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[jeonstudios]

fontana di trevi | 02

you seek out a vampire to help you with something.

pairing: vampire!jk x sadgirl, blood donor!reader

genre: vampire au, angst, fluff (really a sadgirl fic lol)

word count: 9k

warnings: same as last time basically: blood, needles, suicidal thoughts and intentions

rating: NC-17 – Adults Only

masterlist

part 2/2

<previous | next>

© between takes is copyright jeonstudios. this fic can not be modified, re-posted, or translated without my permission.

“Thanks,” you smile politely as you close the car door, hearing the Uber drive off behind you. The walk up to the house is no different than last time, yet it definitely feels different. Both because of what happened almost a week ago, but also since you’re hoping this will be the last time.

What certainly is different is the surprised look on the vampire’s face as he opens the door to see you standing there with your hands in the pockets of your winter coat.

He himself is wearing a black hoodie, and once again, black shorts. His hair looks a little messier than how you’re used to seeing it. Almost like he’s been sleeping. Vampires don’t sleep, though, do they?

“I… didn’t think you’d show,” he admits honestly, nonetheless opening the door wider for you, and as you enter, you can’t help but think that he looks… almost cuddly.

Of course, he still gives off the usual intimidating aura, and he should probably be even scarier to you considering what happened last time you met him, but… you don’t know. Perhaps you’re just so deprived of human touch that a bloodthirsty vampire’s cold embrace seems inviting.

This time, he waits in the hallway while you step out of your shoes and remove your coat. 

“Yeah, I still want this. I just… wasn’t prepared,” you explain rather vaguely, knowing that he understands exactly what you’re getting at anyway. You want to die but on your terms.

“It wasn’t my intention. To do what I did.”

You meet his eyes. It’s not an outright apology, but it feels eerily close to one.

“You were there to… feed, weren’t you?”

He nods. “Didn’t get the chance to on Thursday or Friday.”

It’s your turn to nod in understanding. For a short moment, you stand there, looking at each other. 

Until you break the silence. “So, can we start?”

“Sure,” he agrees, turning around to head toward the kitchen.

Like the first time you showed up to his house when he didn’t think you were going to, he has to bring the supplies from wherever he keeps them. You take your spot at the table, slip off your cardigan, and wait.

The vampire returns with his hands full, placing the stuff down on the table before he pulls out another chair and positions it the same way as always. But his focus lies on your skin.

“These are new bruises?” he asks, carefully grasping your hand and very gently lifting it to better inspect the yellowing marks covering your skin. “You always bruise like this after?”

You follow his gaze. There are currently three bruises on your right arm, none the same as the night he almost killed you. Two are yellow and from when you bumped into a dresser at home a few days ago. The third is purple but smaller and its origin a mystery. If he wanted to see bruises, he should��ve seen the ones on your legs after you fell when he attacked you.

“Not the first time, but yeah. Usually just from the needle site, but lately, it’s all over. I guess I’m a little deficient in something,” you joke quietly, but the vampire doesn't laugh. 

“Why does it interest you so much? Do you have some kind of medical degree?” you ask, thinking back to when he first asked you why you didn’t wonder about his apparent knowledge.

“Not officially, but being dependent on humans like we are to some extent, you tend to pick up on stuff, and having been around as long as I have, it’s even more unavoidable. But I’ve never seen bruising this severe from blood loss.”

Fair enough. Your body should definitely try to keep the little blood remaining inside your veins, where it belongs. 

He starts prepping your arm, but instead of looking away, you close your eyes. Are you imagining things or has he been… softer lately? Making sure you got home safely instead of leaving you to your fate, almost worrying about your bruises, and being gentler in the way he attaches the needle? Then again, he’s only making sure you can give him as much blood as possible, and he also would’ve probably killed you if he’d gotten ahold of you last week.

“I take it you’ve killed before?” 

There’s a few seconds of silence, but then he answers, and there’s nothing hidden in his words or voice that reveals something more.

“I have.”

“How do you…,” you start, unsure of how to phrase your question. “I mean, what do you do… after?”

“Are you asking…?”

“How do you… dispose of them? And… I guess, how will you dispose of… me?”

It’s not really a sensitive question for you, so you’re not sure for whose sake you’re so careful. You doubt the vampire really cares.

You hear him exhale. “I guess it depends on the circumstances. I haven’t planned anything.”

You wince when he sticks you, more painful this time for some reason. The ball is placed in your hand like always, and you start to squeeze it.

Your curiosity isn’t that dire, so you’re not disappointed by his answer. Maybe he’s not even being honest, and it’s for your sake? Which brings you back to why he’s being extra gentle. The only other explanation you can think of is that he feels sorry for you. Maybe he just truly wants to spare you unnecessary pain and worry in the last moments of your pathetic life? Because this is it. With how shitty you’ve been feeling these last couple of weeks and especially since last time, you know it won’t be long. Today’s the day.

One bag. He can take one bag and after that he’ll have to end it. That way, you don’t have to bleed out, and he’ll get as much blood as possible. If he takes your advice about how to drain the rest, well, that’s up to him.

You’re startled by the sound of knocking, opening your eyes to see the vampire rise from his chair, seemingly sharing your surprise. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

Nodding, you close your eyes again, getting as comfortable as you can in the chair while wondering who’s at the door. A vampire friend? A vampire partner? Surely, he doesn’t hang out with humans on the regular? You always got the impression, both from him and vampires in pop culture, that they don’t really care for humans. In fact, a dirty human only pesters a vampire’s environment unless they’re actively dying.

Your heart hurts. It’s beating heavily inside your chest, a feeling you’ve grown somewhat used to over the weeks, but it feels undeniably worse. Like every beat is a painful and exhausting accomplishment. Your breaths grow heavier too. 

Surely, it’s been more than a minute. Is he on his way back? If he were a human, chatting with another human at the front door, maybe you would’ve heard them, but you can’t discern anything. 

It feels a little like your head’s in the clouds, and you’re not sure if your eyes are still closed or if they’re open and you just can’t see anything. You have a feeling that not only can’t you hear the vampire, you can’t hear anything anymore.

Realizing that this is it, you try to call for him quietly to tell him so, but although you’re pretty certain you’re dying, for some reason, you don’t want to interrupt whatever he’s doing with his visitor.

“Fine, alright, I’ll talk to him, but please, this is not a good time.”

“But he’s being an ass, and you were the last person he spoke to before he left for fucking Iceland.”

Jeongguk rolls his eyes at his friend, Yuqi. With how much she and Taehyung love each other, there’s a surprising amount of drama. 

“I don’t wanna get involved. I’ll call him later.”

“Fine, get back to me after. If he doesn’t answer, I’m taking the first flight.”

“Vampire?”

Yuqi, who was just about to turn around to leave, stops in her tracks.

“What… was that?” she asks, standing still before discreetly scenting the air. “Is that… blood?”

Jeongguk’s eyes widen. He’s used to smelling blood whenever you’re there to leave it, but not this much. Quickly, and without regard to Yuqi, he turns to rush back into his kitchen, eyes going even wider at the vision in front of him.

“Vampire?” you call out quietly again from the chair, eyes closed and unknowing of his return. You seem out of it, bordering on unconscious, and it’s not without reason. Jeongguk curses himself for not double checking the blood bag when he knows that brand is prone to ripping because the bag isn’t full; it’s broken, and your blood is dripping into a big puddle of red on the floor.

You think… you’re being… carried? By someone firm and… warm. You like that.

“I’m not warm," a low voice comments. "At least I’m not supposed to be.”

“I’m dying… right?” you mumble, feeling how the vampire puts you down on something soft.

“Probably, yeah.”

He does something to your arms, and you can’t figure out what, but you realize it has something to do with collecting the remaining blood when you’re gone.

There’s another voice.

Next time you open your eyes, you feel… different. And upset. You’re not as dizzy as you’ve become accustomed to, and the room doesn’t spin when you sit up on the bed. Your body hurts, but it feels more like you’re simply tired and beat than extremely weak. Most importantly, you feel, which means you’re not dead.

As if he could sense your awakening—or just possesses superhuman hearing—a door opens to reveal the vampire. He's wearing other clothes, grey sweatpants and a black t-shirt, and his face doesn't give you anything.

“What happened?” you question, looking around the room that’s clearly a bedroom. “And where am I?”

“You passed out. There was a hole in the bag, so the blood was just leaking onto the floor. I had my friend steal some from the hospital, and I gave you a transfusion. Yuqi also brought some clothes and stuff for you, so you’re staying here at least until tomorrow. Then you’re free to leave whenever you want.”

“I… don’t understand. Why would you—why not just let me go then?”

“I changed my mind.”

You look at him, bewildered and trying to find the words. “What do you mean you changed your mind? We had an agreement?”

“I know, but I changed my mind. I’m not doing it. If the blood matters to you, the bags are in the freezer.”

“Why–what would I do with blood?” you question in frustration. Is he offering it back in case you want to drink it? Try to put it back inside your veins? Apparently, you’ve already had transfusions, so you have exactly zero use for frozen bags of blood. “Why can’t you just get on with it? Why not let me die?”

“I do not. Want. To,” he hisses.

You stare at him in silence, feeling confused and betrayed. He looks away but doesn't seem affected. No shame, no regret, no anything but a moment of frustration to breach otherwise calm determination.

“Here’s the stuff,” he gestures toward a duffel bag by the foot of the bed. “You have a bathroom right outside, and I’m gonna order some food for you. You should take it easy; I wasn’t able to give you as much blood as you really need, and unfortunately, what I’ve previously collected isn’t fit to give back. Since it’s been frozen and stored improperly for that kind of purpose, there would be a risk of clotting.”

You look at him from where you’re sitting on his bed, and he looks back at you. The irritation you feel grows beyond what you’re capable of conveying, and so it turns into defeat. It makes you angry, how he managed to back out of giving you what you wanted at the very last second. You spent months upholding your end of the deal, and when it finally came time for him to do the same, he didn’t. 

“Don’t bother,” you lie down slowly, your back facing him where he stands at the door. Silently, you curse your body for feeling so tired; ideally, you’d stomp out of there, slamming the door behind you. “I’ll leave tomorrow morning.”

Your own clothes are still wearable. The few stains of blood are relatively small and dried, and the vampire already placed you on his bed, so you don’t feel like you’ll do any more damage by sleeping in them. The house is quiet, but you don’t think he’s left it, which begs the question of where he is. And also if he sleeps and if he does, then… where? He never gave you a tour or anything, so you have no idea what the rest of his house looks like. Whatever; you don’t care, anyway.

His sheets smell clean, though, and it doesn’t take you long to pass out, truly exhausted.

When you wake up, you can’t find your phone, and without any other time measuring device, you don’t know what time it is. It appears like the sun rose not too long ago so that narrows your guess a little bit at least.

Sitting up slowly, you take a deep breath. You feel… okay. A bit sore almost, but more energetic than you have in a while. Unfortunately, it’s not necessarily a good thing in your book.

Sighing, you put your feet to the hardwood floor. They carry you with only a little dizziness, and you set your sight on the bedroom door. It opens smoothly, and you peer out, looking for the bathroom the vampire mentioned. There’s a door immediately to your left which you guess must be it, and so you head toward it. 

After successfully finding the bathroom and using it, you decide to continue the search for your phone. Since you thought last night would be your last and therefore arrived by Uber rather than driving, it means that without your phone, you have no way home.

You make your way down some stairs, recognizing the hallway as the one the vampire has led you through what feels like countless times. Last time you remember having your phone was in the kitchen, so that’s where you steer your steps.

As luck would have it, the kitchen is also where the vampire happens to be. Upon your entrance, your eyes immediately fall on the tall man where he stands, leaning back against the counter. Although he surely heard you approaching a long time ago, he only turns his head slowly toward you when you’re well into the room. He’s hard to read; doesn’t offer much.

“Do you know where my phone is?”

The vampire twists his body to look at the counter behind him, sliding something toward you. You take a step closer, inspecting the device when it’s in your hands. Three percent.

“Do you have a charger I can borrow?”

“Yeah,” he answers with a nod and pushes off the counter, leaving the kitchen. You wait, quietly wondering what exactly goes on inside his head. He seems unfazed by the whole ordeal, which doesn’t necessarily surprise you. But what you still don’t quite understand is why he claimed to have changed his mind. Could it be that he just didn’t want to deal with your body? 

The vampire returns with a white charger in his hand, his skin cold against yours when you accept it from him. Finding a fitting outlet near the table, you plug the charger in and sit down, gazing out through the window while you wait for the phone to charge enough for the trip home. The vampire has gone back to leaning wordlessly against the counter, and you ignore him.

Opening your phone, you find that the only unread notification you have is a spam email. Why are you surprised? With a small sigh, you lock the device again, hoping it’ll charge faster if you don’t use it. Forty percent should be enough.

It’s snowing outside, and you watch the big snowflakes fall slowly and silently to the already white ground. Waiting like this gives you time to go over all the things you’ve done wrong in your life.

Next time you unlock your phone, the battery has reached thirty-seven percent. You open the Uber app to see that a car can arrive in ten minutes. You confirm it, noting the time as eleven twenty-three. You’ll wait five more minutes before you start getting ready, which honestly is just putting your shoes and coat on. 

The seconds pass slowly one after the other. You wonder briefly how long it took the vampire to clean because, although you didn’t notice the blood dripping to the floor while it was happening, you understood that there was a lot of it. Must suck for him to have it wasted like that. The question is also why he would waste even more blood by giving you a transfusion? If he went through the pain of acquiring bagged blood, why not just drink that?

At eleven twenty-nine, your phone’s battery is at fifty-two percent. You unplug the charger from the wall, and as you stand, you place it on the table with a quiet ‘thanks.’

“Going home?” the vampire wonders, black eyes watching you. He looks casual, but there’s that hint of softness shining through again. 

You pass him on your way to the front door. “Yeah.”

