#she's based off of a little desk buddy i have

[ask-iri-and-widdle]

Here she is! In all of her green glory: SPROUT KNIGHT!!

(I finally managed to get her done now that Ink Demonth is over! She is open for questions with the rest of the gang!)

In case the text is too small: Sprout was a knight in the GSA when it was booming and successful, stationed on Popstar. While there, the GSA had been gifted a Miracle Fruit from the People of the Sky, (that gives Kirby his Supernova ability in KTD) that was then stolen by agents of Dark Matter. She was tasked with getting it back and did so successfully....at a price. Her wounds could not be cured with the Miracle Fruit she returned and she passed away. However, due to her sacrifice and the power of the fruit, her soul was stabilized and she returned to Popstar as a tiny sprouting plant, laying dormant until she would be needed again with Morpho and Lumia. (Lumia belongs to @ask-prismaknight /startistdoodles)

I hope you love her as much as I do, and I hope to see her interact with all of you and your characters!

[wheneverfeasible]

Based on this post by @jadewritesficshere

Steve looked at himself in the mirror from all angles. Maybe, even just a year ago, he might have squashed all of this down and pretended he was just like any other All American white boy in a Midwest state. Except a year ago he still carried the baggage of his failures and was trying to be someone he was not.

And then Robin Buckley, with her ‘You Rule, You Suck’ board, entered his life.

Now, he was able to fully appreciate how much he had never been able to get Eddie “the Freak” Munson out of his head. He might have played it off had this situation never arose, might have been able to keep his lies to himself secret, but…well. It was a good thing Vickie’s locker had been right next to Eddie’s.

Admittedly, he did feel a little guilty about using the lip gloss that Nancy had left at his place, but then she had let him borrow some before back when he worked at Scoops, so really…was it that bad?

He just hoped that Eddie liked the taste of strawberries.

If Steve was lucky enough to find out.

So here he was, fifteen minutes early, waiting to meet Eddie in the band room after school. He’d never been here, obviously, but he’d managed to sneak into the place Robin and Vickie frequented quite often. Luckily there were no other band geeks hoping to use the free time to practice their instruments…or their instruments—he never realized how fucking horny band geeks were before Robin spilled all that gossip. He should have cast his net wider in high school.

Anyways, Steve got himself ready, trying to pose himself perfectly against an abandoned desk, legs crossed at the ankles as he leaned back on his hands to push out his tits, or whatever guys had, accentuating the thickness of his thighs as well. He’s got this.

And then the handle was turning and there’s Eddie, glancing behind him to obviously make certain he wasn’t being followed and no one is paying attention to him—he must know that the room is used for more than just music practice too—before finally turning to face his supposed secret admirer as he closed the door.

Only to freeze when he caught sight of Steve, face draining of color. Steve was across the room in an instant, hand keeping the door shut where Eddie had turned and immediately tried to open it again, leaning into Eddie’s space with a small smirk.

“What’s the rush, Munson?” he murmured in a tone he hadn’t had to use in a while, letting his eyes drag over the dumb Dungeons & Dipshits club shirt Steve couldn’t wait to get his hands under. His eyes drifted lower, thinking of other things he’d like to get under. When his eyes finally made their way back up to Eddie’s face, the dude’s face was tinged pink.

“Ha-Harrington,” Eddie said with a small stutter, eyes darting frantically to the hand keeping the door closed. The metalhead cleared his throat, stiffening his spine as he seemed to gather himself, though he crossed his arms defensively across his chest. “Is this some sort of sick joke? Got you buddies hiding around here somewhere waiting to jump me?”

Steve softly snorted. “While I’ve had a threesome before, I’m not really interested in a gangbang. Besides, darling, I’m not super keen on sharing,” he purred, reaching out with his free hand to lightly brush through the curly hair at Eddie’s shoulder, twirling a strand with a smile.

To his credit, Eddie didn’t flinch, though he did frown severely. Even still, his eyes dropped to Steve’s lips for the briefest moment, which Steve took as a win. “What the hell, Harrington?”

Steve chuckled, moving to lean his shoulder against the door instead, since it allowed him to pop his ass out a bit. “You got my note, didn’t you?” A little fib since it wasn’t technically his note that Robin had accidentally slipped into Eddie’s locker, but whatever. “I wanna take you out on a date. Right now, if you’d let me.”

Eddie blinked at Steve like he couldn’t believe what was in front of him. “I know I have hair like Wheeler, but you do know I’m a dude, right? I have a dick.”

“You’re a musician, yeah?” Steve said, ignoring that for a moment to lean in closer, trailing the hand from Eddie’s hair down his arm. “Then I bet you’re really good with your hands.” He let his eyes drop to them meaningfully. “I bet those fingers can reach all sorts of places. Bet you know how to get the best sounds with them.”

When Steve looked back into Eddie’s face, it was flushed a bright pink this time, his mouth dropped open slightly in shock. Steve took the opportunity to press his fingers under that sharp jaw to close it with a soft click.

“Bet you’re talented with that mouth too.” And, okay, normally he wouldn’t be quite so forward with a girl, but Eddie wasn’t a girl. Things were a little different here. He had a feeling Eddie would appreciate the direct approach too. “You know, I’ve done a bit of singing myself. I’d love to show you my talent as well.”

Eddie let out a huff of breathless laugh of disbelief as he took several steps back into the room, holding his hands up. “I don’t know who put you up to this, man, but—”

“No one put me up to it,” Steve interrupted. “I haven’t been able to get you out of my head since high school and I would be the idiot of the century if I didn’t ask such a pretty boy like you out on a date.”

“No one thinks I’m pretty, Steve,” Eddie said with another nervous laugh, grabbing his hair to cover his mouth in embarrassment.

“Then everyone else has to be the idiot. You’re gorgeous, Eddie.” Steve let his gaze drop again, taking in all of Eddie’s lithe form. “You’re hot as fuck and I should have asked you out on a date years ago. Sorry I don’t have flowers with me, but if you let me take you on a date, I’ll buy you whatever flower you want.”

“D-dude, what even makes you think that I’m…you know,” Eddie said, eyes darting around as though searching for another escape route.

“Because if you weren’t, you wouldn’t have checked out my ass back in high school.” Eddie looked terrified again, which wasn’t Steve’s intention. He was supposed to be charming for Pete’s sake…whoever Pete was. He stepped forward, holding his hands out to show that he was without malice. “I promise I don’t mean any harm, Eddie.”

“No? Former Keg King and head cock of the roost Steve Harrington just asked Eddie ‘the Freak’ Munson to an empty classroom to ask him on a date? Am I really supposed to believe that?” Eddie scoffed, arms once more wrapping around himself.

“I checked you out too, you know,” Steve murmured. “I think I did even before I realized that guys could be an option.” He licked his lips, tasting that hint of strawberry, but it had the desired effect of snapping Eddie’s gaze to them again as well.

“What, you wanna get dicked down by the king freak?” Eddie lightly sneered. “Really fell that far, Stevie?”

“What can I say, you’re easy to fall for,” Steve said with a wink, slinking his way slowly closer. That seemed to shut Eddie up, his face turning that lovely shade of dusty pink again. “But if you need me to fall further…”

Steve smirked as he dropped to his knees in front of Eddie, who gulped thickly enough that it was audible. He reached out to grab Eddie’s fingers, bringing them to his lips as he looked up at the older boy through his lashes.

“Because I am more than willing to worship Hawkins High’s one true king,” he whispered, pulling out all the stops as he brushed his lips over Eddie’s knuckles in a soft kiss. He had a feeling that a theatrical man like Eddie would appreciate some theatrics himself.

And appreciate it Eddie seemed to do, judging by the first honest look of awe on his face as he stared down at Steve. Like he was maybe starting to realize that Steve meant everything he was saying. Eddie drew in a deep, shuddering breath, before releasing it with a small smirk of his own.

“Is that so? And what does that make you, Steve? My dashing knight, ready to obey my every command?” Eddie murmured, turning his fingers in Steve’s hold to slip under Steve’s chin, his thumb brushing just under his glossy bottom lip.

Steve shivered at the touch. “I’ll be whatever you want me to be, Eddie, if it gives me the honor of taking you out on a date.”

“Well,” Eddie breathed. “You do look good on your knees.” He leaned in, bending down to bring his lips to Steve’s ear, his hair curtaining around them. “Do you look just as good on your back?” he whispered.

Steve grinned, bringing his other hand up to hold on to Eddie’s hip. “I guess you’ll just have to find out, Munson,” he murmured back. “So what do you say? Go on a date with me? I promise to treat you good. And then you can treat me very, very bad.”

Eddie flushed again, but he was smiling as he pulled back enough to look down at Steve. “That a promise, Sir Harrington?”

“Wanna seal it with a kiss?” Steve grinned.

It turned out, Eddie did like the taste of strawberries.

Later, when he learned the truth about the note mishap, Eddie laughed so hard he cried, but he didn’t waste any time in thanking Robin for her little blunder. After all, without it, he never would have gotten his first (and hopefully last) official boyfriend.

