#might have to work on that posture though buddy

[monkee-mobile]

My contribution to the age old argument of “but the Monkees don’t play their own instruments!!” yadda yadda, and the little Head-fueled speculation of whether or not all of it is real at the end of 33 1/3.

I saw the meme, and immediately Peter came into my head.

[ew-selfish-art]

DP x DC AU: Bruce is the one to invite Constantine over, and no, it's not to improve his tenuous working relationship with the asshole. It's the opposite of that.

---

Danny had become a frequent visitor of Wayne Manor in the last few months, and Bruce had to admit that while the kid was certainly a bit ominous for his liking for a partner to Tim, he was a generally kind and happy soul. They'd been dating for a lot longer than the Bats knew of- Kon had been the one to let it slip to Jon who told Damian and so on- and since the relationship was no longer secret, Tim brings him to family functions.

The thing about Danny is... He's dead. More than half of the time. Which again, is not Ideal for Bruce's wishes for Tim's future husband, but it also means that he reviles in being alive. Danny is downright joyous about using his time left on earth properly. He makes Tim eat real food, enjoy real sleep and generally live a more fulfilled life than he had been. The whole family noticed the changes in Tim, and it made them like Danny even more.

So after a particularly grueling day of dealing with Trigon and therefore the JLD's lack of coordination and sensible planning- Bruce gets the idea. John couldn't fucking contain himself admonishing Bruce, and perhaps it was vindictive, but Bruce figures that John should meet Danny. Sans context of course.

...

John is really over dealing with Batman's prissy, over complicated and perfectionist attitude. Come to the Cave he'd demanded, as though John didn't have a favorite bar to get back to, deal with a ghost he ordered like John didn't have other priorities than some random shade.

When walking into the space however, the second his teleportation portal closed, John knew something was deeply, deeply fucked. The shadows were growing longer, the second hand on his watch ticked slower, the air smelled of sulfur and... Red Robin was sitting working at the computer like nothing was wrong. But what was wrong, was the kid was marked by The End. Marked by The Infinite. FUCK.

John knew Death, the Endless, and knew she could pick favorites just like her siblings (Dream's immortal drinking buddy comes to mind). But this wasn't her work, this was something other.

"Mate- the Bat said there was a ghost?" John feels like he might throw up, the eerie atmosphere complicating what should have been a simple request.

"Uh, obviously." The kid didn't even look over from his screen or pause his typing.

John slowly approached, looking over each shoulder a few times, turning in a few circles as the shadows appeared to dance and echo within the cave. He could see his breath, the air became so cold so suddenly. And then, with the gentleness of a pin drop, a new agonizing sound appeared with a Kid walking down the cave stairs. The aura of the room turned dark, every cell in John's body screaming to run, that this was basically the little girl from the ring crawling through the TV as the young man walked down the steps.

"Babe, your grampa says that dinners going to be ready in a second. Oh, uh, hey dude." The creature speaks, turning his eyes to John for only a moment to study him. It feels equivalent to a butterfly being pinned by its wings.

"Y-y-you, you're, you're one of the Endless?" John stutters, his body reacting in fear despite the nonchalant posture of the Beast. The young man rolls his eyes.

"Nah, one of the Ancients but like uh, I'm new in town. And hon seriously don't be late, A made tiramisu for dessert and you're not allowed to have any if you're late and I don't want to deal with you pouting."

"You had me at Tiramisu!" Red stands up from his computer and then turns, "John, what are you doing here again?" Red Robin finally looks over at him, completely confused.

"Just leaving." John mutters, his eyes still trained on the ANCIENT.

---

Bruce could barely hide his laugh when Tim reported the Magician meeting Danny in the cave.

That'll show the asshole to question Batman's knowledge of the occult.

[tarotwithavi]

How do your classmates and teachers view you?

A general depiction of how your classmates and teachers see you and think of you.

Choose the picture that attracts you and you can choose two piles. Leave a note to support. And have a nice day!

Masterlist

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Take deep breaths and fix your posture.

Pile 1

Hello pile 1 ! You're classmates see you as someone who's competitive and likes winning. You give off the vibe of higher achiever. You might also see that your classmates also see you as a competition and might compare their grades with you. For some of you I'm getting that you might be very popular in school because of your intelligence and knowledge and this might attract some jealousy. Your classmates see you as someone who is always in their own world and does their own thing and very passionate about their studies. Someone who takes their academic life seriously. You're okay with enjoying with your friends and skipping classes but when it's time to study or when you feel like you should study, you became very serious and forget your surroundings.

On the other hand your teachers see you as someone who balances their studies with their hobbies and is a mixture of topper and disguised troublemaker. Your teachers see you as someone who is going to succeed in life. You know the type of student who the teachers believe is going to be great person or is going to get a lot of fame. Someone who doesn't compromise their education for a short time fun. Your teachers see that you can become a perfect judge because of your unbiased opinions and advices. Your teachers see you as a hardworker too. They also see you as someone who makes stupid compromises? Oh I get it they see you as someone who doesn't realize their worth and how capable you are. You tend to underestimate yourself.

Pile 2

Alright pile 2 ! Your classmates see you as the forever helpful and nice classmates. The one who is always ready to help and explain the topics again if someone asks them to. Probably the second teacher of the class Or the head of the class. I'm also getting that your classmates see you as their friend and the coolest classmate. I'm also getting that your classmates recognize you for your art or creativeness. Maybe you sketch, paint, draw or sing? They see you as the down to earth person. The one who is nice to everyone and has good relations with everyone. They also see you as the mother of the friend group or the person who can vibe with anyone ( are you guys for real? How do you do that? What's your secret? ) Anyways , I'm also getting that your classmates like you a lot. And some might be crushing on you.

Okay so for your teachers I'm getting that they see you as "My buddy" Or "save this student at all cost " Or something like that. Now take that how it resonates but I'm also getting that they might think that you lack confidence? They see you as someone who is good with everyone but likes to do their work alone. They type to do the group assignment all by themselves even though they got paired with their friends. Your teachers see you as the student who's ready nice but won't tolerate bullshit and hates to be told what to do and how to do certain things. Your teachers might think that you won't ask for help and is a little hesitant to talk to people sometimes. They see you as Someone assertive. And needs to gain confidence.

Pile 3

Welcome pile3! I'm getting that your classmates see you as the person who's working very hard and trying their best. The type of student who always has their nose buried in books and always talk about the next test and the subjects they are bad at. For some of you I'm getting that your classmates think that you're hiding something. I'm also getting that they see you as someone who has a whole different personality at school and changes into their different self the second they feet leave school. You give off the vibe of Peter Parker. For example how he is a super hero but no one knows that. Even at school people see him as the average student . You might skip school a lot too. I just heard " There's a lot about me that people don't know. And I would like to keep it that way" . They also see you as someone who tries very hard to be like everyone else.

Your teachers really be hyping you up. They want to see you succeed and see all your wishes come true. There's a male teachers who really has high hopes for you and wishes the best for you. For some of you I'm getting that there's a female teachers who's very strict and might be called rude, who Sees the potential in you. You might be being burdened by work from this teacher but in her mind she's doing the best for you. Your teachers see that you're tired and stuck. They think that you're going through something that you don't want to share. And they wish that you would be a little good to yourself. I heard " You're doing great sweetie" . Your teachers see you as someone who has had enough and just wants to rest. They see you as someone who needs to rest and recover and remain positive.

[zoeykallus]

Hi! If you’re taking requests I would wonder, how would TBB + Rex react to reader being unfaithful, hooking up with someone else? Maybe their relationship was never verbally made officially so reader thought it was okay, idk. Can make NSFW, fluff, sad, angry, smut, however you want! I love your work btw :)

Oh dear...

Aloha! Okay, my first impulse is to ask why would you do such a thing, if you could have a batcher 😂 I surely wouldn't, either way 😁 To each their own. But I'm curious how the guys would react to that. Let's see...

The Bad Batch x Fem!Reader HCs - Unfaithful

Warnings: Suggestive In Parts/Strong Language/Hurt/Angst/There Might Be Some Fluff too

___________________

What's Going On:

From time to time you've been intimate, but your batcher, and you haven't set any hard and fast rules, neither you nor he titles you as a couple yet, at least you haven't verbally. So when you go out with a cute guy after a party and get intimate with that very guy, you don't really think much of it. The only problem is that the guy in question likes to make a name for himself with his bedtime stories and brags about them. Your batcher gets wind of it.

___________________

Ko-Fi (If you feel like giving me some coffee)

Hunter

At first, he's flabbergasted when one of the other bar patrons, who he knows quite well by now, tells him how some guy bragged about having slept with you and would also reveal wild details about it. "I thought because you two are kind of close that maybe you should know," the acquaintance from the bar ends his explanation. Hunter blinks, he nods slowly and mumbles, "Thanks." He just sits there for a moment, then from one second to the next his pulse races, adrenaline is produced in his body. It takes him a second or two to realize he's pissed off. Hunter points to the guy in the booth at the other end of Cid's Bar and asks, "That one over there?" His buddy nods. "You sure?" Another nod. Hunter stands up, walking purposefully toward the booth and stands next to it, practically directly in the field of view of your one-night stand. Hunter approaches him about it, and the guy completely misinterprets Hunter's interest. He starts bragging again and is already getting into some details. Hunter is not even sure if the guy is just lying completely, or if there's at least some truth to it.

He is so angry, he wants to break the guy's nose. His whole posture is tense, his look so gloomy that even a Sith would hide under the bed. Everyone in the bar knows that he is about to beat someone up, except this one. He is not an aggressive person, he doesn't want to be. But right now he's holding back with absolute effort. Hunter turns around and wants to leave again, wants to try to vent his frustration in another way. But he is barely two steps away from the table as he snaps. "Fuck it..." He turns back around, goes back to the booth, and takes one quick, solid punch. The nose bone breaks, clearly audible, despite the music in the bar. The guy is almost unconscious, he's bleeding, his eyes are watering, and he looks at Hunter, confused and uncomprehending. "Don't you ever touch her again, and don't you dare tell anyone this story again, or I'll come back and break the rest"

He avoids you for the next few days, but sooner or later he brings it up. Hunter is disappointed in you, he was sure that you knew how much the thing between you two meant to him, even though you didn't call it by its name until now. You have an adult, enlightening conversation, finally saying honestly what you think and feel. However, Hunter is now bruised in some ways. He will have a hard time really opening up to you again and trusting you. The possibility exists, but this requires a lot of patience on your part.

Echo

He sits at the bar counter and can't believe it. He stares at the glass in front of him as if he can find any answers in it. It was so hard for him to open up to you intimately, after all he had been through in the past. Echo felt safe with you, understood, loved. Now he has a stomach ache and somehow his chest is getting tighter. That he has to hear from a stranger, how you sleep with other men feels like he has been beaten up properly, several times. He knows that some couples do that, but he never thought that you would want that. He doesn't know whether to be angry or disappointed. Echo is just not sure if this is somehow his fault. Maybe he should have told you very clearly how he felt, what he hoped for from things between you. He just hadn't dared yet, didn't want to impose. Echo is ashamed. A little bit he feels like you not only betrayed his trust and broke his heart, he feels exposed, embarrassed. Just a few hours ago, he was harping to his brothers about how insanely great you are and how happy you make him. Shortly after, they all heard the dirty little story.

When you come into the bar and see him sitting there, you already suspect that something is wrong. When you speak to him, he can barely look at you, his gaze alternating between pain and stony. He officially ends things between you, he also explains why. You are welcome to explain yourself, but it doesn't matter, shit hit the fan already. It's very likely that Echo won't come out of his shell too soon, at least not for you.

Wrecker

What he hears worries him. Wrecker's first impulse is to seek you out immediately, which he does. When you meet, you immediately notice that something is wrong. He seems unsettled and not at all like you have come to know him. "What's wrong, big guy?" you ask him gently. He sits down with you and sighs heavily. "Just heard a story in the bar that made me feel insecure," he says directly. You frown questioningly. "What kind of story?" Wrecker tells you about how this guy brags about having been in bed with you and throws around details from that night. Naturally, you're startled and also angry. Angry that this guy has so little decency, but you push this anger into the background for now. You're much more concerned with the fact that Wrecker is so affected by this. "Apart from the fact that this asshole has no right to spread this around. What exactly upsets you about it?" you ask cautiously. Wrecker wears his heart on his sleeve, actually, always, including now. "I thought something serious was developing between us. Do you see it differently?" he asks directly.

At first, you're a little speechless, but then you tell him, "Well, I thought there was a possibility, but we never talked about it, so I wasn't sure. The guy was just a one-time slip, I don't usually get involved with idiots like that." Wrecker sighs again and says, "I don't have much experience with relationships and how to get them rolling. When the Republic still existed, I wasn't allowed to do anything like that, so everything always happened without ties, without promises and such. Maybe that's why I didn't say the right words, didn't do the right things to make you feel like I only wanted you and hoped it would be the other way around". You look at him with a soft little smile and say, "I'm very happy to hear that Wrecker. Believe me, I really didn't mean to hurt you. I just wasn't sure where I stood." Wrecker says softly, "I'd really like you and me to be together, you know, exclusively." Wrecker knows that everything isn't always black and white, and he's looking forward to exploring with you what exactly you want from a relationship together. He won't give up that quickly.

Tech

He is completely flabbergasted at the first moment. Then he's very angry, disappointed, scared and insecure. Tech is annoyed with the guy, but also with you. He wants to hurt this guy, but instead of seeking confrontation, he wants to talk to you first, see what's up with this. When you confirm the veracity of the story, Tech is blindsided. "You can't be serious," he says quietly. "I... yes, I am, unfortunately." Tech falls silent for a very long, uncomfortable moment. You say carefully, "Somehow, I didn't get the feeling you wanted to be serious. In front of other people, you always treated me like a buddy, not a loved one." Suddenly breaking the silence, he sounds half upset, half sad. "Because I'm... shy and think that such things are private. I thought we both had something special. We've shared intimate closeness, several times. Something I couldn't imagine at all before. I've opened up to you, made myself vulnerable." You blink and at first you don't know what to say, of course you're sorry for upsetting him like that.

Quietly, disappointedly, he adds, "I feel like you've trampled on my trust and danced all over it." "A very flowery metaphor," you say softly. He glares at you angrily. Tech will back off, tell you to stay away from him from now on, he won't listen to any reasonable words. But it won't be two days before he's trailing after you again, talking about a second chance. If you go for it, get ready for Tech to be very controlling and jealous from now on. This will eventually subside to some degree, but it will take a long time. Tech feels deeply, so he is also very sensitive, but also passionate. With a little effort and patience, you'll smooth it out.

Crosshair

After breaking the nose and fingers of the guy who just told him about a hot night with you ("These hands will never touch my girl again, is that clear?!"), he makes his way to you. Crosshair growls your name as he walks into the room, and a chill immediately runs down your spine. You know even before you turn around and look at him that he's pissed. You slowly turn and look at him out of wide eyes. His gaze literally cuts into yours. "I guess I'm not enough for you", he growls. You blink. "What?" "Fucking around?" Your mouth drops open, and you stare at him, stunned. "Excuse me?" Crosshair murmurs, "The night after the party you went to last weekend." A light slowly dawns on you. "Oh."

For one thing, you didn't really expect him to find out about it, and besides, you weren't even thinking about the guy anymore. "That's all you have to say, just an oh?" You cross your arms in front of your chest and say, "Since when are we exclusive?" He pushes you up against the table behind you and growls, "Since the first damn day! Did you want a contract, maybe? Or a written invitation to a relationship?" You shrug, but at the same time your thighs part almost automatically, leaving him between them as he presses closer to you. "You could have just said you wanted a relationship," you say meekly. "Kitten," Crosshair says seriously, "We've been intimate several times, we've dated, I didn't think I needed to explain." You snort and at the same moment his hand grabs your chin. "I want you to be mine and mine alone". You can barely avoid his intense gaze. Crosshair, kisses your neck, up to your ear and whispers to you, "How many times do you want me to fuck you to satisfy your hunger?" He will be more vigilant from now on, but he will not control you. However, if you ever become intimate with someone else again, he will clearly break up with you, and no amount of begging will ever soften him. The first time, it was still a case of giving the defendant the benefit of the doubt, he won't let it slip a second time, at all.

@rintheemolion

@andyoufollowyourheart @clone-whore-99

@brynhildrmimi @kaliel2310

@misogirl828 @tech-deck

@meshla-madalene

@chxpsi

@thebahdbitch

@nahoney22 @ladykatakuri

@darkangel4121

@ttzamara

@arctrooper69

@padawancat97

@agenteliix

@allsystemsblue

@palliateclaw

@either-madness-or-brilliance

@ortizshinkaroff

@andy-solo1

@hunterssecretrecipe

@heyitsaloy

@greaser-wolf

@extrahotpixels

@hated-by-me

@hunterxcrosshair

@malicemercy

@bebopsworld

@echos-girlfriend

@cpnt616

@dangraccoon

@jediknightjana

@pb-jellybeans

@antishadow2021

@sleepycreativewriter

@projectdreamwalker

@1vlouds

@starwarsnerd111

[dandylovesturtles]

TMNT AU Propaganda whooo

Hello, I'm back again. With fic this time.

I bingeread all of Call Me Here (I Will Appear) by @callmehere-iwillappear a little while back and it's so good! So heartbreaking but so heartwarming at the same time! And with both IMBI and CMH both being in the @tmntaucompetition we decided they are ghost buddies, and then they drew this adorable artwork and I had to write a little something because listen I need good things to happen to both of these boys.

So here you go! And please vote for both I May Be Invisible and Call Me Here in the TMNT AU polls tomorrow!

(And also 2 Arms Left, those boys aren't really in this fic but listen if you vote for both IMBI and 2AL then Ell and I will face off in the next round please it's so funny-)

cough ANYWAY HERE'S THE DRABBLE OK BYE (spoilers for both fics within)

Was getting abruptly kidnapped to an interdimensional sports tournament the weirdest thing that had ever happened to them? Hard to say, but it was certainly a surprise anyway. Right in the middle of Leo's very dramatic catatonia arc, too...

The place is a madhouse. There's so many different versions of himself and his brothers, some of them older, some of them missing limbs, and some of them from different universes entirely. There's cheerleading. There's fighting. There's an older Michelangelo giving all the visible Leos bats for some reason.

