip. she smiles, showing you she's about to lose control. she turns you around, pressing your ass against her pelvis. her lips connect with the back of your neck, whilst her hand starts dancing near your pussy. "wonder how wet you are", she taunts as she bites your skin. "are my fingers gonna slide in?". the raspiness of her voice has you spiralling. "just fuck me bils", you plead digging your nails into her arm.

billies fingers connect with your clit, shooting sparks through your body. "fuck babe", you cry throwing your head back. 'shh, not so loud pretty girl", she says as she traces the patterns faster around your clit. “right here?". she was cocky. she knew what she did to you, how crazy she drove you. "mhm, faster", you whimper as you grasp onto nothing. the water around you providing a weak structure to grab onto.

billies breath was numbing against your neck as she whispered sweet, filthy nothings into your skin. "tell me what you need sweetheart". "inside me billie, please", you reply, moving her hand towards your throbbing hole. "you can do better than that, beg me". she skins her teeth into your neck as your back arches into her, desperate to feel her inside you. "please billie, please, ill be so good for you", your words broken as she finally pushes into you.

"fuck, youre so tight", she admits as her fingers stretch you out. "sucking me in entirely". she was like fire, burning you in every right place. the tension inside you dared to build as her pace got faster. "youre so fuckimg dee-", billies hand cut you off. she threw her hand around your mouth as faint footsteps got louder. "wait, be quiet love", she whispers as her fingers still move inside you. your eyes roll back.

"okay, they’re gone. let it out sweet girl", she groans as she hits your spot repeatedly. your throat swallowed your moans as you struggled to let her hear how good she made you feel. "bils”, you let out breathlessly, reaching back to tangle your hands in her hair. you couldnt help picture how the two of you looked right now. fuck. it was so hot. her behind you, kissing your neck shoving herself so deep inside you while you threw your head back, echoing her name, chasing your high.

"I can feel you clenching darling", she whines as her pace gets faster and harder. you were seconds away from cumming, feeling as her boy pressed against yours. "say it". "please, let me cum”, you moan as the tension knots in your stomach. the way she clawed at your skin told you she was ready for you to release and so, you did. hard. eyes sealed shut as pained moans spun out your throat that was being attacked by your girlfriends tongue.

you shook as you came down from your high. turning around to face your girlfriend, you leaned into her. "satisfied?", she asks innocently.

[daddychi-01]

Batman Headcanon

Give me a 9 or 10-year-old Dick Grayson who has been Robin for a little bit but is still figuring out his relationship with Bruce Wayne. They are more than a guardian and his ward but not quite yet father and son. They both want that but neither of them have gotten up the courage to say it.

Now give me a hostage situation, during some kind of gala or charity event for the school. One where a lot of rich people and their rich kids are present so it’s very important for Bruce and Dick to be selling the whole secret ID thing, so they have to looking just as pathetic and scared as the other people around them.

The bad guys immediately recognize Bruce Wayne and his brat, and they pull Dick away from Bruce. They threaten Dick’s life, saying that Bruce better cooperate or he’ll have to find a new orphan to to take care of, not like it would be a problem since Gotham has so many.

Dick thinks the fear in Bruce’s eyes is an act. That’s not just Bruce after all, it’s Batman. The Dark Knight. He’s literally not allowed to be afraid, so that look can’t be real.

But it is.

Bruce hasn’t been this terrified since the night he lost his parents. His heart is racing and he has to physically push down a panic attack because that isn’t going to save Dick right now. He doesn’t know what to do. He can’t fight these people, not when he is Bruce Wayne. Without the cape and cowl, he has to be a helpless playboy.

So he does the only thing he can think of: he begs.

Bruce Wayne drops to his knees and he pleads with the masked goons to spare Dick’s life. He’s just a boy. A boy who has already lived through enough trauma. Bruce understands if these people hate him and if they want to hurt him instead, that’s fine. But he begs them not to hurt Dick.

He promises to give them anything. They can have his fortune, his life, whatever they want. Just spare Dick. That’s all he asks.

And a masked woman steps forward, leaning down in front of Bruce with what he knows is a sick smirk. The air around them thins and Dick feels himself shiver fifteen feet away. He hadn’t been expecting Bruce to say any of those things. Sure they were close, they had to be as the Dynamic Duo. But he thought after his parents died, there wouldn’t be another adult who would speak about him like that.

That would care enough to swallow their pride and beg, just for him.

Dick’s ears perk up when he hears the woman speak.

“Anything?” She asks. She sounds delighted, almost like she had won some sort of bet at a bar and not that she was leading a hostage situation.

“Anything.” Bruce confirms.

“Okay.” She stands, pointing her gun in Dick’s general direction. “I want your Mommy’s pearls.”

Bruce’s body freezes in shock.

Dick closes his eyes now resigned. Bruce may have been willing to say he would give anything but those were just words. It was one thing to say it, it was entirely different to actually do it. And Martha Wayne’s pearls were too high a price.

Dick can’t blame Bruce either. He imagined being asked to give up his mother’s wedding ring and felt his stomach turn. No, he wouldn’t begrudge Bruce for changing his mind—

“Done.”

Dick’s head shoots up, eyes wide with surprise. He had to have misheard. Bruce didn’t. He wouldn’t…

“Give me a phone. I’ll call my Butler and he will bring them here.”

And Dick cries. Not because someone is holding him hostage, he doesn’t care about that, but because a wave of realization crashes down onto him with an unforgiving strength.

He isn’t an orphan anymore. He has a dad. Bruce loves him.

Bruce ends up calling Alfred and Alfred, being the badass that he is, gives the Gotham PD a heads up but drives there anyway just so he can sucker punch the woman who demanded his late mistress’s pearls just to psychologically torture his son while holding his grandson hostage.

He then takes the pair home. There’s a small tin of cookies in the back for them to share on the drive back.

[jollyhunter]

The Potato Summoning *1

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE !!! This is for you 🧡 ENJOY!

⋆ ˚｡⋆ CHARACTERS Dean Winchester x @lamentationsofalonelypotato , Sam's also there!

WARNINGS Pure Crack (especially next part), Canon Violence / Swearing, Reader (Lee) is a student at the university, POV's all over the place (imagine it like in an episode)

⋆ ˚｡⋆ SUMMARY Dean must go undercover at a university to solve a weird case of a series of deaths involving potatoes.

⋆ ˚｡⋆ WORDS 2,4k

⋆ ˚｡⋆ J / NOTE Would you believe me if I was to tell you that this was meant to be a drabble or an imagine, but I suddenly imagined it like an episode and just kept going, and now I had to stop myself before your birthday's over and instead make a two part mini series out of this??? Anway, I hope you like it so far, hun! <3

Dean ducks under the police tape, walking up to the body covered by a white sheet, sprawled out in the middle of the campus, while straightening his fake FBI uniform. He's closely followed by his younger brother who almost tore down the tape as he had tripped over his long legs, earning himself an amused smirk of Dean's.

Sam mutters an annoyed, "Shut up, jerk." under his breath, before his focus shifts to the victim in front of them.

"Sure, Sasquatch," Dean quips and leans down to pull back the sheet, uncovering the face of a guy who looks like he's been in his early 20s. The bright sun reflects in eyes wide in shock, the angular face partially framed by middle long, blond hair that's stuck to his sidebuns.

"Isn't that the douchebag who sexually harassed a girl the other day?" Dean asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, Tommie Parsons," Sam huffs through his nose while he flips his notebook open, "That's the third student in two months who dropped dead at exactly 1PM. What do you think? Revengeful spirit perhaps?"

"Or a curse..." - Dean hums and straightens his back to look after a group of female students passing by the crime scene tape, while he continues to mutter, - "Whatever it is, it didn't hop the Blue Line... so it's gotta be tied to the place." His focus returns to Sam, his eyebrows wiggling.

"Looks like we're going back to university, Sammy."

"You mean, I'm going back," Sam retorts with an amused roll of his eyes.

While Dean tries and fails to bite back with some witty comeback, Sam's focus returns to the victim at his feet once more. His eyes roam the poor guy's crumpled body when he suddenly spots something. He tilts his head to the side and crouches down next to him.

"Huh, check this out... Looks like he has something stuck in his throat?" Sam observes with narrowed eyes.

Dean grins smugly while poking the small bulge with the tip of his black leather shoe. It bobs under the pressure and Sam shoots him a side-eye when the surrounding police officers start to watch them with skepticism.

"Ha, I bet he's not used to having something shoved down his throat like that.” Dean stays unperturbed and grins down at the horror-stricken, pale face, “Karma’s a real bitch, huh, Timmy?"

The next Day.

"C'mon, man, couldn't it have been something sexier? Like a sex ed or at least a sports teacher?" Dean grumbles with the phone clasped between his shoulder and ear, fingers fumbling with his tie.

"You wanted the job, don't blame me. It was the only thing available." Sam answers through the phone.

"Yeah but, a - a-" he shifts his phone to his hand and squints at his campus ID "- ‘Expert in South American Household Traditions’, seriously? The hell's that even supposed to mean?"

"You're only a guest mentor. You'll wing it, Dean." Sam sighs on the other side of the call, "Just focus on digging up some dirt on our victims and I'll have a look at our Deep Throater at the morgue."

"Yeah, yeah," Dean mutters while rounding the corner of the hallway, eyes darting around in search of his classroom, "Why can't they label this goddamn maze? This is rid- Agk-" his sentence breaks off into a grunt as he knocks into something.

Or rather, someone.

You land on your ass, papers gone flying across the floor. Wincing and rubbing your forehead which had collided with his hard shoulder.

"Damn, sorry, didn't see ya there," he apologizes and reaches out a hand towards you to pull you back to your feet, "You okay?"

"Yeah, all good," you mumble, patting down your skirt to smooth it out. You notice the scattered papers with a sigh and bend down to quickly collect them and tug them under your arm, "I'm late, sorry-" you mutter without looking at the guy once and about to dash past him when he suddenly interrupts you.

"Uh- Me too, actually. You wouldn't happen to know where I'm supposed to go?" He shoots you a crooked smile and points at his name tag reading "Dr. Phil. Page".

Your eyes widen, and for the first time travel up to meet his emerald ones, intense and glinting in the harsh light of the hallway.

"You're- you're our guest mentor for our special exhibition?"

"Yep. Households expert and the whole package," he chuckles a bit nervously, rubbing the back of his neck, "That'd be me."

The air gets stuck in your throat for a moment and the heat's rushing to your cheeks. He looks cute. And he's really young for a Dr. Phil.?

"Ah," you snap out of it and continue in a flustered manner, "Follow me, Mr. Page, I'm in your class. We gotta hurry tho!"

"Alright then. Lead the way, sweetheart," he smiles at you and your cheeks take a faint pink at the way he called you. But you quickly avert your eyes before you both hurry down the hallway with Dean following you closely.

Four hours and a very 'interesting' take on 'South American Household Traditions' later, you and the rest of the students flock in the canteen of the university.

Your mind keeps going back to your guest mentor. Despite the fact that he almost broke one of the relics of their special Inca exhibition, most certainly got every single date and object wrong and referred to a staff as a 'pokey stick', you couldn't ignore the fact that he had something charming, intriguing even.

Your circling thoughts are interrupted when a voice behind you has you turn to look over your shoulder, canteen tray in your hands. Behind you standing in line, is no other than your new mentor.

"Hey," he nods at you, lips quirked into a confident smirk, "How'd I do?"

"Uhm," you hesitate, mind racing for a kind way to tell him that he'd managed to butcher traditions worth thousands of years in just four hours.

"It was, uh... quite unique?" Mhm, real smooth. You facepalm internally.

"That bad, huh?" he chuckles and holds his plate out for a sausage, his eyes flickering back to yours as they crinkle, amused, "In my defence, it was my first teaching. And I kept getting distracted, y'know." He winks. Your ears flush and you giggle, trying your best to ignore the fact that it almost seems like your mentor is trying to flirt with you.

"Mind if I join you?" he asks casually and nods at the teacher table in the corner, "Ms. Tingles back there is giving me the creeps.”

Your eyes follow his and a cold shiver runs down your back when they settle on your history teacher. Hawk-like eyes of an elder woman bore into yours, face lined with sharp contours and a beak-like nose. And mostly, feared by all.

"Yeah," you breath with a shudder, voice dropped to a mere murmur, just in case the hold hag had developed super hearing, "Miss Tinkle's a real charmer." Dean chuckles amused at your sarcastic tone.

You hand your plate to the next lady who adds a portion of French fries to your meat. And Dean follows suit once you continue to pick your favourite sauce along the fries.

"Here love," the lady scoops Dean an extra portion onto the plate, "You look hungry," she smiles at him motherly. Dean's eyebrows shoot up, a surprised grin forming on his face.

“Well, ain’t you just a sweet peach,"- he leans in to read her name tag before he looks up again and shoots her a boyish grin -"Susan. You keep feeding me like this, and I might just have to stick around permanently."

You both took a seat at one of the outdoor tables, Dean sliding into the bench across of you. It's a lively place, students chattering around you while the atmosphere is warmed by a sunny spring day.

"You sure you want to sit with me, Mr. Page...?" you ask once you've settled down, afraid that he might have only followed you around because he didn't want you to sit alone. He nods, muffling a " 'course" between the French Frie he's chewing on before he swallows and his tongue darts out to lick the salt off his fingertips, eyes never leaving you.

"But you-"

"Just call me Dean," he interjects, that flirty smile spread across his face again, "What's your name, sweetheart?"

"I'm Lee," you smile sheepishly and stroke one of your brown locks past your glasses and behind your ears. He repeats your name under his breath, his smile widening for a fraction.

Then he clears his throat, his face taking on a more serious note.