“Reconsider,” he encourages, and you know he’s not talking about your journey home. 

You roll your eyes. “No.”

“Yes,” he follows. “Whatever’s troubling you doesn’t matter. There’s so much for you to see and do, so many places to visit and people to meet. Your life is so incredibly short, and you won’t have time to see even a fraction of the world as is.”

“Thanks for the pep talk,” you say, bending down to put your boots on.

“Have you even been outside of this town?”

Why is he trying to control you? He doesn’t know you; he doesn’t care. It’s not like you’ll magically be fine after his ‘cheer up, pal,’ and ending your life is not a decision you have taken hastily or easily.

“No.”

“Don’t you want to see what’s out there?”

“Of course. But it’s not…” you straighten up to look at him, frustration dripping from your words. “Don’t you see that I’m all alone? I don’t have anybody, no one to experience things with, and much less the money to just up and leave. Sure, maybe I could get a loan and travel through Italy for two weeks, but then what? I’ll be miserable and in debt.”

The vampire tilts his head, looking at you with his black eyes but not saying anything. He just doesn't understand. You put your other foot into your boot and reach for your coat before he can try to persuade you again for whatever reason.

“Whatever,” you sigh, “I’ll be going.”

He doesn’t stop you from opening the door, and he doesn’t follow you when you leave, one boot undone and with your coat held to your chest. Irritation turns to sadness and defeat as you wait for the Uber to arrive, taking the opportunity to actually put your coat on and tie your laces properly. Snow falls around you, and when you're done, you stand there, waiting pathetically by the side of the road in the cold. You’re back at square one.

Despite having slept for countless hours at the vampire’s house, you head straight for your bed the moment you return home. For another few hours, you sleep, and then you spend a few more lying there in the dark, thinking. 

It’s seven p.m. on a Saturday. You’ve wasted a lot of time, months even, waiting for the vampire to get what he wanted and follow through on his part. But that’s over now, so what are you waiting for right now? 

Two and a half hours later, you put your boots back on and throw a lighter jacket over your shoulders, one that allows easier access to your neck.

Still not feeling your best, it takes you fifteen minutes to walk what the vampire did in six, carrying you on his back. You don’t understand him. He acted like he didn’t want you to die, but if he cared about you at all, he would’ve backed out earlier and not waited until his actions brought you within an inch of your life for what, the third time? Was he hoping you’d stay alive so that you’d hopefully continue donating your blood, even if less frequently? 

Although nearing his feeding grounds, you’re hoping not to run into him. He did state that he changed his feeding days to Thursdays, and last week, when you did run into him, it seemed like a coincidence. Besides, this place is your best bet tonight; even the vampire admitted that there were others there last time. Surely, they’re around here somewhere tonight as well. 

Since you assume vampires don’t want unnecessary attention, you stake out near the same club as last week, but this time, you hide in the shadows around a corner. Then, you wait for a victim.

Thirty minutes to midnight, a woman stumbles out through the door, a bouncer holding it open for her. She’s obviously had a bit to drink, and as she clumsily fixes her little cross body bag and sets off along the street, you look around from your hiding spot.

But you don’t see or hear anything; not a dark figure moving nor the sound of footsteps. Still, you follow her, hoping for the best. Wanting to keep your distance, you instead find it hard to keep up with her, which is saying something about your current health.

About two hundred meters from the club, she suddenly slows down, her attention seemingly drawn to something in an alleyway. You weren’t sure exactly how the vampires hunt, but by how the woman begins to slowly drift inside the dark alleyway of her own accord, you guess they do have some kind of pull. Most women, even when slightly drunk, typically try not to do… that.

You quicken your steps as much as possible without breaking into a sprint. Not only do you want to speak to a vampire; if you can take that woman’s place and leave her unscathed, it’s an added bonus. Before you’ve caught up, the woman slowly and quietly disappears, and when you turn the corner with your phone in hand and flashlight turned on, you spot a man holding her to his body. 

Evidently hearing you approaching, the man has placed them against the wall, halfway obscured by a dumpster and hoping you’d walk past them, which you would have if you weren’t so focused on the woman and your mission.

The man squints in the light, and you very clearly discern long fangs. You take another step into the alleyway, but what you didn’t expect was to be grabbed from another direction. 

Gasping, you feel strong arms hold your back against someone’s chest, effortlessly keeping you immobile. 

“What can we offer? Though you smell like vampire already?” The man who holds you says, sounding surprised, and your phone is taken from your hand and the flashlight turned off. 

Obviously, they assume you’re one of the freaky ones looking for vampires because any normal person would run. Your reason for wanting to find one is different, though. 

“I have a proposition,” you stutter, not too scared but uncomfortable with how the man noses at your neck. Despite knowing that if the vampire bites, it’ll most likely be your neck, you can’t help trying to pull away. It’s just another bodily reaction. 

Your words intrigue him, and he moves, creating just a tad bit more space between your bodies and looking down at you with a curious smirk.

“A proposition, you say?”

“You can have my blood—all of it—if you take it right here and now.”

“What’s the catch?” he asks, raising an eyebrow much like a certain vampire you know. “What’s in it for you?”

“There is no catch. I want to die.”

The other vampire, curiously listening to your conversation, whispers something in the other woman’s ear, and lets her go. She stumbles away from him and then casually leaves the alleyway, turning the corner calmly as if nothing happened. 

You meet the vampire’s puzzled yet curious eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with my blood if you think I’m trying to trick you into something. Except that it’s apparently B positive which I understand is not that desirable, but—”

“You’re Jeon’s human?”

“Uh—what? Who?” you ask, confused but slowly putting two and two together.

“Fuck, should we?” the other vampire questions quietly.

“Jeon,” the closest one to you starts, “is the vampire you smell of. He’s been very persistent no one touches his human.”

“Yeah. Can’t blame him. If I was lucky enough to have someone offer to be a walking blood bag, I wouldn’t let them outside at all.”

“I’m not… I’m not anyone’s, and I’m not a walking blood bag,” you explain, feeling belittled. “He made me a promise that he broke. He was going to help me die in exchange for my blood, but he just used me to collect blood, and then he didn’t deliver.”

The two vampires look at each other, and you feel like they didn’t really pay attention to anything you just said.

“I don’t know, man. I’m not sure I wanna get on his bad side.”

“But he’s too arrogant,” the first one complains. “If I want something, why should he prevent me from getting it? He doesn’t own the supply here. I’m a thousand years old; I shouldn’t need to ask for permission.”

“Dude’s like three thousand years old, though? You don’t need to ask permission; you can literally choose anyone. Except this one, for some reason. I don’t think I would if I were you.”

“Our agreement is over,” you try to enter the conversation the two vampires are holding over your head.

“Well,” the one holding your arms peers down at you, “He said that under no circumstances is anyone allowed to touch you.”

You scoff, growing irritated again, “Okay, well, are there any vampires around that aren’t such wimps? If I can’t find anyone to just snap my neck, I’m going to the train tracks and then my blood will be wasted.”

That’s a lie, of course. There’s a reason you picked death by vampire; you’re too scared to do it any other way, and no matter how much you want to die, you can’t subject anyone else—like a poor train driver—to it. Vampires are cold and heartless. They don’t care.

“Hold on. Wait,” the vampire holds you tighter when you haphazardly try to wiggle out of his grasp.

“Look,” he says to the other, “He can’t tell us what to do. Besides, if he gets angry, we can just say that she said their agreement was over, and we did her a favor out of the goodness of our hearts.”

“You don’t have a heart; you just want to annoy him.”

The vampire grins. At first, it’s a boyish smile directed at his friend, but when he slowly tilts his head down to look at you, it turns almost sinister. “I think I’m gonna do it.”

You gulp. No matter how much this is what you want, it does scare you. Mostly because you’re afraid it will be painful.

“Is there a way you can kill me first? I don’t want it to hurt.”

The smiling vampire shakes his head. 

“No.”

You thought death was supposed to be a void. A void of darkness, devoid of physical matter, emotions, and thoughts. But it hurts. It hurts so much. 

Then, a void does take over.

Jeongguk knew you’d try again. If he wouldn’t kill you, you were going to find someone who would. And despite hoping that you would’ve changed your mind, he was unfortunately right. He spent an hour roaming the dark streets around the town’s attempt at a nightlife, but he didn’t come across you. Not until he visits the same place where you first found him, a place he wouldn’t take as your first choice since you ran into him there a week earlier. 

He’s spent hours and hours these last weeks with you on his mind; the little human who wants to die so badly. It’s just something about you and your willingness to die that doesn’t sit right with him, and you won’t leave his thoughts. It’s not his business, he told himself as he saw you curled up and unconscious in your car. Who is he to tell someone what they should do with their life? If anything, respecting your wishes and consuming freely donated blood is easier and more ethical than taking it from plastered people who aren’t really sure what’s going on, right?

The scenes replaying the most in his head are more recent. It’s the way you suggested he kill and butcher your body, saying no one would look for you anyway, and how you called for him, unknowing that your blood was dripping to the floor but still trying your hardest to squeeze that ball for him. Your fingers were barely moving, but you tried since he wanted that blood. 

He’s not entirely sure what he’s doing, trying to convince you to live, but he guesses that he simply needs to know that you experienced some good things in life too. He can’t let you end it this way, as a lifeless body, discarded somewhere where no one will find you.

Anger, frustration, and an odd feeling of helplessness flood him as he takes in the sight of the vampire in the process of draining you dry. He rushes into the dark alleyway, the vampire looking up from your neck just as Jeongguk strikes. There’s not much of a fight after that. The first vampire stumbles backward, and Jeongguk grabs your lifeless body from him as the second vampire approaches, eyes wide and with his hands raised shoulder height.

“Easy, man.”

“I fucking told you to leave her alone.”

The dazed vampire grumbles something, but Jeongguk doesn’t pay him any attention. He places your body down on the snow-covered ground and looks at your pale face while searching for a pulse right under your jaw. 

“She wanted to die.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Jeongguk growls. “How much did you take?”

There is no pulse.

“At least three fourths. Possibly more.”

Jeongguk shuts his eyes. There’s no coming back from that.

You’ve lost and regained consciousness due to blood loss one too many times by now, but this time, it really feels different. Opening your eyes, the sunlight filling the room irritates your eyes, forcing you to squint for a few seconds. 

Without moving, you focus on something. The vampire. Jeon, was it? You watch as he rummages through his closet, practically soundlessly, taking out a few items and looking them over before settling on what looks like two black shirts, one long-sleeve and one short-sleeve. Then he digs out a pair of shorts and another pair of sweatpants. 

You’re not used to seeing him in direct sunlight, but now, the rays filtering through the half-opened blinds paint him in a new light, and you let your eyes linger on his arms as he folds the clothes. The green t-shirt he wears is doing a great job at highlighting his veiny, muscular forearms as they work. Light and shadows play along those very defined muscles, accentuating them further.

Your first impression of him was a cold one, one that slowly warmed a little over time both physically and mentally. But in this light? Without even touching him, he looks… warmer to you. Inviting, almost like when he wore that black hoodie. 

You sigh quietly and pull the blanket that’s thrown over you closer. The vampire hears and turns around, placing the clothes at the foot of his large bed.

“Hey. How are you feeling?”

You take a moment to consider his question. Though you’ve certainly felt better in a lot of ways, you don’t feel the way you’ve come to associate with severe blood loss. 

“Cold. And tired, but in a weird way.”

Weird is probably the best way to describe how you’re feeling in general. You feel light, but not weak. Tired, but not sleepy. 

He nods understandingly, “It’ll pass.”

You catch his gaze, holding it for a quiet moment. “You changed me, didn’t you?”

It’s the only explanation you can come up with. That vampire was hungry, and you remember slowly losing control in his grasp, both over your body and consciousness. With how many near-death experiences your body has endured in the last weeks—all blood loss related—there just wasn’t any chance you’d survive another draining.

“Yeah.” He looks away, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “I couldn’t…”

You think you understand well enough what he’s trying to say, although you’re not too sure of his reasons or how to feel about it. He couldn’t let you die. In a way, you’re disappointed because you were finally getting what you wanted, and dying has proved itself to be surprisingly difficult for you. 

But you’re not angry; not like you were after the vampire saved you the first time. He mentioned once that not even vampires are immortal, so at least you know that you’re not doomed to an eternal life in suffering; you can always try again if you want. However, you’d be back at square one when it comes to options, but you don’t really feel the urgency anymore. At least not at the moment.

He turns his head toward you, meeting your eyes with his deep, dark ones. “Let me show the world to you.”

Surprised to say the least, you mumble a quiet “What?”

He angles his body further toward you, and you see that despite the softer look on his face, he’s certain. “I want to show you everything the world has to offer. All the good things; the magical places and people.”

Not sure what to say, you just stare at him.

“Vampires are not immortal,” he continues. “If you really don’t want this, I’ll help you die. I promised. But please, think about it. No catch, no expectations.”

“But why… Why would you want that?” 

You’ve been alone for so long, unable to keep people around and interested, so why would this being be?

“Because I found that I really didn’t enjoy draining you of your life, especially when you were already so low to begin with. I want you to get the chance to experience the good things life has to offer, and I can’t help but want to be around when you do.”

“You don’t know me though.”

“I kinda want to,” he says, standing up with the cheekiest smile you’ve ever seen on him. “Think about it, okay? I’m not expecting anything from you other than that you consider.”

Still very much processing his words, you feel a cold shiver wreck your body, something the vampire notices.

“I’ll get you another blanket. Your body is still in the process of changing, and with that comes a decrease in temperature. It’s normal to feel cold.”

He’s about to leave when you call for him.

“Wait. What… What's your name? Your given name?”

He stops, and he smiles again. “Jeongguk. And I know yours already; it was on your door.”

You sleep for a little while longer, but when you start to feel better, you also start to think. You’ve been so certain for so long, and you still are—you think—but… either way, you’d like some answers; a clearer view of the whole picture.