Leo guesses he shouldn't be too disappointed that even in this crowd, only his own specific brothers can interact with him; he hasn't had dramatic life-saving encounters with any of these other people, after all. He keeps getting walked through, talked over, and he can't very well take part in the actual basketball playing.

But it's fine! He can vibe! He's so cool with vibing. His brothers seem to be enjoying themselves, after all, and Pizza Supreme knows after the weeks they've been having they deserve something fun and... probably not life-threatening (he's still eying those bats, though). So he can just... watch. Spectate.

So fun.

He's standing by while Raph chats with a whole group of assorted Raphs, surveying the diverse crowd when it happens.

His eyes lock with another Leo's.

The other Leo seems just as startled as he is to be seen - his mouth pops open in surprise, posture going stiff in a mirror of Leo's own reaction. Other than that, there's no immediate signs; he's not see-through, or floating, or anything else one might expect. The only immediate difference he can see is that the three clones of his brothers standing near the other Leo are all wearing their own version of Donnie's goggles.

And yet, he still knows.

"Hey, I'm going over there for a sec," he says over his shoulder to Raph.

"What? Hey, don't wander off!"

"It's fine, big guy, I'll stay in range."

He trots off across the court, not bothering to dodge anyone who steps in his path. The other Leo and his group aren't too far away, and once he gets there, the two of them look each other up and down, like wary dogs unsure about entering another's space.

He gives the other Leo a very serious look, which is mirrored back to him.

And the other Leo starts them off.

"What's a ghost's favorite fruit?"

"Booberries. What's a ghost's favorite car?"

"A Boo-gatti. Why don't ghosts go out in the rain?"

It dampens their spirits. What-"

"Who are you talking to?" the other Donnie asks, turning their way. He has his goggles pulled down. Leo gives him a wave, but he doesn't seem to notice.

"Just another Leo," says the other Leo, before turning back to him. "You can't be seen by the goggles?"

"Nope. That hasn't worked for us."

"But I saw you say something to your Raph."

"Yeah! Raph can hear me, Mikey can see me, and Donnie can touch me."

"Huh. Sounds inconvenient!"

"Oh, it is." Leo shrugs. "Curses, man, what can you do?"

Something quick passes over the other Leo's face; he only notices because it's so like his own. "You were cursed?"

"Yep! Some bad guy thought it would be a good way to get rid of me. You?"

The other Leo's smile droops only slightly. "...Do you know about the Prison Dimension?"

Leo's own smile drops, and he hunches in on himself, which just makes the other Leo's grin slip further. It hurts; he was there, for real, and again too recently in his mind, and now he can say this with certainty, with clarity:

No Leo deserved that.

But this Leo, who has persisted after death, who's with his family now... even if it's a tragedy, Leo can admire that. And they can see him - they can apparently hear him, and Leo knows from experience that that's everything.

(And still not quite enough.)

"...That sucks," he says, because what else do you say?

The other Leo shrugs, looking a little self-conscious. "It's not too bad. Donnie's making me a body."

"Oh, that'll be sweet." Leo picks his grin back up. "Wait, can you actually touch stuff? Are you going to haunt a robot?"

"I can if I focus." He looks smug. "It takes practice, but I'm getting better."

"Whoa, nice. I can't touch anything other than Donnie. Can't float or anything, either."

"Me either!" The other Leo throws his arms up dramatically. "What a ripoff, right?"

Leo matches the movement. "That's what I've been saying!"

"Man. It's nice to finally talk to someone who understands."

"Heh, same here," says Leo. He reaches out to give the other Leo a friendly pat on the shoulder.

He expects his hand to just pass through. He doesn't expect it to connect.

It's not really feeling, not like when he touches Donnie. It's more like when he touches his own body - his hand stops moving through the air, but he's not getting any tactile sensation from it.

He doubts the other Leo can really feel it either, but the way his eyes latch on the point of contact tells Leo everything he needs to know.

He doesn't hesitate, just wraps his arm around the other Leo and pulls him in for a hug. He doesn't resist, just puts his own arms around Leo, and he can't feel it but he's pretty sure he's holding tight.

He doesn't ask how long it's been since he's been hugged; he feels like he doesn't have to.

They stay that way almost a minute (and he's glad for their reputation as Leos that no one can see them), before the other Leo pulls back. His eyes are glassy and his smile wavering, but it's real and it's there, and Leo can't help but smile back.

He decides to save them before this gets too mushy.

"Hey, you said you can touch things, right?"

"If I focus."

"Well!" Leo moves so his arm is draped around the other Leo's shoulders, walking him toward one of the goals. "Get ready to focus on making sick dunks."

Instantly, the other Leo's eyes light up with delight. "Ooooh ho ho ho yes. We are going to freak some people out!"

He offers his fist, and Leo gleefully bumps it.

[cowboymcflurry]

You Found Me | Jim Hopper x Reader

Summary: You left Hawkins for good, making Jim Hopper, the guy you have had a crush on for years, worry about you word count: 1,2k includes: very vague mention of ST storyline, angsty kissing, set somewhere in season 2 I guess

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

It had been a couple of weeks since you had went missing, even though missing might be the wrong word. You left. You didn’t have a future in Hawkins and after everything that’s happened, after everything you had been involved in, you thought it might be a good decision to pack your bags and leave for good. You hadn’t told anyone. Especially not Hopper, who had been the closest thing to a friend you’d had. Over the years you had grown a severe crush on him that had slowly eaten you up from inside. You knew that you weren’t his type. He was known to hook up with the most beautiful women Hawkins had to offer and here you were, some weirdo from out of town who was way too interested in true crime podcasts, ghost stories and UFO sightings. You had just started working as Gary’s assistant at the local morgue, when Chief Hopper had come in one day. You distinctly remember the fluttery feeling in your stomach when he had first given you one of his rare smiles or when he had brought you a pizza because you’d had to work late.

One night a few months ago you had finally summoned all of your courage to ask him out on a date or at least express in some way that you were into him. But when he came into the morgue, holding two cups of coffee, and talking to you like to an old buddy of his, you somehow couldn’t go through with it. So you just took the coffee, smiled, and listened to him talk about his day. Then all of this weird stuff happened. Will Byers. Hawkins National Laboratory. Hopper taking in El. Suddenly you’d felt like drowning. Like everything was a little bit too much, like you didn’t belong - even though you had never felt like you’d belonged there in the first place.

So you left. You quit your job at the morgue and with the money you had saved over the years you’d decided to go on a little road trip. Just you and some mix tapes.

It was week five in and you’d just gone up your room at another shady motel. You were just about to eat your pizza - your favorite kind that Hopper used to get you back then - when someone banged at the door.

“Hey, are you there?” a male voice yelled and it sounded strangely familiar. Could it be that - no, no that was absolutely impossible. Right?

“I know you’re there, I can smell that stupid pizza through the door!”

You gulped. Slowly you stood up, trying to catch a glimpse through the curtains, but it was pitch black outside.

“Come on!” he yelled, followed by another bang, though this time sounding more frustrated.

Reluctantly you unlocked the door, frantically thinking about how he possibly could’ve found you.

When your eyes met the stunning blue of his it felt as if your heart skipped a beat. The way he looked at you, worried, caring but also angry made your chest feel as if it were about to explode from guilt.

“Where the fuck have you been?” he hissed, shoving himself past you, looking around the room as if you were hiding something.

“How did you know where you am?”

“None of your business.”

You raised your eyebrows in disbelief. “Excuse me?”

“Why are you here?” he asked, putting his hands on his hips.

“Why are YOU here?” you asked in return, mimicking his posture.

“Gary said you quit.”

“Correct.”

“Why?”

“Just because Jim! I just wanted to get some fresh air.”

“There’s plenty of fresh air in Hawkins.”

“Well, I wanted to get some fresh air outside of Hawkins.”

What followed was an uncomfortable silence, in which he gave you a look that could only be described as reproachful. After a while he looked away and cleared his throat.

“Where you ever planning on coming back?” he asked in a coarse but soft voice. You looked away. No, I wasn’t because there’s been too much fucked up shit going on and besides I’m madly in love with you, you scruffy idiot.

“Eventually, yeah.” you lied. He scoffed.

“You know what?” He asked, turning to look at you.

“What?”

“The day you left I actually wanted to ask you out to see that stupid movie you’ve been talking about the whole time.”

“Nightmare On Elm Street?” you asked, not completely processing what he’d just said.

“Yeah, that one.”

“Why?” you asked, perplexed.

“What do you mean why? Because I - Because…” He swallowed. Looking away, he ran his fingers through his hair.

How had he been able to find you? He must’ve been on the road for ages only to ‘save’ you - not knowing you hadn’t needed saving. Still the sight of him, the sight of his stubble, the sight of the faint melancholy in his eyes gave your stomach a little shake, as if you were on a roller coaster. You noticed his eyes resting on you, his expression suddenly soft and wounded. Cautiously you closed the distance between the two of you, immediately feeling the heat his body radiated and smelling the faint remains of his musky eau de cologne.

“Jim, I-” you began to say, but the sentence trailed of somewhere, when your gaze met his eyes again.

“What?” His coarse voice all soft.

“I’m sorry.” you whispered, trying to look away.

Slowly his hand reached for your face, his thumb softly stroking the skin of your cheek. You felt your throat clogging up and your eyes getting moist, desperately trying not to give in. Trying not to let him see this side of you. This was not how it was supposed to be. But here he was. Exhausted and frustrated and maybe in need of a shower. And when your gaze fell upon the slight curve of his lips you couldn’t help but long for his touch. For the warmth his body exceeded. For the feel of his skin on yours. But despite what he’d said less than a minute ago, it still felt hopeless, like a dead-end.

“I thought you were gone for good.” he said, his voice breaking, his hand still on your cheek. His eyes as blue as the ocean’s, made you think of a storm at sea; beautiful and dangerous at the same time. You wouldn’t mind drowning in them. You have drowned in them. Suddenly his glance wandered. From the tip of your nose down to your philtrum only to finally land on your lips. You felt his breath, smelling faintly of cigarettes and whiskey, hot on your skin as he exhaled. Then he closed the distance between the two of you even further. His lips being less than an inch away from yours. He searched for your eyes again, his other hand reaching up to the other half of your face. And when you looked into his eyes, into the storm, the crashing waves of the sea, and how he seemingly tried to study yours in return, as if he was desperately trying to find something, you closed your eyes and placed your lips on his.

It felt as if the world had stopped turning. There was no sound, no light, no feeling other than his rough stubble brush against your skin, the smooth skin of his lips on yours. The alternating pull and release, first tender, then more longing, until it became urgent. You pulled at his collar, your head still in his hands, as you kissed and kissed and kissed...

[noiriarti]

The Arrangement: Armitage Hux x Reader (College AU) Ch. 5

Summary: A cuddle-buddies-to-lovers college AU.

AN: second to last chapter!! i was activated like a sleeper agent and wrote this in a fugue state at 2 am. it is also 3.5k words. hope you like it! i am going to put this man through a juicer like he's an orange!

Ch. 1, Ch. 2, Ch. 3, Ch. 4, [Ch. 5], Ch. 6

Chapter 5: Yogurt

After his revelation, Armitage started feeling guilty. It was in the rules, wasn't it, that you had to be honest with one another? That he had to come clean? But if he told you, you might pull away. Stop staying over. Or, worse, stop being his friend. That was unthinkable, so he kept his mouth shut. Meanwhile, you were thinking the same thing.

He was everything you wanted: proud, smart, reliable, strong, and, beneath it all, kind. Sweet. You'd pick him in a room of the hottest men on the planet a million times over. When you'd started your arrangement, you'd known him, sure, but you hadn't known him. What made him tick. What he wanted out of life. Watching him talk about how much he loved doing research in a neurochem lab, describing his experiments and the machines he used, you had slowly started peeling back the layers of his shell.

You just hadn't expected some of your discoveries to be so sad. Behind the facade of the dry humor and the insults he could hurl at Kylo in a heartbeat, he was so soft and delicate that it made your heart ache. You heard a bit about his father, when he would let some story slip. He told you once, when he was drifting off and let his guard down, that his father always found him lacking. That he could never be good enough. Useless and pathetic. Brendol Hux was a neurosurgeon with a god complex almost as large as his bank account, and he wasn't afraid of reminding Armitage exactly how he had misstepped that week. You suspected Brendol was physically abusive too, but you didn't want to ask Armitage. Not when he was so reticent to bring him up in the first place. The rest of his home life was bleak too. His stepmother, Maratelle, was calm, but distant. Armitage wasn't hers, as far as she was concerned. If she did speak to him, it was some remark about what he was eating, or his posture.

He was so proper, so deeply self-controlled, in every aspect of his day. His daily calendar was exacting, and often so overstuffed you felt anxious just looking at it. He did everything when he was supposed to do it, like clockwork. You could practically set your watch by his breakfast routine or his study sessions. That self-control was probably why  he never did anything that was vaguely sexual or romantic during your sessions, more than the inherent romance of how much contact you had. He never tried to kiss you, and, oddly, you found yourself hoping for it. The irony that this whole arrangement started precisely from your desire for no kissing or groping during cuddling wasn't lost on you, but it was different with Armitage.

Lately, though, you had seen a change in him. As he told you about his meetings with his advisors, he brought up a new idea. Clinical psychiatry. He could do research, and explore how brain chemistry worked in the real human body. Evaluate medicines. Really help people, not just now, but in the future. He could help make people better. Or, he could also make new medicines, but he'd need a PhD in chemistry for that. Either way, he was reconsidering his future, and the first person he wanted to tell was you.

A week after her bombshell, seeing no movement in your situation, Gwen casually mentioned one of your neighbors and friends, Finn, was having a party that Friday. That he told her to invite her roommates. You knew Finn from your Intro Compsci class, and he was great. Really sweet, lived with his boyfriend Poe and their friends Rey and Rose. You said you and Armitage would be there, not noticing that you had begun speaking for the two of you as a collective in the past month. After a hard semester, it was time to let loose. To chill a bit. Maybe forget about how much you wanted Armitage. You knew exactly what you would wear, too. 

On Thursday night, you heard raised voices in his room, just for a minute. After he yelled something indistinct, you heard a smash and then silence. Concerned, you knocked on his door. Tap tap tap tap. You didn't bother waiting for him to open the door. Those kinds of boundaries had been crossed a long time ago.

Armitage was on his bed, his head in his hands, shaking in rage. His phone was on the floor against the room, and you realized he had thrown it in anger. Worry clouded you, and you immediately rushed to him, sitting next to him in the dark room. Only the lamp by his bed shone, like it always did when he was expecting you.

"What's wrong?" You asked as you draped your arms over his shaking shoulders, trying in vain to calm him down.

"My father--he. We fought," he choked out. He wasn't crying, but his voice was thick with emotion.

"I'm so sorry. Want to talk about it?" You offered. He hesitated for a moment, but nodded. Millie was hiding under the bed, but peeked her head out at the softness of his voice.

"I brought up my idea to try chemistry--a PhD instead of an MD. Or, at least, to do psychiatry instead of surgery. He didn't like it," he whispered, his voice breaking. A sob bubbled up in his chest, but he kept it pressed deep down. He wouldn't cry. He wouldn't.

"He's an asshole. You should be able to do what you want," you told him, rubbing up and down on his arm. Millie crawled into his lap, looking up at him with her large, green eyes. 

"Hey, girl," he whispered to her under his breath, scratching behind her ears, before turning his attention back to you. "It doesn't work like that in my family. If I don't do what he wants, he'll be disappointed and--I don't know." You pulled him down onto the bed so that he was facing the wall, and you were behind him. He hid himself in the wall, curling up until he felt tiny in the space. Like he did when his father yelled at him when he was little. You snaked your free hand over him, pulling him closer and pressing your chest into his back. The exact opposite of what you did the first night you were together.

You laid there for a couple of minutes, just holding him as he processed. In a tiny, tiny voice, so silent you wouldn't have caught it if the room wasn't dead quiet, he asked you something.

"Do you think I'll ever stop wanting him to like me?" You crumbled. He was so precious, so sweet. I like you. I love you. You don't need him, your mind echoed. You wanted nothing more than to keep him like this, wrapped up in your arms, until he understood how much he meant to you.

"Armitage, he's your dad. Of course you want him to like you. But he's controlling, and if you spend your whole life chasing what he wants, how will you ever have space for what you want? All your friends know how amazing you are. We know you, who you are, and we love you for it. You would be an excellent psychiatrist, or chemist, or, hell, even a surgeon. What your father wants is irrelevant. What you want should be all that matters." He nodded, but stayed quiet. When he'd had fights like this with his father as a child, they rocked him to his core. He'd hole up in his room for hours, even days, hoping that someone would come looking. That someone would find him and tell him he was okay. That they weren't mad at him. With you, with Gwen, hell, even with Kylo in his life, it felt like there was someone there. Someone to help him keep going when his family was hard. Hearing your words, for the first time after a fight with his father, he started getting angry, but the emotion was short-lived. 

Armitage was trying and failing to ignore he way his body lit up when you said you (all) loved him. He knew it was a general, collective statement, but he let himself believe, just for tonight, that you meant it the way he desperately wanted you to. That you were holding him not as his... whatever this was, but as his girlfriend. The arms of a lover, the embrace of his girl. Tonight, somewhere between the rage at his father and the pain of rejection, he could let himself believe it. It soothed him, and he imagined life with you. Waking up and having cereal, kissing you tenderly over the kitchen table. That would happen when he woke up, he told himself. Because you loved him. Tonight, just tonight, you loved him. He felt so safe in your arms, so happy in his temporary delusion, that he fell asleep almost instantly, but not before he had one final thought. I love you too.

As you felt his arm and body go slack, finally asleep, you drew in closer, resting your head on his back. Gently, you pressed a kiss to his shoulder blade, and hoped he would have sweet dreams, ones where he did what made him happy.

In the morning, he woke before you, as usual, and felt horrendously embarrassed. He should have just told you last night that he needed to study, and that you could see each other tomorrow. Instead, he had shown you something he didn't want to. Did you think less of him? In the harsh light of the morning, his bullheaded, hopeful belief that that you loved him seemed laughable. Silly, even. Pathetic. The anger toward his father was all that was left in his heart, the sadness having morphed into something vengeful overnight.