"Can I ask you, Lee, did you know a Tommie Parsons by any chance?"

"Parsons?" you echo the name, lips twitched into a disgusted frown, "Yeah, heard plenty of him. He was a real ass. And a pervert." As you speak your mind, you realize what you'd just said and you quickly try to allay any wrong impressions, "Not that he'd deserved to die, of course."

"Of course," Dean repeats with a slightly arched eyebrow, "Mind telling me what you know abou-"

He doesn't get to finish his sentence when all of a sudden a loud noise tears through the lively chattering, followed by a girl screaming in panic.

Dean, hunter instincts kicking in, leaps off his seat and instinctively reaches for the colt hidden at the back of his waist, eyes darting around when they zero in on a guy at one of the tables.

He's pale as a sheet, wheezing and heaving like a cat that's trying to produce a furball. Dean's hand hovering over the colt falters.

"Hey- what's the matter?" he asks as he darts over to the table, eyes snapping back and forth between the guy and what was presumably his girlfriend next to him.

"I- I don't know- he just-" the girl stammers, but gets interrupted by her boyfriend's kecking sounds.

"C-c-an't- b-b-" his voice cracks and he doubles over, retching terribly. Dean's hands hover over his back, cursing under his breath, "Shit - hey, c'mon, talk to me!" Eyes roaming his writhing body, he notices how a bulge at his throat starts to form, bobbing right above his Adam's Apple.

Oh no-

The watch on his wrist reads 12:59.

He looks around the place, eyes narrowed as he scans every face in the forming crowd, like he's expecting a witch or a spirit to hide among them. Sure enough, his gaze meets Miss Tinkle. Watching the entire show from the doorway to the canteen, her eyes cold as they lock with his. Dean's jaw clenches, mind racing.

The hunter's attention is suddenly drawn to a backpack on the floor next to them. He looks up at the girl, voice sharp as he prompts, "Is this his?" She nods, trembling.

Without missing a beat, he lunges for the backpack and turns it upside down, its contents spilling across the ground.

"Come on, come on, where's that damn thing-" he grits out, hands rifling through the contents in vain, "Damn it!"

Standing on the sidelines, you can only watch in horror as your classmate scrambles for his water glass, sending fries flying everywhere as he does so, before his face begins to turn blue - and the next thing you know, he slips off his chair and hits the floor.

His body twitches once or twice.

Silence.

Then the campus gong goes off to signal it's exactly 1 o'clock.

Dean leans against the wall of the deserted staircase in one of the university's buildings.

"There was no hex bag," he mutters into the phone, fingers rubbing the spot between his eyebrows, "I don't get it, man. What the hell are we dealing with here?"

"It wasn't your fault, Dean. There was nothing you could've done to save him." Sam reassures him, voice soft even through the crackling phone.

"I should've. I was right there... Damn it."

"You tried your best, okay? You wanna hear what I found out in the morgue? The thing in the guy's throat?"

Dean sighs and runs a hand down his mouth before he regains his usual tone. "Yeah, hit me."

"A potato."

Dean blinks like he must've misheard him.

"A what now?"

"I'm serious. Like a fully grown, unpeeled, raw potato."

"Oh give me a break."

"Just reporting the news," Sam scoff-chuckles and continues to explain, "It even had the dirt on it still. Like it had just been dug up and magically zapped next to his windpipe."

"O- okay- uh, that's a new one," he comments, still confused, "So how's that fit our theory?"

"I'm not sure," Sam mutters, "I was thinking maybe it has something to do with what they ate. If it's not them who're marked by the curse, maybe it's the food?"

"Food?" Dean mutters.

Then his eyes widen in realization. His throat suddenly feels oddly tight, his hand instinctively rubbing his Adam's Apple.

"Oh no..." he gulps, face scrunched up into a grimace.

"What's the matter?"

"Son of a bitch jinxed the fries."

Sam's silent for a moment, then scoffs.

"And lemme guess-"

" 'Course I did, Sammy! It's friggin' French Fries, man!" he arguments before his brother can even finish his (correct) assumption. He turns on his heels in frustration, gaze passing by the window when his voice suddenly drops to a hushed one, "Hold on-"

Sam's questioning voice is now being muffled as Dean clamped his hand over the phone, his focus drawn to a loud discussion below the window in the staircase.

"Christ on a Stake - Bob! I said 'order one hundred potatoes', not 'enough to feed the entire goddamn town'!" An elder man shouts, hands flailing around.

Presumably the cook, judging by his clothings.

"I- I'm sorry sir, I - I didn't- " the boy stammers while he desperately tries to keep the gigantic pile of potato sacks from burying him alive.

Then a new, female voice cuts through the argumentation, her voice final and yet smooth, like poisonous honey, "Don't be so harsh with the kid, Jeff. I bet it was just a mistake. Besides, it could've been worse, right? Everyone loves potatoes."

Dean shifts behind the window, just enough to catch a glimpse at the new stranger.

His jaw clenches at the familiar face;

Miss Tinkle.

He raises his phone back to his ear, his voice low and tight, "You get the witch-killing bullets ready. I'll scope out the canteen and torch their storage room tonight, just in case... before anyone else eats of this cursed crap."

...

Behind the corner of the last step of the staircase, hidden in the shadows... is you. Pressed up against the wall. Hand clasped over your mouth to muffle your ragged breath. Heart racing along your reeling mind.

Witch-killing bullets? What the hell is he talking about? Is he trying to kill someone? And why does he plan on breaking into the canteen tonight to burn their food..?

J / NOTE @lamentationsofalonelypotato (and anyone else for that matter :D ) You have any guesses what's going on yet? 😏

EDIT: Pls ignore any typos or poor writing, I was high with 3 hours of sleep 😂 I fixed one or two things which I just noticed now, nevermind me lalala

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*Disclaimer: Images and gifs are from Pinterest.*

[lovelizards]

It all happened so fast.

One second Sebastian, Sam, and Abigail were all huddled around the table in his room, rolling up new characters for their game of Solarion Chronicles, and the next second his bedroom door had been thrown open by a stranger with slicked back hair and grey gloves.

"H - hey!" Sebastian jumped up, more angry than frightened, "What the hell? Who - who are -?"

"Just a friendly government agent. I'm looking for the boy called Sebastian." The stranger said, his tone sharp as a knife, and his cold eyes flicking between him and Sam.

"Actually, I'm Sebastian," Abigail said, leaning on Sebastian's shoulder with a sarcastic frown.

"I thought it was my turn to be Sebastian!" Sam insisted, as both he and Abigail crowded close around him. Sebastian would have been grateful, if he hadn't noticed the very real-looking gun in the stranger's hand.

"Cute," the man levelled his gun at the three of them.

Abigail froze, her hand gripping his sleeve. Sam let out a shocked breath, then raised a slow, protective arm in front of the two of them.

"Do...do you have a warrant?" Sebastian asked, his nerves making the words feel heavy and strange in his mouth. But, the man looked like some kind of government suit. He had an ID card hanging around his neck, and fancy shoes.

"Yeah!" Sam insisted, "This is messed up! You can't just walk into someone's house and threaten them at gun-point!"

But the man didn't respond.

He crossed the room in a few steps, and grabbed hold of Sebastian's arm. The guy was strong, stronger than he looked, and a manic sort of fear overcame Sebastian in that moment. He yelled, and fought, wrestling with the hand holding him.

Sam jumped on the guy, shouting something about calling the cops - though all of them knew that there were no cops local to the valley.

But Sam was barely an annoyance to the guy, and for one horrific second Sebastian thought was going to shoot at Sam.

Instead, he raised the gun up and cracked him in the head with the butt of the gun. The force of it made Sam's eyes roll to the back of his head, and sent him to the floor.

"Sam!" Abigail rushed over to him as Sebastian was getting dragged away, "You prick! What the fuck is your problem?!"

Again, nothing from the government agent.

He just dragged Sebastian bodily up the stairs, past his sobbing mom and a stony-faced Demetrius, and out into the cold evening in his socks.

Sebastian dug his feet into the dirt, he tried to trip the guy, he aimed punches and kicks anywhere he could, until eventually he got some kind of reaction.

The man let go of his arm for just a second, and then nailed him in the eye with a punch that nearly knocked him on his ass. The pain burst through his head, it burned and throbbed, and it took him a second to regain his balance.

"Quit making this hard, kid," the government agent instructed, "You're not the one I'm after, so - hey!

Sebastian didn't wait for him to finish, he bolted.

But he only made it a few rushed steps before the blast of a gunshot rang his head, and a searing pain ripped through his shoulder.

He stopped, tense, trembling, the fear of being faced with a real ass gun, something that could kill him in an instant - rather than something only from video games - slowly dawning on him.

The man's heavy footsteps came up behind him, and a strong hand turned him around; "You get it now? I don't want to hurt you, but I will. This'll be easier for you if you just comply. Now come on."

He grabbed the front of Sebastian's hoodie, and started pulling him stumbling along, up past the train tracks, towards the summit of the mountain.

Sebastian wasn't sure how much time had passed as he stood there, trembling from the cold and from the fear, near the sharp drop of the summit. Eventually, though, he heard running footsteps coming up the stairs and started.

The man adjusted his grip on Sebastian's hoodie, his leather gloves squeaking quietly, as the two of them watched Eve come sprinting into the summit clearing.

Wait, Eve?

Sebastian blinked.

"Eve?" He asked.

"Sebastian!" Eve cried. She was panting heavily, and clutching a crumpled piece of paper in her hands.

"Eve -Agh -!"

The government agent yanked on his hoodie, and then shoved him out further towards the stretch of open sky. His sock feet tried and failed to grip the loose dirt under him.

"We've been waiting for you, 3V3..."

Sebastian tried to catch his panicked breath. All he could do was grab hold of the man's arm for dear life, and try to stop his heart from beating right out of his chest.

"Eve!" He called, his voice breaking, "Be careful! This guy is dangerous!"

Eve's shoulders were raised, her hands hung at her sides but they were tensed into fists, the way they always were when she was trying to pretend she was fine.

"Let him go," she said, her voice struggling to stay level. She threw the paper to the ground, a letter of warning with a map to the summit, "You want me, you've got me. So let him go."

"How loyal, 3V3. And here I thought you were just toying with the kid, playing at being a human. You're full of surprises."

The man pulled a pair of expensive looking handcuffs from his pocket - awkwardly, trying to manage the gun at the same time. The cuffs were dull grey, and looked electronic, like something straight out of a sci-fi movie.

He tossed them into the dirt at Eve's feet, but said nothing else.

Eve stared down at them for only a second.

"E - Eve, wait - don't! Don't - " Sebastian tried to call, but he faltered and his teeth clicked together sharply as the gun was trained on him again.

"It's okay, Sebastian," Eve said, let out a long, trembling breath.

She picked the handcuffs up, and calmly secured them around her own wrists. The little LED lights lit up once they were on, and an electronic beep echoed out over the quiet of the summit.

"No...no, Eve..."

Eve looked up at the agent with a teary glare.

"Now let him go."

"Hah!" The agent gave one sharp tug on the front of Sebastian's hoodie, and then threw him forward onto the ground. He went sprawling, his legs like jelly, and landed hard on his hands and knees.

"Give me five minutes with him," Eve said, her voice low and kind of scary, serious in a way Sebastian had never heard her be before.

Even the agent faltered, then huffed a sigh.

"Two minutes."

Eve rushed over to Sebastian, dropping down onto her knees and reaching her cuffed hands out towards him. Sebastian had already pulled himself up, he held her arms, looking down at the handcuffs, trying to remove them.

"Eve - Eve, wait - we can figure this out -!"

"It's okay, Sebastian - listen to me -"

" - let - let me try to, just hold on -"

" - Sebastian. Sebastian!"

Eve stilled his frantic hands, clasping them in her own.

"I can't just let him take you..." Sebastian groaned, lowering his head so she couldn't see the infuriating shine of tears in his eyes.

Eve pulled him into a tight hug, her face buried in his hair, and her voice a broken whisper in his ear.

"Go to Rasmodius. The wizard - go find him in Cindersnap. Tell him what happened - tell him to contact Mr. Qi -"

"W - wait - wh - who? Eve, w -"

"Time's up." The agent called, his footsteps a threatening sound as he approached.

"Do what I said, Sebastian - it'll be okay - agh!"

Eve was hauled up by her wrists, and even though she didn't try to fight or get away, the agent handled her roughly. Sebastian felt the fire of fury in his gut, but shock and sorrow were too strong to overcome.

"Please just let her go!" He shouted, hating how much like a little kid he sounded and scrambling up to his feet as the agent started dragging Eve away.

"Stay right there, kid."

Sebastian stared down the barrel of the agent's gun, desperate to chase after them, but frozen in his spot.

"It's okay - it's okay Sebastian!" Eve kept saying, and then, "Take - take care of Reggie for me! And - and the farm animals! Please -!"

Sebastian opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say anything else, the agent pressed a finger to his ear, muttered something, and both he and Eve flickered out of sight - leaving him alone on the summit, with strange instructions to follow, and a terrible ache in his chest.

[deluluaboutlulu]

Seeing what you commented about his booking photo is something I think about almost daily... I wonder if he was crying right before it was taken. Mind you, that's a suicide vest they have on him.

I’m sorry, that’s a fucking WHAT!?! I thought that was just some sorta weird exam gown for when they do their full body searches and shit (imagining him getting cavity searched literally haunts me. Idk if that’s something they would’ve done then or if they do that when you’re actually convicted and sentenced? I could google it but I’m already typing this out and too lazy to switch screens)

They said at the time of arrest he started shaking really bad. Some people took that as “oh yeah he was obviously scared because he did it and knew he got caught.” (Sorry anon I know this is kinda going WAY off but I was thinking about this last night).