Who did, in fact, look entirely too good on his back.

~~~~~~

Hostage Hotties (open):

@derythcorvinus @katyawriteswhump @scoops-aboy86 @dotdot-weirdlife @everywherenothere @bumblebeecuttlefishes @hiei-harringtonmunson

[wynnerwynner]

𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑

joaquin torres x fem!military!reader

synposis: y/n and joaquin are reunited years after breaking off their engagement for a mission requiring her set of skills.

request: yes

warnings: brief descriptions of gore, angst (happy ending, dw), use of the word s*icide once

wc: 3k

a/n: was gonna make this into two parts but after editing i decided not to! i apologize if things feel rushed i honestly was fighting for my life trying to come up with a plot 😃 i hope you enjoy jen <3

“What do you got for me, kid?”

“We’re gonna need backup,” Joaquin sighed, pushing the end of his pen into his temple until it clicked.

“What do you mean ‘we’re gonna need backup’?”

Joaquin sat back in his swivel chair, adjusting his phone against his ear. “The base’s security systems are too advanced. I haven’t seen anything like this before. Look, I know someone from high school who could crack this sort of thing.”

“Oh, no,” Sam laughed incredulously. “No, no. We’re not letting any of your buddies in on a top-secret mission,”

“She’s not a buddy!” Joaquin hesitated, eyeing the multitude of screens before him. “She’s, uh…”

“She’s your ex, isn’t she?”

Joaquin shot forward, nearly banging his elbow on the desk, “Maybe, but that’s beside the point.” He heard Sam’s loud laugh on the other end and cringed inwardly. “Look, she’s military. She’s DIA—”

“You’re talking about enemy territory here, Joaquin.”

“I know, I know, just… just trust me, okay? She might work for the government but she’s never really ‘worked for the government’.”

“Yeah, I know those kinds,” said Sam. “So why’d you break up?”

Joaquin searched the small room for some sort of way out.

“She broke up with you, didn’t she?”

“Hey, why do you just assume she broke up with me? Am I not capable of breaking up with someone?”

“You’re getting defensive, Joaquin,” Sam’s loud laugh echoed across the line. “And what makes you think she’d wanna talk to your ass?”

“Well, she won’t but she’d like to talk to Captain America’s.”

“Oh, no, don’t you go dragging me in the middle of whatever happened between you two—”

“I’m not! I’m not. I swear,” he defended. “She always liked Black Widow and—and Anonymous. Natasha Romanoff was basically her idol. She’s likely seen that you have your own agenda despite the shield so she’d listen to you more than me.”

Joaquin bit into his pen as he listened to the silence from Sam’s end.

“Fine. We’re to meet her in person, though. Keep it light.”

“You got it, Cap.”

Joaquin ended the call and pulled up his contacts. He typed in her name and stared at the profile, his thumb hovering over the phone button as anxiety roiled his gut. It had been years since they’d last spoken and the thought of breaking their no-contact felt like breaking a sanctioned rule. If he called her and she picked up, what did that mean?

It meant nothing.

“Hi.”

Y/N said it like a question, but he could hear that she also had an inkling as to who it could be. She deleted his number from her phone, he guessed, or maybe changed his contact name. Joaquin realized he hadn’t said anything when she said his name, this time without assumption in her tone.

“Hi,” he said like the word was beaten out of him. “Uh, hi. Y/N. Um…”

“Are you drunk again?”

“Uh, no,” he scratched the back of his head a little too hard. “No, I am not drunk this time. Uh…”

He heard a creak from her end of the line that he recognized a little too well. She still had her old office chair. Joaquin imagined her sitting back in it, the chair leaning back from her weight.

“I need to ask a favour—”

“Right,” she chuckled incredulously.

He was losing her again.

“No, no. I’m sorry. Look, I’m sorry. God,” he dropped his forehead to the desk with a thump. “Uh, Captain America needs a favour.”

“Captain America?” she said, feigning excitement. “I didn’t know you were a superhero.”

“Yeah, I’m, uh, the new falcon,” he said proudly to the underside of his desk.

“I know, Joaquin.”

“Yes, you do. Right,” he dropped his head against the wood again.

“If Captain America needs my help, why isn’t he contacting me directly?”

“Because,” he drawled, fighting to think of an explanation. “Because I am his guy in the chair and I recommended you to him.”

“That still doesn’t answer my question—”

“Look, Y/N, I know things are… weird between us but I wouldn’t be bothering you if it wasn’t important. Please.”

The chair creaked again and he heard footsteps. She was pacing.

“I can’t talk about it while we’re on record so please, just… whatever works for you, Cap and I will meet you in person.”

He could hear her breathing. He could see her pacing in her room, fingernail between her teeth as she thought. He heard tapping, then his phone vibrated.

“Check your messages.”

The line went quiet and he pulled his phone from his ear to see she’d ended the call.

From a random number, he read: Benjamin Grenup Monument. Tomorrow, 10am.

The next morning, Joaquin and Sam made their way through a cemetery.

“Judging by the fact that we’re fifteen minutes early,” said Sam, “I’d assume you’re a little excited.”

“I’m not excited.”

He was a little excited.

“Then why do you look like you’re about to jump out of your pants?”

Joaquin’s head whipped to him, his eyes narrowed. “Why would you word it like that?”

They stopped before the monument, the graveyard empty save for a young man at a grave a couple yards away.

“Well how else am I meant to word it?” Sam asked, raising his chin. “You look like you have ants in your pants.”

“See, you could have just said that. Instead you had to make it weird—”

“You’re early.”

Y/N walked up to them with her hands in her vest pockets, zipper up to her chin to ward off the cool wind. She exposed a bare hand to rid the hair from her eyes.

“You must be Y/N,” Sam stepped forward.

“And you’re Captain America,” she shook his hand, a small smile on her lips.

Should he shake her hand? No, that’s too formal. Should he wave? No, that’s weird.

“Hi,” he croaked.

Sam’s head slowly spun around, the word “dude” stamped across his expression.

“Is someone gonna tell me why I’m here?” she asked.

It had been almost six years since he last saw her and yet she still looked the same. His heart ached at the sight of her.

“Uh…” he fumbled.

“First,” Sam saved him, “I want to know why this kid thinks so highly of you.”

Y/N glanced at Joaquin, “I’d like to know that, too.”

Joaquin cleared his throat, running a hand through his hair. “Y/N was top of our class in high school. Joined the army right out of graduation, became a sergeant, was then recruited by INSCOM.”

“Why INSCOM?” Sam asked curiously.

“I’m really good at coding,” she answered with a nod, eyes wide in emphasis. “I also solved a couple of cold cases. Turns out recruiters turn a blind eye to legality when it comes to uncovering terrorists.”

“That’s not all,” Joaquin interjected, closing the distance between them.

Y/N stared at him. To Sam, her gaze was blank, but to Joaquin it was a warning.

“What’s…” Sam looked between them, “I feel like I’m interrupting something.”

Y/N’s leg bounced and her eyes narrowed. Joaquin nodded in reassurance.

“When the Blip happened,” she began, “life insurance skyrocketed, payments wouldn’t go out. They said because there was no body, no evidence, they wouldn’t pay. Suicide reached a record-breaking peak around the world in all of recorded history; homelessness, violence, and crime included.”

“So you lended a hand,” said Sam.

Y/N smiled, but there was no joy behind it. “I did.”

“I’m assuming your employers don’t know.”

“No,” she shook her head. “It wasn’t just me, anyway. I know some who made millions, but I didn’t want a pay off. It wasn’t fair that I sat back with my talents and didn’t use them in a time of need. I helped families off the streets, paid for spots in retirement homes…”

“So what have you been doing since everyone came back?”

Y/N looked around, her tongue darting out to her bottom lip. The young man from earlier had left, leaving just them.

“Iron Man did more harm than good when he brought everyone back,” she said. “My parents were on a plane to Hawaii when they were snapped.”

Joaquin’s eyebrows furrowed deeply. He hadn’t known. How could he? Maybe he should’ve reached out when the Blip happened. Another regret to add to the list.

“I went through it all over again,” she continued. “What was left of us were doing triple the work, if not more, for less pay. I lost my apartment; I had to get roommates again. But the insurance companies saved a buck so it really wasn’t all that bad, right?”

“I didn’t know,” Joaquin said.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N,” said Sam.

She shook her watch out from under her sleeve. “Now that I’ve told you my life story, it’s your turn. You’re running out of time here.”

“There’s this terrorist organization we’ve been tasked of uncovering,” Joaquin explained. “We found their base but it’s protected by some sort of electromagnetic field connected to a coded security system. We need you to come with us to the facility. If you get close enough, you’ll be able to hook up to the servers and find your way through. We’ll provide you with a weapon in case it gets messy.”

Y/N looked back and forth between them. “What do you think I am, some kind of Avenger? I haven’t been out in the field in years. I do everything at a desk.”

Joaquin glanced to Sam. “No?”

“That’s right. Good luck, guys. Bye, Joa—”

“I fucked up.” Joaquin’s words made her freeze. He stared at her back in desperation. “I—I’m aware of that. I don’t deserve your help, but Sam does. Don’t say no just because I’m involved. You do this for Sam and I’ll block your number. I’ll move states, if you want me to. You’ll never have to hear from me again.”

“Damn, Joaquin, what’d you do, man?” Sam whispered.

Y/N turned on her heel. “He wouldn’t stop doing stupid shit,” she answered. “I was tired of fearing for my fiancé’s life.”

Sam stared down Joaquin with wide, shocked eyes.

Joaquin prayed to every god known to man that Y/N would hear him out. She was thinking hard—he could tell by the way she tucked her mouth behind the neck of her vest. Her eyes roved the ground a moment before she looked up again.

“Fine,” she said to Sam. Her eyes caught Joaquin’s, the first time in years she properly looked him in the eye. “You owe me. Big time.”

***

A couple days later, Joaquin, Sam, and Y/N met in the tree line surrounding an abandoned warehouse.

“You should see an energy shield around the building,” Sam said through the coms, circling the perimeter of the tree line in the sky.

“Roger,” Y/N typed away on her computer.

Joaquin watched the warehouse beside her, hands on his hips as he observed any signs of activity.

“They have an alarm system attached to it,” she informed. “You’ll have thirty seconds to get in before it guards all entry again.”

“All right, it’s just a quick in and out, Joaquin,” said Sam. “Incapacitate the soldiers, the authorities will do the rest.”

“Got it,” Joaquin replied. “Go ahead,” he nodded to Y/N.

He watched as she continued working on the computer. It felt like they were back in high school. Whenever he couldn’t find her, he’d go to the library. She was always sat at a table surrounded by books or before a computer, chin in her hand as she focused on the screen.

“Y/N,” he found himself saying.

“What?” she didn’t take her eyes off the device.

“I’m sorry.”

Her head cocked, “I’m sure you are.”

“I mean it, Y/N. I really am sorry.” She glanced at him and he took it as an invitation to continue. “I wish I could have been there for you during the Blip. It wasn’t fair you had to go through that alone. It isn’t fair you’re still going through it alone.”

Y/N looked him up and down, eyeing his Falcon suit. “If you make it out of this alive, there’s this new food truck near my old apartment. We can talk about it all, then.”

A smile brightened Joaquin’s face. “That sounds good.”

“But no stupid shit, Joaquin,” she pointed at him warningly like she had so many times before. “No showing off. I know you’re a superhero now but I will make you move countries if you act like you’re invincible.”

“Yep. Got it. No stupid shit,” he said quickly, clapping his hands together once.

“All right, boys, you’ve got thirty seconds in five… fo—”

Joaquin darted from the trees, staying low as he approached.

Three… two… one.

“Grid is down,” said Y/N.

Silence, then a crash as Sam shattered through the skylight. Joaquin kicked the door in, stepping into the chaos of the armed men inside. Within a couple of minutes, they had them restrained and disarmed. As Joaquin was checking pulses, sirens signalling the arrival of authorities rang out.

“Oh, shit—” From Y/N’s end of the line, two gunshots went off, echoing up the slight slope to the warehouse.

“Y/N, you all right?” Joaquin asked.

A wave of heat came over his limbs as pure adrenaline took over him.

“Sergeant Y/LN, come in,” Sam pressed his finger to his com.

Another round of shots went off and Joaquin booked it. He shoved past men in full armour as they made their way into the building. The grass, still slippery from the morning dew, caused him to slide and he tripped into the trees. A man in a ghillie suit lay dead, half his face blown off and his suit soaked with blood around his throat.

Heavy breathing and a whine of pain caught Joaquin’s attention. Y/N lay beside her dropped laptop, the screen shattered with a bullet hole through the middle. Dark, red blood spilled from her stomach.

“Shit,” Joaquin dropped to his knees hard on the sticks and leaves. He shouted and screamed for help, putting enough pressure on the wound to possibly break a rib.

“I don’t wanna die,” Y/N cried, gripping his suit like he was the only thing anchoring her to the earth. “I don’t wanna die. Don’t let me die, Joaquin.”

“I’ve got you, Y/N, you’re going to be fine,” he said as tears sprung to his eyes.

“I don’t wanna go. I don’t wanna go.”

For the first time, Joaquin realized exactly how Y/N felt anytime he came home with bruises or scrapes. He used to only be able to imagine what she felt when she got a call he’d been injured on the field. He knew, now, how horrible it felt. It was like ice weaving through his veins yet it made his heart feel on fire. He was sure there was a fire starting in his lungs.

Medics rushed toward them, convincing him to move aside so they could start their work.

“Don’t let me go,” she panicked, gripping his hand.

“I won’t,” he trembled, squeezing her back. “I won’t, I promise.”

The only time Joaquin let go of her hand was so they could put her on the stretcher. In the ambulance, she fought for consciousness. Despite his pleading and coaxing, she closed her eyes. It was hours in the uncomfortable waiting room chair before the surgeon spoke to him. He’d handed over his information and when the receptionist declined his request to cover her expenses because he was merely considered intelligence, not an active-duty Captain, Sam talked his way into covering it.

Joaquin remained by her side in the hospital room until she woke up.

“Hey,” he said softly, reaching for her hand.

Joaquin instinctively reached for her face with his free one. He’d brushed hair out of her eyes so many times that it’d become a habit to just caress the skin at her temple. Years later and it was still with him.

“What happened?” she croaked.

“Um, you had some internal bleeding,” he explained, clearing his throat as tears burned the back of his eyes. “They got the bullet out but you’ve been out a little while. You should be discharged tomorrow.”

“I can’t afford this, Joaquin,” she tried to push herself up. “I can’t pay—”

“No, Y/N—” Joaquin pushed her gently back down. He squeezed her hand, running the pad of his thumb over her knuckles. “It’s all right. You don’t have to pay for anything.”

Her eyes bounced back and forth between his. “Don’t tell me you paid.”

“Sam handled it. As you said,” he sniffed, “I owed you.”

She sighed, gazing down at their hands.

“Y/N, you could’ve died,” Joaquin breathed.

“Well, now you know how it felt.”

It was like a knife to the chest.

“I did—I do.” He shook his head, a tear trailing down his cheek. “I can’t say how sorry I am. I… I never wanted to hurt you. I loved you… so much. I still love you.”

Y/N sniffed and rubbed the back of her hand under her eyes.

“I understand if you don’t,” he continued, “but if you’re willing to try again, I’ll put down the wings. I’ll stop. I’ll find a different career. Anything you want.”

“Joaquin.” Y/N lifted her free hand to place it on top of his. “I would never ask you to give up your dreams. I’ve only ever wanted you to remember that I needed you, too. I need you. Do you understand that?”

Joaquin nodded stiffly, bringing her fingers to his lips. She cupped his cheek and his eyes closed as he leaned into her touch. He entwined his fingers with hers over the back of her hand and kissed her palm.

“I’ve missed you so much,” he mumbled against her skin.

“I’ve missed you, too,” she replied through silent tears.

“I’m assuming this means we’re still on for the food truck?”

Y/N laughed and it brought a smile to Joaquin’s face. The air between them felt lighter and it almost made him want to cry more.

“Yes, we’re still on for the food truck.”

[imaginesig]

“I was enchanted to meet you”

Kimi Antonelli x Norris!Reader

SMAU + Written parts

You’re Lando Norris’s little sister (18) and a spark flares up with a notable F2 driver (18) , how does everything go down?

Bonus: “I had the best day with you today”

I wanted to state that as I’m writing this I am 17 years old, on top of that I am an American. I do not know how to be 17/18 as a Brit so I did a bit of research but I’m not 100% confident. I gave Y/n an internship bc I assumed she’d be at the end of her secondary schooling. Sorry if that’s wildly off base.

~~~

A laugh erupted from my chest as a balled up sucky note made contact with Kimi’s forehead. I quickly grab my takeout lid to block his response attack. Only when I heard the ball make contact with the plastic did I relax my shield. On the other side, Kimi laid out on my hotel bed in sleep pants and a racing sweatshirt. His messy curls barely moved as he laughed. The soft light of the hotel lamp illuminated the scene like some kind of dream.

In here, it was a dream. No pressure, loud engines, cruel media, or annoying deadlines tainting the scene. It was authentic; our looks to each other were obvious, no sneaky glances.

In one smooth motion I moved from the desk chair to the opposite side of the bed from him. Propped up on my side, I mustered my best reporter voice, “So Mr. Antonelli, you've touched down in beautiful Barcelona a few hours ago and are gearing up for the weekend. The Spanish Grand Prix is known for its special conditions: corners of varying speeds, high chance of tyre wear, and many openings for overtakes. How confident are you in the car for this weekend? Any good strategies in the works to take advantage of rough tyre conditions the other teams will face?

Kimi and I laughed so hard we both turned red, “Well Ms. Norris it looks like someone’s done their homework.”

“It is my job” I shrug, “I also just love turn 9. I quite literally look forward to it every year.”

“Of course you love the hard one,” Kimi pulled his arm out from under his weight and fell into the bed.

“No sir, you have to go. Dont get comfortable,” I said.

“Y/n” kimi whines.

“No,” I laugh, “you need to go back to your own room.” With a huff and a few more comments Kimi is reminded of the reality outside of the hotel room, one where he has to return to his own room and wake up alone. With a hug and kiss, Kimi is on his way and I turn back to start cleaning up. Next to the takeout trash, my work bag also lays unpacked. I fall into a steady rhythm of tidying before bed while my mind wanders off to my secret relationship.

Kimi and I got together right before this season started. We met last season at a couple of different Motorsport events and spent the season getting closer. Then we spent the offseason working through the new depth added to our friendship. And now, we’re navigating unforgiving media who might not take our relationship too well and potentially ruin it.

With a yawn I finish up my task and head to bed. I go to turn off my bedside lamp and notice a goodnight message from Kimi.

~~~

yn_norris

liked by kimi.antonelli, landonorris, user1, and 918,289 others

yn_norris: Barcelona, you have kept me busy 🥴

tagged: no one

Lilyzneimer my busy bee!! Best gp watch buddy ever, you always keep me updated with the top info 💖💖

yn_norris love you sm 💖💖 thank you for letting the teammates sister join you

user1 my fav intern 😍😍

user2 she always delivers 👏👏

user8 and grinds until the end everyday

landonorris wow I don’t even get shown, I’m hurt

yn_norris I completely flooded my stories with celebrations and you when you won. This is my moment

landonorris proud of your work always!!

yn_norris🫶🫶🫶

martagarcialopez19 pleasure to be interviewed by you!!

maya_weug lovely panel❤️🏎️

hamdaalqubaisi_official women in motorsports forever!!

user3 I love how Y/n and Lando always have 2 comment threads with varying emotions under every post

user4 KIMI IN THE LIKES???

user5 he stays in her likes

user6 tbh most of the F2/F1 academy drivers are, between her being Landos little sister and covering them the most with her job/internship they’ve gotten familiar

user7 exactly, even her and Ollie Bearman have reported they talk and could consider themselves in a friendship

user8 Abbi Pulling and Hamda Al Qubaisi have been known to hang out with Y/n apart from the track

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~~~

It was a beautiful sunny day in Barcelona, Spain. I was so thankful I was able to take a few remote work days so I’d be able to stay another day and explore. It all worked out perfectly because both my brother and his teammate invited me to join their exploration and Kimi was able to get a late flight.

With the sun shining and birds singing I made my way down a less crowded street and was met by my boyfriend snapping photos of the scenery around him. I decide to quicken my pace and give him a hug.

“Hello there,” he says surprised. A chuckle escapes his mouth once he’s turned around to reciprocate the affection.

“Hi,” I smile. I look around as he pulled back and saw the iconic kissing mural surrounded by greenery, “wow.”

“Pretty right,” he says.

“Beautiful,” I gush,”let’s get a photo.” Kimi nods and I set my phone up to record a video to screen record to screen shot from since there was no one around at the early hour.

“How do you wanna pose?”

“Let’s kiss and really be that couple, you know,” I joke.

“Come here then,” the warm air and slight breeze made the moment feel like a fairytale. The world melted away as I enjoyed the sweet kiss. For a moment it felt like we were out to the world. But when the kiss ended, I felt disappointment that no one has seen us. Part of me grew restless with the secret keeping, “I found a really cute place for breakfast I think you’ll like it.”

We walked hand in hand down the quiet streets, passing by locals going through their morning chores. Soon enough we arrived at a small restaurant and were sat outside. Concealed by aged buildings, the place itself was low traffic and gave up peace of mind.

“Smile,” I look back towards Kimi from the surrounding scenery to see him holding up his camera. We took a couple of different shots before returning to conversation.

“I had the weirdest feeling earlier,” I start. Kimi looks a little concerned, “when we took that kissing photo I wanted someone to see. I wanted our relationship to get out.”

“I’ve been feeling the same way. It’s been and is so nice to have our little bubble, but part of me just wants to be and not worry about the when and where.”

“Exaclty my feelings. I’m glad we’re talking about this, let’s let the idea sit for a little while longer and then we can come up with a plan. I’m scared to rush into an announcement and not be ready for the outcome.” Kimi agrees and we fall into other topics of conversation over breakfast. After we go to an outdoor market and look around. I purchase some trinkets for other interns at the office who cover other sports. As the air slowly got hotter, Kimi’s time with me got shorter. Eventually it was time to take him back to the hotel to take a ride to the airport. We said our goodbyes and he promised to call me when he landed.

I quickly traveled to the lunch spot my brother informed me to meet the group at. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the scenery, taking cool photos, and just enjoying each others company since extra days like this were scarce.

Too soon the sun went down and our activities ended. Back in my hotel room I worked in the soft lamplight and prepared for my flight back to reality tomorrow.