“Jeongguk?” you call, unsure how loud you need to be. It feels strange to use a name for the vampire.

It doesn’t take long before the door opens. “Yeah?”

“I have some… questions.”

He nods, stepping into the darkness that is his bedroom and closing the door behind him. 

“Light sensitive?” he nods toward the window, where you’ve pulled the curtains closed over the blinds.

“Yeah… Is that normal?”

“It is. So is feeling sensitive to sound, touch, smell; basically all the senses. But it will pass pretty quickly.”

“Okay. Well, can you… tell me everything about being a vampire? I didn’t think you slept, but you do? Or why do I still sleep?”

He rounds the bed to sit next to you, and you feel it sink as he gets comfortable. Slowly, you turn to face him, watching him lean back against the headboard.

“So, basically, we can do all the things humans do. For instance, you’re still programmed to breathe, but it’s more of a habit and a way to smell than a means of survival.”

While he speaks, you try it. It’s strange, holding your breath and not feeling that strong, strong urge to take in air after a while.

“You can eat human food, but it’s not what sustains you, so most vampires don’t. It gets kinda boring after a while; you’ll see what I mean. Most also don’t sleep as they consider it a waste of time, but you can if you want to. I do pretty regularly. I find it… peaceful, and when you get older, it can be nice, getting a break between days.”

Hearing him talk so casually and almost… softly has you smiling slightly, unable to help it. So he had been sleeping when you knocked on the door, and his hair was all messy, and he looked so cuddly? You don’t know why, but you like that thought.

“You can exist in sunlight, you can consume garlic. Mirrors work for us as well. We don’t age like humans, but we can die if we’re pierced through the heart by something wooden—”

“—You mean staked?”

He looks at your wide, amused eyes and rolls his. “Yeah. Staked. Anyway, you’ll notice that your senses are heightened, and you’ll become stronger too. Not stronger than me, though,” he grins. “As for the blood, you can survive on any.”

“Any?”

What does he mean by that? Human and animal?

“Human, animal, vampire,” he says, the last one surprising you.

You blink, taken aback. “Vampires drink from other vampires?”

“We can. It’s not as common as feeding on humans as it’s mostly… a pretty intimate thing to do.”

“Oh, okay.” 

Thinking about it, you guess you can see why. Having someone so close, feeding on you without the power imbalance of prey versus predator that feeding on humans entails, must feel… intimate. More of a give and take. 

“You’ll need to feed in about a day or two, so you can choose. I have more human blood than just yours as it might be weird to drink your own blood, and I can get animal blood if that feels easier. Or… if you want to, you can drink from me.”

You look at him questioningly. “Didn’t you just say that it’s an intimate thing?”

He shrugs. “Yeah, but if it would make for an easier transition for you, I don’t mind. I’ve taken a lot of blood from you, after all.”

“Okay,” you nod, briefly biting your lip. “I’ll think about it. About all of… this.”

Is death the thing you wanted above all else, or was it to get out of the life you were living? Now that your old life is, in a way, over, you’re not sure. Regardless, there are other worries still plaguing you. You look—almost stare—at his pretty face. 

“What?”

You bite your lip nervously again. “What if you change your mind? I’m assuming this was quite a rushed decision on your part. What if I don’t live up to your expectations? I barely knew how to navigate this world as a human, there’s no way I could… manage on my own as… as a vampire.”

Say you decide to give it a shot; what do you do if he grows tired of you?

“Changing someone is not something we take lightly. We don’t…” he looks around, seemingly searching for the right words. “We don’t change anyone if we’re not prepared to guide them, at least through the first years. Usually, vampires only end up turning their romantic partners, so for most, it means staying together for life. Regardless, it’s a big decision.”

Noticing your wide eyes, Jeongguk smiles and chuckles. “I’m not saying you have to hang around me for the rest of your life, and I won’t ask you to play my wife or anything, but I won’t abandon you.”

It’s surprising enough to hear that vampires not only regularly fall in love with humans but take changing someone so seriously. But you’re even more surprised to hear him use the word ‘wife.’

“Your wife?” you ask, truly bewildered that word was even in his thoughts. “You said vampirism doesn't make you much prettier?”

He looks at you like you’ve grown another head. “It doesn’t. But you didn’t need to become prettier anyway.”

“Oh, come on.”

“I’m telling the truth? Don’t you remember what I told you when I carried you home that night?”

‘You’re a pretty girl, you know?’

Of course you remember, but it doesn’t mean it was true.

You roll your eyes. “You were feeling bad for me.”

“Hm,” Jeongguk looks away, thinking. “Okay, do you remember the very first thing I said to you?”

“That you weren’t going to turn me?”

“For sex, yeah. But I said I’d still fuck you.”

The smile he gives you reminds you more of the vampire that took your blood once every fortnight than the one who saved you. You don’t know what to say, and he seems to realize that, his smile turning softer.

“Like I said, I would’ve fucked you because you were pretty even as a human. Also, about luring said humans in? You will not have a problem with that if that’s something you’re interested in. I kinda want to see you do that, actually,” he grins, sending a shiver down your spine. “Hot.”

Jeongguk is sitting spread out on the rented apartment’s low couch, reading the back of a bottle of red wine when you pass him. It’s hot—a lot warmer than what you’re used to from your little hometown—and you sigh as you open the door to the balconet wider and fresh air starts to play with your dress. The weather doesn’t affect you like it used to, but some aspects are still more enjoyable than others. 

“I think I like Rome,” you place your hands on the railing, looking down at the scene two stories below you. It’s just after ten p.m., and people are dining outside the restaurant below you, their happy chatter accompanied by the romantic sound of street musicians. The air is humid, and besides the moonlight, the street is mainly illuminated by lights from the restaurant and surrounding shops.

You hear Jeongguk put the bottle down on the glass coffee table and stand up, something your human ears wouldn’t have picked up.

“We can stay longer if you want,” he offers quietly from right behind you.

Turning around, you let your gaze travel over his white dress shirt, held together by two single buttons—the rest lazily unbuttoned—and exposing most of his drool-worthy chest. He smirks, looking down at you, and you’re hit by how he hasn’t changed that much since you first met him in that alley. You’ve just gotten to see more sides of him.

You hold your breath, carefully reaching your hand out to pinch the fabric of his shirt between your thumb and index finger, pulling a little on it and nodding.

“Then we’ll stay,” he smiles, slowly stepping back and taking your hand softly in his. His skin feels warm against yours, and it’s almost like some sort of electric current courses through you. You grin as he pulls you toward him, moving to the slow and sensual music drifting up from outside.

Jeongguk lifts your hand above your head and twirls you. It makes you smile even wider, and you decide to place your arms loosely around his neck. He doesn’t object, just looks down at you, still smiling. 

One thing you'll never get used to is how handsome he is. Soft, black hair parted across his forehead, dark eyebrows and eyes, and a dimple that pops out when he smiles. One day, you’ll kiss his nose, you promise yourself. He looks so carefree, peering down at you like nothing else really matters; a mindset not too difficult to follow with him.

“How come everything is so… easy?”

He tilts his head, trying to make sense of your words as he places his hands on your waist. “Well… do you feel cared for?”

You think about it. All the new people—vampires—you’ve met so far are very funny and kind. They see you, and they listen to you. Especially Jeongguk’s friends, and even more so, Jeongguk. He’s easy to be around, and he’s been incredibly sweet to you, understanding that you’re going through a big change and that your previous life wasn’t all that great.

So you nod.

“Do you have anything that worries you?” He continues. “A looming anxiety regarding something?”

“No.” Turns out that Jeongguk and all his friends are filthy rich and also very generous, which means that you have no rent to pay, no stuff to buy, or bills to pay. Nor do you have people to impress or time-sensitive achievements to stress over.

Jeongguk’s smile turns extra cheeky. “Do you perhaps… also care a little bit for someone?”

You’d blush if that was something you could do. “You’d like to know, wouldn’t you?”

He chuckles before he turns a little more serious. “Jokes aside, there could be many reasons. Like I said, not feeling lonely or overly anxious surely helps a lot, but also stuff like… the change of scenery and seasons. But also…”

“Also…?”

He looks at you with a searching gaze, as if he’s trying to figure something out. “Tell me, did you ever see someone about how you felt?”

You shake your head.

“So you never got a diagnosis or medication?”

“No.”

“Then, maybe… you weren’t ‘only’ sad, and vampirism corrected some chemical imbalance in your brain. It could also explain why things are easier.”

Maybe. You thought that your mother dying was the catalyst for your sadness, and without seeing the point of the world, you got “weirder,” and the few people in your life withdrew. Then it was just you, and no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t connect with people anymore. But maybe, like he said, it wasn’t ‘only’ feelings. A small part of you wishes you would’ve tried to get help, but a bigger part—although sad for the years you spent suffering—thinks this ending might be better.

He continues to sway your bodies, and you rest your head against his chest. When you left with him three months ago, one month after he changed you, you weren’t entirely certain where things would lead, because despite definitely feeling attracted to him, you didn’t really know him. But as the days pass, you don’t regret it, and you’re pretty sure you’re more than halfway to head over heels. You can’t deny that he gives you butterflies.

Sighing, you catch the scent of his naked skin against your cheek, reminded of something.

“You smell good. I remember thinking that you didn’t smell like anything?”

He laughs as you move your face slowly over his chest and up to his neck, smelling him.

“Do I?”

“Yeah,” you say, breathing him in and closing your eyes. There’s the same notes of laundry detergent, soap, and cologne, but also something unique to him. He doesn’t smell like a human, but… almost. It draws you in, that’s for certain.

“Are you hungry?” he wonders quietly. 

“Not sure,” you answer honestly. It’s turned out to be harder to tell than you imagined.

“Well, if you want it… go for it.”

“Like this?” you ask, pushing on his chest with a smile. He lets you walk him slowly back toward the couch, and when the back of his knees hit the edge, he sinks down onto it. 

“Mhm,” he hums happily.

High on the vampire equivalent of adrenaline, you straddle his lap, only to be caught off guard by his scent again. “No, but really, you smell so good.”

He chuckles. “Vampires who are more… compatible tend to smell good to each other.”

His revelation has you sitting back, curious but almost a little worried. Despite the details of your relationship being... a bit unclear—mostly due to his unwillingness to pressure you, you think—you can't help but want him to like you. “Does that mean that I smell good to you as well then? I mean, I remember that you didn’t like my blood?”

“You smell incredible to me. Almost addictive,” he reveals quietly, softly, resting his hands on your thighs, and you think your human heart would’ve raced. “And about your blood… I lied.”

Though grinning happily, there’s at least a trace of regret in his eyes.

“You lied? About not liking my blood?”

“Yeah. B is actually one of the more highly regarded blood types. I’m also B, but negative.”

You shake your head at him before carefully leaning in. With a soft touch of your lips, you locate the pulsating artery in his neck, gently angling his head away with your hands. Then, as you’ve done regularly for the last months, you pierce his skin with your fangs.

“I’m kinda surprised you still believed I didn’t like your blood,” he continues, though it sounds a little strained, like he’s trying to keep still. “If I didn’t like your blood, I wouldn’t have needed to change my feeding days to the day before you came. Nor would I have tried to attack you.”

You listen to his words, but you’ll have to process them better later because his blood is pretty much the only thing on your mind. His blood and his body. It took you a few times to get over the mental association with blood and drinking it, but now, it’s not something bad. It tastes and feels good, energizing you in a way food just doesn’t anymore. And it’s a chance to bond, making you feel closer to him. 

He likes it too, if his body language is anything to go by. You know he tries to stay still to give you the best chance to get what you need without distractions, but the little… almost purring sound that reverberates from somewhere deep in his chest is hard to miss. As is the way his hips shift almost unnoticeably, but you haven’t spoken about that.

Being smaller and recently changed, you don’t require nearly as much blood as he does, and as soon as you feel the urge filled, you run your tongue over the wound to close it, just like he’s taught you to.

“Good?” he asks when you pull back, and you nod, licking your lips. 

You keep your eyes on his skin, knowing that it only takes a second for the wound to heal but up to two weeks for the scar from another vampire's teeth to fade to nothing. 

“All of the vampires we’ve met, they’ve looked so… amused when they understand I drink from you. Why is that? I get that it’s ‘intimate’ but they were pretty much all couples, weren’t they? Not that we’re… you know…”

You haven’t spoken about that, either, really.

It confused you, more so since you last week stumbled across a local couple smiling very cheekily when they saw the scar on Jeongguk’s neck that he’d made absolutely no effort to conceal.

He laughs. “It’s because only I have marks.”

You look puzzled. Yeah, sure, but you don’t understand why that would be amusing.

He looks at your confused face and continues. “The fact that you drink from me but not I from you usually means that I’ve submitted to you. That I belong to you. Which is not very common when I’m so much older than you. It’s usually the other way around if anything.”

“Oh,” you exclaim quietly, lifting your hand to your neck. “Should I…? Do you… want to feed from me? Cause I’m not sure that I…”

You don’t like the idea of losing blood. You know that Jeongguk has said that as a vampire, you quite literally can’t run out, but you don’t like it. Thinking about someone biting your neck has images from the night you died flashing before your eyes. You don’t remember much,  but you remember being scared and how much it hurt. Surely, it would be different to let him bite you, but… you don’t know. You can’t help but feel like maybe you should? Don’t you kind of owe it to him?

“I want to, of course I do, but not that badly. I get that it’s an uncomfortable concept for you, so that’s why I haven’t brought it up. If you ever feel comfortable enough, we can try, because it’s very hot, but otherwise, it doesn’t matter.”

You lower your hand, smiling carefully down at him. He runs his hands over your thighs softly.

“So, you’re really just… ancient?”

“Excuse me?” 

“Yeah? You’re literally older than Jesus?”

He rolls his eyes, still smiling.

“Jokes aside, doesn’t it get boring? You were kinda grumpy when I first met you.”