Not to mention the fact that he was definitely in breach of your arrangement. He was not being honest with you about how he felt, and it was time to talk to you about ending this, for both your sakes. You rooming situation was complicated enough as it was, he didn't need to add his stupid crush into the mix. What if it made you uncomfortable? How could he justify his presence in your arms every night when his motive was something sinister. To get in your pants, like some freak. Pathetic. He shook away his father's voice. But he had to tell you how he felt, before one of you got hurt.

He extricated himself from you as best he could and dragged his sorry ass into the kitchen. Even though she was usually across campus at this time, Gwen stood in the kitchen, eating some pizza directly from the fridge. He threw her a greeting and pulled out his tub of Greek yogurt, which he instantly noticed was too light. It was nearly empty, and he hadn't bought a new one. Useless. He tossed the container in the garbage with unnecessary force, startling Gwen on the other side of the kitchen.

Sheepishly, he picked it out of the garbage. It was a recyclable. As he dutifully washed it out, his anger grew. The scalding water burned his hands, but the bite of it focused him. Whatever his failings last night, he had drawn one correct conclusion. He couldn't let his father dictate his every move. He could get what he wanted from him, and then leave his father alone the way he had done to Armitage for so many years. Once he had tossed out the container, he texted his father. I have decided I would like to pursue medical school. He didn't expect a response, really. But he knew that his father would read it. All that really mattered was his father paying for his education. After that, Brendol couldn't control his specialty, or residencies. He was going to be a clinical neurochemist, damnit, and his father couldn't stop him. His father probably wouldn't even notice.

Not that he didn't still fear his father, or that he suddenly stopped yearning for a "I'm proud of you, son," from him. But, he accepted with a resigned bitterness, that would probably never come. And when he wanted that approval, or affection, or anything, he had you. And Gwen and Kylo. And Millie. And that was enough, for now. But it really meant he couldn't fuck it up with you. If he lost you, and then his other roommates got weirded out, he wasn't sure where he'd turn. The guilt would eat him alive for ruining something so precious by thinking with his dick.

"You good?" Gwen asked him, noticing his outwardly unhinged behavior.

"Yeah, just. Parents," he mustered, and she nodded.

"I get it. I'm here, if you want to talk." He was touched, and nodded at her. Maybe he could really do this, rely on his little circle. They lapsed into silence again.

"You know, you should really do something about your feelings," Gwen remarked as she took a bite of her pizza. She knew him well enough to read the moment of panic that was covered by a schooled look of calm.

"What are you talking about?" Casual. Smooth. Unbothered.

"Your feelings. You know. Just tell her. Please. You are taking years off my life," she said as she rolled her eyes and stalked out of the kitchen. He was left standing there, letting his jaw drop when she turned her back. Shit, he needed to end the arrangement. If he was being this obvious, and you noticed, you'd surely feel betrayed that he didn't tell you. That he withheld something like that from you for months when you both explicitly agreed not to. He needed to talk to you, stat.

The only problem was that there was a party that night. He saw Gwen in leather pants and a silver top, and he instantly connected the dots. It was Friday. Shit. He threw on a button up, which he rolled up to his elbows, and passable slacks. Whatever. He didn't intend to stay longer than an hour, and then he had to find you and talk to you. When he left his room, Kylo was next to Gwen, wearing an oversized black bomber jacket over a black shirt and black jeans. The guy certainly had a look, Armitage had to give him that.

"Okay, I'm ready!" You called from the hallway.

The dress hugged your curves in ways that made his mouth water, accentuating all the parts of you that he tried to deny existed. He traced the expanse of your legs with his gaze, all the way from your heels up to the hem of your skirt. Before looking you in the eye, he stopped and admired your collarbone, and the faintest bit of glitter you had rubbed on it. And the curve of your neck. Gods, he could write a book about it. You had pinned your hair back in some way that he found baffling, but managed to make your features sharper, more dangerous.

So, basically, he thought you looked hot. The dress, in truth, was a bit too small. It rode up on the bottom, and the top kept slipping down whenever you lifted your arms. But no one, even you, could deny that you looked like a total smokeshow in it.

Gwen gave Armitage three seconds to process and internally drool before she started ushering you and Kylo through the door and down the hall to Finn's place. Outside your room, the bass from the party echoed through the walls, and the air was just a bit muggy from the swarm of people inside their living room. You and Gwen dashed off to greet Finn, leaving Kylo and Armitage, God help him, to mingle. Kylo made eye contact with him, and they both instantly headed to the drinks. Armitage fought his way through the crowd, feeling the pulse of the beat and the sweat in the air. After bumping into a couple almost making out, he murmured an apology and kept winding his way to his goal. Kylo just barreled through the dancing bodies, not even apologizing for almost knocking over a rather tipsy girl and her friend. Finally, they reached the kitchenette, which gave them a decent view of the entire living room, crammed full of drunk people. Armitage immediately searched the room for you, ready to find you and tell you that, actually, this was a mistake, and he wanted to go home now please. After about a minute (and a shot that Kylo had shoved in his face), he found you, with Gwen, talking to Finn. And then, oh joy of joys. 

Who would join you guys but Mitaka? Little Dopheld with his little crush on you? Armitage sneered in his direction. Not that he had any right to be possessive, he admitted. But still. Armitage was not leaving any time soon. He'd stay here until you left. Mitaka approached you, waving as the three of you added him into the conversation. Kylo had gone off to hang out with one of his acquaintances from the swim team--some tall girl with brown hair and freckles--leaving Armitage alone to seethe in the kitchen. He watched as you and Gwen laughed at something hilarious Mitaka had said. Awesome. Great. Then, the four of you turned to one of the bedrooms, and slipped into it. You lagged behind, searching the room for something. When you spotted Armitage, you waved at him, beckoning him across the oppressively loud room with a hand. He dove back into the crowd, pushing past groups of friends and couples and strangers as he found his way back to you. You cast him a smile that made the anger gripping him loosen just a bit. When you grabbed his hand and started dragging him into the bedroom, he melted, leaving his frustration behind.

The room had its floor cleared, with all the people in the room sitting in a large circle, or, rather, a lopsided oval. He wasn't quite sure why, or what was going on (Cult intiation? Drinking game?), but you sat down next to Gwen, pulling Armitage next to you. He dug his fingers into the thin, scratchy carpet when Mitaka and Gwen switched places, putting Mitaka directly to your left. Perfect. He shot a murderous look at Gwen, who had on a shit-eating grin. She knew what she was doing, and Armitage vowed to crush all her protein bars and unscrew her showerhead the next morning. Across the circle, he heard Kylo's distinct chuckle, and turned to give him the same violent look.

It appeared that they were playing some game, the exact rules of which weren't explained. Was it spin the bottle? A handsome man, Poe, he surmised from the way Finn was looking at him, spun the bottle, and it landed on Kylo. Kylo then crawled into the center and spun it. Anticipation filled the room as the light glinted over the edges of the bottle once, twice, thrice. It slowed, landing on that girl from the swimming team. Rey something. Would they kiss? That'd mean this was spin the bottle. Armitage wondered absently, his eyes still focused on you and Mitaka. Instead of just a chaste kiss, Kylo stood up and pulled Rey into the walk-in closet with a devilish grin. Ah. Seven minutes in heaven. Classic.

But fuck, you were playing. Which meant you could get into a closet with any one of these random people. Or, with a probability of 1/13, you could get him. That thought made his skin flush. You and him, in a dark closet. He imagined your hands trailing everywhere, exploring the parts of each other that your arrangement prohibited. Your skin, warm under his as he kissed along your neck. A series of cheers interrupted his fantasy, as he watched Kylo and Rey stumble out of the closet with matched blown pupils and dazed smiles. He whispered something to her, and she smiled. The pair made their exit when the crowd's cheers died down, and their attention had been drawn by the next victims. Armitage realized that the probability that you would kiss him, or do anything else except stand there awkwardly, if you were chosen, was so slim it was laughable. Pathetic, a voice echoed. Poe spun the bottle again, and Armitage started to wonder how many more spins it would take for you to get bored and finally leave so that the two of you could go home. Another spin, another couple. Mitaka whispered something to you which made you grin wolfishly, some piece of gossip that lit up your eyes. Armitage bristled. Just one more spin, and then he'd suggest leaving. Poe's hand spun the bottle, and Armitage was too busy looking at you and trying to estimate whether Mitaka was closer to you than he was, when the bottle made its choice.

It was you. You looked up at Poe, seeming to have forgotten the fact that you were playing in the first place. You glanced at Armitage, your features tightly drawn in nervousness, as you crawled to the center of the floor and spun the bottle. The bottle's glass made soft noises as it brushed against the carpet. Shk shk shk shk shk. Armitage counted the spins, 5 so far, and mentally calculated that 1/13 meant a 7.7% chance it would land on him, odds that he realized he probably wouldn't beat. Behind his back, he crossed his fingers, with one hand at first, but then with both hands. Shk shk shk. The bottle was slowing, creeping around the circle. He found himself praying. To whom, he wasn't sure. But he was praying. Shk shk. The bottle was barely turning, and, to his delight, it was turning toward him. Slowly, but surely, he was looking down the neck of the bottle. But then it kept going. Right past him, right past you.

And it landed on Mitaka.

Motherfucker.

[ar-lene]

Hello fellow yttders!!! Tis i!! The midori connoseuer who drew him once during jeandori takeover.

Under cut is a midori centered (Though The main cast have alot of elaboration on them, too.) yttd bungo stray dogs au me and 3 other people thought on a bit.

I intended to do something bigger with it. But since im working on the midori dating sim. I just cant. So im using this as a sort of hivemind post for anyone to compile ideas for this au!!!

So! Let us start with the *new* ability users and their abilities

Sou 'midori' hiyori:

Ability: "the silence of the lambs"

Affiliation: Armed detective agency. (Early story)

Rats in the house of the dead (later in the story)

This ability, allows anyone with contact to midori to establish a mental connection to, midori. Where they can swap out conciousness, speak telepathically. Or even hear the other persons thoughts and emotions. Midori is the one in control of all of that, though.

Now, as you might have guessed. This *does* have something to do with shin. Specifcally, midori ripped a layed of his skin, sew it into a scarf. Which shin now wears!! Meaning as long as that scarf is on shin. They can swap out conciousnessnesses! Shin is aware of this.

Funfacts: in yttd we see that midori has a very slight hunch. In this au, its due to shins bad posture, blowing his cover whenever he was in midoris body. So after many horribly gone attempts in fixing shins posture, Midori had to compromise.

Midori mostly uses shins conciousness in situations where his "non human way of thinking" would be a hindrance like: when he was passing the ada entrance exam.

Gin ibushi:

The switch is instant. And happens in the blink of an eye.

The name "midori" was given to him by the ada

Ability: "Knuffle kitty"

Affiliation: port mafia

Gins ability, allows any plushie animal, organ, or essentialy 'living tissue' made by gin. To become functional as if it were a living thing. With gins ability, you can easly replace someones organs or limbs as long as theres a surgeon to attach the plushie limbs to the actual host. He can also create poisonous animals to then throw at his enemies. Which is whoever is watching over him most of the time. (Lets face it. Its shin and sou who're getting stuff thrown at them.)

Fun facts: gin was transferred to the port mafia via saras request.

Kyuusaku and gin were buddies before Q witnessed the horrors.

Mori views gin as a sort of "mini yosano" and has a little collection of poisonous insects which gin has made for offensive use.

When dazai first met gin, in chuuyas presence. When gin began speaking in his "woof, meow" s. Dazai pointed at chuuya and said "he talks like you"

Joe tazuna:

Ability: 「トリプルドッグデスバラージ」 (TRIPLE DOG DEATH BARRAGE!) (Sorry i had to)

Affiliation: port mafia

His ability. Is self explanitory.

There are three dogs.

They will death barrage you.

And they regenerate atsushi style.

Funfacts: hes here due to!! Sara!!

He tried to get ryoko (was that her name??? Doner kabab gurl.) Into the port mafia too, but sara said its too dangerous for her.

Sara chidouin:

Ability: "Muses, mad men and prophets."

Affiliation: Port mafia

Her ability is meant for crowd control, and large, quick genocide. Whenever sara kills someone. They manifest as a "hallucination." Of themselves. Which wander around like normal passerbys. She, can swap her location with any of these "hallucinations" . No matter how far.

Hallucinations cannot be contained. And pass through walls. Hallucinations will dissipate after an hour has passed.

Funfacts: she works with kouyou for her training.

She was introduced to the port mafia via her father.

She kicks ass

Reko yabusame:

Ability: "perfect pitch"

Affiliation: port mafia

Juonos hearing. She can detect sound waves. She is all hearing. She detects them snitches.

Funfacts: she came to the port mafia for alice.

She and nao are girlfriends

Tia safalin:

Ability: "Babushka's doll"

Affiliation: none (sort of.) She does freelance work for whatever faction needs her. She has the most expirience working for the special ability division, rats in the house of the dead and the port mafia.

Her ability allows her to create dolls which she can give a portion of her memories to, they will then function as normal people. And can go through with tasks.

Funfacts: i got none

Maple:

YUP!!! MAPLES FINALLY GETTIN SCREEN TIME!!!!

Ability: "The tea party in the woods"

Affiliation: none (because she deserves happiness)

Her ability causes the person shes using her ability on, to expirience a vision in their mind. Which time does not pass in. The vision will display the most comforting envoirment for the person the ability is used on. Maple, can interact with the other person during this vision. And the vision can only be stopped once the host, has drunk a whole cup of tea. This room can be used as a sort of quick therapy room, or somewhere to share confidential information with. Only 3 can enter at a time.

Funfact: she comes to the cafe under the ada very often, and has made great friends with lucy and atsushi. Shes also met midori, but its just a little baby crush.

Now, we get to characters with no ability, and their affiliations.

Alice Yabusame:

Hes part of the port mafia due to reko

Yelling. Alot of it.

Shoved in here by midori so he pays for the attempted murder

Tries his best.

Keiji shinogi:

Affiliation: Armed detective agency.

The wahaha man.

Hes a little like ranpo, in that he has no ability but is very preceptive.

When he joined the ada midori was so panicked he forced shin to interact with him. So now midori has to act like shin whenever keiji is talking to him.

Its not fun.

His arrival at the ada was NOT expected.

He was transferred to the ada from the speacial ability division.

Kanna!!! :

Affiliation: port mafia, because she kicks ass.

She helps out with mais bakery alot since its right below her house.

Shes learned alot from sara. And it shows in her fighting style.

She fights with her FISTS

She likes kyoka alot. Kinda sad shes in the ada, and sneaks to go to the cafe to see kyoka.

During one of these sneaking sessions shin (in midoris body) spotted her. And now shin has to cover for her whenever shes off to see kyoka.

Just. Genuinely a very kind girl

She doesnt deserve to be in the port mafia. And everyone knows that.

She could probably beat chuuya in a fist fight if chuuya didnt use his ability.

Shin tsukimi:

Affiliation: port mafia.

Shoved in here by midori.

Everyone and everything is out to kill him so he has a gun and several knives under his very large coat.

Most of his time is spent yelling at computers because theyre too slow for his liking.

Picks fights with sara over the stupidest little things, which sara wasnt even disagreeing with him on.

The unfortunate person who has to watch over all the children

Koyou scares him.

Higuchi is like the only non intimidating person to him, and exclusively because of how non-decietful she is.

Hatred for dazai osamu

Admiration of chuuya nakahara

Hatred of mori

Confusion of akutagawa ryuunosuke

People i dont have much thoughts on:

Megumi is a part of the special ability division.

Hayasaka is a member of the port mafia

The satous are part of the port mafia.

Mishima and nao live normal lives.

Q-taro is a part of the guild.

Hanako is an ex port mafia member

Clown girl is leading a normal life as a clown. (But im kinda considering throwing her in rithod and giving her an ability)

Ranmaru joined the port mafia for sara

Miley works with tia. But has ties to the port mafia

Teki....is teki???

Shes like..the miku of bsd i guess.

Main plot points im experimenting with: (midori exclusive)

Midoris motive from joining the ada being finding fyodor due to more information on "god" and assuming they follow the same god for this.

Midori being found out by dazai/ranpo/keiji , because midori is forced to switch into shins body to save shins ass during an ada raid. (Probably during the cannibalism) because midori isnt skilled enough in combat to hide his combat style. And shin cant fight for shit.

Midori getting his ass beat by keiji due to giving him piss hair and trauma.

Midori and fyodor kiss and make out (aka midori magically manifests in the tower during dead apple because his ability would just...be a copy of shin)

[thiswasinevitableid]

Siren Song (Danbrey)

The runner up for "weird mer" prompts was: A siren musician annoyed no one can give unbiased feedback on their songs

Sirens know many things. How to lure ships just where they want them. Which sharks make the most loyal pets. The best sunken wrecks for a Sunday brunch. And, ostensibly, how to make their sea gardens grow lusher than the mind can imagine. 

The secret, of course, is singing to the plants. Which should be easy for a siren. 

Dani has been singing at hers for two weeks and has barely gotten so much as a sprout. And she’s pretty sure that, statistically, that would have happened for her whether she was singing or not. 

Every other siren’s garden is already busting out of it’s bed. And Dani usually has no issue with her plants. Which means the most likely culprit is her voice.

She’s pretty sure it sucks. 

But there’s not a way to prove that; humans will always hear a beautiful voice promising whatever their heart desires. Siren’s hear each other's songs as fish hear each other bark; they know it’s happening and what it communicates, but quality is not registered. 

This is why Dani is currently sitting on a rock in a small sea cave in the cliffs that make up the shore, trying to see if the acoustics will somehow give her a realistic sense of her voice. When that doesn’t work, she covers her ears to see if she can hear herself better that way. No luck there either, though she can tell she doesn’t sound like the humans who sing on the outside stages in the nearby town square. 

Uncovering her ears, she picks up a conversation on the beach beside the cave. 

“What’s wrong, doctor? The seagulls aren’t even calling, there’s nothing to be upset about.”

There’s no reply, but the voice continues, “Here, do you want a strawberry? Yeah, see, there we go, everything’s fine.” 

Curious, Dani swims out of the cave and peers around the rocks to the beach. It’s the middle of the week, when most humans are at work, and according to her friend Mama, the schools aren’t out yet so no one is on vacation. 