~~~

oscarpiastri

liked by landonorris, lilyzniemer, user91, and 928,827 others

oscarpiastri: pro tip: never explore with the Norris siblings, they’ll make a scene everywhere

tagged: lilyzneimer, landonorris, yn_norris

yn_norris ummm this is embarrassing you seemed to have misspelled “Y/n thank you so much for the adorable pic of me and Lily! Thankfully your skill is far superior to your brothers so I was able to post one”

landonorris you twat

yn_norris I mean he didn’t post yours so…

oscarpiastri that’s it I’m getting a restraining order on you guys

landonorris we only made a couple…

oscarpiastri yea bc Y/n was only with us a few hours

user1 LMAO THE BIKE PHOTO

user2 they were ready to square up

yn_norris I kicked his ass

user2 OMG SHE REPLIED

user3 everytime I see a Y/n and Lily interaction it always gives little and big sis🥹

user4 omg ikr!! It makes me so happy that even though her bio sisters aren’t able to be with her 24/7 she has someone at gps and such

user5 what I wouldn’t give to explore the world with this group

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kimi.antonelli

Liked by user4, yn_norris, olliebearman, and 819,728 others

Kimi.antonelli: Barcelona, beautiful as always 👏

tagged:no one

olliebearman 💪💪

Prema_team glad to see the weekend allowed for relaxation 😎

user1 happy with the results this weekend!!

user2 ok scenic shot

user3 Kimi is coming for Y/n with the digital camera effect

user4 I wonder why it’s only on the last photo tho?

user5 maybe this is where she was when she wasn’t with the McLaren boys…

user6 ok grandma get back to bed

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Yn_norris

liked by kimi.antonelli, carlossainz55, abbiepulling, and 718,828 others

Yn_norris: España, mi amor

Tagged: lilyzniemer

oscarpiatri so glad my gf make the post and I didn’t

yn_norris cry me a river

landonorris who took the first pic you don’t have any friends other than me 🤨🤨

yn_norris choke

carlossainz55 always love your love of Spain 🇪🇸♥️

yn_norris with every bit of my heart!!

Riabish gorgeous!!

abbiepulling travel looks gorgeous on you

yn_norris 💋💋

user1 she ate this up

user2 first pic >>>>>

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yn_norris posted a story!

Caption: I get door dashed coffee even when he’s thousands of miles away 🫶🫶

Replies:

landonorris

who what when where why

idk, it’s coffee for those of us who don’t have the energy of a seven year old, this morning, my office, bc I’m loved

wdym “idk”

Y/n are you soft launching?? Your own brother doesn’t get to know before Instagram

I have a plan no fear

🙄

Kimi.antonelli

I’ve discovered you can special order a message or simple drawings through the app too

I can see that

so be prepared, there’s so much more where than came from

as much as I love this and would love to see what you come up with, I can get my own coffee

not happening

lmao ok

Not my hill to die on

I love you

I love you too, have a great day

Oscarpiastri

your bother is pacing

Lmao good

Let him squirm

Yes ma’am 🫡

~~~

The smell of exhaust fills my senses and V6s roar across the track. Lando and I were currently camped out in the Prema garage with our eyes glued to the screen. We let out a few comments and had mini conversations throughout.

When Kimi’s car cross the finish line the enter building jumped up. As the crew and engineers all ran out to the baraxade. I decided do lead Lando over where the podium is interviewed before the cool down room so we don’t interrupt team celebrations. We stand meters away so we don’t bother anyone but I still might be able to sent Kimi a thumbs up and a wink.

“I didn’t know you two got so close,” Lando mused as we still admits the buzzing padock.

“Well you know through other friends I’ve made from tagging alone to events and races with you we were bound to meet, especially with him being Ollies teammate this season,” Lando nods at that. “So how are you feeling about your race, the home ones always a big deal.”

“I’m super excited, but the nerves of potentially messing things up are there,” he confesses, “I want to win really bad.”

“Call it reporter’s gut but I feel-“ suddenly I was cut off my someone yelling my name.

“Y/n!” Kimi is sprinting over to us. So much for not making a scene, I think.

“Kimi! You did it!” I yelled back. Soon, he was a meter away and not stopping. I was grabbed along with him and brought a couple steps away as he slowed down. Before I could even comprehend the previous action, Kimi let out another victory cheer, grabbed my face, and kissed me in the middle of the paddock. The adrenaline and joy from his win charged the kiss from both ends. It was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. All those kisses in hotel room or hidden corners of the world were put to shame, this was the kiss. I was so focused on the moment that I didn’t remember that there were eyes on us everywhere, including the eyes of my brother.

“Y/n- I- What!” Lando stuttered with wide eyes. He still stood in our previous spot and seemed to be stuck there. After a moment of staring back, I realized my hands had come up to rest on Kimi’s biceps.

I quickly jumped back before turning to look at Kimi again, “Hey, I’m so proud! We can catch up and all that later. Go do your media stuff, I love you.” I wave him off and walk back to Lando, “before you say anything we need to talk privately.”

Once we find a quiet place I begin explains everything, “And that’s brings us up to now. We had a plan to slow launch and then during that time we hoped to tell family and close friends before anyone else. I swear this weekend was the one-“ he cut me off.

“Y/n don’t worry, I can tell the adrenaline got to him,” he smirks, “I know the feeling well.”

“Ew, ew Lando please stop there,” I cringe. “Are you sure you’re not mad? It wasn’t supposed to come out this way, especially not to you.”

“I’m fine. Granted I only saw a few seconds of that this relationship is but any man who’s gonna come running to you after a race before even heading to a mandatory interview or cool down then he’s a good one. Also you can’t fool me, your eyes lit up and you forgot I was even next to you when he showed up. I’m happy for you,” Lando pulled me into a bear hug.

“I love you Lan.”

“I love you too,” he pulled back and added,” but mum might be so give her a ring before she finds out.”

We both laugh before I FaceTime the family group chats for round 2 of explaining.

~~~

f1updates

Liked by user82, user282, user1, and 173,827 others

f1updates: After his first F2 win, Kimi Antonelli kisses Lando Norris’s little sister in the middle of the paddock! Videos from multiple sources have been reposted on our Twitter account.

tagged: Kimi.antonelli, yn_norris

used1 WHAT

user2 this was not on my 2024 bingo card

used3 after watching the videos it was right out of a romance movie

user4 the way he sprinted to her while ignoring everything else

user5 lando’s face killed me

user6 he was just as shocked as we are

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kimi.antonelli

liked by yn_norris, user43, prema_racing, and 918,828 others

Kimi.antonelli: maiden win anyone??

tagged: prema_racing, mercadesamgf1, yn_norris

yn_norris “where’s the trophy? He just comes running over to me” 🤭🤭

Kimi.antonelli ❤️❤️

landonorris 😑

yn_norris fuck off

prema_racing that’s our boy 👏🏆

User1 KIMI IS A RACE WINNER

user2 anyone else absolutely die when he kissed her

user3 yea I think Lando almost did

user4 Y/n’s comment 😭😭

carlossainz55 the last pic 🤨

danielriccardo so it is true

landonorris OF COURSE ITS TRUE A VIDEO HAS BEEN TRENDING ON TWITTER

Carlossainz55 honestly I couldn’t understand half of what you were saying but he could be worse

landonorris mate.

danielriccardo I say shovel talk before his next race see how he celebrates then

yn_norris no no no yall are done scheming in my boyfriends comment section

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~~~

The British Grand Prix had been a rollercoaster for the younger Norris who sat in the coverage of the McLaren garage watching the race. Kimi and I had sent a few messages about the race but since Lando lost his lead during his pit in lap 40 I have been zoned in. I’ve been praying since Lewis passed that something would happen, that by a miracle Lando would regain his lead. Unfortunately as the laps dwindled, Lando lost time between the winner and in lap 49 Max had successfully overtaken him. Sighs and cuss words could be heard all throughout the building. My head fell into my hands as I watched the race though hooded eyelids, weight down with sadness.

When the race was over I slowly took the same path Lando and I had taken yesterday towards the media area. I flashed by badge once again and found a stop on the r of the action. Eventually, Lando made his way to Jensen and completed his interview.

“Hey,” I said empathetically as I pulled him into a hug. “I know you hate this and I know you’re upset. Lando, you hold yourself to the highest standard imaginable, but please know you did great. Third place is still a handful of points and now you’ve gotten more experience so you and the team can make better calls in the future. This wasn’t a race that you could predict, you had to roll with the punches and you did. I’m so proud of you and now I have a new trophy I can steal for my future apartments decor!”

Lando let out a loud chuckle before he hit me on the head, “you’re not getting my trophies you muppet.”