“Truth be told, it does. I’ve seen everything, mostly even many times over. But getting to see everything with you is like getting to experience it for the first time all over again.”

“That’s kinda… cheesy,” you chuckle, but you can’t deny that it makes you feel warm inside. “Yuqi said you probably needed a change of scenery as well.”

“So what if it’s cheesy? It’s true," he grins, and it's your turn to roll your eyes. "And, yeah, she might’ve been right. I guess vampires get lonely too sometimes.”

Although he's still smiling, you can't help but hurt a little, thinking about him feeling lonely too.

“So then, what’s next?" you ask. "When do we leave for Portugal?”

“Depends on when you want to. I’ll just tell Taehyung we’ll meet them later. As for now, you know Fontana di Trevi?”

“Yeah?”

“Wanna take a dip?”

“What? Isn’t it pretty shallow? And probably… illegal?”

“What are they gonna do? Stop us?” He smiles a wide, happy smile, his white fangs almost glimmering in the romantically dimmed light.

<previous | next> author's note: i hope you liked it!! please reblog if you did <3<3<3

[starlightkun]

finders keepers ⇢ teaser 1

⇢ teaser word count: 1162 | full fic: 37.8k total (22.7k & 15.1k) ⇢ genre: sci-fi/science fantasy au, soulmate au, alien!jungwoo, human!reader, slow burn, fluff and angst ⇢ warnings: blood/injury mentions (but like, alien blood, if that makes a difference?), a couple needle/injection mentions, if u get secondhand embarrassment this one might hurt in places, a couple crude jokes about alien stuff iykwim (reader’s friends r kind of the worst), this fic is just a rlly sweet soulmate au i swear idk why these tags look horrendous 😭 ⇢ extra info: this will be released in two parts bc of tumblr’s 1000-block limit that was put in place to hurt me personally :)) BUT both parts will be released on the same day ⇢ estimated release: saturday, november 30, 2024, 3:00 p.m. eastern time (sign up for my taglist here)

At your building, Johnny and Jaehyun helped you drag the spaceman up to your apartment on the third floor, and you had them deposit him on your bed. Johnny brought his travel vet kit up from the car, and together, you managed to get the shiny silver jacket off of him. Underneath, he had a fairly plain white top, which was also torn and blood-soaked. Johnny snapped on a pair of gloves before he pushed the hem up to appraise the stranger’s side, where there was a huge gash in his flesh.

“Oh, Christ, okay,” Johnny sighed, inspecting the wound. “I guess I’ll disinfect and suture it up?”

“Just do it,” you mumbled, pressing a towel to the man’s sweat-sheened forehead.

“Jaehyun, mind assisting?”

“You do know the ‘Dr.’ I put in front of my name is just decorative, right? It’s in Poetry—”

“And now you can brag to all your colleagues that you’ve done real medicine like a real doctor,” Johnny snapped back. “Disinfectant, get it.”

With Jaehyun assisting him, Johnny made quick work of patching him up. Pressing the bandages down over the site so the adhesive would stick, Johnny then disposed of his navy-splattered gloves. He grabbed a stethoscope, putting the end up against the spaceman’s chest.

“I think he’s alive?” Johnny announced. “I don’t know. If he is, he doesn’t have a heart because I’m not getting anything.”

He shifted the placement, presumably to listen to his breathing, and an even more bewildered look overtook his features. Sliding the stethoscope over to the right side of the man’s chest, he sat there for a moment, just listening.

“It’s on the other side,” he breathed out. “His heart’s on the right side.”

“But he has a heartbeat?” You clarified.

“Yeah, he does. Faint, but it’s there. He’s breathing, too. A bit shallow, but otherwise normal. I think.”

You let out a sigh of relief. “Thank God.”

“I don’t think there’s anything else I can do until he wakes up. If he wakes up.”

“Right, thank you Johnny,” you smiled wearily your friend. “I’ll call you when he wakes.”

Jaehyun and Johnny looked at each other skeptically. Jaehyun spoke up, ���You’re going to stay here alone with some rando we literally pulled out of a burning hunk of metal?”

“My couch only fits one person. So unless you two are offering to sleep on the floor to protect me or whatever?”

“Call us if anything happens,” Johnny sighed, packing up all of his supplies.

“Of course,” you nodded. “Thanks, guys.”

You heard the sound of your front door clicking shut as you stayed sitting on the edge of your mattress, wiping the spaceman’s face. He really did look human, two eyes that were now shut, lashes resting on his cheeks, a nose practically just like yours, with an elegant slope to the bridge, and a pair of plush, pouty lips.

He let out a soft sigh, his head rolling over towards you. But then he went silent and still again.

You finished cleaning up his face as best you could, then pulled the covers up over him. Readjusting his bangs that had been stuck together by the damp washcloth you’d used, you gave a final determined nod to nobody in particular before standing up. Grabbing a change of pajamas from your dresser, you got everything you’d need from in here for the night, then went to leave.

“Alright…” You stopped at the threshold of your bedroom, looking over the spaceman’s sleeping figure one last time. “Goodnight, I suppose.”

And with that, you turned the lights out, and quietly closed the door behind you. You were sure to leave it slightly ajar, though, just in case. After taking a much-needed shower and getting ready for bed in your bathroom, you headed out to the living room. You set up a few pillows and blankets into a comfy-enough makeshift bed, then tucked yourself in. Despite the exhaustion in your muscles, the excitement of the night hadn’t worn off yet, and you laid awake for another hour just staring at your bedroom door.

Waking up in the morning to sunlight streaming in through your living room windows, you covered your eyes with a groan and rolled over to bury your face in the back cushions. The sound of your phone buzzing incessantly from the coffee table came, however, and with a guttural groan, you flopped back over to pick it up.

“Yeah?” You mumbled, not even checking the caller ID.

“Y/N?” It was Yuta on the other end.

“Who the fuck else would it be? You called me at whenever-the-fuck-in-the-morning.”

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”

“Couch,” you corrected him, swinging your feet over as you sat up properly. “I slept on the couch.”

“Gave E.T. your bed? Such a kind hostess.”

The mention of your guest woke you up more. You got to your feet, shuffling towards the bedroom with a yawn. “Yeah, you know me, I’m a fuckin’ peach.”

“So how’s the…” Yuta dropped his voice to whisper into the phone, “Alien?”

The door hadn’t moved since last night, and you cautiously pushed it open to peer inside. You could see the stranger exactly where you had left him, laying on his back under your blankets, chest shallowly rising up and down. Pushing further into the room, you hesitated on whether to try to find a pulse again. You settled for trying once around his wrist, and if it didn’t work, then you’d just have to assume he was fine.

Surprisingly, you found his pulse in one go, and it felt steady.

“Fine, I think,” you answered Yuta quietly, walking back over towards your door. “He’s breathing, he has a heartbeat. He’s just not… ambulatory.”

“Still passed out cold?”

“Yeah.”

“Imagine if he was in one of those comas that you don’t wake up from, and we just had to deal with this comatose alien.”

“Stop, you’re going to manifest that or something!” You hissed.

“Not manifesting, just joking.”

“You’re hilarious.”

“Anyway, some of us went back to the beach this morning, because Mark really wanted to see the UFO—”

“Don’t touch anything!”

“We couldn’t. The whole place is locked down. Couldn’t even park on the shoulder, it was swarming with cops. They were still putting out the fire.”

“Do you think any of the ship survived?”

“I have no clue. Doyoung said he’d ask his dad about it.”

Doyoung’s dad was the fire chief, making your participation in the conflagration last night even more dicey.

“Tell him to call me as soon as he finds out anything.”

“I think he was already planning on that, but I’ll make sure he knows.”

“Good. Also, I’m sorry for kicking you in…” You trailed off as you turned around to see two big brown eyes staring at you from your bed. “I’ve got to go, Yuta. I’ll call you back.”

“What’s hap—”

You hung up.

⤷ masterlist

TAGLIST

@bee-the-loser @ppddpjdr @tearinka @yoursyuno @yutasputa69 @winkeuu

[itsnathateasy]

randonauting with these aot characters

warning: heads up that this is about some (mild i think?) creepy content, so if you’re not comfortable with it, please skip!

word count: 1,3k

a/n: i’m not encouraging you to download the app and of course this isn’t an ad, just thought it’d be a cool fic idea! (DO NOT DOWNLOAD THE APP)

before you read: you and your partner decide to download “randonautica”, an app that gives you randomised location coordinates based on the intention you set.

Eren is probably the one who originally told you about the app. He had been watching TikToks of people who’d previously used the app and thought it might be a cool little game. When you told him you’d actually downloaded the app and set the intention to “monster” he gave you a smirk and suggested that you go there together. What a better way to spend your weekend, right? You packed a few necessities, some lunch, water and flash lights, and headed to the coordinates you got. The place turned out to be extremely sinister and, at first, neither of you wanted to step out of the car, especially not in the dark of the night. You took some tiny steps towards an abandoned cabin that you could spot in the distance, when you heard a swift rustling in the trees. You and Eren took a good look at each other, then ran back inside the car and drove away as fast as possible. “Delete that stupid app, y/n… And disable your location NOW!”. (love me some “heroic” bf Eren!) (what a loser)

You and Armin go out there for strictly educational reasons, or that’s what you tell yourselves. Walking deeper into the clearing that was your coordinates, you don’t notice much, when, all of a sudden, you find a bone and ran back to the car as quickly as possible. When you’re far enough, you go through your photos and videos of the location again. “Hey Armin… Remember that bone we found?” “Don’t start, y/n, that was some crazy shit. We’re not going back there, whatever you say!” “No, listen… There’s barbecue stove in the back. See? I got a picture of it. Maybe it was an animal bone? From someone’s lunch?” Armin inspected your face for a bit, and demanded that he saw the photo you took. “That might be true, y/n… But we shouldn’t risk it.” He said as he took a good look at you. A few minutes later, you were back at the site, looking for more clues. You walked past a row of sycamore trees before finding yourselves in someone’s backyard. Turns out that it WAS a barbecue site. You’d probably copied the coordinates wrong, maybe a digit was missing? Armin was barely able to convince the old lady who lived there that you’d made a mistake. Good thing he’s got those “big blue eyes” and is “so polite to the elderly”, as the lady explained. As a truce, she packed you a few slices of her home-made oat and chocolate cake. “Y/n, should we eat the cake?” asked Armin as you walked the distance back to the car, holding onto the wrapped food. “Nah Armin, this kinda gives Hansel and Gretel. Let’s just leave it here”. You said, concealing the cake behind a bush.

Mikasa would be very interested when you tell her about the app and she insists that you go. “Set the intention to “vampires”, y/n. We might get a cult site!” she said with a straight face. It was so difficult to discern whether she was making a joke or if she was genuinely excited to try out the app. “Uhm, you do realise that this isn’t a game, right Mikasa?” You asked, just to make sure. “I know, it’s no game. It’s even better. We should probably buy gas masks before we plan our excursion” she explained. “What would we need the masks for?” you asked, honestly contemplating if suggesting randonautica to Mikasa was a good idea after all. “I don’t know, y/n, what if whoever is there watching us tries to gas us or something? Just saying, we should be prepared.” She said and went back to typing on her phone. After a few minutes of silence, you’d reconsidered and made your decision. “Listen, Mikasa, the more you speak of it, the more scared I become. I don’t wanna go anymore” you admitted shyly since you were the one to suggest it. “Too bad, y/n. I just received our coordinates and it’s not very far. Grab your boots, we’re leaving” she said blankly, while reaching for your toolbox from under the kitchen sink. “Why are you looking at me like that, y/n? You’re gonna love it, I promise!” she said with a wink. Who is this person?

Jean was also the person to tell you about randonautica, but when you, quite proudly too, announced that you’d downloaded the app and set the intention to “creepy”… You were into some serious trouble. You got a good scolding session, as Jean was extremely upset by your carelessness. “Have you not seen how the people who end up in these locations usually have to report back to the police cause some creepy dude starts stalking them?? How about that mother and son who had to leave their home for days before the creep lost their tracks? Don’t be so naive, y/n, that shit’s dangerous!”. He did apologise afterwards, as he was the one who made you listen to all those stories and treated them as a true crime podcast. “How about we book an escape room instead? Or a rage room? You should pick, y/n! Anything yo keep you away from that app”.

“I’ll call my cousin if we need help, she’s a police officer! She should be able to help us” Connie explained as he drove to the location you’d just received on the app. “Aren’t you afraid we might come across some creepy dude with a hammer?” you asked, your anxiety mixed with excitement peaking the closer you got to the location. “Need I remind you that I did bring our own hammer, y/n? Whatever creep we meet should know better than to mess with me!” He exclaimed proudly, giving you a side smirk. Connie’s phone buzzed, you’d reached your destination. As Connie parked the car, you got out and took a good look of your surroundings. The coordinates led to a spot under a bridge, which would be extremely bad lit, had you not convinced Connie to go during the day. “I don’t really like this place, Connie. I think we should go back” you announced, not really straying too far from the car. “Don’t worry, y/n you’ve got me and I’ve got the hammer. We should be more than fine!” You walked a few meters further, approaching the exact spot you’d received. “What did you set as our intention Connie?” you questioned as you spotted a tall figure in the distance. “Maniac, why?” He asked absent-mindedly as he kept looking for clues on the ground. “Cause I think we’ve company...” He jolted up and followed your gaze, reaching that figure. “Don’t scream, y/n, but run as fast as you can!” He said and pulled you away from the site and back to the car. "Better call your cousin now!" You half screamed as you drove away.