So two cops approached him at McDs and asked he pull down his mask. He complied. They asked for ID. He gave them the fake ID he’d used in the hostile. Why? IMO, it was to avoid being matched with his real name to any missing persons reports put out by his family and I’m sure he knew they’d put one out. THEN they asked if he’d been to NY recently. Obviously he had. And he obviously knew about the shooting that’d just happened. So the gears start turning in his head that ‘oh shit they think I’M the guy?!’

Now he realizes he just gave them a fake ID and the same ID he’d used in NY at that. He knows that’s gonna look really REALLY bad.

They cuff him and lead him off which is when I believe they search his belongings and find all the “evidence”.

So yeah I can absolutely imagine him BAWLING because he went from trying to simply avoid his family and figure himself out on his own to now being accused of the MURDER of a CEO. And I’m sure he was well aware they’d planted that “evidence” but that now it was his word against theirs and that’s gotta be a helpless feeling. He screwed up with the ID. Somebody pointed out if he had given them a different ID (fake or otherwise) they wouldn’t have had reason to search him cause the name wouldn’t have been the same as the one at the hostile. I don’t think he was worried about that because at that initial moment he probably never assumed they were coming to him as a murder suspect.

The damage that’s been done to this poor boy is irreversible. The PTSD he will no doubt inevitably suffer is something he’ll probably live the rest of his life with. He’s gonna have such a hard time trusting ANYBODY. His dating life was stagnant before all this, it’ll be completely dead afterward. I wanna hold out hope that since he has seen all the support he’s been given that that’ll help him reintegrate back into society a little easier. And yes I’m gonna talk about this as though he’ll be found not guilty and released. Cause as of right now he is Not Guilty. It is up to the prosecuting team to PROVE his guilt, not the other way around.

Again, apologies for such a long-winded reply. I was stewing on this thought for a bit.

[thiefof-trefl]

So I haven't seen anyone compare the (alleged) UHC Shooter to Rodion Rascolnikov, and maybe I'm delusional but that's all I can think about every time new info is released.

Ok so it started when I saw this post

And told my friend "wouldn't it be funny if he saw the og post and it was the last straw? Like when Rascolnikov went to that bar in the beginning of the book and heard other people complaining about that usurer?"

Then I started really thinking about it and maybe I'm doing too much and they're not that similar but this is Tumblr, hear me out:

1. They're hot. Seems silly but being attractive can really change how public views you. Characters in the book often acknowledge Rodion's good looks while being very open and revealing in conversations with him. And sure Tumblr would probably be thirsting after "the Adjuster" even if he weren't conventionally attractive, but the overall public perception of him was greatly positive and I believe it is also due to the halo effect.

2. Personal feelings covered by ideology. I'm not saying the shooting was purely selfish. It had a great impact on the industry and was something many thank him for. But from what we know Mr Luigi had a major back surgery and suffered from back pain. It is very possible his own experience with the healthcare and Insurance industry was what first pushed him to see it as a problem. Rascolnikov struggled financially and kept on borrowing from the usurer leaving every valuable thing in his possession as pledge. His resentment towards her and his own circumstances was converted into an ideology about people superior and people lesser, which validated his decision to murder her.

3. Masterplan and stupid decisions. It's easy to see how brilliant the execution of the assassination was. The place, the timing, the escape. He even managed to leave New York during the manhunt. But there were missteps along the way. Going to Starbucks, flirting with the hostess, reusing the fake id, wearing the same clothes. Dumb little things that could be written off to both stress and arrogance. Reminds me of silly mistakes Rascolnikov did after murder. Dropping a jewellery box on the way out, keeping the bloodied sock, coming back to the murder scene. But that's where I also see a big difference. While Rodion was overcome with paranoia and fear, I suspect (just an educated guess, I don't know him personally) that our Shooter might have felt too... Proud of himself? The assassination succeeded, he escaped the police, left the state and the public at large loves him! I know it would make me feel invincible.

4. Game of cat and mouse. This one's not as big, just a small similarity. They both mock the police. Rascolnikov during in person conversations and the Adjuster by leaving the backpack full of monopoly money. Hilarious in both cases.

And finally

5. Letting the police catch them. It's just a theory, not really backed up by anything other than conjectures, but I can see why it might be true. Rodion Rascolnikov tired of constant paranoia and guilt driving him crazy goes to the police and confesses to murder. The alleged UHC CEO Shooter Luigi Mangione was arrested after being recognised by a McDonald's customer. He was wearing the exact same get up as during the shooting. And though he used a fake id at first he then admitted his real name. One might think he gave up. It's disappointing but I can't blame him if that was his decision. Living on the run is exhausting. In just two days he had already left so many traces and clues. And he killed a rich guy at that, which we all know is not the same as killing a normal person. The family and police would spare no resources to find him and it would go on for a long time. Years of fear and hiding- that's no life. Right now we can only hope the evidence will be found insufficient and he won't get convinced.

So yeah, had to get it out of my head. Sorry for any mistakes and words used in a wrong way, translating long thoughts into English isn as easy as I thought.

Please, please, please let me know what you think, does it make sense or am I crazy?

[alastorssimp]

The Cabin in the woods Chapter 2

**thank you to @jambusygirl55 for the picture!! Here's part two!!**

Warnings: more anxiety, sweet talking, s'mores, swimming,

Spencer reid x Eddie Munson x Logan Howlett x Jade (O.C plus size!) (also not fully proof read..)

Word count 2K..

**anything I missed.. lemme know!!**

Minors dni!!!

~Later that evening~

The fire crackling outside slowly dying, Jade heads back inside getting more coffee for the men, hands slightly shaky. She wasn't used to being around men like them, so confident, so different.. real.

It made her hyper aware of how she looked, she grabs the milk from the fridge and the Sugar placing them on the tray before pouring the last of the coffee into the mismatched mugs, placing them on the tray.

She jumps when she hears a noise behind her, turning she sees Spencer standing at the kitchen table looking at a book he found in the local wildlife, “thank you for the hospitality… and the caffeine”

Jade smiled, just a little, his awkwardness was endearing.. relatable. She hands him one of the mugs he was using as their fingers brushed his ears turning pink.

She smiles at him before she grabs the tray and heads back outside placing the tray on the patio table.

Eddie sitting in one of the folding chairs legs spread lazily with a devil-may-care smirk on his lips. “Your still nervous” he says bluntly watching her.

She blushes while she sits down on one Of the patio chairs, “Well yeah.. I don't normally invite strange men into my family cabin”

Logan laughs. “Smart woman,” he says across from her, Spencer having made his way back outside Jade glances between all three of them, one a nervous genius, one a charming chaos magnetic and one a stoic grizzly With a body made for sin –she couldn't stop the question as it slips out of her mouth.

“So… are you guys together or..?”

That got a reaction.

Spencer Chokes on his coffee, eddie throws his head back with a laugh, Logan just raises an eyebrow

“No” Eddie says when he's done laughing. “We are close.. really close.. but not exclusive.. Not like that”

“But we also don't jump at anyone either” Logan added, voice low and smooth, “takes someone special”

Spencer clears his throat, straightening his sweater vest, “technically, there is a psychological Phenomenon where intense experiences bond individuals quickly. Its sometimes called the misattribution of arousal -like id we were being chased by a bear, we might think we're in love and not terrified-”

“We're not being chased by a bear Spencer” Logan cuts him off with a huff, but there was no annoyance in his voice.. just amusement.

Jade smiled again, then smiled hitting her eyes, Spencer's rambling so full of nervous energy actually helped. She felt her chest loosen a little.. less pressure.. less fear of being judged.

“Thanks” she says softly looking at spencer. “You make it easier” she says softly to him.

He blinked looking at her like she told him he was made of starlight. “I-I do?”

“Yeah” she says with a giggle. “Your grounding”

Eddie shoots Spencer a grin “look at you Doctor Reid, real smooth”

Spencer goes red

Logan stands up rolling his shoulders “ we should give her some space.. its gettin’ late”

Jade Blinked as few times “your leavin”

Eddie tilts his head “unless you want three grown men sleeping here.. on the couch… or your bed” he says with a smirk.

“Do you?” Logan asks watching her closely

The idea did spark something in her belly but she shook her head with a breathy laugh “maybe tomorrow”

Eddie Winked at her “We'll hold ya to that”

She smiles as she walks them through the cabin to the front door, standing in the glow Of the porch light she watched as they headed off into the woods, Eddie humming a tune, Logan silent as a shadow, and Spencer waving bye sheepishly before nearly tripping on a rock.

Once they were gone she leans against the door frame with a sigh, her heart still Fluttering.

~The next morning~

The sun was up and already warming the day when jade stepped onto the dock, breathing in a joying how the sun was already Warming her exposed skin, The once piece sailor moon inspired swimsuit was her favorite, she loved the blue skirt attached to the swimsuit and the bow on the back.. she's never worn it anywhere other than here where no one can see her and make fun of her. Now that she was alone she could breathe and enjoy it.

Her hair tied up into two high pigtails slightly curled at the ends, she sighs as she dips a toe into the water testing the temperature, enjoying the coolness.

She didn't hear the footsteps..

She didn't know they were back..

She didn't know they came back early to see her because they couldn't stop thinking about her.

It was Eddie who spotted her first “holy shit” he muttered eyes wide.

Logan stopped next to him arms crossed but his lips twitching into a smirk.

Spencer nearly dropping the thermos he was carrying “oh.. my God”

Jade turns, eyes wide in shock and stumbles backwards into the lake with a splash.

She surfaces with a gasp. Water dropping down her face and off of her eyelashes. She wipes her face sputtering, heart pounding for All the wrong reasons.

‘THEY SAW ME!!’

They stepped fully into view, eddie grinning, logans jaw tight, his expression unreadable and Spencer..poor Spencer looking like he was going to pass out.

“I-im so sorry!!” Spencer blurts out, hands flying up. “We weren't -we didn't mean to -uhh.. spy or interrupt or-”

“That was a good splash!” Eddie says casually ignoring Spencer's meltdown.

Jade stays in the water the surface barely covering her chest, tugging self consciously At the skirt in the water while blushing. “I didn't think you were coming Back this early.”

Logan crossed his arms tilting His head “we did say we were coming back tomorrow”

“I-right” she says still fiddling with her bathing suit skirt. “I just didn't think it was going to be this early ”

“Trust me” Eddie says smirking as he walks towards the dock. “I Would have been here sooner if it meant seeing you in that”

“Eddie!” Spencer hissed, clearly Dying of second hand embarrassment for all of them.

Jade looked away biting her lip. Part of her wanted to be swallowed up by the Lake and never come Back, but the other part… the part that tingled with how they were looking At her? That part didn't mind being seen.

“I don't wear this bathing suit often and I love swimming in it.. I love swimming in general” she says softly trying not to sound nouvous.

Spencer perked up immediately, clinging to something safe to talk about. “Swimming actually engages nearly every muscle group in the body and is one of the best low-impact forms of cardio. It improved lung capacity, circulation and-”

Logan cuts him off with a grunts. “I'm sure she knows that already Spencer..”

Eddie crouches at the end of the dock his arms resting on his knees. “So you don't wear this everytime you go swimming? Why save it for only out here?”

Her face goes red “it's my favorite.. but i don't wear it near people.. they stare and laugh” she says instantly feeling super exposed.

Spencer speaks up “well I think it suits you. I like it a lot”

She glances at him, the way he was watching her now -less nervous, more captivated.. sent something fluttering in her belly.

She looks at the men standing at the dock. “Do you guys swim?”

Eddie grins “I bathe.. does that count?”

Spencer shakes his head “i don't usually.. im not great with deep water”

Logan shrugs “ill swim if it's hot enough.. or if there's a reason”

Jade swimsuit in a slow circle emboldened by the way their eyes follow her every move. The cool water her armor, under the surface of the water for body felt less exposed.. less judged.

“You guys can come in if you want” she smiles

Eddie shrugs off his jacket immediately “say no more” as spencer looks at him “but we didn't bring swim shorts-” Logan looks from eddie to Spencer “that ever stop you before?”

Eddie then pulls off his shirt revealing pale skin inked with glorious tattoos “not me”

Spencer looks at Eddie then to Jade.

“We don't want to make you uncomfortable..” he says softly looking to the water

Jade smiles at him. Heart fluttering, “you won't” she says whole heartedly meaning it. For the first time in a long time she doesn't want to hide.. not from them.

She watches as Eddie does a cannonball into the lake with a dramatic yell, he surfaces with a grin “this is better than i imagined”

Jade laughs pushing a few stray hairs from her face as Eddie swims closer to her with a lazy but confident stroke.

Spencer sits on the edge of the dock taking his shoes and socks off placing them by Eddie shirt and jacket, he then dips his toes into the water as he watches Jade and Eddie swim. “im not a very confident swimmer” he says softly, voice tight with nerves.

Jade swims up To him, her fingers grazing his toes barely a touch just enough that he gasps sucking in a breath.

“I'll keep you safe doctor” she says smiling up at him.

His blush could have boiled the lake.

Behind them Logan leans against One of the posts in the middle of the dock, arms crossed over his chest. He hasn't moved much since they stepped onto the dock. Just silently watching, jaw tense, mouth set in that not-smile of his.

“You know” Jade says as she starts to float on her back completely at ease now, “you can join us” she says looking at Logan.

Logam snorts “Not my scene” he says almost grumpily.

Eddie swims up beside Jade, flicking water at her with a cheeky grin “that man Broods harder Than a Victorian ghost. Come on Logan, loosen up.. the waters nice”

“No” Logan says looking at them.

