#sorry for ranting i just saw him on my dashboard again

[sydbarrettism]

i lowkey have a grudge on this one new wave musician that i will not name because he is this webbed site's darling. peace and love

[fakeloveaskblog]

(Hi, me again. I’m sorry it took so long to send anything in, I’ve been having a bad week and kept putting off writing this, sorry.)

*floats up to Rowen’s car and peeks at who’s inside*

(That’s literally all I had to write, procrastination is a pain.)

Glow Eyes

(no need to say sorry C: i get it. Everyone gets too tired to write sometimes. I get frustrated bout it like every other week. I hope next week treats you better)

Tw: drug use, vague mentions of past abuse

The car had hastily been parked at the side of the park. At first you only saw an empty drivers seat until you looked over and saw Remus sitting in the passenger seat.

There was a constant tapping sound as he bounced his feet against the dashboard. He had his arms crossed while glancing out at the nearby Streets. When he saw your big eyes staring in he jumped from surprise before quickly leaning over to roll down the window so you could come in. You hovered slightly to the left of the wheel.

“Remy better have sent you to tell me they’ve gotten stuck in a sewer gate” He muttered out while sinking lower down on the seat. It only took him grimacing and huffing for a few seconds before he exclaimed “I’ve been waiting half an hour!! 30 minutes!!! 30 ENTIRE minutes!!! I’ve got rats for brains! They should know better than to leave me without stimuli for that long!!! 5 more minutes and I’m biting at the tires!!!”

He sat up in the seat so he could look at you while ranting. His hands idly felt around for something to fidget with, eventually ending up on some straw sticking out of a starbucks cup. All while talking he twisted and pulled in the straw until it looked like a piece of barbed wire.

“Alright so there I am! In my bed! After a wonderful night of dreaming about sharks eating me alive!! I go up look around, y’know Remy slept on the couch last night- We’re still like uhm we’re taking the uhm the uh bed thing night for night yeah- But they’re up! I know! I was shocked too!! They’re like the sleepiest motherfucker on earth!! And they’re like- They’ve been in a really weird mood lately like...”

He searched for the words to describe it. He knew they would naturally be a bit neurotic right now. That he didn’t judge. It was something else.

“Whatever! Not important! So there I am! Newly awoken! Hungry! Like a naked beast in the full moon!! And suddenly Remy is like tearing at me to leave. It was like they had a train to catch! but the train was on fire! And also was gonna explode! I didn’t get to do my morning routine! Didn’t take my meds! Didn’t even get to make my daily smoothie! I was gonna try to mix mint, toothpaste and sour patch kids!!! I’m still wearing my freaking PJ pants! They just pulled me out the door!!”

There was a unusually irritated look on his face. Remus was an erratic and energetic person, not usually an angry or even sour one. You found it a bit strange.

“I don’t have a drivers license! Remy doesn’t have one! But they just had to take Ro-Ro’s pissy car!! And I went along ‘cause- They said they were stopping the car to buy a coffee and some breakfast for me and now they’ve been gone for 30 minutes!! I called them! They didn’t answer!”

Remus crossed his arms and hunched in on himself. He leant his cheek against the window and looked out onto the street. His expression stayed angry. All tense muscles and stretched together skin. But his cheeks had turned red.

“....I thought they were taking me on a date........” The back of his throat tasted like acid “That’s why I went along with their weird mood today...Maybe not a date...just...I dunno.....I thought they wanted to surprise me...show me a nice dumpster...or take me out to an art museum.....I think they only wanted me along to get the keys to the car.....”

He sat up and rubbed his eyes, dragging his fingers down his cheeks so the reds of his eyes stood out like stop signals, before sighing.

“Could you look for them? I don’t think they took their pain meds. I don’t want their bones to have like...exploded!”

You blinked your glowing on and off to say yes to which he let out a strange mix of a sigh and breathe of relief before pointing at the street Remy had walked down onto.

The clouds had turned heavy and grey. The smell of rain weighed down on the buildings around you like birds weighing down powerlines. You rounded the corner into one of those tights pathways between two buildings. Remy wasn’t there but the smell of coffee was so you continued down on it before eventually hearing their voice.

To the right, another pathway, or maybe it was just a plain alley. On the ground laid empty cans and thrown away containers scattered around. Mindlessly thrown away by passerbys in a hurry, until the trash had piled up in chunks. 

Your eyes were looking at the ground so you didn’t notice the man until he had walked right through you. Either he must have been astonishingly rude or you’d  been invisible and he’d been unable to see you. From what could be assumed you weren’t the type to be constantly invisible, even if you were a ghost, unless your subconsciously had noticed something about the man. Something....bad.

The man disappeared down some street and maybe another time you would have followed along if it wasn’t for Remy sitting leant against the alleyway’s wall. There was another stranger standing next to them. They were talking with tense familiarity.

“-The snails are everywhere man! I swear! It’s insane in his apartment right now” The man said.

Remy did a half assed shrug. It’d only been a few days since you’d last seen them and yet they looked so starkly different for such a short time. Their skin glistened from sweat and the skin around their eyes were rash red like they hadn’t slept for days. Their fingers shook, eyelids twitching, breathes hurried and inconsistent.

The stranger took out a pack of cigs and a lighter. He held it out towards them to offer one and they squinted at it.

“Is that the like brand Oswald uses?”

“Fuck should I know. Guess it is”

They pinched his cig between their fingers and put it back into the package. He let out a surprised “Rude!?”. They didn’t want Remus to recognize the smell. Didn’t want him to remember something he didn’t want to.

The man checked his phone “I gotta go. You sure you got some place to stay?” He smiled and reached out his hand to touch their cheek. Remy grimaced but didn’t move away “I know some empty couches-”

“Snail infected ones?” They snarked back.

“Well...yeah but also others man” He let go fo them and their shuttered “I’ll see you in two weeks”

“We didn’t decide shit”

He had started to walk away. He sent them a look and just restated “I’ll see you in two weeks. Don’t overdose”

The man walked right through you and you didn’t bother to look back at him. You moved a bit closer and Remy flinched as they felt your sudden warmth. They were cupping their hands around a few small plastic bags. They didn’t meet your eyes.

“I’m sorry” Was the first thing they said “Those were like- I didn’t know what to do- I knew some of like Oswald’s like dealer friends- I don’t wanna see him. I like I did extra like ask so he wasn’t coming okay. I made sure of it. I just texted the other dealers. I’m not gonna let him even look at Remus ever again. I just feel like so fucking sick and I keep seeing Viv everywhere and I’m losing my mind and everything else about me is disappearing as well and I haven’t been able to like eat anything ‘cause I can’t keep anything down! And Oswald won’t stop texting me! I don’t wanna read it! I haven’t replied I swear! I wouldn’t like I wouldn’t do that to Remus! But I can’t block him! My fingers won’t move to do it! I- I whatever! I’m just a whiny bitch! Don’t look at me like that!”

You were looking at them in the exact same way you usually did. Their fingers twitched as they scrambled to open one of the small bags. They glared at you.

“Could you like...turn around. give a girl some fucking privacy”

You did. You didn’t turn back around until you heard them fall to the ground as soon as they’d tried to stand up. There was powder left around their nostril, probably xanax. They waved off your help and started walking back to where the car was.

Slowly their breathing seemed to ebb out into a relaxed pace, actually a bit too relaxed, too slow. Their eyelids were half closed and the sweat had started to fall away.

Remus opened the car door as soon as he saw them “Did a giant sewage monster climb up from the shadows and attack you” He exclaimed “An inner city coyote with rabies? One mean ass Santa?”

“I got lost” Remy mumbled back as they sat down in the driver’s seat. Their eyes darted around the car “You got any like water in here? Or like liquid? Liquid...wow...that’s a weird fucking word”

He stared at them like he’d just seen a squirrel bite through their brain “You told me you were going to get coffee dude! Shouldn’t you be the one with liquid”

“I did...Yeah uh sorry gal like the coffee shop was like tots closed ‘cause of like........moldy beans and like the food shop was also closed...mold....real dangerous girlie. Sorry”

They turned the key and started the car while randomly pressing down onto the pedal making the car bump forward a little.

“So where you wanna like go-”

“Do you think I’m stupid” Remus interrupted.

“Of course not! I love your brain! It’s a beautiful bloody brain! You know like a bunch of shit”

“Why’re you treating me like I got my brain in my ass then! Are you okay?”

Remy pressed their hands against the car wheel and gulped “Of course girl. I’m newly single, getting like tooots that post break up glow for real. I’m better than ever!”

“You know I’ve been to rehab and last time I checked my eyes hadn’t been pecked out by birds. Remy I am not blind-”

“It’s fine”

Remus looked at them while they continued to stare out through the front window “.....If you say so, I’ll believe you. ‘Cause you’re my friend and frankly I got no other options. I want to trust you”

“I’m all good thanks” They bit out.

“.....Okay...Okay..if you say so”

They moved the wheel and the car started to move in jumpy bursts of engine power. It swayer back and forth over the road as Remy drove. They’d played mario kart a few times and Virgil had let them try out his car every now and then, even if that was just across a parking lot.

They looked over to their friend who was still sitting with his arms crossed, eyebrows furrowed together. They made a sudden swerve into another street and made the car go faster. Remus yelped a bit and tensed, still grimacing.

Remy had thought he'd like the adventure of driving dangerously. They parsed their lips to say so but the words died on their tongue.

"RED LIGHT!" Remus yelled, eyes suddenly wide and every single muscle in his body tensed.

The car was already halfway over the line when Remy kicked their foot down onto the brake making the car make such a sudden stop both of them got knocked forward.

A truck followed by several cars drove past them. Remy stared out at them as laughter started to trickled up from their throat. Their fingertips felt fuzzy as they turned to their friend and moved their hand to playfully bump his arm.

Remus flinched away from their touch. He was pressing himself against the car door to be as far away as he could. His legs were pressed together so hard his thighs shook from tension.

For a moment he looked at them with foggy eyes, as if he was seeing someone else. before he blinked it away and simply looked away from them again.

The light turned green. Remy drove down the street, their eyes started to go blurry so they squinted to see. Randomly going down off shot roads until they saw a truck stop, one of those with a little shop connected to it. In this case a 7/11.

Remy parked the car crookedly across two parking spaces. They wordlessly got out of the car. Remus didn’t even have time to ask where they were going. He sat up in his seat and got worried they weren’t going to come back.

It took a few minutes before Remy suddenly opened the car door again and leaned into the car, their hand against the seat and their other hand holding out a glass bottle to Remus.

“I’m sorry” Remy said “My fav snotball I’ve been like tots a jerk all day. Wanna smash some shit? Like this bottle? It’s good to get anger out right?- You don’t gotta forgive me or nothing and you get to feel what you feel. I just don’t wanna just like leave while we’re both feeling like shit”

“I’m not angry” Remus muttered back.

“I won’t be mad if you’re angry. Like girlie I- Y’know Viv would like accuse me of calling him like abusive and stuff if I ever seemed even annoyed. I get it. Anger isn’t bad I think. Probably. Your anger couldn’t be bad”

Remus glanced at them. He did an extra pout which made Remy chuckle before he let up into a small smile as he took the bottle.

“I found some more like behind the store” Remy said. Remus followed closely behind them. Their walk was stumbling and their upper body was swaying, as if they were constantly tripping over something only they could see.

The back of the store was brick wall overgrown with moss with some trashcans, pallets and broken glass. Remy made little “Whoop-Whoop” noises to hype him up.

Remus puffed up his chest and tapped his feet into the ground while moving his arms like he was about to throw a basketball. When he heard his friend, his crush, laugh his chest felt warm.

The bottle shattered against the bricks as both of them yelled in excitement. They high fived each other and Remy quickly handed him another bottle. He didn’t even hesitate about throwing it. His bottle and the bottle Remy threw hit the wall at almost the exact same time.

The glass pieces scattered down onto the concrete. Remus stomped over and jumped onto them to make them shatter even more. The crunchy sounds made him happy stim. 

He waved his hand to make Remy come over but they flinched. Flinched violently. They covered their head with their hands and made themselfs look smaller. Remus realized he was still holding a bottle, for a second it must have looked like he was throwing it.

“I’m okay!” They quickly assured “Just reflexes!”

Remus still rushed to their side “You sure?”

“Suppppper duppper sure babe” Their expression soured and their muscles stayed tensed “Actually if anything I’m feeling kinda pissed” They took the bottle from Remus “That I’ve even had to be on edge oveR FUCKING BOTTLES BEING THROWN AT ME!”

The bottle shattered against the wall. The sound of the glass mixed with Remy’s laughter.

“Augh girrrl! That felt great! You should try it”

They handed Remus a bottle and patiently waited for him to throw it. Maybe hear him rattle out some gorey idea about how his abuser’s brain would look shattered.

Instead he stared at the bottle loosely laying in his hand. Until he started to tremble and his eyes got that blurry look again. Remy did not touch him but they did lay their finger against the bottle to show they could take it.

“Hey. Hey. don’t force yourself. You don’t have to” Remy reminded.

He dropped the bottle and it shattered between their shoes.

“Anger’s not gonna be like always good for healing” They continued “I getcha I getcha. I’m just- It’s easy to get angry at a man who abused his tiny kid y’know! I got it easy! I mean I couldn’t.....I can barely even dislike Viv...Or think he’s wrong. I getcha”

“anger is so overwhelming” Remus mumbled out “It fills my entire body”

“Do you still like destroying shit?”

He nodded.

“Wanna keep doing that?”

He nodded.

“Alrighty girlie. I promise I’m gonna. I know today with the car. I’m gonna try to like not assume that you’re like able to...to like disagree. I’m gonna- I am Really gonna try to ask you beforehand like this. That sound good?”

He nodded.

“Hug?” He fluttered his eyelids a little while opening his arms.

“Course!!”

Remy melted into his embrace. The curls running down his neck tickled their nose. For that short time his smell of spoiled milk and rat piss smelled the same as heaven.

Remus smiled before noticing how they felt a bit heavier than usual. He leant back from the hug and Remy instantly fell over. He managed to hold onto them enough so they were half upright. Their legs seemed to have given out and he only now noticed just how much paler they looked.

“Oh wow” They chuckled out “I hadn’t like noticed how tired I was till I got to like calm down”

“You haven’t eaten. I haven’t eaten. Bitch we’re tearing down the 7/11 right now”

“Lead the way pissboy!”

Remus kept his arm around them as they walked into the 7/11. It was a bit awkward since the cashier stared at them with incredibly judgement as they had heard every single bottle. He sat Remy down on one of the chair’s next to the newspapers stacks and pinboard.

Right before walking away he whispered into their ear “...I do want to be able to get angry at him some day...I wanna be angry together with you....I think I’d like that...”

He went to look for coffee and breakfast, maybe just a bit of candy teeth. Remy leant their head in their hands and sighed. Everything was fuzzy and they felt like they were going to puke just at the smell of food. Though they had the urge to puke most of all so that the stomach acid would hurt their throat. Their thoughts went on about how they were hurting Remus, and everyone else for that matter, and that he would be better off without them. What if they made him relapse!!! What if they were abusive after all!! What if! What if! What if!

Remy tried to push the thoughts out and stared at the pinboard to distract themself. There was a flyer on the pinboard for the spring opening of the local art-park and another for a karaoke night at the gay bar. It was like a tiny and very tired little lamp lit up above Remy’s head.

“...Do you think Remus would still wanna hang out with me?” They looked around for you and relaxed a little when you appeared next to them “I dunno...maybe I could ask Janus along as well? I don’t know if they would like the art stuff or the like bar more? I really...I really don’t wanna mess this up with him....I like him....I really really like him” They squeezed their eyes shut “Ugh my head hurts”

[headinthestaticsky]

The Fire of the Innocent Sun: Jasper Hale x Fleur Hale, Chapter 3.

Authors note: I am really sorry I haven't been posting many chapters lately. I just want to make chapters that I feel are good and I'm not rushing just to post a chapter... I want them to be as good as they can be. I hope you all understand.

"Show me a better way, I wish you could Show me a better way, I wish you would Come home today, you could Come home today."

Warm Winds by, Sza

I sat frozen in the passengers' seat my minds tension was flying taking its hold on me. I didn't really think many things through coming down here in a desperate attempt to gain allies in my cause. Sure, the Denali coven knew about Ezra and knew that he wasn't an Immortal child but if they knew about the developments of the Volturi... I'm not sure what they are going to do. My fingers nails were digging into the dashboard in front of me, Jasper's car was receiving the brunt of my uneasiness. A familiar hand grabbed my shoulder making me turn my head to its culprit. Those beautiful, comforting amber eyes stared back at me... as comforting as they were the same worry I held was laced into them.

"Do you need me to talk to them, Darlin? You don't seem too keen to right now?" He asked in his southern draw.

I nodded slightly before answering him

"I don't think I do too well in a conversation right now," I answered truthfully.

He gave me a small comforting smile before stepping out of the car. Emmett followed after him acting as a stand-in security guard. I heard a small voice blossom from the back.

"What's wrong mommy?" Ezra asked softly.

I turned my head around and gave him a smile.

"We're having a few problems right now... we need some help from your uncle and aunts from Denali okay?"

"Then why do you look so scared?" Ezra asked.

Rosalie jumped in saving me from further questioning. For a kid who is only supposed to be 5 months old, he sure is through.

"Because they might not react very well to what we want to ask of them," Rosalie answered.

"Oh..."

I snapped my head back to the quartet of people outside in the snow. They looked skeptical as to why only 4 of us were here.

"Jasper, Emmett, is everything all right? Why didn't you tell us you were coming?" Tanya asked.

POV Switch: Jasper

Before I could even answer Tanya, I got another question thrown at me.

"It is Irina? Did you hear from her?" Carmen asked desperately.

"Esme and Carlisle did... she's part of the reason why I am here," I answered quickly, not wanting to get my attempt of talking interrupted again.

"Why are both of your brides and Ezra waiting in the car?" Elezar inquired.

I knew they were suspicious as to why we were here... I could feel every ounce of worry and skepticism. I knew I couldn't avoid the topic forever. I turned my head around and looked at Fleur and Rosalie, and jerked my head as to signal them to get out. They both followed suit, Ezra was pulled out of the car a few seconds later. Fleur handed Ezra to Rosalie before joining Emmett and I.

POV Change: Back to Fleur

"Look I know you guys aren't fools here but I need you all to be open-minded... our family is in danger," I explained. All of their faces changed from worry to shock.

"What, what even happened?" Carmen asked

"The Volturi are after us," I state honestly.

Tanya's head lowered and she glared at us her terse voice then broke the tension-filled silence.

"Why?" She barked.

I turned my head to Rosalie and Ezra before facing them again

"Before I answer your question I need you to answer something for me." Tanya went to say something before Carmen interrupted her.

"Have you seen Bella or Edward down here recently?"

"Yeah... they were asking for Irina," Elezar answered

I turned my head to Jasper before breathlessly laughing.

"I knew it had something to do with them..." I spoke softly to him.

"I never doubted it for a second." He replied.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Tanya spoke once again.

"Irina had come to visit us... she saw Ezra and I in the woods and then took off... she thinks he's an immortal child," I said.

I saw Tanya charge toward me but merely brushed past me... I knew what she was going to do.

"We need to get rid of him then." She spoke, bile leaked from her voice.

"HEY!" I yelled before grabbing her by the back of the neck and bring her down to the ground.

"KATE DON'T!" I heard Jasper yelled before he let out a groan of pain. I quickly rushed toward him, Emmett had slammed Tanya back down to the ground to prevent her from getting to Rosalie and Ezra. Kate then grabbed me, a electric shock traveled through my arm... nothing but small stings burned my skin. It was nothing too strong that I was immobile like Jasper was. Kate looked up at me with wide eyes before I grabbed her by the neck, lifting her up in the air.

"Now you listen to me... you know Ezra is not an immortal child. If you EVER attempt to lay a hand on him again I will snap your head off bitch! Do you understand?"

She just looked down at me and struggled in my vice-like grip. I lowered her head down to mine so I could look her dead in her eyes.

"I SAID DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?" I growled toward her. She nodded quickly before I dropped her down on the ground. Her hands went to her throat and curled within herself. Emmett shoved Tanya next to Kate and they both just laid there.

"Listen... I know you four don't know me at all... you met me at my wedding for christ's sake. You guys have zero reasons to help me out. But you know Carlisle... you know Esme and the others they need your help. Just think of all the things they've done for you... after all of that, you're going to leave them in the dust? You all know if they get us they're coming after you next." I ranted breathlessly... they just stared back at us. Carmen then approached me and put her hands on my shoulders, a graceful smile was on her face. Elezar joined behind her and looked at me apprehensively.

"We will help you all out... we owe Carlisle and Esme a lot for all kindness and guidance they showed to us." She stated before going to join Rosalie and Ezra.

"I apologize for Tanya and Kate's foolish acts... they do not reflect how I feel," Elezar said before walking away. I thanked him before glaring back down at Kate and Tanya.

"And by the way... Irina was the one who reported all of this. So if you wanna blame anyone for this mess, Blame Bella, Edward, and Her." I snarled before turning my back, Jasper followed my lead.

"We'll help you out," Kate said hoarsely.

I turned my head.

"Better get moving then."

[sleepysnk]

hey guys! i wrote this little fic for one of my friends. this is for @jaegerbomb20 ! i decided to make her a little self-insert fic! this will not be a 'x reader' story! i love you sofia ♡! i hope you enjoy :)

Eren x Sofia Modern AU: Sneaking Out

Warnings: None

The sound of vibrations against the table woke Sofia up out of a deep sleep. She felt groggy as she grabbed her phone off the nightstand, the time read 1:37 A.M.

She furrowed her brows and squinted her eyes as the bright light shined over her face. She noticed she had a missed call from Eren, why the hell was he calling at 1 A.M.? Usually the only time he'd call this late was help for homework, or to just rant. Eren and Sofia had been close friends for a very long time, the two met in middle school and have been inseparable since.

Sofia ran a hand through her blonde hair and decided to call him back. "Hey" she said as Eren answered the phone.

"Oh shit, you sound tired. Were you sleeping? Did I wake you?" he asked.

She sighed. "Maybe... but what's up? Do you need homework or something?" she asked and yawned.

Eren went silent for a second. "Actually... no I wasn't looking for homework. This sounds bad to ask so nevermind" he said.

She furrowed her brows, curious as to what he wanted. "Eren.. nothing is ever bad to ask. What is it?" she asked.

He sighed. "I was gonna ask if you want to hangout right now, it's a Saturday, so I figured why not. You don't have to of course" he said.

Sofia thought for a moment, hanging out sounded fun, but she wasn't sure what her parents would say. She'd have to sneak out and that was something that would be really risky. What if her brother caught her?

"Sofia?" Eren asked and broke her out of her thoughts.

"S-Sorry, um... I don't know Eren. If my parents catch me sneaking out they'll be pissed, and it's really risky" she replied.

He sighed with disappointment. "It's fine, don't worry about it. I wouldn't want you to get in trouble" he said.

She felt kind of bad, then she thought about it more. If she was quick and back on time, her parents wouldn't notice she was gone.

"Actually... Eren, how long would we be out?" she asked.

"Uh.. however long you wanna be out? I have to be back before 5, because my dad wakes up for work" he replied.

She sat up in bed. "Let's do it, you can bring me home at 3 or 4" she said and stood up.

He seemed a bit surprised. "W-Wait really!? Sofia you don't have to" he said.

She laughed a bit. "Come on, let's just do it. I want to anyway, it'd be kind of cool to sneak out with you" she said and smiled.

Eren felt a blush spread on his cheeks. "Alright.. I'll get on my way then. See you in a few" he said.

She grabbed some clothes. "Alright" she said and hung up the phone.

She smiled to herself as she threw on some leggings and a sweater, she brushed her hair, and threw on some perfume. Sofia couldn't lie and not say she didn't find Eren attractive, she watched as he grew up and he grew into one fine man.

Her phone vibrated, she grabbed it and saw that Eren messaged her saying he was on the way. She had to figure out how to get out of the house as quiet as possible, if she was to get caught, her parents would be pissed.

She opened the door quietly. The silence filling the house was making it hard for her to be fully silent, she closed her bedroom door slowly, and began to tip toe her way towards the stairs. Sofia could hear her heart racing in her ears. She slowly crept down the steps of the stairs, and went to grab her shoes that were at the end of the staircase near the door.

Her phone vibrated again, she pulled it out of her sweater and saw the message from Eren that he was outside.

Sofia put on her shoes on, and unlocked the door. She slowly opened the front door, and looked back to make sure that nobody was behind her. She stepped outside and felt the chilly air hit her skin. She closed the door slowly and began to make her way to Eren's car.

He unlocked it and looked at her as she got in. "Hey.. are you good?" Eren asked and nodded.

She sighed. "Yeah! It was just so hard to get out quietly. Let's pray they don't notice I left" she replied and laughed a bit.

Eren chuckled. "Yeah it took me a bit to get outside, starting your car in silence was really scary" he said and began to reverse out of her driveway.

Sofia laughed and put her seatbelt on. "So... where do you wanna go?" she asked.

He shrugged and began to drive away from her house. "Honestly, we can go anywhere. Just say the word and we'll go" he replied and gave her a smile.

That smile.

Sofia always found Eren's smile very attractive, it was probably her favorite thing about him. Besides his teal eyes or his brunette hair that had grown past his neck.

"Got any tunes?" Sofia asked and looked at him.

He looked at her. "No, you can play something if you want. I doubt our music taste is the same" he replied and tossed his phone to her.

She looked over at him. "Uh.." she said.

Eren's brows furrowed as he looked at her. "Oh my bad, my password is 1567" he said and laughed a bit.

She giggled and unlocked his phone, she noticed how Eren kept his phone kind of... organized? Last time she went through his phone when he was a freshman, it was messy and he had so much weird clutter on it. She practically cringed when she opened it for the first time all those years ago.

She looked through and clicked on his spotify. "My playlist should be there, find something you like" he said and smiled.

Sofia went through Eren's playlist and surprisingly their playlists were similar, Eren liked a lot of the same music she did.

"You like The Neighborhood?" she asked and looked over at him.

Eren chuckled. "Yeah.. I kinda got into them last summer. I like their style" he replied and rubbed the back of his neck.

She nodded and put on Cry Baby, the song played in the car as Eren got onto the highway. Eren reached over and turned up the volume.

"I think I talk too much... I need to listen baby" Sofia sang.

Eren rolled down the windows and the cool air blew into the car. "I need to listen.." Eren sang.

The song played in the car as the two drove on the highway, the lights that illuminated the street shined inside Eren's car as he sped through the highway. Sofia nodded her head to the song as he continued driving.

Eren looked at her with a giant smile. "You know... this actually isn't that bad" he said.

She nodded. "Yeah it isn't..." she replied and looked out the window.

Eren felt a blush spread across his cheeks looking at her hair flow in the wind, she always looked beautiful to him. Sofia always did things that made Eren feel fuzzy and warm, he always found himself smiling at her messages, or feeling his heart race when she approached him in school.

It was no lie that Eren had feelings for her.

"Hey... is that the moon?" Sofia asked and looked out the window at the bright light.

Eren looked up through the dashboard. "Yeah.. it is. I haven't seen the moon that big in forever" he replied and laughed a bit.

Sofia rolled up her window and rubbed her arms. "It's so cold" she said and laughed a bit as she turned down the music.

Eren rolled up his own window feeling the chill dance across his skin. "Yeah it is.. my bad for keeping the windows open" he said and looked at her with an apologetic smile.

She smiled. "Don't worry, it's fine. Where do you wanna go?" she asked and looked over at him.

He sighed and looked at the time, the clock in his car read 2:21 A.M. they only had an hour or two left to hangout.

"Let's just head to this clearing... it isn't very far" he replied and got towards the exit of the highway.

Sofia looked at her phone making sure nobody messaged her, she assumed for the time being that nobody noticed she left. Some relief came through her.

"Is this your first time sneaking out?" Sofia asked and looked at Eren.

He sighed. "Actually.. no. I snuck out once with Reiner to get some weed, I almost got caught, but I lied to my mom and said that he was dropping off something" he replied and laughed a bit.

She laughed a bit. "Weed huh? I kinda noticed the smell in the car" she said and crossed her legs on the seat.

Eren rolled his eyes playfully. "It's that obvious? I just got car fresheners, I probably have to get stronger ones then" he said.

Eren drove his car to this clearing with a hill. The clearing showed a view of the highway, and the city lights that were in the distance. He turned off the car and sat there staring at Sofia for a second.

"Do you wanna get out?" he asked and nodded.

She unbuckled her seatbelt. "Sure" she replied and opened the door.

Eren got out of the car and sat down on the hood of his car. Sofia stood by the side of his car sort of awkwardly watching him, this made a chuckle come from his throat.

"You can sit next to me, don't worry" he said and patted the spot next to him.

She laughed feeling her heart race. "Okay" she replied and sat next to him.

Eren lied down and stared at the stars shining above them, the moon shined over the landscape making things a bit more visible. The city lights made things even better.

"So um... have you ever been here before?" Eren asked and looked at her.

Sofia looked at him. "No I haven't, I never knew this existed" she said and looked around the sky.

He nodded and looked up at the sky, the way she looked in the moonlight made his heart swell. Eren noticed the way her eyes were sparkling in the light.

"I-It's kind of cold" she said and shivered a bit.

He looked at her and sat up. "Come here.." he said and opened his arms for her. Something he's never done before.

Sofia felt a blush spread onto her cheeks. "A-Are you sure?" she asked.

He chuckled. "Yes... only if you want to though" he said and smiled a bit.

Sofia leaned into his touch and felt his arms go around her waist pulling her closer, she felt the heat radiating from his body. It made her shivers disappear and warmth enveloped her, she lied her head onto his chest, feeling his heart beat by her ear. She never thought Eren would ever be like this with her

"You're really warm" she said and laughed a bit.

Eren put his chin onto her head. "Yeah... I guess I am" he replied and looked at the city lights in the distance.

Sofia looked up into his teal eyes. "Eren..." she said.

He took her hands in his. "Can I tell you something?" he asked and swallowed nervously.

She furrowed her brows. "Yeah of course, you can tell me anything" she replied and blushed a bit.

"Sofia... I-I... I like you okay.. like a lot. I've liked you for such a long time, and I just.. I just can't resist anymore. With graduation coming soon I don't want to let the moment slip away" Eren said and looked at her. "You're just so pretty you know? Like... you blow me away whenever I see you, and I just want you to be my girlfriend" he added.

Sofia looked at Eren with wide eyes, she never really knew Eren felt that way. Yeah they had been friends for a long time, but she always assumed it would remain as a friendship.

"Eren... I like you too" she said and smiled a bit.

He seemed a bit surprised at her answer. "What? You do? Sofia... you don't have to. Trust me, no force" he replied.

She laughed a bit and looked down. "No Eren I always have... you've always treated me differently compared to other guys. I couldn't ask for someone other than you" she said.

Eren felt a smile grow onto his face. "Will you be my girlfriend then?" he asked.

She nodded. "Of course I will" she replied and looked at him.

Eren felt his heart swell as he cupped her cheek and leaned in for a kiss. Sofia smiled and put her arms around his neck. The kiss was passionate and made her feel weak.

Eren felt his phone vibrate, he broke the kiss and looked at his phone. His eyes went wide.

"Something wrong?" Sofia asked and furrowed her brows.

He showed her the time. "It's 3:15... we gotta get back" he replied and hopped off the car.

Sofia rushed into his car and laughed a bit. "If you get grounded" she said and started laughing.

Eren rolled his eyes and leaned in for another kiss. "You're lucky you're beautiful" he said and put on his seatbelt.

The night was spent with Eren rushing to get Sofia back home in time. When she eventually did get home she was able to get inside without anyone noticing, Eren sent her a text telling her to sleep well which made her smile.

"Ugh Eren.." she said and smiled as she placed her phone into the charger turning over to go to sleep.

The night was memorable for the two.

[paulsmashedpotato]

hi there! um . . . . if you're not too busy, would you please write something with john lennon, and 62 & 23 from the prompt list? thinking angsty w/ something happy at the end but you can decide :) hope you're well 💛

I'm sorry this took like four or more days, you probably forgot you even requested from me (╯︵╰,)

Masterlist

Prompt List

I Like You!

Pairing: John Lennon x reader

Word count: 1.3k

Warnings: None!

Note: Eric's a random name/character for the story!

"John!" You called your closest friend from Biology class as you spotted him walking out from their lecture hall. His face lightened up when he saw you. "Hi," he greeted back, taking your bag from you and hanging it on his shoulder. "You finished early today."

You nodded. "Our Prof had to leave early for a meeting."

You and John had been friends since first year when he sat next to you in Biology and found out you had a few similar subjects to take. You were now both in your last year and even though you only had one common subject now, you were still really close. He's been walking home with you since the week you became friends and you even get lunch together if your schedules met.

"I bought a new movie tape, you wanna watch it with me tonight?" He asked, tilting his head down a bit to look at you. You pursed your lips before sighing. "Can't," you said, "seeing a friend tonight."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Who?"

"Eric," you answered, slightly sheepish, not even noticing his expression. "Eric? That guy on the third seat on the front row?" You slowly nodded. "I thought we agreed he had the worst haircut?"

You giggled. "That was first year, John. I thought I'd give him a chance, he's the only one who ever showed interest in me." John wrinkled his nose in disagreement. "You'd rather go see Eric than watch a movie with your friend, really?"

"I mean, he might be a potential boyfriend. I can't risk that," you jokingly said. "Besides, we'll be dating someone in the future, we won't always be able to do things together," you paused to look at him, he was just mindlessly looking at every person that walked past the two of you. "Think of now as a... practice or something."

"Not if you'll be my girlfriend and I'll be your boyfriend."

You choke on air, letting out a dry cough as you looked at him. "What?" You laughed. "That's so unrealistic."

He pressed his lips together. "Right. Haha." You walked to the bus stop together and you took your bag from him there, he looked down at you. "Why'd you take it?"

"I won't be coming home with you today," you said. "You should go ahead." He didn't say anything, he just gave you a nod and a small smile. He lifted his hand to show you a hesitant wave before getting in the bus.

You were going to walk away when you heard John shout your name, you turned to see him sticking his head out the bus. "I have to tell you something really important! Come on!" He invited. "I can't, John —"

"Please." He smiled sadly. You worriedly looked at him and then at the last person who was about to get on, trying to make a quick decision.

"Ahhh! Fine!" You panicked, running towards the bus door just in time before it closed. You ran to where he was seated and plopped down beside him. "It better be important!" You said. "I'm ditching a date for you."

He let out air through his nose as if laughing silently. "It's very important."

"What is it?" You asked. He frowned. "Can we wait when we get home?"

"Your home or mine?"

"Mine?" He said unsure, he looked at you as if asking if it was alright with you, you nodded. "Longer ride then," you sighed, fixing your bag on your lap and leaning on his shoulder.

There was a short few minutes of silence that felt like forever before he talked again. "Remember when I gave you that stuffed toy you said you really liked back at the carnival?"

You lightly nodded. "I sleep with it every night since then," you giggled. "Thanks for that again."

"D'you know why I gave you that?" He asked quietly. You hummed and nodded, "Yeah. 'Cause you're the best friend in the world and you said I deserved it because I'm also the best person in the world and you really liked me."

"Yeah... I like you, y/n," he muttered. You sat up and playfully punched him, playing coy. "Aww, I like you too, dum-dum, you know that."

He shook his head. "No, like, like you... Like you. I like you."

"I like, like you, like you too," you giggled, playfully rolling your eyes."Why would we still be friends if I didn't like you?"

"No, I love you, Y/n. That's a deeper word and I don't know how else to let you know."

"What d'you mean?"

"Aww, I love you too, John," you cooed. "Tell you that everyday."

He groaned, leaning back on his seat and dramatically sliding to the side and hitting his head gently on the window. "It's so hard to admit to you!"

"I'd say I really, really love you and you'll still think I'm saying it as a friend," he quietly said, looking outside the window. You wrinkled your eyebrows but your face softened again when you processed what he said.

You never looked at everything he was doing to/for you with romantic intentions — purely as a friend. You didn't like assuming and he's never really said anything about it so you thought he really was just being a friend. Besides, you two were really, really close so you were comfortable telling each other everything even I love yous as a friend.