“That’s what you think,” I fired back before he pulls me into another hug, this one more playful than the last. I waved him off to the cool down room and said a quick congratulations to Lewis before heading to get a spot with McLaren for the podium ceremony.

~~~

landonorris

Liked by yn_norris, user3, mclaren, and 819,928 others

landonorris: Silverstone I love you, my sister not so much ❤️ congrats on the win @/lewishamilton, we’ll review, do better, and come get you next time 😜

Tagged: lewishamilton

yn_norris I cried real tears @/lewishamilton

yn_norris you fought hard, it was entertaining race. Love you to the moon and back🫶🫶

landonorris love you to the moons and back twice 🫶

user1 HELLO?? THIS IS TO SWEEET

used2 with no warning either 😭😭

yn_norris also for the record I did nothing

Kimi.antonelli ok now I said I was sorry

user3 why war McLarens strategy all messed up this week

Kimi.antonelli great driving today 💪

landonorris 😑

yn_norris lando try that again.

landonorris 👍

user4 you still did great!!

user5 lmao the jab at Y/n 😭😭

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yn_norris

liked by danielriccardo, olliebearman, user88, and 198,828 others

yn_norris big weekend :)

tagged: landonorris, kimi.antonelli

landonorris big weekend? BIG WEEKEND? THATS ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY??

yn_norris I mean a lot happened

danielriccardo I think that trophy was kissed better than you

yn_norris 🙄✋

Kimi.antonelli love you ♥️

yn_norris love you too ♥️

user1 her and Lando 🥹🥹

olliebearman thanks for the support on your off weekend 👏👏

yn_norris anytime care bear

user2 “care bear” IM CRYING YN YOU CANT DO MY MAN LIKE THAT

user3 the McLaren flag slays so hard

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kimi.antonelli

Liked by yn_norris, landonorris, used928, and 727,828 others

Kimi.antonelli: I owe an apology to Y/n for ruining our soft launch on a whim, Lando for doing it front of you, and my family for not telling you guys sooner. But that’s all besides the point because I can finally say LOOK AT MY GIRLFRIEND

tagged: yn_norris

yn_norris omg I love you ♥️

Kimi.antonelli I love you more ♥️

user1 the uppercase at the end he’s so cute 😭😭

user2 you can tell he’s so excited

oscarpiastri so does the Barcelona photo prove that’s who Y/n was with that morning?

landonorris no shot they snuck around right under my nose

Kimi.antonelli no comment

yn_norris not my fault you’re an idiot who doesn’t ask enough questions

landonorris oh just you wait for my questions now

Oscarpiastri oh look now you’ve opened Pandora’s box y/n

carlossainz55 I guess I like you

Kimi.antonelli that’s comforting?

Carlossainz55 be happy it’s not hate

yn_norris he’s a tad bit overprotective

danielriccardo you’ve got balls kid, I respect it

Kimi.antonelli thank you 😁

user3 pls not this summoning all of Landos old teammates

user4 guess he’s not the only one they’ve grown attatched to

landonorris this is cute ig

Kimi.antonelli I’m taking this as a win

yn_norris don’t act all grumpy on main

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yn_norris

liked by Danielriccardo, user817, Kimi.antonelli, and 817,828 others

yn_norris: “this night is sparkling, don’t you let it go”

tagged: Kimi.antonelli

Kimi.antonelli fav taylor song 🫶🫶

yn_norris see aren’t you glad I made you listen to it

user1 Kimi is an Enchanted stan???

landonorris wtf is that last picture

yn_norris 🤷🏼‍♀️

user2 I love them so much 😭😭

User3 she dedicated Enchanted to him?? Girlie is in deep

Carlossainz55 does he make you happy?

danielriccardo this is is a very important question

yn_norris very 🥰

landonorris cancel the plans guys

Kimi.antonelli I’m scared

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yn_norris

Liked by lilyzniemer, user4, carlossainze55, and 981,828 others

yn_norris: he’s family approved ☀️😌

tagged: Kimi.antontelli

Kimi.antonelli Aunt Y/n 😍

landonorris absolutely not

danielriccardo I’m watching you

carlossainz55 stop right there

yn_norris do you guys always materialize in time to ruin the fun 😒

oscarpiastri 👶🚫

yn_norris OSCAR YOU TOO???

Landonorris take that helmet off her now, Uncle Lala’s is the only one allowed

yn_norris possessive much

user1 I can never tell how Lando feels about Kimi

user2 right mixed signals much? He bullies him in insta comments but openly supports him irl

user3 speaking from personal experience, that’s just him being an annoying older brother

lilyzniemer the matching outfits 🥰🥰

abbiepulling they are too cute!!!

yn_norris I love you both 🫶🫶

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[cevansbrat0007]

The Do-Over

Summary: Everyone deserves a second chance, including jerks like Bounty Hunter, Ari Levinson. Takes place directly after the events in Hello, Duchess.

Warnings: Mature Themes, Ari Being A Menace, Bucky Barnes, A Deep Love of Clark Bars, Light Groveling, Bickering, Discussions of Grief, Threats of Violence, Gentle Manhandling, Brief References to Negative Body Image, Cursing, Minors DNI

A/N: Special thanks to my creative consultant, @curls-and-eyeliner. Part my Sweet Renegade Series. Semi-proofread, not beta'd. All mistakes are my own. Likes, comments, and reblogs are always appreciated. Thanks for reading!

An annoyed Ari takes a pull from his cigarette as he listens to his friend and fellow combat vet give him shit all the way from his office back in New Mexico. As soon as this was over, he was going to ditch this empty parking lot to find himself an ice cold beer and a goddamned steak. 

He was officially ready to put this day behind him. But first he needed a decent dinner.

“So let me see if I’ve got this right.” His friend begins, now that he’d finally stopped cursing up a blue streak. “Do you really mean to tell me that you took our best lead, which just so happened to be the perp’s girlfriend, and fucked it all to hell?”  

Okay, but just because that’s what happened doesn't necessarily mean that it was actually his fault. He’d just been a little off his game.

“Hey Buck, don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re beginning to sound as dramatic as Rogers.”

“Steve would never fuck-up something this big for us.” He could practically hear the man flipping him off.

“I’m telling you this girl would’ve cut off Golden Boy’s balls and fed them to him for breakfast, okay?” He takes another puff, flicking some of the excess ash out his driver-side window. “Trust me.”

“Hold on.” An exasperated Bucky sighs into the receiver before placing the phone on his desk to speak to whoever had just walked into his office. He hoped whoever it was had better news than he did, otherwise he feared his old war buddy might have an aneurysm.

Sometimes he got the impression that Sergeant James “Bucky” Barnes was wound a little too tight.    

The silence drags on as Ari contemplates getting out of his car to stretch his legs. It’s another several minutes before Bucky is back on the line, and this time he sounds positively exhausted.

“We can’t afford to lose this one, man. Westbrook might be a piece of shit, but he’s an expensive piece of shit. So while I don’t care how you feel about the girl, you need to make things right. She could have some valuable intel.”

“Yeah, I know.” His mood darkens as he flicks the cigarette onto the pavement. As he watches it hit the ground, he finds himself wondering if it was finally time to quit the cancer sticks altogether. It’s not like he hadn’t thought about it before.

“Besides, what do you care if she was Westbrook’s fuck buddy?” Ari’s treated to the sound of his friend unwrapping something that sounded suspiciously like a candy bar. There was only one person who was known to keep that stuff at the office.

Which meant that shit had better not come from his personal stash, otherwise Bucky Barnes was a fucking dead man.

“I don’t.” Ari growls, sucking on his teeth. “And that had better not be a Clark Bar you’re eatin'.”

“Hate to break it to ya, pal. But based on what you told me earlier, it kinda sounds like you might.” There’s an unmistakable sound of a grin in his voice, which irks the bounty hunter to no end. 

“And I think it’s finally time you got your hearing checked, old man.” He growls back, although his words lack any real fire. 

“As for your precious Clark Bars,” he continues. “See, normally I’d pass on ‘em. But Pixie’s been on a health kick lately and she threw out all the junk food. So, I’m desperate.” Bucky gives an exaggerated groan. “Plus, she has no idea about your stash.” 

“Jesus.” Ari grumbles, firing up his engine with the intent to head back to the house he was currently renting. “I really wish you two would just suck face already and get it over with.”

“Mind your fucking business, Levinson.”

“Then keep your filthy hands off my fuckin’ Clark Bars, Barnes.” There’s a heavy sigh on the other line, prompting Ari to roll his eyes. All he wanted was for this conversation to fucking end.

“Look.” Bucky grunts. “You bring down this Westbrook fucker and I’ll buy you a goddamned case of those stupid bars. Alright?”

“You got yourself a deal.” Turning on his truck, Ari slowly heads for the exit as his stomach begins to rumble. Maybe he’d track down some shrimp to go with that steak.

“And fix whatever it is you fucked up with that bookstore broad while you’re at it.” 

“I’ll do my best.” He grimaces as his mind treats him to images of you threatening him with your taser. “But if that little spitfire puts me in the hospital you’re footin’ the bill.” And with that, Ari hangs up the phone.

As of now, he was officially done for the night.

A Few Days Later…

You’re sitting on the floor of your stockroom when you hear the tinkling of bells signaling the arrival of a customer. Groaning as you rise to your feet, you wipe your palms on the fabric of your pants and head to the front of the store. 

Business had been unusually slow today, so hopefully this patron - whoever they were - would be in the mood to buy something. As you were driving in this morning, you’d briefly considered holding another sale. Maybe it was time for another book fair. That seemed to be pretty popular the last time you’d done it. 

You’re in the middle of making a mental note to reach out to the local librarian when your eyes land on the absolute last person you wanted to see standing in your lobby: Ari Levinson. 

Not this guy again. 

“Yeah, it’s me.” He says, offering up an unapologetic shrug as he takes in the sight of you in your form-fitting yoga pants. 

Apparently you’d spoken out loud. Perhaps if you kept doing it, the man would eventually get offended enough to leave. Wishful thinking at its finest.

When the intruder realizes you don’t plan on speaking again, he decides to take advantage of the silence by doing something completely unexpected. 

“I just dropped by to, uh…” He takes a deep breath, rocking back on his heels. “Apologize for how our last meeting went. While it wasn’t my intention to insult you, I know that I did.” One big hand comes up to massage the back of his neck. “Just wanted to offer that, for whatever it’s worth.”

“Oh. Wow.” You reply dumbly, crossing your arms over your chest. For whatever reason, you got the distinct impression that he didn’t make apologies often. 

“You’re right, sweetheart. I don’t.” His lips turn up in an awkward grin as he takes a step toward you. “But a real man knows how to own up to his shit, which is exactly what I’m doin right now.”

“Okay.” 

Mouth suddenly dry, you go to take a step back, only to find that your legs no longer work. Next thing you know, Ari is in your space, his boot clad feet are now mere centimeters from your well-loved sneakers as he towers over you. 

He holds out his hand as a gesture of goodwill, silently imploring you to take it. Your eyes lock with his as yours moves on its own accord – almost as if you’d been entranced. 

Your hand feels so small and delicate in his grasp. And for a second, you wonder what it might be like to lace your fingers together. How it would feel to hold onto him so intimately for just a few seconds longer. You sneak a glance up at Ari, only to watch as his pupils dilate, his nostrils flaring just slightly. It’s enough to let you know that you’re not the only one affected.

“You think we might be able to try this again?” His deep baritone washes over you like a balm. “You have my word I’ll do a much better job of, uh, keeping myself in check.” 

Yanking your hand away, all you can do is nod. Part of you almost wished the man would go back to acting like an asshole. At least then you would know how to handle him. This so-called charming and apologetic Ari was a different beast entirely.

“I–” You swallow thickly. “Yes, that’s fine.”

“Thank you for your kindness.” His easy smile has the nerve to do funny things to the butterflies in your belly. “And while I would hate to do anything that might spoil this good will, I would like to ask you a couple of questions right now.”  

Instantly suspicious, you open your mouth to deliver a curt “no”. However, having already anticipated this, Ari is quick to amend his request by promising not to be too invasive. He also insists that he’ll follow your lead. 

“If at any moment you want to stop, we’ll stop. You have my word on that too, darlin’.” He surveys the room, absentmindedly scratching at his jaw. “You good with me ensuring we have a little privacy?” Again you nod, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible. 

Because at this point, it just didn’t make sense to kick the man out. Especially not when he seemed to be taking great pains to be respectful. You could only hope that he’d appreciate your cooperation enough to go bother someone else when you were through. 

Maybe it might be worth leading him back towards someone who’d actually appreciate his attention. Someone like your would-be frenemy, Charline Marshall. 

Seemingly encouraged by your response, the invasive bounty hunter hustles towards the door so that he could flip your sign from open to closed. And, unbeknownst to him, it also gives you a chance to begrudgingly appreciate just how good his ass looks in his Levi’s. 

Alright. So maybe you’d hold off on feeding Ari Levinson to Charline and her disciples – at least for right now.

“You know.” You cough, needing to give yourself a moment to recalibrate before you said or did something dumb. “I actually just remembered that I needed to fix a couple of things around the shop during my lunch break.”

An unruffled Ari simply smiles and winks back at you. “Thought you said you believed in your ability to multitask?”

You resist the urge to stick your tongue out at the smug bastard. Because he was right. You absolutely had said that. And then he’d had the gall to fucking listen. 

“Fine.” Shooting him a glare, you head over to the counter and toe-off your shoes. 

“Appreciate it, darlin’.” 

Just like last time, out comes his pen and tiny notebook. He flips it open to a new page before giving you his full attention. Meanwhile, you’re now hellbent on acting like he doesn’t exist. 

“How long have you owned your shop, Baubles & Quills?” 

If you were to look in his eyes at that moment, you would’ve seen them shining with genuine inquisitiveness. Almost as if he actually wanted to get to know you. 

“A few years.” You reply, bracing your hands on the flat surface of the desk. “I spent a large part of my childhood here, buried amongst books. My uncle left it to me when he passed. But I’m sure you already knew that.” 

Taking a deep breath, you send up a silent prayer to the Lord asking him not to let you fall before hefting yourself onto the counter with all the grace you can muster.  

“Maybe.” Ari concedes while jotting something down on his notepad. “But it’s different coming from – just what the hell are you doin’ woman?!”

“Checking out this light fixture.” You huff as you work to steady yourself.

“Any reason you couldn’t do that from the ground?” The bounty hunter surprises you by sounding more than a little stressed.

Confused by his response, you manage to spare a quick glance in his direction. Although your unlikely companion looks less than happy, you fail to fully grasp the nature of the problem. 

“Because I couldn’t quite tell if this whole panel was out, or just the one little section.” 

“Alright, well…” He drags an agitated hand through his already messy brown locks. “Now that you’ve seen it, how about you come on down from there?”

“Oh my goodness, Levinson.” An exasperated chuckle bubbles its way from your throat. “It’s just the counter. Save the freakout for when you find me on the flippin’ roof or something.” 

“You’re standin’ on the damned thing wearin’ nothing but socks. It’s like you’re askin’ to fall.”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic.”

“How the hell is my expressin’ concern about your safety bein’ dramatic?” 

“Next question, buddy.” You have to bite the inside of your cheek to keep from laughing at the affronted look on the bounty hunter’s gorgeous face.

Ari forces himself to take a breath before attempting to return back to the task at hand. “I have it here that your Uncle is the late Lenny Barstowe. He was, by all accounts, an upstanding pillar of this community.”

“He was.” You agree, bending down to grab the duster resting near your feet. 

“You say he was your uncle, and yet you two don’t share the same last name.” He frowns when he notices your slight wobble. 

And for the tenth time in almost as many minutes he finds himself wondering why the fuck you didn’t hire someone to take care of shit like this for you? Hell, give him a ladder and a free afternoon and he’d handle things himself.      

“Wow. Nothing gets past you.” You sniff, trying to fight back a sneeze as dust goes flying. “They teach you those observation skills in private detective school?”

“Sure did.” Ari snorts without missing a beat, tucking the pen behind his ear. “First thing on the syllabus, in fact.”    

“Thought so.” 

“So glad we cleared that up.”

You can’t stop the small thrill that courses through you when you notice the newfound tick in his jaw. If you weren’t careful, you could find yourself growing addicted to that little zing in your blood. To that tiny spike in your pulse you felt every time you two sparred.  

“But if we could go back to your uncle, I’m sure losing him had to be hard – what with him being your only family.” He takes a turn fanning himself with his notebook. ”Was your friend, Martin, there for you during that difficult time?” 

That particular question actually makes you pause and reflect. You’d been so lost in grief back then, which is part of the reason it had taken you so long to claw your way out of that dark hole. And, if memory served, you’d done that majority of that clawing on your own.

“I’m sure he was around, Mr. Levinson.” Your answer sounds cagey, even to your own ears. “But I pretty much wore my grief like a sweater back then. And if I’m being honest, those first few months after losing him were nothing but a miserable haze.”    

“I know the feeling.” He murmurs as he scribbles on the page. 