Listen to me, Hange is fucking insane. Ever since you two discovered randonautica, it was all they ever talked about. For your weekend date, you actually decided to go on your little horror adventure. “What should our intention be Hange?” you questioned as they started the car. “Hm… Let’s see… How about cake?” “Cake?” “Yes, y/n, cake. Imagine the possibilities!” They said and threw their hands in the air. You got the coordinates and they drove ahead to an area not so far from your shared apartment. As Hange pulled over, you noticed there were some logs scattered here and there but most of the area was desolate and covered by dry, yellow grass. “Promising, right, y/n?” Exclaimed Hange. “It’s just a bunch of logs, Hange, there won’t-” “LOOK OVER THERE!” they shouted, pointing at a rusty cool box that was a good thirty metes away from you. “Don’t you dare go near it Hange!” you grabbed onto their hood before they could go any closer to the cool bag. “Y/n, this is what we came here for! Let me go check it out!” they complained as loudly as possible, trying to escape your grip. “What if it’s a crime scene, Hange? Would you like to find some random person’s insides? We’re leaving this instant!” you dragged them away and back to the car, much to Hange’s resistance. “You know, y/n, that could’ve been a really cool finding...” They pouted, their final card on getting you to go back again. “No, Hange. Most likely, WE would be the really cool finding. That cool box might have been for our remains. Delete the app.��� Reluctantly, they did.

[therocketeer0501]

IDW Starscream X Reader

Rendezvous Part 4

Warnings: none

You pack a few things to take to the lake with you as you plan to be out there until nightfall. There was no one to stop you from going on this little expedition of yours. You had left all of your friends behind when you and your ex had broken up. A new start in a new state. Of course your mother’s death had come around the same time you were looking for somewhere to go. The stars aligned and you ended up in nowhere Appalachia. You had tried to make friends here and get along with your new coworkers. Unfortunately, that had proven more difficult than you had expected. Making and keeping friends as an adult in an established area is hard. After you had piled all the necessities into your car, you gave one last look in the mirror. The unsightly scar on your forehead a glaring reminder that something awful had happened. You sigh as a heavy feeling weighs your shoulders down. It was time to find out exactly what.

“Those idiots! I told them to be careful around the falling ice! Those caves aren’t stable enough anymore!” Starscream slams a data pad against the wall next to Skywarp’s head. The other mech doesn’t flinch as if used to his brother’s outburst, shrugging and putting his hands up in surrender. “Listen I told em but they wouldn’t hear it and now one of us is going to have to report our losses to Megatron. Since you were in charge of this whole thing like you insisted…” Starscream didn’t let him finish. Shouldering past the purple mech to go accept the consequences of his most recent blunder.

The drive to the lake is uneventful and filled with dread. Turning onto that all too familiar dirt track, you notice that the snow was beginning to melt. Though winter was far from over, it was going to be hard to find any useful clues in the slush. You park and don your backpack and snow spikes. Slippery was an understatement. All you needed was to end up in the middle of that lake again. You shudder at the thought. Making your way around the lake, you notice a few things out of place. Broken tree branches, large gashes made in the ground partially covered in snow, and the oddest out of the bunch was the completely shattered boulders in the clearing nearby. When you were younger, you and your sibling used to come and play on these giant boulders. Now they look like they had been bulldozed. On closer inspection, some appear to have been melted. None of this made sense. If it was some new site for construction you’d see yellow tape right? Perhaps a few orange cones? You look up at the broken branches again. Something big came through here. Something impossibly big.

Wiping the energon off of his freshly split lip, Starscream skulks back to his habisuit. His wings droop tiredly behind him. He’s sick of this. Sick of Megatron’s temper. Sick of the incompetent fools he has to command. Sick of taking the blame. It’s as if his leader enjoys seeing him fail. Enjoys taking out his frustrations on him. As much ambition as he has, he can’t imagine a world where Megatron would willingly give up the power he has to the seeker. With a loud frustrated growl he throws the chair at his desk against the wall leaving a dent in the metal. Venting heavily he sends his fist into the wall next. Yelling his frustration to no one in particular. No one to listen because this is a brutal reminder that he’s alone. Always alone. As he leans his helm up against the wall, baring his denta in a grimace and shuttering his optics. His thoughts drift back to that little human. Reaching its tiny hand out to him. As if he were the only one that could fix them. He was the one who nearly froze them to death anyway. Of course it was his responsibility. Everything he touches ends up hurt. Pushing away from the wall he heads towards the exit. He wanted to be alone and he knew the perfect place.

It was nearly nightfall. Dusk had cast purple and pink light over the picturesque mountain lake you had been exploring all day. You sigh and put the notepad and pencil you had just been using to scribble on away. Nothing made sense and you feel like you had wasted a whole day trying to find something out. Kicking a rock as frustration pricks through you, you head back to your car defeated. That’s when you hear it. The distant whine of jet engines. Just as the sun dips below the horizon, plunging the lake in a deep inky blue. You turn towards the noise and reach for your flashlight. The sound was…familiar. You could swear it sounded just like how you remembered in your semiconscious state. You decide to hide amongst the destroyed rocks to see what was making that noise. What you saw made your heart nearly burst out of your chest.

[venerablemonk27]

I've done a lot of birding the past couple months and not a lot of posting, so I'm going back to our Tucson, AZ trip from April. I hadn't been to the Western US since picking up birding or wildlife photography, so I knew I was going to pick up a ton of lifers. One of our target species for the trip was also my fifth Owl species ever: the Burrowing Owl.

[ID: A Burrowing Owl stands on a mound of dirt. They are facing left and looking toward the camera. The sun is low in the sky off to the right, which illuminates the right side of the Owl's face and their back, while casting the rest in shadow. They have striking yellow eyes and a furrowed brow that gives them the appearance of a permanent scowl. Their oval-shaped head transitions naturally into a slender cylindrical body covered in mottled tan and white feathers. About half the bird's height is body and folded wings, with two naked grey legs planted on the ground. End ID]

This was the morning we had picked for me to do some solo birding, so I drove out to a spot west of Tucson where eBird indicated that Burrowing Owls were likely to appear. It was just after sunrise when I found the road cutting between farm fields where the Owls were reported. I drove slowly down the side of the road in my rented Dodge Charger, stopping occasionally to inspect a suspicious clump of dirt with my binoculars. I had not seen any sign of the Owls when a Land Rover pulled up behind me. A group of three folks in their 60s with binoculars piled out of car, clearly more birders here to do exactly what I was doing.

[ID: A Burrowing Owl stands on a mound of dirt, facing the camera. The sun is still low in the sky, but now the bird's face and chest are more brightly lit, showing the transition in feather colors from tan to mottled tan to white as they progress downward from collar to belly.]

They introduced themselves as coming from the UK, and had been visiting Arizona for several weeks in search of all the unique birds the state could offer. The driver was particularly puzzled about the location of the Owls, saying he was "absolutely foxed" that this place with no real habitat could host Burrowing Owls. I showed him the recent sightings on eBird and explained that it was possible the birds just hadn't emerged from their burrows yet.

After another 15 minutes of searching the fields, I offered to lead them to an alternate site nearby. We got in our cars and slowly drove back the way we had come. Just as we were approaching the end of the road, I spotted a small tan creature standing right on the edge of the irrigation ditch along the near side of the field. A Burrowing Owl! I swung the Charger around and flagged down my companions, who had also spotted the Owl.

[ID: A pair of Burrowing Owls stand on a mound of dirt. The one in the foreground looks decidedly sleepier and plumper than the one in the background (seen in previous images). Both Owls are similar in coloration, but the one in the foreground has an aluminum leg band for identifying them. End ID]

We got out to take a look and grab some photos from long distance, then slowly crept forward with my Charger as a rolling blind. There turned out to be four Owls spread out along the irrigation ditch, likely close to their burrows which were out of sight. They were surprisingly unbothered by the cars rolling up to them, probably because they see trucks and farm vehicles driving past all day every day. Once we were directly across the irrigation ditch from the closest pair, I climbed into the passenger seat to take some better photosm. Mostly the Owls just stood on their tiny hill and looked around. Though I did witness one of the pair above fly down to pounce on a grasshopper, then return to feed it to their partner.

[ID: A pair of Burrowing Owls stand on a mound of dirt. This photo was taken midday, with the sun directly overhead. At least one of these individuals is different from those above, as they have two leg bands instead of one. It's also apparent in the photo that the Owls are standing at the edge of a farm field from the row of green plants out of focus in the background. End ID]

I had such a great view of the Burrowing Owls that I had to bring my family back to see them on our last day in Tucson. Because we were heading out of town in the middle of the day, I was confident we'd find them right away and avoid testing the patience of my kid. It turns out I didn't have to worry. Not only were the Owls right where I left them, but the kid had fallen asleep on the drive, so we had to wake him up to see them! And seeing as I already had the camera within easy reach, I had to take a few more photos.

[ID: A Burrowing Owl stands on a mound of dirt. This one is looking alert in the midday sun, standing and scanning the area around the edge of the farm field. End ID]

On a trip full of exciting views, long hikes, and thousands of photos, it was nice to finish the trip quietly sitting in the car just a few yards away from such a compelling bird. And it always feels good to track down a lifer and share that experience with others!

[dearabby1990]

Twd Daryl Dixon- In a world of our own Chapter 1: Scavenging

Your POV: Before the fall you lived in Virginia helping your family run the pizzeria your grandfather owned. The day it all went to shit you were on your way to go pick up supplies for the days batch of dough when you heard screaming from the other side of the grocery store seeing a man take a huge bite out of the woman in the produce section was something that made your blood run cold. Fight or flight kicking into your system you bolted for your car leaving everything behind to goto your family. Upon pulling up the the shop it was completely overran by what at the time you thought were insane cannibals of some sort. That was until you saw your Nonna come up to the car looking like something out of a horror film as she tried to reach in and take a bite out of your arm your scream slamming your foot on the gas. You drove until you almost ran out of gas helping yourself at an abandoned gas station a few towns over. Ever since then you’ve kept moving never staying in one spot too long as you never felt safe because it’s just you. With your dads shotgun & a handmade weapon you made out of a baseball bat & some saw blades & scavenging a nice knife set. Your car has held up pretty well taking parts & stealing gas from abandoned vehicles & shops that was until you were digging for supplies one day & a board broke its was through the store you were in running to your car you see it’s fully surrounded leaving you no option but to abandon it. That leads you to now you’re making your way through the woods it’s dark out & you’re looking for somewhere to hole up for the night. You hear something a bit away not the groaning of the dead but what sounds like actual people. Being weary you quietly make your way closer to inspecting what’s going on. You’re hit with the site of men beating on one man a kid being pinned by a fat man and an other man holding someone at gun point. What really got you to jump into action was watching how the fat man started to unbuckle his belt above the boy you spring from behind a tree swinging your bat straight into his head dropping him straight to the ground without anyone noticing telling the boy to stay quiet you creep up behind the man with the gun & stab him right through his temple the man on his knees in complete shock & that’s when you kick the gun towards the man on the ground & you both go after the small group stomping on what looks to be one person. After they’re all down you go over to the boy “hey kid are you okay?” He shakes his head teary eyed “thank you for saving us” “don’t sweat it I’d hope someone do the same for me sometimes the people in this world are worse then the draggers” the two men come over to you one extends his hand “the name is Rick Grimes thank you for helping my son & me & my brother” “no problem really… but it is pretty dark y’all be safe I can’t stick around waiting for draggers to come piling out from somewhere” Rick gave you a confused stare “Draggers??.” “Yeah them dead bastards eating each other??” He nods while the man behind him fiddles with his crossbow “well we have a community you don’t have to be alone if you don’t wanna be.. this is my son Carl & my brother Daryl but before I tell you anymore I have to ask you three questions” you stare at him eyes wide like an owl “community? How in a world like this?? & okay shoot cowboy” “how many walkers have you killed?” “Y’all count them bastards I don’t know a lot been on my own this whole time” “okay… how many people have you killed?” “Three besides these assholes” “why?” You stared at your feet before looking back up at them “because they tried to do something terrible to me & if I didn’t kill them they were definitely gonna kill me when they were finished” Rick didn’t need to hear another word after that he knew what you were implying. Those men were going to assault you & leave you for dead & the fact that you lasted this long alone had all three males shocked. “Okay we’ll you can come with us we’ll find somewhere safe for the night & head back to Alexandria by morning”.

Walking for what feels like about an hour as the four of you stumble across a cabin covered in overgrowth. You’re the first to tap the butt of your knife against a windowpane looking back at the three males & giving them the go ahead that it’s clear as Rick & Daryl head inside to check the rooms & you & Carl start checking for anything you all could use for the night finding a nice haul of food & medicine & then upon prying an odd door open you realize it’s an pantry completely full seeing a few bags of Doritos you smile grabbing one of them & turning to Carl “hey kid” he looks up at you & sees what you have & you watch his face light up & toss them to him “have at or & come check this out” he rips open the bag & starts to make his way over “Woah look at all this stuff we could definitely use a lot of this stuff for back home everybody will be excited to see more food” you rest a hand on his shoulder “don’t worry I know a spot with a crap ton of food & supplies I just need a vehicle I lost my nonno’s car awhile back hoard of draggers swarmed it I had no choice but to leave it” “Nonno?” You laugh “yeah it’s Italian for grandfather my grandparents were more my parents I lost my mom when I was young & my dad isn’t the best person to be around he wasn’t very nice to me so that’s why I was raised by them… you’re lucky you know?.. even in a world like this to have a dad as wonderful as yours he’s already done more for me in less then a day then my father has my entire life” little did you know Daryl was silently listening to you & Carl talking he thought you were just some typical woman but now he’s starting to see you aren’t much different from each other. Rick is busy starting a fire & you and Carl are in the kitchen you found some canned potatoes & a few cans of spam digging in your bag to pull out one of the jelly burners you have & finding a frying pan in one of the cabinets “hey Jamie what’s that thing your lighting?” Carl looks down at you confused “oh it’s a jelly burner before the fall people used these for like holiday dinners or banquet halls use them to keep food hot but they burn hot enough to cook on plus they can burn for up to 6 hours so you can always snuff it out & save it for another time” he crouched down beside you watching everything you did & sees some braided materials hanging from your bag “these are cool what are they?” You pick one off & hand it to him “keychains I made with glass noodles if you want I can teach you I was also in the scouts can show you knots & other things we took archery & shooting lessons & had wilderness survival training I think it’s why I was okay this long alone I just don’t like being completely isolated from people tends to take a toll on ya but I can teach you how to spear fish & hunt as long as it’s okay with your dad?” You say loud enough for Rick to hear which he smiles & nods in return ��wow you’re probably one of the coolest girls I know besides michonne” you look at him with furrowed brows “michonne?” He smiles endearingly “yeah she’s… she’s my step mom i guess you could say I lost my mom too after she had my sister & then dad met michonne & now we’re a little family well our whole little group is family & now you are too” you smile at him eyes watering you don’t want them to see you break so you make an excuse to collect yourself checking out one of the bedrooms as the food cooks finding some cigarettes & a bottle of whiskey you toss into your bag you look at yourself noticing that your clothes are worse for wear your covered in dirt and blood & whatever else Mother Nature threw your way so you decide to at least change your shirt & pants. Pulling out your last pair of jeans & a black button down with your brown combat boots just as you’re grabbing your shirt Daryl enters to let you know he’s got & skinned a rabbit to go with dinner but his words die in his throat as he sees the marks that littler your body some look like scars others like burns you notice him standing there & gasp quickly covering the rest of yourself & he quick shuts the door.