"Sorry, it's so weird," he said, putting his hand up to the side of his head to cover his face. "So you like-like me? Like, as a potential partner — not as a friend?" You asked, pulling his hand down.

"Ahhh.... Pffffff —" he huffed. "Yeah — I mean, why not? You're the best person I've ever met."

You smiled sweetly. "You really mean that? Not just because I'm your friend?"

"Yeah — wait, did you think I was only saying that because you were my friend? Y/n, I'd think you're perfect even if we weren't friends. Everyone loves you."

You just smiled, not really knowing how else to respond. He sat properly and sighed, "So... Are you still going to that date with uh... with Eric?"

You looked up the roof of the bus then smiled at him. "I think the movie with you is better."

He felt a huge load lift off his shoulders and he breathed out the air he didn't even realize he was holding in. "Good, then. I don't like him so stay away from him," he mumbled. You giggled, leaning back on his shoulder. "If you told me how you felt sooner, I wouldn't have entertained him."

"Hey — I've been trying to tell you since the first year we were friends — you kept replying with, Aww, I like you too, John. I'm happy you're my friend too, John. I wanna spend my life with you too, John, imagine your kids and my kids being best friends too."

"Oh shut up, how am I supposed to know those words meant more as a friend?" You rolled your eyes, lightly pinching his arm. "You couldn't even hold my hand."

"How was I supposed to know you wanted your hand to be held — it would be weird if I just took your hand considering we were just friends."

"Well, if you asked sooner —"

"It doesn't matter, we're good now," he said, cutting your rant off. "So is tonight our first official date?"

You nodded with a huge smile. He took your hand and intertwined his fingers with yours, his thumb running up and down the back of your hand. "I like this," he said, almost whispering. He leaned his head on yours. "I like this too."

"I like you," he ssaid sotto voce. You brought your other hand up to his head and messed his hair. "I like you too, John."

Sorry for typos beep boop beep boop I'll make sure to edit!

-end-

Will add the keep reading option once I get a hold of my laptop — my sister's using it for online class ಠ_ಠ Sorry if this long ass text passed by your dashboard.

[will-noble-owns-my-ass]

BALLUM BIG BANG 2020 ENTRY

Title: Of Cops and Mob Bosses

Word Count: 9260

Rating: safe

Summary: Phil Mitchell. Mob boss of Walford. He was the hard man of Walford but it was time to pass on his legacy. There were few people he could bestow this honour onto,  one of which was his son Ben  Mitchell. Now Ben was… Well Ben, he’d been in trouble a few times, for a few  big things but he hadn’t meant any of them, not really. Ben had searched all his life for his dad’s approval and he would get it if it killed him until something, or should I say someone, changed that.  Callum ‘Halfway’ Highway. New to Walford and a new policeman to the area. He’d heard of the Mitchell’s, they were famous all over London for the crimes that they had committed. Now one Mitchell in particular intrigued Callum. Ben Mitchell. Ben intrigued Callum because, even though he had two serious charges on his record- from his childhood - he seemed to now be on the straight and narrow.   

Artist: @lucres - Find the art here: https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/blog/lucres/622878582499328000 and 

 here: https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/blog/lucres/622878354864013312

Beta: @benxcallumx

Thank you very much for all your help❤❤❤

Chapter 1

“Ben Mitchell! Get down here. I’ve got a job for you!” Ben sighed as he walked down the stairs “What do you want dad? Look whatever you need me to do, I can’t. I’ve got the car lot to look after. You're gonna have to find someone else to do your dirty work.”

“Ben you are my son you will do as I tell you!”

“I am an adult! I have a job! I have a child! You cannot rule my life and I refuse to do your dirty work, do you understand?” “You will do as I tell you, I run Walford!”

“Sure dad whatever, but I ain’t doing whatever job this is, you’ll have to find someone else to do it”  Phil stepped toward him and pushed him against the wall “YOU DO AS I SAY!”

Ben pushed his dad off of him and into the table “I AM NOT EVER DOING A JOB FOR YOU AGAIN! AND I AM NEVER GOING TO PUT LEXI THROUGH WHAT YOU PUT ME THROUGH!” Phil  looked at him in shock “Why does it matter about Lexi, this won’t affect her!” Ben growled and saw red as he felt his fist connect with his dad’s face “What does she matter?” he hissed “Are you kidding me? She is your granddaughter. Everything we do affects her, how would you not know that? SO NO! I’M NOT DOING ANYMORE JOBS FOR YOU! Because Lexi needs me and I’m not going to put our relationship in danger just so you can get your job done. I AM NOT GOING TO PRISON because you can’t be bothered  to do this job by yourself, or are too lazy to  find someone actually STUPID enough, to not think for themselves and do as you tell them!” 

He pushed his dad into the table again, walking out of the front door and slamming the door behind him, seething  he stormed into the Queen Vic. “Y'all right Ben? What can I get you?”  

“Pint please Mick” He sighed as he locked eyes with a handsome bloke with  bright blue eyes “ £5.19 please Ben” Ben took the drink from him , handing him the money “Thanks Mick” He  walked toward the new man who he’d never seen in the Vic before. He leaned against the bar and locked eyes with him. “Hi, I’m Ben Mitchell.. I haven’t seen you around here before.” The other man looked at him with slightly wide eyes “Hey I’m Callum Highway. It’s nice to meet you Ben”

Callum’s Point of View

Callum sat in the Queen Victoria in Albert Square, his new home, after his first shift at the Walford Police Department. He sat against the bar, sipping his drink and thinking about his day. He looked very pensive but was brought out of his thoughts by “Hi, I’m Ben Mitchell, I haven’t seen you around here before” he looked up to see one of the most handsome man he had ever seen, he felt his face heat up slightly as he smiled a little “Hey, I’m Callum Highway, it’s nice to meet you Ben”

  Unbeknownst to Ben, Callum already knew who he was. The Mitchell dynasty was a big part of the reason he had requested a transfer to Walford, and why he’d moved into Albert Square. The Mitchells fascinated him, and he’d been quite excited at the possibility of meeting the Mitchell who intrigued him most. The one standing in front of him.   Ben smiled slightly and slipped into the stool next to him “So you're new to Walford right?” he asked softly. “Yeah, I was transferred for work, I needed a change of scenery” he told him . Ben looked at him.  “Transferred?” he asked. “Oh yeah I moved to Walford to join this police station” Ben smiled lightly “that’s cool, so how are you liking Walford so far?” Callum looked at him and thought for a second “Well from what I’ve already seen in the last week.. It’s interesting” Ben laughed lightly “Interesting is one word for it… There’s a lot that goes on in Walford… and surprisingly a lot of it happens in Albert Square” Callum chuckled “That’s kind of what drew me to wanting the transfer here… More exciting, in fact I was in here just thinking about how busy my first day at the Police Station was … What brings you here tonight?” he asked, genuinely interested. 

Ben thought for a second and said “Well, seeing as you're from the police.. I’m not 100% sure I should tell you.” Callum analysed him for a second “Ben, I’m not on duty. Listen, I know I’m new around Walford but I know about your family.. I know you’ve got a history of your own. I know YOU haven���t done anything illegal in a long time. Ben what I’m trying to say is that you can vent at me.. It’s your dad isn’t it?” 

Just at that moment Linda walked up to Callum. “Halfway, Mick’s busy and no one else is here, would you be a gem and help me change a barrel?” Callum looked at Linda and nodded. He looked at Ben as he stood up “Halfway?” Ben mouthed, Callum shook his head and whispered “I’ll tell you later if you tell me about what’s going on with your dad, Ben, you're talking to me as a friend not a police officer.. It might help to talk about what’s going on” Ben smiled softly “Alright ‘Halfway’” he mocked slightly “Go help with that barrel” Callum laughed softly and shook his head following Linda into the barrel store. 

Linda looked at him knowingly, “You watch yourself with that one.. He’s trouble.” Callum looked at her “Linda, it’s fine.. I’ve known him an hour and a half. I know what he’s family is like.. But he’s not like that… at least not anymore I don't think so. It seems to me like he’s trying to change, from his record anyway, he hasn’t been in trouble for a long time, he was sixteen when he last committed a major crime.” Linda looked at him as they worked together to change the barrel “You're an adult and  a police  officer Callum, trust your own judgement it’s up to you” Callum smiled slightly at his mother figure “I appreciate that Linda, and I promise I’ll be careful about it. Although I have only known him for the last hour and a half, there’s no guarantee it’ll go that way, but I’d be happy with his friendship right now, considering I’m new to Walford and need friends” Linda laughed “Your very loveable Callum you’ll be fine” 

Callum smiled softly and looked at Linda “Oh by the way, Thanks for calling me Halfway in front of him” she laughed again “Oh sorry, he wants to know why?” Callum nodded as they finished changing the barrel and left the barrel store. “Yeah, he wants to know” he glared at her playfully   Linda laughed “Just go back to your new friend Callum” He smiled softly “I think I will” 

CHAPTER TWO 

Callum smiled as he sat back down next to Ben against the bar. “So Mr. Mitchell… What brought you here today.” Ben looked at him and grinned “Nice try ‘Halfway’, Why do they call you that?” Callum laughed softly “THAT was a nice try Ben but if I remember rightly, which I’m 99% sure I do, I said I would only tell you why they call me Halfway if you tell me why you're here and what’s bothering you.”

Ben sighed softly with a slight laugh, he shrugged his shoulders “right well it was worth a try… okay I’ll tell you” he took a deep breath as Callum locked eyes with him, giving him his full attention “Okay.. so you know about my past.. I’ve paid for my mistakes.. I’ve paid for it all and I am incredibly remorseful for everything I did.” Callum nodded “I see that.. Now what happened today?”

“My dad.. He wants me to do a job for him.. I refused. He started yelling at me.. We got into  a fight.. And I came here to escape.. Because I don’t want to do whatever job he has for me.. I want him to find somebody else to  do this job” he looked at Callum “Before you say anything I know I should just want him to not do the job at all.. But this is Phil Mitchell we’re talking about.. He does what he wants and everyone else has to deal with the consequences, because we’re the ones who have to do the jobs for him, and we’re the ones who have to pick up the pieces when it all goes to crap! Even his 7 year old granddaughter. He’s willing to put her future at risk. He’s willing to make her feel as if I abandoned her! And I refuse to put up with it any longer. She is a child she doesn’t need all of this, she  doesn’t deserve to be put through this. I am her father, I’m supposed to protect her from all of these things!”  he took a deep breath “I’m  sorry I didn’t mean to rant… it’s just I have a lot on my mind.”

Callum smiled and flagged down Mick and ordered another two beers “Ben it’s okay… you’re  allowed to feel this way”  Ben sighed “But it’s my dad.. I should respect him.. Right?” Callum sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “No, Ben you don’t have to respect  him at all or do as he tells you, especially if he’s trying to get you to do his dirty work, this is completely allowed and I am 100% sure you are justified in what you said to him” Ben looked at him and smiled slightly “Thank you Callum.” The other male raised an eyebrow at him “What for?” They both smiled at each other and picked up the drinks Mick had just placed onto  the bar “Giving me someone to vent to… I know we haven’t known each other long, like at all it’s been what? Two hours” Callum smiled softly “Yeah okay it’s been two hours.. But sometimes we can all use a friend” Ben raised an eyebrow “A friend? You see me as a  friend already?” he smiled softly and locked eyes with him “yeah.. Sure I do, only god knows we both need a friend right now, and I’m new around here I need all the friends I can get”

Ben grinned “Alright I can go for that, now I think YOU have something to tell me don’t you?” Callum feigned ignorance “Do I?” Ben laughed lightly “You know you do.. Why do they call you Halfway Callum?” Callum sighed softly “Why do they call me Halfway?” he thought for a second “They call me Halfway, sort of to make fun of me… Well because, I knew their son Lee at school and I was in the army with him.. And I was never very smart at school, I wasn’t ‘all there’ according to my some of my family” he gestured to himself “hence Halfway”

Ben smiled softly “That’s actually quite sweet” Callum blushed softly “yeah I guess so..” Ben chuckled and clapped him on the back “It’s not that bad Callum, or can I call you Halfway?” Callum glared at him playfully “Yes.. I think we’re friends enough that you are able to call me Halfway” Ben smiled softly and checked the time “Oh god.. Is that the time, sorry Callum I’ve gotta go get Lex from school..” He pulled out his card “This might be weird but here’s my number… you know if you ever wanna meet up here and have me return the favour, and have a rant at me?” Callum smiled and took the card “That’s not weird.. I’ll text you” Ben stood up “Okay sounds good, I’ll see you later okay?” he smiled as he walked toward the door and left. Callum grinned and looked down at the card in his hand with a slight blush. He took his pint from the bar and smiled slightly with a glint in his eye.

Yes, he’d only known Ben Mitchell for two hours, but he could see them as friends, possibly even more than that, he’d wait to see where the friendship took them. He didn’t know what the future held for him but he did know that he was excited about being in Walford. He had a family, and a home in the Carter’s and in the Queen Victoria. He also hoped he had a new friend in Ben Mitchell, although he felt a nagging feeling in the back of his mind telling him that it may lead to more with the other man who he already seemed to be very close to. He knew a lot about his new friends' past, but he could also see quite clearly, that the young Mitchell was changing, for the better and he shouldn’t let his father get in the way of the happiness he was clearly trying to find.. Callum resolved to try his best to help him to get out of the situation that he found himself in. 

Ben grinned lightly as he left the Vic, walking towards the primary school to pick up Lexi. Callum was really really kind and he'd found it incredibly helpful to be able to vent to someone. Sure he had Jay and Lola, but he found that sometimes it was easier to talk to someone that he wasn't attached to, although he did think there was a possibility he may become attached to Callum in the future, he had felt a connection almost instantly, and he could see them becoming close. He couldn’t wait to see where his future would take him, and he hoped Callum would be there in some capacity. 

Chapter Three 

 It had been a few weeks since Callum had arrived in Walford and met Ben, and most nights if he wasn’t working he was spending time with Ben, whether it be in the Vic or juist, spending time around at his house with him. A week after he had met Ben the other man had introduced him to Jay and Lola, and they had, all three clicked instantly, Callum had found some new friends, he just seemed to slot into their lives, like he was always supposed to be there, he’d even met Lexi. He smiled softly as he thought of all the people he’d met since moving to Walford. He finally felt like he would be able to be who he had always felt he was, He felt liberated now, secretly this was another reason he had moved away from Watford, from his father, from his brother. Now that they weren’t around him, he felt more able to be who he was without worry of being ridiculed for being different. Part of the reason behind this was watching Ben be completely open and honest about who he was. He didn’t know it, but Ben was teaching Callum not to be afraid, that it would be okay, that nothing would change, if he was open about who he was. He got ready for his night off, which as with most of his time off of late, he was spending with Ben, Jay and Lola. When he finished getting ready he went over to the Mitchell household and knocked on the door.

Ben’s Point of View.  

Ben smiled softly as he chased Lexi around her bedroom “Hey missy come on it’s bedtime” she let out a high-pitched squeal “No! I want to say hello to Callum” he laughed softly as he caught her and began tickling her “Get ready for bed and we’ll see okay?” she nodded “okay okay fine” she said laughing as he placed her down, she went to put on her pajamas as he left to the kitchin to flick the kettle on. He rolled his eyes as he noticed Jay and Lola sat at the table “Soo” Lola smiled “What do you want?” he asked, slightly irritated. Jay laughed softly “You’ve spent a lot of time with Callum lately, he’s a nice lad, and we like having him around, but you seem to like him. A lot”

“Alright and? I do like him, but it can’t happen” he sighed softly “We’ve only known each other a few weeks” Lola smiled with a slight squeal  “Oh Ben I’m so happy for you”  Ben looked at her and then at Jay and rolled his eyes  “Alright Lo calm down, we not getting married I haven’t even asked him out yet, and I’m not going to” Lola frowned “Why not? You like him, and I’m pretty sure he likes you too” Ben shook his head slightly “Lo, you can’t know that” She sighed softly “Alright if you're happy with that” Ben sighed “I think you know I’m not but I can't do anything about it. Look Lola we’ll see what happens in the future but he’s only been here a few weeks” Jay looked at him and laughed softly “But doesn’t he know you?” Ben rolled his eyes “You're on her side with this? I can’t believe you! And what could you possibly mean?”

Jay shook his head and laughed “Sorry bro, she will always win out on you, and I think you know exactly what I mean, he knows exactly who you are. He knows all about your past, and he still wants to be friends with you! Even if he is a police officer” Ben frowned at this and Lola slapped him upside the head “Jay!” she muttered as he rubbed the back of his head “I’m sorry okay?” Ben sighed and turned around taking four mugs out of the cupboard and set about making tea. He shook his head “Thank you for that one Jay, I appreciate it” Jay sighed “I’m sorry… Callum joining us again is he?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at the fourth mug on the counter “He should be… is that a problem?” Jay and Lola both shook their heads “No Ben of course we don’t… Callum is a decent lad. He fits in with us, he  needs the friends anyway from what he’s told me… I just noticed that he spends a lot of his free time here..”

“Yes I suppose he does, but he seems to be happy with that and it’s not like I’m forcing him to spend time with me Jay” Lola sighed “Ben that’s not what he’s saying.. What he means is, he doesn’t think the way you feel about him-” Ben opened his mouth to protest “Don’t you even try to deny it Ben Mitchell we know you. We can both read you like a book.. As I was saying Jay was just saying that he doesn't think the way you feel about Callum is one sided” Ben sighed and rolled his eyes, as the doorbell rang he walked backward toward the door so he could see them as he went to open it “Alright, whatever, just don’t say anything while he’s here I beg you” Lola chuckled  “Alright alright just answer the door”

Ben rolled his eyes and answered the door “Hey Halfway!” Callum glared at him playfully as he laughed “Hello Ben” he said as he entered the house and walked into the kitchen “Hey Lo, Jay, cheers Ben” he said as he was handed his mug “Oh no problem” he smiled and rolled his eyes Lola as she looked at him with a smile. They chatted for a while and smiled as they heard a thundering from upstairs “She waited up to see me again huh?” Lola laughed “You know she loves you Callum”  As Lexi barrelled into the kitchen and into Callum’s legs. “Callum!” she squealed softly “Hey missy,  have you had a good day” he asked as he bent down to pick her up. The little girl hugged him tightly as she launched into a rant about her day and how much fun she had had at school during the day. Callum listened  with a smile “Sounds like you did have a good day” he smiled softly as he placed her down on the floor. Lola chuckled “Come on then missy it’s time for bed, you’re already half an hour late, that’s not gonna be fun in the morning” she whispered the last bit. Lexi nodded with a soft yawn.

Ben smiled softly and picked her up “Let’s get you upstairs” he said as he left the kitchen and climbed the stairs toward her bedroom and put her to bed. Callum smiled into his mug as he watched Ben go. Lola and Jay looked at each other “So, Cal, How was your day?” Jay asked as he took a sip from his tea. “Well you know, busy but not too bad, how was yours?” he smiled softly and leaned against the kitchen counter. “Oh you know.. Ben’s been doing my nut in at the funeral home” Callum laughed softly “Doesn't he have the car lot to run?” Jay grinned with a nod “Yeah, he has the car lot and the Archers.. But I think he gets lonely.. He works at both on his own so…”  Lola smiled “He’s very busy in his own work and he does very well but.. He does get very lonely.. I usually spend his lunch hour with him” 

Callum nodded very pensive “I might join him some time, I should have the time.. I’ll give him some company at the car lot for the day too” Jay and Lola grinned at each other  “You don’t have to do that Callum.” He smiled softly “No no it’s not a problem, I want to he’s been one of my best friends since I moved into Walford, If he’s lonely I wanna help, I might even be able to be of some help at the car lot, or the Archers.. And it would mean that he’s not at the funeral home as much.” Lola laughed softly “I think he’d like that Callum” he nodded “Okay then”

Upstairs Ben was putting Lexi to bed, telling her a story. “Daddy?” he looked at her and sat on her bed next to her “Yes Princess?” she looked at him “I like Callum” she said with a sweet voice. Ben chuckled “I like Callum too baby” she smiled softly and gave him what Ben thought was a knowing look which was funny seeing as she was 7 years old. “Alright Princess I’ll see you in the morning okay?” he kissed her forehead as she cuddled into her bedsheets and her stuffed bunny rabbit. “Night dad” he grinned softly and joined  the others back in the kitchen. He grinned lightly as they were discussing what they were going to do for the evening. He sat down, joining them. He was with his family and he finally had the kind of life he’d wanted for so long and he was going to make sure it stayed that way.

Chapter 4

Phil Mitchell was angry. His son had been ignoring him for around a month now and he was getting sick of it. He needed his son to do exactly as he wanted him to do. He was going to retire soon and he needed to know he was leaving his empire to someone he could trust.  He let his fist hit the desk as he let out his anger. How dare his son not do as he told him? He was his father and he should be respected. Phil decided that if Ben wasn’t willingly going to do the job for him then he would just have to trick him into it. The only problem was, he wasn’t quite sure how to make this happen. Phil thought a while and snapped his fingers, he dialled Ben’s number and waited for him to answer it “What can I do for you Dad? If it’s that job I don’t want to know, okay?” Phil sighed softly “No Ben it’s not about the job, I was just wondering if you’d want to go for a drink? I’ll send you the address” Bwn laughed a little sarcastically “You wanna go for a drink with me? Really dad? If that’s true why don’t we just go to the Vic?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at his dad’s sudden interest in spending time with him. “I just figured we could try somewhere new” Ben gave a sigh of defeat “yeah alright dad we can go for a drink, where and when?” Phil smiled “I’ll send the address and time?” Ben snorted slightly “Alright then dad, I’ve gotta go I’ve got a meeting” he said as he hung up. Phil laughed a little as he put down the phone. He had finally found a way to get Ben to do as he needed him to do. He sent him the address of the warehouse that the job would be happening in and a time to go. Phil was rather annoyed because although Ben had finally given into him, (even if he didn’t know he was going to be doing it) Phil had had to lie to him to get him to do what was required of him.   

The next day Ben got ready to go and see his dad he travelled to the address that his dad had sent him. When he arrived he looked around the warehouse and sighed “Dad!” he growled and leaned against the wall scrubbing a hand down his face. He looked around “Right.. What do I do now?” he walked through the warehouse trying to work out what he was to do. He sighed, he wasn't going to do this job, he had Lexi to think about now, he couldn’t deal with the consequences.. Lexi needed him and he was definitely going to be there for her, he wasn’t going to be anything that could possibly damage his chances of seeing her grow up. 

In the warehouse he found it to be packed with a lot of things that probably didn’t belong there. He also found a note from his dad that said ~FIND SOMETHING TO DO WITH ALL THIS~

  He sighed softly, he was going to have to talk to his dad about this. He couldn’t believe that he would do this, he had forced him to get involved in this, he couldn’t believe his dad could be this selfish. He ran his hand down his face again. Of course he would have to do this, his dad wouldn’t stop until he did. Phil Mitchell always got what he wanted. But not this time.

His eyes widened as he heard sirens close to the warehouse.   “Oh crap” he ran around the warehouse trying to find a way out, as the sirens got louder, Ben stopped running, he decided that this was going to stop now. He decided it was time to make sure that his dad couldn’t get away with these jobs anymore. The police car stopped in front of him, and Ben walked over. The car door opened and Jack got out “Well, well, well if it isn’t Ben Mitchell” Ben sighed “Hi Jack, how did you know I was here?” Jack smiled softly, happy that he had finally caught a Mitchell doing something they shouldn’t be. 

“We’ve got this place under surveillance.” he pulled out a pair of handcuffs as Ben turned around “Ben Mitchell, I’m arresting you on suspicion of breaking and entering and intent to sell stolen goods, You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, something which you later rely on in court. Do you understand?” Ben sighed and nodded as he was placed into the back of the car.  Jack got back into the car and drove towards the police station “Wait until Callum hears about this” he said, just loud enough for Ben to hear. He sighed “Why does what Callum thinks about this matter. Jack raised an eyebrow and looked at Ben “Nothing.” The rest of the ride to Walford police station was silent. When they arrived at the police station Jack pulled Ben out of the car and led him into the police station. 

Walking into the building Jack stopped at the desk to book him in. Ben looked up and locked eyes with the officer behind the desk. “PC Highway, I’ve got Ben Mitchell here, I arrested him in a warehouse by the Thames, for breaking and entering and intent to sell stolen goods. Can you book him in please?” Callum nodded looking at Ben and quickly put him into the system. Ben was then placed into an interview room and questioned. “So Ben.” Jack said quietly “What were you doing in that warehouse?” Ben looked Jack straight in the face “I was just going for a walk” Jack raised an eyebrow “Down by the Thames? A little far away from the Square don’t you think?” Ben shrugged slightly “Maybe.. But then again Jack, maybe I just wanted to get away for a bit, Maybe I had been called to fix a car down there”

“Down by a warehouse? That doesn’t tell me why you were IN  the warehouse Ben. Look I want to help you.. Tell me why you were there, be responsive, answer my questions and I can try to help you, I’m not the bad guy here Ben” Ben shook his head refusing to answer any more questions. Jack sighed, after about an hour and a half  he said “Interview suspended at 18:45.” Jack sighed softly and left the room. Ben sighed he knew his dad needed to be stopped and he knew that this was probably the only way this was going to happen, but he also couldn’t bring himself to implicate his dad, even if his dad didn’t have a problem with implicating him. It was his dad, could he really do that to his dad? He shook his head. He would never talk to him again. 

Callum’s point of view 

Callum watched as Jack left the interview room and walked toward him with a sigh. “Jack..” Jack looked at him “What  is it Callum, your friend in there isn’t cooperating at all”

“Can I talk to him Jack?” Jack looked at him and sighed “I don’t know Callum…” He sighed “Listen Jack I know it’s a bit weird but I might be able to convince him to cooperate, he listens to me… he trusts me” Jack sighed and ran a hand down his face “Yes, alright you can have 15 minutes with him, see what you can get out of him okay” Callum nodded “I can get him to tell me what happened.. He won’t tell me on the record though.. But I should be able to persuade him to tell you, I can’t promise you anything you know what he’s like.” Jack looked at him “I do know… but Callum I really need to know what happened, we can’t just leave it.. And we do need a record of what happened.” Callum sighed and walked towards the interview room “I’ll do what I can.”

Chapter Five 

Callum walked into the interview room and looked at the man sat in the chair he sighed with a soft smile “Hi Callum” he shook his head and sat down “Ben, what happened?” Ben placed his head down on the desk “I don’t want to say” Callum sighed “Look at me Ben.. What happened, I can help.” Ben sighed and looked up at him “How can you always do this?” Callum laughed softly “I’m just that good, now come on tell me what happened.” Ben sighed and looked at his hands, suddenly finding them to be the most interesting thing in the room. “It was my dad, he uh, he told me he wanted to go for a drink and he sent me an address and a time… I should have known something was wrong Callum… He’s Phil Mitchell, he’s always got ulterior motives” he placed his head in his hands. Callum sighed “Look at me, this is absolutely not your fault and your dad needs to learn he can’t do this” Ben looked at him, “I know Callum I know, but I can’t he’s still my dad”  Callum leaned back against the chair he was sat in “Listen Ben I get it some dad’s aren’t great… I understand that.. I’ve experienced it… Ben this is important.. Please… you can help us corner him if you tell Jack what you just told me” Ben sighed and looked at him “okay… okay yeah” he bit his lip “Your right he needs to learn.. It’s just not going to be fun at home” 

“No, I know and I fully understand, but you’ve got Jay, Lola and Lexi around you” he locked eyes with him “You’ve got me” he said quietly. Ben smiled softly as Callum said “Can I go get Jack?” Ben nodded. Callum stood up and left the room going back to desk “He’ll tell you now” Jack smiled “What did you do Callum? He was completely locked up there was no way he was going to tell us what’s going on” Callum shrugged “You may have lived on the square with him for years Jack, but I’ve spent time with him, I’m friends with him. He trusts me, I talk to him, I understand where he’s coming from” he sighed softly “Jack there’s something you need to know about this before you go back in there and talk to him.” He looked at him “What is it Callum?” he asked leaning against the desk. Callum ran a hand through his hair “Jack.. it was Phil, he tricked him into it.. But, Ben’s got a little bit of a complex with Phil.. It might take him awhile for him to tell you what happened, because of his loyalty complex with his dad, so could you please do me a favour and be patient with him. I’m guessing you know about Phil Mitchell’s past?” Jack nodded “Yes and I’m also aware of Ben’s past too, but I’ll listen to what he’s got to say because you seem very confident in him.” Callum looked towards the interview room. He shook his head and looked up at Jack “I do, I do trust him and I do have a lot of confidence in him… I didn’t know him when he did all the things on his record.. But I know him now and I can tell you he’s not like that anymore… he’s got Lexi now, he wouldn’t do anything to affect her.”

Jack sighed and walked toward the room “Okay” Callum nodded and leaned against the desk as Jack walked back into the room “Okay Ben, I’ve been talking to Callum, he tells me there’s more of a story behind you being at the warehouse, that you want to tell me.” Ben looked up at him “Uh, yeah… But listen.. I wanna ask before I tell you.. If it comes to anything I’d like to stay anonymous.. At least to start with” Jack nodded “Of course I can do that… I’m going to go back on the record okay?” Ben nodded quickly as he sat down and pulled his chair into the desk. “Alright then” he nodded and pressed the button “Interview recomenced at 19:10 … Ben what led you to being at that warehouse?” Ben sat up slightly in his chair “My dad… he uh, he told me we were gonna go for a drink, he sent me the address of this place… I should have known something was wrong… Not only does he never want to actually spend time with me, He never actually does anything unless he can get something out of it.”

Jack sighed “Right okay, and you had no idea that this was going on beforehand?” Ben shook his head “Not at all, he’d said he wanted me to do a job for him… and I knew that, but I’d told him that I wouldn’t do it because I have Lex now. He uh.. Wasn’t all too happy about it and he’s been trying to persuade me to do the job for him.. I just. I don’t know how to fix it” Jack looked at him “Okay, right well what do you know about his workings” Ben sighed “He’s… Uh he’s trying to make it so that I can take over from him in the ‘Family business’” he put into air quotes “But I really can’t do this… well that, and all his jobs need to stop and I know that…”

Jack leaned back in his chair “Anything else we need to know about?” Ben snorted slightly “There’s quite a lot”  Jack looked at him “We’ve got time” Ben took a deep breath “Alright so..” Ben then spent the next hour or so telling Jack everything he remembered about his dad’s past and all the different crimes that had happened that he knew about or thought that his dad may have been involved in. 

Chapter Six 

A few months after he had been arrested, and told Jack all about his dad’s past and his possible plans for future jobs that he had overheard, Jack had arrested Phil and charged him with all the crimes. They were able to prove some and his trial was in a few days. Ben sighed and sat down on the sofa and Lexi walked in”Daddy are you okay?” Ben looked up at her and pulled her into a hug “Of course I am Princess, I’ve got you” she smiled and hugged him. There was a knock at the door “I’ll get it” she chirped, Ben chuckled and put her down as she ran toward the door. “Callum!” he laughed softly and heard a “Hey Lex!” he heard her giggle as Callum walked into the living room with her on his shoulders “I’ll go ask mummy to put the kettle on for you” she said as Callum put her down.  “Alright”

 Callum smiled as he sat down on the sofa next to Ben “How’re you doing Ben?” Ben sighed and looked up at him “I’m doing okay but he still hasn't spoken to me” Callum sighed “Ben.. It’s okay, honestly maybe you just need to leave him to stew for a little while” Ben rolled his eyes “Callum it’s been six months… he just won’t talk to me”  Callum looked at him and grabbed his hand “Ben look at me.. You don’t need him, you’ve got me, you’ve got Jay, Lexi, Lola.. and this might not fill you with the most confidence but you have Ian too.” Ben laughed softly “Your right that doesn’t really help at all” Callum laughed softly “Yeah alright” Ben sighed softly “Hey… do you think you could come with me to court to watch the trial” Callum nodded “Yes I’ve got the day off that day, of course I’ll come with you” Ben smiled and hugged him “Thank you Callum honestly” Callum hugged him back a little surprised “of course Ben, you need me, I’m right here okay?” Lola  and Jay walked in and put the mugs they were carrying down on the coffee table. “We all are..” Lola smiled as they joined the hug. “I really appreciate you all” he grinned “Of course Ben, we’re your family.” He smiled softly. He suddenly felt as if he was finally in a safe space. He felt that he was finally away from his dad, which was something he never thought would happen. 

The next day,  Lola, Jay, Ben and Callum left Lexi with Ian and made their way to the court where the trial was taking place. When they arrived at the court, Ben stopped outside and leaned against the wall. Callum noticed that he wasn’t beside him anymore and backtracked out of the building  “Ben?” the shorter man looked at him “I’m  okay” Callum raised his eyebrows. Ben sighed “Okay so  I’m not okay, my dad’s about to be sent down and it’s my fault… so he won’t talk to me again… but he deserves it” Callum nodded with a slight smile and pulled him into a hug and led him inside .”It’s okay Ben, we’re all right here… we’ve got you” Ben followed with a smile “I know, I appreciate it Callum I really do… You don’t have to be here…” Callum shook his head and led him toward their friends  “But I want to be here for you Ben your my friend” Ben nodded as they walked into the courtroom and sat down. They sat through the trial waiting to hear the verdict. After they were called back in when the jury had come to a conclusion Ben sat next to Lola and Callum nervously. Lola pulled him into a side hug and Callum looked at him with  a slightly sad smile. The judge asked the foreman of the jury to stand  and asked what the verdict was. The foreman of the jury stood and Ben took a deep breath as they waited for the answer. “Guilty” Ben took another shaky breath and grabbed Callum’s hand. Callum looked at their hands a little surprised, he smiled softly and squeezed his hand as the judge then asked Phil to stand. “I have heard and taken into consideration all of the evidence heard and the fact that the jury has found you guilty. I believe that the only fair sentence I can give you is 10 years. You may take him down.”

As they watched him being taken down the four of them grinned at each other and stood up and Jay and Lola hugged Ben tightly., Callum smiled and looked down at their hands, which neither of them had realised they were still holding he blushed lightly and tried to pull away but Ben just held onto his hand tighter “Let’s go to the Vic and celebrate” Jay said  “ooh yes I’m down for that” Lola laughed. Ben nodded “I need a drink after that” They walked out of the court and got into a cab “Albert Square, thanks” Jay said quickly. When they arrived back on the square, Ben finally let go of Callum’s hand. Callum felt a little odd at the sudden loss of contact and it confused him. He knew he liked Ben, but he wasn’t sure if he should tell him because he didn’t know if Ben liked him in that way, and he didn’t want to ruin the friendship he had built up with Ben since he had moved to Walford. 

They walked into the Vic and, as Jay ordered the 4 of them drinks, Callum Ben and Lola sat down in a booth. Callum smiled softly watching Jay Lola and Ben have fun, and be who they are, he was incredibly happy that now that Phil was gone, Ben felt as though he could be who he was, and that he could pursue a future that he WANTED to.  

The four friends celebrated in the Vic for a few hours and eventually Ben and Callum ended up outside on the square, Ben leaning against the side of the Vic, pulled Callum toward him “Ben- Ben what are you doing?” he asked, pushing him away  and looking at him. Callum locked eyes with Ben, he connected their lips again. 

Chapter Seven 

Lola sighed softly, leaning against Jay as she looked at Ben “What’s going on with you Ben? I spoke to Callum earlier because he’s gonna go and get Lexi from school for me.. He said you haven’t properly spoken to him in a week..?” Ben looked at her “You remember last week when we went to the Vic, and at the end of the night we were standing outside.. And well we kissed.” Lola squealed “NO WAY” Ben nodded “Alright  Lo calm down” Lola smiled “Okay… So what’s the issue? He kissed you back right?” Ben shrugged and looked at her “I mean… he did yeah… But what’s to say it wasn’t just a spur on the moment thing? Oh my god… Lo I’ve ruined it” he buried his head in his hands

Jay sighed “Ben, Ben listen to me” he sat down at the table next to him “ Listen… You haven’t ruined anything at all.. You have no idea at all what he was feeling when he kissed you because you didn’t ask on the night did you?” Ben shook his head and Lola sighed “And you haven’t spoken to him all week to talk about what happened have you?” she asked, taking a hold of his hand. 