“Look.” You blow out a breath as you attempt to gauge the distance between the desk and the ground. As of this moment, you officially regretted not grabbing your step stool. “I don’t know where Martin is or who he’s running from. All I know is that he was scared, but he refused to tell me anything more, okay?”

“Did he ask you for money?”

“Yes.” 

He’d also called you too. And while you choose to keep that little detail to yourself, you figure there was no harm in telling him about the money. At the time you’d had no idea you were potentially aiding and abetting a criminal. Or maybe you just hadn’t wanted to believe it.

“And did you give it to him?” The intense look in his beautiful blue eyes has you suddenly feeling foolish.  

“Yes.” 

It’s that one word, spoken barely above a whisper, that leaves Ari shaking his head. His gaze drops to the ground as he works to rein-in his temper. You have no idea what a struggle it is for him to do so – because he’s not upset with you. 

If anything, you’d just given him one more reason to run that slippery motherfucker into the goddamned ground. 

“How much did he get you for?” Even though Ari has calmed himself considerably, his tone still comes off harsher than he intends. 

“Almost $500.” You tell him, your face hot with embarrassment. “I suppose I should’ve asked more questions. You probably think I’m an idiot for –”

“It’s okay, darlin’.” He swiftly interjects, not wanting you to get upset. “You’re doin’ so great bein’ honest with me right now.” Unsure of what else to do, he tosses his notebook aside in favor of reaching for your hand. “I know this shit ain’t easy.”  

“I think I’m done for now.” You tell him, doing your best to avoid looking at your now joined hands. God, he really needed to stop doing that. “Please.”

“Okay.” He readily agrees as his thumb strokes along the ridge of your knuckles. “Then we’re done.” You watch his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he swallows. “Are you gonna let me help you down off the counter before you kick me out?”

“It’s okay. Don’t want you to hurt yourself.” You mumble as you busy yourself with trying to figure out the easiest way to sit and scootch your way out of your current situation.

The last thing you needed was this man accidentally throwing out his back over some misplaced chivalry. 

To his credit, Ari decides to ignore your feeble protests. “C’mon and let me help you.” He repeats, gesturing for you to step towards the edge of the counter so that he can grab you by the waist. “And then I’ll be on my way.”

“Really, I’m fine.” You attempt to swat at his hands, which doesn’t actually work.

“C’mon, darlin’.” He assures you gently. “Just trust me.” The next thing you know, you’re suddenly being lifted into the air. “I got you.”

“Ack – I’m too heavy!” You squeal, immediately caught off guard by the way your legs briefly dangle in the air. Try as you might, you honestly could not remember the last time a man had picked you up. 

Your heart speeds up as he effortlessly sets you down on your feet, allowing your body to slide down the solid wall of his chest. Instinctively, your hands fly to his biceps in an effort to steady yourself. 

“Thank you.” You’re suddenly having a hard time breathing around this man. “But you really shouldn’t have done that. You could’ve hurt –”

“Sweetheart, you ain’t nothin’ but a feather.” Ari rumbles, his hands still resting firmly on your hips. 

“Somehow I doubt that.” You whisper, knowing that you should demand that he let you go. Except your body is too busy buzzing to actually cooperate. 

“Happy to prove you wrong any time.” While you suspect that he hadn’t really meant to say that, his smile is full of promise. “But right now, I’m afraid I’ve gotta head out.” Although it still takes another second for him to release you. 

Not that you’re complaining any. Which deep down you know could spell trouble for you. 

Before he leaves, however, Ari reaches into the front pocket of his jeans to hand you what looks a lot like a business card. “What’s this?” You mentally smack yourself in the forehead the moment the question leaves your mouth. 

“My card.” He responds as he now heads toward the door. “That’s my cell, just in case you need it.”

“Oh.”

“Call any time, day or night.” Ari’s gruff, no-nonsense tone goes straight to your core. “You remember somethin’ about Martin? Call me. You lookin’ for someone to stand guard while you lock up at night? Call me. You need to hear a friendly voice in the dark? Fucking call me.” 

His offer takes you by surprise. So much so, that you’re temporarily rendered speechless as you clutch the stiff piece of paper in your palm. While you weren’t sure if you’d ever take him up on his offer, you could certainly appreciate his generosity. 

“Thank you.” You rasp, your teeth going to nibble at your bottom lip.

“Any time, Duchess.” His head dips politely as he exits through the front door. “I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

And just like that he was gone, which meant you could finally breathe normally again. Strange butterflies once again fill your belly as you take your time examining the card your bounty hunter had left behind. While you weren’t sure if you’d ever call him, you decide it’s worth tucking into a zippered pocket in your purse before getting on with the rest of your day. 

Little did you know that you would come to need that tiny piece of paper sooner rather than later…  

END

Sweet Renegade Series Tag List

@katymae12344

@identity2212

@hisredheadedgoddess28

@blackhawkfanatic

@jamneuromain

@queerqueenlynn

@pono-pura-vida

@daykrisr999

@jamneuromain

@ninacutebee16

@whiskeytangofoxtrot555

@emerald-writes

@gh0stgurl

[trevorsgodmother]

𝓦𝓲𝓼𝓱 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓬𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓫𝓮 𝓶𝓮… (C.S 🌧)

A/N: This fic is based off the Fratboy!Chris x Shy!Reader AU, made by @sturnioz I'll also be using Kitty and Matt's relationship. Based off this ask

Warnings: Swearing, jealousy, suggestive, lowkey degrading (not sexual tho), toxic!Chris POV: Second/ third person Summary: Kitty is about to go on a date with her boyfriend, while you're stuck doing homework...

Kitty bursts into your room, still putting an earring through her lobe piercing. She looks more done up than usual, in a black knee-length dress, stilettos and dark red lipstick. Her eyes flick from you at your vanity to Chris on your bed. "Hey Y/N, I'm going on a date day with Matt, and probably will be back around 7. You'll be ok?" I raise an eyebrow, and Chris speaks up. "Damn, a date for the whole day? He's whipped." Her eyes narrow at him, and you intervene to prevent the two from having their 50th argument of the week.

"Where are you guys going?" You ask. "Well, first we'll head to a beachside restaurant, then we're watching a movie in a drive-in theatre." Chris snorts. You smile, but your chest feels heavy... "That sounds really fun!" "Yea, and completely cringe" Chris adds, rolling his eyes. Kitty shoots him a glare, but her frown disappears as a car beeps outside. You notice the smile creeping onto her face, the joy in her eyes, and wonder. How it would feel like to go on a date with Chris, be romantic, do couple-y stuff... but there's no way he'd ever want to

After Kitty leaves, you get up and stretch. Chris smirks. "Now that we're all alone..." HIs voice is low with a suggestive lilt to it. He leans against the headboard casually, his arms crossed behind his head. Normally, you'd be more than happy. Just to be close for a little longer. But your best friend's date, no matter how excited for her you are, left your spirits dampened. "Actually, i was hoping to catch up on some homework..."

His face immediately drops, and he sits up while looking pretty annoyed. "Seriously? Homework? We have the entire house to ourselves, multiple hours, and you want to be a little nerd and fuckin’ study?" His words sting. You know he's just frustrated and horny, you tell yourself it's not your fault. But as soon as Chris gets up and storms outside, slamming the door shut behind him, memories of Kitty and Matt being the perfect couple flash through your mind.

You sit down at your desk, and the tears start. They drip onto your long-forgotten homework as you just wonder, for the second time in an hour, of Chris being the textbook boyfriend, going on little dates, cuddling in bed, and not leaving angrily if you want to study. Instead, he would sit with you, helping you out even if he doesn’t know anything, or maybe just sitting there with anything other than lust or passiveness in his eyes. Maybe care, maybe love. Those were big maybes, but as your sobs worsen, you can’t help but yearn for something from him.

But you knew. Even through all the wishful thinking, you knew. It wasn’t possible. Chris didn’t do relationships, and you knew what you were getting into as soon as you became his hook up buddy. Just a body, something for him to use when he was hard, or annoyed, or just plain bored.

You knew. But regardless, you still stayed. You still hoped. And that was your fault if you got hurt.

You knew.

Taglist: @hearts4werka @m00nl1ghts1vt @stvrnzcherries @spaghetti835928383 @pvssychicken Dividers by @issysh3ll and @bernardsbendystraws <3

-Ropitipop 👁👅👁

☞ Masterlist

[navi-in-disguise]

The sticky hand incident.

I hope you guys find this as funny as I did, I'd love to hear recommendations for the future too!

. ' . ' . ' . ' . ' . ' . ' . ' . ' . ' . ' . ' . ' . ' . ' . ' . ' . ' .

You knew it was a bad idea, of course it was.

Messing with the Deja Blue team overall, was stupid and reckless. And yet here you were about to pull off the dumbest thing you could have ever even thought of.

You had been cleaning in your dorm a few days back, and you had come across a little box of goodies you had brought with you from earth. They were all silly little arcade trinkets, a few cheap plastic dinos, those little parachute guys that always got tangled up or broke, and a half a dozen of different colored, and sized, sticky hands. The remnants of the going away party your friends had thrown for you before you had been deployed as a biological scientist to help with awakening and caring for recoms here on pandora.

Of course once you found the little goody box, you had become too distracted to finish your cleaning and organizing, which admittedly you had barely done any of. You instead took time to clear a small spot on your shelf to set the little toys down, before gently grabbing one of the larger, pink sticky hands, still in its plastic case, and dear god did chaos ensue.

Over the next few days you had done nothing more but annoy the hell out of your colleagues, using the sticky hand to swipe papers from their desks, knocking over coffee cups, and the dull thud of the sticky silicone echoing around the room. Even now you sat in the mess hall with your scientist buddies, casually eating with your dominant hand, your other hand carefully squishing the pink sticky hand between your fingers. The bland mush of the RDA’s food was eaten without much complaint, and soft laughs echoed from the table. Half way across the room sat the recoms tables, the tables raised higher to accommodate the larger Na’vi forms of the resurrected soldiers.

They knew you, barely, but they still knew you, you had been one of the first faces they had seen when their new bodies had been awakened. You had also been kind enough to let them gain their bearings a little better before you had started shining lights in their eyes, and snapping your fingers by their ears.

Most of the Deja Blue team spoke about you, some were more.. Crude than others. Especially corporal Wainfleet. There was just something about you that really seemed to draw him in, and he spent his time trying to get to know you better, especially because you were technically the groups doctor, but nothing had been successful as of yet. You would only smile and nod at his flirting words before you would always go back to your work. Always crowded around by the other scientists he considered dull and useless.

Even now, as you sat there zoning out, Lyle couldn't help but shoot you glances, admiring the way your eyelashes framed your beautiful eyes, or the way you slowly chewed your food as you stared at nothing in particular. Of course Mansk would notice and elbow at him, making him roll his eyes and turn back to focus at his slightly different diet before him, his back now facing you once more. 

Ruby, a fellow scientist, and avatar user noticed Lyles' glance, and she smirked, looking back at you as you silently ate, still messing with the sticky hand between your fingers, and a dark look passed over her face. 

“(Y/N)..” Her speaking your name immediately snapped you out of your daze, and you hum in acknowledgement as you take another bite of your mushy peas. “(Y/N) i have a dare for you, if you do it, I’ll pay you fifty bucks.. If you don't, you owe me fifty, deal?” You couldn't help the way your eyes narrowed at the challenge, Ruby, and her close friend Kleine had a painful habit of pulling pranks, and getting in loads of trouble around the base.

“What's the dare..?” You questioned cautiously, and she shook her head, immediately shutting down the questions. “No, (Y/N), You know it doesn't work like that here, accept it or reject it, then I’ll tell you what I have in mind.”

You can't help but groan, wondering what you could possibly be getting yourself into, and Ruby snickered, taking a sip of her drink. “What? Too much of a pussy? If you don't think you can do it just hand over the fifty now and we’ll be fine yea?” With a quick shake of your head and a scoff, you fold your arms, your heart beginning to pump at the excitement of the secret. “Absolutely not Ruby, I accept your dare, what could you possibly have me do?”

Ruby’s eyes lit up as she leaned over the table, her soft brown eyes darting over to Lyles form, his back still facing your table. “Now we’re talking, ok listen close..” You leaned in to meet her gaze closely. “I want you to hit Lyles bald fucking head with your precious sticky hand, and dont say you cant, we’ve all seen your aim with that damn thing. Just one, solid hit.. Think you can manage..?”

Your eyes immediately widened as your eyes shot over to the Recom table, almost making eye contact with Z-Dog, and she seemed curious about whatever conversation the two of you could be having, but she quickly went back to minding her own business. “Ruby!” you hissed, making her chuckle. “Do you know how bad of an idea that is? If Lyle doesn’t get his hands on me, Quaritch fucking will! I don't want to run laps with Kleine again..”

With a roll of her eyes, Ruby held out her hand, sighing. “Pay up then princess..” You groaned again as you slowly stood up. “No.. no you know what.. I'm faster than them anyways, just watch Ruby, you’re gonna pay ME fifty, and an ice cream.” Ruby didn’t argue, elbowing the scientist next to her as you adjusted the grip on your sticky hand, and slowly began approaching the recom table.

You were small compared to the Na’vi bodied soldiers, so they really didn’t pay you much mind as you approached Lyle from behind. You could feel your heart in your throat, stomach heavy in anxiety at the stupid stunt you were about to pull. Z-Dog only looked up, barely seeing you reel your arm back, and you glancing back at Ruby's predatory smile, before there was a sharp-

 THWAP!

The sound echoed through the mess hall like a bullet, and all forms of conversation immediately went silent as wide eyes stared upon your form, arm slung forwards, and the bright pink stretchy hand pulled taught in a leading trail to the hand pressed against Lyles head, sticking to the bald dome of his head. 

The entirety of the Deja Blue team looked absolutely shocked, Quaritchs eyes wide, and Lopez holding back laughs. But you didn’t notice them, because Lyle was slowly turning to face you, with a downright stunned expression, and you felt antsy. You knew you had to run, like, right now, and you dropped your end of the sticky hand, watching as the offending pink toy snapped back towards him, and hit him in the face, making him jump, and soon he was leaping to his feet with a loud growl that rumbled through the air, tripping over his own feet as he struggled to escape the middle of the bench, falling to his knees as his foot caught caught on the bench. 

That seemed to snap you out of your own freeze response, and you shrieked as you began running as fast as your little legs would carry, hearing as Lyle took a deep breath from the mask around his neck, and began chasing you. “(Y/N) get your ass back here!” was his snarled response as his own feet thundered after you, leaving the entire mess hall with the image of Lyle, pink sticky hand hanging from the back of his head, chasing after your retreating form as you screamed in panic, “Wait! Lemme tell you something! Let me tell you something!! WAIT!”

[inkdemonapologist]

Thoughts on the BatIM books not being canon?

Originally typed up an answer based on the one TheMeatly tweet about creators being given “freedom to make things their own” when telling stories in their world, and that the games decide the canon. I thought that “the books aren’t canon” would be a bit of a reductive takeaway from that – like, I read it as the idea that the books don’t determine the canon, and aren’t beholden to some grand future plan to make sure they fit with the games, so they aren’t a trustworthy predictor of what’s going on in the games and in the case of contradictions, the games win. Like, the books can’t be counted on for theorycrafting, but that doesn’t mean Buddy or Abby are “noncanon” Bendy characters – just that they’ll never intersect with the games. But recently Mike Mood tweeted that “if it’s in a book, it’s not canon” pretty directly, so I guess Adrienne has just been writing a Bendy AU all this time??? Lmao.

I still think this is sort of not surprising after BatDR. Before BatDR actually came out, I was advocating pretty enthusiastically for little references to book characters – I know this was sort of controversial at the time, because people were worried about the idea of making the books “required reading” and references you don’t get if you don’t READ UP ON THE LORE – but I don’t think this would be necessary. If you give Dot an audiolog that’s like “I may just be an intern here in the writing department, but even I can tell there’s something fishy going on. I’ve got to investigate. Wally’s always losing his keys in [hint for the player], I bet I can find them” then if you’ve never read the books, that audiolog tells you everything you need to know, isn’t tangled up in any Book Lore, introduces the character as if she’s new, while also being a fun chance for the book readers to be like YOOOO MY GIRL IS HERE. Even just a schedule that says Joey has a meeting with Abby Lambert, or Ms. Lambert’s name on a desk somewhere in the art department, or a couple of animation cells on desks with characters from Crack-Up Comics, would be a fun wink to the book readers EVEN IF you want the canon to not be tied up with the books. Heck, you’ve got the non-audio-log memos in this game, you wouldn’t even have to give book characters a canon voice.