“Pfft” Eddie scoffs, “you afraid of a little water?” He says with a teasing grin.

Logan just glares at Eddie, Jade giggles and that's when Eddie looks at Jade with a mischievous glint in his eyes and he strikes, swimming to the other side of the dock he carefully hoists himself up in one smooth motion, just behind Logan.

With the devilish Glee of a gremlin he shoves Logan into the water.

The splash was like thunder, a beat of silence then Logan surfaces with a snarl. “your dead munson”

Eddies already in the water on the other side of the dock swimming for his life while laughing.

Spencer wide eyes scrambles back a bit on the dock,

Jade turns as Logan stalks towards Eddie “swim Eddie” she says louder, Logans eyes locked onto Eddie..until they snap to Jades.

Meanwhile Spencer had come back to the edge of the dock dipping his toes back in, trying to pretend he wasn't staring at Jade as she laughed and swam around,

She turns and smile up at him “you okay up there?” She asks while slowly swimming towards him.

“Y-yeah” he says rubbing his arm awkwardly.

“I just don't want to drag anyone down”

“You wont” she says with a smile. “Come on ill help you” she says holding a hand up to Spencer, standing the water was just under her chest. “See it's not too deep here” she says softly.

Hesitantly Spencer undoes his sweater vest, unbuttons his shirt placing them by his shoes, then he hesitantly reaches out before taking her Hand, it was a gentle touch but it was anchoring, warm despite the cool water. Her slid into the water with the grace of a startled giraffe gasping as the water hit his stomach. “Its c-cold” he stutters

“You'll warm up” Jade says with a smile as she looks up at him “here let's slowly walk backwards” she says taking a step backwards he Grabs her waist to steady himself both of their breaths hitched at the same time, Jade stares up at Spencer, not moving.

Eddie pops up from under the water “i'm starting to think doctor Reid has a thing for mermaids” he says with a smirk.

Logan swims by watching with slightly narrowed eyes - not with jealousy. It was something else, hunger, maybe.. or restraint.

Jade pulls back slightly, heart hammering from Spencer's hands on her, and from how he didn't pull away, his hands stayed put.

[sincerely-bats]

Purely fluff in this modern au of the BOYS. The true otp. The THROUPLE.

The art here was crafted by one of my favourite human beings! Sooooo, thank you to @cant-help-but-self-ship who created the lovely header art for this drabble!

Anyway, this one is very short because I was sleepy when writing it hshdhshdj

Zoro groaned as he sat in the drivers seat, staring out the window on his side, muscular hand grasping the frame while the other rested on the bottom of the steering wheel wheel, index finger tapping impatiently. “Is never going to hurry the hell up and get out here. It’s been ten minutes.” He offered impatiently.

Luffy glanced over, leaned all the way back in the passenger seat in a bored fashion, absently picking his ear with his pinky. “This isn’t his place.” He pointed out simply.

Squinting at the house, and then adjusting to turn his body toward Luffy, Zoro cocked a brow. “Yeah it is.” He responded, tone laced with a defensive quality that had Luffy sighing.

“Nope.” The shorter of the pair chuckled a bit and moved to speak when Zoro’s phone rang. Glancing at it with a level of nosiness that rivalled a child, Luffy picked the device up and looked at the ID, already opening it and accepting the call. “Rainy!” He started happily, putting the phone on speaker.

Rayne hummed softly, speaking with a curious lilt, “hey, Lu. Where are you guys?”

Luffy went to answer, but before he could, Zoro was taking the phone into his possession which had him laughing quietly, the combination of Zoro’s misplaced annoyance, and Rayne asking the ever poignant topical question was like comedy gold.

Shooting a small look of displeasure Luffy’s way, Zoro shook his head and sighed. “Well, if you look outside you’ll see-“

“No one? An empty driveway?” Rayne interrupted dryly, unable to help himself in doing so.

Almost immediately, Luffy was howling with laughter, elbowing Zoro gently. “See?” He grinned, a playful gleam in his brown eyes.

Groaning and raking a hand through his green spiked hair— messing it up further— Zoro shook his head. “Quit playing around!” He insisted.

“I’m not-“

Luffy leaned over Zoro’s lap to speak into the phone, grinning wolf is holy now, and it was almost like his face would split in half if he grinned any wider as he laughed. “Zoro got lost!”

That much had been obvious.

“Luffy.. my dearest heart… can you tell me where you are?” Rayne asked with a bemused tone, absently tapping the back of his phone.

Zoro sat there, hand resting on Luffy’s lower back as he listened with displeasure, not wanting to actually admit that he had gotten lost despite it being obvious that he had.

Nodding to himself as if Rayne could see him, Luffy hummed. “I think a block away. He got us closer than usual.”

Zoro swatted Luffy’s butt gently for that, crossing his arms and glaring out the window in his own form of displeasure that Luffy liked to think of as sulking and pouting— mostly pouting.

Rayne chuckled. “This is why he should never drive.” He responded in a singsong fashion, raking a hand through his ruddish hair, fixing his long teal braids over his shoulders after, the fidgeting easing his mind.

“Mhmmm.” Luffy agreed, sitting back up and swinging his feet onto the dashboard. “I bet whoever’s driveway we’re in is probably freaked out.” He offered absently.

Zoro couldn’t help chuckling at that. “Fine. I’m at the wrong place..” he murmured, starting the car up again now that Luffy had his phone. “I’ll be there for real in five minutes.” He insisted, shifting the car into reverse and pulling out of the current driveway.

“I won’t count on it.” Rayne teased affectionately.

Luffy beamed, making himself comfortable. “Turn left, Zoro.” He mused, pointing in the direction he meant, making sure the taller man did so instead of somehow going the exact opposite direction. “I’ll keep him in line this time.”

AH. There it was.

Rayne let out a huffed laugh and shook his head. “You let him go the wrong way on purpose didn’t you….?”

“Yep!

——————————-

Rayne shook his head as he hung up his phone, having stayed on the line just long enough to be able to gauge that they were already getting closer.

Because Luffy and Zoro were on the right path this time, the man grabbed his house keys and wallet, heading outside, locking the door after himself before sitting on the front steps patiently.

They had likely missed out on the movie viewing they had been planning to go to, but that was fine, they could just go and get coffee and hot chocolate instead…. Maybe go for a small walk together.

He was snapped out of his thoughts as the sound of a car screeching to a halt in his driveway pervaded the air, head lurching up to look, relief flooding him.

Standing up carefully, the auburn haired man headed for the vehicle— a simple beat up old thing Zoro had only been able to afford because he had convinced Naomi to loan him the cash— he still owed her a fair amount of berri because of it, but apparently it had beeen worth it.

“Hey my darlings.” Rayne hummed, leaning into the driver’s side window and kissing Zoro on the cheek before climbing into the back seat of the car, already leaning forward to kiss Lufffy’s cheek, nuzzling the soft olive skin.

Zoro hummed, seeming calmer from the gentle touch. “We’re missing the movie.” He pointed out simply, earning a nod in reply.

Luffy nodded his agreement, undoing his seat buckle and climbing into the back which earned a shout of protest from Zoro as he took a flip flop to the shoulder as black haired man pushed into the back of the car.

Laughing, Rayne made sure Luffy didn’t hit his head. “Yeah, I was thinking we just go to the coffee shop instead, get you and I some coffee— Luffy a hot chocolate— maybe a few cookies, and then we go for a walk in the park?” He suggested.

Giving a thumbs up, Zoro pulled out of the driveway. “Yeah, that’s fine.” He agreed, not visibly excited, but still happy by his standards regardless if it was a visual joy or not.

“Yeah, sounds great to me!” Luffy, the total opposite of Zoro in showing excitement, was all smiles and bright eyes. “I get food out of the deal!” He laughed boisterously, the sound like music to Rayne’s ears.

Rayne smiled fondly and kissed his cheek, occasionally reminding Zoro of which directions they needed to go, his eyes locked on the road to ensure they didn’t miss any turns.

“Free food, even.” Rayne offered absently, more than happy to pay for everything today, especially since Zoro was driving (like always).

“I get FREE food out of the deal!” Luffy corrected with a grin, adjusting in his seat to hug Rayne as a form of thanks.

Apparently I am on a writing kick at the moment! Who would have ever guessed, ya know? I guess thanks to my brain for being obsessed enough with Sam yesterday to write something and open the floodgates after all this time??? Me, writing consistently, who would have thunk it??? WHat’s neXT?! Me writing something about my ship with Dick?? My ship with Remy?? My platonic ship with Wally?! Familial ships with the Addams Family??? NO ONE KNOWS. NOT EVEN ME. Yeehaw!!

The tag list! @tex-treasures , @sugar-and-pearls , @cant-help-but-self-ship

If you would like to be added to the tag list, let me know!

[stabbyfoxandrew]

#14's Past

I finally got over the cringe so here I am with OC stuff again! If you remember, we left off with Fay joining the mob. If you haven't read Introducing #14!, you should probably go do that and meet my little guy before you read this. :)

Solo:

After working for the Butlers (Marcus' family) for a while, Fay garners quite the reputation. He handles pressure well. He's smart and quick on his feet. Though he hasn’t got a driver’s license, he’s a hell of a wheel man. He also does just as he's told and knows how to keep things under his hat. After Big Marcus (Marcus’s dad) insists on teaching him to shoot, they learn he's a crack shot. With such great qualifications, he ends up becoming a gun for hire. A freelance assassin, if you will. 

So he bounces around the country working for a lot of horrible people and becoming one himself. He goes by Ghost on the job— because he’s nineteen and thinks it sounds cool. (Loser. /affectionate.) His occupation gets his name out on various and numerous hit lists. Of course it's never his real name. No. He holds Aaron Farris close to his chest. No one but his ex teammates and the Butlers know him by that name.

Speaking of names, he's got plenty of them. A dozen aliases, carefully crafted by Big Marcus, kept stashed away in a binder. Every page details a different persona. He's got IDs tucked inside as well as reminders of how they act, speak, dress, etc. And the contacts he has for each of them. He's a very organized motherfucker. And he keeps this well guarded. It's his entire life. Or, lives. 

Swapping into a different persona is easy. Sometimes too easy. But it pays well. He can slap on a new accent and change his clothes and it’s like he was never there in the first place.

Familia: 

After a while, Fay hangs up his Ghost persona and starts doing other mob work. In doing so, he ends up earning himself a spot under Tony DiAngelo, eventually becoming his right hand man. Tony grows to think of him as a son, calls him Luka. (“Ya know. That’s what I woulda named my son, if I had one.”) Fay stays in Los Angeles for over a year, working for one of the biggest players on the west coast. 

Until the feds catch up to Tony and raid his building. He and Fay are in his office, in the penthouse when one of his sentinels comes to warn him. Tony tells Fay to take the fire escape and run. Fay doesn’t want to, but Tony tells him he’s ‘too goddamn young’ to get caught up in this. Tony pushes his wallet into Fay’s hands and tells him to get the fuck out or Tony will shoot his ass. (“You wouldn’t.”/ “I’d rather kill you than drag you to prison with me.”) So Fay flees down the fire escape, feeling like a traitor.

With his life ripped out from under him yet again, Fay sees no other alternative. He goes back to what he thinks he’s best at. Being quick and quiet, unknown. He becomes Ghost again and writes letters to his imprisoned father figure. He never gives details, just lets him know he’s alive. Signs them all 'Luka DiAngelo', a boy who never existed.

Settling Down:

By 22, Fay is tired.

He’s killed more people in the past year than he's spoken to. He's got no real friends left, only contacts. No family, only employers. He's been living out of seedy motels and storage units. He's got no stability, no one to depend on. And... He's starting to imagine things, hearing and seeing things that aren’t there. Haha. The pressure must be getting to him... 😅😬

One night after a job goes wrong in North Carolina, turns out killing a senator is pretty tricky, he hauls ass out of there and heads South. He gets as far as Columbia, SC, before running out of gas. That's when he coasts into a hotel parking lot and gets himself a room. He's scared to death and shaking, afraid he's been followed. That they're going to find him. That the man who hired him is going to kill him for failing. After sitting and watching the window all night, he decides he has to get out of this business. He has to. Before he cracks up completely.

After a few days of trying to decide what to do, he hears that Kevin Day is officially playing striker for the Foxes. If he could get a new start after his world fell apart, maybe Fay could do the same. After all, the university is so close. And he’s got money saved up. And it would be fun to watch Kevin play… So he makes a call to Big Marcus, asks him for a favor. Once he receives his new identification papers in the mail, he applies and gets accepted.

Okay! That's all for his past, unless anyone wants to know anything specific. Next post we'll be seeing Fay at PSU, perhaps meeting the Foxes... Also if you have any questions about this loser from my mind, please send me an ask. I will be so happy to talk about him!

fay's friends: @joanofexys @ordei @themundanemudperson @felixvanhuss (if you'd like to be tagged next time, let me know! and if you don't wanna be tagged anymore, let me know.)

[terrence-silver]

poly john and terry who acts like kids by triggering each other’s ptsd because of a argument then both seeking beloved’s comfort.

Something tells me Terry Silver and John Kreese don't believe in triggers.

What? These guys right here?

Yeah, no.