He ran a hand through his hair “No, no I haven’t because if I don’t talk to him then I haven’t ruined anything” Jay sighed “Ben, this is Callum you’d have to do something really awful  to get rid of Callum… and look at it this way, you’ve done some really bad stuff in the past and he’s still here to be your friend. So I genuinely don’t think that you have to worry about that.” Lola smiled “You’ll be fine Ben honestly.” Ben sighed softly “I don’t know… It’s me isn’t it? I’m really not lucky like this” Lola sighed and looked at him “Ben, Ben  you deserve so much happiness. Don’t let your past get you down . Be happy if it’s not with Callum then it’s not with Callum, but you deserve to try Ben” 

Ben smiled a little “What would I do without you two hey?” Lola and Jay laughed lightly “I don’t know” Ben grinned and sat back “Wait did you say Callum was picking Lex?” Lola nodded with a soft smile “She wanted him to so I said I would ask. She’s really happy about it, he’ll probably take her to the park or something, that’s always her favourite” Ben nodded “She’ll have fun then” Lola grinned “That she will”

Callum’s Point of View

Callum smiled as he arrived at the school to pick up Lexi and his smile only got bigger as she ran out of the building toward him “Uncle Callum!” she called as she ran at him, he knelt down to her height “Hello little monkey, how are you doing? You have a good day?” she nodded with a soft smile. “We did art and Maths and Music” she chirped telling him about her day. He smiled softly “That sounds fun” he replied with just as much enthusiasm “Do you wanna go to the park Lex?” he asked softly as he stood up to his full height and held out his hand to her so that they could safely walk across the road “YES!” she giggled he laughed “Alright missy”

As they arrived at the park Callum stopped at the kiosk and bought himself a cup of tea and a hot chocolate for Lexi “Uncle Callum?” she asked softly as they sat down at the picnic table. “Yes Lexi?” he replied handing her the hot chocolate “Do you like my dad?” he smiled “Sure I do Lex, he’s one of my best friends” she looked at him “That’s not what I meant Uncle Callum. Do you like him the same way my mum likes Uncle Jay?” 

Callum coughed  as his face went red “Lexi!” she looked at him innocently “What? I’m just interested”  Callum sighed softly. For 7 years old this girl was incredibly smart and perspective, there  was no point lying to her “I don’t know Lex.. I’m his friend right now that’s all I can tell you” she nodded taking a sip of her hot chocolate “Callum?” she asked softly. He leaned forward a little  “Yes Lex?”

 “My dad’s really happy when you're around” Lexi grinned “You make him happy I think” Callum smiled softly as she finished off her hot chocolate and ran off to play with a friend who had just arrived at the park. He sat there with a smile on his face as he sipped his tea. He had a lot to think about. 

Chapter Eight 

Lexi sat in her room smiling. Lately her dad and Uncle Callum hadn’t really spent as much time together, and SHE hadn’t really seen Callum since the day he picked her up from school and took her to the park for the hot chocolate and she’d asked him how he felt about her dad. She was very smart for a 7 year old and she knew what he meant.. She was very mature for her age and she knew when her dad and Callum were happiest and that was when they were together. She had a plan, but she needed some help. She hopped off her bed and ran down to the living room where her mum and Uncle Jay were sitting “Mum… Can you help me with something?”

Lola looked at her and smiled softly “Sure Lex what do you need?” Lexi smiled and sat in her lap “I want Uncle Callum and Daddy to spend time together, do you think you can ask Uncle Ian if they can have a table at his restaurant?” Lola smiled and hugged her little girl knowing exactly what she was doing. “I’m sure we can do something like that..” Lexi grinned “Uncle Jay will you talk to Daddy?” His eyes widened as he looked over the little girl’s head at her mother. He sighed and smiled at her lightly “Sure Lex I’ll get him there.” Lexi smiled softly as her mother pulled out her phone to call her uncle Ian. 

Callum was on his break at the Police Station as his phone rang. He answered it with a smile “Hey Lola, what’s up?” he could hear the smile in her voice “Callum if you’ve got plans tonight  cancel them. I’ve booked you and Ben a table at Walford East for 8:00 .” Callum sighed “Lola, I don’t…” He could hear her rolling her eyes as she cut him off “No Cal! It’s been a month.. This is getting ridiculous now. Neither of you are happy. And don’t tell me you are because I know you both and I can tell. So can Lexi” Callum thought for a minute “Okay, Okay I’ll go  but I’m not promising anything. Ben Mitchell is really stubborn” Lola squealed softly as he laughed “Okay, I’ve gotta go. I’m on duty now.”

Later on that night Callum walked to Walford East and went over to the table, where Ben was already sitting with food “Hi.. We’ve got food already?” Ben laughed “Yeah.. I think Lola tipped Ian to make sure we had food almost as soon as we arrived” Callum smiled as he sat down “I think we need to talk Ben..”  The shorter man sighed “Yeah we do… Listen I’m sorry.. I was a little drunk” Callum held his hand out across the table “Ben Mitchell will you listen to me for a minute before launching into an apology that isn’t actually needed” Ben sighed with a quick nod, taking ahold of his hand “Sorry” Callum smiled softly asd he made him look at him “Ben listen.., Might have pushed you away but that’;s because I was trying to work out my feelings.. But did I not kiss you back?” he asked quietly “You did” Ben laughed “I’m sorry I panicked.. I really really like you Callum and I don’t know… I didn’t wanna ruin the friendship we have” Callum leaned over the table and captured Ben’s lips in his “You won’t.. Do you want to go on a date with me?” Ben chuckled between kisses “Is that not what this is?” Callum pulled away with a soft smile “I meant one that we’d set up rather than your best friend and your 7 year old daughter.” Ben laughed and picked up his fork taking a bite of his food “What about Lexi?” Callum smiled taking a bite of his own food “Oh she definitely had a hand in this.. She asked me the last time I picked her up from school, how I felt about you” Ben laughed softly and shook his head. “I’d love to go on an actual date with you, I’ll text you” Callum smiled  “I’ll look forward to it.”

Epilogue 

Phil had asked Ben to visit him. Ben decided that he would visit him one last time. He had a better life now. He didn’t know where he’d be in life if he had followed the path his father had set out for him, or what he’d do in the family he had built up with Callum, Jay, Lola and especially Lexi. He was really only going to visit his dad to say goodbye. As he arrived at the prison he sighed softly. 

Phil sat down “Ben” he nodded toward him “Hi Dad how are you?” Phil looked at him “As good as I could be” he leaned forward “Listen, I’ve set up a job for you, someone in here needs something…” Ben sighed “Dad, no we’ve had this conversation” Phil growled slightly “Ben you owe me this, you are the reason I’m in here” 

Ben locked eyes with him “No dad the reason you're in here is because of your activity, I said last time that I wasn’t going to do a job for you because “I have a child and I have a job, I have Lex to think about. And that still stands but now I have Callum to think about too” Phil looked confused “Whose Callum?” Ben sighed as he stood up “Someone I really care about and I’m sure as hell not going to let you ruin in” Phil sighed “Sit down Ben” Ben snorted “No, I just came to say goodbye.. Don’t contact me again and enjoy your stay” he walked away ignoring his dad’s shouts of “Ben get back here I'm not finished talking to you!” Because even if Phil Mitchel wasn't done with him, he was done with Phil Mitchell and their ‘family business’. Ben Mitchell was on the straight and narrow now and it was all because Callum Highway had crashed into his life and convinced him to do the right thing and rid himself of his negative influence. It was time for him to go and be happy with his found family, and he was never going to let anyone ruin that.

[onegayastronaut]

Glass Castle (Maria Hill x Reader)

Requested by anon:  Hey, I was wondering if you could do a Maria hill imagine with the lyrics of the song Happier by Marshmello. Angst, and maybe they get a happy ending at the end or not, your choice.

Words: 1353

Maria woke up for her usual morning run at 4 AM, and she got out from under you. You were still snoring a little bit, and Maria thought this was the cutest thing she’s seen. Even after three years of being together, it was these little things that made her heart happy. However, she knew that your relationship wasn’t meant to last. Her job only ensured that one day you would be put in danger, and she would rather die herself than see the consequences of her job put you in danger. She resolved to move out later today while you were at work and just leave a note. It was a dick move, but it was still better than having a messy breakup.

-----

When you came home from work, you frowned at what you saw in front of your house. There was a big truck blocking the entrance to your driveway, and there didn’t seem to be anyone inside to help move it.

“What’s all this? What are in these bags?”

“I’m leaving.”

“Like on a mission? Why do you cleaning out all of your things from our apartment for a mission?”

“I’m leaving this. I’m leaving us. I can’t do this with you anymore. I was hoping to avoid this conversation and leave before you came back, but obviously, that didn’t go to plan.”

“Go according to plan? What the hell are you talking about? Is this why you’ve been acting weird for the last couple of weeks?”

“I love you, but I can’t do my job and worry about your safety whenever I’m away. It’s only a matter of time that HYDRA or some other organization tries to hurt you when I’m not there to protect you. So even though I still love you, I have to let you go.”

“That’s the most bullshit excuse I’ve ever heard.” You looked up and down Maria’s face. The fact that you loved so much had no remorse, no hesitation. It was clear that nothing you said could change her mind.

“I know. I’m sorry, (Y/N).” Maria got her bags and started walking towards the door.

“I’ve always known you love your job, Maria. But I never thought that you would one day choose your job over being with me.” Maria didn’t even turn around to look at you as the door closed behind her. You stood in the middle of your living room staring at the door, willing it to open so you could see your girlfriend again, but the door remained closed. A hot tear fell from your eyes, followed by another and another until you fell against the couch sobbing.

Maria stopped right outside the door and clenched her jaw together. I am making the right decision. I am making the right decision. Tears threatened to come out, but Maria blinked them away. There was no reason to cry about keeping you safe, even if it meant breaking her own heart in the process.

-----

Months passed, and you managed to find a routine that seemed comforting. Your bed still felt a bit big, but that empty feeling no longer kept you awake. A few weeks ago you went to the shelter and adopted a cat who kept you company, and you were sure that you would do anything to protect him. You haven’t texted Maria, and you haven’t heard about how she was doing. Even though you were still worried about how she was doing, it was no longer your business as you were no longer together. She had decided that she was better off without you, and the least you could do was to let her go. You would be lying if you said you didn’t miss her, but there was nothing for you to do.

Maria stared at her computer screen and went from one file to the next. It was like she didn’t know what to focus on now that the mission was over, and she was beyond frustrated with herself. Everyone on the team could tell that something was different with her ever since she had broken up with you, and Coulsen was the only person who had the nerve to point it out. She had snapped at him and regretted it immediately after. Even so, Coulsen felt the need to talk to her about the situation. Fury needed someone to put him in his place, and Maria was the only agent willing and able to give Fury the business when needed.

“I just miss her so much, you know?”

“Well, if that’s the case, why did you break up with her?”

“She’s better off without me. I thought that she would be safer if I wasn’t around. You know the people we’re up against. They hurt the ones closest to us.”

“It seems to me that the threat of the aliens we’re up against has already hurt the person closest to you. Take it from someone who has had a complicated history with love. It’s rare to find someone like (Y/N).”

“What are you saying?”

“You know, for someone as intelligent as you are, you can be extremely dense at times. I’m telling you to get her back. I’ve been authorized to give you a week’s leave to get your life back in order.”

“Authorized? Authorized by who?”

“Fury might be blind in one eye, but his remaining one can see when one of his top agents haven’t been performing as well as usual. So in the words of our leader, go get your girl back.” Coulson smirked as he watched Maria practically run out of the main building. If all went well, Maria would be back to her butt-kicking self when she came back to work next week.

-----

Maria tapped her finger nervously on the dashboard as she sat outside your apartment. Ten steps felt like ten miles now that she was here, and she could not believe how fast her heart could race now that she was about to profess her love for you. She should have come here earlier to ask for your forgiveness, but a mixture of pride and shame always kept her away. But she knew this was the right decision. The light in the living room told her that you were home, and Maria could swear she could feel your warm body cuddled up next to her. After taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the car and stood in front of your apartment. Picking up a small rock, she threw it expertly at your window and waited for you to come out. Your puzzled face only grew more concerned when you saw a very nervous Maria standing outside.

“What are you doing out there? And why are you throwing things at my window?” Seeing her out there made your heart skip a beat and your breath catch in your chest. You didn’t realize how much you missed her until now.

“I know I said that you were going to be happier without me, but that’s not what I want. The truth is, (Y/N), I love you so much. I’ve always loved you, and that’s never going to change. All I’m asking is for another chance to be with you. You’re all I’ve ever wanted, and seeing you happy makes me happy. I promise I’ll love you with everything I have every single day, and never take you for granted again. I love you, (Y/N).” Maria ended her rant and tried to catch her breath. The look on her face was hopeful but scared at the same time, and you didn’t feel right keeping her hanging. Running down the stairs, you practically launched yourself in Maria’s arms and kissed her because, in all honesty, you never stopped loving her too.

“I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too.” Maria held on you so tight you couldn’t breathe, but you didn’t mind. She buried her face in your shoulder and closed her eyes. One thing was for sure: there was nothing in this world or any other that would make her let you go.

[jerepars]

Ape Dos Mil Extended Chapter Notes

6 / 9 Pure Love

Hyperlinks appear in blue (underlined on mobile and the dashboard). The story is posted here. Direct link to this chapter is here.

As it turned out, when James had to go dark for 48 hours, it pushed Teresa deeper into the cave. James sat in a hotel room on the other side of town while Teresa bought a hotel. James looked into Isidro Navarro while Teresa got ready to make her pitch to the guy and expand her business to Europe. While she dined, James was on the wrong side of the day.

When I first introduced lyrics from Glassjaw’s “Ape Dos Mil” into the story in the second chapter, I mentioned it was the lyrics and mood of the song overall that inspired the story. This paragraph is borrows from the main verse of the song:

Yeah, it's over You can bet in mid October I will still be ranting 'bout most early May Yeah, he's a winner He's a goddamn sinner While he dines I'm on the wrong side of the day And I said, "I don't understand why I'm fumbling after" You're the reason i cannot forget this season Or the letter when you first referred to it

She was going to go her own way, make all the deals, gain more more more. James had to be down for that not just because he was in love with her, but because he had a higher purpose—thanks to the universe—when it came to Teresa. But James wished she didn’t go around ignoring all the signs of danger. He wished she didn’t walk around like nobody was going to break her heart or like she could elude death. Hadn’t she learned, losing Tony, that the #1 special on the menu in the underworld was breaking hearts, one way or another?

There’s a Mac Miller song, “My Favorite Part” with these words: You walk around so clueless to it all. Like nobody gonna break your heart. It'll be alright babe, see, me, I got you covered. I'm gon' be your lover, you might be the one.

So the line in the paragraph about queenpin Teresa walking around like nobody was going to break her heart is a reference to that. There’s also a line in the song that goes, The universe couldn’t keep us apart--why would it even try? Very soulmate-y but different in that for Jeresa it is because of the universe they are soulmates.

But nothing moved Teresa. She didn’t let up. She wasn’t going to confess to using, since she was going out of her way to hide it. She didn’t own up to the responsibility of being targeted and putting them all in danger unnecessarily because she had to have Europe.

The first line of this paragraph is sort of a reference to the album Still Nothing Moves You by Ceremony.

Teresa was screaming, to feel the pressure in her throat, to drown out the noise in her head, when she took to the neatly pressed blazers along the back of the closet. She ripped as many off the hangers as would go, letting the different shades of white pool at her feet on the carpet. The jewelry station was next—earrings, necklaces, and rings ripping into her hands before she decided there were too many for a few handfuls, picking up the entire velvet drawer insert tray and dumping it to the side, fully enraged.

When she swung her arm around, Teresa caught a glimpse of herself in the full-length three-way mirror. Her breath caught in her throat. She saw herself, and there, over her shoulder, was herself—the girl from Culiacán.

“You forgot the most important thing is survival. You have to get out of here,” the girl pleaded. “You have to go. Run.”

So, uh, I changed a lot from canon. In 5x07, the scene cuts soon after Teresa yells “Fuuuuuuuuuck!” and throws her phone. In the next scene of Teresa, she’s in the sitting area of her room doing coke, and when she looks up at the mirror across from her, that’s when she seems old Teresa in flannel. 

I had this scene planned out in my head before 5x07 aired and I always thought, when Teresa found out Boaz killed George, she would react violently and destroy her closet. So here in the story, Teresa is still inside her closet when old Teresa shows up.

“I’m not leaving without them,” Teresa told off the girl standing behind her in the too big flannel.

A reply never came but when Teresa looked back in the mirror, the girl was still standing there with terror in her eyes.

“I’m not leaving,” Teresa vowed.

The girl watched her. Teresa closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. It was the cocaine talking, the two big hits she’d taken while already upset. She knew that. But the girl remained, watching Teresa in silence.

In 5x07, Teresa has this conversation with Avi. But if she’s shut herself in her closet, then this conversation becomes a face-off with her former self. I think I like that better, actually. 

It also eliminates the whole exchange with Avi saying James ordered for the plane to be ready and that Teresa should get out of the country immediately. After everything they’ve been through I don’t buy that James would take it upon himself to make that decision for her, regardless of how worried and protective he is. Sorry not sorry, canon, but that just doesn’t make sense for these characters.

Teresa wasn’t sure if she sat there for minutes or hours. She paid no attention to how much light was streaming in through the window. In silence, the tears flowed and brought her back down to earth. She only knew a significant amount of time had passed when the white noise stopped ringing in her ears and a familiar burning feeling took hold in her chest.

That was the universe’s doing. It meant James was back.

She heard indistinct chatter from outside the closet in the main room. She listened closer. There was James’ gravelly voice, then a pause, followed by Pote, low and gruff. They exchanged words and then came a third voice, higher in pitch with a familiar Texas Southern drawl—Kelly Anne.

Teresa sighed. They were back. She’d never been so thankful for the hurt in her chest.

More changes to canon. James gets to Kelly Anne and Pote before Boaz and makes sure they get back to the safe house.

Here’s the thing. I hate the whole kidnapping plot of 5x08 and think it’s unnecessary. Much of the episode is spent on Pote grunting and yelling nonsensically, making lame threats. And what happens? Pote doesn’t save the day. Kelly Anne saves herself. I haven’t even mentioned the fact that Teresa calls Boaz and tells him she’ll give him the business (and she was not bluffing, by the way) as long as he lets Kelly Anne go. 

Omg. The action of 5x08 is fine. We get to see James in green. But the actual story...the plot of it...what the fuck is the point? The majority of the episode is wasted on Kote (the season is pretty much #Kote of the South at this point) when really it should focus on Teresa, and on the Castel/Devon/Kostya stuff. 

So yeah. I said hell no, unlike canon I refuse to let Kote take over in my story. The queenpin storyline gets abandoned completely in canon with no proper resolution for how Teresa gets back to herself. It’s like she goes from the queenpin, caring about nothing but the business, then suddenly remembers her true personality and is the old Teresa again.

And for what? All because of the kidnapping plot? No. Just no. I couldn’t do it.

Eliminating the KA’s kidnapping doesn’t eliminate the Boaz problem or the Kostya problem or the Devon problem. So I axed it.

She’d said the same less than a week ago in Berlin, looking over the city skyline. But this time it had no bite and sting.

There’s a song by Defeater called “The Bite and Sting” and the phrase in the second sentence above comes from that title. If for whatever reason you decide to listen to it, there’s a line in the song that goes We ain’t seen no Germans for days, because Defeater’s music is conceptual and tells interrelated stories over the span of their albums. The EP that “The Bite and Sting” is on, Lost Ground, is about a black WWII veteran. The song is about being in the war and that’s why the line I mentioned is there. Kind of ironic, because I was not thinking about the fact that Teresa said to James “say it” while they were in Germany.

Anyway, that was a longwinded explanation just to say: the context of the reference and the way the phrase is used in the sentence are not related.

Self-preservation had always been key for James’ survival, and over and over he threw it away for her. So his words hurt because they were honest, because they pointed out the mistakes she’d made when it came to him. But Teresa admired James for standing up for himself and showing his backbone. He was there for her—they were in this together—but he wouldn’t allow himself to be used. She had to prove herself, to somehow make amends. And she loved him for it, to be given the opportunity.

Because beyond striking the balance with herself, Teresa knew that if she wanted the pure love only soulmates who were lucky enough to find each other and chose to be together could have—not just tough love—then the days of shutting James out had to come to an end as well.

In the notes for Good Luck/Bad Days (a completely separate and unrelated story) I mentioned that one of the songs I ended up referencing, “Pure Love” by Hayley Williams was actually meant to be used in this story. I think pieces of the song fit better lyrically in Good Luck/Bad Days, but conceptually (are those different? I feel like they are different) it fits better here. So. That’s where the chapter title comes from.

[love-fireflysong]

Until Dawn’s Fifth Birthday

Welp, congrats Until Dawn, you’re officially old enough to start kindergarten. You’re off to learn to read, tie your shoes, recite yous ABC’s, and learn to count to 100. Your such a big kid now, and I’m proud of you for making it this far.

I know I have done literal jack shit for the entire month, but I have been immensely enjoying the things that everyone’s been putting out for this month. So I’m gonna make this text post, not just because of it’s the five year anniversary, but because it’s actually a post I’ve been wanting to make for a while.

So here it goes:

I first learned of Until Dawn when it first came out hilariously enough. My roommate at the time had boughten it for her ps4 and I had been seeing it all over my dashboard on tumblr at the time. I didn’t play it myself though until close to a year later, when I finally had my own ps4 and I bought the game used for like $20 or something from my local game rental store. And I was hooked.

I remember jumping the first time the UD logo pulls that jump scare on the title screen. And laughing because I’m normally pretty good with jump scares, but that one managed to get me because I hadn’t been expecting one before I even started the game. (The one thing in the game that manages to make me jump every time is the mine cart you stop as Mike. For whatever reason it doesn’t matter how dark my room is when I play the game or how many times I’ve played it, I can never see the mine cart until its literally on top of Mike and the QTE is almost up and I squeak in surprise every fucking time.)  

Of course I didn’t manage to save everyone during my first playthrough, I definitely lost Matt to the hook and Ash to the trapdoor (RIP darlings), and for the life of me I can’t recall how the lodge scene at the end went. I’m one of those players though that try to make choices that the characters I’m playing as would, I throw my feelings by the wayside. For example, being in the shed when the game’s making me choose Ash or Josh, and I was debating on whether or not Chris would save the girl he’s had a major crush on for a while at least, or his best friend for the last ten years. I distinctly remember wincing and sucking in air through my teeth and going “Sorry Ash, bros before hoes” and choosing Josh. And then being confused and convinced that I misunderstood the instructions? I mean I wasn’t complaining, just really, really confused. I definitely choose Ash to live at the gun one though, like there was no hesitation. I watched the whole ‘only thing I’ve ever wanted to do with my time’ scene and talk and the moment control was given back to me, the gun was under Chris’s jaw and I fired.

I’m also one of the players that didn’t know that Josh had been behind everything until the reveal either. I had gotten Sam captured so I never got any of those clues and I managed to miss the other clues that hinted at it being a set up (like the bundle of newspapers). So until the reveal I was still convinced that someone was out there killing all of them. Listen, I like mystery games but I’m not very good at connecting the dots okay.

I think I stuck around for a couple of months, gorging myself of fanfiction (all ff.net stuff by the way, I can’t remember if I knew about ao3 at that point or not) but like all interests do with me, the obsession eventually faded (helped in a large part by the rampant Ashley hate going around at the time) and I moved on.

Until February of this year. I was trying to kill time till the end of March when Persona 5: Royal released and I decided to try and see how many games I could platinum until that point. I had made it through the ps3 tomb raider games, Prince of Persia 2008, and decided on replaying the Uncharted games because the ps4 collection didn’t have multiplayer trophies. I hadn’t even thought of replaying Until Dawn. I mean, I had looked at the case and I remembered the game fondly, but that was it. There was no urge or want. 

I was halfway through Among Thieves when I was bored and chilling time on Youtube. And because I had been watching a couple of videos for the treasure locations in Uncharted, one of the recommended videos for me was a game sins for the series. I decided sure why not, and watched it. And watched a few of his other ones as well, Until Dawn included.

That’s right, what got me back into the series wasn’t fond nostalgia for the characters or story. It was a fucking Game Sins video. I’m so sorry.

I was devouring UD content again. I spent like 2 or 3 weeks reading everything Chrashley (with the hyper-fixation for the game back came the ship, what can I say) based on ao3 that I could get my hands on. I was back into the tag on tumblr, going through art I remembered seeing way back when and looking at usernames that didn’t mean a thing then, but mean the world to me now. And then near the end of February, when the obsession was once again starting to flag, I decided to hell with it, and clicked on the The (Almost)s.

I’m not going to expunge all my praises for the story, everyone else has done that better then I ever could. But guys, it was so good. So so good. I was hooked back into the series once again, just as I was starting to flag. And when I saw that @queenofbaws had mentioned that she was tumblr... I didn’t do anything right away. Too scared really, figured she might find it creepy, so I didn’t do anything for like a week. And then I decided fuck it, sent a message about Chris giving Ash his sweater, and following her.

And that was it. I figured I would stick around to see the story completed and just dip. Not even make a splash, just enjoy the content from the sidelines and no one would know that I was here in the first place. Same old, same old. But that was also when I started turning around the kernel in my mind that Baby It’s Cold Outside (so hold me tight in your arms and don’t let go). I didn’t even intend to write it, it was just going to be the fanfic that lived in my mind for me to stew on before bed every night. But I couldn’t sleep one night, my brain was too on and the words just weren’t stopping, so I pulled out my computer and wrote the first part from Chris standing in the snow outside to him reaching the lodge at like 3 in the morning. 

I started becoming more involved in the fandom when queenie started her wip wednesdays and asked to be tagged. Hilariously enough, those days are what started me cross-stitching again too, I hadn’t touched the pattern in months at that point. So I started posting snippets of my writing, and that one day a week was the only thing pushing me to continue writing. By that point, I had stopped hanging around the edges, now trying to push myself closer into this little fandom circle. 

The day I posted the story, I was fucking terrified. It wasn’t my first story, not by a long shot, but I had always considered my writing to be shit. I thought I had good ideas, but I never felt that I was able to truly bring them to life. English and grammar had never been my best subject, I was always more of a math and physics person growing up. But then that first comment from @elliepollie came in and I almost burst into tears. I couldn’t believe that someone out there liked it so much, that they were willing to leave me a review in the first place. I’m still so blown away that she was willing to recommend it as a Chrashley story for other people to read. I think that was the point I stopped hesitantly pushing my way through, and I just kicked down the doors and just yelled ‘Hey fuckers! I’m here now and you are going to fucking deal with it!’.

That was the event that opened the floodgates for me. Suddenly I was talking to people, I had friends online with the same interests as me. I’ve written more in the last six months then I’ve done in the last ten years! I’m feeling inspired to create again. I actually went out to do the first commission I’ve ever requested (speaking of which, please please please go commisson @fudgeroach. I cannot wait until he can post and show you guys the stuff he drew for me. It was worth every fucking penny let me tell you.)

I’m going to be honest, Until Dawn isn’t my favourite game. Sure it has some of my fav lines (it had been years since I played the game, and the moment Jess started her rant outside the guest cabin I was screaming it along with her) and great characters, as horrible people as they all are, but it’s never been my favourite game and likely never will be. But Until Dawn has the best fandom I’ve ever been in and I’m so, so happy to have met and known every single person here. I seriously love every single person here so, so much. You all make my life better and I’m so happy to have all of you in it. Just to quote Chris because I can: “Every second I spend with you is all I ever wanted to do with my time.” This is how I feel. This is how I feel every goddamn day now.

So yeah, I got back into this fandom from a stupid Game Sins video. But by god if it wasn’t the best choice I’ve ever made.

(PS: for those wondering, I never did finish Uncharted 2. Maybe one day...) 

[nortromthesilencer]

Bits and Pieces (Compiled)

A compiled RP between @rizzrack​ and Myself

Nortromthesilencer

“What’sa runt like you doing out here alone, anyways?”

This was bad. This was beyond bad. Nortrom backed away some more, the heels of his feet hitting a large root, tree directly behind him inhibiting any further attempts to retreat. Was this really The Silencer? Not in any recognizable sense by those that knew him now: He was much shorter, much leaner, much younger. The once middle aged man was not seen in this child, meekly cowering from the trio of bandits closing in. Used to harassment from his peers and preceptors, Nortrom normally met them with submission and acceptance. Now, he wasn’t sure how to act. He was lost in more ways than one.

“Doubt the kid’s got anything on ‘im. Might be able to ransom ‘im to the town though,” A toothy sneer dragged across the lopsided face of one of the bandits, knife slowly unsheathing. Nortrom’s pale blue eyes locked on the blade, scared, anticipating. Again he tried to back away, pressing his shoulders firm against the rough bark. With no weapon or sense of where he was, the child knew he was facing greatly skewed odds.

“Leave me alone, please.” The timid request was quiet, near begging, and the least threatening thing in the world. It brought about a great laugh from the men, a sound that caused the boy to flinch.

“Ya hear that? Th’ runt said please! Oh boy, now we hav’ to leave ‘im alone!” Their mocking jeers forced Nortrom to droop even more, his situation getting more hopeless by the second.  What did he do to wind up here? Why were these men doing this? The outside world was foreign, and even more so the lawless corruption of thieves.

Rizzrack

Elusive and unpredictable, the Timbersaw still has the uncanny ability to show up in places no one wants him to be, so long as there is a single tree around.

Just a single tree off a dirt road that connects two small towns together. It caught his attention from a distance, like a single thread poking from the seam of a military uniform. Upon approach however the small-keen takes notice of the group. It’s immediate to him that the situation is a bad one. Very likely a dispute between two parties. Normally he wouldn’t intervene… most adults can take care of themselves you know! However, this victim was obviously a child, and Rizzrack would not let that slide by.

If the little gathering wasn’t so absorbed within their matters, then perhaps they may have seen the waddling saw suit approaching in the distance. If they did not, then for sure they would have noticed the metal claw that suddenly smashed into the trunk dangerously close to the child. In mere moments the suit pulls itself over, bumping roughly into the tree and partially uprooting it.

“Oh, pardon me!” The clawed hand nudges the child away from the tree and behind the suit before lifting up and punching the woody giant completely to the ground. He takes a quick glance at the bandits, and the partially unsheathed knife is enough to confirm his assumptions. “I was passing by and couldn’t help but notice your entertainingdisplay of blades!” The Small-Keen leans forward in his seat, eyes squinting at the weapons the bandits hold. “Is that your mother’s silverware? Cute.” He chuckles as he falls back into his seat. The suit brings the saw-arm forward, holding the buzzing limb between them. “Now what do you think of mine?”

Nortromthesilencer

When claw met trunk, the child screamed. Reflexively diving away, beige tunic smearing with dirt as he went to ground, Nortrom watched in wide eyed horror while the massive machine lurched to a stop before them. Mouth agape, he slowly scrambled back, still on his butt.

The bandits were not so lucky in making any meaningful distance, instead stuck face to face (or face to saw) with the timbersuit. One looked at the kid, still dragging himself even further away and much too shocked to stand just yet, then back to the saw, then his knife, then the saw again, and threw his hands up with a shout. “Fuck this, not worth it!” At those words, the trio were quick to run, not wanting to risk their lives over this.

Realizing now that one of the threats had retreated, Nortrom scrambled to his feet. Not taking his eyes from the timbersuit, he stepped back ever so slowly, thinking that if he went slow it wouldn’t notice him. With how little else there was around them, he knew this was doubtful but tried anyways.

Rizzrack

The small-keen can’t help himself but to let out a little “ha-hah!” at the sight of the fleeing bandits. “Those three made the right choice! I really wasn’t looking forward to spending a day cleaning a red mess off my blades. Now then…” He glances behind him at the child slowly backing away, his expression becomes stern.

“Oooh no no no I need to have a word with you, little one!” Rizzrack hops down from the cockpit and approaches Nortrom, finger pointed disapprovingly. “Don’t you know it isdangerous out here nowadays?” He stands before him, looking up with hands on cocked hip and tsks away. “Lucky thing I was around. Who knows what could have happened to you? They could have seriously hurt you!” he exclaims, waving his hand towards the direction the bandits fled. “Or that!” He includes the uprooted tree. “Your parents must be worried sick! Unless… they sent you out on an errand all alone. Then I’ll have a word with them too!”

Nortromthesilencer

Once out of the suit, this odd fellow wasn’t anywhere near as intimidating. Nortrom recognized the race, a small keen, from his many studies yet never imagined they really were as short as he read. Hell, the child was only 10 and still stood taller than this one!

He stopped backing up now, one arm rubbing his other anxiously. Still speaking softly, the boy maintained eye contact out of habit. “S-sorry sir. I know it’s dangerous but I don’t know where I am… or how I got here even…”

Clasping the fidgeting hand into a fist, he thought, expression shifting as he did so every few seconds, wracking his brain as to just how he got here. “M-Maybe it was an error in the teleportation spell…?” Nortrom sunk into his own hands, holding his head and groaning loudly, “I’m going to be in so much trouble for this…”

Rizzrack

Firm face turns to a softer expression, one of sympathy for the poor boy. Don’t stress him any more than he needs to be, after all he did just get out of a frightening ordeal.

“Oh, perhaps! B-but don’t think about that right now. Let’s just get you back home, how’s about that? Sound good? Good!” He turns back around and climbs his way back into his suit, continuing to talk to the child. “So you may not know where you are, but if you know where you need to go, we can work from there. Teleportation is tricky business, you won’t catch me messing with that sort of thing often. Oh!” Once seated, he brings the suit over to the boy and leans out over the cockpit extending his gloved hand. “I’m Rizzrack by the way, also known as Timbersaw by those that get on my bad side. Hehe, but you won’t have to worry about that! Now what’s your name kiddo?”

Nortromthesilencer

The cultural concept of a hand shake is lost on the child, who just stares with confusion at the yellow glove as it’s presented. Instead, the boy bows his shoulders slightly, and keeps his eyes down while speaking, “Greetings, sir. I- I have been instructed not to tell outsiders my name. I do thank you for the help, however.” While Nortrom didn’t completely know why this was a rule, he assumed it was for safety or the sort. The reality was quite close, his order wishing to keep him secret and safe from any who would disrupt their prophesied plan.

Lifting his posture once more and cautiously taking a look over at the suit before him, blades and all, the boy absentmindedly tried to answer Rizzrack’s other question. “I’m from the Hazhadal Barrens, by their northern mountains.” Metal, wood, and other strange materials; He had never seen such a contraption before and was fascinated by it. All but ignoring the keen, Nortrom was in awe as he looked over every joint and limb.

Rizzrack

The little bow is odd. It’s polite, but odd, something that Rizzrack has never seen to come from a child. The small-keen nods understandingly. “That’s smart! I get it, you can’t trust everyone.”

He leans back into his suit, thinking on the response. Hazhadal Barrens? That sounds oddly familiar. Where did he hear that from? Hmm, barrens… maybe someplace he himself wandered to for some momentary solace from the trees. Rizzrack looks back to the child, taking notice of how captivated he is of the suit. He has every right to be! Not many who live in a world where magic is the norm can appreciate the true wonder that is technology. It fills him with a sense of pride, and dangerously enough, an urge to show off his creation and perhaps even influence a young mind.

“Pretty amaaaazing, right? Hmhm, I know.” Rizzrack pats the dashboard lovingly. “The one-of-a-kind Timbersaw. Top of the line monster to lumber converter! It slices, it dices, it chops up your nightmares into itty bitty pieces so  you’ll never have to worry about them again. And-” He continues. “It can be your best friend.” Shoving a few levers, Rizzrack brings the suit down into a squat, enabling Nortrom to get a much better look at the controls within. “You may behold my amazing invention, but don’t stare for too long or-.” Rizzrack’s jesting is interrupted as the suit suddenly begins to shudder. The smoke from the exhaust sputters until it all falls silent. “Oh, no no! Dangit! Not again…”

Nortromthesilencer

Jumping back as the suit staggers and creaks into a crouch, Nortrom can’t help but grin a bit while Rizzrack goes on his rant about the wonders of the suit. He circles it, not touching, ogling every gear, every lever, every system and weld. Knowing very little about such mechanics as it wasn’t a topic of study in any of his courses, the boy can’t help but be enraptured by this new sight. Curiosity eventually gets the better of him and Nortrom carefully runs a finger across one of the welded seems. The suit sputtered and twitched as if in protest, and again the boy jumped back.