But, when BatDR had NOT ONLY no acknowledgement of the books, but also….didn’t even seem to be going in the same direction? I think the writing was sort of on the wall --

-- the people writing the games aren’t taking the books into account and the books aren’t going to be referenced here. The only question was whether the books were written with the plans of the games in mind and… I’m gonna be real. The idea that the Bendy franchise doesn’t really have Plans as such and so the books are just guessing and theorising, but the games reserve the right to go off in a completely different direction if they want to is, uh, not that surprising either. Bendy and the Ink Machine has never really seemed like a thing that had a grand plan, to me, it was just fun to pretend that it did – and then when the books were actually GOOD, it sold the idea of trying to puzzle that world together even more.

So there’s a cynical part of me that’s annoyed about this being mentioned now, you know, after 3-4 different books have been purchased by fans who were interested in learning some lore while waiting for BatDR, and now that BatDR’s out it’s like “oh, well, we’ve never felt this was CANON canon” when before it wasn’t really sold that way. If this has “always” been true, then all the “is Joey gay” questions could’ve been so easily dodged by admitting that the books were doing their own take rather than determining canon, but that fans are free to accept that interpretation. Adrienne answered one AMA question about what would become of Dot in a way that implied she didn’t know, as if she’d created this character who now existed in the world and it was up to the creators of that world to determine her fate. All of this combined with that one clarifying tweet about how EVERYTHING IN THE ORIGINAL BATIM IS STILL CANON before BatDR’s release creates the picture of intentionally selling on original BatIM’s love of theorycrafting and lore-collecting because that’s what would keep fans engaged. Either they were carefully Not Mentioning that the books aren’t canon during a time when they needed the books to sell, or the decision to treat books as “noncanon” is more recent than TheMeatly claims.

But despite my complaining, I do think this is like… wise. BatDR makes it clear that writing a Mystery With Deep Lore isn’t really what they want to do with this franchise now, if it ever was, and so now that BatDR has done reasonably well they can go ahead and admit it. If they want to be able to just hand a comic project to some comics people and not have to collaboratively run every design through their own art department to make sure it’s one they’d be willing to use in the games if that character ever appears, then it’s nice to go ahead and tell fans point blank that these designs are an interpretation by a third party, not The Canon, and should be treated as such. I think it’s not a bad way to run things, to give these other creators freedom to do their own thing with the material.

But, well, as for me and my feelings… I liked the books. I got into this franchise backwards, from a fansong and fanfiction that made me care about characters from a game I’d neither played nor watched, and then finding the concept of Sammy’s ink addiction in DCTL compelling even if I’d only heard bad things about DCTL at the time – I started writing Taste of Ink in hopes of getting this out of my system so I could move on, haha. And then Illusion Of Living came out, this incredible picture of everything I wanted from the franchise, and unfortunately nothing else has ever quite measured up. Maybe that makes sense; a lot of Bendy fans had a hard time getting through TIOL. I think I wanted a different franchise all along, and back when there wasn’t any new content in the True Game Canon, it was easier to play out the thing I wanted in the leftover ruins of this one. But then the original creators came to restore those ruins, and it was a cool thing they built, but it wasn’t anything like the ruins I’d had so much fun in anymore. I’m… genuinely proud of how much I contributed to this fandom, and so thrilled that people have enjoyed what I made here. If you weren’t following me a couple of years ago I really do recommend looking back through my blog because I made A LOT OF CONTENT………. Early on I got an ask of “does ur back hurt from carrying the entire bendy fandom,” which obviously I couldn’t post because there were definitely other creators carrying it with me, but tbh there were very few of us back when I fell face-first into this obsession and I have to admit that ask gives me some warm fuzzies to this day, haha. Like, there was a little stretch of time when the version of BatIM that I imagined helped to keep the fandom afloat! But it, like the books, was never the direction that the franchise was going to go. The BatIM I loved was was collectively dreamed into existence by people who found that game’s premise compelling.

I still love Bendy. I don’t think I ever will stop. This franchise made such a huge impact on me for reasons that are still KIND OF MYSTERIOUS LMAO. I still care a LOT about this world and these characters, but I don’t know if I’ll make much more canon-adjacent fanstuff here. Cthulhu AU is giving me the human batim content I crave and several of the AUs I’m involved in have sort of become their own thing. Maybe someday I’ll figure out how to capture whatever it was in BatIM that took over my brain so intensely for more than 3 years, but I don’t know if I’ll find it in the franchise anymore.

[listentothelittlebird]

hermit a day #1: Impulse

I happened to have this in my backburner! I may not keep up with the month but it feels fun to post it and try:

-

The day starts just after sunrise, for Impulse. With his breakfast in hand, rubbing sleep from his eyes, trudging down the street towards his second home, the theater. 

It’s early enough in the morning that the building is still quiet, slumbering like the nocturnal beast it is. Impulse’s boots make echoes along the corridor once he’s past the side door, a familiar tune that has long lost its eeriness. 

At the end of the corridor is a wooden door, chipped and flaking at the edges, marked with names new and old. When Impulse unlocks the door and nudges it open with his foot, it squeaks on its hinges like an indignant mouse. He flicks the wall switches, old reliables that are shaped like little levers and each give a satisfying click that delights Impulse to no end.

Without waiting, he strolls into the darkness, the room flooding with warm light just before he bumps into a misplaced chair. The fans whirr into motion, and Impulse sets down his travel mug of coffee and gets to work with tidying up the sound booth.

A deck of cards has been left in a haphazard stack at the side of the table, precariously close to scattering across the floor. A black tie is curled underneath the table, which Impulse dusts off and hangs on a chair as he shuffles papers back into place, finds the cards’ box to slide them into, and erases the big red numbering on the whiteboard. 

“Days Since A Life Series Improv” bumps up a number, and “Days Since Mumbo Forgot His Tie” returns to a big zero. Impulse adds a smiley face in the middle. 

After last night’s mess is dealt with, Impulse ducks under the desk pushed against the wall and jabs at the console’s power switch. The machinery takes its time to wake up, which gives Impulse time to slump into a chair and savor his coffee. 

Behind him, the door’s creaking announces the next person’s arrival.

“Good morning!” Tango’s greeting is muffled by the donut caught between his teeth. Another kick to the door shuts it as Tango heaves two bags onto the table, both nearly overflowing with the clothes bundled inside. 

“Good morning,” Impulse greets belatedly, after making sure the bags are not about to topple over. “Is it time for clothes fitting already?” 

“Eh, not really.” Tango takes a moment to snicker at Mumbo’s forgotten tie before he continues. “Cleo just asked me to pick the clothes up from the dry-cleaning service. She’s buying some new fabrics for Scar, I think.”

“Probably just an excuse to make the troupe fund another clothing experiment.” Not that she’s the only one exploiting the company funds. Impulse still marvels at how Doc managed to call his cyborg outfit a business expense. 

“Any idea what the plan is for today?” Impulse clicks open their chat group as he speaks, scrolling his unread messages. Just chatter from the night before, a running tally of the late night card game’s wins and losses. “Grian’s not pulling another surprise Life Series, is he?”

“Nope, nuh-uh. None that I know of.” 

Tango checks his phone and abruptly brightens. “Hang on a minute, someone’s locked themselves out again.”

“But we just came in?” Impulse calls after Tango’s retreating back, confused. He shakes his head with a sigh. It’s probably just Gem asking for Tango’s help to unload her car. 

With that in mind, he doesn’t even bother to turn around when the door opens. “Did you bring an entire army with you, Gem?”

“Something like that,” Gem pipes up gleefully. 

Impulse nearly jumps out of his seat when hands suddenly smack themselves onto his shoulders, coupled with the joltingly loud greeting of a voice he was not expecting.

“Skizz?” Impulse swivels around, beaming when he is met with his friend. “Skizz!”

“What’s up, buddy!” Skizz wrestles Impulse into a hug, and adds in a gleeful tone, “Guess whose job just based him in the city?”

[chiiyuuvv]

970 • TAGLIST — @eun-luv , @soul-is-a-strange-kid , @yuniniverse

Based on a true story!! But erm.. i met a cute girl that was younger than me, no love interest involved irl haha

Thinking about..

Annual bring your child to work day, the countless parents in your mothers job forcing their kids to come with them for the day, accompanied they didnt have any exams

Although you weren't exactly thrilled, you tried to have a positive attitude, greeting each of your mothers co-workers with a smile although youve never seen them before

Your mother makes you sit next to her near her desk, and you can feel your positivity shrink by the minute, sinking into your chair with your arms crossed, boredom invading your being

She notices and decides to send you off with the other kids in a vacant meeting room, ushering to take your bags and meet some new, potential friends

And your positivity comes back! Marching to the little meeting room on the other side of the elevator with such pride, stopping at the vending machine to get a little snack to share with your buddy

You open the door, expecting a little huddle of teenagers when youre only met with one, sitting in the back corner with his chin prompted up by his hand

He seemed bored before, but when the door opens his head slowly turns, his eyes widening and sparkling and a wide grin stretched onto his face

Youre still standing in the doorway so you awkwardly step in the small room, closing the door timidly

Although you felt like energy could burst through your heart, you felt nervous, giving the boy a small smile as he sends back his signature eye smile, inching towards your flushed figure to stick out his hand

He introduces himself. His name was shotaro, hes pretty sure your parents know each other and might even be friends, and hes super excided to meet you.

An unfamiliar feeling pings your heart as you find him enduring; the way he never breaks eye contact, the smile thats covering his face, one of his hands twiddling the bottom of his shirt while the other one rubs your soft skin. You wanted to put him in your pocket and run away

After introducing yourself, you feel a faint mutter on how pretty you were, your ears stinging red as you try to bite back your smile

After getting lost in each others eyes, he gives a shy smile, scratching the back of his neck before sitting you down at the meeting table, joking on how this was an interview for a new job, and you had to tell him 10 things about yourself

Despite feeling a little childish, you love his sense of humor and how he thinks, talking about some of your interests, like dogs, for example

He almosts falls back into his chair when he hears that, his mouth moving faster than his brain as he rambles about how much he loves dogs, joking on how he is one himself

He jokes around some more, talking about how you've been accepted to the job, the only thing you need to do is give him your number and you'll be starting tomorrow

Wait what?

His eyes widen at what he just said, multiple apologizes leaving his mouth and how you didnt have to give it to him, but its too late, you already took your phone out of your back pocket. How could you turn down the cute boy?

Now its his turn to be flushed, holding back his smile and suddenly getting quieter, just hoping you didnt hear his loud heartbeat, or didnt notice the blood rushing up to the tips of his ears and some painted his cheeks

The door opens again revealing one of the workers, asking the two of you to set up the table so everyone can come to eat some pizza before continuing with their work

And boy did shotaro take that seriously, shooing your hands away since the fork wasnt on the right side, or how the chair wasnt pushed in all the way

But its all lighthearted, small 'yah's leaving his lips because you were messing up the plates on purpose

He almost chases you with a plastic spoon

After setting up the plates and joking on how this was a tea party, you sit back in your seats, learning more and more about yourselves as the tired employees make their way into the small room

The pizzas here and you all make your plates, deciding to sit next to each other as you eat

But as your eating, you could feel shotaros eyes on you, so you turn your head, shotaros quickly whipping to the other side of the room as he takes a bite out of his salad, his red ears giving him away

And you feel your heart flutter, a shy giggle leaving your lips at how cute he was

The rest of the meal finishes smoothly, tossing your plates in the trash while finishing your previous conversation, when your mother announces that youre leaving early

You watch as shotaros smile drop, giving him a guilty glance as you drink the rest of your soda

You can tell hes disappointed youre leaving, but tries to shake it off, opening his arms to welcome you in a hug goodbye

Wait what?

Before he can retreat, youre running to his figure, your arms around his neck and his circling your waist, rocking you back and forth as you stay in his warm embrace

Your head lifts up from his chest only to be inches away from his face, his staggered breath fanning your lips as you stare for a while, lost in each others eyes again

Your mother snaps you out of your trance, shotaro quickly letting go of you as he gives you a wave, his face redder than a tomato with a growing smile

Your mother teases you on the way back home ♡

[defire]

Ghost of Seattle Chapter 48

Previous

Content: gang war, guns, killing, reverse used-as-bait situation

"I miss barbecues..." "We have a stove." "It's not the same."

Buddy stared out into the snow, but it was getting so dark, she couldn’t make out the bridge very well.

Amherst saw Ghost's signal first. He waved at Buddy, motioning her to go ahead.

Chest tight, Buddy led her group forward, gripping her pistol hard.

Her group was about thirty, and they fanned out to take small buildings around a car-ridden crossroads.

"Behind us!" Someone shrieked. A Guard sentry.

Instead of turning to fight, the Guards ran straight toward the Shiver barricade.

Gunshot started up on the opposite side of the road as the Guards rammed up their force against it.

Buddy hollered, 

"Go! Get em!" 

And ran forward with her pistol ready to use clubbed. She had to keep some bullets for saving Ghost later.

That might've been a mistake.

"Now! Full face!" Guards turned 180 degrees in an organized rank and opened fire on Buddy's group. 

She cursed and crouched down behind a trailer.

She saw her slower people getting shot down. She adjusted her grip on her pistol.

Guard marched up right through the dropped Shivers. A guy saw her hiding and swung up his rifle. She knocked it sideways, aimed and fired at his gut. She always closed her eyes last-second, but she still hit.

She got up to her feet since she'd been made anyway, and swung on the nearest guy. The Guards surrounded her, while Shivers crouched at the ready for the tide to turn. 

Boom. The Guard to her right fell. Boom. Another one. It was the .54 that Amherst's best friend used. Amherst's people had gotten in place.

All near the hotel where they were supposed to hide, gunshots popped out. With excited cries, Shivers jumped out of the shadows, many leaving black blood spots on the damp snow. Still energetic, somehow. 

Buddy got a hard knock in the back of the head and spun around, slamming her pistol into the head area. She was closing her eyes as it hit.

"Come on!" She yelled to her people, striding away from the battle. She turned and swung her gun around behind her, and shot the closest guy in the chest. Then she retreated.

Another wave of gunfire crackled out from the second story, dropping the Guards fast. They hesitated as they were picked off, reduced to a half of their force now. Screaming and firing randomly. 

"Take cover!" Someone yelled.

Eagerly the Guards dropped to hide between cars.

Buddy and 18 Shivers made it into the lobby, gasping in pain, and laughing.

Amherst had their backs. 

Shivers high-fived each other, jostled Buddy in a friendly way.

Guards were trapped between Shivers on all sides.

Good. Now to wait for the order to stop the attack, once Merc called them off. He should call the Guards off once he thought he was getting his precious son back.

Then Buddy and her crew would fuckin raid that base, get Ghost plus some revenge, hopefully, and fuck off.

Buddy snapped back with a stinging on her arm.

"Shit," She said. It dripped blood.

She rooted around in the front-desk's drawer. Papers, files, a deep one--some cloths, and something cobwebby--she cursed "shit!" And yanked back, hitting her elbow on a cabinet.

"Fuck. The fuck was that."

She squinted, but saw nothing. 

She reached back in and gently felt at it. She pulled out a couple cloths, then the soft thing. 

It was a delicate scarf. She tucked it around her neck. It was warm and soft, like a faraway home you can never have again.

"Fuck yeah."

Tag list: @joyjoygorl @cepheusgalaxy @little-rat-dragon @turtlesnap1

Let me know if you want to be tagged!

Kindle book: Masterpost: Next:

[abbatoirablaze]

NCIS Origins, Chapter 4

Word Count: 1.6k

Warnings:  some angst, mentions of death

“you can’t keep dodging Tish,” Franks said with a shake of his head, “hell, everyone on the team breaks bread with us.”

“I’m not dodging ya, I swear!” he chuckled, looking to his boss, “getting Maddison settled in isn’t easy.”

“Well, bring her along,” he shrugged, “I like the kid.”

“Yeah, she likes you too, Franks,” Gibbs chuckled, shaking his head, “she’s been asking about when she gets to come to the office again, and if she can sit at your desk and help out on cases.”