Part of me feels they don't even necessarily believe in PTSD in the classical sense either, even though they both clearly have it in abundance; that they (especially John) might very well think it's a bunch of weakling wimp snowflake New Age nonsense people made up to justify their own weaknesses, hang ups and inadequacies and that 'back in the day' people pulled themselves up by the bootstraps. That people pulling themselves up by the bootstraps is what provided the backbone of this great, big country. Bootstraps are what make a soldier a soldier. That a real warrior doesn't complain even if something hurts. That a real man doesn't, in fact. Does pain even exist? Not in this dojo, it doesn't! Make no mistake, Terry Silver believes in this to the very core of his being just as much as John Kreese does, seeing as how they're both people born somewhere in the midcentury and have a midcentury mentality embedded into the very fiber of their beings, so if they're here 'triggering each other's PTSD' from their own point of view, it could be just them hazing each other and shooting the breeze for old times sake. Boys will be boys. They see no fault in it. It's harmless from where they're standing. (Although, God help anyone from beyond of their sphere who tries doing the same to either of them; the vengeance will be swift and fierce. It could be done over something as miniscule as someone merely looking at either of them the wrong way even though they might have done much worse to each other. They can. Others cannot.) They see it as bonding. All of these things are bonding to them. They might be outright laughing and cackling like hyenas while they're doing it and anyone looking in from an outside perspective might just see two men ---- two old friends ---- hanging out, having an awfully good time. And they are. They truly are. They are very much like rumbunctious, happy, hyper kids.

That's the thing about trauma; often times, you don't even know you have it.

Often times, you might even get angry if someone suggests you do.

Hey, for all Terry's concerned, especially in the 80's, he returned from Vietnam trauma-free! He left that crap behind! That crap don't affect him! He only ever references war as hell when it's time to play pretense and deliberately garner sympathy from Mr. Miyagi and Daniel, almost like he's parodying the notion of war being hell and he's only the verge of bursting into laughter the whole time. Might as well be a joke to him, because it is a joke to him. He believes himself above it, in ways. He's untouchable! There's ego there. He's a businessman, a Billionaire, entrepreneurial, charming and perfectly well adjusted and I figure it's only until he actually went to therapy decades later that it was the first time in his life he's actually heard from someone else's mouth that he isn't doing okay and never was doing okay. It just never crossed his mind before that he was anything but an immaculate diamond.

For all John's concerned, on the other hand? Someone merely suggesting there's something the matter with him might downright earn you a death stare at best, because it harkens back to all the times someone referenced his mentally unwell mother as a negative and every time he's heard someone calling veterans unstable in the years since returning from Vietnam --- every time John scoffed at the notion as the stupidest and probably most offensively pathetic thing he's ever heard in his whole goddamn life. What did you just say to him? You implying he's sick in the head or something? That he's damaged? Him!? That he doesn't know his own mind inside out better than anyone else? If anything, he's tougher than most people out there! Stronger! Smarter. He's a survivor! You're an idiot and you don't know what you're taking about and you should go back to Pansyville at Cry me a river street where you belong.

You whiny primadonna, you.

Meaning that by the time they come to their shared beloved for comfort, they merely see it as them doing what all men are supposed to do; what all men do in general --- return to their loved one to be with them. They don't see it as them being weak and needing to be 'helped' in any sort of way, even though they do. They don't see themselves as triggered or unstable. In pain. Upset. Sad. That grip of fingers they have around beloved? Why, it's always been that firm and needy. They don't need a life raft. What makes you think that? They had a fantastic day and they laughed like crazy. In fact, they might be laughing still, eyes all shimmery and shiny with mirth, all while embracing beloved collectively, unsure why they'd think something as silly and as untrue as them being raw about something.

[dc-polls]

"That Really Happened?!" DC Comics Tournament Entry #5

Superman's Sentient Excised Tumor with Daddy Issues

[ID: A comic image of Kancer, a giant inhuman monster looking creature with a long head like the alien queen, wrapping his tail around Superman's torso. He has many green spikes that resemble kryptonite crystals coming out of his back and tail, and he has a lot of green dots on his body that are either eyes or glowing orbs. Superman shoots him with laser vision. /END ID]

What Happened?

A villain (Pokolistan Zod) enacted a complicated scheme to give superman a tumor. He had a tumor, and was almost dying until Superfam excised it from him. However, Zod took the tumor and used science to turn it into a sentient creature called Kancer, who then started mass murdering people to get Superman's attention. He calls Superman "Father" all the time and feels close to him because he came from him literally (aside: We also see the villain literally looking at Kancer's growth tank and saying "congratulations, Superman, we're fathers..." Everyone says that Kon El with his retconned story is Lex and Superman's canonical baby but they ignore Superman and Pokolistan Zod's first canonical baby???) Anyway. Kancer offers to become Superman's pet (?) and stop killing people if Superman kills Krypto, his dog, to give him a space (and prove he's important). Kancer at some point reveals he knows Superman is Clark Kent, due to having been literally growing inside him, and is debating telling Zod his secret identity and will if he is rejected. Clark angsts about this, and Kancer goes to Pokolistan where aside: Guy Gardner has been repeatedly killed and mutated until he's lord of hell due to crossover events from OWAW. Guy tells superman he has to take his place in Hell or something bad will happen. Superman doesn't want anyone to die or go to hell but agrees because reasons. Krypto tries to kill Kancer and Superman stops him (Krypto) which inadvertently convinces Kancer Superman loves him for real and he takes GUy's place in Hell to save Superman. Guy is non-plussed about this and says he was going to hell anyway because he killed so many people but also he was a literal baby how was he supposed to know murder was wrong? Anyway, I don't think anyone had "Superman's sentient tumor with daddy issues becomes a serial killer and sacrifices himself in Hell" on their DC bingo card. Also this was all main canon and not an AU, with Clark Kent Superman.

--

Tournament polls will be posted after all entries are up. As always you can find all posts related to the tournament using #dc-polls-trh

[writtenx]

Finding You - azngami

(part 1)

Hey guys!!! This is my first fanfic on Ryan, it will be in parts. I'm a somewhat new, but like re-new star if that makes sense. I knew of NSB (Ryan first) in 2022 and then there was like this random fallout, but we backkk and better than ever!

The idea for this fic just randomly came to me. I kind of imagine this as like black haired long hair Ryan, so an example would be like, how he looked in the "Opening ALL OF YOUR GIFTS From Tour" video, like the most recent one he did from that series. (There's the picture by the title of what I imagine the hair to look for this, but you can imagine him however you like to)

Just some warnings before we begin:

1. I don't write smut at all. I'm not comfortable writing it so this fanfic but also all my works will not have smut in it, you're never gonna find it here!

2. I don't cuss. But I know the guys do a lot lol, and so for this, there are words there, but i put this sign: (') in replacement for some letters, but it's enough for you all to still get what I'm trying to say. An example would be "No b'tches"- you see?? It's not that bad

3. This fanfic is in "You" pov. No y/n or anything like that, just you. But it is a split Pov between you and Ryan, but for Ryan's it will be in 3rd person. So this fic is 2nd and 3rd person.

I hope you enjoy this ahhhh I'm so excited and we'll keep updating parts as we go along!!

Happy reading!!! <3333

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a super foggy day out, your favorite type of weather. You were currently getting out of your car, glancing at your handwritten grocery list. This may have been an unpopular opinion, but you loved errand day. Of course, not at the expense of overly priced items that you sometimes complained about in your head but bought anyway, but more so the taking off part. You liked to think about when you were a kid and going with your parents, eyeing everything a shop could offer while your mom would constantly look back from the aisles to the list in her hand. Now at 23, you were the one becoming an adult, doing all the things necessary but being responsible.

Your younger sister Diana who was two years younger than you, knew your love for the going to get groceries, so she left that for you to do, while she would wait for you to come back and make dinner. You appreciated that, because you didn't cook much. Even if there were days you wanted to help your sister out, she would kick you out of the kitchen (quite literally, if you were honest).

Speaking of your sister...

Your phone started ringing just as you were walking to the local Whole Foods not far from your house when you looked at the caller ID and then pressed talk, putting your phone to your ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey, while you're out there can you get onions real quick? We don't have any left."

You did a quick scan down your paper as you walked, looking for what you thought you had written. You were right, it turned out. You did remember the onions.

"Yeah, I have it on my list."

"And-"

"Garlic's on there too, don't worry." You interrupted. You knew your sister by now.

Diana paused abruptly, the silence on the other end of the phone concluding your assumption that she was about to say garlic.

"Well shoot, that's about it. Thanks."

You chuckled and then said your goodbyes before hanging up. Then you walked in to the store.

The cold of the store ran a shiver through your back and you folded your arms over your shoulder walking in. You grabbed a small cart because you weren't getting a lot of items, and then you started your shopping.

Everything was great. You were finding everything that you needed from the list, and tossed a treat-yourself snack in the cart. You did have a habit of treating yourself even when there was no great reason or it.

After a good ten minutes of covering the list, it was by the time you were wrapping up that you realized you needed to go to the produce section once more to get some basil. As you walked back to the fresh green area, you spotted just one guy at the produce section.

He wore all black, the hood of his hoodie over his head, but there were black strands by the sides of his face. He also had silver headphones on his hood (however that worked). He wore glasses and a dog tag necklace over his black shirt. He stood, hands in his pocket, and was completely unbothered eyeing the Bok Choy. Of course, you weren't trying to stare at the lone guy, but he did stop you in a somewhat trance. He looked like he could model, and had pretty features, and seeing him almost reminded you of a guy you used to like in high school named Ryan.

Ryan was a smart and attentive guy, but very too himself and quiet (which was exactly your type). The two of you would talk if you had a project together or to compare test answers, and you'd see him some weekends at the recreational center he'd volunteer for as coaching the basketball team that your little cousin was a part of. (Which was the CUTEST thing ever). You often wondered how Ryan was now, since last you heard he left for LA. You didn't have any social media and you both weren't the closest people in high school so the years had passed and the only thing you could do was wish him well wherever he was.

You couldn't help but look back at the guy in the store. He reminded you so much of Ryan. As you went back to your own grocery shopping, there were thrown looks back and forth between the greens and the guy. At one point as he walked over to get a plastic bag which was near where you were, he looked over at you and your eyes locked.

You couldn't look away, now that you were both looking at each other. You should've probably looked away, but for some strange reason you couldn't.

The corner of his lip lifted in a small and awkward half smile before he continued his shopping, passing you by. You smiled back, shyly and then grabbed the basil you needed before bolting out the store. In your errands routine, the chances of running into someone cute never happened, so you weren't going to forget this.

Especially if he looked like that guy you really liked back in high school.

...

By the time you got home, you were greeted by the sound of Diana's loud singing. She did that usually over music, but this time it was in the air. She was a silly person, never took too much seriously and you admired her for it.

"Hello!" You called, placing the grocery bags on the floor.

"When it comes to you, there's no criiiiiime!"

You made a face. "Hello? Diana?"

"Let's take both of our souls and intertwiiiine!" Before you could say anything else, your younger sister Diana emerged from the kitchen, holding up a wooden spoon like it was a microphone.

"When it comes to you," She pointed over at you, making her way towards where you were. You laughed and shook your head as Diana danced to the grocery bags, picking them up while still managing to sing a Justin Bieber throwback.

"Don't be blind, let me speak from my heart when it..." Diana looked up at you and gave a look, holding the silverware microphone to you face.

You rolled your eyes. This happened every day.

"C'mon, you gotta sing it, all of MSG is waiting!" Diana joked, gesturing to the audience members.

You laughed. "Oh, is that where we are now?"

Diana laughed with you and the two of you headed to the kitchen, the song dispelling its echoes into thin air.

"Thanks for getting the groceries. I think it's spaghetti today." Diana said. You followed her to the counter, unpacking.

"No worries. You know errands stops are my favorite."

"And I'll never understand why. Seriously, you're quieter than me. What part of going out to shop makes you happy to indulge in?" Diana asked.

You shrugged, trying to think of the question. "I don't know. It's my own time even if it's surrounded by people. If that makes sense. I don't know, you'd think you'd like it, you're all outgoing and everything." You said.

Diana scoffed. "Yeah, that's the problem. I can't even go to Whole Foods without being recognized. Some days I don't want to be social. Plus, it can be a chore." She said.

You nodded, understanding where she was coming from. It did make sense. You could see where Diana and even your parents were coming from, and even though they didn't understand your joy, they left you with that responsibility.

You clapped your hands as you remembered your time just spent looking into a beautiful stranger's eyes.

"Oh! Speaking of Whole Foods, I have to tell you something." You said.

Your sister was eyeing the basil, tilting her head to the side. You at first were scared, hoping that it was the right thing, but then was relieved to see her place it on the counter and turn to the other items to examine.

"What's up?"

"I saw this really cute guy at the store," You started.

Diana flashed a proud smile as she checked the ingredients. "Okay, okayyyy"

You started to feel yourself blushing.

"Chill, nothing happened." You needed to clarify. That was your sister. She always hyped up the littlest things making them seem bigger than what they actually were.

"But while we were in the produce section, I was grabbing basil and he was getting I think some Bok Choy, and as we were passing by, he smiled at me and it was so cute." You said, allowing the girlhood of yourself to bask in delusion that it was a big deal. Only for a second though.

"Okayyy!! Cute!!" Diana exclaimed as she was put everything from the bags away. She was very good and indulging in conversation at the same time be in the zone when it came to cooking.

"But the thing is..." You started, thinking back to the black haired beauty in the produce aisle.

"He reminds me so much of- do you remember Ryan, that guy I liked all of high school?" You asked, turning to look at your sister.

She set her tomato paste can down and looked up at the ceiling in thought. Then she nodded.

"He was like, what, really smart, kinda cute but in like a nerdy way? Glasses? Quiet guy Ryan?"

You nodded. That sounded like your lover alright. (Well, unrequited lover anyway).

"Yeah, I remember you were obsessed with that dude." Diana said.

That caused you to smile shyly. "Yeah, then after graduation he moved to LA and that was the last time I saw him. And, with no social media, it's not like I can find him either." You muttered the last sentence to yourself.

Diana chuckled. "You made that decision."