The only person who can see her is the owner of the voice, who may be the most beautiful woman she’s ever seen, human or mer. There’s a mess off curly, black hair piled on her head, and even from here Dani can see a spray of freckles on her nose and more dotting her tan arms. She’s wearing sunglasses–always dangerous, it’s harder to tell where a human is looking when they do that–in bright red frames. She’s sitting on a bright orange blanket, and at her feet is the little land otter humans call a rabbit. But this isn’t the kind Dani sees nibbling grass on the sloping hills near the sea; it’s huge, its sand-colored fur smushed in places by a vest connected to a leash. 

“There we go buddy” The woman pets the rabbits head, “honestly, what freaks you out sometimes is a mystery.”

On a hunch, Dani stays low in the water and starts singing. The rabbit’s body goes stiff and then it thumps its back feet into the sand, looks at the woman, and thumps again when she continues sitting there. 

“Okay, if you’re this freaked out we’re going home before it turns out there’s, like, a sea monster or something.”

“There isn’t” 

“JESUS CHRIST” The woman jolts on the blanket as Dani appears on the shore, “sorry, scared me. I’m totally cool with mermaids.” Her posture relaxes, “Do you know why Dr. Harris Bonkers is freaking out?”

“I think it’s my singing. I’m a siren, and I was practicing when he started getting upset.” 

“Cooool. Um, I mean, I guess that could be it? I didn’t really hear you singing.”

“I was trying to do it softly so I didn’t send anyone over the cliffs or something like that. Maybe his big ears heard it?”

“Probably. Bunnies do have great hearing. Yes you do.” She rubs the rabbit's ears and it hunkers down into a happy loaf. 

Dani fiddles with the ends of her hair, “This might sound weird, but could you and your rabbit help me out? I’m trying to tell if my singing is any good and he might be the only animal that could tell me.”

The woman looks at her a moment, pink creeping up her cheeks, “Um, yeah, that’d be great. We’d love to help you out.”

“Fantastic! Meet me here this time tomorrow?”

The human smiles, “It’s a date.”

—-------------------------------------------------

The human–Aubrey, as she introduces herself–is more covered today, thanks to the cloudy skies. Dani tries not to be too sad about it. She can still see the little, cartoon fire tattoo on her ankle and wonder what it looks like while it’s owner swims about her in the water. 

“Do I need to, like, cover my ears?” Aubrey rubs the rabbit’s nose as Dani settles on the shore. 

“You should be fine. I’ll just sing scales. Also I can pull you out of the water if you wander into it in a trance. “

“Glad to know I’ve got a lifeguard.” Aubrey’s smile is even more enchanting close-up, “okay, Doctor, you ready?”

The rabbit wiggles its nose but does nothing else, so Dani starts up the scales she’s heard other sirens use. It only takes one trip up and down before the rabbit is thumping. When Aubrey rubs his ears and tells her to try again, he can be a tough critic, Dani obeys. 

The next set of scales results in the rabbit trying to hide under the blanket Aubrey is sitting on. 

“Hmmm, okay, maybe let’s take a break. Here, I brought lunch.” She pulls out a bagel sandwich, then another with salmon on it, “I figured this’d be safe for you? My friend Duck says sirens can eat all kinds of things but also I think his boyfriend might have more of a, um, garbage palate.”

“Thanks” Dani scoots up to sit on the sand beside her, “sirens who’re full of themselves will only eat fresh fish with nothing on it. Not me; my friend got me hooked on sushi from that place on the pier. He’s been bringing other stuff back too but I’m not sure where he’s getting it.”

“Ooh, I can for sure bring sushi next time. Mrs. Takahasi gives me a discount since I perform at all the family birthday parties.”

“Are you a singer?”

“Pfft, no.” She smiles like it’s no big deal, “I’m a magician! Dr. Harris Bonkers is my assistant.” She reaches behind Dani’s ear and comes back with a small, black card reading The Lady Flame.

Dani sees there’s a phone number on the card and wishes for one that works underwater. 

In no hurry to embarrass herself more for the day, she asks Aubrey what it’s like to perform in front of kids, and listens as the human describes the good (little kids hugging her or parents saying their child demanded Aubrey come for their party after performing the prior year) and the bad (cake. So much thrown cake).

The music from the nearby bar blares to life, signaling the start of the evening, and Aubrey freezes mid-sentence. 

“Crap! I have a show in a half hour!” She scrambles up, “same time tomorrow? I really want to keep seeing you I MEAN helping you.”

Dani blushes, “See you then.”

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“This is hopeless.” Dani lays face down, body in the sand but face on Aubrey’s blanket. Aubrey strokes her back in sympathy. They’ve been at this two weeks and made no progress. Today show downloaded an app on her phone that’s supposed to help you determine if you’re on key by turning notes green when you hit them.

The dang thing is still flashing every color under the sun.

She wishes she knew how to help; Dani is amazing and it sucks to see her so down on herself day after day. 

“Dani? Why is it so important that your voice be objectively good? Like, it works how it’s supposed to on people, so everyone thinks it’s good, then why not just call it good?”

The mermaid rolls onto her back, golden hair fanning onto the blanket. She’s wearing a bikini top of woven, bright green sea grass that Aubrey thinks looks great but also kind of wishes would disappear. 

“It’s for my garden. Or, part of my garden. Every year there’s a huge garden show and any siren who thinks they’ve got what it takes spends months, if not the whole year, singing their entry into shape. Mine isn’t growing how it’s supposed to under my singing. And you know the worst part?”

Aubrey shakes her head.

“I’m a great gardener! People ask for my flowers for their birthdays!I have all kinds of cool plants in front of my house,  have a kitchen garden and plants from seeds and cuttings that have been in my family for generations! Which is really hard to do; one weird current or freak temperature change and they could be gone. I’m good at this but…but it took me years to work up the nerve to enter the show. Because the judges favor certain plants and if it’s not the greenest and lushest they barely look twice at it. So I figured, what the hell, if I can grow heirloom sea beans I can grow giant Aqua Monstera. Now I just feel silly.”

“It’s not silly. You wanna show off what you love and what you’re good at. You didn’t know about the singing thing beforehand. Honestly you’re probably, like, the first siren in history to wonder if she can sing.”

“I guess.” Dani sighs, “maybe I should just bow out. Give my spot in the competition to someone else.”

“Or…” Aubrey pets a strand of sunshine hair, “you could enter it on your own terms. Even if you don’t win, maybe you’ll, like, remind people that there’s more than one way to be beautiful, you know?”

Dani looks up at her, eyes like sunken gold, “Yeah, I think I do. And I just got the perfect inspiration.”

—----------------------------------------------------------------

“Hey, Dani, I was-”

“Sorry Barclay, no time to talk, I’ve got to get all these planted.”

“Holy fuck, aren’t the judges going to lose their shit if you include that?”

“Maybe but I don’t care, I’ve wanted to try growing them for years and Aubrey was right, this is about showing off what I love.”

“That’s the spirit. Wait, Aubrey? Who’s Aubrey?”

“Uhhh, can’t talk, these need to be in beds ASAP.”

“You better invite her to dinner soon!”

“Yeah okay I will it’ll have to be on shore bye!”

“What?”

—---------------------------------------------------------------

Aubrey sets cake on the blanket, checking her phone every ten seconds like that will make the time go faster. She’s left Dr. Harris Bonkers at home; whatever Dani is feeling after the garden show, she wants the siren to have her full attention.

When her friend surfaces, Aubrey can’t get a read on her expression, even when she slides up the damp sand onto the blanket. 

“Did it go okay?”

“No.” Dani grins, “but also yes. The judges made a lot of snide comments about how my greenery showed a siren lacking in essential skills. But” she holds up a pearly-green coin on a strand of tiny puka shells, “there’s an award for crowd favorite, and guess who won?”

“Holy crap! That’s amazing”

“I know! I–why does that cake “congratulations/I’m sorry.”

“I, uh, I thought you could pull it off, and I wanted something for us to have if things went well. But also you made it clear that the judges are dicks so I figured it needed to have another meaning just in case.”

“You’re sweet, fireblossom. Here, I have something for you too.”

Aubrey is so busy processing the potential pet name that she barely notices Dani zipping into–then back out of–the water. The siren sets a bundle of plants tied with a red string on the blanket. 

“Wow, I didn’t know you could grow stuff like this in the sea.” Aubrey picks up the bouquet of red, black, and orange blooms. Some are star-shaped, others swirled like shells or spiky like urchins, “I love the colors.”

“I knew you would. You were my inspiration.” Dani grins, sharp toothed and beautiful, “once I thought of making a garden to remind me of you, it all came together.”

Aubrey leans forward and kisses her, the siren humming happily and climbing between her legs as she returns it. 

“Don’t suppose there’s a way for me to see the whole thing?” Aubrey murmurs, stroking Dani’s cheek.

“A friend of mine can hook you up with a spell so you can breathe underwater.” The siren nibbles her ear, “and I’d love to show you my garden. I even have one by my bed.”

Aubrey smirks, then kisses her nose, “Okay cutie, you can show me your garden any time.” She sighs as Dani kisses her neck, “you wanna have some,uh, dessert after we have the cake?”

A teasing, loving, vaguely toothy kiss finds her shoulder, “Reverse it and we’ve got a deal.”

“You sirens, so wily and persuasive, you’ve convinced me. C’mere.”

[magmacannon]

1 and 14-20 for ROMAN

WIZARD BLAST

What’s the lie your character says most often?

I have thought about this question (in regards to "what lie does your character believe") quite a bit and I think the one he says the most often is some manner of "it's okay/it'll be okay" because whether or not things will work out, he is constantly doing it to beat back his own anxiety that things will go Very Badly.

14. How do they put out a candle?

I'm rolling a con save for this one actually.

And a +4 to con so he definitely licks his fingers and puts a candle out like that sometimes!. I think he used to be pretty delicate with them and would only blow them out (and can do so from a good distance, he was raised in a family of singers with good breath control) but I think working with potion-making and getting burnt mildly from that has made his fingertips resilient enough to go for it.

15. What’s the most obvious difference between their behavior at home, at work, at school, with friends, and when they’re alone?

At home Roman has WAY more confidence and is overtly goofy and relaxed, at work (and when he was in school) he's Nervous and as tuned-in to what's going on as he can manage to be, though he has trouble multitasking and sometimes loses focus on the Job, with friends he's extremely open to sharing his life story Always (this is evident with how he's trying to share his life rn to make friends too), and when he's alone the most obvious difference is that he is constantly singing or talking to himself. (He sings around Vince and the kids but it's in a goofy sense... he pours his heart out when he's alone)

16. What kinds of people do they have arguments with in their head?

John

And Blu and a little bit Baster but doing that kind of sucks. Also himself constantly

17. What do they notice first in the mirror versus what most people first notice looking at them?

Beard hairs too light/short to be a wizard beard (he refuses to try and grow one out! What's the truth buddy)... As for what other people first notice looking at him?? I think Obviously it's the wizard getup (hat and staff), though for his personal appearance I'd guess maybe his smile or posture? He's pretty friendly looking 9/10 times.

18. Who do they love truly, 100% unconditionally (if anyone)?

Vince and his kids For Sure... Also his brother (and kind of his parents though he's definitely worked through some boundaries with them over his lifetime). Tbf though Roman has a lot of room in his heart for Love so this isn't the most extraordinary thing for him to commit when he decides to love someone.

19. What would they do if stuck in a room with the person they’ve been avoiding?

Roman tries very hard not to avoid people and instead talk through issues (potentially sometimes even if the other party doesn't want to talk about something) - if he WAS avoiding someone and got stuck in the same room as them I think he'd probably get physically Ill and tear his hair out before choosing to maybe talk to them.

20. Who do they like as a person but hate their work? Vice versa, whose work do they like but don’t like the person?

God I'm SURE Roman has some opinions about Wizards at his university... I think he likely has a lot of admiration for his fellow evoc frat people but kind of looks down on their work (might be jealous?? Or genuine dislike of the path they've taken the War Magic down pff). Roman would be pretty mild about the criticisms he'd give to someone he liked.

I think John sort of falls in the opposite category but we'll see how exactly he feels about him Evolve over time... regardless though John's work with magic is brilliant, and he begrudgingly admitted that some time ago. HOWEVER I think in general he'd likely be much more scrutinizing with the work of someone he disliked than someone he really liked, for better (more fact-checking) or worse (dismissing someone's work for a minor issue), as much as he'd hate to admit it.

[angelofrainfrogs]

Spend the Night: Ch. 34

~Coauthored by @zeitghest~

Fandom(s): Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach

Description: The familiar melody of Grandfather’s Clock chimes through the echoing halls of the Pizzaplex…

Charlie wakes up in her Puppet’s vessel yet again with one goal in mind: to stop William Afton’s reign of terror for good. She enlists the help of Glamrock Freddy, the emphatic leader of the newest iteration of the Fazbear Band. But there seems to be more to this bear than meets the eye—and the same goes for the mysteriously familiar kid the duo find tinkering with animatronics down in Parts & Service.

With some help from friends new and old, Charlie’s journey into the bowels of the Pizzaplex will unravel mysteries none of them ever expected. 

Rating: T

Read on Ao3

Have you figured out it's me With your theory? As the darkness smothers the light

So you managed to survive All that means is You live to die another day

~Goodbye by Tryhardninja, Dagames~

Gregory bid the girls farewell, waving to Hannah with a dreamy look in his eyes before snapping out of it. He made sure to turn and give his brother the well-deserved high five for keeping still as he worked.

Then, suddenly at the door was the all too familiar knock pattern of Samuel Emily. It was an odd habit of his since learning Morse code as a boy to knock the word “Hi” into every door before entering.

“Freddy!” the man's voice fretted. “Please tell me you're still functioning at least. Right?!”

Samuel was about to pull all of his hair out. Finding everyone's room a complete and utter mess with three of four main band members just gone without a trace left his mind frayed as well as his nerves. Vanessa insisted whoever was in Freddy’s room might have the keys to understanding this mystery, so Sam had to hope for the best.

As one, the quartet froze. They stared at each other, silently asking what they should do—they hadn't expected to see Sammy now!

Michael cringed, thinking of what a damn mess they must all be. At least his head was closed back up, although the dried blood certainly wouldn't help calm Sammy's likely high-strung nerves at the state of his Pizzaplex...

“You should answer before he freaks out even more, Freddy,” Michael muttered quietly as the patterned knock came again, a little harsher this time around. As the bear moved to the door, Mike patted the couch next to him and looked at Gregory. “And you should sit here with me; we'll let Charlie and Freddy handle this first. You okay with that, Charlie?”

Freddy had reached the door, though would wait for Charlie's okay to actually open it. However, wanting to assure Sammy that there was at least one Glamrock still kicking, he responded: “Hello, Mr. Emily; yes, I am still functioning perfectly. Give me one moment.”

“Freddy, buddy—” Samuel began to tap his foot, impatient and still without answers. “—what are you doing, freshening up like Roxy? Open up.”

Charlie's brother was waiting and it was her call on when to open the door. She stood in an awkward posture, like a deer caught in the blinding lights of a truck. She wasn't ready at all to see her brother—it was going to be rough explaining everything to him, and they hadn't had time to think of a game plan.

“Okay, alright!” Charlie whispered to Freddy, hiding behind him somewhat in anticipation.

Gregory squeezed in beside Michael, chewing his lip; Charlie's brother sounded pissed. With no tangible information on the mysterious CEO except his audible anger, Gregory would fare better to hang close to those adults he knew and trusted.

“Maybe you can help me get to the bottom of this, Fred,” Sam said, assuming Freddy had to know something that was going on. But with the bear seeming oddly resistant to his entry, he began rummaging through his mass of keycards to find the master that’d unlock the Glamrock’s room.

Michael winced at Sammy's tone and wrapped an arm around Gregory's shoulders, letting the boy lean against his side. Sitting attentively on the couch, he and Gregory were the picture perfect example of loving brothers—if one looked past all the grime and mildly terrified expressions, of course. Still, Mike knew whatever discomfort he felt at that moment didn't hold a candle to the whirling thoughts that must be going through Gregory's brain as yet another loud, unfamiliar presence stormed into his life.

“I am certain that I can provide some information,” Freddy replied a bit mysteriously, waiting for Charlie to get into position before unlocking the door. He pulled it open to reveal the frazzled CEO, who Freddy smiled down at warmly. He was thankful that Sammy was alone, for it was much easier to deal with just him that if he had a horde of employees at his back.

“It is nice to see you again, Mr. Emily; I am sorry you had to come back to such a mess,” Freddy said, moving aside and gesturing for Sammy to step into the room while being cognizant of Charlie peeking out from behind his leg.

Samuel sighed, happy for the always warm welcome by his favorite bear. “Man, I'm glad to see you...”

He was looking down at the ground, tired eyes refusing to pull upward and take stock of the room and those in it. “Freddy, I'm not going to lie—I'm upset! Not with you, of course... But just when things were going good. You know?”

He let out a heavy sigh. It was odd, how Samuel carried himself just like Henry. Though the face he had was oddly familiar, Gregory noted it wasn’t his dad he shared the most similar features with. His position as Charlie's twin was clear in the unique shade of green in their eyes, along with the slight wave in their dark, coarse heads of hair.

Sam took in a breath to elaborate, but when his foot painfully collided with the head of Monty he was pulled from his concentration with an annoyed yip. His gaze traveled, taking stock of the dismantled robot first, then silently glancing around.

First, he saw Michael Afton and who he assumed to be Evan sitting casually on the gaudy orange couch, and thought this was it. He’d finally snapped. All that nervous pressure had gotten to him. Sam was fully convinced he’d gone insane when besides Freddy he noticed young woman who resembled his dead sister. What came out next was unfiltered and raw—

He laughed.

Laughed like it was some cruel joke. The noise made the already too-tense room thicken, and then it was too late... Samuel's eyes rolled back, and his knees became wobbly. Falling into a collected heap on the ground, he was out like a light.

“Well, shit,” Michael breathed as Freddy rushed to help.

“Mr. Emily?!” Freddy called, gently tapping his hand. Upon receiving no response, he conducted a quick health scan, noting Charlie move to her brother's side as well. “Not to worry—he has just fainted. Let us move him to the couch where it is more comfortable, then we can rouse him.”