“I…” Did he break it? A dawning look of horror replaces the short lived grin, hands pulling back to his side immediately, and a few very slow steps in retreat his first instinctive reaction. Nortrom store wide eyed up at the suit’s angered pilot and cringes, recoiling into his own posture, “I-I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to break it…”

Rizzrack

Completely distracted by his suit, Rizzrack fails to see the boy’s growing stress.

“I can’t believe it!” Hands fling into the air and he groans out his frustrations to the world. “You just have to go and break, don’t you?? Disappointing, ABSOLUTELY disappointing!” Rizzrack moans. It’s only then that he hears a quivering voice and turns his scowling face towards the child. “What? Break it?” He stares down at the shrinking, fear-stricken child. “Ah no, trust me, even if you wanted to break it you wouldn’t… er…” His words did nothing to comfort the boy. Confusion replaces anger, and Rizzrack can only  stand there and rub the back of his neck awkwardly. Geesh, the kid sounds like an orphaned apprentice, and Rizzrack wouldn’t at all be surprised if he was adopted by some nasty keen-folk from that town near The Jungle. “I-it’s okay! It happens! Sometimes things go wrong but they go wrong for a reason. Sometimes that reason is your normal wear and tear, other reasons is to just make me miserable. Why don’t we just take a look, hmm? Nooo reason to be scared.” Turning towards his suit, Rizzrack begins his very unorganized method of trouble shooting. A few minutes are spent opening compartments, tracing wires, tapping gauges until finally he finds a possible cause.

“Ah-hah! There’s the problem!” His tone of optimism is quickly dulled by annoyance. “The fuel line leaked… No matter! I always keep a little extra on me in case of emergencies, such as when the hose clamp doesn’t want to do its one job. Just give me a second.” Fishing around in the cockpit, the small-keen pulls out a bottle large enough to require to of his hands to properly hold and pulls off the cap to sniff the contents. “Nope.” He places it back and grabs another identical bottle and repeats the process. “Oh yeah, that’s it.” He places the bottle of clear liquid upon the control panel of the suit. “That my boy, is fuel, and it’s what makes this big brat run.” Rizzrack turns his attention back to the hoses of the suit as he attempts to make corrections. Every few seconds there’s an annoyed mutter and a bump, and with every bump, the bottle slowly nudges closer and closer to the edge of the slightly tilted cockpit…

Nortromthesilencer

The child let out a deep sigh of relief, breath being held as he waited to be berated. It was reassuring knowing he wasn’t the cause of the malfunction, and although still on edge, worked up the courage to peer over Rizzrack’s shoulder at the work he was doing. So lost was he in the hoses, gaskets, valves, and makeshift repairs that Nortrom paid little attention to what was beside them, that small bottle inching ever so closer to the edge of the timber-suit.

“This looks really complex,” he noted, head tilting in confusion at the machines innards. Not wanting to get in the way of Rizzrack’s light, when the keen moved so too did the child, right into the bottle. An echoing crash of broken glass against stone forced his attention away, the look of horror dawning on his face once again.

This time, he knew he was the cause.

He lept back, crowding the broken bottle, kneeling down to start frantically picking up the glass shards with his bare hands. “No, no no… I didn’t mean… I’ll, I’ll clean this up. I’ll…” Nortrom knew he couldn’t replace the bottle contents, and that scared him most of all. Not only did he break the glass, he ruined whatever was inside. Nearly hyperventilating in panic, he untucked his tunic and held it forward, placing the shards in like a makeshift basket, shaking, and not watching out for the sharp edges that occasionally grazed his skin.

Rizzrack

“It looks complex, but once you  become familiar with what’s what, it’s really quite easy to understand an-”

The breaking of glass causes him to flinch and let out a squeak of fright. He whips around and leans over the Timbersuit to stare in dismay at the broken pieces, watching the diesel flow across the ground and dissipate. Brows furrow and with gritted teeth he turns his attention to the boy. “Why would yo-..!” The boy’s frantic attempt to clean the shards and utter disregard of the glass cutting his skin stops Rizzrack from reprimanding the boy. Is this kid alright!? Once again confusion and worry grips the Keen. “D-don’t… stop picking those up you’ll get seriously hurt!” Hands pat the air as he tries to calm the boy. Seeing as he won’t let up, Rizzrack grabs the other bottle of water in his arms and carefully leaps down from the suit.

Placing the bottle down beside him, he firmly grips the child’s wrists. “Stop! Stop! Look!” he turns the palms skyward, shaking glass shards from them and wincing at the sight of the red nicks. “No need to save the pieces. We can’t put it back together. Ugh. Keep your hands there.” Retrieving the bottle of water, he removes the seal and positions the neck over the boys hands and slowly begins to pour the contents. “You can’t just handle broken glass or chemicals without proper protection. You need to wear gloves. Like I do.” Placing the bottle back down beside him. the small-keen takes a knee in front of the boy in an attempt to seem less intimidating in hopes the boy would calm down. He begins to inspect the young hands for any small slivers that may have embedded themselves within the skin. By the looks of it, nothing very serious.

“I appreciate you trying to be responsible, but I don’t want you to get hurt.” He sighs, quite annoyed at the loss of fuel, but it doesn’t mean the end of the world for them. Yet.

Nortromthesilencer

As Rizzrack raised his arms, the child coward, glass shards falling from his tunic as it bent back, arms attempting to protect himself from an expected beating. When they grabbed his wrists he bowed his head, still cringing, waiting, expecting pain at any moment…

None came.

Opening one eye and sheepishly peeking out from his cowering form, the child watched as Rizzrack worked to clean his hands instead of pull at them. But why? It was his fault the bottle fell, it was his fault it broke, and it was his duty to accept punishment for his errors.

As the seconds passed, Nortrom found himself breathing less erratically and forcing himself to stand more straight. He still held the look of a scared animal, but there was even more confusion turning his brows.

“I– I’m sorry. It’s my fault, I ruined your repairs.” Some part of him expected the Keen to no longer wish to help him for being such a useless kid.

Rizzrack

Rizzrack places Nortrom’s hands down. He takes a moment to observe the child, to ensure he’s calmed down. Just about every reaction from the boy confuses the small-keen, bringing to mind worrisome thoughts for the child’s well-being and questionable upbringing.

“It’s fine. It was an accident, and what every good inventor knows, accidents can lead to discovery. Thus, I have discovered I shouldn’t leave fragile glass bottles on the edge of the timbersuit. I think that’s a good lesson.”

He stands back up and closes his remaining bottle of water. He turns his attention back to the suit, glancing over it in thought. Hmm. Until he can get more fuel, he’ll just have to operate it through ‘keen-power’. The sawblades won’t operate and the suit will be completely ineffective at cutting, but it’s still a much better alternative to the other possibly dangerous option. An option he shouldn’t have to take for as long as there’s no immediate danger, everything should be fine.

“Welp.” Rizzrack climbs his way back into the suit, placing the bottle away and beginning to convert the suit from fuel-power to muscle-power. “No point in wasting more time sitting around. We’ll take a trip to the town east of here and get some more fuel, then from there we’ll ask for directions to the barrens. Don’t worry kiddo we’ll get you home.” After some quick reassuring the small-keen begins to ride the Timbersuit towards the desired direction with much more force and effort required to push and pull the levers. It occurs only now  occurs to Rizzrack the child may not want to follow a stranger to some other place, but he hopes the boy won’t decline. It’s unsafe out here, and despite there not being much vegetation, with the suit in a vulnerable state, anything could mean death.

Nortromthesilencer

Despite the lessons learned, Nortrom didn’t feel at all convinced that this wasn’t his fault and he wasn’t deserving of punishment for being so careless. Still, the child wasn’t going to push the matter, happy to for once not be berated. What didn’t cross his mind, however, was not following: it would be a hell of a lot safer with this keen than out alone in the middle of an unknown land.

“Yes sir.” Obediently he followed the suit, walking with his hands held at his sides and posture straight. Operating the suit manually looked labour intensive, and while the child wanted to ask if he could help, he also didn’t wish to cause any more problems.

He took this time as they walked to silently look more at their saroundings, and even curiously ponder what the town would be like. Where he came from, most hubs were built around oasis or well points, and he was always instructed not to speak to anyone or leave the group. Never had Nortrom had a chance to freely explore, instead letting his imagination run wild as to how many things might be hidden where no one dare look.

The child was lost in his own thoughts, so very quiet, walking in file.

Rizzrack

He’s following. Good. Good. It settles well with Rizzrack, bringing about a good feeling. He trusts you! But can’t let him down, might be the only one he can depend on out here as well. Which reminds him…

“How did you end up in this place anyways? hmph. Did you get kidnapped? huff.” It’s only been a few minutes and he’s already working up a sweat. “Wouldn’t surprise me. hff. There’s all sorts of whewfelids around here. They’re happy to help strangers, but hmff the moment their eye catches any huff any sign of vulnerability, you’re nothing but prey to them. huff huff. So stick close to me.”

The landscape is flat and dry with little vegetation dotted about. It’s a perfect place for Timbersaw to travel through and wind down from territories infested with trees. It’s also perfect for the inhabitants who love to disappear into the dust when they desire to lose a chaser off their tails.

They couldn’t get to the town soon enough. One can be easily fooled to believe it to be a ghost town. The style of buildings and height of doorways hint that humans lived here before at some point. Perhaps it was some trading hub, seeing as how it resides on a road that connects two seperate, larger towns. Due to the other town being destroyed by powers of nature, it left this road unused and the little town soon abandoned. At least by the humans.

Shadows move glide silently within the buildings like ghosts. Its unsettling and one would think the dendrophobic keen would be frightened, but he is not. Instead, he continues through, passing by a very large structure resembling a bucket with a cone on top.

“That is a water tower. It has no water in it. Speaking of.” He stops the suit in front of a creaky shop with a wooden sign reading “supply”. He grabs the bottle from earlier that is only now filled halfway with water and hands it to the boy. “Drink. It’s easy to die out here.”

Rizzrack hops down from his suit and takes a moment to rub his tired arms before heading up the uneven wooden steps to approach a dark open window. “Madini?”

Emerald eyes appear from the darkness within like orbs of magic in the night.

“Se ‘ami newi, keen. The mechanism thirsts for more? Hmhmm.” The voice is soft and feminine, yet raspy. Already familiar with this particular customer, the sound of her retrieving a can of fuel and placing it upon a table is heard within. As she awaits a container to fill, her eyes glance behind Rizzrack and catch sight of the boy. “Ah, t’enika, a strong young boy. You belong to the keen? Give me the bottle.” From the dark a black furred paw emerges. Pad facing up, the claws open and close, beckoning the boy to come near.

Nortromthesilencer

Watching the Keen struggle wasn’t something Nortrom wanted, but still he feared helping would instead make things worse. Instead, the child quietly answered his questions to the best of his abilities, “I’m not sure how I got here. I woke up in the middle of the road, and I hurt all over. Maybe one of the teleport spells we use at the cantonment messed up?” He shrugged, just as confused as anyone else would be.

With a gracious bow the child took the jar, a small ‘thank you’ chirping from his lips before he took a sip. The rest he saved, holding on to the bottle very firmly, not wanting a repeat of the last accident.

There was something oddly familiar about the town, a sort of Barren-esque feeling that put Nortrom at a bit more ease than he was before. The cities and towns there would come and go like the wind, their lively-hood based on weather conditions and water, and shifting just like the dust that inhabited them. Even the shop keeper was familiar, a feline like race he had seen before in the Barrens. Nortrom recalled a small fact that their large ears helped thermo-regulate their bodies,and survive the harsh conditions where other races would overheat…

He snapped out of his trance like state when spoken to, looking down at the bottle in his hands. Tilting his head towards Rizzrack, the boy cautiously stepped forward and placed it in her paw. If Rizzrack was trusting of this figure, surely he could be as well? Well, maybe not trusting, that was the wrong word, but at least accepting that she didn’t mean them harm for the time being. They did seem to know one another.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Rizzrack

Rizzrack crosses his arms and sighs, head bowed as his fingers pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Ugh, you could say that. The fuel hose came loose and I don’t have enough diesel to clear the lines. Do you know how troublesome it is to fix that? Very troublesome! Sometimes I have to ask myself why I don’t just…” The small-keen continues on rambling to a feline who couldn’t look any more disinterested.

Madini grabs the bottle with both hands and pulls it in through the window. Noticing that there is still some water within the vessel, she takes a moment to lap up some of it before dumping the last remaining bit out the window in a wasteful manner. Such is the way of felines. With some patting of the bottle to empty it as much as possible, she sets it down to fill it to the rim with fuel from the can.

“… I mean I could always take a more economical route and attach a-” Rizzrack is interrupted from his vocal thoughts by the sound of a claw tapping glass. Seeing it, he grabs it all while continuing his yammering and goes back to tend to his suit. Finding the keen to be distracted, the feline leans ever so slightly towards the window. The light of outside just barely reaches in to show her previously hidden features. Unlike the fur on her arms, the fur of her face is much shorter and freely shows her wrinkles. It’s possible she may well be along in her time. She beckons Nortrom closer, expressing her desire to speak to him.

“We’ati, how are you stuck with this keen?” She waves a paw towards the direction of Rizzrack who is much too occupied trying to restart the Timbersuit to notice the the talking going on behind his back. “Do you know what one means when they say someone is not all there? He is crazy.” She hisses softly. “Talking, talking, talking about trees. Everything trees. He say he will cut them all. What trees do you see out here?  Monyi…” She shakes her head in disbelief. “I do not think those teeth only cut through wood.”

Nortromthesilencer

Nortrom finds himself looking back and forth between the pair, Rizzrack lost in his suit and Madini gracefully getting the fuel situation sorted out. He was used to just silently standing to the side, a backdrop, as others spoke and did their thing. When gestured to approach the feline closer, he felt it fine to do so as Rizzrack was occupied with the suit.

“Er…” Hesitant to cast any judgement, the boy side eyes Rizzrack as she spoke, the way he was talking to his machine as he worked, and slowly nodded. Maybe it was just Keen thing? “He– He helped me when bandits wanted to hurt and sell me. Said that he will help me get back home.” The more the child thought about it, the more doubtful he became. Could this odd pink Keen actually help him? “I don’t know where we are, Ma’am; where I am. I’m trying to get back to the Hazhadal Barrens.”

Nortrom still refused to give his name out, remembering the preceptors lessons very well. As much as he felt an outcast and useless, Nortrom missed his bed. He missed the secure walls of the cantonment, and the fact there was food. For some strange reason, he even missed his studies. Out here? He was alone, scared, lost, and unsafe.

Sinking into his posture as those thoughts crept on him, the child huffed softly, depressed. “I don’t know what else to do but follow him.”

Rizzrack

The feline tenses ever so subtly at the mention of the bandits, her slit pupils gradually dilate. “Fi’ hateh tena fe.” Madini looks behind the boy, startled by the noise the machine makes as it sputters and returns to operational status. Desperation hinting, she continues. “Do not go with the keen. You are smart boy. You are better with me. I know the Hazhadal Barrens.” She leans back to avoid suspicion as Rizzrack returns with the now empty bottle.

“Whew, well that’s resolved! I’ll need another for the road, madame.” Rizzrack trilled as he pushed the bottle through the window. Madini is much less talkative now, a detail Rizzrack fails to notice as she refills the bottle and trades it back to the keen in return for a sum of gold. Taking the bottle, the keen does a cringing attempt to bid a farewell in her tongue as he made his way back to the rumbling suit to climb in and place the bottle away. “Alright boy let’s get you back home.”

Madini watches silently, intently, gold in paw and her pupils like a black sun in an emerald sky. What will the boy do?

Nortromthesilencer

Oh no. Doubt floods Nortrom’s little head, and now he’s not sure keen on following the keen. His expression sours, tense, and for once the boy chooses to speak up for himself. “Wait,” If he could get one thing answered, he might be more inclined to choose, finding out who really does know of his home and who doesn’t, “Where are we right now? What region, or border?” This sudden change of demeanor will most likely not go unnoticed by the Keen, and Nortrom knows it, but he has to ask. He needs answers.

Rizzrack

Rizzrack pauses and pulls his hands from the levers, confused at Nortrom’s actions. Before he can even say anything, Madini pounces at the opportunity to answer. “This town is to the west of Sunridge, where one may see across the canyon the remains of the Fortress of Valhessi.”

“Canyon? Oh, I’ve passed by a canyon not too long ago! That way.” Madini is once again quick to correct the direction the keen points in. Realizing he may be wrong, Rizzrack sheepishly plays off his incorrect finger-pointing as a hand wave. “.. That waaay… may be the best way to go. Yep.” The suit adjusts its orientation to face the direction Madini pointed to. “Thank you for the directions Madini I’ll be sure to visit you again soon.” The timbersuit begins to walk as Rizzrack is quite sure the boy would have no reason NOT to follow him, especially now that he’s going in the right direction.

Nortromthesilencer

Nortrom’s doesn’t budge. He frowns, fists balled up, “Sir, are you lost?” Looking around, the child compares the sun’s path with what Madina had said and indeed confirms her directions to be true. With a cocked head and a sour look, Nortrom sighs, “I’m thankful for your help, but how can you help me get home if you don’t know where we are?”

Turning to Madina, he gestures innocently, “Ma'am said she knows where the Barrens are from here.” If she wished to keep her little conversation secret, that opportunity was now lost. Nortrom was taught to never lie, as deception is the weapon of the Fold and he was better than that, “She said she could help.”

Rizzrack

The suit stops and the keen turns to face the boy, expression in a forced smile followed by a nervous laugh. “D-do I, LOOK… lost? Do I?” Nostrils flare as the boy points out that it’s true, Rizzrack doesn’t know where they are. The keen looks to the feline and practically shoots daggers at her, now quite aware she has some sort of part in this. Of course.  Madini nods quite calmly, ignoring Rizzrack’s growing temper. “I will be gr-”

“NO!” Rizzrack interrupts. He huffs, then laughs, finding his own reaction to be a waste of energy. “No, haha, I understand! It’s okay! Stay with the cat! She knows better than I do! I don’t know anything!” He adds, hands waving about his head in dramatic fashion. “I helped out enough, after all. You don’t need me anymore. Madini will help you get home.” That last sentence in particular is said quite roughly towards the feline. Almost as if it were a threat. She remains cool and grants a mewl of pity towards the keen.  “Veti ni me’e-”

“Don’t patronize me, I know I’m wrong!” Rizzrack takes another breath, putting effort into speaking more calmly. In the end he sighs, posture slumping, defeated. He didn’t like to be wrong, but pretending to be right won’t erase the embarrassment, nor get anyone home. “Just be safe, okay? It was nice knowing you- uh…kid. ” He never got the boy’s name, but maybe it was for the best. Turning around, the Timbersuit heads back the way it came. No beckoning for the child to follow. No good bye.

Nortromthesilencer

Nortrom felt guilty, very guilty, as the Keen went on his little rant. He sunk even more, shoulders tucked in, posture hidden, trying to disappear into the air. “S-sorry. Thank-you for your help…” He couldn’t take his eyes off Rizzrack as his machine walked away. Was this the right choice?

Still slumped, the boy shuffled to face Madina. His lips were pursed, sucked into an awkward frown, “I- er… I guess I’m with you now, Ma’am.”

Rizzrack

Madini’s pupils thinned, her gaze relaxing and with excellent hearing one may be able to pick up the faint sound of purring. “He is a danger. Ayi zeni, Ayi zeni… Do not feel sorrow. I will be sure that you are taken care for.” Leaving her spot from the window, she steps to the side behind the door next to where she was. There is some fumbling, some clicking, and the door opens partially to reveal more of the feline who is quite surprisingly close in height to Nortrom. She beckons the boy inside. “Come in, stay cool. I will prepare for the travel.”

Nortromthesilencer

Looking back one last time at Rizzrack vanishing in the distance, Nortrom nodded and obediently followed. Escape from the sun is most welcome, as is the prospect of finally having a route home. Forgetting about his hunger and regret, the boy instead takes comfort in what appears to finally be a positive tone to this whole damned experience.

The inner room is quite cluttered, stacks of goods and supplies gathered in crates and bags against the walls, and dirty sewn rugs laid out on the ground. Nortrom was very careful not to touch anything.

Rizzrack

Very carefully Madini closes the door. Her steps are light as she moves around and away the dim light, nearly one with the shadows and objects. She paces about the boy, her attention on moving around various objects with no real purpose, keeping the boy within her periphreal vision.

Waiting.

She steps behind Nortrom, a thin rag in her paws. When she finds she’s out of the boy’s vision and he’s grown relaxed to the environment… She makes her move.

Pressing her form against his back, she throws her hands with cloth over his head, taking advantage of whatever shriek he may have cried out of surprise by tugging rag tight between his jaws. “Shhh.” Keeping the hold firm against herself and slightly above the ground she forces Nortrom on his toes. Maneuvering him to a wall, she pins him there and hisses to a previously unseen party to assist in capturing the boy.

Nortromthesilencer

With both the door and the window closer, there was very little light. Nortrom stepped inward more, avoiding tripping on boxes or Madina, and stood still awaiting directions.

The sudden movement and force caused Nortrom to jump, his yelp cut off mid breath by a cloth being abruptly wedged between his teeth. His hands shot up trying to grab hold of her own from behind him, the awkward angle doing little to help, and the shock leaving him off guard long enough for her to shove him against the wall. Even with the cloth making it hard to speak, muffled questions and protests were attempted, Nortrom still trying to push his hand against the wall and free himself from her weight.

“W-wht ar yu dongh?!? Et ee go!”

No longer at ease, he was quite the opposite! Nortrom was terrified, expecting this woman to help him and not assault him. He thrashed, refusing to make things easy for her.

Rizzrack

Madini did not respond to him, instead she only kept him firm against the wall but unable to do anything else. That is until another pair of hands came into the picture, grabbing the boys wrists and securing them together behind his back.

“Me’in iyadereki newi?”

“Lijuni leme shet’i ini mokiraleni.”

“Madini!”

The voices sound nearly identical, giving the illusion that Madini could possibly be talking to herself. One voice is angered, apparently appalled, the other voice trying to calm the first and speaking like this is usual business. They speak in their tongue all while two pairs of paws (one being reluctant) work on binding the boy. Elbows, knees and feet tied tight together, Nortrom is pulled away from the wall and returned to it with his back against it and pushed to the floor. He is faced with the shadow silhouettes of two nearly identical felines. The only difference being their dress and demeanors. They speak to each other, the one that must be Madini trying to reason with the other, and eventually being successful. The twin gives up, only glancing the boy a blank look before stepping out of the room.

“Do not be upset. It is only to make sure you do not get lost again.” ***

He laughed, chuckled, even joked about it. It was his looks. A bald dirty keen trying to help out a child. He must’ve been scary from the start. Of course a lady, feline or not, would be more trustworthy than himself. He may have goofed up once or twice, flustered by the sudden question and not knowing east from west. He was put on the spot! He’s not that foolish…

The feeling continues to linger. It’s a feeling many others have felt, for example, what a child may feel when they see a friend run off to go play with another friend and getting left behind. Perhaps it was silly to get worked up over it, but Rizzrack couldn’t help it. What makes him feel even worse is the last memory will consist of a very miserable looking boy who definitely did not intend to make the keen feel bad. Knowing already how the boy reacts over small mistakes or accidents, Rizzrack can only imagine that he left the boy in tears. Oh no.

“He probably hates me! Probably never wants to see me again. Never ever. But I probably made him feel bad so…” The keen sighs down to his suit. “It’s okay. He’ll get home and be safe… hopefully.” Rizzrack, caught up in his thoughts, slows the suit to a stop and the engine drops into a low idle, but thoughts about the boy refuse to leave his mind. Will he be home safe? Will his parents be happy to see him? Judging how jumpy he was previously… What if they’ll yell at him or punish him for being lost? Even worse, what if they’ll beat him? Thinking on and on about it, he’s suddenly reminded of someone else with a harsh upbringing. Silencer. Rizzrack shakes his head at the thought, imagining that poor boy growing up to be a bitter man like that one. Just get the bad thoughts out of your head, he’s a young timid child. The world can’t be harsh to him. He probably just has strict parents, don’t think too much of it.

The thoughts only keep coming, thoughts about how the child was almost kidnapped, how he could fall to harm, hurt, scared, crying….

Screaming…

“Great, now I’m hearing things.”

Nortromthesilencer

It didn’t matter how he fought, the awkward angle and pulling was just too much and soon able to wrench his hands behind his back, binding them tightly. He winced, biting hard on the cleave of fabric as his shoulders were contorted painfully, rough rope digging into his skin against his will.

Turned around and pushed back, Nortrom let out a sharp exhale as he hit the wall, sliding to the ground and pulling his knees into his chest in fear. He cowed, eyes pleading with them not to do this, tears dotting the bottom on his eyelashes as he shook. Oh gods, what had he gotten himself into?

He tries one more time to cry for help, something, anything. Most likely no one is around to hear…

***

Their last mark had been a bust, and damn were they sour about it. Refusing to walk away empty handed this day, a pathetic looking trio skulked about the dust laden town in looks for their next target. As fate would have it, the nearest shop or storage haven would be owned by a certain cat-like woman, with a target of her own.

Rizzrack

Lijuni why do you let your sister play around in such undesirable practice? She steps about outside to ponder her thoughts in the visibly empty town.. all save for the figures approaching. She remembers them, as not too long ago during a nightly walk she observed them stalking a small caravan along a trail. Suspecting the trio intending foul deeds, she returns inside to see her sister Madini crouched down beside the boy, gently patting his hair and clicking her tongue softly to calm him.

“Madini, lēbochi yimet’alu.”

Her ears perk and her attention is seized away from the boy. Could it be the same bandits earlier that the keen mentioned? If so, they’ll no doubt want the boy and may pay a small sum to take him. If he was their hostage, the ransom they seek will far outweigh the expense made to regain their lost captive. The boy will be back with his family, the bandits will have their gold, and she will have her share. Perfect.

“Lijuni, tewe.” Madini rises from her spot and approaches her twin, stopping the other from barricading the door with crates. They speak more, with Lijuni growing powerless to persuade her sister away from this idea, and Madini pushing her aside to keep an eye on the boy while she steps out.

Immediately she catches sight of the party, and with graceful steps she walks from the wooden porch and approaches them with utmost confidence.

“Se ‘ami newi, my friends. How tired you are. Seek shade within my shop. Look around while you rest. Perhaps I may have something that will interest you as well?” Her voice is smooth, welcoming, so sure that yes, they will find something they will like to get their hands on.

~*~*~*~*~

Did he drink enough? What if he gets sunburn? Or dehydrates? Gets heat exhaustion? Will Madini take care of him? What if she doesn’t know the signs of heat stroke and he dies? Or worse, what if she ignores his pleas for water? What if they get lost? Would she kill and eat him to survive? She’s a predator after all, with those sharp claws and animal eyes.

Images, terrible fantasies, any horror he could think of filled his mind more and more. Why was he feeling this way? He should feel sure knowing the boy is with someone who knows the area. But why does he have his doubts and worries? Does he really trust Madini? She never personally wronged him but…

The suit stops in its tracks. He won’t get over it, but maybe, just maybe if he goes back, maybe to give a proper farewell to the boy that he deserves and to keep good ties with Madini, maybe he’ll feel better. yeah, maybe he’ll feel better.

Timbersaw turns around, stepping back through the dusty dirt towards the town in the distance. It was hot now that the sun was only just now falling from high in the sky and he had no more water on his person, but the trip back won’t take too long and perhaps he could pay a little more gold for some of Madini’s water rations.

Nortromthesilencer

With every pat the child flinches away. Other children may enjoy such coddling, but Nortrom never had that sort of nurturing touch, and to him it felt very unfamiliar and served to make things worse. He whimpered, pulling himself even tighter into a ball.

There was more speaking, more movement, and more words that Nortrom didn’t understand take place. As they spoke he fiddled with his wrists, twisting and turning them, doing little but further rub raw his flesh and cause more pain. Eventually the source of their conversations was made known, a familiar trio stepping into the home.

Nortrom’s eyes widened and he froze. Oh no. No no no.

Upon seeing the child, thoughts of raiding the place anticipated and instead turned into a much more sadistic grin, the bandits stepping closer and chuckling between themselves. “Your right, you do have something that interests us, Kehehe…”

There were negotiations, multiple bartered offered, plans, and more being made over the boy as he could only sit and listen, his own self being nothing more than a commodity to be bickered over. If any looked his way during said discussions, his eyes begged, pleaded for them to reconsider, head shaking slowly. Legs having cramped he was no longer curled up, and in opening his posture he felt even more exposed to their leers and dire intentions. It took every ounce of strength for Nortrom not to blubber like a baby.

Rizzrack

Madini was quite proud of herself, finding buyers she could bargain with, pushing her limits to get as much gold out of it as possible. Lijuni could only stand by and watch the dealings silently. No sympathy was shown for the boy, eyes blind to the fear and tears so that she may not be stirred to interfere with her sister’s work. Finding an amount she’s willing to trade Nortrom for, Madini turns her attention back towards the boy. “I can only imagine the discipline and teaching that went into raising this boy. He is worth a very fine price.” Although she is not intentionally rough, her pulling and forcing him to his feet cause pain, maybe even draw a whimper from the boy. She beckons her sister over to help hold him, and with a paw out, she waits for their payment. “He is all yours.”

~*~*~

Nearly back into town, Rizzrack continues to talk away his worries, convincing himself that everything is fine. There’s no reason to think anything wrong. His intuition wasn’t always right.

Except when…

The suit pauses and the small-keen leans over the cockpit, having caught an interesting detail in the dirt road. Footprints. Not paw pads, but actual boots. Felines weren’t find of footwear, preferring their steps to leave little to no marks or sound on other surfaces. On top of that, these marks broke over his suit’s after he left town. Someone came after him, someone he doesn’t know.

Or does he?

Worried and once again thinking the worse, the suit starts forward again, picking up pace. It can only move so fast without the assistance of a nice trunk to be cut. However it’s not long before he approaches the shop, his eyes trailing the track of foot prints right up the steps.

“Madini? A-are you still here?”

The two felines within tense up and look towards the door. Not wanting to lose her chance, Madini becomes more demanding, nearly shoving her claws into one of the bandit’s face. “Pay now or you don’t get the boy!” she hisses.

Nortromthesilencer

Yanked to his feet and roughly dragged due to being bound, Nortrom gave a muffled yelp through the gag and attempted to hop along as not to fall over. Distracted by everything going on, he doesn’t hear the sound of a voice outside, instead feeling a sharp prick of alert claws digging into his arm where it held him up.

The trio did, however, hear Rizzrack’s voice. They may not recognize it, but could tell Madini was now rushing them because of whoever this was. The smaller, portlier, of the trio dug through his bags, scrounging up what was agreed, shushing the cat to ‘calm her titties’ and stop hurrying them.

With both feline’s attention occupied elsewhere and the men not looking directly at him, Nortrom felt he had little other choice but to take his chances and get the hell out of there. Jumping up he slammed down on Madini foot, the sudden pain forcing her to let go and shout. Another strong leap pushed the boy away from all others and towards the door, his shoulder hitting it hard but not buckling the wood. Expecting he couldn’t break it down, frantic small hands behind his back tried to push the knob around. Not being able to see what he was doing, and having his movement greatly restricted at the elbows, he only just cracked the door open before being grabbed once more.

“What the fuck do you think your doin’ lad?” He was forced forward by the hair, directly into another waiting fist to his gut. Nortrom crumpled forward, as far as he could while being held up painfully by his messy black hair, and groaned. Now their property, the bandits weren’t afraid to prove it to the child through force. A strong armed punch to the face rocked Nortrom forward, slamming into the door, forcing it wide open as he toppled to the ground, “You don’t fuckin’ misbehave, ya hear me?”

Coins were thrown Madini’s way finally, the tallest focused on Nortrom who lie on the ground. After a kick that rolled him onto the side coughing, blood dripping from his previously battered nose, the child tried to curl up into a ball once more and protect himself. About to drag the child up, both men now outside stopped when they saw the cast shadow of a very large, very clunky machine.

They panicked.

One got down to the ground near Nortrom, dragging him closer by the collar, wrapping his arm around the boy’s neck to hold him close as he drew a knife and held it threateningly, “You! Don’t you come any closer!” The edge drew lightly across Nortrom’s cheek, his head pulling away only to be blocked by the arm. He whimpered.

Rizzrack

Madini quickly overcomes her pain, the scattering coins calling to her to gather them from the floor. She does not turn her eyes to the men who beat the boy. preferring to remain ignorant of the pain she’s brought upon him. Instead, she picks up every last coin and slinks her way to the opposite side of the room past the crates and shelves beckoning to her sister to follow her out the window. Unknowing to her, Lijuni does not hear, too distracted by the panic, curious as to who may be outside. They sound familiar.

Within he could hear clattering, yelling, a screech, and the door shake before falling still. Rizzrack watches intently with held breath, focused as his suspicions pulled together and formed a narrative in his mind of what just went on behind that door. What other evidence could he need?

The boy fell through the door before him, battered and beaten. Following him to the ground were two men, recognized to be the bandits from before.

That is it. Overwhelmed by fury, Timbersaw lunges forward, sending metal claws over them and crushing through the wooden door and wall as if it were merely paper, a small demonstration of what he can do to the bandits with ease.

Timbersaw roars and the hand returns to trade it with the saw , but the blade hesitates at the verbal threat. The keen is silent, frozen in place by fear and rage. He can only stare , momentarily held back by his concern for the boy. It’s only then he realizes the damage already done to the poor child. Bound, blade to his face, eyes red from tears and blunt trauma, the sight causes Rizzrack’s blood to boil in his veins. It makes him absolutely sick. He hates himself for leaving the child behind. He takes in the sight of the bandits, and it takes him a good amount of restraint to not immediately throw a blade through their bodies at that very moment.

He hates them more.

Black smoke billows from the exhaust like dragon’s breath. Blades and saw teeth continue to whirl loudly, enough to cause discomfort to one’s hearing and down out most sounds to the keen. If he had heard the boy’s whimper, he would have completely lost it on the spot. Rizzrack falls silent, but everything in his face told them,

try me.

Nortromthesilencer

“Leave the kid behind, it’s not worth it!” Dashing out of the door way, the portly bandit cowers behind his comrades in fear of Rizzrack’s powerful display and revved up blades. The one holding Nortrom shakes his head, getting to his feet and dragging the boy along with him. Being shorter than the bandit, he’s forced up on his toes, struggling to keep up with the steps, breaths cut short by the arm around his neck.

“No. We gotta get back our money, and this is insurance. We drop the boy, no guarantee that freak won’t chase us and cut us down.” The Bandit tightened his grip and took some more slow steps back. Nortrom just softly sniffled, occasionally gulping air. That knife was close, too damned close. Both of the others looked at one another, not sure what to do, “You there! Turn off that machine or I carve him a new mouth!”

Breaking away from the others, one of the bandits stepped aside the house, attempting to shimmy out of Rizzrack’s view. From the splintered door he had grabbed a long piece of wood, thick and stable, and continued to act casually as he side stepped. Just trying to escape, nothing to see here, concentrate on the child… *WHAM!* When finally ignored, he lunged at the Timber-suit and slammed the wooden piece down against the main body. It left a scraped mark across the metal and wooden frame, but much greater damage was done to the makeshift club than Rizzrack’s pride and joy. This didn’t deter the bandit, who continued to whack and smack away at the suit in various places, intent on taking Rizzrack down.

Rizzrack

Timbersaw remains in place, focus never leaving the blade. He leans forward to follow as they drag Nortrom, the keen within fuming and muttering curses under his breath. They give a demand, and if it were any other situation, Rizzrack would have very likely just went after them, but any wrong move and… He doesn’t want to think about it, but he knows he won’t be able to live with himself if that happened. Hands tight on the lever, he takes a breath and prepares to try to negotiate.