Coming out of the room you try not to look anyone in the eyes out of embarrassment what if he told them what he saw? You finish cooking & set the table with what dishes you could find all sitting down silently eating you finish up going to your room to grab the whiskey you found earlier & grabbed coffee mugs filling them & handing Rick & Daryl one lifting your glass “to living to fight another day & to falling in shit to come up smelling like roses” Rick chuckled “here here” you all toss your drinks back & pour seconds. Digging into your pockets digging out your cigarettes & zippo making your way to the door before Daryl gets your attention “hey..” you look over your shoulder at him “hmm?” He stands up slowly making his way to you “uh you got a nother one of those?” You smile nodding & gesturing towards the door. He follows you out & you light yours passing him one & offering to light it for him just as you spark the lighter & he takes a drag you see just how blue his eyes are almost getting lost in them before quickly looking away trying not to be to obvious of your staring. “Thanks” “no problem here take this pack I have another anyway” he grunts as a thank you shifting his feet to lean against the wall outside you plop down in the grass looking up at the stars it’s one of the things that helps center you because no matter how shitty the world may be the sky stays just as beautiful as it ever did feeling envious of how brightly they shined wishing it was possible to dance amongst them. Knowing everyone you love is already up there hopefully peacefully waiting. Daryl taking in your form studying your face even covered in dirt and blood he can tell your beautiful even if you don’t feel like you are. Your scars being your biggest insecurity & that you’re not thin like the models you used to stare at in the magazines you’d see in stores before the earth fell to pieces. You both make your way back inside Daryl taking the couch Rick & Carl in the bedroom with bunk beds & you taking the spare room “you know you don’t have to sleep on that lumpy ass couch there’s plenty of room in there & I promise I don’t bite” he scoffs “nah it’s alrigh’ I’m good right here used to being in cramped space’s anyway from huntin” kicking off his boots to lay down and rest his hands across his chest not seeing the look of rejection & hurt on your face. Who were you kidding he’s gorgeous & well you’re just you. Not having the heart to say another word in fear of crying in front of him you bite your bottom lip turning away from him just as he goes to look at you to see why you’re so silent all of a sudden you walk straight back to the room not even turning to shut the door but simply using the back of your boot to push it shut not wanting anyone to see you. You’ve always had way too much pride to ever let anyone know they’ve upset you or hurt your feelings. Something you had to teach yourself due to your abusive father wanting reactions out of you after physically or emotionally ripping you apart. You sink sitting on the bed kicking your shoes off grabbing one of the pillows & sleeping curled up silent tears leaving clean streaks down your dirt covered face. Daryl lays on the couch wondering why you’d ask him to lay down in the same bed as you. No woman has ever asked him that before & he had it drilled into him by his father & merl that nobody would ever want him in any sense especially romantically. He thinks maybe you feel sorry for him & he sure hates pity from anyone. Why would you want him to sleep next to you he was a trailer park redneck. Little did he know you really did fancy him. You thought he was beautiful, broken but beautifully broken in a way that made your heart race the second you saw his face & got a good look into his eyes.

THE NEXT MORNING. You’re woken up by the sound of a soft knock on the door. “Yeah?” You hear feet shuffle “are you decent?” You head Carl ask you giggle “yeah come on in” with that he opens the door & comes & sits next to you on the bed as you shuffle getting your boots on he takes in the clean streaks that have dried on your face analyzing you "heyy.. were you... Crying?" You shug "I'm okay" he hums & then answers "I know we just met & everything but I'm here if you ever wanna talk I'm a great listener" you give him a half smile "thanks Carl" fixing his hat for him "I'll go get a damp rag so you can wash up I can tell you don't wanna talk about it right now so best clean up the evidence" he gets up & leaves the room as you look into the dusty mirror to see that you can indeed tell youve been upset. You sigh waiting patiently Carl comes back & you stick out your hand to which he swats away making you flinch a bit "please let me it's the least I can do for saving us" you roll your eyes & nod letting him gently rest a finger under your chin starting to wipe your cheeks clean. "there good as new" you smile at him "thanks bud i appreciate your kindness you definitely take after your dad i can tell" he chuckles & waives you to follow him "time to head out we need some more supplies from somewhere before heading home" you both grab your bags & head out. You don't even spare Daryl a glance looking at your feet as you step outside not saying a single word "she alright?" Asks Rick "she will be" Carl nods & smiles heading outside Daryl in a world of his own not even paying attention to your deflated frame at least not until you all start walking "Rick?" "Yeah?" "I know a place with a lot you could use it's about three miles east though" he looks at both men "how much stuff we talking about here?" You turn looking only at him "enough to last well through the winter if your community is as big as i think it is" ricks face lights up "well lead the way". Walking you stick tight next to Carl & Rick & Daryl not too far behind. "Now I'm not too sure if the truck is still at this place but if by chance it is & nobody has stolen it's gas should be a full tank in there just haven't had the heart to go back there until now hopefully with you guys I can do this & we can help each other" Rick walks faster catching up with you "so you've been here many times?" You smile at the memory of once was "it's my grandparents restaurant... The restaurant itself probably has nothing that's not spoiled by now but we're not getting supplies from that area anyway..my nonno he has a shelter he built after 9/11 he got really paranoid about being attacked as a whole so he built a bomb shelter has a lot we could use we filled it with stuff weekly for years I just have to make a pit stop upstairs in the apartment I have some personal things I want to grab before we head out" Rick seems pleased at your information meanwhile Daryl & Carl are a little behind you both chatting amongst each other "so wha' was goin' on earlier she really alrigh'?" Carl sighs "not too sure she didn't want to talk about it but she was definitely upset about something had dried tear stains on her face I felt bad figured maybe she's scared or something" "nah people like her don't scare easy there no way missin family maybe but scared I can't see it". Watching the sun hit high noon you finally see your destination your heart heavy at the last time you were here. Remembering the way it all went down Carl's voice pulls you out of your thoughts "y/n's Italiano bistro? They named it after you?" You smile with pride being the only grandchild had loads of perks being your grandparents world being one of them just as they were yours. You take them around the back to the storm cellar opening the padlock & leading them inside

Walking them to the back you’re met with a bookshelf you start pushing out of the way with carls help revealing a door made of ship steel you put the pin in the door & reveal a large room filled with everything one could possibly need or want “Rick there’s old milk crates up front to use to load things im going upstairs for a few things” “Daryl why don’t you go with her” slinging his crossbow over his shoulder he follows behind you as you head to the stairs the lead to the apartment once shared with your grandparents. Opening the door you see everything is just as it was the day you left. Like a mini time capsule of everything beautiful in your life now gone frozen in time. Daryl looks at the family photos on the wall one in particular catching his attention causing him to chuckle “this you?” Turning to see is a photo of 10 year old you covered head to toe in mud with your best friend Charlene “yup first successful hunting trip without help from nonno he was proud but most definitely mad he only got a rabbit & I hit me a 200 pound buck” you head to your old room grabbing your spear & found nonno’s 357 huckleberry rifle putting it on the kitchen counter before pulling out the last 2 bottles of makers mark & a cigar box stuffing it in your bag & snagged a few photos too “ready?” He grunts & leads the way back downstairs. You twirl the truck keys on your finger before tossing them to Rick “you drive I’ll start loading up” grabbing crates you scurry outside the feeling of Daryl’s eyes burning into you making you more embarrassed about last night. They all come with the rest of the stuff & you jump into the back “only three seats up there I’m used to sitting back here no biggie” you see the confusion on their faces but plop down before anyone can protest “you sure I can sit back there y/n?” Carl offers “yeah I’m sure I’ll be alright” you pull the doors shut sittings with your thoughts wondering what the future will hold & if Alexandria is the place for you. The ride stretches for what feels to be hours as you prop yourself & drift off to sleep At the rocking of the truck on the dirt roads. Maybe this place will be good for you god only knows.

[starlightshadowsworld]

Bsd x poppy playtime.

Playtime Co's on site orphanage is the orphanage Atsushi grew up in.

Atsushi was bullied by the kids, hated by the adults but the toys adored him.

Mommy Long Legs would ruffle his hair when he did a good job and swing him from game to game. Huggy Wuggy always gave Atsushi a big hug when he was scared or upset.

The toys were the only ones who cared about Atsushi. The whole world had abandoned him but they had not.

Dogday tried to bandage his wounds but his hands couldn't tie the bandage. While Mommy Long Legs yelled at the staff for letting him get hurt.

Atsushi tried to tell her not to bother, he knew they hurt her too. But she wouldn't hear any of it.

The Headmaster taught at the school.

He had adopted Atsushi, as part of Playtime Co's adopting initiative. And yet he didn't like Atsushi at all. Whenever he could, Atsushi tried to avoid him but he couldn't.

He was the proof to the rest of the staff that this whole operation was a success.

It was a lie.

But Atsushi had to act the part or he'd be punished.

Miss Stella always watched him closely when they were at the games station. Atsushi noticed that kids that left with her disappeared.

They were adopted. Or at least that's what they were told.

It was a lie.

It was all a lie.

Atsushi didn't know until Miss Stella took him aside one day. He doesn't remember what happened that day.... Or the next... Or the next...

The pain made it all blurr together. Atsushi does remember Dogday, the sad smile on his face and how he'd hold his hand before they'd take him away.

He knew about his ability, because the scientists loved and hated it. The red smoke wouldn't tire him out but make him see things no one else could.

Atsushi was the only child who ever got to see Catnaps true form. He wasn't sure if that was good or not, but at least he left Atsushi alone.

They couldn't get Atsushi into a toy.

His ability healed him before they could. So they used him a lab rat instead. Use him to test things out before trying it on other kids.

Atsushi almost died several times in the process. But as always he survived.

Even when he wished he didn't.

The hour of joy will haunt Atsushi for the rest of his life.

Thanks to the tigers hearing, Atsushi heard everything. Every scream, every cry, every laugh.

He felt sick.

It was a nightmare that went on and on and on. He hid with the corpses and was lucky none of the toys inspected the pile.

The alarms were blaring.

Speakers yelling instructions but none of it mattered. The anger was practically tangible.

Atsushi only crawled out when Dogday saw him, arms up showing he wasn't going to harm him. Atsushi sobbed into his arms and his friend held him close.

There wasn't any food left.

Atsushi didn't complain when Dogday handed him the remains. They both ate in silence, pretending it was something else and not those they knew.

No one else was left.

The toys were never the same again.

Mommy Long Legs would never smile at him. Huggy Wuggy would never give him a warm hug.

They were something else now.

It hurt to see. But Atsushi supposed the Headmaster was right, everyone turned on him eventually.

And yet Dogday never did. Atsushi didn't ask about the smiling critters, he already knew it wasn't good.

The day Atsushi escaped was the day Catnap found them. Dogday picked up Atsushi and ran like he'd never ran before.

Dogday placed Atsushi on the cable car out of Playcare and told him to run and never look back. The door slammed shut behind him before Atsushi could figure out what was going on.

Somehow he escaped to the surface. He walked and he walked as the tiger guided him. Until he saw a man in the river.

Which brings him to now.

Sat with everyone else in the Agency in the Presidents office. A cup of tea Naomi put infront of him that he hasn't touched.

"Atsushi, you said you had a place you wanted us to investigate?" Asks Dazai, sitting at his right with an encouraging smile on his face.

He could tell Atsushi was nervous, everyone could.

"I mean we don't have too. I just... I just got a letter 2 days ago on my desk. And it's from the place I grew up." That got everyone's attention.

They all had heard bits and pieces of Atsushi's past. None of it was particularly comforting. And they couldn't pretend that they weren't curious.

"From the Orphanage?" Asks Dazai, wanting to be sure. "Yes and no, see it wasn't just an orphanage." Says Atsushi, he looks down. "I... I haven't been completely honest with you guys."

Dazai ruffles his hair.

"We're not mad, we've all got skeletons in our closet. Can we see the letter?" Atsushi nods, taking it out of his pocket and handing it to Ranpo.

Since he was making grabby hands at him. And wasn't that something, Ranpo was interested in this case.

Dazai pouts and bounces over to look over Ranpo's shoulder.

Both of them frown at the sight of it. Dazai looks at Atsushi who nods, letting him read it out loud.

"Everyone thinks the factory's empty. That all the staff have dissappeared. We're still here, little tiger. Find the flower."

It was written in red and orange crayon with a poppy flower drawn on. If it wasn't suspicious already the doodle of a bleeding pawprint definitely didn't help.

Atsushi tries not to think about what that meant.