“Guess that's our cue to get up.” Mike released Gregory and they hopped to their feet, moving aside as Freddy carried Sammy's limp body over to the couch, laying him down almost reverently. Freddy slipped the bow-tie pillow underneath Sammy's head, then turned to the others.

“Perhaps you should approach one at a time,” the animatronic suggested, looking around the room and spotting an unopened bottle of water that Gregory hadn't yet gotten into. “He may be in shock when he comes to; I will wake him. Michael, please hand me that bottle?”

Charlie felt as if this was already a rough start. She felt stupid for not saying anything, or not having the mental reflexes to at least try to catch her brother. A painful look spread across her face and Gregory could see how fearful she was of disappointing Sam.

“Charlie? Maybe you should try to wake him up,” Gregory suggested, standing aside along the foot of the couch with Michael. Charlie crouched down, reaching over and holding Sammy’s hand in hers.

“‘m sorry…,” Sam muttered deliriously, eyes still squeezed shut. “—Sorry… Sorry…”

He kept apologizing, internalized in his guilty feelings over the disappearances of his friends and family. Everyone eventually slipping away from his life like burned-out bulbs on a string of Christmas lights. Upon opening his eyes Sam’s bleary gaze flicked around, passing over everyone in the room before pinning onto Freddy.

“Freddy? Can you make a note to call my therapist? I think it’s happening again…,” he said with a sigh of resignation. But Charlie’s squeeze to his hand grounded him.

“Sammy…?” Charlie asked, reluctant as his eyes fixed onto hers and he slowly sat up.

Rather than be overjoyed at his family reviving from the dead, Sam’s first inclination was to be furious. How dare someone impersonate his dead sister and friends?! Tears begun to well in his eyes as he was overwhelmed with negative feelings. This couldn’t be happening, not to him… Not when things had finally started to go right in his life.

"Who the hell are you kids and where do you get off on impersonating my friends?” he snarled, making Charlie drop his hand in surprise.

“Please do not be alarmed,” Freddy said in the gentlest tone he could muster. His words came out more sincere than ever before, and so did the calm, reassuring smile on his face. “This may be hard to believe, but these are your friends. They are not impersonating anyone.”

“Hey, Sam,” Michael greeted, sidling next to Charlie with thumbs casually hooked in his pockets as he met Sammy's utterly confused, hurt gaze. “Look, there's no way to explain this without it sounding completely insane, but... Freddy's right. I am Michael, and this is really your sister. It's... oh god, it's a long fucking story, but thanks to Charlie and your dad, we're able to be here right now, in the flesh. Well—kind of.”

Michael stopped there, not wanting to overwhelm his old friend too much. First they needed to convince Sammy that they were not trespassers impersonating his dead family, and then they could go into the finer details. As they waited for a response Freddy pulled Gregory to his side, allowing the boy to cling to his leg as he pressed a firm, comforting hand on his back.

The survivor’s guilt was already so overwhelming. As Charlie regained her composure long enough to grasp ahold of her twin’s hand once more, she held it close to her face. Charlie herself was finding the words difficult to get out, but in Sam’s delayed thoughts she would kiss the side of his palm.

“We’re all here. Me, Michael’s siblings, Dad… I… I’m sorry for not finding you sooner, Sammy…,” Charlie beat herself up, in awe about how time had both changed him yet kept him exactly the same as she remembered.

Sam wasn’t buying it so easily. He could accept that what he was seeing were manifestations of his dead peers, yet them being real was still debatable. With his free hand, Sam pinched himself hard beneath his shirt, hissing at the new welt under his ribcage. Wincing, he shook his head.

He wasn’t having a nightmare.

This was all real.

“No! I’m the asshole, Lottie!” Samuel finally belted out. “It’s my fault. Everything that happened was because of me—you’d still be here if I wasn’t so stupid and selfish!”

Charlie donned a completely taken aback expression, but decided to gently stroke the back of Sammy’s hand with her thumb in an attempt to soothe him.

“But you’re not really here, are you? You’re a ghost—god, I thought Dad was insane! I-I called him crazy for saying he was seeing ghosts in the Diner—” He rambled. Thoughts were broken, some began where others barely ended.

“Sammy, what do you mean it’s your fault?” Charlie interrupted calmly, not the slightest hint of malice in her voice. At this Samuel curled up on the couch, quietly murmuring for her forgiveness.

Michael had seen this all before: the shock and inability to accept your loved ones’ ghosts were still hanging about. Cursing your father for claiming he saw spirits until you realized maybe he was right all along. The guilt that ate away at one’s very soul at not being able to do anything to help, let alone knowing all of this was your fault…

Mike had 40 years to wallow in his own self-depreciation, beating himself up every waking moment for causing the deaths of his dearest companions—and his constant nightmares of razor sharp animatronic teeth and children’s cries of terror were an entirely different ballpark. And now, just when Michael was finally starting to accept that maybe he didn’t have to bear the burden of everything, here comes Sammy with his own comparable baggage?

No, that wasn’t going to stand.

“Are you kidding me, Sam?!” Michael piped up, brow creased. He hadn’t meant to sound so harsh, but it was disconcerting being faced with a near-mirror image of his own internal struggle. Crouching down so he didn’t tower over him, Mike gently placed a hand on Sammy’s knee and tried to meet his gaze where it peeked out from behind his fingers as he cringed away.

“None of this is your fault,” Michael told him, calm and measured. “If anything, I’m the one that started all this shit—but I warn you, if either of us start saying stuff like that too much, these guys will give us an earful.” He gave a tiny smile and jerked a thumb to his side where Charlie lingered, Freddy and Gregory standing not too far off behind her.

“And okay—yes, technically we are ghosts… but these are real, solid bodies.” Michael gave Sammy’s knee a squeeze to demonstrate that they had no problem making contact. “Your dad is amazing, as usual; these are androids he built for us once he figured out that some souls were still hanging around.” His expression was soft and understanding, hoping his words were convincing enough for Sammy to accept. “Yeah, the whole situation's utterly insane, but we’re still here—we always have been. So don’t beat yourself up about it, okay?”

Tears that threatened to fall from Sammy’s eyes clung to his thick eyelashes. He held himself together enough to shake his head.

“You don’t get it… It’s my fault. If I didn’t put all our stupid presents on top of Puppet’s box…,” Sammy tried to explain.

He remembered that rainy day: a calm Wednesday in the middle of perfect spring. Their birthday. How Charlie was locked outside was still a mystery to Sammy... But after reviewing the security footage with his Uncle William, they both saw what really happened.

***

“Didn’t you know? The Puppet is made to protect you kids…,” William had told the terrified teen as they watched Sammy pile their gifts onto the Puppet’s box, stopping the film just as Charlie turned from the window after someone outside called her attention.

“It was an accident, Uncle Will! I-I didn’t want her to die! I love Lottie!” Sam insisted, crying hysterically as he fell into William’s chest. There he buried his tears and the truth of what happened that night—at least, the version he believed to be true.

That his sister was dead because of a stupid little prank he decided to pull, keeping down her prized, creepy robot.

“Of course I understand… But what about your father? He’ll be quite cross when he sees this,” William chided gently. When Sammy’s panic was at its peak, William leaned over and removed the tape from the VCR. He pulled its contents out, ruining and exposing the film. “This can be our little secret, Samuel; all anyone needs to know is what a tragic accident this night became. You nor I will ever speak a word as long as we live. Deal?”

***

The flashback was instantaneous and Samuel found himself doing it all again, leaning over and crying profusely into Michael’s shoulder in place of his uncle.

“I’m so fucking sorry—” he wept, barely feeling his sister’s quiet hand rubbing his back as he sobbed into his childhood friend.

Mike let Sammy cry, slipping his arms around his waist below Charlie’s soothing hand. Glancing at her, Mike was unable to tell what she was feeling—her face was an indecipherable mask of hurt, sympathy, and confusion. Sammy might think he was responsible for her death, but they all knew who the real culprit was.

“Sam, listen to me: it’s not your fault,” Michael said into his ear. His jaw clenched a moment as he tried to figure out the best way to put this without completely sending Sammy into hysterics. “Regardless of whether you crowded the Puppet’s box or not, it wouldn’t have stopped Wi—”

He cut himself off sharply, squeezing his eyes together. Mike didn’t remember anything of that day except the gut-wrenching drop when his father announced that Charlie was dead. The slowly-mending hole in Michael’s heart from his brother’s death was ripped open anew, and it was astounding his young mind didn’t snap from the stress and guilt right then and there.

But now wasn’t the time for self-pity. As Sammy’s sobs began to die down, Michael carefully held him by the shoulders so he could look into his face.

“I’m so sorry, Sam, but there’s… there’s really no way to say this tactfully,” he admitted, watching his friend’s face twist with anxiety at his words. With a deep, shaky breath, Michael revealed the truth. “The one who killed Charlie—who was responsible for all the murders and disappearances besides Evan… even mine and Liz’s, indirectly… it was my father.”

Now it was Michael’s turn to cringe back, releasing Sammy’s shoulders and waiting for whatever reaction would ensue when the pin dropped.

...The possibility of William being behind it all had always lurked in the back of Sam’s mind. When weeks turned to years in the investigation with only one man being arrested and released without evidence, Sammy lost hope of ever finding his sister’s killer. He couldn’t utter another apology without feeling like he was going to throw up. Still it came as a shock—

William was always kind to Sam. He thought of others and gave free things away from the diner constantly. Though looking back, it was far too easy to see how this wholesome persona was just a farce. A little smoke and a mirrors put up to mask the real monster who convinced a 16 year old boy that his sister’s death was a byproduct of his own carelessness. William tricked all of them.

And when Sammy had the wherewithal to finally reach around and pull his sister in for a hug, he felt as though a piece of him he lost long ago had finally come home.

“Anything…” Samuel said, sniffing back snot so it didn’t land in his sister’s hair. “Anything you all need—name it. It’s the least I could do for covering for that fucking sicko.”

Michael allowed himself to relax as Sammy pulled Charlie in for a hug. He stood, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking away to give them a moment. His eyes fell on Freddy and Gregory, who also seemed relieved that Sammy accepted the truth without too much pushback.

“Well, first off, we want you to know that William’s gone for good,” Michael spoke after a moment. The Emilys were still clinging to each other, but he knew Sammy was listening by the way his eyes flickered to meet his own over Charlie’s shoulder. “That’s what we’ve been doing all weekend—trying to take him down. Sorry about your Pizzaplex, by the way… and the Glamrocks.”

“They were under William’s control, trying to capture intruders—children, specifically—when the night shift hit,” Freddy finally spoke up, taking a small step forward. He wanted Sammy to know that all this damage was the fault of no one but the former bane of their existence. Putting things as simply as he could, Freddy explained: “He sent out a virus that infected the entire Pizzaplex. It affected Vanessa as well, so please give her some leniency if you are able to. I am sure she will explain her side of things in time.”

“Freddy was the only robot not taken over,” Michael added, flashing a grin towards the bear. He let out a soft laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. “I kind of, uh… unintentionally possessed him for a bit before I got this new body, and my being in his head worked like a supernatural antibiotic to fight off the virus.”

“None of us would be standing here right now without everyone’s help,” Freddy pressed, making it clear that no one was more useful than anyone else in making things right.

Michael chuckled again. “Freddy’s also developed one hell of a conscience over the past few days, so… there’s another thing to wrap your head around.”

Samuel fixed the round frames that were falling down his tear-streaked nose, nodding as he took in the information. He looked at his sister and helped her sit up with a protective arm in an iron grip around her. He was a little worried since she hadn’t spoken in a while, but he was positive it was only because she was feeling the same as him: shocked with the circumstances. Even if he could argue that he had a right to be more shocked, it didn't matter. Sam was half thankful for her silence. It gave him time to process the wild recounting of the long weekend during his absence.

“Well—thank goodness no one was hurt,” he said in relation to the kids, grateful for this unlikely team. Not only was he reunited with friends of the past, but the AI Samuel designed achieved consciousness?

Astounding.

“Uhh... About that—” Gregory started, making Samuel glance at him with confusion.

…Who was this kid? The voice was all wrong and now that he really looked straight at him, he remembered Evan's eyes as brown.

“Oh... right.” Michael grimaced, stepping back to wrap an arm around Gregory's shoulders. “Contrary to what you're probably thinking, this is not Evan—and don't ask about how or why they have the same face, because it's a mystery to us all.”

Pulling Gregory a little closer, Michael gestured to him with his other hand as if presenting him before an audience. “Sam, meet Gregory. He's the last kid my father was after. He's the only one of William's victims that made it out alive, although he's... not completely normal anymore.”

Michael trailed off, the lingering guilt of being unable to save Gregory from the Remnant injection rearing up in the back of his mind. Sensing this rising distress, Freddy stepped in again with an explanation.

“This may be a topic for you to discuss in detail with Henry at a later time—” the bear started, and there was the faintest hint of strain in his voice. He clearly hated talking about his son's unfortunate situation, too. “—but before we got rid of him, William injected Gregory with a substance that changed some of his physical attributes. We do not know the full depth of what this will do as time goes on, although as Michael said, he is still alive. As for the other children who have gone missing...” Freddy shook his head, looking down at Gregory and running gentle claws through his hair. “Unfortunately, they did not fare as well. William was able to get to them before we were alerted to his presence, and therefore we could not act in time to save them.”

“I'm glad I got to dance on that jerk's ashes,” Gregory said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

It jumped out at Samuel, as it was something particularly violent for a kid to say. Though, he supposed that he couldn't blame Gregory’s conviction if William was trying to hurt him. Though that wasn't what particularly what caught Sam's attention.

“Mike—you're telling me more kids died here?” Sam's mouth went dry. Now he was beginning to blame himself all over again. “This isn't good! I... Fuck—when?! Where, I mean—w-what happened?”

Charlie shook her head. “You really don't want to know.”

“You really don't,” Michael echoed, shaking his head vehemently. He released Gregory's shoulders only to cross his arms over his chest as well, mirroring his brother unintentionally. “Look, I know this isn't what you want to hear, but let us handle this for a bit longer before we call anyone else in, okay? This sort of shit isn't something normal people should be dealing with, and we want to make 100% sure nothing's lingering around that can still hurt anyone.”

He thought of the endoskeletons Charlie and Vanessa mentioned, specifically designed to kill the kidnapped children. Where they also infected with William's virus, or had they simply been hotwired by Vanny? The latter was greater cause for concern, as they could still potentially be a threat to humans. Michael and Charlie would need to investigate soon, after they'd had a chance to rest from their ordeal. At least everything was confined to the lower levels and hidden away...

Meeting Sammy's eyes with a serious gaze, Michael added: “Please, don't reopen the Pizzaplex until we've made sure it's safe—and do not go in the basement. Tell the staff not to go down there either; we'll let you know once we've checked everything out.”

Uncrossing his arms, Michael managed a tiny smile, not wanting to linger on this topic lest Sammy get too caught up in his head. “Aaaand this is just part one of 'things we're going to need from you.' The second part is more on a personal level—see... we've got no money. Or a place to stay. Think you can hook us up with a hotel room for a few nights?”

Sammy looked between both him and Gregory, only letting go of Charlotte to dig along the inner pocket of his jacket. How much did a few robot ghosts and a kid need for a hotel room? He juggled a few hundred dollars in his hand, then sighed. What if there was an emergency?

“Here, uh... Take my wallet; use the credit card when you need it, but try to use the cash first,” Sammy instructed, entrusting the fat leather billfold into Michael's hand. “Uh... I see you guys already raided the store fronts, but take whatever you want! Freddy can show you where to get the good merch. Please, help yourselves!” He'd be generous with them after all. “Uh—here kid, borrow my phone so you can call your parents...”

Samuel held out his well-armored cellphone, and Gregory instinctually knocked it out of his hand.

“Sorry! I uh—I forgot their numbers!” he excused, making Samuel tilt his head in confusion at the boy. “S... Sorry.”

Michael shoved the wallet deep into the pocket of his jeans, patting the lump for extra security. At Gregory's reaction he rubbed the back of his neck, looking to Charlie and Freddy with uncertainty.

“Um, so... Gregory's going to stay with us for a while,” Mike said, trying to delicately bring up the fact they'd basically adopted the boy while making it not sound like they were technically kidnapping him. “We want to keep watch over him for a little bit and make sure he's okay... And from what he's told us his foster parents are kind of shitty anyway—we're not even sure how hard they're actually looking for him. They're definitely not equipped to handle kids, let alone one that's been through what Gregory has.”

He spared at glance at the boy, to see Freddy had already placed a protective paw on his shoulder. Michael let out a chuckle, a corner of his mouth raising at the sight. “Plus, I think if you tried to separate those two you'd have to fight off Freddy... and trust me, you do not want to be on the other side of those claws.”

“Michael, I am not going to fight anyone,” Freddy responded, although there was an edge to his bright eyes that contradicted this statement. Even if he wouldn't physically throw hands, Freddy would be hard-pressed to let anyone try to take his new son away, the legality of the situation be damned.

“Fred's is a friendly bear,” Sammy reminded them, trying to maintain the family friendly branding all while ignoring the profanities he said just a few moments earlier. He turned to his now sentient creation with a heavy sigh. “And you... have to go with them, that's what I'm gathering?”

Theoretically, given the timeframe Michael had issued the end of the week should be enough time to fix the rest of the Glamrocks on top of sending out the new character releases. Man, they were losing a lot of business from this mess. Though they could survive—it was a big birthday month for them, after all.

“Then I wish you luck, Freddy. And uh, Gregory?” Samuel snagged the boy’s attention. “If you'd like one, I'm gifting you an Ultimate Party Pass—you can go anywhere and do anything at anytime. It's also works as a prepaid gift card. Just... Don't tell strangers what happened here. Okay, buddy?”

Sam tried not to sound nervous as he fished another card from his pocket. One Gregory would add to his finalized collection of access cards. “Cool! My first bribe. Thanks, Mr. Emily!”

“No—” Samuel coughed into his hand to clear his throat. “—Mr. Emily's my dad. Just Sam’s good for me.”

“Thank you,” Freddy said warmly, having nothing but fondness for the Emily heir. Henry might have come up with the original Fazbear Entertainment concept, but Sammy was responsible for the Glamrock line so in Freddy's mind he was just as much of the animatronic's creator as his father. Offering Sam a smile, he reassured: “Do not worry—I will take care of everyone and keep them safe.”