“The machine stays on.” The bandit is stubborn, but Rizzrack himself refuses to budge. “You let him go, and I don’t kill you. How about that?”

Wait a second. Weren’t there thr-

CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK

Timbersaw’s top spins around to face the bandit. Claw raises high and swipes, but misses the take down. Claw readies again for another swing, but this time the keen gasps as a shadow begins to fall over him. The reactive armor is activating, and he can’t stop it. “No, no no! STOP!”

Finding no reason to ever need to design the automatic defense system with an emergency stop and only a simple locking mechanism, the dome continues to close. He scrambles first for the lock, but in a panic, he then leaps out of his seat and grasps the rim with his hands, but it’s a futile attempt. It closes, nearly slicing his fingers with the sharp teeth as he pulls away and is left with only small gaps to look from. He’s trapped.

Trapped. And now at the will of the bandits.

Timbersaw does not move. In fact, the engine ceases and armor stays shut for as long as the other bandit beats it.

“Okay! Okay! It’s off!” Frustration and fear wavers his voice. He’s desperate now. There’s little he can see, little he can do. He may as well be their second captive. “Let him go and I’ll give you all the gold I have. Please.” His pitiful pleas reverb beneath the metal dome. He pants and gasps. It’s getting hot in here.

Nortromthesilencer

Not only are the bandits confused, but Nortrom as well. Seeing the suit clam shut and Rizzrack suddenly acquiesce to their demands stops all parties watching on, wondering if this is some elaborate ruse or a technical error.

Wooden plank still in hand, the closest reacts with one last smack against the arm of the machine before pulling back slightly, looking to the others and shrugging.

“Just how much gold are we talkin’?” Machine now off, the tallest relaxes his grip slightly, arms lowering so that Nortrom can touch the ground better. The child gasps, catching his breath in wavering pants and soft sobs. Were he not tied he might be able to do something, to help in some way. Instead, he can barely move without falling over. How pitiful. Nortrom figures that if he was going to be abused no matter where he was, he would much rather it be back at the cantonment where he was familiar and sheltered.

“You actually trust that pink freak to do it?”

“Shuddap. As long as we get paid, and live, I don’t care who has the kid. A pack of cannibals could buy him for all I care.” More steps back, this time dragging Nortrom along instead of forcing him to hop. He didn’t trust that this wasn’t a trick by the keen, and would rather run the hell away. Too bad it was hard to run with the kid in tow. “If you got enough gold, leave it on the ground and back up. It better pay us even or no deal!”

Rizzrack

“O-okay, okay!”

He fumbles through the cramped confines of his suit. It feels so much smaller than usual. His eyes sting from the sweat that drops down. It keeps getting hotter. Hold yourself together, stay calm. He finds his gold and can only hope he  has enough. Please let it be enough.

The keen’s hands pat around the dome above him. It won’t budge open any time soon, and forcing it open will only keep him stuck longer like tugging at a finger trap. He starts to take the gold coins from the pouch, flicking them between the dome’s teeth and out to the ground. “H-here!” It’s a mess, like throwing corn to chickens. Once the pouch is empty, he continues to plead. The suit stays where it stands, off.

“That’s all I have!”

Nortromthesilencer

Motioning to the portly one, hands still fixed in place holding the child, the other frowns at how much of a burden this all was. Still hiding, the other didn’t move. No way was he getting closer to that– that– THING! With a resigned sigh, the closest rolled his eyes and threw down his plank of wood, going about collecting and counting the gold. Minutes passed under the hot sun, and then, “It’s more than we paid. Not a lot, but it’s something.”

The tallest nodded. “Fine, you have a deal, freak.” Pulling himself from around Nortrom’s neck, he let the kid get his own balance before taking the knife to his bindings. First the elbows, then the knees. Then the feet, and finally the hands. He held Nortrom with one hand by the arm, wondering if they could indeed trust that this Keen wouldn’t come after them once he had the kid back.

Internally, Nortrom’s mind was racing. His captor was hesitating and not letting go; Were they even going to free him, or was this all a show before forcing him to run off? More time ticked by, the standoff feeling as though it had gone on forever. His pulse raced, sweat collecting across his tunic and soaking into the thin fabric, nerves elevated to the small gusts of wind that passed. As his thoughts grew more frantic, he became more desperate. More seconds. More waiting. No. He wasn’t going to let them run off with him, damnit! He was stronger than that!

Twisting in place, the boy lifted the hand that held him to his face and bit down hard. The skin broke as he pulled away, bloody muscles and tendons ripping, gore gathering across Nortrom’s face. The pain forced a scream from the bandit, other hand dropping the knife to grab his injury. Nortrom ducked down to the ground to avoid any retaliation, scrambling to grab the knife as he skittered forward in the space between them and Rizzrack. While one bandit reeled in pain, another kept hiding, and the third approached fast.

Nortrom threw the knife.

He may not have been a mage. He may have failed casting any spells and been mocked incessantly for it, but what he lacked in arcane power he made up for in other studies and training. Nortrom didn’t have magic but he did have damned good aim. A bit too good…

The knife landed with a sickening crunch, blade embedded deep into the attacker’s forehead. It took some time for his body to connect with what was happening, frame lurching forward a few unstable steps, blood seeping from around the hilt and out of his nose, arms limply pulled at his sides. One step. Two steps. By the third his nervous system had caught up, the rest of his muscles going limp and sending him crashing to the ground. Dust puffed up where he landed, settling in messy piles across his clothing, clinging to the sanguine leakage from his face.

The adrenaline was dropping fast. Nortrom fell on his behind, kicking back away a couple of paces before freezing, eyes wide, only now realizing what he had just done. His jaw dropped. After everything that had just happened to him, and now this, the boy broke down and started to bawl.

Rizzrack

Rizzrack can only look helplessly from the gap of the armor, but even that granted the keen little vision of what goes on on outside. The bright light entering into the dark suit blinds him and he can only hope to listen. Scratching sounds, the click of currency, their acceptence. The keen sighs, trembling, anxious to know if they’ll follow through. Cutting sounds, it seems like it.

Then a scream.

His blood runs cold. What’s going on!? The sounds of a scuffle has the keen’s nose practically pressed through the small gap. What is happening? There’s a crack… a thud… silence…

Then sobbing.

Sobbing.

What did they do??

The suit twitches, claw fingers flex… then it moves.

Timbersaw charges forward, metal foot stomping down beside the child nearly crushing him, the other foot moving inches above and over his head before landing back down upon the skull of the fallen bandit with a gooey crunch. Blind rage guides the mecha to the gold-holding bandit slack-jawed by his partner’s demise. With a shriek his arms fly up in fear as the last thing he sees are metal claws closing in.

Timbersaw lifts the cretin by the head. There is no mercy, no second thought to his actions. He hangs the struggling body close and lets the midsection blades do the work. Blood spatters all around, showering the dry dust with the red rain it thirsts for. The earth is not the only thing bathed. That’s two down, one to go. Tossing away the shredded remains, Timbersaw swings the saw arm forward. He will FIND that last bandit. It detaches. Like a glowing disc from hell it whirs through the air and chews through the wooden shop, leaving a disaster only a tornado could match.

Lijuni never left. She only watched, She regret staying. The feline ducked, nearly missing a beheading. The other bandit was not so lucky. She scrambled and screeched, clawing and bounding for protection. The structure cracked and within moments it all fell. Crashing wood drowns out the screams until all that’s left is the buzzing of the sawblade. It returns to the arm it comes from, but the pilot is far from satisfied. Tearing through the wreckage, the limp body of the feline is salvaged. Lijuni is held up to the still-closed armor of the suit, but she is seen all the same.

“If it weren’t for  you, none of this would have happened at ALL!”

The first slam.

Her body is flung back down, wheezed gasps unheard beneath the cracking and splintering debris. Her body rises again to meet her reflection in the blood that coats the armored dome.

“N-e’eh, pl-” “Do you know WHAT YOU’VE DONE!?” Her body is flung down again. Spears of wood pierce her body, puncturing lungs, stabbing organs. She is a fighter, but her struggles to escape the grip are too weak and meaningless. She rises again, and falls again, rises, falls… the pain grows distant, the sky dark…

Saws and teeth come to a halt. Timbersaw is motionless, painted with blood and holding a fur bag of broken bones. The claws open, releasing the corpse  and only then does the armor finally begin to open. Rizzrack is revealed. Condensation drips from within and back onto his dry skin. His usually pink-tipped nose and ears are flushed a vibrant red. His pupils were dilated, quick to contract from the bright light. Delirious, he slumps over the dashboard, grasping at something unseen. Slowly coming to his senses, he struggles out of the suit, practically dropping to the ground into the mess of feline blood.

….

“I’m so sorry.”

Rizzrack looks down to the bloody boy. With shuddering breathe he can only whisper out one last apology before dropping to his knees and wailing into his palms.

Nortromthesilencer

The carnage was all around him, physically inescapable. Nortrom remained kneeling on the ground, tears filling his eyes but not sobbing any longer. He had cried himself out, throat raw, blood drying over his jaw and from his nose. Where he was punched his eye was swollen half shut, bruised, and very much out of place with the vacant wide eyed stare that looked onward. Not at the blood, the death, or the destruction, but past it.

The boy may have been there, on the ground, in the middle of it all, but he wasn’t there mentally, retreated inwards and dissociating from it all, a quiet place, a silent place. He came here often to escape the pain and neglect, yet as of this point he knew not where he would go. The adult knew. The adult understood. The child, not so much.

He didn’t hear Rizzrack coming to his side, the Keen’s tears, or the gradual crashing of the building as it’s remaining supports give out. No, he heard nothing. It was peaceful here, not thinking about the fact he had just murdered someone. It was silent, there were no bodies. There was no blood. There was only himself, alone.

A familiar place. His place.

Rizzrack

The keen rocks back and forth. Between gasps and sobs he cried his mantra. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry” Pulling his hands away from his face, he looks back up to the boy. His state, it’s familiar. Not something he’s seen, but felt. Actually, it’s not even a feeling. It’s an absence of it, a numbness. When everything becomes too much to take in. When you’ve realized your world’s come crashing down, reduced to a small workshop crushed beneath the weight of vines and roots, and life as you know it is gone… You end up looking like that.

Destroyed. Traumatized.

Another sob and his heart goes out to the boy. Rizzrack drags his knees as he brings himself closer to the child. Slowly but without hesitation he brings his arms to embrace the child’s shoulders. At least he doesn’t have to be alone. Don’t let him be alone. His touch is gentle. Hands pet the child’s back, finding no other way to bring comfort.

When was the last time he cried like this? Not too long ago,after learning of the pain Silencer went through in his childhood… Why must the world be cruel to such youth?But something occurs to the keen that did not before. He slowly pulls away from the boy and looks to his eye. A familiar blue… His hair raven black…and that place…

Hazhadal Barrens. Rizzrack knew he recognized that name. That’s where the Silencer was raised with a strict upbringing. An upbringing that could cause a child to be so meek, so disciplined.

His breath is shallow, a result of being absorbed and lost within his thoughts. He snaps out of it, once again facing the boy before him. Eyeing his features, a theory burns in his mind, a crazy one he can’t ignore.

Is it possible?

The voice is soft, unsure, but desperate to know.

…

“Nortrom?”

Nortromthesilencer

Hearing that name snapped the boy out of his trance with a jolt. He gasped, breathing so shallow before and now his lungs craving, no, demanding to be filled. He looked about, again seeing the vile display before him, this time noting the keen. Was it his voice? Pushing himself up more with his hands, the boy looked at Rizzrack with fear and fought the urge to back away. To run.

“Ho–How… How do you know my…?” Was knowing who he was the cause of all of this? Trust was in short supply, and Nortrom didn’t wish to give away what he had left so easily. Not again.

Rizzrack

Rizzrack is… He’s not sure what to think. He really wasn’t expecting his thoughts to be confirmed, and now here he is with this kid who might just be the Silencer. How?

He might sound crazy, maybe he is. His hands grasp the boy’s shoulders. “Nortrom, I… This is so…” He take a breath and sighs, letting go of the boy so that his hands may instead go to his head while he tries to make sense of things. “I know your name because… because you look like a frie-… someone I know.” His arms fall back to his sides, still finding the thought to be utterly ridiculous. “You just reminded me of him. Hah, I didn’t think I’d be seeing the Silencer again in any way. I had to go away. Do you know why? Because I did something terrible to him. Ahaha…”

A twisted, pained smile as he whispered that end to himself. The boy doesn’t need to know any more horrors. “Because I thought I was doing something right. And now? I only wanted you safe.” His voice trails off in a whimper but the keen is determined to keep himself together.

Nortromthesilencer

Now he was both terrified and even more confused. Nortrom pushed back, refusing Rizzrack’s attempted comfort and placing a short gap between them. Able to take in the sights without being completely lost, he took a deep breath and got to his feet. It smelt disgusting, burnt, dusty, and… familiar. It still smelt familiar.

Turning his back to the keen, he looked at the body of the man he killed. Now crushed, the initial image of a knife sticking out from his skull remained. Nortrom did that. It would be dishonorable to the man, to the event, if he denied that fact. Nortrom knew he couldn’t hide from what had happened, and now given some time to process it, he didn’t want to.

“Nortrom. My name is Nortrom, of Aeol Drias,” Yes the Keen knew this now, but it felt more formal to give an actual introduction when before he denied to give his name. After all of this, there was no point in protecting his identity, “And I am a murderer.” He stood up straight, strong, defiant. Nortrom took a swiveling step and faced Rizzrack head on, wiping the blood and tears from his face.

“I did it to protect myself. That doesn’t make me a bad person, does it?”

Rizzrack

Rizzrack reached out, afraid to lose him again. But the child did not run. He stands tall and faces the reality about him. The keen looks up at Nortrom, unseeing of it. He no longer sees an innocent child, and his statement sends a chill down his spine. On his knees he pleads for him to renounce his statement. “No, don’t say that!“ He stammers through his horror.

“Killing monsters isn’t murder. You’re not a bad person.”

The grim surroundings burn into the keen like glares from a damning crowd. He knows what he did, but refuses to believe it is murder. He never murdered anyone. He never will.

Nortromthesilencer

While facing reality may have been his intent, Nortrom still found himself paralyzed by it all the more he thought on it. Standing there, looking at the keen, the blood, the ground, he couldn’t bring himself to move.

“Why did you come back?” It looked so very surreal, this young boy unflinching as death and decay rotted the very air around them, holding tight in a transfixing gaze his ability to move. The child huffed, lifting his tunic from his belt to continue to wipe his face. It stung.

“Thank you though. I’m sorry I doubted you; I just wanted to go home.” Another small sniffle. Nortrom forced his eyes shut and took several deep breaths. He couldn’t allow himself to cry any more.

“I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”

Rizzrack

“I came back because I was-” His explanation is interrupted by the thanks, and Rizzrack finds it unneeded to restart and instead let Nortrom speak. “Don’t apologize.” He feels he should be one the doing that. He made the boy doubt, he made the boy afraid, he left the boy behind against his own intuition. This was more his fault than anyone else’s. Here comes the guilt again. Well, it never left in the first place. It always lingered, and now it’s a new wound over a scab.

Rizzrack stands to his feet. His knees wobble, as earlier’s rampage and the heat of the day leaves him exhausted and burnt out. He wants nothing more than to ease the boy, tell him it’s alright, but Nortrom seems to be handling it well on his own. A feat that awes the keen. “Like you yourself said, you were only  protecting yourself. Now let’s get out of here.”  Finding nothing else to say, he turns away back towards his suit and makes what feels to be a long walk. His eyes stay straight ahead and above the wreckage, but do what he may to avoid the sight, he can’t avoid the blood upon the Timbersaw.

Rizzrack returns, this time careful to avoid stepping in head gore.

“I don’t expect you to trust me, but I”ll be honest. I’m afraid. I don’t want to be… I don’t want you to be alone.”

Nortromthesilencer

Nortrom flinches as the timbersuit walked up to him. Could he really trust this keen? Yes they returned and seemed very much willing to help, but they also murdered and proved to be lost. He sighed. Not like he could judge, the blood was on his hands too.

Rubbing his wrists where the ropes cut his skin raw and red, the boy looked down. In an effort to not cry again, he focused on everything else he was feeling instead, mindful of what was going on in his body. The pain of the rope burns, the torn corners of his mouth where the cloth had been cleaved tight, the bruised eye that stung with every blink, and the deep rumble in his gut.

“I’m hungry.”

Nortrom looked up at Rizzrack as he pilot the suit, showing his intent to follow the keen. It was obvious he wasn’t as stable as he let on, the inner turmoil fighting as he pushed it back.

“Can we leave? I don’t want to stay here any longer, sir.”

Rizzrack

Rizzrack looks down to the boy just as exhausted as he. “Yes.” He wipes his glove across his face, smearing dirt with the thin film of sweat he can still manage to produce. It feels as if steam is blowing from his ears. Any more longer out here and there could be many more consequences to follow. They need water. They need food. There is a river  to the north from where Rizzrack had traveled from and did not expect to be traveling back through any time soon. It was not very far from the Silencer’s home and at that point the keen realizes that’s the home he needs to go to.

“Don’t panic. I’m going to carry you.”

Quite suddenly the claw comes down. It does not grab the boy roughly, it just merely nudges him onto the flat of the saw blade with unmoving teeth. Parallel to the Timbersaw’s mid-drift it acts as a makeshift bench. Something similar to what it did not too long ago. Once adjusted, the suit begins its walk.

“Now let’s get out of here.”

The boy may only notice once they leave the town that they aren’t exactly going west towards the supposed location of the Hazhadal Barrens. The keen suspects this. “I will take you home, I promise that. But…” he sighs, licking his lips and finding himself to be quite parched. “But we need to get to the closest river, and that’s thirty miles north of here… fifty kilometers… quite a ways.”

The suit speed picks up speed and could quite easily match the pace of a jogging human, maybe even surpass it. Even so, at that rate it will take at the very least a couple of hours to reach the destination. Rizzrack can only hope that despite the bumpy ride, perhaps the boy could find a moment of rest.

At least the light breeze is somewhat soothing.

Nortromthesilencer

Don’t panic? This machine of death and blades, so close and now picking him up, and the Keen tells him not to panic? The look on Nortrom’s face betrays his previously calm demeanor, hands gripping white knuckled to the claw and eyes staring at the previously spinning blades. Even sitting down the boy is tense, knowing what this damned machine was capable of now. It wasn’t so much awe inspiring any more as it was terrifying.

“That’s quite a detour…” One last look back before leaving that hellish scene behind, the scene of victim-hood. That scene of the crime; Many crimes. Nortrom leaned back against the body of the suit, his head above the lip where the control panel was. He made sure not to let his head lull in Rizzrack’s way as they traveled. Feeling exausted, the boy yawned. He knew sleep wasn’t an option, nerves still on edge, no matter now tired he was.

“Um… Could I ask you a question sir? Why– Er, No… Do most people out here try to take advantage of others?” That wasn’t the greatest wording, especially for Nortrom. He hummed, thinking of a better way to put his thoughts, “Let me try again: What do I keep doing wrong so that everyone wants to hurt me? This can’t be normal.”

Rizzrack

It was quiet for a while. Rizzrack finding it hard to initiate any small talk. He didn’t have the energy or breath to talk. The boy wants an answer however. “Because they’re evil monsters.” The boy reworded his question and Rizzrack feels obligated to try and give a more meaningful answer.

“You’re right. It’s not normal. Sometimes bad things happen to us. On purpose or on accident, but no matter how it happens, there’s a why, there’s always a reason. That reason isn’t you, but it is you. Does that make sense?” He pauses to think of a better way to express the thought. “There are people who only want to gain things for themselves. They see their victim and think to themselves ‘how can I abuse this innocent being to my own advantage?’ They lure you in with promises of love, promises of protection. Then they slowly begin to take from you while fooling you into believing it’s for a good cause. Then when you begin to doubt their kindness, they twist your words on you and make you out to be wrong. They take more and more until the blood loss leaves you dizzy and weak, then when there’s nothing left to be gained of you, they try to kill you because you’re worthless to them! Hahah! Isn’t that something??”

Throughout the speech his voice gradually grew in volume. So caught up was he within his own memories and experiences that the end of it all, he was cackling breathlessly. Taking a moment to recover, he makes a small apology and blames it on the heat.

“You can’t trust everyone. Sometimes you can only trust yourself, and that’s where your intuition comes in. I don’t always listen to mine, and look what happens, bad things happen.”

Nortromthesilencer

He listens intently to the rant, legs stretched out at an angle down the blade. Occasionally the boy nods, understanding, feeling that he’s heard a very similar speech some time before.

“My intuition,” he idly commented at the end, looking up at the sky above, “is that you’re not a bad person despite all of this. You don’t know me but you want to help. I don’t know you but even if you’re kinda strange, you seem nice.”

Nicer than most, anyways. Nicer than the other children. Nicer than his teachers. Nicer than those cat people or bandits. Nortrom didn’t know how to word it, or what to say due to a real lack of experience of people being nice to him, but he appreciated it all the same.

“It’s getting darker, sir. How much longer do you think until the sun sets?”

Rizzrack

“Oh!” He nearly squeaks, surprised.  “I’m touched… I think.”

It’s a compliment that calms him from working himself up by his own thoughts. At least the boy is honest, and Rizzrack is once again reminded of who this child really is. There is sadness, but along with it there is a little more appreciation for the Silencer.

The keen remains quiet until the boy speaks up again. “Hmm?” He wasn’t aware of it until it’s pointed out. Based on how much lower the sun is, it must be the start of evening. It felt like only minutes ago it was the afternoon. “Er….”

It’s been so long since he last used a clock. For years and years the ability to tell time never relied on a visual of marks or numbers, but instead on a feeling and how long it took to perform certain tasks or to travel from one place to another. He knew they would reach the river and clean up with plenty of time to spare before the sun vanished. The keen hums and glances at the odometer on his dashboard. “I would say two hours, give or take.”

They had already traveled far enough that Rizzrack knew that they were getting close. The change of the landscape from mostly dry dirt and scare vegetation to much more scattered green confirmed those feelings. Metal feet kick through small shrubs as they stop at the edge of water.

Beautiful, cool, flowing water.

Lowering the blade so that the boy may get down easily, Rizzrack himself lacks the patience to deny his tongue of water any longer. Crawling down from his suit as fast as he can, he tosses aside his helmet and practically goes face first into the river.

blblbblbl

He raises his head and dunks it repeatedly, alternating between gasps of breath and gulps of water. Finally satisfied he pulls back out of the river to catch his breath while slinging off his gloves so that he could wipe water and dirt from his face.

“Aaah…” He looks back to the kid. He nearly forgot about him. “Hey. Nortrom, come. Get a drink. Then let’s get you cleaned up, you’re a mess.”

Nortromthesilencer

The air feels lighter, more humid, as they get closer. The boy remains awake in silent contemplation, the sights and sounds all new to him and something to enjoy. It’s a much needed calming after such a stressful afternoon.

Nortrom hops off the blade at a much more leisure pace than Rizzrack, walking to the water’s edge. Taking his his boots and leg wrappings off, the boy sits on an elevated rock on the bank and dips his toes in. The kiss of cold water made him gasp in surprise, having to try again little by little until he got used to the feeling. As he let his feet splash, Nortrom bent forward and washed his hands before taking some water in them, cupping it to his face and enjoying the crisp taste.

Spending some time just watching, drinking, and waiting, he finally could forget all about what had happened and instead focus on what was happening. He was lost, he didn’t know how he got here, and he didn’t know how to get back. Nortrom sighed, leaning forward again to stare at his reflection. There was blood on his face still, eye discoloured and puffy, and something else, something stirring in his memories…

“Mirror…” The word was said without thought, something about it felt memorable, the tug of recollection just out of reach, “A mirror! I remember a mirror, that’s how I got here!” Excitement bounced his feet, splashing away the reflection as he turned to grin at Rizzrack with a uncharacteristic look of elation. He was proud that he remembered something, even if it was so little. But what else?

“I– I remember a mirror. Something happened, and I woke up near where you found me.” Nortrom scrunched his face and grunted, a childlike gesture of wracking his brain for more clues, “Hmmgh… I can’t remember why though…”

Rizzrack

Giving the boy his personal space to care for himself, Rizzrack continued to clean his face and go for another drink. This time he cups his hands to bring water to his mouth instead of dunking his head to drink. Nortrom’s enthusiastic exclamation surprises him and the keen momentarily splutters and coughs, fearing for just a brief moment that the boy got hurt.

He looks to him. “Hem.. M-mirror?” he squeaks, still clearing his throat around the word. Another cough. “Some sort of magic mirror?” he doesn’t know much about the Silencer, even less about him as a child, but Rizzrack does know based on their little mishap with a hexing staff that Nortrom can have unexpected results with enchanted objects. “Can you remember where the mirror was? Or if there were any people?”

Nortromthesilencer

More scrunching of the face, it looking very comical with his already injured face. Becoming frustrated by the fact nothing was coming to him, the boy pouted. “I don’t know. Let me think.”

Nortrom slips his shirt off, dunking it in the water and using it to clean himself off. Taking a smooth rock from the water, he then starts to clean the blood and dirt from his shirt with it, back and forth, a typical laundry routine.

“Hm… I remember wooden walls.” That detail me have been mundane to most, but Nortrom was raised in a cantonment built mostly of sandstone and granite, so pure wooden walls like that of a cabin would stand out to the child, “It was quiet. I don’t… No, I don’t recall any voices.”

His head was starting to hurt thinking so hard about this, and he imitated the Keen by dunking his head under the water a few times. Up and drying himself off, the child spoke under his breath, “Maybe I actually managed to cast a spell…?”

Rizzrack

A spell? The keen lets out a few chuckles. “Hah, Nortrom, you cast a sp-” He stops himself to rethink his words. Adult Nortrom is about as magically gifted as Rizzrack himself. But just because that’s a fact the keen is aware of, he shouldn’t talk down the kid. He doesn’t know. “It’s.. it’s possible! It sounds like you’re really close to solving this mystery.” Finding it shameful to gaze at people bathing (as he himself would dislike being watched), Rizzrack grabs his helmet and turns his eyes down to the water to take care of getting something to eat. Pecking under rocks with his fingers, he begins fishing out crawfish and tossing them into his bucket helm.

“So if it was a spell, what do you think it was for?”

Nortromthesilencer

Even though Rizzrack cut off his jab mid-word, Nortrom heard it, and knew full well what he was going to say. At that moment he didn’t wonder why Rizzrack would have known he had issues with casting, but instead remembered every other time he was mocked, doubted, jeered at, and belittled for being unable to use magic. The boy shrunk in his own frame, going silent. Of course it was ridiculous to think he could have ever cast something.

He didn’t answer the Keen’s other question, instead silently finishing cleaning himself off without a word or change of expression. What a foolish thought. Casting a spell. You? In your dreams. The boy’s mirthful grin was gone. He knew better.

Rizzrack

As Rizzrack was not looking directly at the boy, he only thought the silence was due to him being deep in thought. He continues digging through the bed, waiting for an answer. But the silence is unusually long. The child’s chatter is gone. Realizing that his laughter was probably the biggest tell-tale of it, he makes another attempt to salvage the moment. “Whatever the spell was, it definitely did something…?”

It finally dawns on him that the damage was done and once again he is acquainted with regret and guilt. Just be quiet Rizzrack you’ll just make things worse. After collecting a few of the little snappy critters, he sifts water in and out of the helmet to get rid of any mud they may have been covered in.

Silence. Silence. Silence.

He thinks about it, and thinks about it. Children can be cruel too.

Uncommon were the days where he as a child was able to join the other young keen on the streets. Showing off their toys, bragging about inventions their mothers may have created and holding contests about who’s father was smarter.

“My dad can count all the sand grains on the beach!” “Oh yeah? MY dad can count all the stars in space!!” “And Rizzrack’s dad can count all the rocks on his shovel!” “HEY!”

It may have been in jest, but the mere fact that his father grew up an orphan working the mines was far from brag-worthy. In fact, it was the equivalent of amounting to nothing. No family trade to continue, no master to be an apprentice to. An uneducated fool to many of the neighbors, but Rizzrack knew his father was wise in his own way.

Silence still.

“Nortrom.” Rizzrack sets the helm aside and wades over to the boy. “Look, you… You may not see it, but you are special. You’re terrible with magic. It’s not because of you… but it’s also because of you. How do I go about explaining this? Okay, I don’t get magic either. Not everyone does. That’s why I have technology. We find our strength through weakness. And you, you have something, something FAR more amazing that I’ve never seen come from anyone else! The strength you will find within you is just… It’s beyond my comprehension, really.” The keen sighs. “I”m sorry I laughed it’s just… I know you. The older you. And honestly? I‘m jealous. You’re smarter than me, stronger than me, taller than me… You’re the Silencer.”

Nortromthesilencer

Perhaps it was stress, built up and festering under the skin, a disgusting wound just waiting to burst. Perhaps it was from hunger. Perhaps he was tired. Most likely all three, but Nortrom remained silent only this time with his shoulders occasionally twitching. A few more seconds and his breaths could be heard, a quiet sniffle giving away the fact that yes, he was crying.

“What are you even talking about??” large blue eyes looked at the Keen now, wet and red, a slow draw of tears trailing down his cheeks as he accusingly store at the keen, “How do you know me?!? How do you know all this!?” Nortrom lurched forward, falling closer to Rizzrack and supporting himself up with his hands to lay in a crawling position on the stony ground. He looked up, trembling, voice wavering in panicked breaths, “What do you mean you know me?”

None of this made sense. Being here in the first place, barely remembering what had happened before, the Keen’s familiarity with name his lack of spellmanship, and now saying that they knew him as an adult? How? He was here, 10 years old, and that was the truth. How could anyone know him in another instance of time? What was even going on?

Nortrom grabbed his own head, burrying his eyes in his palms and keeling.

“I want to go home!”

Rizzrack

Rizzrack didn’t know how the boy would react, but he didn’t imagine it to be like this. This isn’t want he wanted. Trying not to panic, he desperately pats the air down. “C-calm down! Please don’t cry I’m just-This is hard to explain but I ca-” Seeing the boy fall, he follows down onto a knee. His hands are out but he does not touch the boy in fear of getting another bad reaction from it. It hurt Rizzrack to see this. He can’t do anything right for him. Nothing at all. The hurt, the confusion, the frustration. Oh, the frustration. He’s getting tired, and his patience suddenly vanishes as he hits the bottom of the pity bucket. Sympathy drains. He would never imagine himself to be this way with youth, yet here he goes.

He grabs the  boy’s shoulders and roughly pushes him back to sit on his heels. His own tear filled eyes looked into the boy’s as he yells out in exasperation.

“Grow up!”

Nortromthesilencer

Panic sets in, a response to protect himself when expecting to be harmed, hit, or abused in some way. He’s felt it all too many times before, the loss of patience of another before they lashed out and took out their frustrations and stress on him. Nortrom forcefully shoved the keen away and sprung to his feet, “Get away from me!”

Jumping to his feet and forgetting about what had been removed previously, shoes, wraps, and tunic, the boy puts a few feet distance between him and Rizzrack. “Why? Because you know me as a grown up? Because I’m obviously a useless burden like this?!?” He looks hurt, angry, sad, and a mixture of so many feelings that even Nortrom doesn’t know what the hell is going on.

Gritting his teeth, he turns and runs away from Rizzrack and into the brush, shouting out one last thing, “FINE!”

The Keen wanted him to grow up? Fine, grown up’s don’t need help. Nortrom kept running, the river long past and the greenery getting thicker. His feet stung from the thistles and stones, and his lungs were heaving as he went. The boy wasn’t sure for how long he kept going, only knowing that he wasn’t going to stop until he couldn’t move any longer. Stupid Mirror. Stupid Keen. Stupid self… Mostly that last one, this was all his fault and he knew it.

Tripping over a bump in the ground from his feet growing numb, the boy lands hard and rolls, stopping on his side. He doesn’t move, instead gripping tight to his sides as he heaves and gasps for air from running for so long. The efforts made to wash himself were all but wasted now, mud caking up and down his body and trousers, but Nortrom didn’t care. It didn’t matter, nothing mattered, he didn’t matter.

Grow up, the boy thought bitterly, I wish I could. Then maybe people wouldn’t hurt me.

Rizzrack

He didn’t expect the boy to retaliate. Rizzrack fell back and submerged. The keen isn’t fond of water, not used to frequently bathing and when he did he was reluctant to ever go underwater. He flails and splashes about before finally sitting up in the shallow water. He gasps, frantically brushing water from his face and nose until he finally calms and catches his breath. That’s when he sees the boy is gone and a nice trail of wet footprints telling of where he ran off to.

He wanted to yell out, he wanted to retort and call him out for being so childish. Rizzrack slaps down the water angrily with his hands. Fine! I don’t care! I just wanted to help! He’s going to have to accept that he won’t ever become mage! Brat!! The keen rises from the water and steps out of the river. Everything is dripping as he never bothered to take anything but the gloves off. He walks past the boy’s belongings and goes over to his helmet to angrily place it on his head.

A shower of water and sharp pinchers greets him. He slaps the shellfish away, finding any feeling of hunger to have vanished as he goes to retrieve his gloves, slipping one after the other and then flapping about as he bitched and moaned under breath.

“I tried to apologize! I tried to help! I saved him! Ungrateful!” No longer did he view Nortrom as the child he is now, but instead saw him as the man he knows he is. “I’m telling him the truth! I’m being honest! I did everything I could for him! Why… why when I was his age, I didn’t have anyone! It was just me! And… and  you!” He points to the Timbersuit off by the shrubs. It lowly purrs, saying nothing. “I tried to give him what I didn’t have! I tried to care for him! I tried to help him! I did it all to no benefit for myself! What… what did I do wrong!?” He paces about, palms tapping his forehead as he wracked his brain for an answer.

He treated him like someone he wasn’t. Silencer is who he could become, but isn’t who he already is. He is just a child, and although he has so much still to learn about the world, he wasn’t ready for all of that to hit him in one moment. It was too much. The cruelty of strangers wasn’t just a lesson taught to young Nortrom by the bandits alone. Rizzrack is just as guilty as harming him, and now the keen thinks he knows where he went wrong.

Rizzrack wished he never said his name. Rizzrack wished he never looked into his eyes. He wished he never left the boy behind, that he never went into that town, that the container of fuel never fell and broke. So many things. So many regrets. Sobbing at the edge of a river and feeling regret doesn’t do anything, however. He looks over to Nortrom’s abandoned clothing. His heart aches. He cares, and he wishes he didn’t.

Fabric and shoes are bundled up and tossed into the suit. Rizzrack follows and heavy metal steps crunch through the brush and out into the dusk-painted landscape. As much as he regret first saying the name, he knew he had to call it out. “Nortrom!” He went so long calling him by Silencer out of spite ever since the man took offense to being called ‘Nortie’.  Ever since then, keeping the relationship as something impersonal and unfriendly to convince Rizzrack to keep any fond feelings or positive thoughts out of the picture was the only reason he persisted. It didn’t work for very long.

“Nortrom!!” The wet footprints were gone now, having vanished into the dry earth some distance back. Rizzrack has no idea where he may have run, and can only hope he kept to one direction. Maybe the boy had no idea where he wanted to go. Maybe he just wanted to get away. The blood crusted suit continues on, the pilot desperately still crying out to the boy.

Nortromthesilencer

One the ground, wet, muddy, and sore, Nortrom is quick to learn just how cold it is outside without shoes or a shirt. His grip on his sides tightens and he curls up, crying becoming nothing more than a pathetic whimper and sniffle. He doesn’t hear the calls at first, and when the first hint of his name is carried on the wind the boy cringes. Maybe if he stays quiet he’ll be left alone. Maybe if he stays here he’ll just disappear and no one will miss him. The sad oddity of a 10 year old thinking about his own death and wanting to die was lost on Nortrom, too caught up in self hate. They said he was a burden, so why would they care if he vanished?

Rizzrack didn’t relent. The voice got louder, and Nortrom knew he was getting closer. Nortrom groaned and rolled on to his back, arms splayed out, legs apart, a carpet of flesh and mud on the ground. Maybe if he was lucky that giant robot saw thing would step on him and crush him, putting an end to this.