"It shouldn't be possible... There's no one left, no one who could've written it at least." He says, he doesn't notice he's shaking until Kyouka holds her hand.

"I'm just glad you didn't decide pull a Dazai and run off on your own without telling anyone." Says Kunikida, Dazai gasps in mock offence holding a hand to his chest. "Kunikida! You wound me!"

Atsushi ducks his head sheepishly. "I mean he's not wrong, Dazai." Dazai sighs, dramatically wiping a nonexistent tear. Before lighting up and smiling "yeah I'm glad you told us because this feels like a trap."

Atsushi nods.

"It does which is why I don't think we should go. I know what's behind those doors. I know what they're capable of, what they'll do."

He takes a deep breath "but if there's anyone left and they're asking for my help, I can't just leave them again."

Atsushi thinks of Kissy waving him when no one else was looking. Poppy telling him stories and Dogday holding him when the red smoke made him cry.

"Not again. It... It makes you think you're going insane. Like every part of you is burning and you don't know why. You're not supposed to leave. If anyone's left, they won't be the same."

He definitely wasn't.

He doesn't notice he's crying until Kyouka pulls him into a hug. "It's not your fault" she says, firmly.

He shakes his head.

"It's not your fault. Your friends won't blame you." Says Ranpo, somehow always knowing more. Atsushi looks at him, wiping his tears.

"I for one am glad you got out. And I'm sure they are too. You know what this place is capable of, but you also know what we're capable off." Says Ranpo, putting the letter down.

"I can't promise things won't go wrong. I can't tell you what will happen behind those doors. But if you want to go investigate, you have the entire Agency standing behind you."

Atsushi knows without even looking at them that everyone is in agreement.

He feels lighter.

"Than I will go. But I should probably explain all of this." Says Atsushi, untangling himself from Kyouka's arms but holding her hand.

"This is going to sound crazy."

Dazai laughs "oh Atsushi, don't you know? Crazy is our middle name." Atsushi snorts, smiling sadly.

"This might be crazy even for us." He takes a deep breath. "It all began with a man named Elliot Ludwig."

[tomtenadia]

Detours to You - 20

Hello all,

Here I am with another chapter. This is a bit angsty but I swear it's the only one. There is a big disaster that I hope it make sense. Since I finished ALB I am not used anymore to write these epic scenes with big disasters. So yeah, I hope it makes sense.

Enjoy.

MASTERLIST

Rowan jumped in the car and started driving to the destination, sirens and blue lights blazing.

He heard the address over the radio and his heart sank. It was a factory fire. A place that he had been inspecting on a regular basis recently because on his first visit he had spotted so many health and safety infractions that it was a miracle the place was still open. He had pushed for changes and improvements but there had been so many red tapes from the big bosses that it was frustrating. All his connections had not been enough to help prevent what he had labelled in his reports as a disaster waiting to happen. And now, while rushing to that site he had a feeling that the worst case scenario had happened and that once again money and politics had placed the lives of his firefighters in danger.

Instead of spending time with his girls, Rowan was driving towards a five alarm fire.

*

 As the address grew closer, black plumes began to appear at the horizon and his heart sank. His mind started making possible plans. The smoke was very dark which meant a volatile fire. He pressed on the gas and pushed to the extreme the privileges that the sirens gave him in an emergency.

The location in question was a textile factory where the tanks containing highly flammable liquids were kept at the right storing temperature by a generator. In all his inspections Rowan had noticed signs of old age in the tanks and the generator had three system failures in a short time span. Rowan just tried to guess which one had failed.

He arrived at the site and quickly wore his bunker gear and walked to Lorcan who was acting as Incident Commander for a report.

“Chief.

“Lor, what is the situation?”

The dark-haired captain looked at the fire in front of him “we are evacuating the workers. The generator is failing and one of the tanks with treating chemicals has a leak that started a fire in a section with stored acrylic clothes. They caught fire and as you can imagine it spread quickly. We are working on containing it.”

Rowan looked at the inferno in front of him and rage surged in him.

“Triage is ready, mass casualty plan has been activated and we have four stations on duty.” Lorcan added to finish his report.

Rowan nodded “That is perfect, Lorcan. I take it from here, now.”

Lorcan nodded and ran to grab his gear and joined his team inside.

He took over the scene and started directing the rescue and gathered more information every time more firefighters came out. There were still workers trapped near the centre of the plant, the core that was likely minutes away from breaking down. If the generator failed, the tank would stop working properly and from there the whole site would just blow up.

“Chief to all units, what is the situation near the generator?”

Static was his answer.

“Chief to captain Salvaterre, do we have the fire contained near the generator?”

“One of the storage tanks is leaking heavily, we will need hazmat.”

“Copy that, asking dispatch now.”

“Chief,” Ilias voice came through the radio “We have found a group of four workers, taking them out now.”

“Copy that Ilias, paramedics are ready.”

Not long after he saw two firefighters take out a group of wounded workers. The paramedics ran to them and carried the victims to triage to be assessed. 

Lorcan ran out of the building with a firefighter that had to be rescued after he got separated from his buddy.

“Lor, what happened?”

The man ripped his mask from his face and took a deep breath of air “It’s impossible to get to the centre. We can’t get any deeper. The smoke is very thick and dark.”

“Hazmat is on another call.”

Lorcan swore.

Rowan looked up and watched the smoke change “Lor, you take back command, I am going in.”

“Fuck no, Rowan.”

Rowan started to wear his SCBA “I have visited this factory more times in the past few months than any other industrial site. I know where everything is and I know how to get safely to the generator and where the failsafe panel is.”

“Rowan, that place is a time bomb.”

“I am aware, but there are four of my men inside and probably more workers. I am not going to another firefighter’s funeral, Lorcan.”

Rowan finished getting ready and ran inside “Keep the water going Lorcan, and tell hazmat to get their arses here ASAP.”

Lorcan shouted orders to the four teams “Let’s attack this fire and kill it,” he ordered another team inside to attack the centre of the factory and keep the generator cool to allow Rowan some time.

*

Rowan made his way inside the building and all he saw was thick smoke, but with the help of some burnt landmarks he found his way around. Progress was slow and time was a luxury he did not have. The fire around him was still raging and he only had his memory to guide him through the inferno. Deeper in the venue he heard a PASS alarm and his heart sank. One of his men was down and he rushed towards the sound.

“Chief, Lorcan, I have a firefighter down on the south east quadrant near the central room.”

“Copy that, Chief I am sending in rescue.”

Rowan waited for the two firefighters and then continued on his mission. He was so close but the smoke started changing badly and he knew that he was close to the epicentre. What made things worse was the very distinctive smell of electrical fire “Lor, keep water away from the centre of the structure. Electrical fire.”

He did not wait for his friend’s reply and with his axe he just smashed his way through the door and found four of his men and then two workers on the floor. The PASS alarms haunting his dreams. He grabbed the two workers and dragged them outside in a safe location, alerted Lorcan and then he stormed back inside and took out two of his men at a time. They had a pulse, faint but they were okay. He kept dragging the people as far as possible until he was exhausted. Rowan radioed his teams to rescue a few more people and then got ready for the last mission. 

The generator had a failsafe switch that he hoped was still working and not being destroyed by the fire. He knew he had minutes to stop the plant from blowing up and flatten the building. He stood, gathering all the strength he had left, looked at the oxygen meter on his wrist and realised he had less than ten minutes of air left. It was enough, he kept telling himself. Enough to do his job and hopefully make it out alive. He wanted to get back to Maya and finish celebrating her birthday. He wanted to have a moment alone with Aelin and finally tell her that he was in love with her. That he was tired of pushing his feelings aside and overthink it. She was the love of his life and if he made it out alive he was going to tell her.

With a mighty roar he burst inside the plant room and crawled to the bottom where the smoke and the toxic air was less thick. The air was thick with electricity and one of the panel was clearly shorted. Slowly he elbowed his way to the centre and found the core computer that was barely working. Blindly he found his way to where he knew the failsafe panel was. Or was meant to be. He froze when he realised that it was not there anymore. The computer that would allow him to safely shut down all the tanks was gone. 

“Lorcan, Chief,” he coughed “Mission has failed. Push back, the building is lost.”

Slowly he made his way back, his oxygen was starting to run low and Rowan went through all of his old training routines to keep oxygen consumption low. 

He was dragging his sorry arse out of that hellish place when he saw all the signs. He tried to run, his body screaming for oxygen, his legs failing him. And when he noticed the fire pattern change he threw himself on the ground as a series of flashovers spread through the building.

Aelin and Maya’s laughter the last images in his mind before the darkness engulfed him. 

*

Lorcan hated that he was outside. Rowan should be there and he should be inside, that was his job. But Rowan knew the place inside out. He had been conducting regular inspection and Lorcan knew that place was a ticking bomb, Rowan had told him the fights he had been having to change things but it looked that no one listened to him.

Pushing aside his rage he listened to the teams for what was happening. More workers kept being found alive and he counted that as a success. Rowan’s voice came through the radio alerting him that he had found the firefighter that had gone missing after he lost track of his partner. 

“Come on, Rowan…” 

The fire started to change and Lorcan called for more water to be pumped on the building, the water cannons moving to concentrate on where the tanks were. 

Hazmat was still busy and he needed the team there immediately. He called dispatch for another update and he got the same answer. Time was ticking and he was growing worried. Surely Rowan’s oxygen was about to run out soon. Why the fuck he was not out yet?

The radio became alive once more and Rowan’s voice came through alerting him that he had more survivors. He sent Fenrys, Brullo and two more firefighters in to recover the people Rowan had saved.

Long minutes passed and silence stretched. He called Rowan but no answer came through.

“Lor, it has been too long. We need to get in to get Rowan.” Fenrys walked to him and shouted “He is inside that inferno on his own. That’s not how we do things.”

“Rowan, come through.”

More silence.

And then his strained voice finally reached him “Lorcan, Chief,” he coughed “Mission has failed. Push back, the building is lost.”

Lorcan’s heart sank at the words.

“Push back everyone. Move the perimeter back.” His voice thick with panic for his friend.

His men got into action and started to retreat to safety and then the explosion hit. Lorcan waited for the flashovers to die down and then grabbed his gear “Ilias, you have command, I need to save the Chief.” He shouted like a desperate man.

“Fen, Brullo and Ansel, with me.”

The three firefighters exchanged their bottles and grabbed a jump bag and a stretcher from the paramedics.

From the outside, Ilias restarted the water attack to allow them further progress inside.

Lorcan had an idea of where to go because had listened to Rowan when had talked abut the building but had never been inside. He followed his instincts and walked towards the centre of the structure until in the distance he heard the unmistakable sound of the PASS alarm. One of the sounds he hated the most, especially when it meant his best friend was in peril.

“Rowan,” screamed Fenrys at spotting Rowan’s body on the floor.

“Slowly, Fen.”

The young man walked quickly among the debris, pushing aside beams and part of structures “Fen, be careful.”

He did not listen and Brullo and Lorcan followed with Ansel in tow. When they finally arrived Rowan’s body was sprawled on the ground “Ilias, we got the Chief, we are assessing him just now.”

“Copy, I have paramedics on standby.”

Ansel crouched to his side, removed his broken mask and started assessing him “he is breathing but it’s very shallow.” The woman placed an oxygen mask on his face to help him breath better. The mask was cracked and he likely had inhaled toxic fumes. She checked his sats and she had her answers when the number turned out to be too low.

Brullo opened the jump bag. All firefighters had some sort of first aid training, but Brullo and Ansel were also certified paramedics so Lorcan let them work.

Fenrys helped them remove his bunker jacket and that’s when he saw a piece of metal sticking out of his left flank. 

“Don’t pull it,” said Brullo “The spike just now it’s preventing him to bleed to death.”

Lorcan helped remove some of the debris covering his body “Possible fractures in the lower body,”

Ansel inspected his side and saw some burnt marks along his right arms down his chest “Second degree burn on his right side.”

“Is he stable enough for transport?” Asked Lorcan.

Ansel passed the stretch-board they had carried and with Brullo’s help they slid it under Rowan’s back.

“Yes, we are good to go. Alert the paramedics we have him and we are coming out. We need immediate transport to the hospital.”

Once outside, Lorcan stared at his team carry Rowan to the paramedics, watched them gave him initial treatment and then load him on the ambulance and disappear at the horizon.

He took command back from Ilias and guided the team until the fire was extinguished. Hazmat eventually arrived and took over the scene and Lorcan sent his teams inside for overhaul.

The sun had started to set once the scene was clear. Lorcan ordered engine back to quarters but he took the truck to a side mission.

The vehicle slithered through the traffic of Orynth and he prepared how he could tell Aelin about what happened. It was Maya’s birthday and he was about to destroy that day.

*

Aelin, Lys, Aedion, Elide and her parents had remained at the bookshop to continue the celebrations. Maya was sitting on her plastic table with her uncle and grampa and they were all reading some stories.

Aelin was about to start cleaning up when she saw a big fire truck park in front of the shop.

Her book tumbled off her hands when Lorcan stepped in, blackened by smoke and a dark stare.

Aelin’s hand shook and she felt sick.

Elide stepped at her side and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Aelin,” he paused “I need you to come to the hospital with me.”

taglist

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[blog-carinspectors]

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[tuliptiger]

Hello again! House/life update.

I am in a much better place mentally but really rather the same financially. I am currently laid off for a month seasonally since I'm still not a permanent employee. I have something in the works I'm hoping plays out so that I have a permanent position and worst case scenario I go back to work May 6th as a temp for 6 more months. I have side jobs and unemployment lined up in the mean time.

Anyway though! On to the house. Disappointing news but honest news in terms of the first contractor we hired. We still haven't gotten money back from him.