Michael rolled his eyes affectionately at the bear's determined words, then pulled Sammy into a brief hug. “It's really good to see you again, Sam; sorry we all disappeared on you all those years ago.” He released the embrace to hold his friend gently by the shoulders, flashing a grin—not so rare nowadays than it used to be. “Looks like you did pretty well for yourself though, all things considered!”

With that he let Sam go, giving him a final wave as he ushered Gregory and Freddy towards the back room where Freddy's android was being stored. Mike wanted to give Sam a moment alone with Charlie before she left for the day, and he also wanted to get things moving with the data transfer. If he was starting to feel tired, he could only imagine the fumes of adrenaline Gregory was running off of right now. When was the last time the kid had eaten something?

Gregory was fairly lightheaded; he no longer experienced hunger pains in the same way as he used to—only feeling a dull ache in his abdomen as he trailed Freddy and Mike towards the storage area.

Once they were alone Sammy and Charlie stuck together closely, finally able to catch up. A miracle took place here, Sam couldn't deny that. Though it left him with many, many questions... Samuel wasn't sure if he'd be better off knowing all the terrible secrets the four of them shared. For now, he was a reconciling brother, meeting with his long lost twin sister for the first time in decades.

The back room's charging pod illuminated the sleeping automaton inside in a delicate halo of soft, blue light. It wasn’t long before Charlie joined the others, earning matching looks of curiosity.

“Uh, I feel like Sam's going to pass out again so I told him to chill in Freddy's room for a second while we get something done,” she laughed off.

“Yeah, I figured he was at his limit when he didn’t ask how we planned to get Freddy out of here,” Michael responded, slinging an arm around Charlie’s shoulders.

Together they watched Freddy open the charging pod and remove his android, handling it as delicately as a porcelain doll. Since his room was currently occupied by the recovering CEO, Freddy opted for seating the robot against the least dusty spot on the wall. He gazed down at it for a second, unsure of what to do, then carefully sat beside it.

Now was the moment.

In a few minutes, the personality that inhabited the Glamrock singer would no longer be Freddy Fazbear—at least in body. In spirit, he knew he’d never be able to let go of his origins. No matter how many years passed, Freddy was sure he’d remember the lyrics and dance moves to every song he ever performed. A sudden realization hit him like a truck, causing him to gasp out.

“What… What am I going to tell the others?” Freddy asked, and it was unnerving to hear him so legitimately nervous. “Chica, Roxy, Monty… The Daycare attendant and Music Man… how am I ever going to explain this? How will they know this is me—”

“Freddy, relax,” Michael soothed, crouching down to press his palms against Freddy’s face. As their blue eyes locked together, Mike told him with the utmost sincerity: “We’ll figure it out like we've been doing this whole weekend. Don’t worry about that now though—just focus on how awesome it’s going to be to not need to recharge every five minutes!”

That ushered a small grin from the bear and Mike released him, stepping back next to Charlie. Freddy took a deep, calming, simulated breath. He didn’t know what the future would hold for him in this new state, but Michael was right—it was sure to be awesome. Turning to his son, Freddy gave him the brightest Fazbear smile he possibly could. If this was the last time Gregory would get to see him in this form, Freddy wanted him to have a good final memory.

“Alright, superstar,” he said, placing his paws in his lap and sitting up straight. “I am ready.”

Gregory could feel the weight of what they were about to accomplish. No longer would Freddy be confined to the neon-lit world of the Pizzaplex for the entirety of his existence. While they were essentially stealing Samuel's most advanced technological creation, the man didn’t seem to mind. Or, he was too overwhelmed to process the full ramifications of Freddy’s departure.

And Gregory? Well, he was just happy to have someone looking out for him now.

“Alright—I'm going to connect your cord and port you over,” the boy announced.

He wasn't even sure how long it’d take as he kneeled besides his Papa Bear’s two forms and dug inside the panel in the android’s leg. Gregory quickly unfurled the cord, reaching for the scar-esque line on android's neck and flipping it open. It was a pretty creepy way to conceal their download ports, that’s for sure. Then again, Gregory never made an android himself, so how was he to judge?

The initial plug in was made, and after connecting the cord to Freddy’s current Glamrock body and going through a few command prompts on the android’s tiny digital display, Gregory stepped back to watch the process.

“So, he'll probably go offline for a bit,” Gregory told the group. “Could take a minute. Or, like, an hour. Hard to say.”

He then took a seat on the floor, completely beat from the all fighting. He was running on a total of probably 10 hours of sleep over the course of 3 nights, which felt like a new personal high score.

As his core data was ported over, Freddy's smile relaxed into a neutral expression. Within seconds his eyes closed and his head fell forward delicately, as if he were letting out a deep exhale. Only this time, the bear didn't move again.

Michael and Charlie sat cross-legged on the floor too, making a little semi-circle around Freddy's two bodies. Gregory sat next to his dad of course, with Mike on his other side and Charlie completing the family circuit. They sat in silence, the faint, ambient sounds of staff moving around the Pizzaplex the only noise to be heard.

It took Freddy's consciousness exactly seven minutes and forty-six seconds to fully download into the android. The bear was completely shut down now—if one pressed an ear to his chest, even the always-functioning background systems had totally stopped. In exchange, the kind-faced automaton slowly raised its head, blinking sluggishly as if waking from a long sleep. No one but Henry had seen its eyes open before, and with a surprised laugh Michael realized they were the exact shade of bright, electric blue as Freddy's original ones. Whether this was yet another cosmic coincidence or they'd changed color with the appearance of the body's true personality was anyone's guess.

For Freddy, to not see the torso of a giant animatronic bear when he looked down was jarring. He lifted a hand, turning it over in awe at the sheer amount of detail Henry had put into this body. He could see faint blue veins on his wrist, the crinkling texture of palm lines, and even a faint dusting of light freckles here and there on the back of his hand. The rest of his arm was covered in a soft golden sweater, which he could actually feel the plush fabric of where it rubbed against his skin. Pressing gentle fingertips to his cheek, Freddy was amazed at how utterly new and strange it was to have a face not made of hard metal—for all intents and purposes, he was practically human now.

Speaking of sensing things, Freddy quickly realized there were three sets of nervously eager eyes fixated upon him. For a moment, all he could do was stare back. Then his gaze fell upon Gregory, his son, and he lit up in a smile that could rival the sun, the corners of his eyes crinkling with sheer happiness.

“Hello again, superstar; you did it!” Freddy exclaimed, holding out his arms for a hug.

***

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Looking for more? Check out the Chapter Masterlist on Tumblr!

Or check out the entire Wires that Bind Us Series on ao3!

[esta-elavaris]

Flufftober 2022 - Day 18 - Soulmate AU

[Also a modern AU, in this case!]

James Norrington/Theodora

It’s very long (literally like 4.5k words), I had a looot of fun writing it because I’ve always wanted to write a “what if they met in modern times” thing, I hope you enjoy! 

Theodora Byrne readied herself for that night's family get-together with a decent amount of cheer. They called it a family get together, but the word family wasn't quite literal - it was all her dad's war buddies, their kids, their families, so on. Found family get-together didn't have the same ring to it, though. Usually she never really put too much of an effort in for these things. Anybody showing up in their Sunday best would only get teased all night for it, so she often just settled for a band tee, a pair of jeans in a reasonable state, and a coat of red lipstick to pretend she'd put the effort in. Tonight, however, there was also not one but two birthdays to celebrate - so rather than the venue being somebody's front room-slash-garden, they'd rented out a hall, gotten a DJ, and made the effort, so she had to do the same, too.

In this case, making an effort looked like a silky emerald green wrap dress, sparkly gold heels, carefully curled hair, and a coat of red lipstick. As she applied the lipstick, the soul mark on the inside of her wrist went unnoticed where it barely poked out of her sleeve - save for when she secured a delicate gold bracelet over the top to obscure the three grey words written there. No, thank you. They were pretty shit words to have. Especially as somebody who had done a stint working in retail.

She'd heard right horror stories, too, of wrong'uns who specifically sought out folk with such vague marks, trying to trick them into thinking they were their match for an easy lay. As it was, she'd never fallen afoul of such people, she always kept hers covered, and her heart had stopped skipping a beat whenever she heard those words a good few years ago - easily by the time she'd turned twenty-one, at least.

"We've a new lad joining us tonight," her dad knocked a couple of times at her door before he poked his head into the room "Keep an eye out for him, will you? Fresh out - honourable discharge on a minor medical issue."

"Is he struggling?" She tilted her head.

It wasn't unusual for her dad to bring in some stray or another who was fighting a nasty dose of the horrors. If that was the case here, though, Theo wasn't sure she saw the wisdom in throwing him into the deep end like this.

"Not like that," he shook his head "He's just new, and he's very English - not that we're holding that against him - so he might need to be eased into it a bit. He's a bit serious, but he's a good lad."

"His name?"

"James. He's tall, you'll spot him easy.

"All right," she shrugged slightly "I'll keep an eye out."

The matter slipped from Theo's mind after that, right up until she arrived and she finally set eyes on the new "lad", who was less a lad and more a man. By her definition, at least. She could see how it was a fine descriptor for her dad, but he was definitely a handful of years older than her by her own reckoning. Then again, being a soldier had a way of ageing people prematurely so maybe she was wrong.

He was tall, broad-shouldered and handsome. It wasn't a word Theo often used - thinking it always sounded awkward and over-the-top from her own mouth, but it was the only one that fit the bill here, with classical features like his. His dark hair was brushed back away from his face, a shade longer than she'd expect from someone who held themselves so primly and properly - he didn't quite look like a Beatle, but the length brushes just past his ears, curling slightly at the ends.

Theo wagered there'd be a few broken-hearted women here tonight. Endearingly, though, he was also visibly…uncertain? He was friendly enough when folk spoke to him, smiling and shaking their hands and chatting, but there was a sort of tentativeness to his posture, and he never seemed to initiate those interactions. For that, she could hardly blame him - they probably looked like a right feral lot, and he was in the unfortunate position of only knowing one or two people here. He'd likely take a bit to find his bearings.

Was it weird that it made him oddly more attractive to her, though? It was a road she wasn't going to venture down. She wasn't immune to flings, but there was something depressing about getting to her mid-twenties without having met the fated one yet. Most folk by now either already had, or were just about to. There wasn't much point in getting involved in something to pass the time, only for them to find their soulmate a week, or a month later. In her opinion, at least.

She'd been there for about half an hour when she finally waded through greetings enough to reach the drink table. Taking up a bottle at random, she began to pour herself some into a clear plastic cup when she glanced up and found the newbie a little ways away to her side, considering the drinks himself. He must've felt her gaze, for he looked up and then blinked, hesitating. Offering a smile, Theo held up the bottle in question.

He glanced at it for a moment before shaking his head "No, thank you."

"Fair enough, it's an acquired taste - and it has to be acquired by force."

When her silly little joke garnered no response, she glanced up - mostly to see if he hadn't heard her, or if he was just really determined to not even pretend to be friendly - and found him staring at her wide-eyed.

"I was only kidding," she said unsurely "So long as ye steer clear of Tom, you'll manage to get out of here having safely avoided this stuff."

"I…yes. Thank you - I appreciate the offer. And the warning."

"Any time," she smiled "We've all run afoul of Tom at least once before - tends to make people go one of two ways. Either they take pity on the newcomers and charitably warn them of the danger that waits."

"Or they want others to suffer as they have and help him in his villainous endeavours?" He asked drily.

Theo laughed "Exactly. You're lucky I'm a kind and benevolent soul."

He smiled slightly - and more softly than his general demeanour so far would have suggested. Could it be that the sternness was just a front?

"I suppose I am."

It was then that they were interrupted by one of her uncles, already red faced as he approached to Theo's left, clinking through a selection of bottles as he tried to make sense of the labels so he could decide what he'd have next.

"There she is!" he greeted Theo with a grin "Risky Business herself! Are you going to be performing later, then?"

Great. That was all she needed. One of her top five embarrassing moments paraded about in front of the handsome newbie. But showing embarrassment was a kiss of death amongst this lot, so she grinned and shrugged.

"Only if yous all ask very nicely."

"We'll beg if you need us to, girl - it's tradition!" he found the bottle he'd been looking for, held it up to her and then to the new man in a sort of salute, and returned to the dance floor.

"Am I to take it your name is Risky Business? Common in these parts, is it?" he asked.

"Oh, aye, as common as Rebbeca around here," she teased "No, it's…ugh. You might as well know so they don't tell you first - on my eighteenth I made a judgement call, got absolutely hammered on all the drinks everybody was buying me, and apparently saw fit to do a rendition of the Risky Business dance when they started playing that song - you know the one, Old Time Rock and Roll? I don't remember it, but it turns out that it was so good that it demands a repeat at each and every one of these things."

"And you give in to those demands?"

"Oh, if they smell blood they'd just be even worse about it, so I might as well pretend it's not mortifying and give the people what they want. I'm benevolent like that, like we've already established."

"We have not yet established your name, though."

"Ah. Right. Theodora," she smiled, holding out her hand for him to shake.

"You're Tony's- that is, er, Mr Byrne's daughter?" he nodded slowly, accepting her hand and shaking it firmly.

"If any of this lot hear you calling him that, you'll have your own problems to live down," she teased.

It took another moment of her waiting before he seemed to realise he had not yet told her his name, flushing slightly as he smoothed a hand over his dark hair.

"I'm James - Norrington."

"The Englishman," she nodded sagely "Dad said you'd be coming. He speaks highly of you, you know."

"He speaks more highly of you."

"That's nepotism for you."

He smiled - and his resting face was so serious that the chuckle he gave was all the warmer in contrast.

"He wouldn't have brought you here if he didn't think you'd get on with everybody," she confided, and hoped her wasn't patronising him - nor overstepping "Just don't do any dances you're not willing to repeat ad nauseum for the better part of a decade. We're all a lot to get used to, but once you do you'll be just fine."

"Yes, I'm sure I will," he said "Thank you, Theodora."

There was something about the way he said her name - like he was testing out the weight of it. She wasn't unused to people being unsure about it, it wasn't very common, but with him it was different. For a second she almost opened her mouth to tell him just to call her Theo, but she stopped. She quite liked how the full thing sounded when he said it.

~~~~

Theo saw James on and off throughout the rest of the night - chatting to other former soldiers, getting to know those of her dad's pals that he didn't already know, and slowly but surely she noticed the tension easing from his shoulders and the smoothing of his brow. He even undid the top button of his shirt, although he kept his sleeves firmly rolled down and buttoned up. Sure, he didn't end up on the dance floor, but she got the impression that he would not do so unless dragged, and that was fair.

What she noticed most of all, though, was how many times she'd glance his way to find him already watching her. And how, while that sort of thing would usually creep her out from anybody else, she found that from him it made her blush.

It was later in the night, once she'd had enough drinks to make her feel exceedingly comfortable in her own skin (but not so much that she was a complete mess) that she sat down at a small abandoned table, sweaty, a little bit dishevelled, and in a lot of pain. Easing one of her heels off with a wince, she took stock of where it had cut into the back of her heel and grimaced.

"That looks painful."

His accent gave him away - his voice too, for that matter, since it was pretty distinctive - as he took the other seat at the table.

"It'll be even worse when I put 'em back on," she said sourly.

"It seems there are some things even nepotism cannot save you from."

"I'm sorry?" She blinked her confusion, tilting her head at him.

"Oh, er," he flushed "A joke - a poor one, I'm sorry, just that-"

"Oh - right, because earlier…no, I'm sorry - I'm slow on the uptake, that was my bad," she waved a hand.

"It was a very bad joke," he reiterated, brushing off her apologies "Here."

Holding out a hand, he offered her a fresh bottle of water - one that he must've gone to the bar to get, rather than the free-for-all table, judging by the condensation dripping off of it.

"For me?" Her eyebrows raised.

"You look as though you need it."

Any suaveness of the gesture was ruined when the lads at the next table over, either too drunk or simply too uncaring to keep their voices down, muttered to each other.

"Looks like our man over there's shootin' his shot with Theo."

"Very smart or very brave."

"It's very stupid or very brave, fool."

Theo was about to tell him not to pay them only mind, but when she looked to him she found him smirking.

"An ironic part to fumble, is it not?"

Breathing a laugh, she accepted the bottle "Thank you."

Cracking it open, she took a few sips and then capped it again, pressing it to her heel and hissing through her teeth as the cold plastic made contact. She refused to read too much into the gesture - outside comments aside.

Maybe he was flirting. Or maybe he was just being friendly. Or it could even be that he was trying to kiss her dad's backside by being nice to her. She sincerely doubted that last possibility, but she wasn't naive enough to rule it out. In any case, she didn't know, and it was a nice gesture - she wasn't about to spit in the face of it.

"Are you settling in okay, then?" She asked.

"I am," he nodded "Everybody here has been very kind."

"Good," she nodded "I'm glad. Tell me if that changes."

He snorted "Are you planning on fighting my battles for me? I'm not sure I need it."

"Oh I doubt you do - but it'd be funny. And half of 'em here wouldn't feel right about hitting me back, so it's a bit of a loophole, y'know?"

"Risky Business and the Englishman," he said drily "It sounds like a terrible police comedy-drama."

Theo laughed, raking her hair back from her face and smiling at him.

"Don't invoke that name - I've gotten away with not doing it so far, you're going to jinx it."

"My apologies," he said mock-solemnly, and then he tugged at the cuff of his sleeve "I…"

No sooner had he began to speak than a halting piano riff began to blare out over the speakers and Theo groaned aloud, watching as every head in the hall began turning, trying to spot her.

"See what you did?" She scolded, putting down the water bottle.

For a moment, she vaguely considered running. But then she sighed, put her big girl pants on, and took up one of the clean cloth napkins from the table.

"Here, will you give me a hand?" she asked.

He blinked his surprise and she didn't blame him, but when she pulled her hair forward to one side of her neck and began to tuck half of the napkin beneath the back of her dress, he eventually caught on and began to help her - although sparingly, like she'd tell him off if his fingers brushed her neck too much. And maybe she would - but only because of the way it gave rise to goosebumps going all the way down her spine. She hoped he didn't notice.

By the time the napkin was tucked down the back of her dress, half of it peeking up and out like some sort of bizarre backwards bib, he was staring at her like she'd gone mad. It was a pretty fair assessment.

"It's part of the bit, you'll see - but you have to promise you won't hold what you're about to see against me," she said.

She didn't pause to wait and see if he would agree to her terms - mostly because she knew if she did, she'd bottle it at the last second and not rise to the challenge. Sighing heavily, she stood and began to march towards the dance floor to raucous drunken cheers, leaving her shoes behind so she didn't snap an ankle.