Silencer. What a joke. He was probably mocking me for failing as a mage, who would call someone ‘silencer’ anyways?

Rizzrack

The ground crunches beneath every step the suit takes until it comes to a halt. The keen is silent, making out the form of the boy laying upon the earth in the dim glow of the evening. Lucky thing, for if he looked any smaller, likely wouldn’t have seen him. With a shuddering breath the keen is relieved. He shuts off his suit. It’s silent, save for the soft chirping of crickets, the gentle breeze through blades of grass and the light brush of feet across the ground. A short figure stands besides the boy with arms full.

“You… you left your clothes. It’s cold out here at night. You’ll need these.”

Nortromthesilencer

Drat, his plan was foiled. Nortrom rolls on to the opposite side of the keen and culls up defiantly, “Good. Maybe I’ll freeze out here.” A few seconds pass, and guilt eats at the boy, so used to obeying authority and not protesting. He rolls back again, this time to face the keen, “… Thank you, sir.” It sounded soft and reluctant, but Nortrom couldn’t bring himself to be any more of a dick to the closest thing to an adult around here.

Rizzrack

Rizzrack made no move but to only look down upon the boy and sigh. He could only wait. His brows creased, expression like a father who patiently waits for his toddler to grow tired of pouting. It’s quick, and he hands the articles over one by one as they’re placed back on. “You really don’t have to call me sir. You can just call me Rizzrack.” Handing over the last piece, he sits on the ground across the patch and faces Nortrom. His breath shudders, signifying that he too had got done crying as well not too long ago.

This is a quite familiar setting.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you. I shouldn’t have lost my patience.” His voice cracks somewhere in there, so he attempts to speak softer. “I’m just a crazy little keen who said a whole lot of things you didn’t need to hear or know. If I were in your place I would have been just as scared. Maybe more.”

Nortromthesilencer

Nortrom was ashamed of losing control like that, and hid his eyes from the keen even after getting dressed. He sits cross legged, head cast downward, hands in his lap.

“I’m sorry for acting immature, si— er, Rizzrack.” About now would be the time he would be hit, yelled at, and locked away for disobeying and being beligerant, yet Nortrom for once in his life assumes that won’t be the case. He dips his head even further, an apologetic gesture, a pathetic gesture.

“I’ve caused you nothing but trouble. I don’t know what’s going on, or why, but I do know that if this were a test I’ve failed terribly.”

Rizzrack

Rizzrack remains quiet, hesitant and unsure of just what to say without it being some other dumb utterance that could upset the boy again. It’s surprisingly hard to comfort someone, to be the mature support that a child needs when he himself is just as troubled. “Well, if there has to be someone who failed today, it’s me, not you. I’ve failed.” He sighs, stressed and worried the boy may still be fearful of him and his intentions. “But I can’t give up despite that.” Rizzrack looks to the child, eyes pleading, voice sincere. “Can you trust me to take you home? Believe me when I promise you to take you where you belong.”

Nortromthesilencer

He’s hesitant to trust anyone, always have been always will be. Now it’s even harder, but as the boy rises to his feet he nods. Hunger be damned, Nortrom was used to going nights without food as punishment, and he could handle it.

“I’ll accept, as I have nothing else to rely on.” Did he trust Rizzrack? No, not really. Was there any better alternative? Also no. It was one of those cases where the boy may as well go with the flow and accept things for how they are.

Looking even worse for wear now than before, albeit with less blood and more mud, the boy shivered. Night had set upon them fast, and with it the creeping shadows grew ominous. “I’ll follow your lead, s– Rizzrack.” Old habits are hard to break.

Rizzrack

There is another sigh of relief from the keen. He gets up and does his best to brush away the clumps of dirt that stuck to his bottom and legs. He gets into the machine and it starts up again, familiar deep purr drowning out the songs of nocturnal insects. Rizzrack knows they still have quite a bit more traveling to do along the river until he’s back to familiar lands. He wants to get there has fast as possible , so just like before the timbersuit guides the boy to sit on the unspinning saw like a seat and begins the trip back north again.

The Timbersuit speaks in place for Rizzrack as it steps along the river following a thin trail nearly lost to the darkness of night. Rumbles, clanks and the occasional squeak of a joint fill in for ramblings and gripes of the keen who would normally jump at the opportunity to  rant. Instead he is silent. He’s exhausted. Physically. Socially. So used to only having to worry about himself, Rizzrack is left running on empty. The thought of finally being alone is a very pleasing one.

The darkness of night settled long ago. Nothing but the stars and waxing moon light the field around them. There is more grass, full and green with scattered tree stumps across the plains and hills. Some spots of trees that were spared from being cut speckle a portion of hills that a few homes reside on. It’s all familiar even under the mysterious visage of darkness, and the keen finally mutters. “Almost there.” Words exhaled as if he  were bearing a heavy load. He eyes in the distance a familiar cabin far from any other and knows that it is only a moment longer until he walks up the path to that door once again.

Nortromthesilencer

Despite all of his efforts, Nortrom can’t help but fall asleep as they travel. The hum of the timber suit, the hunger in his gut, the pain of wrists rubbed raw from rope and other injuries, the cool evening air: It all leads to the boy curling up on his side atop the flat of the blade and slumbering.

Up the mountain the suit plodded on, the pathway well groomed and maintained for ease of travel. Bordered by tall trees and ample brush for wildlife to hide, soft sounds of crickets and nocturnal creatures occasionally break the silence of the night. Soon a familiar stone fence pushed back the foliage, leading the rest of the way up to the clearing where Nortrom’s lodge resides, nestled on the cliff overlooking a small village.

It’s still, with no sign of the owner for very obvious reasons. Only the timbersuit disturbs this place, and were it not for the child in his possession there would be no indication that anything was amiss.

Rizzrack

They made it.

Timbersuit slightly bowed, the engine rumbles to a halt and the driver climbs down tiredly, careful not to startle the boy yet from his rest. Rizzrack approaches the door. It’s dark, but patting around looking for the lock and handle causes it to budge, telling that the door was left open. Pushed wider, the keen steps in to inspect the room. He sees no obvious signs that the place has been invaded from what he can make out in the darkness. No risk of getting jumped. Good. Door propped open, Rizzrack turns to the sleeping boy.

“Okay.” He readies himself, takes in a deep breath and exhales, and as gentle as a keen a tad smaller than a ten year old can, he scoops  his arms beneath shoulders and knees and lifts him from the saw. Oh boy. Maneuvering his way in, he carries Nortrom over to the couch he last saw the man reclining against. He places him down and carefully pulls away. Whew. Such a good couch.

Rubbing the small of his back, the keen looks around. Of course there isn’t much one can see in the dark. Remembering a lantern nearby, he searches for it, finding it close to the door along with some matches.

Now with a portable light, he closes the door and turns his attention to the kitchen for some food. Having calmed his nerves during the travel, he  finds himself quite famished. He can imagine Nortrom will be as well as soon as he awakes.

Nortromthesilencer

The boy stirs once on the couch, the awkward angle of being carried by a small Keen more than enough to awaken him. He yawns, groggy, and stretches with a groan.

Nothing is out of place on the main floor, even if the boy looking around doesn’t know it. Tidy as can be, the main room and kitchen looked barely lived in, but completely free of dust and cobwebs. Nortrom gets up and stretches again, turning to Rizzrack with half lidded, sleepy eyes, “Is this your home?”

His eyes trace ever wall and angle. There is something oddly familiar about this place…

Rizzrack

Rizzrack rummages around through drawers and cabinets, tracking flecks of dirt across the floor. It can be comparable to a maze for the keen, coming across assorted kitchen ware instead of anything edible. Finally understanding the organization of things, he’s managed to gather a bowl with an assortment of fruit, seeds and strips of jerky.

The voice slightly startles him, and he panics at the question. “It’s y-… No, not exactly. But-” The keen hopes that being honest is the right thing. He walks over, lantern in one hand, bowl in the other. “I don’t think there would be any objections to me making myself home. As long as I keep the place tidy.” So much for keeping the floor clean. Rizzrack hands the bowl over to Nortrom before picking out a strip of meat for himself. He glances about chewing, and it’s then he realizes… He’s gotta go. Despite being so thirsty, he drank enough water to make it through him.

“Eat as much as you want. I’ve gotta take care of business really quick. I’ll be back, don’t worry.” Placing the lantern down so that Nortrom wouldn’t be left in the dark, Rizzrack steps outside to find a suitable spot to relieve himself in.

Nortromthesilencer

Food! Sweet, glorious, nourishing food! Nortrom is more than happy to begin to eat, his resolve of ignoring hunger gone the moment he smells the dried meats and other goodies. Manners are out the window, and the boy stuffs a large apple in his mouth and bites down greedily. He nods at Rizzrack, still remembering to not talk with his mouth full at least.

The small apple was no match for Nortrom’s mighty jaws. Taking a handful of seeds and a strip of meat, he looks curiously at the home. If this wasn’t Rizzrack’s home, than who was the owner and why were they gone? Nortrom stood up and explored the main floor: closets, bathing room, kitchen, and all. He noted stairs going up, and a large hatch in the hall, much too large for him to open alone, and decided the stairs were the best route for more adventure.

Lantern in hand, the boy ascended the wooden steps. The first room was tiny, and looked out of place with the rest of the tidy home. Loose sheets and books were strewn about, pillows thrown into a corner, papers with crude drawings messily tossed about. Whoever stayed in this room didn’t care much for organization. Moving on, another storage closet, and finally what looked to be the master bedroom. It’s was massive, the large four post bed near the entrance, wooden dressers and shelves lining the walls, a few desks, and… What was that? Against the wall there was a strange twine wrapped sculpture with a few open cut boxes and platforms placed at seemingly random points. It was damaged, the twine ripped and torn on the base of the main stand. What an odd looking thing.

In the dark the boy didn’t notice that not all was in place and neat, and he nearly fell over tripping on a loose black cloth that hung out of a flat case lying open on the ground. Kneeling to get a better look, it was then Nortrom noticed his lantern reflecting off something else partially obscured by this black cover.

A mirror. THE mirror.

He jumped back in shock, the strange words and jumbles of information Rizzrack had spoken off echoing in his head. How could he know this place if he had never been here? Something strange was going on, surely. Nortrom rushed back downstairs, leaving the open case and mirror where he found them, and called out looking for Rizzrack.

“Rizzrack, Rizzrack! I found the mirror- or I think I did! It’s just like I recall, come quick!” The panicked wonder and excitement was marred by an underlying fear in his voice.

Rizzrack

Head hanging back, eyes closed, Rizzrack looks to have almost fallen asleep standing, having already finished moments earlier. Swaying on the spot, it takes someone calling his name to snap him back to alertness.

“O-oh! Alright I’m on my way!”

Seconds later he’s run to the door and steps through, still slipping his gloves back on. “I’m here,  I’m here. Where is it?” Curiosity peaks. When the mirror was first mentioned, Rizzrack didn’t think of it as a possible cause to Nortrom’s current state. He actually didn’t think such a thing existed, just something the boy thought up of as he tried so hard to recollect memories. But now? Maybe he can see just what happened, or how it happened, why… and if it could happen  again.

“Show me, b-but let’s not touch it or anything yet, okay?”

Nortromthesilencer

He nodded, still overcome with excitement as he led the keen upstairs and into the master bedroom. There, on the floor where he left it, was a wooden box with runes carved along it’s edges, lid flipped open. Out of it a black satin like sheet led, curled over the edge and on to the wooden planks where it loosely wrapped around half of an ornate, silver framed, oval, mirror.

“This is what I saw– er– remember, sir. The wooden walls, the black sheet, the silver mirror; Everything!”

Nortrom set the lantern down on  the ground, angling it to illuminate the room better as he looked around for some other source of light they could use. There was a torch scone by the balcony door, and the boy grabbed it and brought it over. “Here, this may help.” Rizzrack told him not to touch the mirror, and so the boy waited and watched instead.

Rizzrack

Rizzrack follows Nortrom up the stairs, finding the very act of climbing steps through a home to be… Nostalgic in a sense. Cautiously the keen follows Nortrom in, looking about at the belongings and studies before finally looking at what the boy is excited to show him. “So, this must be… Hmm.” Rizzrack grabs the torch and lights it. Holding it firmly in both hands he stares at Nortrom and waits for him to do something.

Oh, I’m the adult here. Well then.

“Uh…” Unsure and hesitant he looks to the mirror facing up. What if it pulls some other funny stuff? Step by step, inching closer, he gradually peers over at the mirror being sure to not let his reflection be seen by himself. “Do you remember saying any spells or incantations? Or touching it?” With a single finger he begins to inch the fabric off the mirror to show off more of its frame. Nothing quite happens yet, so to test the waters he waves a hand quickly over the top of it.

Nortromthesilencer

“I, hm…” The boy thought, the mirror reflected. Nothing happened as the mirror was revealed, safe for a greater reflection of light and flame off it’s now exposed surface. The hand shows as one would expect, and for all intents and purposes it’s just a mirror.

“I was holding it, looking at it but it wasn’t me. I mean, the reflection wasn’t right but I could be remembering wrong because that doesn’t make any sense.” Nortrom huffs to himself, realizing how silly it all sounded. Kneeling on the ground, he grows impatient and pulls the cloth all the way off, folding it neatly into the box but still not touching the mirror itself, “It’s just a mirror. I don’t see anything special about it.”

Rizzrack

“Well that’s the thing with weird magic stuff. They look like your typical book, you open it and then suddenly there’s five golems chasing you.” Still slightly suspicious of the mirror, he quickly taps it with the leather covered tip of his finger. Nothing still.

He slowly picks it up in one hand and begins rotating it around to inspect it, maybe even find something like instructions. This mirror has GOT to have been responsible for this. He even looked for cracks, recalling the mishap that hexing staff had caused. Then again, maybe the boy IS right. It hasn’t done anything to make him believe it’s magical. Rizzrack hums a note of disappointment and believes now that it is in fact just some ordinary mirror. He holds it over to Nortrom and decides that perhaps maybe there is something in the box.

Nortromthesilencer

Hesitant to take the mirror, Nortrom gives Rizzrack a concerned frown, looking for approval. The keen passing it over is good enough, and he takes the mirror in both hands just like he remembered. The edges are etched with ornate detail and flourishes, making this mirror look like something a Lord might have in his manor, but still there’s no sign of anything strange.

The boy watches Rizzrack explore the case, but finally works up the nerve to look directly at himself in the mirror. The light may be low but he can still make out his features, the black hair, the injuries, the blue eyes, the… wait. Something wrong. Nortrom can’t bring himself to look away no matter how hard he tries, and is unable to say a word or motion that this is the case. He’s stuck, transfixed staring at this mirror, trapped in his own body and knowing that this is the case. The boy’s mind spins, panicking, trying to use every thing he can to pull away and instead he just kneels there, calm, looking.

The reflection ripples ever so slightly. With each blurring motion it shifts, the boy’s face changing bit by bit. His features harden, lines becoming more defined, older. His eyes brighten with a soft glow, deep set and tired. His hair grows longer, his jaw more square. The boy is terrified now, his body shaking from fear. Once the image has completely changed to what he perceives as a completely different person (Or was it really?) he pulls back with a gasp.

Panting for air, Nortrom is quick to place the mirror down and back away. The image on the mirror hasn’t moved with him, acting more like a picture frame than a reflective surface. Still panting, he points in exasperation to this oddity taking place, hoping Rizzrack pays attention.

Rizzrack

Rizzrack is completely unaware of what goes on behind him. The silly keen is much too occupied pecking around the fabric and wood of the box. No etchings, no scrolls, no writings in blood. He sighs, feeling they were no closer to solving this mystery. He scratches the back of his neck while pondering about the next step to take when sounds of shuffling catch his attention. It sounded quick and abrupt so he turns and sees a very bewildered boy pointing down to the mirror. He assumes the boy dropped the mirror and is panicking, fearing he may have broken it.

“Nortrom, it’s okay it’s okay! It’s just a silly mirr-YEIP!” Hand reaching to pick up the object quickly recoils back. Nortrom’s older visage burned into the reflection completely catches Rizzrack off guard.

“D-Do you see that too?!” He points to it, looking like a pink midget parody of the boy. “The mirror IS responsible!”

Nortromthesilencer

“I– Who is that? What is that?” Eyes darting between Rizzrack and the mirror, Nortrom gets to his feet and scratches his hair, dumbfounded. “Why would that have to do with all of this? I’ve never been here bef–” His word cuts with a violent jerk, the boy choking back a harsh breath. His hands flex, confusion drawing into a pained grimace and another lurching jolt. Nortrom’s hands gripped at his clothing, looking for something to hold on to as the pain intensified.

“It hurts! What, what is going on?!?” The child’s knees buckled and he fell forward, form crunching low and arms moving over his head. It hurt, oh god did it hurt. He felt like his body was being torn in two, mind being ripped from his head and flung around the room, innards twisting and turning in ways that shouldn’t be possible. Forcing himself out of his confined ball, he looked up at Rizzrack in agony, tears rolling down his face, “Rizzrack! Help, it hurts!”

Another jolt of pain extorts a yelp and the boy falls forward, head pressed to the ground on his knees, rocking back and forth as he cried out for the torment to stop.

Rizzrack

Rizzrack stammers, trying to figure out how to safely explain to the boy he’s looking at the older version of himself. Before he can even form a coherent word, the boy’s cries of pain alert him to panic. What’s happening? He’s just as confused as Nortrom is.

He quickly crawls over to the boy, trying to look under him, trying to see if something were harming him. But there seems to be no outer source causing. Instead, something within, and Rizzrack feels completely powerless to stop it. Here he is, this poor child who has already gone through more pain than anyone should in a day let alone their life, crying out for help to a keen who can’t do anything at all.

“I-I want to but I can’t I-” his own hands grip the brim of his helm in helpless horror. No, there must be something, there MUST be something! Pained pleas, tears of suffering, desperate begging… It quickly overwhelms Rizzrack. He embraces the boy in one last attempt to stop the pain, and that’s when he eyes the mirror. That damned thing, the cause of all this pain! He hated it. Absolutely hated it. And anything Rizzrack hated, he destroyed no matter what.

Lunging for the mirror, he grips it with both hands, fingers pressed so tight the frame of it crackled. Then with arms over head, mirror raised high, he brings it down and smashes it back down into the box from whence it came.

“FUCK you!”

A slam of the lid follows suit, and the trembling keen turns back towards the child. Well… Rizzrack expected to turn back and see a child

Nortromthesilencer

The shattering shower of glass brought with it a flickering light, each shard a spotlight that condensed where the child was blinded him from the outside world. Blinded by light, blinded by pain, blinded by how own hands over his eyes as he screamed, the massive arcane force that erupted from that spot blew papers and sheets from their rest, snuffed the lights, and knocked the child flat on his back.

Well, sort of.

By the time he hit the ground, it was no child. The contorting pain materialized from the light, dissolving over his body and in an instant reforming into a much larger frame. It only took seconds for everything to settle down as though nothing had happened, save the mess of papers and now grown man splayed out on the ground in casual attire. As for the rest of the room, it was dark as once before.

Nortrom groaned, lips curled in a sneer. His head was pounding, akin to the one time he found himself hung over and swore never to do that again. Keeping his eyes shut he rubbed his hands down his face a few times, skin stretching, massaging, in hopes it would help relieve some of his grogginess. Slowly he opened his eyes, the pale blue glow easily seen in the dark of the night. Night? Just how long had he been out? Last time Nortrom remembered it was early morning…

Rizzrack

Rizzrack was quiet, silent, listening to the familiar grunts of a grumpy man. The glow of eyes is unsettling. Rizzrack knows very well that, despite darkness masking all, there is no longer a child there. Still coping with the overload of emotions moments earlier, he remains still with held breath. After what nearly felt like a minute, he slowly takes in a deep breath and makes his presence known with a cautious whisper.

“Nortrom?

Nortromthesilencer

The voice from the silence made Nortrom jump to a sitting position, only to immediately regret getting up so fast and bend forward, holding himself up by a hand as he waited for the dizzy spell to pass. He sighed, shaking his head, an odd after feeling lingering, heavy, hazy, and definitely not comfortable.

“Rizzrack? What the hell are you doing here?” Slowly looking towards the balcony window, the Silencer grunted in annoyance, “What time is it? Actually, better yet, what day?” He had to know how long it had been.

Rizzrack

Rizzrack flinches, still programed to react to Nortrom’s pain with concern. He grows aware that Nortrom may not remember anything at all, and the thought of trying to explain anything without sounding crazy (hah) seems like a waste of time. Despite those thoughts, Rizzrack digs around for the matches he grabbed earlier. Finding the lantern where he last saw it, he lights it and finds the man sitting and quite frankly, still looking terrible.

“Uh, it’s… About three in the morning. A Tuesday morning.”

All a complete guess, well, the time is a guess. The day of the week is based on Rizzrack’s own calendar as he hasn’t seen an official one in years. He could be right. He could be wrong. Who knows? What he does know Nortrom is not going to be happy to see him, his room in a mess and… Oh, the mirror. Rizzrack hopes that wasn’t important.

“Does anything hurt?” He’s still concerned. Every second looking at the Silencer that passes, his heart sinks more and more, but despite it all, he is happy to know that Nortrom isn’t hurting anymore.

It feels so strange.

Nortromthesilencer

“Three in the…? Ah fuck…” The whole day was gone. Great. That’s exactly what he didn’t need to hear, but had to accept it all the same.

Nortrom squinted as the light was shone, piercing in the darkness uncomfortably. He got to his feet, a bit wobbly at first, and reached up to the hanging brazier from the ceiling beams above. The spring flint tied to it’s frame served it’s roll well, allowing the man to light the coals and illuminate the room fully.

“Hurt? How about everything? I swear, that’s the last time I believe the reports when they say that something is inert…” He grumbles to himself, bitter about this whole situation. Artifact retrieval? Sure, a common task and something he’s done many times. Most, however, were correct in their handling procedures and expectant of the way his powers behaved oddly around magic. This time, not so much. Stretching his shoulders, Nortrom vowed to punch whoever wrote that damned report.

“I feel like my head’s being accosted by a small siege engine. Ugh. Rizzrack, you haven’t seen a silver framed mirror around here, have you?”

He looked around, the arcane binding case still by his feet, closed roughly with the protective drapery stuck out of the edges, and wondered if he actually managed to seal the damned thing before blacking out. Squatting down, Nortrom started to notice something else, the small flecks of glass hinting at something more. A sudden look of worry marred his features, and he bolted to open the case.

Shards. Lots and lots of shards and a bent silver frame. The colour drained from his face. “… I am in so much trouble…”

Rizzrack

Rizzrack said nothing when asked about the mirror. He watched Nortrom walk over to the box, his heart speeding up with every step. He was glad he could walk again without casts but at the same time… The look on Nortrom’s face was nearly enough to get Rizzrack to jump over the balcony and run. He won’t say what happened, but his looks we’re a dead give away to anyone that he knew what happened. After all, the keen looked guiltier than a dog covered in pillow feathers. He set the lantern down in a safe spot upon a desk. Just in case.

“It was… I’m sure it was already broken to begin with. Heh… Anywhoo, um, it’s… Good to see you’re alive and well at least. With great use of your legs again. So I’m just gonna go…. Okay?” He squeaks as he begins to step his way to the bedroom door.

Nortromthesilencer

His head darted from the mirror to the keen, expression piercing, worried, ready to stop Rizzrack if he attempted to run, “Wait. You still haven’t explained why the hell you’re in my house.” Something was up. He knew it.

Throwing his hands up and running them roughly through his hair with a very loud groan, Nortrom knew he was going to hear hell from this. He kicked the case in frustration, mumbling to himself ways he could explain this. “No, no… No matter how I spin this I’m in deep shit…” He was supposed to bring back an inert, thought lost, artifact, retrieved from the depth of an abandoned ruin. Instead, he shattered it before transit.

His hands gripped as his hair, tugging a bit, frustrated. “Rizzrack, what the hell happened here?”

Rizzrack

Remember, you can run! He’s upset, he’s not gonna listen, and you’ll permanently get on his bad side.

Rizzrack is nearly at the door but he can’t find that last push to get out.

You broke the man’s legs before, if he gave you a chance after that, then surely he will after you explain everything and this broken mirror.

“Okay okay! I’ll explain everything! But it’s a long story and you’ve got to hear me out on this.”

He tells Nortrom of how he found a young boy out in the middle of nowhere being attacked by bandits. He tells Nortrom of how he saved the boy, how they travelled to a town to get fuel so he could take the child home, how the child got recaptured, how they escaped….

“So we get to the river, there’s a bit of a misunderstanding between us, hence, heh why I’m all muddy. Anyways long story short I apologized, the little boy apologized, we had a nice quiet trip back to home–your home, then he found the mirror. Then that… That damned thing…” He snarls. “He touched it and that thing was hurting him and I, I didn’t know how to stop it except by smashing it. So I did it, I smashed it. Alright?” He sighs, no longer looking ready to run, but instead intent on setting everything straight and approaches Nortrom closer, ready to tell him the rest. “But…” Suddenly his throat tightens on him and he chokes on his words.

Oh God no.

His hands go up to his face, covering his mouth but failing to cover the tears that begin to well in his eyes. “That poor boy is gone now, and now you’re here. B-but so many terrible things happened… to him…to you…that poor child was you.” Rizzrack can barely hold himself together as he looks up to Nortrom, barely sputtering out his words between choking sobs. The little keen is so distraught. “Why DID they hurt you? You didn’t deserve ANY of that!” The last few seconds he spent with the boy is burned in his mind. His pleading cries, his pain. His eyes connect with that glowing blue gaze, and he fears that somewhere in there, he is still hurting greatly.

And there is nothing Rizzrack can do to help.

The day’s events have obviously taken their toll on the small-keen. He begins to pace about, sobbing and muttering fragments of sentences. Poor child, poor Nortrom. He recalls a particular moment after he discovered the identity of the child, and Rizzrack can only curse the name of Aeol Drias repeatedly.

Nortromthesilencer

Nortrom listened intently, becoming more confused as the story went on. How peculiar! So the mirror had some sort of chronology altering affect on him, changing his form and pulling from his past memories to recreate what he once was. Nortrom hummed in curiosity, brows furrowed as he thought.

Hearing Rizzrack’s fervored passion for the trials and tribulations that his child self faced, the Silencer sighed and tilted his head sympathetically, “Rizzrack, it sounds like you’ve been through a lot today. I admit, I’m still not completely sure what happened, but I do know you need some rest. If you want you can sleep here, I’ll get a quilt and some pillows from the closet, and the couch should be more than big enough.” Truth was that Nortrom too was exhausted and needed time to think this all over, and knew he would have more questions for the keen in the morning.

“I think we both need some rest. I’ll deal with the mirror tomorrow.”

Rizzrack

Rizzrack could not speak a reply. Face in elbows to hide his tears, the small-keen could only nod in agreement that yes, he would like to rest. The desire for comfort exceeds his wants for the safety of his suit. There is a little quivering peep of “thanks” before Rizzrack turns to leave, making a straight bee-line for the couch. He won’t delay himself from sleep any longer.

Hands first, knees follow. He crawls onto the couch. Face into the crevice between backrest and armrest, the rest of himself curls up into a little ball, quite similar to how he could sleep within his suit. The only article of wear removed from his body is his bucket helmet, which sits just below his feet also on the couch. Crusted boots, stale gloves, Nortrom’s couch won’t be making it out of this encounter spotless. Already content to be laying down and finally hiding from it all, he closes his eyes.

The shudderings and sniffles gradually leave to leave only the slow and steady sounds of rhythmic respiration.

Nortromthesilencer

Glad that his offer was accepted (as it would mean not having to hunt the Keen down at a later date), Nortrom followed his downstairs and grabbed a thick blanket from the linen closet as well as a spare down pillow. He set the pillow beside the curled up Rizzrack so that he could grab it as he pleased, and unfurled the blanket over top the poor Keen. He looked pathetic, curled up, crying, and now tucked away in his little blanket cocoon. The tired Silencer wished to follow suit, and head back upstairs to get the torches doused.

Torch snuffed, Keen put to bed, it was time to zonk out. Flopping down on the bed with little care for clothing, Nortrom was lost in slumber mere seconds later. For once his sleep was uneventful, no dreams to recall, only the dead silence of night. He awoke early, as usual, and checked on the mirror now that the sun was starting to rise and illuminate the room.

It was unsalvageable. Nortrom expected as much, but had to be sure. Careful to not miss any shards, he tucked them into the black satin cloth and set it all gently in the case. Not making a sound he tip toed downstairs with the broken bundle. Rizzrack was curled up, still snoozing away, with Stig contently loafing in the morning sun that grazed one of the many windowsills. Assuming he had time before the keen awoke, Nortrom decided to quickly use the teleport route to Aeol Drias and get the whole mirror fiasco over with as soon as possible.

***

The sun was overhead, time well past noon. Nortrom groaned as he shut the door, careful not to bend his shoulders too far or touch his back to anything as he walked. Even with the fresh bandaging wrapped about his upper torso, the brushing of his loose shirt stung the freshly torn nerves. As expected, the Factol’s were pissed. This was a mistake he made in handling an artifact, something irreplaceable and deemed important to the order, and it was only fair that he be punished as such.

Walking with an awkward gait from the lashing injuries across his back, still fresh, still lightly soaking the bandages in a soft red, Nortrom grabbed the pitcher of water on the kitchen counter and poured himself something to drink. By this point the man had forgotten he had let Rizzrack stay the night, and instead focused more on thoughts of what he could have done better to prevent this all from happening. There were no doubts in Nortrom’s mind that this was his fault ultimately.

Rizzrack

He awoke. For what may have been the tenth time. He can’t remember what keeps waking him. Maybe he’s just not used to sleeping this way. Once again he turned to his opposite side, facing outside the couch and pulls the quilt over his head. He had to keep reminding himself of where he was, where his suit was, and of course to not panic. Everything will be fine.

The door opens. A stranger? A visitor? It’s Nortrom. He figures he must have not heard him left in the first place. Where did he go to? Rizzrack peers beneath the covers, watching him make his way into the kitchen. Why is he walking like that? Why is he making that face? Is he upset? It would be understandable. Rizzrack mimics the expression, trying to understand this new situation. Should he stay quiet? He waits for Nortrom to turn the other way and takes this opportunity to sit up, tossing aside the quilt and finding his helmet (now on the floor) he places it back upon his head. He eyes the door, looks back to the man, then steps down from the couch and makes his way over towards him.

“Nortrom?” Rizzrack approaches the corner of the counter and rests his fingers and chin upon it, keeping the rest of himself hidden. “Thanks for letting me sleep here.” He backs his face away from the counter, but hands remain upon it. “Look I… sorry again about the mirror. If there’s any way I can make that up to you…”

He spies something on the back of Nortrom’s shirt. Something that could be easily glanced over. A small, reddish spot. The keen’s brows crease with worry as the sight raises within his mind certain thoughts. “… Are you okay?”

Nortromthesilencer

He flinched at the voice, remembering second later that yes he allowed Rizzrack to sleep there the night. Nortorm huffed a small, entertained, chuckle at his reaction before continuing on grabbing a plate and stove rack from the cupboards. “Good morning, or should I say afternoon?” He shrugs, wincing and immediately regretting the action.

Figuring it would be best to be polite, he poured a second glass of water for the keen and set it before him, then took a large swig of his own. God he needed that. “I’m fine. And I already spoke with my superiors about the mirror. It’s been dealt with.”

Nortrom went to the small stove and lit the flame, placing the rack topper above and waiting for it to heat. He turned to Rizzrack, trying his best to act casual, “Hungry?” Sure it wouldn’t be anything special, but right now Nortrom craved something substantial, and he knew he had a thick cut of venison in cold storage that would fit his needs very well.

Starting to walk down the hall to gather what he needed, the man stopped, “Rizzrack, I– Hm. If you don’t mind, I would like to discuss the other day. I have questions.”

Rizzrack

His worry never leaves him despite Nortrom’s cheery greeting (which Rizzrack finds uncharacteristic of him). He takes the cup and sips it, nose bumping the opposite side of the rim. It’s a typical experience when drinking from something other than a bottle. He says nothing and once again just settles to accept that what is done is done, and the mirror will now only be a thing of the past.

At being asked if he was hungry, his mouth immediately  waters and he perks up. “Yes. Yes yes I am very hungry. heh.” He’s distracted momentarily from his worries, now peering over at Nortom and curious to see what he may possibly be looking for to make.

“O-oh, sure.” Oh boy, question time. These sort of things could go either way, but Rizzrack can’t find any reason for this discussion to go negatively. After all, it’s not only his hunger he hopes to satiate. His curiosity had desires as well, and he hopes to learn of some more things to answer his questions. Taking that as a cue, Rizzrack places the cup back down upon the counter and walks after Nortrom.

“So! Interrogation time…” he claps his hands together, the gloves making a muffled and dusty slap. “Ask anything you want, just don’t go Good Guard Bad Guard on me, hehheh.”

Nortrom’s odd gait does not escape his notice.

Nortromthesilencer

“Heh, right. It’s more the fact that I can’t remember any of the events you spoke of yesterday,” Kicking aside the rug at the end of the hallway, Nortrom reveals a large wooden hatch with an iron ring fit into the floor. He pulls it open, both the hatch and him making pained sounds, and descends the steps. Even with how dark it was in the storage, the Silencer didn’t bother to light the torch scone as he knew exactly where he left the meat hanging, a large leg of venison, and also a crate that was mostly empty of vegetables. He threw the leg on top of the crate and took the whole thing in one lift, again wincing in pain as he did so, and walked back up the stone steps.

“You said I was child? How did you know it was me in the first place? Did I have any recollection of my current life, or was I fully regressed back?” It was awkward walking with such a large bundle in arm, but he managed to make it to the kitchen and plop the whole thing down on the counter. A cutting board and large knife were also set aside, and soon he was butchering the meat. (May I not that Nortrom didn’t know a damned thing about proper butchering and only cut based on his hunting experience from years of living alone. He was sure any professional chef would smack him upside the head for improper technique and ruining such fresh cuts of meat with his awkward angles and poor separation.)

“Though, all in all, you did get me back here. What the hell is with things recently and you being stuck dragging me back home?” He forced an awkward laugh, still hacking away at the deer leg.

Rizzrack

Rizzrack nods and waits at the top of the entrance, peering down into the darkness. He’s fine not following all the way through.

“Yes. I didn’t know it was you at first. You were polite, well-mannered, I can say I was impressed! I can’t say I agree with all of that resulting in you being timid and fearful. You had mentioned the Hazhadal Barrens and then I noticed you look like a, well, young version of you. It just added up.” He rambles on as the Silencer returns and heads back to the kitchen. The small-keen continues to trail after him. “I could actually be fooled into believing I somehow ended up in the past. You had no idea about your future self. Heh, in fact, when I tried to tell you, it was too much and you freaked out on me.” Rizzrack shrugs. “I can’t really blame you for that reaction. You had a terrible day getting kidnapped and beaten up…” Rizzrack wasn’t quite sure if he wanted to go further into detail with that event. Even just thinking about it brought about feelings of anger. He’s practically seeing red.

Wait a second.

Instead of joining Nortrom in a bout of awkward chuckles, Rizzrack is silent. He takes off his glove carefully. He stares at the man’s back while he cuts away. There are specks of red on the fabric that congregates just below his shoulders. He reaches up as high as he can and lightly  presses his hand to Nortrom’s back. Please don’t be blood.

Nortromthesilencer

Still listening but not saying anything as he concentrated on not cutting himself, Nortrom nodded. A few nice steaks later, the man is about to turn around when he suddenly feels pressure against the recently torn skin of his back and yelps, jumping with a hiss from both being startled and in pain. Whipping around to look at what had just happened, he spies the small keen and exhales with a dramatic huff, “What the hell are you doing?!?” The anger subsides into a slumped sigh, and huffilly the man grabs two large steaks and takes them to the stove top. “I said I’m fine. It will heal, and I’ll change the bandages out in a bit.”

He didn’t enjoy the intrusion, or the method Rizzrack used to confirm his suspicions. going back and forth to throw random vegetables on the stove top grill as well, the man growls. “Fine, look, I’ll level with you here: This is twice now you’ve been privy to information about me and my past that I don’t exactly share with others,” He hovered a hand over the grill to check the temperatures then went back to set out some plates, “I’m none too pleased with that fact.”