“Bring her in,” he shrugged once more, “if we have to go out we can have Mary Jo watch her…make the little thing be a secretary in training.  She’ll have the run of the office in no time.”

“I need to get her enrolled in school!”

“There’s an elementary school on base,” he suggested, “could drop her off in the mornings before you come in.  She could walk to the office afterwards, or we could have someone meet her if you’re unsure of letting her walk alone.”

Gibbs stopped and looked at his boss.

He was all too used to the gruff, older man being off-putting or vulgar, but he seemed to talk about his daughter with tenderness. 

“You really don’t mind?”

“It ain’t like you got anyone else, probie!” he pointed out. 

Gibbs bit his lip, “she won’t be any trouble if I bring her?  Wheeler won’t care?”

“Let me deal with Wheeler if he starts asking questions,” He shook his head, “you’re daughter ain’t a problem, probie.”  

“She was good with Mildred after she got the composite for us.” He noted, “I think that she might be the first real friend she’s made since…”

“Think that little girl might have liked your daughter more than me, and vice versa.  Made me kind of sad to think I’m not her favorite person anymore,” he chuckled as he pulled a cigarette from his shirt, “glad we got her back safe and sound to her father though.  And good to know Maddison wants to be my little office buddy.”

“Yeah…”

“A girl needs her father,” Franks puffed as he lit up and inhaled, “can live without damn near anyone else in this world, but a girls’ father…they mean the world to her.”

Gibbs smiled as he looked down at his daughter.  Her soft strawberry hair was brushed and held in place with a green headband, and she had a matching green and white plaid dress on which she kept smoothing down.

“Do I look okay, daddy?” she asked nervously, looking up to him, “I really wanna look nice for Mr. Mikey and Miss. Tish.”

“Of course you do, princess!” he smiled.  His emotions overcame him as her baby blues looked deep into his own, and he thought about just how much she looked like Shannon.  He put a hand on her back and gently moved her forward, “You wanna knock?”

She grinned, taking two large steps so that she was knocking on the door. 

Gibbs shifted uncomfortably on his feet as the screen door shimmied when the front door opened.  He took a step back and Maddison smiled widely at the man at the door with a drink in his hand.

“MR. MIKEY!” she squealed. 

The gruff man lit up and his laugh echoed through the living room, “I can’t believe my damn eyes…was this your doing Miss. Maddison?”

“We came just like you said!”

“That you did,” he smirked, opening the screen door to allow the father and daughter in.  Maddison ran into the house and giggled as she wrapped her arms around his legs, “hey there sweetheart!  I didn’t expect you and your daddy to actually show up…figured he’d weasel his way out of it!”

“Not a chance, Mr. Mikey!” she smiled.  He patted her back softly and Maddison re-joined her father when he came into the house. 

“Tish!” he offered, holding out the flowers to Franks’ significant other.

She seemed genuinely taken back as she accepted them, “you’re so sweet.  Thank you.”

“I helped pick them out!” Maddison smiled as she leaned into her father’s side.

“Did you?” she asked happily.  The little girl nodded and she gave Franks a soft look.  Maddison squealed as a dog rounded the corner and she immediately dropped to her knees to meet him.

“YOU HAVE A PUPPY?”

“Hey, Gary!” he smiled, patting the dog while he happily sniffed the visitors.  Maddison giggled in excitement as she wrapped her arms around the dog.

“He’s so pretty.  And fluffy!” Franks joined Maddison on the floor and the dog happily accepted the extra attention, “is he your puppy?”

“Gary here is actually a special agent at the NIS,” Franks informed her as he pet the dog, “he isn’t really my dog, but-“

“Gary is sleeping over!” Tish added in.

Maddison’s eyes went wide, and she looked to her father, “daddy, can we have Gary sleep over at our apartment next?”

Franks chuckled, “aww sweetie, he’s just here because he was one of my old partners.  Gary here is an old dog.  But he helped us on our case so they let me take him home for the night.”

She sighed and leaned against the dog, pressing a kiss to his snout, “thank you Mr. Gary for helping daddy and Mr. Mikey out!”

The dog panted happily licking her face. 

“Tell you what, probie…since you actually showed, I’ll let you split Gary’s steak.  Hope you like em rare!”

“What about me, Mr. Mikey?”

“Oh, honey, you get your own steak all to yourself!” he smiled, standing up, “come on in.  Let’s get you two settled.”

“Okay!” Maddison sighed happily.  Franks closed the front door and helped Maddison up, “thank you Mr. Mikey!”

“Of course, sweetheart,” he smiled.  She reached up and took his hand in her own, “what’ya say, sweetheart…wanna help me cook the steaks while your daddy and Tish set the table up!”

“YEAH!”

“Good girl!”

Gibbs looked at his daughter while Tish and Franks talked, going over the memories of past team members breaking bread with them.  He lifted his beer from the coffee table and took a sip. 

“She’s such a sweet girl.” Tish commented, looking at the tuckered-out child, “how old is she again?”

“Eight,” Franks answered dreamily, as he watched the little girl snuggled up with Gary, who was also sleeping on the living room floor, “Maddison is eight, but she should be nine in a few months, right probie”

Tish rubbed his back soothingly, knowing just how much he cared about the little girl he’d known for the last nine months.  In the short amount of time that he’d known her, he treated her almost as though she were his own. 

“About three…” Gibbs admitted, “I don’t know what I’m going to do for her for her birthday…my dad mentioned it the other day and she said she didn’t wanna do nothing…and I can’t say I blame her…”

“She doesn’t want to celebrate?” Tish asked.

“No,” he frowned, “she uh-when she told me and my dad she said that she doesn’t wanna lose anyone else…I think she’s afraid that if she celebrates her birthday again she’ll lose someone…and…well…I’m kind of the only one left.”

Tish frowned, and a new air of silence filled the room.  Franks took a sip from his own drink and put a hand on Tish’s thigh when she went to say something.

“I’m sorry,” Gibbs frowned, realizing how tense he’d made the situation, “I-I didn’t mean to ruin the evening.  Thank you for inviting us.  It really does mean a lot to Maddison and I.”

She looked at Gibbs and put a hand on his thigh, “thank you for coming out…I know things have been difficult with getting settled into-“

“Tish…”

“No…no, it’s okay,” Gibbs frowned, “I wasn’t trying to dodge you purposefully though, I have to tell you that.  Things have been hectic since my dad left Maddison with me…”

“She’s a beautiful little girl!” she commented, “and respectful, and sweet…”

“Yeah…Shannon is the best.”

“Shannon?” Tish asked, looking to Franks, “I thought her name was Maddison?”

Gibbs felt sick to his stomach. 

It was like someone stabbed him and twisted the knife. 

Maddison was too much like Shannon in her appearance; from the red hair all the way down to how her nose twitched when she slept.  The only thing she managed to get from him was her eyes color and attitude. 

“I-yeah…yeah…” he stammered before shuddering, “Shannon is-was her mother…she’s like a carbon copy of her…I-“

“Probie…it’s okay!” Franks frowned, patting the younger man’s shoulder as he got up to get himself another drink, “you can let it out…”

He looked up at his boss in shock. 

This wasn’t the same man he worked with.

Not the same man he’d gotten drinks with afterwards at the bar.

There was something that softened him when he was around Tish and Maddison. 

“I’m scared I’m going to lose her like I lost Shannon and Kelly!” he admitted; a few tears slipping out of the corners of his eyes, “afraid that all I’ll have is a room full of her stuff after some tragedy…Kelly…Kelly and her were Irish twins…and she’s so close to being right at the age that she was when she-“

Gibbs stopped himself.

He couldn’t say the words. 

It felt like his throat was closing up with every attempt as he looked at his little girl.  But it was Franks who tapped the younger man’s leg and offered him the support he needed, “you’re not alone in this, probie…we’re here for you and we aren’t gonna let anything happen to you or your little girl.”

Chapter 5

[beerecordings]

Hey, regarding Bluegle and Eric’s little self-defense lessons—there’s a YouTuber I watch called Footless Jo, and she has a below-the-knee prosthetic, and she does jujitsu specifically without her prosthetic on, so that she can always defend herself regardless of whether her leg is cooperating. And I thought it would be kinda cool if Google did days where he trained with Eric legs-on and some days legs-off, or with different configurations of crutches or prosthetics or mobility devices, cuz ya gotta cover all your bases.

that is really cool. I suppose since Eric is missing both legs below the knee that would be self-defense from a seated position? maybe I can look into that

here's a sneak peek from later in the story since people have been interested, although I still don't know if I can finish the story:

“I'll kill you if you ever tell anyone this,” Google whispers, tucking his hair behind his ears and trying to stimulate breathing steadily. “I'll show you trepanation up close and personal.”

Ippy just laughs. His hands are warm on Google's kneeplates. “Okay,” he says. “Tell me anyway.”

He means to say something like, “I'm having a cognitive malfunction” or “my emotional processor is out of control,” or “yesterday I looked at a stupid Francisco Goya painting and decided that I hated it, that it was revolting and awful and I didn't want to see it again, and how can that be when I was made to know but never to understand?”

But what comes out is just fear.

And he says, “Edward, do you think the darkness would get rid of me if I stopped being useful?”

The clock on Iplier's desk ticks softly by. The air conditioner kicks on in the next room over and cool air filters down through the vents. The stress ball under Google's fingers has burst, and he just sits, and waits, for Iplier to speak.

He has dark eyes and a kind mouth. He's grown his beard out heavier than Mark's and he's wearing his lab coat even though there's no one to see right now but his friend.

“I don't know,” he says finally, reaching out to adjust the glasses fallen down on Google's nose.

They've never lied to each other once in their lives. Not on purpose, anyway.

“I don't know if he would throw you out.”

They sit together for a long time yet.

“But I wouldn't,” adds Iplier gently. “No, shut up, let me be here, okay? I wouldn't throw you out, Google. So you focus on figuring this out. On finding out who you want to be. And I'll be right here when you need me. Okay, buddy?”

Google sighs. “Don't call me buddy.”

Iplier ruffles his hair and makes him growl. The doctor laughs and Google manages not to smile, reaching out to shove gently at Iplier's chest, where his human heart beats fragile beneath twelve pairs of thin white ribs.

“Everything's going to be okay,” says Ippy, and Google, in an act that he knows is pure human, chooses to believe him.

[pxnsneverland]

Hellfire Lost | Eddie Munson x oc (part 4)

plot summary: Juliet Henderson has had her fair share of excitement fighting otherworldly monsters in the Upside Down with her brother, Dustin, and his friends. She's ready for her senior year to be a peaceful and pleasant time spent cheerleading and hanging out with her best friend Chrissy. However when Chrissy mysteriously turns up dead and her unlikely outcast crush Eddie Munson is suspect #1, she finds herself back in the fight along with the rest of the Upside Down squad facing their biggest threat yet. Will Juliet and everyone be able to stop dangers of the world below Hawkins and clear Eddie's name? And what happens when the monster starts targeting someone a little closer to home?

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

pairings: eddie munson x oc

word count: 2316

warnings/notes:

Chapter 4 

I drove myself, Max, and Dustin to Family Video, a video shop where you could rent vhs tapes to watch at home, after running out of the house, rejecting Mom's pleadings for us to remain at home since there was a murderer on the loose. We rushed up to the counter, where Steve Harrington and Robin Buckley were working. I'd known Steve since he was on Hawkins High's basketball team, and the previous summer I'd met Robin while working at Scoops Ahoy with both her and Steve, which led in my learning about monsters, a Russian plot, and a telepathic girl who could flip cars with her mind.

Dustin was the first to come up to the counter.  “Steve, how many phones do you have?” 

Dustin's haste caught Steve off guard. “Two, why?” 

“Technically 3 if you count Keith’s in the back,” Robin said.

“That’ll have to do.” Dustin rushed over the counter, knocking numerous tapes to the floor, triggering yelling from Robin and Steve. Max and I used the back door shortcut via the little side entrance behind the counter.

“What are you doing?!” Steve screamed.

“Setting up base of operations here.” 

“Base of what?”  Dustin sat at the computer behind the desk and started typing. Steve shook his head, frustrated. “Get off of that!” 

“No, I need it.” 

“Need it for what?” 

“I need to look up Eddie’s friends’ phone numbers.” 

Steve was wearing an odd look on his face. Was it a feeling of resentment? “Right. Your new best friend you think is cooler because he plays your nerdy game?” 

“Yes. I never said that!” 

“Girls, stop it!” By grasping Steve's sleeve, I brought his attention to myself. It was as if he had just recently become aware of my worries. It softened him. “Just let him go, Harrington.” 

“You’re encouraging this?!”

Robin started collecting the fallen tapes. “Looks, guys, normally I wouldn’t mind your antics but this is Saturday, our busiest day here.” 

Dustin totally ignored it. “Okay, Robin, I empathize but this cannot wait!”

I let go of Steve and looked at Robin, who had sensed my anxiousness. “We need to find Eddie.” 

“Why?” 

Steve placed his fists on his hips. “What the hell is going on?” 

Dustin started searching for Eddie's buddies' phone numbers.“Will you please fill them in while me and Max do this?” 

Robin joined in on the distress. “Fill us in on what?” 

I started telling him and Robin about watching Eddie and Chrissy leave together, how odd Chrissy had been behaving, Max seeing them go inside the trailer and the lights afterwards, Eddie driving away, and the news this morning. They both listened closely as the narrative proceeded, their expressions covered with fear.

“It should be case closed then. I mean Chrissy was in Eddie’s trailer and they were together,” Steve eventually said.

“Eddie didn’t kill Chrissy,” Dustin said for the umpteenth time today.

“Then who did?” Robin questioned.

“I don’t know,” Max admitted.

I backed up against the counter. “But we have to find Eddie before the cops do. The lights Max saw…the flickering and then the screaming…” Everything sounded very familiar. “I know we thought all the portals to the Upside Down were closed but…what if they weren’t?” 

After hearing it aloud, everyone realized what it meant. There was no longer any hiding in the Upside Down or in possessed bodies. Whatever it was this time was openly killing people in public. This time, there was no Eleven to stop it.

It was a full-fledged manhunt to find Eddie. We were all on the phone, calling and searching for anyone he might have come into contact with, but each call came up empty.

“This is ridiculous,” I groaned as I hung up the phone on yet another pointless call. “He couldn’t have just disappeared off the face of the earth. Someone had to have helped him.” 

“Maybe he’s just wandering around in the woods somewhere,” Robin speculated.

“With the whole police force looking for him? No, he had to have found somewhere to lay low.” 

Max turned to face us after hanging up the phone. “I think I might have found something. They say Eddie gets his drugs from some guy named Reefer Rick.” 

“Okay,” Dustin said, “So who is Reefer Rick?” 

“That’s the thing. No one knows.” 

“Where does he live?” 

“No one knows that either. He’s more of a legend than someone people actually know.”

I bit my thumb's nail. The longer we waited, the more likely it was that the cops would find Eddie before we did. And I was concerned about him. The image of him smiling at me with that nervous grin from the day before stayed with me.

“I bet the cops know who he is,” Steve suggested.

I'd never wanted to hit Steve over the head with anything more than I did right then and there. And that was saying a lot. “That’s your suggestion? Go to the cops. The cops that are hunting down Eddie for murder.”

“I mean, if this Reefer Rick is actually a drug dealer, I guarantee you he’s been busted at some point. Means he’s probably in the system. And I think, at this point, they should probably be filled in on what’s going on.”

To avoid strangling him, I lifted my hands and balled them into fists. “Out of all times, Steve, do you really have to give into the dumb jock stereotype now?!”

“You think Eddie’s guilty don’t you?” Dustin mused.

“Hey, I believe in innocent until proven guilty and all that constitutional shit.” However, the tone of his voice indicated that he believed Eddie was responsible for the crime. Maybe he wanted him to be guilty. I recall Steve being a member of the "let's pick on the freak" club in high school. “I just, you know, I don’t think we can rule it out.”

“You want Eddie to be guilty, don’t you?” I came out and said it, which surprised everyone, especially Steve, who was quick to defend himself.

“What? No. Eddie ‘the freak’ Munson? I could care less if he was guilty or not. Actually why do you seem to care so much?”

I could feel the blush on my cheeks before I could stop it, but I maintained a stern expression as if I could ignore it. Why was I so concerned? Because I had feelings for Eddie, the same part of me that had kissed him in that abandoned classroom. A part that became increasingly difficult to deny the longer we went without finding Eddie. But I couldn't bring myself to admit it. Not in front of Steve, who would relentlessly tease me about it, or in front of Dustin, who might see it as a betrayal.

It was Robin who brought us all back into focus, as if she had suddenly realized something.“Maybe we don’t need to know Reefer Rick’s name.” She pushed Dustin out of the way of the computer and began typing the name 'Rick.' “The selection here is huge which means it’s super overwhelming for people. And everyone’s information is right here.” When she pressed the enter key, the screen displayed a list of people with the first name 'Rick.' “12 Ricks already have accounts here.” 

I embraced her from behind. “Robin, you’re a goddamn genius.” 

“I try.” 

“That’s still a lot of Ricks,” Max remarked.