~~~~

James watched, bemused and intrigued both as his unwitting soulmate strode barefoot out onto the dance floor as though this was something she very much wanted to do. The only thing that gave away her true reluctance being the bashful smile tugging at her lips as the piano intro to Bob Seger's Old Time Rock & Roll rang out so loudly that it shook the hall.

The piano riff repeated, and she struck a pose, and then tugged up the napkin to stand on end, like she was popping up a collar. It worked, for the onlookers lost it, cheering and falling into bursts of laughter. James smiled - he couldn't help it. Ordinarily he'd find displays like these juvenile. Attention seeking, perhaps. And maybe if he did not bear Theodora's first words to him on his arm, he would think so now, too. But perhaps not. She was charming, and it wasn't as though she was demanding that everybody gather around to witness her put on a show. It was a bit of good-natured ribbing, endured with a level of humour he couldn't help but smile at.

It made sense, he supposed. Were he fated to end up with one so serious as he was often accused of being, it would make for a dreary life indeed. But Theodora? Oh, Theodora was anything but dreary.

The song picked up in earnest next - all rough vocals and upbeat guitar - and she began dancing in earnest. She was a good dancer, too, swinging her hips and moving in time to the music with just enough exaggerated cheesiness to prove she wasn't taking herself too seriously. There was a level of comfort in her own skin that entranced him - like it didn't occur to her to be uncertain of her own body just as it wouldn't occur to a cat, or some other sort of feline.

By the time the second verse began, others began joining in. Content to take that as a sign that they were laughing with her and not at her (although there hadn't been much doubt on that score), and worried that if he kept watching his gaze would become less, ahem, respectful, James excused himself from the function hall and made his way outside into the night. When she learned the truth, she likely would not thank him for having witnessed her performance.

He would have to tell her soon. Tonight would be best. He already would have done, had they not been interrupted. It wasn't ideal - he was nervous, although he'd never let something so minor as nerves prevent him from doing anything - and he'd much rather have this conversation with her when she had not been drinking. But she was tipsy at most, from what he could gather, and if he put it off much longer he may be construed as hiding it from her…and he did not know when he would see her next. It almost alarmed him how distasteful he already found that last part.

There were a few smokers out here, clutching their arms about themselves to ward off the chill that bit all the more thanks to the humidity inside. They offered him nods or waves but did not approach.

What would he even say to her? How would he say it? Inside, he'd been intending simply to show her his arm, but would that be too forward? Should he leave it for another night? Drop by uninvited a few nights from now? Catch her as she was leaving tonight and ask her to get coffee with him tomorrow? No, it all seemed much too complicated.

He would go back inside, and ask for a moment of her time when she was done dancing. The song had already wound to a close, replaced by some eighties rock hit, she would not be missed if she slipped away. She would have to come back to the table for her shoes, and perhaps for her water. He would lead her outside, and he would show her. They would take things from there.

As if the mark on his arm was not sign enough, the fact that the moment his mind was made up, the old wooden double doors swung open and Theodora (now once again clad in her shoes) stepped out into the cool night air absolutely would have cemented his decision. The bottle of water he'd gotten her dangled from one hand, and her makeshift napkin collar was nowhere in sight.

Spotting him, she smiled bashfully and approached, walking stiffly - not doubt thanks to the return of the heels.

"It's too warm in there - needed a bit of air. Did you have the same idea? Or did my performance send you running for cover?"

"Not quite," he said, shifting uncomfortably and then sighing "But I think we had better discuss this."

Theodora stood in the amber light of the lamp affixed to the wall, watching in confusion, then dawning realisation, and finally shock as he unbuttoned the cuff of his shirt and rolled it up, revealing the words wrapping around his wrist.

Her eyes remained wide as she stared at them, and then finally she gently curled her fingers around his forearm, angling his wrist towards the meagre lighting as though doing so would change what was written there.

Fair enough - it's an acquired taste, and it has to be acquired by force.

She let go.

"Oh god," she said, a hand rising to her hair of its own volition as she stepped away, like that would solve things "Oh fuck."

James' head bowed "I know I may not be quite-"

"No, no, it's not that, you're lovely, you're golden, and you're criminally handsome by the way, I'm actually pretty relieved I don't have to pretend I hadn't noticed so now, but it's…oh Christ, I did my Risky Business routine in front of you," she groaned, covering her face with a hand "Jesus, this is a new low. A brand new low. This is rock bottom's basement, you know?"

"You did not spend much of the night standing on the sidelines like a Victorian footman, failing to interact with anybody unless they spoke with you first, and barely able to formulate a response if they spoke too quickly before your ears could become accustomed to their accents."

"I put a napkin down the back of my dress, James," she bemoaned.

"It was an integral part of your routine, if memory serves," he smiled - not because he was teasing her, but because she said his name.

The next groan that left her was half sobbed out, and James took pity on her.

"You were lovely. You…you are lovely."

Slowly, like he was approaching a skittish stray cat, he closed the gap between them, reaching up to pull her hand away from her face. She allowed it easily, her eyes burning into his face as he drew back the sleeve of her dress, and then pulled away the delicate gold chain bracelet. There were the words. As if he'd needed the confirmation. No, thank you.

He knew what it would say, but it still offered a concrete explanation as to why she hadn't known as he had. He could only thank the powers that be that the one on his arm was much more specific, leaving no room at all for doubt.

"A tad less unique than mine," he deadpanned.

"Sorry," she breathed a laugh - not sounding too sorry, either.

"Don't be," he shook his head.

What came next? He'd heard stories of those who had met their intended and immediately fallen into bed with them. He was not so naive as to pretend he did not understand that - although it wasn't what he wanted. Well, it was what he wanted, but not like that. Not like this. Certainly not when she was not sober. He wanted to get to know her, he wanted to make up for all of the time they'd lost, he wanted to…

Following an impulse, he lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to the words on her wrist - and bit back a smirk at the quiet intake of breath it drew from her. He couldn't be too smug for long, though, for the water bottle smacked off of the ground as she dropped it in favour of winding her arms about his neck. James dipped his head on instinct, meeting her halfway and kissing her back the moment her lips slotted against his, arms wrapping around her waist to steady her and pull her against him.

One hand slid up the smooth, silky fabric of her dress - feeling the curve of her spine, the slight jut of her shoulder blades - but before he could press his tongue between her lips, the door to the hall began to creak open and they sprang apart, suddenly aware that they very much were not in private.

Lifting a hand, he wiped the lipstick from about his mouth, and she smiled softly at him - looking up at him with a sort of admiration that threatened to steal the air from his lungs. As she tucked his hair behind his ear, he spoke.

"I'm not sure how we're supposed to go about this," he admitted, watching her keenly - he couldn't help it.

Mirroring her action, he twirled a strand of her hair around one of his fingers - it was like fire in the orange glow of the lamp.

"Me either," she admitted.

"Coffee. We could get coffee."

"When?"

"As soon as possible. Tomorrow?"

"Why not now?"

He smiled, thrilled to see his own eagerness reflected back at him "I'm not sure there's anywhere still open."

"There's a twenty-four hour McDonald's ten minutes away. It's hardly fine dining, but it'll give us a bit of time to ourselves."

James' smile widened "I'll get my coat."

He couldn't help but kiss her again before he did.

[theblogs2024]

3 Tips to Recover Your Gut and Lose the Weight for Good

Weight reduction is as basic as eat much less and exercise a lot more, right? That is definitely the particular messages we listen to in the mass media. And it sometimes might appear like a good easier solution. But unfortunately, it doesn't always work. The surprising weight reduction trip Janet (not her real name) is a client associated with mine who emerged to me in order to lose weight. She had tried everything and currently had been exercising intensely twice per day to try out to make the scale budge. And it wasn't budging!

Janet's friend, Claire, came to myself months earlier to deal with her symptoms associated with joint aches and pains and digestive issues. Though weight reduction wasn't her goal, by creating an eating plan regarding maximum nourishment and gut healing Claire healed the pains, pains and digestive issues and dropped 15 lbs. Therefore Janet came in order to me searching for a option to weight reduction and considered that perhaps her belly was part associated with the problem. In addition to Janet's struggle in order to acquire a weight she felt good regarding, she was also experiencing chronic exhaustion, heartburn, stomachaches, obstipation, diarrhea, gas plus bloating. Her concentrate was on bodyweight loss, but there was so many various other symptoms all tied together! Within 1 month of making a good eating plan particular for nourishing her body and healing her gut, the girl had lost 10 lbs. and mentioned her stomach experienced amazing - better than it had within years. Neither Jesse nor her buddy tracked their calories or counted grms of fat or even carbohydrates. Janet got actually decreased the girl exercise because I believed the strength to be the stressor on her behalf system. So, why did they describe the particular weight loss success to be easy? Heal your belly, lose the bodyweight There are a lot of components to attaining and maintaining the healthy weight. Not only do feelings be involved, but the particular current environment postures a significant problem towards healthy residing. In addition, optimum functioning of the particular human body such as the very important gastrointestinal system or "gut" is vital. In latest years, research is definitely giving attention in order to the impact that will the trillions associated with microbes in the particular gut play within health, illness and weight management. In the particular future, we can be capable to determine specifically each individual's microbiome and the way to promote optimal gut bacterias. The ability to manage and avoid illness is going to be afflicted tremendously! Research published in the United states Journal of Gastroenterology in 2012 looked at the belly microbiota and its impact on the growth of obesity in animals. Researchers mentioned that evidence highly suggests that the particular bacterial balance from the gut may enjoy an important function in energy stability and weight. Within research published within Nature in 2006, scientists focused upon two specific groupings of bacteria in the gut - Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes showing that the percentage of the two groupings of beneficial germs were different in obese versus lean individuals. We are going to continue to learn the particular clinical relevance within weight management of the bacterial balance associated with the gut. Yet what we perform know is the fact that developing a healthy gut microbiome is however another reason behind adding nourishment to your body nicely each and every single day. Steps in order to take today Within my practice, I actually see clients who may have damage to their gut and ensuing symptoms for the number of reasons including medication use, poor diet or excess stress. Therefore what can you perform to heal that damage which may be happening each and every day or might have occurred several years before? Eat genuine food I believe one of the greatest challenges dealing with us in attaining an optimal diet plan today is not really necessarily a lot of carbohydrates or excessive body fat or all of the twists that have been described to make the "right" diet. The challenge with regard to so many associated with us truly comes down to real food vs. meals which are highly processed. Take a seem at your diet plan. How many times per day do you consume a food that will has strayed considerably from it's natural source? Once, two times, ten-twenty times daily? If you perform one thing these days it is reduce out an alternative that will is highly prepared and substitute this for any real, entire food - fruit, vegetable or slim way to obtain protein. Give food to your gut exactly what it requirements Your own gut needs good bacteria also it requirements food for germs - probiotics and prebiotics. People might often reach for the supplement, but there are also great food choices. Probiotic foods include fermented foods such since yogurt or kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi or even kombucha. Prebiotic meals include foods wealthy in fiber -- think fruits, vegetables, nuts and seed products. And remember - true food! Look intended for these options that also have small to no digesting. Fresh or iced (without added ingredients) fruits and vegetables, nuts and seed products with at most minimum salt added, yogurt with little additional sugar and artificial ingredients. Rest plus relax We live in a extremely stressful environment. A person can't always remove the stressors within your life, yet consider where a person can minimize tension and find methods to manage this better. Are you able to state "No" to some associated with the commitments that are filling up your schedule? Can a person take 5 mins every day to merely breathe - near your eyes, close off your mobile phone and buzzing email and let your body and brain rest? And keep in mind - sleep is usually important for stress management plus a healthy body too! Persistent sleep deprivation which usually so many Us citizens live with nowadays is a significant stressor within the body. Obtain at least 7 hours every night intended for your best wellness! To know more details visit here: abdomax review

[the-firebird69]

It sounds very creative then some instances it's kind of hilarious he named the operations

Operation peek-a-boo and that was the submarine pumping up and watching Storm chaser stuff and missiles into the vortex created by the 500 ship to one engine only and it disabled it and one 500 left and Tommy have had two here recently it was 15 minutes ago

Operation swarm all the small ships and they're trying to breach it to steal it it's not many times but he made these funny names and it was laughing cuz he sounds like an agent of shield

Both shifts are damaged badly one engine completely out and that side of the ship is on fire two of them have left and they're heading towards South Africa and they can just barely fit they're very huge and this is from the movie Independence Day 2. They're preparing to sit down and weill be under siege.

Tommy F promises reprisals on everybody who is doing it and he will try for a son now as he was one of the main characters and a sense of so what who cares if you tell me if yeah homo come over here and the guys are going to cut your bananas off so he's using scare tactics let me call it operation chocolate banana it's a tropics tommy f learn it.l!!

Sorry I was laughing a little cuz he saw the expression when my son's face f*** you Tommy f... It sort of gets it it sounds responsibility to go through all this stupid s*** to be kidnapped by some f**** and it's kind of mean but you sort of get some you sort of gets it I don't want to do that s*** I don't have a war zone I'll get hurt I don't want to go through a storm like that I might get hurt it's just irresponsible... Your ship is an illegal posture and position too close to Earth it needs to go to the galactic Senate they haven't already our son says that and it's been there several times this week and they'll be complaining about those two ships and that got ready and he said what is all this s***. And our sunset is called distraction and your friends are back from the dead they've been killing them and framing everybody of you and everybody's getting hurt and he uses people like he did today if it's today good and as like a shield or pin cushion like a good buddy you know what I mean so notice that too and I said wow that's awful that's what Max says that last part. Then a handful today too we're doing all sorts of stuff and John remillard's bothering us and he started noticing that ship's going to come up here again and that guy is framing you for every murder there was probably was the guy running around doing this stuff I'll say it says oh s*** they would die and I get the place.... Well they're old okay.

There's too much going on for all the stupid crap we're hearing all day long from you guys but he says damn it this is who it is okay and you're old and you're kind of nutty so he says operation peekaboo it's something that really fits in with the culture out here and and for the ground troops operations squeaky wheel and they'll go around and they'll plug it so I tried to say something then they'll notice they need troops.

We put up a fence today though but we have a lot of work today that we did. Our son did not like that idea and so he said get out. I see those other thing happening and I had to put something together and we got the guys together who do that kind of thing and he had a special call out to Nevada and Ariana who often overlooked because they're used to going in stealth and hiding just as these two but he was tickled because it's about big ships and power and I said this was getting easier and he says well and other things too but really it's a big deal. So I'm going to pour it on tonight but boy that was a great release all he does is sit here and piss everybody off at him it's already a massive infight...

You have a lot of calls in too but I am still doing this stuff and then all sudden the sun said you're in court because of him you can't see him and you can't understand it it's because of power it's threatening everybody especially yours and they go up and down the East Coast and a gas attack that ruined Massachusetts but you guys do you better live up to this minute man s*** cuz you're going to need to it's time to hear from staring in McConnell in the red coat so they start getting mad I said this is it we're going to do this he was the guy from Britain yeah he said crazy Colonel too who's doing Indian warfare or something gorilla warfare and indian warfare. Tons of know of an arms and they see his work is exemplary this guy is incredible it's okay but I'm working with Mac Daddy on it so he knows a lot like Caesar and pilot it switched out Cesar with Biden and bidens mad now he's the president.

Several things going on today

*John remillard was in court again and found guilty of several homicides and he actually committed them and it's not a good guy he's giving her son a hard time he does hate Tommy F and he warned with him and he still is he's going after stuff and secrets of ours we're at him and we're stopping him they're holding him here and they're hostile to him and very evil I need to crush them we're doing so and I'm under orders to take their areas and erect citadel if people don't like it they can try and stop it otherwise you can't stop it

*we have a lot of calls from people here today complaining about our son because he's whistling and singing songs and ignoring everybody saying things like would you rather have me beat you up going to see me rip your throat out your weak flesh leave me alone you're dead and he was saying that stuff in space and they started complaining then he said oh heck just leave him alone we won't keep blamed for anything. And it works it says tooling around singing and whistling doesn't care it's telling us to f*** off with it too and it's a huge crowd trying to get in here and you guys have a war on your hands because of what you're doing to our son they want you to knock it off or die unless you choose to die it's happening lately

*the clones attacked and they've been attacking steadily and they're going after Max and cork morlock, they're attacking now it's ground war as the infiltration War and these two are making it into a nasty affair and they are getting their hat handed to them right now as their areas are shrinking rapidly and they are being completely eradicated for being horses asses

*Tommy F was trying to soup up two storms and ships were attacked each one had an engine go out and they have fled to Africa South Africa to be exact and they're huge 500 miles each they parked on the entire South of the continents and it is being evacuated from underneath them everyone is fleaing. He has a lot of special weapons on board and Africans are trying to get to it and they're fighting and warring and Tommy after sending troops there and they'll be out shortly and others are going to try for it and it will heat up the light cycle fight and Max will see it and they will slaughter Trump's tell them to get out of the way and he won't and we'll slaughter them in terms will keep coming until they're gone see into them tonight in California and if they come all out from all over the nation and it's the end of the nation I have reports to say that you come from all of the nation and from South America and then pour a hole and they get rid of half of themselves at least again and just not stop Max from getting the light cycle facilities. From what they see in the black ships.

*he's humming and making noises and being an ass claiming to be a victim and he's trying to break into her son's apartment to hold him hostage it seems in there now I'm selecting them I've got volunteer teams as well if you selected you're going right now I'm sending the orders. I see the moving and it's working. We need a hard confirmation. It's coming up shortly and we need them out to get several movies to go to and then his goose is cooked. Tomorrow afternoon to see hurricane heist and a trip to Cuba tomorrow night and after that is from there in Cuba directly is top gun one and top gun too and that's another day and a half so Tuesday afternoon you're arrested and detained in Cuba also when he's singing the song about. Did it may happen faster but it won't take longer right now the money is sitting in Las Vegas and crash there and they're fighting over tomorrow the money moves and Milo shows up. True too several trucks are seen leaving Las Vegas during the mutu attack.