Recap: my mom and I fired him because he lied to us, charged tools on our account we up front said not to do, built a shoddy excuse of a foundation and frame for my house that we eventually had to pay our current contractor to demolish because it was so bad. It was for all definitions a different house the original contractor built. He used the wrong framing type for the blueprint and didn't even use framing nails to the city code. He wasn't even on site for 90% of the build and seemingly subcontracted it out which we didn't know.

In addition my mom is...not the best person to work with and makes a lot of mistakes. She's not a critical thinker on a lot of things. I made the mistake of asking her to help me buy land and build a house in the pursuit of escaping my generational poverty. I made the second mistake of asking her to take on individual responsibilities and not step in when the red flags started coming up.

I left her in charge of getting the money back from the OG contractor since she had all contact with him and she was originally the one who found him. That went as well as anyone could guess and she's, in summary, procrastinated doing any proper paperwork for attorneys or the contract board. I keep pushing her and she always says she'll get to it this day or that day or hits a dead end and then it goes nowhere.

This would not be a big issue but we're talking more than $20,000 he did in damages and $1,000 he directly stole from us like straight up $1,000 we handed him to do work he never did. The donations everyone has been sending in slowly are very much appreciated and remind me to keep fighting for this.

At this point I just want to get the house done so I can be done with the contractors and done with my mother. I don't want to be in this situation anymore and it's been dragged out for 3 years now. I've added pictures of where the house is at now and most of it having been done in January and February.

As the electric was finished and passed inspection I'm waiting in the HVAC and plumbing as the last things professionals must do before I can finish the house. I've started putting in flooring and the wood stove was just delivered so things are still moving.

The donations haven't covered anything large from the build but it has covered smaller things (I've used it for nails, locks for the doors, etc.) and given me strength to continue. Motivation from strangers, acquaintances and friends to not just walk away and to keep my head in the right space. I've emotionally and mentally been in a better place since I initially made the gofundme which has helped.

Anyway I've been meaning to make this for awhile and I'm sorry for the delay. I've been working my full time job before I was laid off, my side gigs, working on the house, still living out of my car and trying to work with my mother. I appreciate everyone who's been invested in this, shared it and donated. More updates will come in the future and thank you all again.

[chevvy-yates]

*Ding Dong* Guten Tag, Boro mein Name. Haben sie vielleicht ein paar Minuten Zeit, um über ihre Blorbos zu reden?

One for everyone, but just answer those you like, no pressure!

Vijay: 43 // Jaysen: 49 // Ryder: 2 // Thyjs: 41 // Hizumi: 32 // Falco: 20 

:D

43. Do they prefer day or night?

Vijay prefers day as he feels he gets more private stuff done even though he's not an early bird (wakes up mostly around 1pm). Nighttime for him means mostly work — merc work. There are day work exceptions tho. You can say he's comfortable with both but still he would always prefer daytime over night time.

49. What's their favorite store to be in? Least favorite?

Jay's favorite store to be in is practically any store that sells awesome cars. He will be inspecting every car and even think about what could be the best way to steal one of them. His least favorite store is anything that sells healthy products.

2. A sound they find irritating

The sound deers are making. They are such cute and even majestic creatures and then they do this.

41. What kind of exercise do they most enjoy/need?

Thyjs needs his daily dosage of Militech soldier training. When he gets up first he does is go jogging. Also trains with a box sack to practise his dodging but that isn't enough for an Ex-Militech and KCT soldaat! So either he goes alone or with Ryder or even Arki and does some assault course he and the boys built up in an empty industrial site to stay fit. Often they train together and exercise so they stay skilled and fit for merc work. Thyjs though is the one who trains most and each day.

32. What is their ideal work environment in terms of light, sounds, other people, etc.?

Hizumi's ideal work environment is definitely not down in the streets. They prefer to work and operate from roofs and other higher points so they can overlook everything. It's mainly because they don't feel safe on the ground in Night City. Rooftops give them some shelter so whenever Hizumi works on something (also counts for training) they do it on a rooftop. Light is not really needed and sounds are less noisy on the roof as well. They are not in need of other people but they do enjoy when e.g. Ryder joins them for sword fight practise as both use blades (Ry is only mantis tho, while Hizumi wields katana/tanto).

20. A song that instantly transports them back to a certain memory.

That would be this song:

Falco is, like Ryder, a Techno(ise) connoisseur and he went to his first techno(ise) party in his teens already (unlike Ryder) and this song is one of the first one that sucked him into this world for real. It made him start wanting to create his own music and in general he's got lots of good memories of partying in Cologne to this song. Even today it's on his playlist as the last played song before he goes off the stage.

[charles-leclerc-official]

did u see the mclaren illegal fuel pump rumour? im so mad about their car actually being fast that im seriously following it despite knowing it probably is false

the damage this sport has done to my self respect is enormous

I saw it, one account posted a claim that Mclaren was having their fuel pump inspected by the FIA due to performance suspicions.

THERE IS NO SOURCE FOR THIS.

The FIA have made no request, the account who claimed this is just some account. Their evidence was a quote from Charles post Imola that they deleted. There is no source on this being a thing that is happening at all. They literally made it up.

And you can tell because they tried to tie what Charles said about the power unit usage after Imola qualifying to the fuel pump, and this is a misunderstanding of what Charles was saying and also the way the fuel pump can affect the speed and performance of the car. So not only was the person incorrect they do not know what they are talking about as far as the actual construction of an F1 car goes.

Again, this is false, there is no source.

If there is anything there we will see this come out from official sources in the coming weeks. But I do not think that we will.

They based their claim off of this one post quali interview Charles gave.

"We lost everything in the straights, and they are doing something weird with the energy, engine-wise, Mclaren and Red Bull. “We will look into that. Once we fix that, we’ve got a real shot of going back onto the top step of the podium." - Charles post Imola qualifying

Ferrari have confirmed that they were having power unit setting issues and there was a further problem with Charles PU at Imola, that is the explanation. We know the reason for what Charles was talking about here now. Like there was an explanation we got it, case closed.

And furthermore, it was Red Bull and Mclaren. So to claim that it's just Mclaren who had a part advantage of some sort and use this quote as evidence is stupid because Charles pointed to both Red Bull and Mcalren as being higher in power.

So this claim falls apart on all fronts: 1. No source 2. Bad car anatomy 3. Bad understanding of what a driver said 4. Cherry picking an interview

I knew someone would ask this because it's making the rounds.

I understand as Ferrari fans we do not trust Mclaren, but I need real proof. If there is any it will come to light eventually, but this claim is incorrect even at face value, digging deeper it falls apart entirely.

When it comes to twitter remember the site now monetarily incentivizes people to create posts that will get clicks and attention, and they will lie to do that.

Also I know I reply to twitter rumors with pretty harsh language, I am not mad at anyone for asking a question, asking when you see rumors is good. I am harsh because I want to be very clear on the issues of twitter rumors and hopefully shut down discourse quickly before it spreads further.

[mariacallous]

When bizarre and misleading answers to search queries generated by Google’s new AI Overview feature went viral on social media last week, the company issued statements that generally downplayed the notion the technology had problems. Late Thursday, the company’s head of search, Liz Reid, admitted that the flubs had highlighted areas that needed improvement, writing, “We wanted to explain what happened and the steps we’ve taken.” Reid’s post directly referenced two of the most viral, and wildly incorrect, AI Overview results. One saw Google's algorithms endorse eating rocks because doing so “can be good for you,” and the other suggested using nontoxic glue to thicken pizza sauce.

Rock eating is not a topic many people were ever writing or asking questions about online, so there aren't many sources for a search engine to draw on. According to Reid, the AI tool found an article from The Onion, a satirical website, that had been reposted by a software company, and it misinterpreted the information as factual.

As for Google telling its users to put glue on pizza, Reid effectively attributed the error to a sense of humor failure. “We saw AI Overviews that featured sarcastic or troll-y content from discussion forums,” she wrote. “Forums are often a great source of authentic, first-hand information, but in some cases can lead to less-than-helpful advice, like using glue to get cheese to stick to pizza.”

It’s probably best not to make any kind of AI-generated dinner menu without carefully reading it through first.

Reid also suggested that judging the quality of Google’s new take on search based on viral screenshots would be unfair. She claimed the company did extensive testing before its launch and that the company’s data shows people value AI Overviews, including by indicating that people are more likely to stay on a page discovered that way.

Why the embarassing failures? Reid characterized the mistakes that won attention as the result of an internet-wide audit that wasn’t always well intended. “There’s nothing quite like having millions of people using the feature with many novel searches. We’ve also seen nonsensical new searches, seemingly aimed at producing erroneous results.” Google claims some widely distributed screenshots of AI Overviews gone wrong were fake, which seems to be true based on WIRED’s own testing. For example, a user on X posted a screenshot that appeared to be an AI Overview responding to the question “Can a cockroach live in your penis?” with an enthusiastic confirmation from the search engine that this is normal. The post has been viewed over 5 million times. Upon further inspection, though, the format of the screenshot doesn’t align with how AI Overviews are actually presented to users. WIRED was not able to recreate anything close to that result.

And it's not just users on social media who were tricked by misleading screenshots of fake AI Overviews. The New York Times issued a correction to its reporting about the feature and clarified that AI Overviews never suggested users should jump off the Golden Gate Bridge if they are experiencing depression—that was just a dark meme on social media. “Others have implied that we returned dangerous results for topics like leaving dogs in cars, smoking while pregnant, and depression,” Reid wrote Thursday. “Those AI Overviews never appeared.”

Yet Reid’s post also makes clear that not all was right with the original form of Google’s big new search upgrade. The company made “more than a dozen technical improvements” to AI Overviews, she wrote.

Only four are described: better detection of “nonsensical queries” not worthy of an AI Overview; making the feature rely less heavily on user-generated content from sites like Reddit; offering AI Overviews less often in situations users haven’t found them helpful; and strengthening the guardrails that disable AI summaries on important topics such as health.

There was no mention in Reid’s blog post of significantly rolling back the AI summaries. Google says it will continue to monitor feedback from users and adjust the features as needed.

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[calling4glaives]

Guard Post: The West Gate

Aside from a deep dive on Nyx himself to match the ones we did for the other glaives for Legends, this spring we’re going to focus on the locations where Nyx does guard duty, to give a better idea of where he spends his time.

The first of these is the West Gate, where Nyx is assigned as punishment after the opening battle. Though Drautos doesn’t name the location after the battle, he does when he pulls Nyx from gate duty just after he assigns Crowe her mission - “And, Nyx: you're off the West Gate. You've been reassigned to the castle guard. That is all.”

(Interestingly, the West Gate is also where Ardyn approaches from, according to the guard who interrupts Drautos’s report on the Diamond Weapon. This and a sign seen above the highways are the only references to it by name.)

[The pictures for this post were captured by the lovely @starjunco unless otherwise stated.]

The gate itself is rather ornate, especially for its size. The massive wall appears to be made from either limestone or concrete, and is kept meticulously clean, especially compared to the more blocky concrete building in front of it, which might be some sort of customs or processing office. Or possibly the local Gate Guards/Crownsguard station.

The wall itself appears to have buildings inside of it. The massive windows appear to be open - possibly for air circulation - but show a blank wall behind them, so some of this space could be mere ornamentation. The lower bank of windows, at least, seems to genuinely be in use, which makes sense. As massive as the city is, it must have horrible overcrowding issues, and efficient use of space is economical and logical.

Nyx and Petra (and another pair of guards) are guarding the exit through the Wall [NB: Lucis drives on the right], though both sides are seeing oddly little use. This is after Ardyn has come but before the treaty has been announced, but this lack of traffic does seem odd. [Perhaps it was done to save the animation budget and was then made a plot point, but it still is a bit odd]. There appear to be only three lanes on either side (plus an ungated exit to what might be a parking garage in the wall), so read into that what you will about normal traffic patterns.

The metallic tollbooth/inspection area has flimsy barriers and no real guard booths, but matches the structure overhead very nicely. The yellow, red, and white crash barriers seem the most modern, but it is interesting to wonder how long this structure - and also the cars it seems designed for - has been in Insomnia. The fact that this passage is so high up on the wall raises further questions about how the Wall itself has changed over the years.

Here’s where the real questions start. By this view, it looks like the Citadel is very close. Probably 5 km close even with elevation, which is far too close to even be the flat sides of the outer wall of Insomnia.

This might indicate that this isn’t the outer wall, but the wall to the Citadel district itself. There are several signs that indicate there is a Citadel Wall as well as the main one. If Nyx’s neighborhood underneath the massive bridges is 5km from the Citadel, as the signs at his train stop indicate, an inner wall near the bridges could maybe be as close as this view implies.

[Insomnia Concept art by Paul Chadeisson, from his site.]

A 5km central district gives Insomnia in general a radius of about 40 km, which while not the massive continent-spanning impossibility seen on maps of the whole continent, does fit with the size of cities like Tokyo, which was likely the main inspiration for the city.

But things can never be that logical, especially when it comes to Square and maps in this game specifically. 

Because, this appears to also be the gate Luna comes in through - the buildings seem to match, and Petra is even stationed there. This could be why Luna's car was able to drive this far - she was driven through the outer regions of Insomnia before Nyx took over - but the signs and route Drautos drives Nyx to get here implies it is the outer Wall. This could just be saving animation money again (or Insomnia standardizing crossings), but Petra's presence seems to count against it. Then again, the man does seem to show up everywhere and be rather highly ranked, and if Luna's arrival was anticipated...

The shots from this scene also show a little of the buildings in the Wall that flank this checkpoint, wherever it is. There are trees and elevators, and seem like they probably see heavy usage.

What do you think they are - shopping, defensive positions, office buildings for Insomnia’s sprawling bureaucracy, bypasses for the less defensible straight tunnel in the center, something else? And how do you solve the Perspective Problem?

We hope this helps you in your brainstorming and creative endeavors, especially for Nyx Week (a mere seven weeks away)! Let us know what you think and anything we might have missed, otherwise we'll see you weekly for the polls and in two weeks or so for the next deep dive.