Nortrom pushed the crate to the end of the counter, wiping down where it was with a cloth. Resting his elbows on the table in a leaning position, chin on his hands, the man sighed again. His eyes trailed from the stove to Rizzrack, efforts to hide his anxiety and what went on while Rizzrack was sleeping, gone.

“My superiors were not pleased that the mirror was broken. It was only natural that I be disciplined for such a failure. My mission was the bring back the artifact in tact. I did not. It’s nothing to worry about and dealt with.”

Rizzrack

Rizzrack stepped back, honestly having expected to be punted after it became apparent there was quite an injury under there. “I suspected you’re hiding something! I want to know what happened. Who hurt you?” His tone was firm and demanding and unwavering. He felt completely entitled to know.

The keen repositions himself, moving to the opposite side of Nortrom now, attempting to get face to face with him and still demanding to know.

Stern expression becomes concerned. “Just because of that? But it wasn’t your fault! You told them I broke it, right? Then they should have been understanding!” He huffs and clenches his hands into fists at his sides. “This isn’t dealt with at all. In fact I should be dealing with it! I should go there and give them a piece of my mind, that’s what I should do.” He grumbles, unaware of how ridiculous he sounds.

Nortromthesilencer

Nortrom rolled his eyes, “Oh don’t be absurd.” He pulled the meat from the rack, cutting it open to check. It was bloody and pink in the middle, just how he liked it. Not knowing if Rizzrack liked his steaks this rare or not, he plated them anyways.

“It’s completely my fault, and foolish to think I don’t deserve some form of disciplinary action for failing at my duties. I mishandled the artifact, leading to it’s activation. There is no one to blame here by myself.”

Nortorm grabbed each plate and went to the table, placing them down. A large venison steak with roasted vegis awaited the pair.

Rizzrack

Rizzrack finds it fruitless getting anywhere with Nortrom on this subject and settles with dropping it. What a shame. He opens his mouth to begin another conversation, but he becomes distracted watching Nortrom carry two plates to the table with the most delicious looking cuts of meat he’s seen in ages.

Hungry.

SO HUNGRY.

He walks over to one of the plates set down and looks to Nortrom as if to confirm that one was for him. Yes. Gloves are set on the table and he grasps the portion of meat with his hands and quite greedily begins to tear into it. He’s not even sitting. No time to sit, only time to eat. He gets more ravenous, forgetting whatever manners he may have as he bites off as much as he can without choking.

“Mmffmf hnk yu. mmfff.” He finishes his mouthful. “I haven’t had anything this good in who knows how long!” Easy to say when one lives off insects, fish and the occasional fowl. Another bite of meat is taken, and the veggies are continued to be left ignored.

Nortromthesilencer

While the man raises a brow at Rizzrack’s ravenous display, he isn’t put off by it and instead cuts himself a few large pieces and also enjoys finally eating something of substance.

“Good? I heated meat. Most people would call my cooking abysmal, so I admit I’m now curious as to what the hell you normally eat.” It couldn’t be much if this randomly charred pile of roots and meat counted as ‘good’ by any standard but his own.

Feeling it best not to disturb the keen as he eats, Nortrom is content in silently devouring his own plate and glass of water. Time passes with neither saying a word, the only sound is of them chewing and tearing away. After feeling full and taking the final mouthful of water from his glass, Nortrom sets it down with a loud and content sigh before looking once more at the keen, more seriously this time.

“I’m hoping you won’t go and speak of certain things to others that you may have seen or heard of about me, Rizzrack. Given the fact you’ve been painted a very jaded and incomplete picture, I’ll answer your questions, but it’s not because I feel any sort of kinship here. It’s because I don’t want you getting the wrong impression about things.”

Rizzrack

The meat soon vanished into the small-keen. Rizzrack picks around at the left over veggies on his plate, inspecting them. Deeming only SOME of them to be suitable for consumption, he decides to eat just one. If only to not be rude. He’s quite full now.

Chewing the last mouthful, he rests his elbows upon the table and clasps his fingers together to give his chin something softer than wood to rest on. “Do you think I’m that kind of person?” He pauses, remembering not too long ago he made it almost a routine to put up signs around the local town that slandered the Silencer. “I mean, whatever sort of things I did say were obviously not true.” He takes a few seconds to slip his gloves back on before returning back to his previous pose. “How was I supposed to know this… Fold… was responsible for such terrible acts?” His brows rise as he remembers. “By the way, did you get that locket to its intended recipient?” One hand moves to prop his cheek. “I hope so. I… I really thought you were just looting the bodies. I know now though, and I think I can say I don’t like The Fold either.”

Nortromthesilencer

Fingers tapping on the edge of the table, Nortrom frowns. “I doubt you share what transpired at Augury Bay with any real detail with most, as it wasn’t a pleasant time for you. I will say most of my life fits that theme, and would still appreciate it kept to yourself.” The man reclined in his seat, folding his arms behind his head. Pressure being put on his back, he flinched, leaning back forward almost immediately. That was a bad move that also alerted him to the fact that bandages would have to be swapped soon, as his shirt was getting ruined.

“Mmhm. Unfortunately when he pried the locket open, the picture inside was destroyed, but the sentiment of the piece remained. What ill fated timing for her to visit during– well. It’s too late to ruminate on that. What happened, happened. As for the Fold, do not think me innocent either. My role is a soldier and sort of inquisitor: I fight. I kill. I interrogate. I torture. Though, I can at least say I have not slaughtered a village merely for being neutral in the conflict,” He chuckled, as despite the dark occurrence there was a morbid humour in it to the Silencer that he doubted Rizzrack would share, “I was bred, in all technicalities, to commit genocide.”

Rizzrack

Rizzrack gives a questioning nod of agreement. He did at first, way back when he sought help and comfort. Bits and pieces of events dressed with tears as he struggled to share his horrors. Of course, the first few merely attempted to correct his accounts into a different narrative. Outside of his own kind, others merely pitied him, seeing him as a confused and traumatized victim of war like many others. Over time his attempts at telling the whole story grew shorter and shorter, until eventually it only became a single sentence summary he’d blurt out before proceeding with a cutting spree. He nods firmly now. The small-keen deems himself a better audience than those he hoped would listen to himself. Nortrom should count himself lucky.

A disappointed sigh, but the locket will be treasured regardless he supposes. Rizzrack continues to  listen, his brows furrow and he shifts on the spot uncomfortably as Nortrom lists off his duties. It’s not something he agrees with, but because of recent events, a new light is shed on conflict and war to the keen that he was unfamiliar with. It’s not exactly black and white, but at least Rizzrack knows he prefers the lesser of two evils. It’s Nortrom’s last statement that gets the keen to finally speak up.

“You’re telling me your purpose is to kill? Nortrom, the Timbersuit is made to kill. You can see it in the design. Are you telling me you were born with a glaive and shield in your hands?”

Nortromthesilencer

The comparison makes the Silencer laugh, albeit lightly. He shakes his head, “Yes and no… It was ordained well before I was born what my duty would be; Two-hundred years before hand actually. I was crafted, made over seven generations of selective breeding according to a prophesied pedigree to be the ‘worlds greatest battle mage’,” He scoffs as he speaks the title, finding his this whole breeding thing to be ridiculous, “A creation to smite the Fold. From birth I was trained to this task. Alas, it was not a mage they got, but a child without a drop of magic. You can imagine how upset that made many.” With a sigh Nortrom shakes his head and lets it droop over-dramatically.

Lifting himself back the man stood, clearing the plates as he still spoke,  “You, on the other hand, are a clean slate. While your past may have taken much from you, your future is unsure as you have yet to create it. Any place, any journey, any task: Fate is yours to command.  But I? Just as your timber suit is a tool for your destruction, as I am theirs. My life has been decided for me, and because I owe my order everything: They created me, raised me, educated me, fed me, clothed me, and gave me purpose; I am forever in their debt.”

A dipped in sink like wash basin lies set into the back counter, and Nortrom places the dishes within and grabs a nearby cloth, washing them down. He sighs, the cold water raising goose-bumps on his arms while the rippling, sloshing, feel of the suds calm his nerves from speaking about all of this.

“So yes, in a way I was born with a glaive in my hands and blood on my boots.”

Rizzrack

Rizzrack listens, recalling at the river how the young Nortrom took it much more negatively than expected when the keen laughed at the thought of him casting a spell. Imagine, being held to such high expectations and being essentially turning out to be a dud to everyone? “Well they shouldn’t have taken their disappointment out on you. Still, looks like you showed them, hm? I bet you left them…. speechless!” The small-keen laughs at his own shitty joke before quieting back down. Rizzrack doesn’t know very much of the arcane world, but he does know Silencer’s ability is a bit uncanny. They must’ve felt like complete fools for punishing the poor boy.

He moves from his leaning spot over to the chair Nortrom left and decides to keep the seat in use, preferring to stay near the man but not in his way as he washed. “Nortrom, have you ever thought that maybe… I dunno..” He rests his arm horizontally on the table and props his head with his hand. “I’m guessing that to you, they’re the closest thing you’d call family, right? Parents do all those things, but do they expect you to pay them back? No! They want you to grow and follow your own dreams! My family made harvesters, I wanted to make toys. Did they stop me? Maybe my uncle b-but that’s not the point. The point is, you don’t owe them anything. You just think you need them.” Rizzrack crosses his arms and nods, feeling confident with his points. “As a matter of fact, I think it’s quite the opposite. They need you!”

Rizzrack begins to get a little too excited, having transitioned from sitting to standing on his little improvised soap-box. “Demand better treatment! Better pay! Compensation for the pain they’ve put you through! Or else you’ll leave them, THEN they’ll be sorry!”

Nortromthesilencer

“Your passion is admirable, but no, a parent has a child to build a family. I was ‘crafted’ not birthed, the intent was never to be more than a tool of war. Besides, it’s not as bad as that all sounds, I actually enjoy many part of my job.”

One final pass to dry the dishes, and Nortrom leans against the counter facing Rizzrack, “And I do get paid well. You see this? How I live?” He extends an arm, paying notice to how barren and plain his home was, “I choose to live this way because I enjoy the simplicity. Financially, I’m quite well off, even if my home doesn’t display luxury.” It was true; Nortrom had been paid since graduation, and never spent the money on much. Instead he saved, hording it in a sense, but not because of greed but due to the exact opposite: There was nothing he wanted to splurge on. Now he was one of the richest men in Aeol Drias yet none would know based on how he acted or lived.

“There’s also something quite therapeutic about interrogating someone. After a long, stressful, week of battle, the control you have during torture is… cathartic.” A morbid smirk painted his lips. Soon he shook it away, not wanting to drag Rizzrack into his other hidden side, the side of sadism.

Nortrom shoved himself off the counter and decided to finally do something about these bandages that weren’t stopping much. He stepped out toward the hall, pulling his shirt off and revealing the wraps around his torso and the myriad of scars peeking out from under them. While the bleeding strips were new, many marks on his skin told much older tales, some painful, some memorable, all now permanent reminders etched into himself.

“Wait, you said you wanted to be a toy maker? Is that why you wanted to work on those spinning things before? Hm, what a contrast, from making toys to the timbersuit!”

Rizzrack

Rizzrack looks unsettled by the grin. He gives a nervous chuckle before sitting back down and passing it off as Nortrom’s strange sense of humor. He watches the man step off, observes him taking off the shirt and takes notice of the stained wraps. He winces at the sight. He himself has scars, but are mere nicks in comparison to Nortrom’s. Those fresh lines will just be another layer upon his body.

Rizzrack turns away and focuses on his fidgeting hands at the table while he waits for the Silencer to tend to himself. He only pipes up again after Nortrom speaks. “Y-yes, I did.” He confirms bashfully. His mouth does a poor job resisting the urge to form a smile. “Heh, cutting things is what I do, but not the only thing I do! I’ve gotta make gold somehow.” He returns to resting his chin on the table while his feet swing about idly. “It is. I honestly never would have expected it. My Uncle tried to teach me to design and build machines, just like him. It never really felt like my thing. My creations were far from practical. The first prototype I designed was deemed a failure for having ‘too many legs and not enough wheels.’ Needless to say, my plans were left to gather dust in the workshop, but as you can see I eventually made use of them.” He adds as he waves a hand to where the Timbersuit is parked outside.

The small-keen sighs as solemn thoughts approach. “Every day I wonder what things would be like if I had-” he flinches as the rest of the words stop at the edge of his tongue. It’s a thought that plagues him, that eats away at his strength and power and renders him to feeling at fault. It’s a thought that hurts no matter how he looks at it, and the only way to avoid the pain is to avoid the thought.

But perhaps now he can face it? Rizzrack attempts to start over, but chokes on the same word. “I-I’m sorry I… Nevermind. I  almost let myself get off track.” He sits silently, but his mind refuses to drop the topic. “Nortrom, do  you ever wish you could change the past? If you could, would you? If you knew you could make everything better?”

Nortromthesilencer

Rizzrack’s own fumbling words do not go unnoticed. Going down the hall, Nortrom too falls into silence as the keen fights for what to say, grabbing a small box from the closet and a couple of wash-clothes before returning. Then, Rizzrack tries once more but this time with a question. Nortrom hums, brows furrowed in thought. Would he?

“I– There are not many things I would attempt to change. What I’ve been through, it’s made me who I am. It’s shaped me, my personality, my skills, and more. To take that all back would be to erase myself entirely.” He sighs, carefully unwrapping himself and trying to not get blood on any of his furniture. Part way through Nortrom stops and stares at the ground, lost in thought. “Though, there is one thing I… No. To even think on it is pointless. What’s done is done, and dwelling on the past with hopeless potentials will only make it harder to move on.”

Even saying that, he wasn’t completely convinced. His expression remained lost, somewhere else, contemplating what could have been. The one person who needed saving most of all, the one person he would want to help above all else–

Nortrom snapped out of his trance when he felt the bandage loop come loose the rest of the way and fall on to the floor. He swore under his breath, bundling it up and making sure no stains were left on his floor. He carefully set them beside the washbasin, dipping a cloth in before reaching awkwardly to pat his back clean.

“The one thing I regret most of all, that will never leave my memory no matter how long time goes on, is not mine to change. Even if I could go back, there is no guarantee I could even right things. For all I know, my interference would only make it worse in the end.”

Rizzrack

Rizzrack remains silent at the table as he dwells on Nortrom’s views. Why wouldn’t anyone go back to undo all the wrong that’s been done? Or to erase everything bad that’s happened? If the keen sacrificing his present self meant his family… everyone could still be alive to this day, he’d do it in a heartbeat. Nortrom wouldn’t go back for any benefit of himself, but he feels a hesitance he can empathize with when Nortrom considered it for another’s sake.

The keen’s restless legs fall still as he considers his next question. He has a hunch about who this person is, all based on Nortrom’s spilled secrets during his vulnerable stupor. He thinks it over, running various versions of questions through his head to see if Nortrom’s opinion stands firm, rewording them more and more until it comes out quite suddenly and blunt. “Do you think it’d be better if you never knew him, like how you never knew your parents?”

Nortromthesilencer

A few winces here, a grunt there, and some very strange stretches in an attempt to reach all of the wounds, but Nortrom manages to clean himself up for the most part. From the box, a first aid kit of sorts, he pulls out some disinfectant and gauze. In the middle of reaching around again to apply the disinfectant, he’s forced to stop by the Keen’s question. Nortrom makes a small, uncomfortable sound as he places the disinfectant back down.

“That–” He freezes mid breath, eyes darting to the side, uncomfortable, unsure. Would he be better off? “He… He caused a lot of issues, for me, for everyone. We were raised the same, expected to be the same, and hidden from one another all the same but he took things very differently. I… I regret not being able to help him when he needed it most. Had I never met him though? Had he never existed?”

Nortrom sighed, this was quite hard to talk about. His voice was losing it’s rough edge, almost cracking at the ends of his sentences while he spoke. Feeling a need to fiddle as his nerves always called for, he turned to the gauze and started to wrap himself back up while speaking, softer than before, “If I never met him, then hundreds, perhaps thousands would still be alive. Icarus would not have been driven to madness. My friends would not have been tortured. I would not have b–” Another pause, and a low hum. “I do not know the answer to that, Rizzrack. Through him I learnt more about myself than I ever had known before. Through him I finally knew family. The pain he caused was enormous, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t miss him. I’m sorry, I just can’t answer that.”

By this point his voice was wavering, each word taking astounding effort to form and say. Nortrom takes a shaky breath, and holds his jaw tightly clenched. He knew that to speak now would carry the risk of emotions overflowing, and that wasn’t something he wanted to show. Concentrating completely now on patching himself up, the Silencer remained silent once more.

Rizzrack

For the first time since Nortrom began tending to his wounds, Rizzrack looks to him, feeling his pain in a way. He doesn’t think he’ll ever understand why the man could love or care deeply for someone who hurt him so much. He can see Nortrom himself doesn’t understand as well. The keen is feeling quite sorry for bringing that up for him, having never seen the Silencer this open, this exposed. He sees something in common between them, and he pities him for it.

“We don’t have to talk about this anymore. You’ve shared a lot.” Though with everything shared between them, he can feel neither of them have gotten closer to the answers they seek. If Rizzrack must find some good to come from this however. “Hmm, you know, I’ve always felt alone. I never thought I’d meet someone who could understand me. It doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.” It’s comforting. It’s genuine. It’s not forced pity or guilty sympathy. He’s hopeful. “I hope you don’t feel so alone.”

Less and less did Rizzrack see Nortrom as some irritable hermit. He sees himself, he sees them both, hiding beneath their bubble, their armor, avoiding what they fear to face while retaining their facade of stoicism or bravery.

Nortromthesilencer

A tinge of guilt overcomes Nortrom when he hears this, and with his back turned to the keen, hands on the counter, he huffs. “I only shared such things with you so you could get a more complete picture and not jump to conclusions. Had you not been forced to encounter my ‘past state’, we would never be having this discussion.”

The box is arranged back and closed up, ready to be put away once more. Taking it in arm, he walks again down the hall, depositing the crate into the closet and closing the door. The force is harder than intended, the wood slamming as it latched, his nerves obviously on edge. With his hands running through his hair and massaging his scalp, Nortrom returns and stands at the room’s edge.

“People get close to me for only three reasons: To harm me, to use me, or to claim ownership of me. Anyone I get to know will either fall into this category, or get harmed in some way by being in my proximity. Don’t take personal offence, Rizzrack, but I’m not exactly ready to take any chances,” Sliding his arms down, he crosses them and leans against the nearest wall. The Silencer carries very little of his stern resolve normally seen, tired both emotionally and physically, in pain, and vulnerable. He’s conflicted, still not sure where Rizzrack actually stands with himself, or he to the keen, “It’s actually unfortunate that you had to be dragged into my past as such, though I feel this is my fault. I tried to offer you a different insight into your own issues, and in doing so opened the doors for further interactions. I really need to learn to keep to myself more.”

Rizzrack

Rizzrack sighs. Perhaps that’s the case with Nortrom, but he can’t help but feel that maybe it all happened for a reason?

He flinches at the sound, and his thoughts turn. No Rizzrack. You know better, you know it’s not the case.

A desire to reach out to the man is snuffed by guilt and regret. Because perhaps still, if it weren’t for his meddling, the man wouldn’t have gotten hurt more.

“It’s fine, Nortrom.” He finally decides to hop down from the seat, turning quickly to wipe the wood of any dust he may have left behind. “If not your darkness, then it’s mine. Either way I’ll have to face unpleasant things. I”m not sure if I should thank you as I didn’t want to, but I guess it was necessary.” Adjusting his gloves he walks over to Nortrom. “Now not to be rude, but I think it’s best if I get going. You really look like you need your space. I think I need mine too.” His hand reaches out for a shake. “Thanks for the food, sorry for the trouble.”

Nortromthesilencer

He forces a smile, bending down slightly as to reach the hand offered. Taking it in a firm shake, Nortrom nods, “I believe we do. There was no trouble, Rizzrack. You take care, and perhaps more will come of this at a later date.”

There was a certain glimmer of hope that maybe Rizzrack would prove his track record wrong. The keen had certainly faced his share of hardship, and now knew much more about him than most. In all of his years, only one person came to mind as not following suit and causing him further suffering, and he would be amazed, and relieved, if that happened once more.

Standing back up straight and brushing the front of his chest, Nortrom yawns. Yup. Still tired, despite sleeping in.

“Safe travels, Rizzrack.”

Rizzrack

With a nod and a single wave, the small-keen turns, ensuring this time that yes the bucket helm is on his head before he steps out the door. The sound of the suit starting up can be heard, and after a minute of consistent rumbling, crunching steps can be heard taking off, and the noise grows distant. All that remains is the wafting scent of exhaust in the air, and tracked dirt within Nortrom’s home.

The Timbersuit wanders back towards the direction of the river. Rizzrack once again looks bothered, the stains of blood on the suit’s hull reminding him of the people he murde-..

He mutters to himself. He only rid the world of monsters. It’s one less thing to worry about. One less thing to plague his thoughts. There’s other, more important things to worry about, such as…

“Caw…caw…”

His thoughts are interrupted and his eyes glance to a broken and abandoned wooden fence, eyeing the group of crows gathered upon it. He swallows dryly.

...Such as finding a new, even further region to travel to.

He needs to get away from here before something worse comes.

[moonraccoon-exe]

(1) Hi, you fluffiest raccoon on planet earth! *snuggles* So Zelda is your favorite game? I haven‘t played a single one of them sadly but my big brother lets me play Breath of the Wild soon on his switch because it really really interests me. I always saw Link in other Games like Smash Bros and all the stuff I saw around the internet made me curious. So I will definitely play Breath of the Wild soon. And about the Witcher. Well, it wouldn‘t hurt if you played the first two games first,

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASPS

PERIDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :DDDDDDDD

*TACKLES AND SNUGGLES*

PERIDOT, MY DEAR FRIEND, IT U!! ZOMG HI HELLO!!! :3

Edit: Ahahahahha, either Tumblr messed up with new settings and buttons or this extension that I added to have the old blue back but added more buttons too and I accidentally posted before answering lol

You come back after the log off protest so you can read it no worries, Peridot!! Because I may finish this but rather late for you so you go to bed, aye? Talk to you in a week! :3

(this may look like a full answer but it’s just in process buddy. Imma tell you above the keep reading when it’s finished. Gods, sorry for wrong posting hahaha!!)

PERIDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

*KEEPS SNUGGLING*

You most WONDERFUL MUFFIN, I’m happy to get to be answering to you again!! How have you been? I hope you’ve been doing better regarding that other issue. It’s not easy or light so you take your time recovering and making your peace with it, aye buddy? I’m still sending you my good vibes and wishes, standing with you even if only from far away. You can do it, buddy. Take your time. *pets you*

And yes, Zelda must be my fave! Sometimes I feel shy saying it because there’s always the idiot that says that if you haven’t played all the games in the franchise you’re not a fan and that’s stupid to me lol. But yeh, I really love all the Zelda universe aksljdfadlkjg :3

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASPS

YOU GET TO PLAY BREATH OF THE WILD?!?!!?

I WOULD INSERT THE GIF OF THE HYSTERICAL BIRD SCREECHING BUT KEEP READING DOESN’T WORK IN MOBILE AND I DON’T WANT TO SPAM OTHER’S DASHBOARDS EVEN MORE I JUST KALSDJ FLKDGJ ALKDJA

*FREAKS OUT* *FLIPS THE DESK* *FLIPS THE WHOLE GALAXY*

*SHRIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK*

YOUR BRO HAS A SWITCH AND HE HAS BREATH OF THE WILD AND YOU GET TO PLAY IT!?!?!? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH PERIDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT LKASJDFKLGD KLJADJ ADLKGJA KLGJEOIJ DLKGADKLG ADJLKJAF

*DIES AND ASCENDS TO THE HEAVENS*

OH MY GOD PERIDOT, BREATH OF THE WILD IS LIKE A REVOLUTIONARY ZELDA, I HAVEN’T GOTTEN TO PLAY IT BECAUSE THE SWITCH IS SO EXPENSIVE OVER HERE AND MY FAM’S NOT IN CONDITIONS TO GET ONE AND EVER SINCE BOTW HAS BEEN OUT I’VE BEEN A WHINY SQUEAKY MESS BECAUSE HOLY SHIT IT LOOKS FANTASTIC, IT LOOK NUTS, IT LOOKS OTHERWORLD AND IT’S APPARENTLY GOING TO HISTORY AS ONE OF TH EBEST ZELDA (either that or I personally just got too excited lol) AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

YOU GET TO PLAY BOTW AKSLDJFKLADJGKDALJG AZOMYGUFKCINGGOD PERIDOT ENJOY IT WHOLEHEARTEDLY AND IMMENSELY!!!!!!!!!!! ZOMG ZOMG I’M SO EXCITED AND HYPED AND OH MY GAWD YOU GET TO PLAY BOTW KALSJDF GDKLDAJKADLGJ KLA DKLDGJDAG KLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I HOPE YOU GET TO PLAY IT SOON AND THAT YOU HAVE A BLAST AND A PHENOMENAL AND THE MOST FANTASTIC TIME PLAYING IT, PERIDOT, BUDDY!!!!!!!!!!

Link is one of my absolute FAVES and babies and I protecc. I think that you’ll like him and the games. Did you know his name is Link because when they were planning the first games, the creator wanted you to see yourself reflected in the character? So that’s why he has no voice (other than his yelps and yells) and is mostly named ‘Link’, because he’s supposed to be a link between the player and the game, it’s supposed to be someone you channel yourself into even if just slightly. Also explains a bit of his physical looks; they say they wanted Link to look like a girl with boy attributes or like a boy with feminine attributes so anyone could feel related to him :3

BUT ENOUGH OF MY RANT, it’s just my love for this boy and everything of the Zelda universe is MY LOVE KLASDJKLADGJ 

Ooooooh, I see what you mean with the whole thing about the Witcher and whether I need to play the first 2 first. I’m catching that it’s sorta like Dragon Age? Like, there’s a kaload of books and info and the other 2 games that come first, but I’m not missing anything like...I can make sense to it. Still, however, it would be more...rich if I could play the first 2 games. I’d understand the story and the lore better, I’d have a better comprehension of the world and the history, and I’d know characters better and deeper.

Still, playing straight from the 3rd game is fine. I’m just missing things in that sort of way but it’s understandable and fine. That’s how I catch it, at least! :)

Well, if that’s the case, I may give a thought to getting the Witcher 3 one day. I do have heard it’s like a classic or a very dear game to many, many people, so I sure should try it out. Thanks for filling me in on whether it was fine to play the third alone or not!! Imma search for the books, as well. Reading is quite a passion for me and if I can complement reading with gaming...gawds, that sounds like HEAVEN

GASPS

I didn’t know Geralt had a daughter!!!!!!!! :O THAT MAKES THE STORY SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SO SO SO SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH MORE INTERESTING AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

One of the many reasons I’m so intimate with XV is that it’s got a deep and intimate deal with father-son subjects, which makes me sort of weak. And knowing this about the Witcher makes it even more interesting!! Because it sounds like such a complex character with a complex purpose. One looks at him and it’s easy to think that he’s just a tough guy that, I don’t know, is a mercenary and looks for prizes and fame or something, or like he’s defending his dead wife’s memory and taking revenge, something savage and brutal like a Tough Guy, you know?

But the fact that he’s actually looking for his daughter? FUCK, THIS FUCKS ME UP INT HE BEST WAY POSSIBLE *SHRIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK*

I’m SO in love with storyes that don’t revolve around romance. Like, side romance is FANTASTIC, but when it’s like....the center itself, the core? BORING. But family or friend bonds? Siblings? F A T H E R  A N D  D A U G H T E R???????

SHIT FAM SIGN ME IN WHY THE HELL AM I NOT PLAYING THIS GAME RIGHT NOW AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH AKLJSFGK DL JADKLGJDAKLGAJDH ADKLGJALKHJ FAHKLFAJLKDF ADKLGHJ ADHLKA

*CRIES*

PERFECT. BRILLIANT. There’s no better character arc/construnction than that of a tough guy fighting for the reasons that can come off as “not rough”. Looking for a daughter is SAVAGE AND BRUTAL AF but it’s not that common ya know. It’s usually revenge,t he love of his life, or something like that. But a tough guy looking for his baby girl? YAS. FAHK. I NEED I NEED I NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED

*THROWS A TANTRUM AND DOES GRABBY HANDS*

Hahaha, don’t worry about ranting to me about the game!! I understand your joy and excitement, and it’s okay to keep talking about it. It DOES sound like a PHENOMENAL game so of course you’d love to talk more and more about it!! :D

[that-terrible-writer]

You Never Know

Some of you have asked to be tagged and I am happy to do that but for some reason, some names won’t pop up to let me tag you. If that is the case, I will contact you and try and figure out why this is being stupid.

Again, thank you for your messages, I love each and every one of them.

Also, this gif fucking hates me. It’s working sometimes, not on the dashboard: only on moblie or if you actually go to my blog. So if you want to see his face, that actually goes well for this part, go moblie or click to go to my blog.

Part 4

Part 1 2 3 

| Steve Harrington x Reader |

Requested: “YOU NEVER KNOW WAS CEHCHVKSGMDSHBFK!!!! TEAM STEVE!!!” 

“Aaaa! I love you never know!...”

The night went quicker than you anticipated. You stayed up all night trying to understand every word, sentence, that was coming out of Mike's mouth. On top of that, you were collecting every bit of information Eleven had on her 'sister'. Steve had cleared off one of the walls in the basement so that you all could connect the dots. Eight's―rather her birth name, Kali―backstory, her newspaper articles, her gang of misfits even a list of some of her victims. Eleven claimed that Kali was out to those that worked in Hawkin's Lab, the ones that hurt her and experimented on her.  El left her sister behind, in Chicago, not being able to kill for the same reason and came back to Hawkins, where she was needed.

You gently rubbed your eyes, snuggling more into the couch as bits of sunlight were peeking into the basement window. You didn't mean to fall asleep in the Wheeler's basement but after working past two in the morning, you were having a fight of your own with your eyes and you sadly lost that fight. What had woken you were the faint calls of Mrs. Wheeler, trying to find and wake Mike up from school. When you finally opened your eyes, you sat up on the sofa, looking around the room to see that everyone―minus Max―had stayed over. You felt something resting lightly on your waist, drawing you to come closer.

You glanced down and saw a hand there; the hand belonging to none other than Steve. He was still asleep; his hair was disheveled, his clothes slightly wrinkled as you appeared to be using him as your pillow and source of warmth.

You turned to look at the wall; the wall covered in string, paper clippings, and sticky notes. Never would you have thought that something so dangerous, so supernatural but so amazing would happen to the small town of Hawkins. Your gazed went up towards the ceiling to see the time, the moment you saw it: your heart dropped.

You shook Steve trying to wake him from his slumber, "Steve, we're going to be late for school." You whispered to him, shaking his chest with a little more aggression. You grew antsier with him as the noise of the clock was becoming more sharp, louder: hitting every nerve in your being. "Wake up, Steve!" You shouted. Steve's eyes shot open. He had freaked out a little, taking him a while to comprehend what was happening. When he looked down at his chest, he noticed your hands but his eyes trailed up your arms, to your neck then your face to make sure they belonged to you. Knowing that they were yours, his grip on your waist got a little tighter.

"Hey," He whispered, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"Morning," You couldn't help but smile back, your hands fisting a bit of his shirt but you shook your head. You snapped out of your fantasy. You leaped to your feet, grabbing ahold of your back. You went around the room, shaking every sleeping kid that was around, "Get up, you lazy asses!" You ordered. You smacked Lucas' shoes off the table which caused him to stumble and waking him in an instant. You placed your hands on your hips, looking down at the five kids, "You need to get out, go home and get your butts to school!"

As they each gradually started to get a move on, you turned to look at the clock. Your heart racing. You were biting your nail, beginning to shake your head, "Oh, man." You let out a small whine, "I'll never make it to school on time if I go home and change."

"Just wear my clothes," Steve proposed. Your eyes widened. You turned to look at him as he was finishing tieing his shoes. He looked up at you, letting out that sweet laugh of his, running his hand through his hair to try and fix it, "What?" He couldn't help but laugh more at your reaction you were giving him. You looked like a deer in headlights. He stood up, grabbing his bag and keys off the table.

He came closer to you, lowing his head so that he was at eye level with you, making you equals, "My house is closer. You can give your mom a call while we get ready. No big deal." He held out his hand, craving for you to take it. You did. He turned to look at Dustin, his arm outstretched, "Let's go! We can't waste any more time!" He ordered.

You didn't let go of Steve's hand and he did nothing to try and pull away. He gave it a small squeeze, causing your face to turn red quickly.

"You can wear this sweater." Steve had given you his green sweater but not just any green sweater: his favorite. The one that he always wore when it was clean and on some days: when it wasn't. You took the sweater from him, lightly touching your hand over his. He smiled at you when you eventually had it in your possession. "You can use the phone in the living room," He said in a whisper as if he didn't want anyone to know; even though you two were the only ones home.

"Yeah, yeah," you repeated, snapping out of your thought, "The phone. I should―go." You turned to walk away, shaking your head as you cursed to yourself for acting like an idiot.

When you went to the living room, you changed into the sweater but you took a moment to just really take in the softness of it. You could see why Steve wore this piece of clothing all the time. You had dialed your home phone, mentally preparing yourself for the earful that you would get from your mother. "Y/L/N residents." Your mother answered in a cheerful tone. How quickly that changed.

"Hey, mom." You dragged out, kicking yourself that you did this to her. As you had an idea what she was going to say to you.

"Y/N! Where the hell are you?" Your mother barked at you causing you to move the phone away from your ear because if you left it on any longer, you were afraid you would have gone deaf.

"Look, I'm sorry! I know you said to come home at one point," You began to apologize, "We had to start the project all over and we just fell asleep at one point."

"Is this what the kids are now calling it?" Your mother questioned. You had a puzzled look on your face as you were thrown in a loop on what she was on about.

"What are you talking about?"

"Y/N, I may have told you that I liked Steve but I didn't mean to give it to him so willy-nilly!" She lectured you, "You make a man work for it and what would happen if something happened to the condom?" Finally, you pieced the puzzle together.

"Mom, chill, we―" You tried to tell her some bits of the truth but she already in her own world.

"Y/N, I'm too young to be a grandmother." She gasped, being overdramatic with the whole situation. It sounded as if she was holding back tears.

"Mom, you're being a little much don't you―"

"What about your future? You going to your dream school? Are you going to waste all that on a boy? Most high school romances don't last, dear!" You mother barked at you.

"MOM! WE DIDN'T HAVE SE―" You turned in frustration from your mother, screaming at the phone but when you turned, it had to be what an out of body experienced had to be. There you noticed Steve waiting for you next to the front door. Your body became frozen, you could still hear your mother ranting on the other end of the line, you couldn't form any words to come out of your mouth to try and explain what was happening. Your eyes widened in horror, your stomach feeling as if it wanted to puke everything out from last night and the week before. You saw a blush creep onto Steve's cheeks as he finally put the last letter to your word together.

His mouth hung open, trying to find words of his own but even he tried: nothing but air escaped from his mouth. "I'll see you at home!" You quickly said, slamming the phone down before your mother could get in another word. You grabbed your bag, with your shirt balled in your fist, making your way to the front door. You head hung low avoiding any eye contact with Steve at all.

Steve grabbed your wrist when it went to reach for the knob but you still refused to look at him, "I'll see you at school." You told him. Steve made you turned so that your body was at least facing him. Your breaths got shorter, heart racing at an unruly rate, feeling it in your throat. You tried to look at everything around you that just wasn't him. Yet, your eyes were trained. They were trained to look at those dark brown eyes. The silence killing you as you just wanted him to blow this off as if it was a joke. You were hoping for him to just make you feel like a fool, to laugh it off and call your mother ridiculous.

"Y/N," Steve let out softly. His eyes soften, his grip on your wrist had loosened. He took one step closer to you, causing you to be pressed up against the front door. You wanted this, you have wanted this for years of knowing Steve but why did your mind overthink it? Steve lowered his head to be eye level with you, inches away from you. His hand cupped your cheek, his thumb grazing your lower lip.