*right now several things are happening Donald Trump is under investigation for the terrorist attack on New England if he's found guilty or complicitous he'll face the jail sentence of several hundred years and they'll keep him there I'm trying to figure out what his role was and he feels under the influence or under control of his generals were under control they found people who are rich with the computer brains no but they've seen him do some very stupid stuff, and admit to it for odd reasons like I'm just biting my time this does make sense to them make sense to our son right away just fix this is a sit here and take his and do what you want and eventually die for you have everything. That's what it says. But mostly his are dying in Massachusetts and Connecticut Rhode Islands May New Hampshire not many up there but tons of them Vermont price of New York they clear out the place somehow and they go back in tonight they lost seven hundred octillion an hour in new England. The bodies out fast. Simple booty movies begin about this and the real movies when is Dustin Hoffman in virus and the other is a post-apocalyptical movie New England and it shows I'm driving around from town to town trying to find a town where people will survives and they can't find anyone they're ghost towns all dead and the military is evacuating everybody so I'm leaving New England and they're not coming back and they're trying to keep them out and they can't keep out Cork and Trump they just keep going in there and they're not very smart people they can't allow you to take our son there you can't have them and she's worried but announcing it and announcing that they're doing that it's important so we're going to publish here

RED ALERT WE ARE ANNOUNCING A RED ALERT AS A WARNING FOR KIDNAPPING ATTEMPTS ON OUR SON AND OUR PEOPLE MY WARLOCK TO TAKE THEM TO NEW ENGLAND TO RE-ESTABLISH AND TO TAKE OVER WASHINGTON DC AND NEW YORK CITY FOR THEIR OWN PURPOSES ONLY WE ARE ANNOUNCING A RED ALERT. ALL TROOPS TO YOUR POSTS ALL SHIPS ARE TO FUEL UP AND LOAD UP AND TO GO INTO FULL SERVICE AND EVERYBODY IS TO ASSIST THIS IS A WAR NOW WITH THE MORLOCK. THEY'RE NOTHING BUT HOSTILE TO OUR FATHER AND MOTHER IT'S HOSTILITY ALL DAY LONG WE ARE TO KEEP THEM AWAY FROM HIM IT IS A STANDING ORDER AND I NEEDED TO BE FOLLOWED AGGRESSIVELY HERE AND IN POPULATED AREAS THEY ARE TO BE DRAWN OFF USING ANY METHADENSIS TIME BUG ZAPPERS IS PREFERRED BECAUSE WE GET RID OF BUGS WE NEED TO DO IT NOW

Thor Freya

Zues Hera I'm with you Zeus I know you're not shutting me out but don't I'll get you since you always catch up to me so don't worry about it that's a funny way to put it I'm not going to hide I've got nothing to hide from you for I'm helping you I'm doing it now and I know I'm okay everybody is helping me now in a moment of fear because you're in trouble I can hear these idiots I can hear them all over the world I'm adding to the announcement that we need to cause them serious harm as of time and we need to hit them very hard and I'm calling for troops to invade right now

We do that and we also are placing obelis greater than their doorstep immediately it's an emergency and we need nice and White satin to absorb them and grow until they're done

Thor Freya

We do it now we cannot stand these people they are so damn loud and rude and obnoxious and hateful it's time to take care of this huge problem and we will put Obelisk at their doorstep right up right up next to the warlock areas and right now

Olympus

[samhanepublishing]

New Short Story - To Love a Fry Cook - Part I

Hi, my name is Shawn, and today is my first day working at a local fast food joint. The interview with the manager was intense; crazy questions about what I would do in certain situations. But given that my graduating class was slighted to be sixty-three, I felt like the manager really didn’t have much of a choice as all of my classmates had already landed a summer job.

I walked into the mundane burger place which was, by all accounts, devoid of customers. The girl working at the counter glanced over me and straightened her posture. She obviously thought I was a customer so I shut that down quickly, “hey, I’m the new guy Shawn.” She looked at me puzzled so I explained, “Joe just hired me on Thursday and told me to come in today for training. Do you know what I should do?”

The girl huffed as if offended that I wasn’t going to be ordering from her. She relaxed again and replied, “Dave, the assistant manager, he’s in the back office. Head back and knock on the door. He’ll get you set up with an employee shirt.” She threw her free hand up and pointed towards the back with her thumb; her other hand was busy scrolling through her phone.

I nodded, even though her attention was squarely on whatever she was looking at on her phone. I walked into the back and right into what I can only describe as one of the hottest guys I had ever met. According to the small piece of plastic pinned to his shirt, his name was Derek. “Woah there buddy, I don’t think you’re supposed to be back here.” He placed both of his hands on my shoulders and attempted to turn me around on the spot.

“N-no!” I stammered, “I’m the new hire.” I could tell I was blushing and instinctually attempted to hide my face by turning my head away.

“Oh, sorry dude,” he said as he removed his hands from my shoulders. I took a few slightly deeper but unhearable breaths hoping that the rose color in my cheeks would subside. As I felt the heat escape my face, I turned back towards Derek and uttered, “the girl up front told me to come back here to find the manager. I-I guess I need to get a shirt or something?”

“Right-o man. The back office is, well…back that way,” he said to me while he pointed towards a corner. “Let me know where you’re stationed and if you need any help. I’m Derek, one of the two fry-cooks here.” He smiled a little and I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks again. I quickly turned and scurried away from him hoping he didn’t or rather couldn’t see. As I neared the door to the management office, I felt like I might have made a horrible mistake getting a job at this place given that I would be working with someone who I was instantly attracted to.

I made it to the door of the office and just as I was about to knock, it swung inward. “Hey, you must be Shawn!” Dave said a little too enthusiastically. “I’m Dave, the assistant manager. Clara let me know you’d be arriving for your first shift today. I have a little paperwork for you to fill out, then I’ll get you your work shirts and set you loose. Sound like a plan?” I nodded, unable to speak in the face of his exuberant excitement. “Good deal. Come on into the office with me and let’s get started on that paperwork.

I spent forty-five minutes filling out certain forms while Dave answered the very few questions I had. At the end of it all, he asked my shirt size and procured three pristine shirts and waved me out of the office; I was standing in the middle of what amounted to a stock room. I whizzed past Derek who was leaning against a wall looking at his phone and then the girl up front and into the bathroom.

I looked into the mirror after changing into the work shirt, “c’mon Shawn.” I lightly smacked myself on the face a few times before splashing it with cold water. I ducked behind a pallet of hamburger buns and continued whispering to myself, “you’ve sat in class next to a ton of hot guys, this is just like class…except you’ll be working with this guy and he’ll likely want to have conversations. Jesus, maybe I should tell the boss that I don’t feel well and tell him I threw up? No, I can’t do that, today is my first day. Maybe if I just stick up in the front of the place and make myself seem busy, he’ll leave me alone.”

I cautiously left the bathroom only to be forced right in front of the girl. I looked at her nametag and found out she was called Alice. “Hi, uh…Alice?” I asked cautiously. “C-can…can I help you?”

She blew a bubble with the chewing gum she had apparently started chewing while I had changed. “You’re Shawn, right?” I nodded in reply. “You don’t remember me do you?” I tried to but in all honesty, I had made a point not to know many of the kids at school. She sighed in frustration, blew another bubble until it popped and stared directly into my eyes. “I sat behind you in freshman lit. Honestly, I’d say I’m surprised that you don’t remember me but it still stings a little.”

“Sorry,” I replied sheepishly. “Honestly, ever since junior high, I’ve made a point of not knowing anyone around here. I hope you won’t hold that against me.” I smiled at her which was returned with an eyeroll. I brushed off her disdain and walked back to the manager’s office. I knocked on the door and heard an ‘enter’ from within. I already knew what I wanted to say as I opened the door, “what should I be doing?”

Dave wasted no time in delegating, “go talk to Alice, she’s been covering what you’ll be doing for the summer.” Great, now I was being forced to interact with someone I had obviously pissed off. I scurried past Derek as fast as I could and found Alice at the front counter, once again with her phone in her palm and a glazed look over her eyes.

“Hey, so Dave said you should show me the ropes regarding what I’m going to be responsible for around here.” Alice refused to budge, “listen Alice, I really am sorry that I don’t remember who you are. It was actually easy for me to isolate from our small graduating class. Honestly, when it comes to school, I’ve pretty much been phoning it in until I graduate and get the fuck out of this shit town.”

At the end of my explanation, she finally clicked her phone screen off and stood upright and then turned towards me. “Okay, because of your pitiful apology, I will show you what you’ll be doing around here.” The next thirty minutes were spent with me in utter silence as she led me around the small fast food joint, explaining that I would be responsible for trash, wiping down the guest tables every two hours and cleaning whatever cooking utensils Derek would need cleaned; I was basically that guy from the movie Ratatouille. “Just make sure that if Derek asks you to clean something, do it immediately. I made the mistake of not doing so and he went batshit and wouldn’t talk to me for the rest of the shift. Other than that, if nothing’s going on, you can hang out up here at the register with me or with Derek in the cooking area.”

I immediately felt my face flush. “Oh? What’s up with you there Shawn? You wouldn’t happen to have a crush on our town delinquent would you?

“What?!” I practically shouted. “How could you say that? I’m not even gay, Alice.” Even as the words left my lips, the taste in my mouth went bitter. I shot her an indignant look and then grabbed the table cleaning supplies and tried to ignore her.

“Oh c’mon man, I sat behind you for an entire school year! I got to watch every day and Brad Cliffman would walk in, fash you that shit smile and then you’d giggle under your breath. If you’re in denial, that’s fine but honestly, I think it would be pretty awesome for Overland to finally get its first out and open queer, just saying.”

I continued with cleaning the tables and then checked the guest trashes as well as the bathrooms. I went into the men’s room last and locked the door behind me. I stood at the solitary sink, started the faucet and cupped my hands together to collect the cool water. I splashed my face and stared into the accompanying mirror. “C’mon Shawn, you’ve made it eighteen years without anyone finding out. Just talk to Alice and tell her to keep her mouth shut.”

With renewed vigor, I left the bathroom and strutted out to the front counter. As I rounded the corner, I balled my fist and hit the laminated surface. The hit caught Alice’s attention. “Alice,” I started, a small amount of fury behind the name; I faltered immediately after that though. “H-how do you know?”

She finally looked up from her phone and directly into my eyes. “Know what?” I shuffled in place nervously, unable to say it aloud. She noticed the movement and closed the small gap between both of us. “Oh, you mean that you’re gay?”

“Shh, keep it down,” I replied, hoping that Derek hadn’t heard her. “What the fuck is wrong with you Alice?”

I waited for her reply, but instead she just shot me an innocent look which caused me to growl in frustration. “Oh c’mon. You’re really going to tell me that you haven’t told anyone?” I nodded, “I find that hard to believe Shawn. Anyway, I might have some good news for you about our fry cook.”

I attempted to hide my glee when I responded, “what do you mean by ‘good news’?”

More available at www.tinyur.com/Samhane

[spinningotherarrow]

The Descent and Decay of a Young Man Into the Night

Table of Contents

Hello, it’s Arrow time. This is the final chapter of the first act. Well its more of a coda, with the climax being the prior two chapters. This is also the first chapter to be from the perspective of someone other than SHIKI; I’ll probably save this for these end chapters to preserve the flow of the plot though. I picked the name to mark the perspective shift, but it might imply the chapter is lighter than it actually is.

Chapter 10: The Dude

Shiki Tohno didn't show.

It was morning and I, the one and only Arihiko Inui, was doing my usual loitering in town on the path Shiki would approach on the way to school. A nice spot with not too many people, no cops or old people who'd yell at me for slacking off. But no matter how many times I glimpsed in the direction of the Tohno Mansion, Shiki Tohno was nowhere in sight.

“What, did he go a different route? What gives?” I muttered to myself before lifting to my feet and turning to walk down that way. To be completely honest I had no real reason to go to school if Shiki wasn't, I could play hooky a day or two and no one would really care. At the very least I'd like to know if he was doing that too though. It wasn't his style, he was laid back but still very much a dependable ordinary guy. Plus his folks would kill him, right? Maybe he was sick?

It was dead quiet as I approached the Tohno Mansion. This was the ritzier part of town, lots of more well off folks, but the air felt completely stagnant. Something must have happened last night to completely kill the mood, not even the dogs wanted to come out. More to ask about I guess. The mood didn't improve as I approached the mansion itself. I pulled on the bell at the gate and waited for someone to open up. Maybe I'll see one of the cute maids. Shiki's always telling me about how funny Kohaku is.

Nothing.

I rang the bell again. This second time, I thought I could see a silhouette lurking behind one of the windows nearest to the door. Oh, someone did notice me. Didn't need to go for 'third times the charm'.

“You!” The door suddenly swung open and a well dressed pretty girl with long black hair emerged. She was trying to hold herself all proper but from the look on her face she was absolutely livid. She walked over to the gate, each step forced into the ground as if she was trying to leave a mark, her glare at me unrelenting. I tried to defuse the situation by giving her a big smile. “You're Akiha-chan, right? Shiki-kun's cute sister? I'm his buddy Arihi-”

She pounded her foot down. So defusion didn't work. “I know exactly who you are. What are you even doing here?!”

“I’m here for Shiki!” I tried to wave it off, taking a step back to give her more space. “Well like...he's my best friend you know? It's not like him to just ditch school.” ...then it dawned on me. Shiki being missing, the way his sister is acting... I straightened my posture and put my hands on my hips, letting my expression tense. “But you wouldn't be so upset if he was just sick, would you? Something happened, didn't it?”

Akiha crossed her arms, her expression softening a little bit but a scowl still hung on her face. “Right, you don't know. Of course you don't know.”

“Yeah? Then tell me.”

“Shiki is dead. He attacked our father in the dead of the night and Father killed him in self-defense before succumbing to his wounds.” She sighed. “I shouldn't even be telling you this. This is a family matter. It doesn't concern a rotten delinquent like you. You've done enough.”

She ain't saying it, but from her tone I wonder if she blames me for Shiki's actions. Like, bad company encouraged him to turn on his old man like that. It doesn't make sense, but I get it. She's grieving.

But still. Shiki Tohno is dead. My best friend is gone.

I could only nod. “Yeah. I guess I have. I'll...leave you to that then. Take care of yourself Akiha-chan.” With that I turned to leave and I could hear Akiha doing the same. Her steps were no longer so forceful, almost even delicate now. Part of me wanted to return home and mull over what I was going to do now, but...that wouldn't be fair to Shiki's other friends, right? Satsuki and Ciel deserved to know too, and better they hear from a friend than from the impersonal news.

Well, not that I was much better. Death happens to everyone. We grieve, yeah, but we can't grieve forever. Hopefully Satsuki and Ciel will understand why I'm not bawling. Still....why did it have to be him? Of all people, why Shiki Tohno?

So I headed to school after all. I was probably going to miss the first bell, but I could charm miss Noel into letting me slip in. To my surprise, students were still floating in when I arrived at the gate. Seems I lose less time visiting the Tohno Mansion than I thought? Could also be I was subconsciously walking faster too. Either or.

I expected to see Sacchin waiting for me and Shiki at the gate, but she wasn't there either. Weird. Heading inwards and entering the classroom, I didn't see her there either. I was tempted to ask Noel about it, but...hm, prob not the best idea. She didn't really get along with the other girls baring Ciel. This derailed my plan of action: I had to sit through a day of school without Shiki before I could tell anyone about anything.

When the final bell rang, I was out of there like lightning. I had only one thing on my mind: finding Ciel and letting her know about Shiki. Fortunately, I didn't need to look hard: I found her just as she was stepping off the staircase from the third floor onto the second.

“Hey Ciel-senpai! You got a minute? It's important.”

She gave a soft giggle and smiled at me. “Of course I do. Did you need me for something Inui-kun?”

I shook my head. “Not today, its more I have to tell you something. It's about Shiki Tohno. Can we talk in private for a sec?”

She nodded. “Of course. Come with me.” She lead me to the end of the hallway, where the students had already cleared out and no one seemed to be coming in. It was right past the stairs, so no reason for anyone to come this way now. “What did you want to tell me about Shiki-kun?”

I swallowed and just said it bluntly. “Shiki is dead. He died last night.” I took a step closer so I could speak quieter while Ciel could still hear. “You didn't hear it from me, but according to his sister he attacked his old man and they took each other out in a mutual kill.” I looked around to make sure no one else was watching before stepping back. “But don't tell anyone. The sister says it's family business.”

Ciel's eyes widened into an expression of both surprise and concern I've never seen from her before. “Dead...? That can't be right... Shiki is...dead?”

I rubbed the back of my head. “Sorry to be the one who breaks the bad news senpai. I felt it'd be better to hear it from me than from the news or something. I need to tell Sacchin too...”

Ciel crossed her arms and shook her head. “About that actually. I agree with you, so it's only fair you hear this from me too.” She took a deep breath. “Yumizuka-chan...isn't here anymore. Her body was discovered this morning.”

I could only gap open my mouth in shock. “No...no way? You don't mean...”

Ciel gave a sad nod. “Yes. The latest victim of the bloodless murders.”

“What the hell...?” I clenched my fist in rage. “What the actual f-”

It was Ciel who stepped closer this time, raising her finger in front of her. “I understand you're upset Inui-kun...anyone would be. You woke up this morning and learned both of your best friends died during the night. But you shouldn't do anything rash.” She stared at me right in the eyes, her blue eyes seemingly staring into my very soul. “You should go straight home after school and keep yourself secure indoors at night. Tell your sister to do the same.”

...did I tell Ciel about my big sis? No, it doesn't matter. She's right. Things are dangerous. We need to keep inside during the night.

”...What are you going to do senpai?”

She looked away from me, a uncharacteristically lost expression on her face. “I don't know, to be honest....” She turned back to me and gave a small smile. “But I'll keep myself safe too, don't worry. I'll see you tomorrow.”

We exchanged nods and Ciel departed, leaving me at the end of the hall with my thoughts. Both Shiki and Satsuki were dead. It was dangerous to go out at night.

Suddenly Arcueid's words from yesterday came to mind: 'I'm here to fix your vampire problem!' I wonder if she really could?

I guess I have no choice but to put my faith in her and Ciel. For Satsuki Yumizuka and Shiki Tohno both.

With no reason to linger, I went home.