I agreed by nodding. “True. But enough to look through.” Especially given the limited time we had.

So we spent some time looking through the various Ricks, judging their recent rentals, trying to find our guy, until we came across a Rick Lipton who appeared to have rented the entire Cheech and Chong filmography. I smiled, relieved that we had finally made progress. “We found our guy.”

“Lipton?” Max inquired.

“Spelled like the tea,” Robin confirmed, “2121 Holland Road.”

That street sounded familiar. “Holland Road? That’s out by Lover’s Lake.”

“Middle of nowhere.”

“It’s a perfect place to hide.”

“Let’s go.” We were all out the door and on our way to Lover's Lake.

It was already dark by the time we arrived at Lover's Lake. Reefer Rick's house was typical of those in the area, a small cottage-style structure built on the lake's shore. Remote and quiet, eerie but peaceful. However, from the outside, the house appeared completely abandoned, with no lights on inside or outside. We got out of our cars and approached the front door, flashlights flashing. Dustin rang the doorbell, which I knew would not work. He kept pounding on the doorbell, as if it would magically summon Eddie.

I swatted away his hand from the doorbell. “Cut it out. Who answers the doorbell if they’re hiding from the cops?”

“Or maybe that settles it and he’s not here,” Steve speculated. 

Dustin turned away from Steve and yelled, “Eddie! It’s Dustin! We just want to talk, okay? No cops! We just want to help!”

“Shut up! Do you want the whole lake to hear you?” I had to resist the urge to cover his mouth with my hand.

We tried tactic number two, shining flashlights through the windows to see if we could detect any movement. We couldn't come up with anything, so Dustin began banging on the door. I rolled my eyes, wondering how this kid survived the supernatural encounters he had. I was beginning to lose hope when Max called us.

“Hey guys?” she asked.

We all gathered around her to see what she had discovered. A boathouse on the water was located a short distance from the main property. An even better place to hide. We made our way over to the boathouse, looking through the windows but seeing nothing more than what we had seen in the main house. Unlike the main house, the door was open, so we went in for a closer look. It looked like any other boathouse, crammed with junk and stinking of fish. The boat was covered in a tarp and bobbing up and down in the water on the open ended side of the boathouse.

“What a dump,” Steve exclaimed as he looked around.

“Didn’t realize your boathouse was so clean, Steve,” I remarked, knowing full well that he didn't have one.

“Ha ha, very funny.” He grabbed an oar from the wall and began slashing at the tarp that was covering the boat.

“What are you doing?” Dustin muttered.

“He might be in here.”

“So take the tarp off.”

“If you’re so brave, you take the tarp off.”

“You’re a bunch of kids.” I took the oar from Steve. “What are you going to do if he is in there? Stab him with an oar?”

“Do you have a better idea?”

“Hey, look over here.” Max shone her light on a table in the corner covered in discarded food wrappers. “Someone was here.”

“Maybe he heard us,” Robin added, “Got spooked and ran.”

“Don’t worry. Steve will get him with his oar.” Dustin's sarcastic smile was visible even in the dim light.

“I know you think you’re being funny, Henderson, but considering everyone in this room has nearly died a hundred times—”

“Exactly! And your weapon of choice is an oar?” I threw the oar to the ground, but the loud noise it made was drowned out by Eddie leaping from beneath the tarp and pushing me up against the wall with a broken bottle pressed against my neck. I screamed as my back collided with the metal wall, but I didn't have time to be concerned about the sting. Everyone was stunned and frozen, taking great care not to make any sudden movements. Eddie looked at me with a stern face but fearful eyes, as if he had no idea who I was in his survival instinctual state.

Despite my heavy breathing, I tried to keep my voice calm. “Eddie…”

“Whoa, whoa! Eddie! Eddie! Stop!” Dustin held his hands up, indicating that he meant no harm. Everyone else was holding their breath as well. “Eddie! It’s me! It’s Dustin! That’s Juliet. You know her. My sister, remember?!”

Eddie had turned to face Dustin while he was speaking. Eddie looked at me as if he was seeing me for the first time when Dustin said my name. His face relaxed, and his eyes returned to the big brown puppy dog eyes I remembered. “Juliet…”

I wrapped my arms around his neck, ignoring the strange looks I was getting. I was just relieved he was alive and, by the looks of things, physically okay. “Thank god you’re alright.”

He returned the embrace. His entire body was trembling. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” I let go of him while still holding his face in my hands. “What the hell happened? What’s going on?”

Eddie backed away from me, shaking his head and leaning against the wall. His eyes were distant once more, as if he were trapped in a bad memory, which he could be. Dustin approached me and placed his hand on my arm to ensure that I was okay. I nodded, and he moved over to Eddie, who had collapsed on the floor.

“Eddie.” Dustin knelt until he was eye level with Eddie, who refused to look at him. “We just want to talk. Okay?”

I knelt down next to Dustin. “We just want to know what happened.” I put my hand on his forearm, and he turned to face me. I smiled at him, small and reassuring.

His eyes were filled with tears. He sniffled. “You won’t believe me.” When I took one of his hands in mine, he squeezed it as if he needed something to hold onto, something to ground him.

“Try us,” Max prompted.

Except for the sound of the water's current rocking the boat, the room fell silent. Eddie finally told his story after a few agonizing moments.

Stay tuned for part 5!! Click HERE to view!

[burnwater13]

Concept Art by Ryan Church, The Mandalorian, Season 2, Episode 4, The Siege.

“The Hydian Way”

“The Nothoiian Corridor”

“The Lipsec Run”

“The Corellian Trade Spine”

“The Rimma Trade Route”

Din Djarin said the names of the various hyperspace lanes, routes, paths, ways, corridors, spines, and runs and Grogu pointed to them on a map. It was tiring work, but he knew it was worthy. His dad was trying to teach him how to travel around the galaxy in safety. 

“Show me the route you would take to get from Nevarro to Tatooine.”

Hmmmm. That was a good question. Nevarro was in the Nevarro Sector, sort of near the Hydian Way, which was fine if you wanted to go to Corellia and then eventually end up at Cantonica, but it wouldn’t get him to Tatooine directly. Nope. He’d have to take it to Darknell and the switch over to the Triellus Trade Run. That would get him all the way there! 

He traced the path for his dad and grinned at him. Take that Din Djarin.

“That’s a good path kid. But it’s kind of slow. What other way could you take?”

Then Grogu noticed that he could take the Corellian Trade Spine to the Corellian Run and go to Tatooine that way. He traced out that path and turned to look at the Mandalorian. 

“Good choice. I don’t know what it is about Corellians Grogu, but they find the shortest, fastest path between two points that shouldn’t be possible. It’s what makes them Corellian.”

Grogu filed that little piece of information away for future use as they continued the lesson in astronavigation. That they were doing this lesson in the cabin, with his dad sitting on the floor with the star map projector and Grogu running around to trace the various paths made it seem a little surreal. But at least they weren’t stuck in that classroom in the Nevarro City school. 

Grogu could tell, based on the school’s layout, that it had been a cantina or tavern or drinking establishment of some sort before they added the instructor droid, the desks, and the display panels. The place still kind of smelled of sour ferment, at least to him. He supposed it was a sign that the people of Nevarro City were becoming more civilized. Keep the ferment in the new cantina and use the old one for a school. It made a sort of sense. 

Unlike his dad, Greef Karga, and Cara Dune dumping Grogu there and then going off on an adventure without him. He had complained to his dad about all that before, but he still didn’t think that Din Djarin took his objections seriously. After all, everything had worked out in the end. His dad hadn’t been injured. An Imp lab had been destroyed. He discovered that he liked those blue treat things. He called them sweet discs, but he knew they had about a thousand names, which was funny. 

A starship was a starship. Everything after calling it a starship was really about telling you all it’s little details. Freighter, dreadnought, scout, fighter, yacht, they were all starships first. Same thing with speeders and blasters and footwear for that matter. 

But these sweet discs were called all sorts of things. Crisps, rounds, discs, petals, twinkles… it was amazing. And they weren’t different kinds of sweet discs either. They were all the same kind. If they included some special ingredient they were the special ingredient plus disc, petal, twinkle, whatever. If they were stacked with a filling, they were still discs, but they were called stacked filled discs, like the ones he took from the boy at school. 

When his dad took him back to Tatooine, he had asked Peli where he could get some of those delicious filled discs and she looked at him like he was babbling in a language she couldn’t understand. 

“Listen, Grogu, buddy, we have a lot of things here in Mos Eisley, but I’ve never heard of filled discs as a kind of food. And if I haven’t heard of it, it doesn’t exist.”

“He’s talking about sweet filled twinkles or sweet filled rounds… I forget what you call them here.” 

The Mandalorian tried to explain to their favorite mechanic.

“Oh! Why didn’t you say so. What color does he like? I prefer the green ones myself, but everyone has a favorite.” Peli recognized one of the descriptors, although Grogu never figured out which one she used. 

His dad said, ‘the blue-green ones’, and Peli told them where they could get some. They had been delicious and at that shop they had called them crisps. Sweet blue filling crisps, to be precise. Grogu had found that very funny. 

On their way back to Nevarro, they had spent a day on Corellia. Apparently there was a noodle shop there that his dad liked. The shop was really more of a diner and the Iktotchi woman who ran the place had a voice like gravel, but when Grogu asked her what they called sweet discs on Corellia, she became very serious. 

“Well, you know handsome, I call them treadles because that’s what my mom called them. But on Corellia you’ll hear them called almost anything. Crisps, rounds, petals, tiny cakes, and of course twinkles.  Only kids call them twinkles here. If an adult did that we’d laugh ourselves sick at them. Except if the adult was your Mandalorian dad. But since your dad is a Mandalorian, I’d ask him if he wanted fire stacks. Have you had them before? We have a great recipe for them. Straight from Ordo.”

Before Grogu could say another word, his dad ordered some fire stacks and asked for a caf. 

“Hey hon, I’ve got some rooms designed for Mandos, if you want to eat there. Then you can take off your helmet and eat in comfort. Nice and private and I always knock before I enter.”

“Thanks. This is fine. They call them twinkles on Ac Vetina. Mandalorians call them energy chips.”

Ahh. The things you learn when you travel were far more interesting than what you learned in a classroom on Nevarro.

[paldean-ranger-brandy]

Hello yes I’d love a Hal and Brandy interaction! Maybe Hal’s on a research trip to Paldea and they’re just having some downtime/swapping Ranger stories

//Hal, my buddy Hal! Hal time. Let's go. @pokebiologisthal Quick note: This is in response to my 100 followers event. Requests for character interaction ficlets are now closed. I'm sorry the last few are coming out so slowly - it's been tough getting onto my actual computer lately.

Brandy was having a, frankly, uncharacteristically productive day. She had finally caught up on her mission reports, organized meetings with 3 different ranger stations to discuss their concerns about paradox pokemon, and she had less than 50 unread emails in her inbox. At a certain point her base leader, Joel, swung by to peer over her shoulder at her work.

“Well I’ll be, Grovehurst,” he commented, adjusting his glasses as he leaned in to get a better view of the screen. “Is that a double-digit number in your inbox? You’re really getting the hang of riding a desk, huh?”

Brandy paused at this, and seemed to snap somewhat out of the focused state she had been in. She, too, looked at the shockingly low (43) number of emails she had left to reply to. “Shit,” she said. “You’re right. I gotta slow down. If I get too good at this head office is gonna start coming by to take a golf club to my kneecaps anytime I’m late with a report.”

“No, they won’t. But I wouldn’t worry about it, your shift ends in a half hour anyway. Maybe you’ll make this the day you actually go home on time, hm?”

“Eh, nah. I’ve got nothing to do tonight, and my apartment is too depressing to do anything other than sleep and eat in.”

Just then Brandy’s musings were interrupted by the buzzing of an incoming text notification. They glanced at their phone to see a text message from their friend Hal.

‘Hello Brandy, I’m sure you’re quite busy but I wanted to let you know that I will be in Paldea for the next few days and was wondering if you’d be free for us to get together for a little hang out :)’

Brandy grinned, leaning forward in their chair to respond.

‘HELL YEAH I AM’

‘You’re free tonight. I get off in half an hour, take a taxi to Tagtree Thicket.’

‘There’s this hangout spot by the river. We’re going to have snacks and drinks there.’

They sent the final of the three texts to Hal and, without waiting for an answer, put their phone down. She gave Joel a playful flick on his nose, who was clearly trying to sneak a peek at her phone screen. “Scratch that last,” they said. “Mark your calendar in commemoration. Today is the day I was productive with my paperwork AND left on time. Turns out I do have plans tonight.”

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

That evening found Brandy and Hal sitting underneath by the river that cuts through Tagtree Thicket. There was an assortment of ciders, beers, soft drinks, fruits and veggies, crackers, homemade jam, and a small bit of cooked meat bits that Brandy refused to disclose the source of, but which Hal very strongly suspected might be murkrow. The two were talking back and forth in Fiorean, though Brandy seemed to be getting notably frustrated.

“It’s nice to see you, Brandy,” Hal said, speaking slowly and making sure to enunciate each word.

“It is happy to see you.” Brandy replied, their accent very heavy.

“’I’m’ happy to see you.” Hal corrected, smiling a bit.

“Bah, this is embarrassing.” Brandy gave up, switching back to Galarian. “Wait, do you speak Hoennese?” She asked, switching to her own native tongue.

“I speak just a little bit of Hoennese.” Hal responded, prompting a laugh from Brandy.

“Oh, that was very formal. Don’t worry about it, let’s just stick to this. But man, I used to be nearly fluent in Fiorean. I’m gonna practice some with Joel, you’re gonna be so impressed next time we talk.”

“Speaking of – I can’t believe Joel is here in Paldea with you. The four base leaders in Fiore just seemed so…established.” Hal relaxed back against the tree, twisting the cap off of one of the ciders.

“You think? The only other leader I ever met there was Spenser, and honestly he was a bit of a ding dong. The only thing I know about the other two is that there was some kind of scandal around Cameron and weed, and that Elita was a massive bitch who wouldn’t let her team go to the holiday party.” Brandy cracked open her own drink, the sound of which seemed to summon Michael out from behind a bush. The mightyena happily trotted over, wasting no time in sniffing out the spread of food around them. “Hey bud, not too much. Hal and I gotta eat. Hal, I don’t suppose you have a buddy Michael can play with?”

“Hmmm…” Hal pulled out a pokeball, which immediately caught Michael’s attention. He bounced up and down out of a play bow, excitedly waiting for Hal to release his soon-to-be friend. “I have Jet, but I don’t think Michael is going to…enjoy Jet. Long term. The little guy can be a bit much.”

“Pfffft.” Brandy waved him off. “No such thing. Trust me. Michael has boundless energy for playing. He is without bound, completely.”

“Okay,” Hal said, and then quickly retracted his hand when Michael began impatiently nipping at the pokeball. “Hey, hey! Easy. Here you go.”

The ball was opened, and in a flash of light a small dreepy appeared. Jet made eye contact with Michael, and then froze. Michael was similarly stock still except for a slowly wagging tail. The still silence was held for one beat, and then another, and then without warning Jet exploded out and away from the group. Michael was hot on his tail, yipping excitedly and chasing after the zig-zagging dragon.

“See? They’re fiiiiine,” Brandy said, turning her attention to the poochyena puppy in her lap. “And now lil Mac doesn’t have to worry about her annoying big brother.”

“Sure, sure. We’ll see how long that lasts.” The two seemed to be having a blast at the time, at least. Hal turned his attention back to Brandy. “Anyway. I can’t believe Elita was still doing that by the time you got there. I thought she got enough flack for it that it was just that first year.”

“Wait…were you there for her first year as a base leader?” Brandy asked.

“Yes? That was my first year as a ranger up in Wintown.”

“Hal, I was there for that first year. Her and Joel got promoted at the same time. Are you fucking kidding me?” Brandy was clearly excited now, gesturing with the bottle in her hand and giving Hal a playful slap on the shoulder.

“Wait, so we were rangers in Fiore at the same time?”

“We were! Holy shit, we could have even been friends back then if Elita wasn’t an actual massive cunt!”

“Wow I- well, I wouldn’t use those words exactly, but that is something to ponder. If not for her pettiness and insistence on running drills all year long, we could have had history.” Hal absent-mindedly runs his hand through his hair, apparently preoccupied by thoughts of this alternate timeline.

“Man, I made out with so many people at that party.” She smiled slyly, giving Hal another playful shove. “Coulda been you.”

Hal’s face immediately reddened. “I- well you know- you don’t- we didn’t…” He didn’t seem to quite know what to do with that information. Thankfully, Brandy cut him off with a laugh.

“I’m just teasing. Wanted to see how easy you blush.”

“Well, I hope you’re pleased to have your answer.” Hal muttered, taking a sip of his cider to compose himself. “Even still, that is so strange to think about.”

“Eh, don’t think on it too hard, bud. We’re both here now.”

“Yes, I suppose we are.”