"I know. And it's a good one, I don't regret that." You said as you walked over to the small table-for-two by the corner. You sat in one of the chairs, fully aware that you would be ranting to your sister in the middle of a cooking session.

You sighed. "I guess for these past five years, crushes would come and go, whatever, but...he would always be in the back of my mind. I just wondered what it would be like if I was to see him again." You spoke your mind.

Diana nodded and hummed. Her back was to you as she started her work, but she was listening.

"But...the guy that I saw at Whole Foods today, he reminded me so much of Ryan. But he looks different, they're not the same guy, he just...just looking at him to me back to a place that made me extremely happy and nostalgic." You said.

"Aww. Maybe it's Ryan's twin brother?" Diana suggested.

You shook your head. "Hello? Obsessive, remember? If Ryan had a pet dog I would've found out the name, origin, favorites snacks and everything else. I think I would know if he had a twin brother."

"Sooooo maybe it was Ryan is what I'm hearing?"

You groaned. "Ugh. Imagine."

You shook your head and gave a small smile. "I'm gonna go upstairs and change. Be right back."

"Okay! See yaaaa!" Diana waved to you and you waved back before going up the stairs.

When you got to your room you made a beeline straight for your dresser. You searched until you found your senior yeearbook, flipping through the pages where everyone signed. And then looking at Ryan's message you smiled, the feeling of how it was receiving his short but sweet well wishes coming back to you just like it was for the first time.

i'm gonna miss science and math class with you, thank you for all the memories :)

wishing you all the best in university and beyond!

- ryan

Then you went through the yearbook, taking a walk down memory lane of your life five years ago. Occasionally in the sports section, you saw pictures of Ryan, and when you got to the graduation photos, he was there too. It was just like you remembered. He was cute and pretty, but for some strange reason, his eyes reminded you of that guy in Whole Foods.

Your mind went back and forth. It wasn't like it absolutely couldn't happen at all. Sure, Ryan moved to LA and that was the last you heard of him, but maybe he was back in town for family or something else.

But when were you so lucky in life, that you got a chance to see your really serious crush five years later? Did that really happen in life?

Even then, it didn't really matter, considering the fact that you didn't speak to him. So, it probably wasn't him to begin with.

You looked back down at the Ryan's graduation photo in your yearbook. He kind of shared the same features. You didn't have time to make out all of his face, but there was something similar. You just didn't know.

Was that or was that not Ryan Nguyen from high school?

....

~ Ryan ~

It never bothered Ryan to walk into a house filled with cameras.

It became second nature. He had been in this house for 3 years now, and where bills needed to be paid, content needed to be made. There was only one problem with that.

To walk into a house with cameras meant that there was always the risk of being in them. Ryan was usually caught off guard and gave this low hating-everyone vibe that the stars were accustomed to and grown to love. There were people who made videos like "Ryan being done with NSB for 6 minutes" on YouTube, or little moments that could be used for a short or tiktok. They were used to his nonchalant tone. He read a comment last week where some stars crowned him their "Side-Eyed King".

Normally, he wouldn't have minded. Ryan would be more concerned if he didn't walk into a noisy house filled with laughs or arguments across the room. He just wished that there would be a slight freedom in this moment as he stepped inside, where he could just slip into his room and stay there for the rest of the day without interruptions.

But that freedom wasn't for today.

It was Sebastian that greeted him first, and Ryan looked right into the lens, trying hard not to look obvious that something was actually wrong. Recording meant vlogging (or pranking, whichever one in this house), and either or meant editing, and then editing meant posting. For the eyes of the public.

"Well, look who it is. If it isn't, the real Azngami! How you doing, sexy sir?" Seb stated, coming right at him.

Ryan averted his eyes to the ground. Even if it was a normal day, there would still be the expectation of the weird look. Which Ryan gave.

"What do you want, man?" Ryan finally asked, his voice dropping low.

"Nothing, just..." Seb laughed as he pointed the camera to Ryan's grocery bags.

"It was Ryan's turn to get the groceries." He told the internet. "I'm actually surprised you did it." Seb said.

Ryan narrowed his eyes as Seb laughed, bringing the camera back to Ryan's face.

"What, like I've never bought my own groceries before? Get lost, dude." Ryan started to walk away from the camera. "I ain't never seen your broke 'ss buy a f'ckin vegetable bro, I know you not talkin'".

"C'mon, why you gotta be mean? Look, I'll take the groceries for you." Seb reached over while holding up the camera.

"See guys?" Seb talked to the frame. "I'm a very nice, very demure person." He said.

Ryan closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. "What is this, yo? Try not to cringe for 24 hours?" He asked.

Seb stuck his bottom lip out to the camera and pouted as he placed his free hand on his heart. "You wound me, Ryan. You wound me. And here I thought you actually had a heart." He said.

Ryan stood with his hands in his pockets for a second, just looking at Seb. When Seb noticed Ryan wasn't giving a big reaction, he turned back and looked over at Ryan, laughing.

"Dude, what's wrong?" He asked.

"What do you want from me? Go bother Darren, dude." Ryan requested.

"Dude I already did!"

"Okay, so go down the list. There's 6 other people in this group so...I'm going to my room. And take the groceries out of the bag please instead of just leaving them on the counter!" Ryan called, turning his back on Seb and walked towards his room.

He didn't really care if Seb caught that all on camera, or would even post it. For some strange reason, everyone found Ryan's moods to be funny and relatable.

But when Oliver heard the commotion from the living room, he waited until Ryan was in his room before walking over.

..

Ryan's door was closed, of course. If he had it his way, he'd have his door locked. But there were no locks in the house and Ryan had to suffer for it. At least right now, he could suffer in peace. Though it wasn't really suffering. Today wasn't the worst day in the world.

No, today just happened to be the day where he saw a girl he thought he would never see again.

You.

You burned in his mind like something hot, and even though it had been years, the feeling was the same. How you grew, with your beautiful eyes and shy smile. Ryan wondered if you knew that it was him, but probably not. You both haven't spoken in a long time. Last Ryan checked, you didn't even have any socials.

Ryan scratched his head and then grabbed his phone as he sat on the edge of his bed. He knew this was quite childish, but there he was entering your name on the search bar. He tried your first and last name, then Minnesota, but that brought him to other people. Why did so many people share your name, anyway?

There was a knock on the door and Ryan sighed.

"What?"

"Ryan, it's me Oli, can I come in?"

Ryan paused. At least it wasn't Darren.

Ryan ran fingers through his hair and then leaned back in his seat, staring at the wall in front of him.

"Yeah."

The door opened slowly and Ryan saw in the corner of his eye that Oli emerged. He stayed by the door, but closed it behind him.

"Hey, I couldn't help but notice you and Seb. Was wondering if everything's alright." Oli spoke.

"I meaaannn..." Ryan's voice trailed in thought as he looked at Oli. Then he shrugged.

"It's cool. Just some stuff happening at Whole Foods, bro." Ryan answered, his gaze now zeroed in on his PC set.

"What kinda stuff? Do you wanna talk about it?" Oliver asked.

To be fair, Ryan didn't want to talk about it. Not fully. But, there was a small part of him deep down that knew that if anyone genuinely cared enough, it was Oliver. He didn't want to add onto stress, so Ryan figured he would just say it bluntly.

"It's nothing big man, I just bumped into someone who I may have had feelings for in high school. I don't think she recognized me though. I was going to say hi, but then...I don't know, I just backed off."

Oliver nodded. "Do you regret not talking to her?"

Ryan shrugged. "I mean, it's not bothering me so much, but I mean...maybe. I haven't seen her in like, five years. I would have liked to maybe catch up with each other but that's not happening." He said.

Oliver stood for a few seconds to himself. Then after a few seconds he looked back at Ryan.

"Have you tried looking for her? Like on IG, Tiktok, anything?"

"Nah, she doesn't have social media. I've been trying to just Google her, but that's not getting me anywhere." Ryan said.

Oli pulled out his phone. "What's her name?" He asked.

"What's whose name?" The door suddenly opened and the rest of the guys came in. All except for Seb who was hopefully getting the groceries unpacked, and Reggie, who was probably sleeping.

Ryan closed his eyes and tried to focus on his breathing. Never in any way would he be telling all of them what was happening.

"You've gotta be freakin kidding me." Ryan said under his breath. When he looked up, seeing Darren, Justin, and Kane in view made him want to punch something. But Ryan didn't. He just remained as calm as he could try.

"Ain't y'all got your own rooms and sh't, the f'ck you gotta be in mine for?" Ryan said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, watch who you're speaking to." Justin said with a laugh.

"Ryan, take deep breaths." Kane suggested, recreating some type of yoga pose.

"See? This is exactly what I'm talking about bro, you're so ungrateful. We literally all came together to check up on you, and this is how you treat us." Darren said, moving over to try and sling his arm on Ryan, but Ryan stood up immediately and walked to the corner of the room.

"Don't touch me."

"We decided to come here, y'know, be here for you, and look at you. You're acting up." Darren said.

"So ungrateful, Ryan." Justin retorted.

Ryan could feel annoyance coming on. Actually, he's been annoyed on his drive to the house.

"Okay, so then leave, hello? No one asked you to come over". He sassed.

"No, see, I'm not like you Ryan. Despite the need to hate on my fellow brother, I would never leave them in a time of need. You need us." Darren said (or more like gaslight- Justin's been influencing him).

Oh. My. Gosh. I can never win in this household, Ryan thought.

"Ryan, we're not trying to bother you, Seb just said that you were crankier than usual. If you need your alone time, we can go, we just wanted to let you know that we're here for you no matter what it is. Okay?" Kane finally broke the ice.

Ryan didn't say anything for a few seconds. He was acting like this was a huge deal even though it wasn't worth anything hating the boys for. He would never let a girl come between the brotherhood he formed with these crazy bunch these last three years.

The thing was, Ryan didn't owe them the story, but he didn't want to place this as such a high thing. He wasn't meant to talk to you, he guessed. That was all.

So Ryan ended up talking to the boys about the situation and how frustrated he got because of it. He listened to their opinions and advice, which all sort of tallied towards trying to find anything of you and reaching out, or just letting it go entirely. And that's what Ryan said he would do.

It was later in the night when Ryan sat next to Justin and Darren who, yes, had overstayed their welcome in his room, but luckily they were both kind of doing their own thing and wasn't bothering Ryan as much.

Ryan laid down at the side of the bed going on instagram, when a thought just entered his mind. He remember that you had a sister named Diana and quickly searched her up on instagram. The first two people were not her at all, he could tell, but the third profile made Ryan sit up in his seat. As he clicked on her page, he felt like thanking God that it was public. And he was even more thankful when he saw one of her recent posts being a birthday post about you.

Ryan smiled as he carefully clicked on the picture, not wanting to like it or do anything that would notify on your sister's phone. And this picture was a few months ago.

You were in a park, right under a tree, smiling at the camera. There was collection photos of you with different poses, and then the last photo being a selfie with Diana and you. You were so pretty in Ryan's eyes. Definitely grown into a woman. He wondered how the last five years have been for you and what you were doing now.

"Yo, did you see the video I sent you?" Darren broke the silence in the room, Ryan almost forgot they were still there.

Because Darren and Justin were sitting closed to each other, Ryan just assumed Darren was talking to Justin.

"Me or Ryan?" Justin asked slowly.

Ryan didn't say anything as he scrolled through Diana's page, finding you every so often. That was until he felt a kick in his back. Ryan's head shot up quickly.

"What are you doing?" He interrogated Darren.

"Dude, I sent you a video, look at it!"

Ryan looked back on his phone. "I'll watch, just give me a second."

"No, watch it now!" Darren said with a smile. When Ryan gave a death glare at him, Darren rolled his eyes.

"C'mon, baby. Is there something more important than me?" He asked.

Ryan wished for the day when Darren talked to him without referring to him as his baby for once. It made Ryan feel weird but mostly annoyed.

"Yes, there are a lot of things more important than what you send me." Ryan said.

At that, Justin's head shot up from where he rested by the pillows. "Like what? You're all blushing and sh't, what are you looking at?"

Darren started to go over to where Ryan was sitting, trying to reach for his phone. "Is it that Whole Foods high school crush? Did you find her?"

Ryan smacked Darren's hand away and moved his phone out of reach before Darren could see anything.

"Dude, don't f'king touch my sh't, yo."

Justin laughed. "Oh, it's definitely her. He found her." Justin sat up. Ryan backed away and stood up before the two of them could have a chance.

"Can you guys just get out of my room? Like, Oli and Kane left a long time ago, why don't you leave?"

"Relax, peanut." Darren said.

"I don't know bruh, I kinda like this bed." Justin said, fully lying back down again.

"Okay," Ryan set his phone down on the counter. "Enough of this sh't-"

Before Darren and Justin could blink, they were both dragged and kicked out of the room. To Ryan's surprise, they didn't come back to bother him for the rest of the night.

Ryan stayed looking at more pictures, the feeling of memories coming in to warm him. He didn't stay long however, as the content of his find allowed him to crash into a deep sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for reading this chapterrr<333

....

[rathockey]

Would absolutely kill for more santa clarita diet buddie. I love all those snippets and I rioted (internally) for days after it was canceled.

i will NEVER get over them cancelling it i mean come ONNNNN that ENDING???? (though to be honest. can i be real for one second. if it HAD to get cancelled prematurely. its a pretty good ending. i could write an essay about that but i'll spare you. though if you want to hear it shoot me another ask and i'll go off)

also this fic is completely written by snippets and is entirely out of order so let me give you that ending scene buddie version :)

“You were right.” Eddie said, reaching for Buck’s hands. Buck looked at him, questioningly. “When you were captured, when I thought I was going to die. All I could think about was that I didn’t want to do this without you. Life.” Buck squeezed his hand. “No matter what happens, I want to be with you, live with you, die with you.” Buck grabbed him, pulling him into tight hug. “What about all the stuff that freaks you out about being undead?” Buck whispered. “The eating people, the unleashing your id?” He pulled back as Mr. Ball Legs leapt up on his shoulder. “This guy?” Eddie grimaced at the spindly legged creature. “Yeah, it’s still weird and freaky. But not as weird and freaky as not being with you for as long as possible. I love you, and that’s all that matters. Bring on the weird.” Eddie cupped Buck’s cheek in his hand. “Will you take this man to be your husband, for the next thousand years or so?” “Only a thousand years?” Buck grinned at Eddie, leaning into his hand. Mr. Ball Legs took the opportunity to leap from Buck’s shoulder to Eddie’s. Eddie recoiled, side-eyeing Mr. Ball Legs. “Ah, still not a spider guy.” Eddie leaned his head away. Suddenly he couldn’t see Mr. Ball Legs anymore, and he felt a crawling up his neck and into his ear, a small squelching before… nothing. Blackness. The blackness stayed for a few seconds, then he opened his eyes to find he was on the floor, Buck leaning over him, a trickle of blood on his mouth, and a slight pain on his neck. “Eddie?” Buck was frantic and pleading. Eddie smiled up at him. "Hello."

[undertale-anomaly20]

Mortal Kombat 11 x reader: Chapter 6 War on the homefront

The scene cuts to the command center. Cassie is with Sonya, using one of the holographic interfaces at a desk. 　

"Here's how you access incoming reports. Swipe here to crosscheck them with past reports. The software can suss out the deltas" Cassie explained as she showed Sonya how it works "Now that's progress" Sonya said impressed. Cassie smiles and leaves her to it. Sonya pulls the chair she's seated in closer and starts looking over the data. Across the command centre, both of the Johnny Cages look over at her with adoration, with past Johnny flashing a cheesy smile. Sonya briefly looks over at them, trying her hardest to smile back as non-flirtatiously as possible. past Johnny leans over to his older counterpart. 　

"So... I marry Lieutenant Princess over there?" past Johnny asks as present Johnny looks in her direction, also cracking a smile "I always have had a thing for blondes. Ever since Suzie-- " past Johnny say as the present Johnny catches the thought and speaks at the same time as his younger self "--Donardo Junior year" "Take it from me, heh, you didn't miss much" present Johnny says then points over to Sonya "That woman over there? She's the real deal" past Johnny tilts down his sunglasses "Oh, I got eyes, brother. As Younger You, I solemnly swear to tap that at the earliest opportunity" 　

His words instantly cause present Johnny's smile to drop from his face. Around them, the other soldiers in the command centre gasp and look at past Johnny in disapproval. Sonya looks particularly upset, while Cassie shoots a look of disgust in his direction. As present Johnny hangs his head in disbelief, past Johnny turns to him "What? It's our destiny!" present Johnny stands up from his chair and grabs his younger self by the ear, dragging him up amidst protests of pain "Out" He says as he forcibly drags past Johnny out of the command centre. 　

"How the hell do I ever sleep with that guy?" She looks to Cassie, who walks over to her. "Who's... your father. I can't believe I just said that" "Look, my dad isn't the Johnny you know. He... grew up. I like to think you rubbed off on him. As a kid, I looked up to both of you" Casssie said as Sonya smiled "My dad - your grandfather - was my hero. Called me Private Pun'kin" "Huh. That's what you called me" There's a moment of awkward silence between them "We should get back to work"Cassie said as Sonya nods and Cassie takes her leave. Sonya looks back to the interface "Biometric verification required" The interface says then scans her eyes "ID verified - General Sonya Blade" Sonya is impressed "General Blade? Dad would be proud" The screen brings up a picture of Sonya saluting in her combat gear, alongside her biography which lists her as deceased. Sonya looks around for a moment, seeing that Cassie is currently in discussions with a couple of her subordinates. She turns back to the screen and begins to type in some commands. 　

The scene cuts to the Special Forces' hangar. past Johnny is walking away from his older self "Untwist your panties, Older Me. I'm a star" he says not caring. Present Johnny grabs his past self by the shoulder and pulls him back, getting in front of him at the same time and staring him down "This is a military operation, not a movie set!" he sternly said but having no effect on his pastself "I'm only the best fighter here. But YOUR--" He prods his older self "--daughter's got me sitting at the kids table" fed up with his attitude present Johnny slaps past Johnny on the side of his head, causing his sunglasses to dislodge. After a moment of shock, he hastens to put them back on properly "OUR daughter is C.O. A little humility MIGHT earn her respect!" he says raising his voice. 　

 Past Johnny looked straight at his furuteself annoyed at how he is in the future "Dad always said "Hungry people eat lunch, humble people serve it." present Johnny prods past Johnny in the chest "Dad was an asshole! Hollywood made us--" He removes his younger self's glasses and drops them on the ground "--an even bigger one!" He then stomps them into bits. Undeterred, past Johnny pulls out another pair of sunglasses from the side of his pants and puts them on his face. He smirks, and then jumps into a comically over dramatic fighting stance "Heee-yaaaaah!" he exclaims. Present Johnny shakes his head in disgust and assumes his own stance. 　

They fight. One would assume that the past Johnny would have every advantage fighting an aged version of himself. But for all of his speed, strength and skill, the present Johnny knows his every move before he himself even pulls them off. present Johnny is careful not to even injure his younger self, but even with this handicap he has no trouble taking him down. Within moments, past Johnny is kissing the tarmac "An old man just kicked your ass" past Johnny struggles back to his feet and dusts himself off. As he begins to walk away, it's clear the beating has disconcerted him, but he tries to maintain a false bravado nonetheless "...You got lucky" 　

Past Johnny stopped for a second before looking down "why is (name) here?" he asked dead serious making present Johnny flinch and averst his gaze "she's here because she's our friend and allie-" "CUT THE SHIT!" past Johnny snapped whirling around sneering at his futureself, who looks shocked "you know what I mean! everyone here has been dancing around this the whole time we've been here! Why is she here and not back home where she's supposed to be?" he pokes his futureselfs chest "why isn't she safe at home? why is she still here? why is she fighting with us?" Present Johnny's patients was wearing thin at his pastselfs questions "she's fighting with us to stop Kronika" "you know that's not what I mean damn it! Don't avoid the question and answer me! what happened to her to make her stay here and be younger than us by so many years!" "SHE DIED!" 　

Silence hangs in the air around them. Past Johnny is stunned "what..." he whispered stumbling slightly as present Johnny takes a deep breath before facing his pastself "she died the day Shao Kahn was defeated. she fought him with help from the elder gods by using her body as a vessel when they left her they took everything from her. her strength, her energy...her life" Present Johnny ran a hand through his hair while his past self is trying to take this in "wait why didn't Raiden step in a save her?...why did he let a girl die for a world that wasn't hers? hell why didn't anyone save her!" "we couldn't do anything. it was too late...Raiden explained that the Elder gods brought her to our world to be our warrior" "warrior...she was 18 fucking years old! she wasn't like us she was just a kid!" 　

Past Johnny realizes he's using past tense when the (name) he knows is still back in his time. A memory of her 18 year old self smiling at the wushi academy flashes through his mind. He takes a deep shakey breath "just...just tell me how she came back...god this is twisted" present Johnny nods "from what she told us the Elder gods brought her back when she was 20. for her it was only 2 years for us it was 14 but she stayed hidden for about a year in outworld and five of those with master Hasashi for training then to us granted we didn't find out it was her till the whole Shinnok thing was over" past Johnny was quiet as he processesd everything. 　

The scene cuts back to the Special Forces command room. Sonya is still seated at her desk, checking through the computer interface for more information about her future self. She presses a link on the screen, and an audio snippet from the earlier mission in the Netherrealm begins to play. The screen displays a new text box in bright red: "BODY NOT RECOVERED" "What?! I'm---" the audio clip is distorted, cutting out part of Cassie's earlier statement "--leaving you behind! --C'mon, move it!" Sonya instantly recoils in confusion and surprise at seemingly hearing that her future daughter left her for dead. The growls of the Netherrealm demons can be heard in the distorted background. "Let's go, let's go, move it!" "What...?" Sonya whispers. 　

She gets up from her seat and storms over to Cassie "You left me behind?" she growled confusing Cassie "Excuse me?!" "My final mission!" "How did you-- She looks over to the screen Sonya was looking at, seeing the red message for herself "Shit" Cassie begins to lose her composure "No, I'm not doing this, not now, not with you!" She tries to turn away, but Sonya grabs her by the shoulder and pulls her back. "Dammit, Cassie! You abandoned me?" "To save the company! That was my order!" "Who the hell gave you that order?!" "YOU did" At these words, Sonya looks away, doubt etched across her face "Read the full report, Lieutenant" 　

Before she can say anything else, all the screens in the command centre turn red and an alarm begins to ring. An "ALERT" message appears on several of the screens. CASSIE: Go to Condition Red! In the hangar, Special Forces soldiers begin running into position, fully armed. Both Johnny Cages are also equipped with assault rifles, running back into the base. Cassie's voice echoes across the tannoy system. CASSIE: We're under attack! Repeat, we're under attack! past Johnny hoists his rifle into the air one-armed like an action hero, while present Johnny keeps his pointed downwards like a professional soldier. "Yippee-ki-yay, right?" past Johnny says as he strides forward, but present Johnny catches him by the shoulder "Follow my lead" he says. 　

He brings his rifle to bear and steps forward, with his younger self trying to imitate his motions as best he can. Before either of them can get very far, a huge explosion rips through the side door of the hanger. No one is killed in the blast, but both Johnnys are thrown from their feet. As they look up, they see Black Dragon mercenaries entering through the blown open hole... and leading them is the younger Erron Black. 　

The scene cuts to another part of the Special Forces base. Three lines of Cyber Lin Kuei cyborgs are standing in formation. Both the younger and elder Kano stride through them, shoving any cyborg in their path back into formation. They reach a large door - the door to the command centre - and smirk in an identical fashion. 　

Behind them strides Sektor, his cybernetic body now infused with the same white and golden painted metal that his cyborg army wears as well - the design of Kronika. The only reason Sektor is recognisable is that parts of him still have the red paint job. He also approaches the door and lifts his fist in its direction. A red laser shoots out from an enclosed gun-turret embedded in his forearm. 　

Back in the command centre, the Special Forces soldiers are hastily constructing barricades with whatever boxes they have lying around. Cassie briefly trades a tense look with Sonya, neither woman saying anything. The soldiers around them bring their rifles to bear as Sektor's laser continues to cut through the steel door like a hot knife through butter. 　

Sonya narrows her eyes and Cassie nods her head. She brings her dual pistols to a firing position and Sonya brings up her rifle at the same time. 　

The scene cuts back to the hanger. Johnny and Johnny are in cover behind a large tank, with present Johnny ducked down behind the treads and past Johnny standing upright and making himself a bigger target. They are trading fire with the Black Dragon mercenaries. The Johnny's quickly find themselves outgunned due to the superior numbers against them and they retreat, ducking behind the tank and running across the hanger to find more cover. 　 As they run, time slows down and a bullet clips past Johnny's cheek, drawing a thin line of blood and knocking his glasses off his head. As the Johnny's duck into cover behind a large jeep, present Johnny brings his hand to his cheek and looks at his younger self. present Johnny now bears the same wound that his younger self has, though his is a faded scar. 　

"Oh, that's freaky like Friday" Present Johnny said pointing at his cheek "They shot our face, Johnny" past Johnny says as he looks like he's about to start crying "They shot our FACE!" He pulls out a personal mirror to examine the wound... which is instantly blown to pieces by a stray bullet. This serves to anger him, and he picks up a nearby riot shield and storms out into the open fray. past Johnny roars in fury and fires his rifle one-handed at the mercenaries... completely missing them due to firing a two-handed weapon with one hand. 　

"Ugh, he's gonna get us killed" present Johnny groans then steps out of cover just as Erron Black and the mercenaries begin to concentrate their fire on past Johnny. Erron's marksman rifle is blasted out of his hands by a shot from present Johnny, allowing his younger self to stride forward with the shield in front, while present Johnny steps in just behind him. past Johnny proves to be as utterly incapable of shooting straight as the mercenaries are at shooting at anything but the shield he is holding up. But it soon becomes a moot point as past Johnny charges the mercenaries with the shield, ploughing into them and forcing them back. As he tackles them to the side, present Johnny faces off against Erron Black, having run out of ammunition for his rifle. 　

"Ooh! Funny way of saying howdy, partner" present Johnny mocked "I was saying goodbye" Past Erron replied "Now why's a nice Texas boy like Erron Black in bed with the Black Dragon? Older You works for Kotal Kahn. He's one of the good guys, kinda" "When I pick sides, I pick a winner. Every time" 　 They fight. Even without a gun by his side, Johnny Cage is still far from defenceless, and his energy powers and martial arts wizardry are more than a match for the gunslinging Erron Black. After a fierce scuffle, the outlaw is left down on the ground by Johnny "You chose... poorly" 　 Johnny runs off. The scene cuts to the Special Forces command centre. The steel door that served as the entrance has been sheared off at the top by Sektor's laser, and the bloodied bodies of both the Special Forces and the Cyber Lin Kuei are strewn around the interior. present Johnny runs into the centre, with Jax and Jacqui behind him. 　

"Cassie! Sonya!" He spots his daughter lying on her back and rushes to check on her. Miraculously, Cassie is only unconscious and quickly wakes up when her father helps her to a seated position "Breathe, kiddo" he says as Cassie takes a few breaths in, gathering her bearings "They took Mom-- Sonya" she said trying to stay awake "I'll get her" Cassie tries to say more, but her eyes roll backward and she almost passes out. She manages to stay conscious only by an immense show of willpower. With Cassie in no condition to issue orders, Johnny looks back to Jacqui "Can we find out where they've gone?" he asks. Jacqui moves over to one of the interface screens, quickly logging in. Within moments she has what she needs "Tarmac B" she replies "On it. Keep her" 　

He gently lets Cassie down onto her back, then stands back up and departs the command centre. The scene cuts to Johnny sprinting down a corridor, having acquired another rifle from somewhere. He dashes past a steel door, but then backpedals to it and takes a look through its window "Ohhh..." Chuckling to himself, Johnny pushes the door open and enters the hangar that it leads to. The scene cuts to the desert landscape outside of the base. Sonya struggles as two Cyber Lin Kuei grip her arms on either side, but is unable to break free. Sektor approaches her "Take her" he commands. 　

As the cyborgs drag Sonya backward, a large explosion rips through the base behind them. What is left of the cyborg army turns to the gigantic hole that has been blasted through part of the wall. As the smoke gradually clears... a gigantic tank, piloted by Johnny, emerges from the base, crushing two cyborgs under its mass. A third is caught under the treads and squished into a bloody paste. As two more cyborgs are flattened under the tank, Sektor shoots out two of his chest missiles. They hit the tank just under its main gun, but barely cause any damage. Inside the tank, Johnny laughs at the ineffective barrage and rides toward Sektor, who teleports out of the way just before he is crushed. Noting the teleport, Johnny brings the tank around and spots Sektor making a run for it. He smiles as he notices Sektor running toward the edge of a cliff. 　 With nowhere else to run to, Sektor turns around... just as a black jet fighter suddenly appears from the canyon behind him. At this, Johnny's eyes widen and he brings the tank to a stop. Sektor activates the boosts on his feet and jumps up to the side of the jet's cockpit. As he does so, the fighter unleashes two of its missiles straight at Johnny's tank. Gasping in fear, Johnny desperately tries to put the tank into reverse, but he only succeeds in turning it slightly as the missiles rain home. They target the leftmost treads of the tank, blowing the tank upward into the air briefly and letting it slam down hard. While the tank remains upright, the targeted treads have snapped in two from the impact. 　

The jet fighter arcs off into the air and swings around for a finishing barrage. Johnny emerges from the tank with a satchel charge, just in time to spot the jet coming for him. His face narrows in determination. The jet fighter lets loose with a barrage from its gatling gun. While it strikes the ground a fair distance from the tank, it is clear that this is a strafing attack and the jet moves ever closer to the tank, the gunfire never letting up. Johnny chucks the satchel charge back into the tank's interior and jumps off, narrowly avoiding some bullets. He sprints off and brings a detonator to bear as the jet fighter closes in. 　

"Two can play that game!" Johnny said as the jet flies over the tank, Johnny presses down on the detonator. The satchel charge explodes, and with it the tank as well. More importantly, the jet fighter is also caught in the blast and catches fire in several places. Sektor jumps from the smoking wreck and lands back down near the base as the jet crashes offscreen somewhere in the mountain and explodes. Sonya was not able to escape the cyborgs during all of that anarchy and she is still being restrained by two of them. Sektor relays instructions to the cyborgs while never taking his optics off the approaching Johnny "Send another extraction vehicle" Sektor orders. Johnny finishes his long walk over to Sektor, Sonya and the cyborgs "You won't be online long enough for your friends to make it, tinhead" Johnny says as Sonya again struggles against the cyborgs, managing to wrench one arm free, but she is quickly restrained once again. The cyborgs drag her to one side as Sektor faces down Johnny "Johnny Cage. Cyrax defeated you when you were younger and stronger. As I am his superior, I am yours" "You're forgetting the time I beat Shinnok, mano-a-mano. Oh, wait! You were dead when that happened" 　

They fight. For all of the advantages Sektor has as a cyborg - his weapons, augmentations and gadgets - Johnny Cage matches and surpasses them with his fighting skill and powers. The struggle is brief, and Sektor is soon lying deactivated out on the ground. "Go back to the nineties" Behind him, Sonya cries out as she tries to break free of the cyborgs restraining her. Johnny turns around to face them "Who's next?" he asks. The cyborgs remain where they are. A new voice cuts in from behind Johnny "I'm next, Hollywood" 　 The past Kano points an assault rifle directly at Johnny. Undeterred, Cage runs straight at him and time slows down as he does so. Kano shoots the gun, but Johnny slides into his signature splits and the bullet flies overhead, mere centimetres from his face. In slow motion, Johnny clenches his fist and brings it back for a swing. Kano looks down with an expression of mounting horror as Johnny finishes the splits and slams his fist straight into Kano's nuts. The effect is immediate - Kano drops the gun and doubles over in pain. 　

Johnny gets back to his feet as time resumes its normal length. Kano remains doubled over, clutching his crotch and wincing in agony "Shit. As if Throwback Me wasn't bad enough" Johnny says as Kano finally recovers enough to stand upright "Oh, it gets bloody worse. Sonya and your little girl... they're gonna die. Right in front of your face" 　

They fight. Kano remains a dirty and dangerous fighter as ever, with his cybernetic upgrades and numerous knives. But Johnny has beaten him before and knows his tricks, and helped by the anger he feels at Kano's words, he has no trouble overpowering and defeating the Australian thug once again "No one threatens my family. He walks over to Kano and stomps on his head, pinning him down. Behind him, more cyborgs have emerged from the base, but Johnny ignores them for now, focusing on putting an end to Kano. But before he can finish him off, a bullet suddenly punches through the kneecap of his right leg, knocking him to the ground "Oh! Motherf..." Johnny groans. 　

His curse peters out as he spots the older Kano approaching him with a captured hostage - his younger self. present Johnny clutches at his knee while present Kano keeps a pistol pointed at past Johnny "Well, well. Got ourselves a full on generation swap here" Present Kano smirked. present Johnny looks over as Cassie, Jacqui and Young Jax walk out of the base, Cassie and Jacqui both carrying assault rifles. As they approach, present Kano forces past Johnny onto his knees and aims the pistol at the back of his head, forcing them to stop. "Don't think so. Between Ninja Mime and Lady Liberty, we've got all the leverage. We're leaving" he says The two Johnnys say nothing, but both look at present Kano with joint contempt. Three transport planes fly overhead, landing on the ground nearby. present Kano pulls past Johnny to his feet and guides him toward the aircraft. The two cyborgs restraining Sonya also walk her in the same direction. 　

From out of the aircraft, two more ninjas emerge with a man not seen before in this timeline. Wearing a biker jacket and desert coloured trousers, he does not like the burn victim he will become in later years. present Kano addresses him directly "Kabal. Go get my lesser half" present Kanos said "And the base?" Kabal asks. present Kano pulls out a detonator "Taken care of. He presses the trigger" present Kano smirks. 　

Behind them, Sektor - who has since recovered - suddenly stands rigid and begins beeping. Cassie, Jax and Jacqui watch in silence as the Cyber Lin Kuei walk toward the aircraft, along with present Kano, past Johnny and Sonya, still vainly struggling against her captors. Once present Kano is out of sight, Cassie and Jax immediately run over to present Johnny to help him up, while Kabal pulls past Kano to his feet and walks him toward the aircraft alongside the last of the cyborgs. Once Kabal and past Kano are on board as well, the jets begin to take off. Once she is sure they are not facing her, Cassie sprints toward them. Jacqui runs after her, while Jax is left holding Johnny up "Cassie! Don't!" she yells. 　

Ignoring her friend, Cassie runs full pelt at the departing aircraft, but soon finds that she is about to run off the cliff edge. She grinds to a halt just before she would have fallen off, then raises her pistol and fires at the last aircraft. Rather than a bullet, she fires out a tracking device that attaches to the jet. As Jacqui, Jax and Johnny make their way over to her, Cassie holsters her pistol and pulls out her tablet. The screen shows an icon of an airplane, along with the word "TRACKING" and the probable destination of the plane - Russia. She looks into the distance with determination "Let's go get them" she said. 　

 In the silence following the departure of the planes, a beeping noise now echoes through the air. "Anyone else hear that beeping?" Johnny asks then they look behind them. Sektor is still standing rigid, with electricity sparking off him. It quickly becomes apparent to all of them that he is about to explode. Thankfully, Raiden teleports into the clearing with a flash of lightning. 　

 "Have I arrived too late?" Raiden asks "You're back in the nick of time!" Johnny says as he motions toward Sektor, who is now screaming in agony as his cybernetic body is wracked with electric sparks. Raiden immediately spreads his arms outward and generates a shield of electricity around himself, Johnny, Jax, Cassie and Jacqui, teleporting them away just moments before Sektor finally detonates, the explosion completely wiping out the Special Forces base behind them. 　

The scene cuts to a luscious garden in the mountains of Japan, adorned with white trees with blood red leaves. Raiden's teleporting shield brings them all into the centre of the garden. Inside one of the huts, Hanzo Hasashi is deep in meditation with Calithea sleeping next to him. He opens his eyes as the flash of lightning finishes. He walks out of the hut to find Raiden, Cassie, Jax, Johnny and Jacqui before him "Now that's what I call a miracle" Jax comments "Yeah, Raiden. Thanks" says Cassie. 　

As Hanzo approaches, Raiden faces him and puts his hands together in a respectful salute. "Grandmaster Hasashi, I humbly request the Shirai Ryu's hospitality. My Sky Temple has been compromised. There is no safer place for us to gather" Hanzo inclines his head in a bowing motion "Lord Raiden. Welcome to the Fire Garden" "daddy?" a small voice came from behind Hanzo making them look to see Calithea walking to them. She notices Raiden and smile running up to him "lord Raiden! have you heard of anything from mommy?" she asked Raiden frowned "I'm sorry, Calithea, but no I haven't" her smile dropped, Hanzos expression turned to concern, Cassie kneeled down in front of her "don't worry pun'kin. you're moms gonna be ok" she said smiling. 　

The scene cuts to a later time in the day. Raiden stands on a bridge overlooking a small pond, with Cassie, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Jax, Jacqui, Scorpion, Sub-Zero and Johnny now standing with the help of a crutch facing him "The Elder Gods are gone? Shinnok is Kronika's son? No wonder she sent the Black Dragon after me and Dad. We both kicked his ass" Cassie said "It is not vengeance that drives Kronika. She restarts history to balance light and dark among the realms" Raiden states "What can we do, Lord Raiden?" Liu Kang asks "Gather Earthrealm's forces. But that effort will be for naught if Kotal Kahn's armies cannot join us. Cetrion informed me that Shao Kahn has captured Kotal Kahn. We must spare no effort to free him" Raided hesitats before continuing "she has also informed me that Lady (name) has also been captured" everyone is stunned Hanzo glared at Raiden "and you said nothing before?" "I did not wish to cause young Calithea any distress" Liu Kang stepped forward "Kung Lao and I will go. We will rendezvous with Princess Kitana" "Thank you both. May the Elder Gods prote--" He stops himself, remembering that the Elder Gods are now no more "...May you return victorious"

[wuornosblog]

5-23-92 pt.1

Dear Dawn, . . . We did have alot of fun together. I remember taking you to the race track. or you coaxed me. But anyway. Remember how I teached you to panhandle. We made out pretty good too. Didnt we. Remember our bell bottom pants. Wheew whew and when studs came out. Lord we started to stud everything. I remember your black hip hugger bell bottoms you loved to wear. And you studded them up the leg. Then Ducky fell in love with em. And put them on. They were real tight. and a bit short on him. But he still wanted to wear them. And if I remember right. You’d both always fight over clothes. I remember the last time I saw Keith. Even though he had cancer. Was at your house in the basement. He went to a party and broke his leg coming down a step. His marrow was getting weak. I didnt witness this. I remember him telling me about it . . . The next time Id see him from this, was when I hitchhiked out to San Francisco, to see him at lettermans Army & medical center. I got Lucky. A construction worker gave me 100 bucks to help out on my trip to see him . . . so, I went shopping for some things to get him . . . I bought a wooden flute that was real gypsy lookin, and the book chariot of the Gods. and a Bible. I didnt know his cancer note was the size of half of a football on his neck. So I was sad at getting him the flute afterward. Anyway! when I finally arrived at the hospital. I asked where keith wuornos was. So a nurse said. Ones in room such and such over there. I said Thanks. Then proceeded in. There was 2 guys lying in separate hospital beds. One guy had a sheet and blanket up to his eyes. So I said. Is Keith wuornos here. I’m looking for my brother. So the guy. In the sheet up to the eyes said. He went downstairs to shoot some pool. OK! Thanks I said and started out, Thinking in mind suddenly. heck! if hes shootin pool, he must be feeling O.K. Great! Then the guy said Aili. come er. Questionably I turned and said Keith? He said don’t freak out when I pull the sheet down. And as he did. He imitated Bugs Bunny—and you know he can do him well —and he said Ā whats up doc! My eyes immediately filled with tears, as they widened to 50 cent pieces. The tumor was so huge on his neck. I kept telling him I’m sorry Im balling my eyes out Keith, but man. This is really scarring me. He said it was the size of maybe a pencil head. But since he volunteered to be a guinee pig for them. They didnt cut it out. and its grown some now. I flew off the handle and said. Whose your Doctor. So he told me. He said they keep telling him he has a 50/50 chance to live. But he didnt feel so. So I said. Ill be right back. I want to ask him myself. He protested a little. But soon I was out the door. Asking the nurse. She said oh there he is now. Right down the hall. I hurridly walked up to him. And said. --