"Yep, nope." You panicked, having your hand on the doorknob; opening the door and bolting out of his house. You ran towards the direction of the school, refusing to listen to Steve calling out to you. You had ran for at least a mile, the adrenaline finally wearing off. You looked back and not seeing Steve's house in sight. Your legs gave out, going limp, you fell on the sidewalk.

You hit yourself a couple times, cursing at yourself for possibly screwing up what could have been the best thing to happen to you.

Tagged: @innocent-moon-bean @yoursmilemakesmeloveyou @with-a-hint-of-pesto-aiolii @quoriez

[reifromrfa]

On the Line - Chapter 11

Prompt: Alternate Universe

1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7  |  8  |  9  |  10  |  x  |  Coming Soon!

On the Line - relinks to fanfiction.net

Whew finally got to work on On the Line again :) I missed this story ;A;

Chapter 11

MC clasps her hands tightly in her lap, not daring to say a word. She glances at her fiancé —the word still makes her shudder —from the corner of her eye and sees the stony expression on his face, his features tense. The way he’s gripping the steering wheel makes her feel like he’s imagining it's her neck he’s holding under his fingers. 

She knows what’s going to happen next. She’s terrified of what he’s going to do this time.

But MC is surprised to find that she doesn’t regret dancing with Jumin Han.

She feels the heat in her cheeks the moment she pictures her masked prince. The way his arms held her —firm but gentle at the same time. The way he says her name —like he knows how to pull at her heartstrings with just his voice. And the way he looked at her… 

MC couldn’t put a finger to it, but there was something in the way the young corporate heir looked at her that makes her feel like…like she’s supposed to remember something. 

The car jerks into an abrupt stop in front of the apartment that Chul Soo bought for her and MC closes her eyes, dreading what’s going to happen next.

“Who told you you could dance with him?” 

“Chul Soo, it didn’t mean anyt—” 

MC flinches when Chul Soo slams his fist down on the dashboard, turning his coal, black eyes on her. 

“You belong to me.” Chul Soo snarls, grabbing her wrist and pulling her close. MC gasps but doesn’t resist. The last time she did, he nearly broke her wrist. 

MC glares at him, hatred behind her eyes. Chul Soo could see the defiance beneath her gaze, that fire inside of her begging to be released. 

He wanted nothing more than to control that flame, make it bend to his will.

“We’re not married yet, Chul Soo.” MC replies, keeping her other fist clenched.

Chul Soo merely chuckles. “Yeah, but I already paid off your aunt, didn’t I?” He releases her wrist, only to reach up and stroke her cheek with his thumb. MC tenses, repulsed by his touch. “Remember how she practically pushed you out of that tiny little apartment, hm? Remember how hard your life was before you met me?”

MC pulls away from his touch, swallowing the lump that forms in her throat. She doesn’t need to be reminded of her horrible aunt or her past. But being with Chul Soo isn’t exactly an upgrade from her previous situation. Sure, MC has her own apartment now. Her own car, beautiful and expensive clothes and she can eat three meals a day.

But at what cost?

Chul Soo smirks at her. “Yeah, remember those the next time Jumin Han even looks at you.”

MC shakes her head and opens her door, climbing out of the car. She slams the door shut and immediately starts walking towards the apartment, not bothering to turn around and watch as Chul Soo drives away.

As she waits for the elevator, MC lets out a sigh of relief, grateful that Chul Soo has business to take care of. She bites her lip, telling herself not to cry, that everything will be okay. But she has the scars and bruises to prove that everything will not be okay —things might even get worst once she’s living under the same roof as that monster.

Hate bubbles in her chest as she remembers her aunt but she immediately dismisses it. She can never hate family, no matter what they’ve done to her in the past.

The elevator arrives and she steps inside, punching in her floor and wiping a stray tear from her cheek. When the doors close, she unclenches her fist and smoothens out the elegant piece of paper she had crushed.

Even the paper screams luxury. The gold-stamped letters reflect against the lights of the elevator and MC holds the card closer to her. Her heart pounds hard against her chest as she skims over the name written on the card.

The card he had slipped into her hands while they were dancing.

The card she kept from Chul Soo the entire ride home.

Who are you, Jumin Han?

Jumin Han has entered the chatroom.

Zen: I really hope I get this part.

707: Cat mom has entered the chatroom!

Jumin Han: Luciel, you’re here.

Zen: Wow he just ignored what you said

707: *glasses breaking emoji*

707: Has our Mr. Trustfundkid been abducted by aliens??

707: Perhaps this is his clone?!

707: PERHAPS THIS IS ACTUALLY ELLY~?

Zen: Or maybe he’s had too much to drink at that fancy party of his.

Jumin Han: I can hold my own liquor, Zen.

Jumin Han: But I have something more important to say to Luciel.

Zen: Oh sure, don’t mind me.

Jumin Han: If that’s what you wish.

Jumin Han: I would gladly ignore you.

Zen: *speechless emoji*

Zen: I was being SARCASTIC.

707: Lololol

Jumin Han: Luciel, how much would it cost to hire you?

Zen: ?!

707: ?!

707: You want to hire me?

707: THE DEFENDER OF JUSTICE?

707: Is this for a girl, perhaps~?

Zen: Lol no way that jerk will get a girlfriend before me.

Jumin Han: It’s complicated.

Jumin Han: …but yes, it may involve a lady.

Zen: *shocked emoji*

Zen: *shocked emoji*

Zen: *shocked emoji*

707: *love emoji*

Zen: YOU’RE KIDDING, RIGHT?

707: I accept cash payments or maybe a new baby~

Jumin Han: Baby?

707: Yes.

707: A car

707: That lovely new sports car in the display window of that car store across your building

Jumin Han: Is that all?

Jumin Han: Consider it done.

Zen: *speechless annoyed emoji*

Jumin smirks at the actor’s annoyed response. As he was about to type in the details, his phone rings and an unknown number pops up on the screen. He immediately sits up in his sofa, surprising Elizabeth the 3rd with his quick movements. The cat purrs and stretches before settling back into the couch and going back to sleep.

Jumin hurriedly scrolls past Zen’s rant about him and types with shaky fingers.

Jumin Han: I have a call. Luciel, I will contact you.

Jumin tries to calm himself but he can feel the harsh beating of his heart. In nervousness? In anticipation? Both?

He slides the button to accept the call and puts the phone to his ear.

“Hello?” he says in his usual tone. Inside, his heart is drumming against his chest in anticipation; he wants nothing more than to hear her sweet voice once again.

“Hello?”

A smile spreads across his face as her voice echoes in his mind. A calm feeling settles over him and he relaxes back into the couch, happy. He’s grateful she didn’t throw away the card he had slipped into her hand and even more grateful Chul Soo didn’t find it.

“MC. Are you alright?”

“…yes. Thank you for asking.”

She pauses and Jumin scrambles for something to say to her. He doesn’t want to scare her off by telling her he is madly in-love with her, but he doesn’t want to pretend she doesn’t matter to him as well.

Because she does.

She means everything to him.

“What a weird question to ask.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Why would you think I wasn’t okay?”

He smiles to himself. Her perceptiveness is just as he remembered. But then the image of the bruise on her neck flashes in his mind and removes the smile from his face. He can’t risk scaring her off by telling her he saw the bruises; Jumin reminds himself yet again that this MC doesn’t know him yet, doesn’t remember their past like he does. He has to take things slow.

“Ah, your cheeks were a bit red earlier this evening. I hope you didn’t catch a cold this evening.”

MC blushes on the other line. Oh my God. This man didn’t miss anything, did he?

“Ah, no no, I’m alright. Just had a little too much to drink perhaps.”

Okay, it was a teeny, tiny lie. But MC isn’t about to tell him she’s attracted to him! Especially since he’s Chul Soo’s new business partner.

Jumin resists the urge to chuckle. He had watched her all evening and she never had a drink.

“I hope you feel better now. Is there anything I can help you with? Why did you call?”

MC fidgets with the edge of her oversized shirt. Why did she call him? The real reason —she wanted to hear his voice again. His deep baritone calmed her and she wants to understand why.

She isn’t going to say that to one of the most powerful men in Korea though.

“Um. I just wanted to thank you for inviting me to the party tonight.”

I wanted to propose to you tonight, Jumin wishes he could tell her.

“Of course. It was my pleasure, MC.”

“I also wanted to ask...Why did you give me your card? I was surprised when you slipped it into my hand.”

“So you can call me if you ever need anything.” Jumin answers without hesitation.

MC can feel the heat radiating from her cheeks.

This man…what the hell is he making her feel? She’s never felt this way about anyone before. No man can make her blush or grin like an idiot like this man is doing right now.

“I...Why not give me your assistant’s number though? I mean, I really appreciate it, Mr. H—”

“Please, call me Jumin. Mr. Han is my father.”

MC giggles and Jumin melts. He would give her anything just to hear her laugh.

“Jumin. Sorry. This feels so unnatural. You’re one of Korea’s most powerful businessmen and…this is unnatural.”

“There’s nothing unnatural about this at all. I am also just a man, MC. I hope you would change your view of me someday…There is more to me than wealth and power. But please, don’t ever hesitate to call me should you need anything. I’m always here for you, MC.”

Tears blur her vision as she clutches the phone in her hands. Jumin Han might be the first person to ever say that to her. Scratch that —he is the man to ever say that to her. Now she feels bad that she knows nothing about him except his fortune and business. Apparently, he is a kind and caring man too and she wishes she could have met him before getting engaged to someone else.

Not that she has any chance with him in the first place.

“But why? Why do you care so much about a stranger you just met tonight?”

Because you’re no stranger, MC.

Out loud, he says, “Perhaps it’s because I don’t want us to be strangers to each other any longer.”

“…Excuse me?”

“It is indeed odd to care so much for someone I barely even know. I would like to change that and get to know you better. Is that alright?”

MC can feel the warmth spreading across her cheeks again and wonders if it’s possible to combust just from hearing someone’s voice over the phone.

This is wrong, MC.

If Chul Soo finds out she’s been talking to Jumin Han, she’s dead. 

But…

She can’t resist him. It’s like there’s a force that’s making her gravitate towards him, making her dream of a better ending to her story —maybe a happy ending with him. Jumin rekindled the one emotion MC thought she had lost a long time ago:

Hope.

She grins and hugs her pillow to her chest.

“Well…since I can’t sleep, I’ll humor you.”

Jumin lets out a soft chuckle, smiling. It feels like yesterday when he said the exact same thing to the MC from 1950.

“Why don’t you try counting sheep?”

MC laughs.

“You’re so weird, Jumin. I never thought I’d hear you say that.”

“Like I said, there’s more to me than my wealth and my business.”

“Do tell. I’m very intrigued.”

He tells her about Elizabeth the 3rd and the RFA. About his best friend who’s a famous photographer and his father, whom, despite being a womanizer, he loves dearly. He tells her about his fascination with the dark arts and his hobby of reading.

MC giggles and it’s music to his ears.

“So let me get this straight: this Zen guy doesn’t like you because you’re rich?”

“It would seem so.”

“He doesn’t seem like a very nice person.”

Hallelujah. His smile grows bigger as does his love and respect for her.

“I mean, it’s not like we can choose our families, right?”

“I agree with you completely, MC. However, I’m being quite rude. I’ve been talking about myself for a while now and I would like it if you told me a little about yourself. Do you have a family? What are they like?”

The line goes quiet for a moment and Jumin has to check the screen to see if the call has been cut.

“MC?”

“I don’t think you’d like my story.”

“Unless you’re Zen’s sister, I would very much like to hear about your story.”

MC laughs.

“No, I'm not his sister. That would’ve been nice though. It means I could’ve met you earlier.”

Jumin resists the urge to go to her then and there.

But then MC sighs and he hears her shifting on whatever she’s sitting on.

“Well, for starters, I’m not rich. In fact, I’m the exact opposite.

My parents died when I was little and my aunt had no choice but to take me in. She was struggling as well and had her own children, so she hated me from the moment she saw me in the hospital.”

Why am I telling him this?

MC wonders, biting her lower lip. She barely knew the guy. But there’s just something about Jumin Han that made her feel at peace, made her feel like she could trust him.

She takes a deep breath and continues.

“Her first husband left her for another woman, a wealthier woman. Her second husband was a drunk and an addict so she left him. Her current husband is part of —”

Jumin can feel her hesitating and makes a mental note to do a background check on MC’s family.

“—part of Chul Soo’s business. He earns money and keeps my aunt and cousins alive, but he doesn’t earn enough. My aunt used to take the salary I got from work, but with the amount of debt her second husband left her with and her children’s university fees, nothing was ever enough.

She blamed me for her situation though. Said she never should have taken me in. I was the bane of her existence until Chul Soo and I met.”

Jumin has a feeling he knows what happened after that. If history was repeating itself, then the aunt must have arranged her marriage with Chul Soo.

“Long story short, she sold me off to Chul Soo for a huge sum. And now here I am. The bargaining chip for my family’s brighter future. My aunt didn’t think I was so useless after that.”

MC lets out a sad laugh. “I’m sorry, that’s terribly depressing, isn’t it?”

“I’m so sorry.” Jumin says softly. He didn’t miss the sadness in her voice —the same sadness from all those years ago.

Jumin closes his eyes. How could he not have known? How could he not have searched for her? She has been right here all this time. He could have saved her from ever meeting Chul Soo. Saved her from her terrible fate.

“Oh don’t be. We can’t choose our families, right? It’s okay. I’ve accepted my fate.”

If MC is trying to reassure him, she’s doing a terrible job of it. He could hear the tremble in her voice, the uncertainty behind her words. She doesn’t want this and the two of them knew it.

“You don’t have to pretend with me, MC.” Jumin says softly.

For a moment, there’s silence. And then he hears her quiet sobs over the line and he gets to his feet.

“MC —may I go to you?”

“W-what?”

“Please. I can’t stand the thought of knowing I made you cry without being there to comfort you. If you would allow it, let me be there for you.”

“But, Jumin…Chul Soo—”

“I can take care of him.”

“No, Jumin —”

“Please, MC. Please let me see you.”

���…okay.”  

Sorry for the cliffie! Haha I’ll try to update soon!

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[yourkeeperoftherunners]

You Sound so Good on Radio (RapMon AU)

Plot: AU You’re a DJ at your university’s student-run radio club and were called in to do a sample show last minute for a tour group of potential students. You caught his attention and he knew that he couldn’t go anywhere else. Especially if it meant he could share the airwaves with you at some point.

Rating: PG-13 (Language, implied cheating)

Characters: University Student!Kim Namjoon/Rap Monster x female Reader, University Student/Radio Club President!Kris (EXO-M), University Student/Fellow DJ!Johnny (NCT-127), and mentions of Seokjin and Yoongi (BTS)

Notes: This is an AU setting – all characters, background content, and storyline are fictional! This was an idea I’ve had kicking around in my head inspired by the writer’s personal experience of working in student-run radio shows at school. (It sat on the back burner until I realized it would be a good fit for music lover and brainy student Kim Namjoon.) Y/S/N stands for “your screen name”, Y/E/N is “your ex’s name”, and Y/DJ/N is “your DJ name.”

Happy Birthday Namjoon!

“Can I ask you to do a last minute show?”

“Uhhh maybe,” you drawled as you pressed your phone to your ear, “when?”

He sucked in a sharp breath and forced a smile as he revealed that he needed you to get over to the student radio booth in 40 minutes. Your eyes widened and you changed direction.

“Damn you Kris,” you hissed as you dug around in your bag, briefly checking that you had the essentials. “You’re lucky my next class was canceled – what’s this all about?”

“Potential students tour,” Kris explained. “Sorry Y/N – they threw this on me last minute too. Admissions wanted to show off the student radio program and they wanted a show playing live when the tour came through. I sort of panicked and didn’t know who to ask.”

“You owe me,” you warned him as you made a beeline for the studio, unlocking the door with your ID card. “Are there any rules Admissions set?”

“No profanity because it’s a daytime show, don’t run over into the next scheduled show’s slot…” Kris trailed off, biting his lip. “Um maybe pick some happy tunes or something? I don’t know – just make it seem cool to join radio, okay?”

“I’ll try. Wonder why they care all of sudden,” you droned as you pulled out your laptop and began pulling songs into a playlist.

“How do you take your coffee?” he asked.

“Make it the largest size available and you’re a godsend,” you said before hanging up. You plugged in the cords from the dashboard and began adding in bumpers that would play in between every 3 songs to promote the studio radio station. Complaints aside, radio was a welcome escape for you whenever you wanted a break from the stress of college. Anyone could apply to have a radio program, as long as they showed up for their time slot, followed the radio airwave rules, and attended the radio meetings that took place every other week.

“You’re listening to a special broadcast of Nocturnal Beats, coming to you live and in stereo from the radio station,” you announced into the microphone. “You just heard music from Halsey, a beautiful cover of Adele’s “Hello” by Alice Olivia, and “Skool Luv” by BTS. Speaking of school love, why not show your support for our talented lacrosse team at this Saturday’s game? Game starts at 7 PM, tickets are $7 at the gate…” You tore a glance at the bulletin board nearby to make sure you were covering all of the announcements posted during your talking break. From the corner of your left eye, you spotted a large group of families coming into the building, led by a student tour guide. Satisfied that you covered everything posted, you wrapped up your talking segment as you teased the next few songs coming up in the hour.

“Over here is the student radio booth – all of the programs broadcast are put on by students for students,” the guide said as she gestured to the booth. “Parents and friends are welcome to download the app or live stream it from your computer or WI-fi enabled devices to listen in as well. We have programs running 7 days a week from 7 AM to midnight, ranging from music, talk shows, and we’ve even had a few radio dramas played during the airwaves.”

You avoided the crowd’s gaze as you slotted in a bumper that announced that they were tuned into the student radio site, before blending it out to the next song – a mellow R&B tune from BIGBANG called “Blue”. You pulled the headphones off and switched the mic to off before checking the volume controls and scrolling through the radio instant chat function to answer messages.

js_giraffe: U cheating on me for daytime?

You resisted the urge to roll your eyes as you typed back to Johnny, AKA your friend who hosted a late night rant/talk show on Wednesdays. Occasionally you put in a guest appearance if he needed someone to banter with on the topics of choice for the shows – most people found your dynamic with him hilarious, especially if he tried to switch accents while you called him out for being a loser.

Y/S/N: ha try Kris needed someone to show off for the tour groups.

js_giraffe: O.o The model DJ…

js_giraffe: I’m not worthy! I’m not worthy!

Y/S/N: STFU

Y/S/N: It’s a one-time deal – get over your damn self!

“Now if you follow me, I’ll show you the mailroom,” the tour guide announced as she gestured to a hallway. Most of the families began to follow her to the next room while one young man lingered behind, tilting his head as he watched you switch between answering Johnny’s IMs and queuing more music for the remaining 15 minutes. He glanced over his shoulder at the group and quickly made up his mind to walk over to the glass separating you from him, tapping lightly on it.

You jerked your head up from looking at your laptop screen and held up a finger as you got up, making your way over to the entrance to the booth.

“Hi, may I help you?” you asked as you stuck your head out.

“Oh um ye-yeah!” the young man said. “How is the radio program here? Do you like it?” he asked with a faint accent.

“It’s a lot of fun,” you said slowly with a smile. “I really like it – this is my second year doing it. I started last spring and I’ve been doing it ever since. You can focus on any topic/style of show you want for the most part.” You frowned when you noticed the tour group was long gone.

“Oh I think you um-”

“I’ll find them – no worries,” he replied. He asked you more questions about the studio equipment, scheduling, requirements, etc. before you realized you were at the final 2 minutes of your program.

“Hang on, I need to close out the hour,” you apologized before running back into the station. You slipped the headphones on and turned the mic on, fading out the last song that was playing. “Looks like it’s last call gang – thanks for tuning into this special edition. I’ll catch you at my usual slot Friday night from 10-11 PM. Until then.” You turned off the mic and carefully unplugged your laptop, turning on instrumentals recorded in the station’s dashboard’s memory to fill the void while you packed up. Once you secured your bag on your shoulder, you headed to the door and frowned when you saw the young man was gone.

“So are you crossing this school off your list Joonie?” Yoongi asked his friend over the phone. “I mean, it’s kind of far and you don’t know a lot of English –“

“Actually I think I’m going to apply,” Namjoon replied with a grin as he leaned against the wall. “Campus is nice, professors seem decent, and I like their student life.”

“Wae?! But you can’t leave meeeeeeee!!!” the other male whined. “You’ll be too far away!”

“I think you can survive without me,” Namjoon chuckled as he ran a hand through his hair. “Besides, we can always call or Skype. Plus I’ll be home for the holidays.”

“But you have to apply first,” Seokjin interrupted, taking the phone from Yoongi. “There’s no guarantee this school will take you. Make sure you have back-ups in case.”

Namjoon snorted as he changed his phone to his other ear. He reassured Seokjin that he’d apply to a few local schools back home, just to be safe before hanging up and heading back to the area where the tour started. It was clear in his mind – he was getting in here no matter what.

“Welcome back,” Johnny greeted you as you took a seat in the auditorium beside him.

“Right back at you,” you replied, dropping your bag on the ground. “How was your summer?”

He shrugged and muttered that he split his time between Chicago and South Korea, thanks to his parents’ divorce. You listened as he described the tension during each stay, as both single parents had expressed their true feelings about one another to Johnny.

“Sorry Johnny,” you said with a sympathetic smile, “hey so, are you doing late night again?”

Johnny nodded and you confirmed that you were in again for another late night slot, as it was your favorite time to broadcast. You weren’t forced to be as strict with the profanity during timeslots closer to midnight and it was a fun way to get hyped for the weekend. Because this would be your third year of radio, you’d get first dibs on timeslots. A few days prior to the start of the new semester, you had gotten an e-mail from Kris asking if you wanted your old timeslot back, which you replied you did.

“All right guys! Can I have your attention please?” Kris called out, trying to regain control of the large group of students chattering away. He waited a few minutes before speaking again.

“Welcome to University Radio Club,” he began, “if you’re here because you’re taking radio as an elective or just because you want to, you’re in the right place. We meet every other week here at 9 PM – attendance is mandatory for those taking this as an elective. If you are brand new to radio, we’ll start taking sign ups for timeslots via e-mail. Please send us your top three choices and we’ll let you know if any are available. Past DJs will get first choice. Any questions so far?”

“The D-bag’s not doing radio anymore, right?” Johnny whispered as he leaned closer to you.

You shrugged, trying to seem indifferent. The “D-bag” in question was your ex, who cheated on you for two sorority chicks during a Greek life party. You swore he purposely chose the timeslot after you so he could saunter in and ruin your good mood with his presence, as his show was after yours for 3 semesters.

“I’ll deal with it like usual,” you muttered as you watched Kris start discussing the history of radio to the students taking this for credit.

“Welcome back to your place for top hits, fresh sounds, and jams to get you in the mood for your weekend – this is Nocturnal Beats!” you said into the mic with a smile. “Hope everyone stayed cool this summer. The bell may have rung but the fun’s never ending – I’ve got some new sounds to share from EXO and Twenty One Pilots so keep it here for this hour.”

Once you switched off the microphone, your phone buzzed with a text from Kris.

Galaxy

I’ll buy you a drink this weekend if you can do a last minute training for the rookie coming in after you.

Sent 10:07 PM

You

Fine.

Sent 10:08 PM

Hang on – rookie? Not Y/E/N?

Sent 10:08 PM

Galaxy

Nah he never answered my e-mail about radio this semester. This guy’s a first year – asked specifically for this slot.

Sent 10:09 PM

Tall, blonde hair in an undercut, name’s Namjoon Kim. He’s doing a rap show.

Sent 10:10 PM

You frowned as you re-read the texts and typed back a simple OK to Kris. Well, you could breathe easy – no asshole ex to deal with this semester. But you were surprised this kid got a prime spot – most first timers weren’t so lucky and would get an afternoon slot or an early morning time. Albeit his radio show content was probably better suited for nighttime versus editing out every curse word and innuendo possible. You’d meet him soon enough.

You shuttled a few IMs to Johnny and tore your gaze away from your laptop to see a tall Asian guy approaching the station, eerily fitting the description Kris texted you. He was busy typing something on his phone as he approached the radio station, walking into the door with a thud.

You blinked as you scrambled to your feet, eyes wide as he staggered back a few steps, wincing and cursing in Korean as he touched his forehead. Without wasting more time, you queued up a few more songs and a bumper before opening the door and checking on him.

“Hey you okay?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, yeah I’m fine,” he said as he pushed his dark framed glasses up on his nose. He shot you a sheepish smile and put his phone away in his pocket.

You studied him thoughtfully, examining his features. He looked awfully familiar…

“Hey so Y/N right? I don’t know you if you remember me, well I had dark hair last time we met, but um…” he trailed off, a shy smile on his face.

“Hang on, were you the guy who got left behind by the tour group to ask me questions about the radio station?” you recalled as you stepped out of the doorway. “Last semester in mid-March, right?”

He nodded as his smile spread across his face, resulting in the cutest dimples on his cheeks. You blinked as you silently compared the previous image you had of him in your mind to the guy standing before you now. He was cute then but with the blonde color and new haircut, he looked hot. It also sounded like his English had improved and the lingering trace of his accent was barely noticeable. Summer sure was kind to him…

“Wow I didn’t know you got in – congrats!” you replied as you nudged the door open wider, letting him into the station waiting room. “Welcome to university! I can’t believe you decided to take up radio too.”

Namjoon stepped through the doorway and watched as you closed the door to the station. “Well, it’s a funny story,” he began as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “A really chill DJ was doing a special show during my tour visit and she had a really hot voice. I was kind of a loser just staring at her and asking her dumb questions about radio, but she was so patient and really nice. So I felt encouraged to apply – I mean, I liked the classes and the professors too, but hearing this DJ was like the icing on the cake. I wanted to come here and do radio too. Maybe run into her again.”

You ducked your head and smiled, crossing your arms over your chest. “You found me Namjoon,” you replied.

He squared his shoulders and allowed a slightly cocky smile to cross his lips. “Rap Monster. No DJ, just Rap Monster around here.”

You contemplated his moniker and nodded in approval.

“It suits you,” you said. “Well you’ll go live for your first show in 10 minutes – think you’re ready?”

He removed his glasses from his nose and swapped them for a pair of dark wayfarers, pushing them up on his nose.

“Bring it on Y/DJ/N.”

[talesofmundanemagic]

Bridget takes the wheel

“What’s the first thing you do?” Gertie asked, sitting in the passenger seat of Vivien’s minivan in the student parking lot of Flories Boarding School.

Bridget reached to push the ignition button.

Gertie caught her wrist. “No. Now you fail.”

“For trying to start the car?” Bridget said.

“Yep. Try again.”

Bridget looked around the car for a sign of what to do. She noticed Gertie not wearing her seatbelt.

“Let me guess. Buckle up for safety?” she asked.

Gertie smiled and nodded and clicked her seatbelt in place.

“People actually fail for that?” Bridget asked.

“Yep.” Vivien leaned forward, against the back of Gertie’s seat. “One of my best friends back home ranted about it for ages.”

“That just seems like a trick,” Bridget said.

“You are responsible for the safety of your passengers,” Gertie said, in full teacher mode. “Now, pull out of the parking lot before Vivien changes her mind.”

Bridget pushed the green “start” button and the car rumbled to life. She took a deep breath to calm herself, clicked her blinker on, and pulled out of the parking spot while looking behind the car the whole time.

Vivien’s minivan was purple, which made it painfully conspicuous as they drove past the school. One of the doors and the back had been painted so it acted like a chalkboard. As if the color wasn’t attention-grabbing enough, Vivien had written STUDENT DRIVER in big, block letters across the side and back.

Bridget tried to ignore the unfounded nerves that people were laughing and pointing. It was much too early for anyone to be out and about.

They pulled out of the student lot, made their way along the seldom used school roads and headed out into the city. The car drove past the subway station they normally took, the coffee shop Mentos they would hang out at, and their favorite nearby restaurants. The road was eerily devoid of company, with the exception of a bus or the occasional jogger.

“Turn left,” Gertie said, and at the next light Bridget complied.

Bridget had had some lessons already, both with a professional driving instructor and with her and Gertie’s dad. But she needed to get experience driving the roads she would be taking the test on, and the city of Wespire was notorious for crabby drivers and extreme traffic. The only reasonable way to have driving lessons was in the wee hours of the morning, when the roads were all but abandoned.

Bridget’s eye glanced down to the speedometer and back to the road as she drove. Gertie checked, and wasn’t surprised to see her sister was keeping the car exactly at the speed limit. Bridget constantly flicked her eye to her left mirror, having to turn her head a bit, to compensate for the lack of peripheral vision on that side, thanks to her ruined eye.

“Try to relax your shoulders,” Vivien said, noticing Bridget’s back was stiff and her knuckles white.

“I will never relax anything while driving,” Bridget retorted.

“Then how are you going to get anywhere?” Gertie asked teasingly.

“Please.” Bridget wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Like licenses are necessary in this day and age. How much am I actually going to have to drive, once I get my license? Even if we ignore buses and bikes and-”

“Change into the left lane,” Gertie said.

Bridget sighed, clicked the turn signal up with her ring finger and craned her neck to get a good view.

Out of nowhere, one of the tires rumbled. Bridget gasped, unsure what to do.

Gertie’s hand reached out and pressed the “self-driving” button on the dashboard. It lit up green and the car began to control itself. It put on its hazards and started pulling into the bike lane. Bridget let go of the wheel, glaring as she saw it light up with magic. She crossed her arms in defeat, and the car slowed to a stop next to the sidewalk.

“This is exactly what I’m talking about,” Bridget said as Gertie opened her door.

“What do you mean?” Gertie asked, looking back to try to figure out what had happened.

“Why does the law require a licensed driver in the car!” Bridget exclaimed. “The magic driver handles emergencies much better than I ever could!”

“A car can’t change it’s own tire,” Vivien said, her voice sounding a bit lost. She pulled the minivan’s handle and her door slid open.

“Well maybe it should,” Bridget grumbled, turning off the car and getting out.

“Oh no,” Gertie whispered, just out enough into the road to see what had happened.

Bridget had hit a cat.

“No!” Bridget ran and kneeled next to the poor thing. Its eyes were closed and it wasn’t moving. “No! No no no.”

“It’s not your fault,” Gertie said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Of course it is!” Bridget started crying, her tears falling next to the black and orange cat.

“Bridget, there was nothing you could do,” Gertie said, crouching to try to meet her gaze. “None of us saw it. The same thing would have happened if either of us had been driving-”

“But you weren’t!” Bridget shouted and hiccupped a sob. “I...I killed it!”

“No, you didn’t,” Vivien murmured, as if she was listening very intently for something no one else could hear. She kneeled next to Bridget. “It’s not dead. It’s dying.”

“Is that any better?” Bridget asked.

“Yes.” Vivien touched the cat’s head. Smoke sizzled from between her fingers.

The cat’s eyes opened and it started to yowl in pain.

“What?” Bridget picked the cat up gingerly, afraid of making the situation worse. It was still badly hurt, but at least it was alive. “Viv-?”

Their friend had collapsed in the middle of the bike lane.

Gertie was frozen in place. What had Vivien just done?

“Gertie?” Bridget asked, looking up at her sister.

“It’s overexertion,” Gertie said, finally finding her voice. She kneeled and lifted the much taller girl up, heaving her arm over her shoulder. “She’ll be fine after a rest.”

Bridget took the cat back to the car and cuddled the pained creature in her lap as Gertie all but dragged Vivien along behind. It groaned and hissed but allowed Bridget to fuss over it.

“Let’s get the cat to Faye,” Bridget said, her jaw locked in determination. “She’ll be able to heal him.”

Gertie buckled Vivien into the back seat and got in the driver’s chair. She turned the car back on and clicked the magical driver button. It waited for instructions.

“We need to get back to Flories Boarding School,” she told it. “It’s an emergency.”

The car turned its blinker on and pulled out into the road, tires wailing. It made it to the left lane by the next light and executed a speedy, but perfectly safe, U-turn.

Vivien stirred at the motion and opened her eyes.

“I’m starving,” she mumbled, reaching into her backpack. She had some freshly baked cornbread in a tupperware container and started tearing into it. The smell wafted through the car, making Bridget’s mouth water.

“Of course you are,” Gertie scolded. “You nearly killed yourself.”

“No I didn’t, I just haven’t done much spirit work lately,” Vivien said.

“And never with real spirits,” Gertie retorted. “What were you thinking, stitching the cat’s spirit back into it’s body? You could have really hurt yourself.”

Vivien glared. “I’m fine, aren’t I?”

The cat yowled, annoyed at the arguing.

“Will you two be quiet?” Bridget said. The car pulled up next to the school, its hazards on.

“Go park,” Vivien told it once they had all unloaded. The car drove away, legally allowed to control itself while empty inside a parking lot.

The three rushed to Faye Nessing’s room. In the few weeks she had been at Flories, she had become known as a prodigy when it came to healing animals.

They banged on the door and Faye answered, her roommates looking annoyed behind her at being woken so early.

“What?” she snapped. She saw the cat in Bridget’s arms and gasped. “Hi there,” she said, crooning now. She checked his collar. “Erwin. Hi Erwin, what happened to you?”

The cat yowled, sounding almost like speech.

Faye’s mouth dropped open. “They hit you with a car?”

Bridget had known that one of the Nessing girl’s necklaces allowed her to speak to dogs. It seemed she had another that worked on cats.

“It was an accident,” Bridget mumbled, wiping away the tears that formed again. “Can you tell him I’m sorry?”

Faye pulled supplies down from her little dorm closet, mumbling about idiot humans, while Bridget watched on forlornly.

Nervously, Faye’s roommates picked up their purses and backpacks and shuffled out, leaving the healer to her business. They had been on the wrong end of distracting Faye from her work enough in her limited time at Flories, and weren’t excited for another lecture.

Vivien, meanwhile, was sitting against the wall outside the open door, chewing absentmindedly on her cornbread and deep in thought.

Gertie sat next to her. “You want to talk about it?” she asked, trying to be gentle.

Vivien took a deep breath and sighed. “What I did was beginning necromancy,” she said. “And it was so easy. I didn’t even think about it.”

Gertie nodded.

Vivien shifted, letting her head rest on Gertie’s shoulder. “I know that it’s...so incredibly dangerous,” Vivien said. “And...scary. And bad.”

“It’s not always bad,” Gertie granted her. “It just...has a history of being used for bad things.”

Vivien nodded, thinking of the wars against evil necromancers who had raised armies of the dead that she had been taught about in history classes. She took a deep breath. “The thing is...I just find spirit magic fascinating, you know? Even when it comes to necromancy.”

“Yeah, I do.” Gertie smiled. “I just don’t feel the same way.”

“I mean, I don’t want to spend all my time raising the dead,” Vivien assured her. “There’s lots of other magic we can still do.” Vivien offered Gertie a piece of the cornbread. Gertie took a bite. Vivien made the most tempting baked goods.

“Hand me that brush?” Faye asked Bridget, and Gertie turned to watch.

Bridget reached for one from a cup on Faye’s desk.

“No.”

Bridget pointed to another one.

“No.”

Bridget reached for the last one in the cup.

Faye gestured impatiently. “No! The one with the blue bristles.”

Vivien breathed in deep and let it out in a frustrated huff. “What do I do?”

Gertie tried to focus on their conversation again. “Hm?”

“About the...necromancy?”

Gertie thought about what she would do if there was something she really wanted to study, despite her misgivings about what Vivien wanted to learn. “Ask Headmistress Clearwater if she can arrange a class for next year,” she said. “Or sign up for a summer course at one of the colleges in the city. Or an online class. Or-”

“Okay, I get it.” Vivien smiled.

Gertie hesitated, staring down at the bread in her hand.

Vivien nudged her with her arm. “Hey, I’ll be ok. I won’t go skipping rules and regulations. I’ll do it right this time.”

Gertie tried to clamp down on the nerves bubbling in her chest at the thought of everything that could go wrong for Vivien if she went down this path. “Yeah, you will.”

“Okay, it took everything I’ve got, but he’s good as new,” Faye said, handing Erwin back to Bridget. “You owe me one favor.”

“I can pay in your favorite baked good,” Vivien said as she and Gertie stood.

Faye scoffed. “I don’t think you understand how much energy and material this-”

Vivien offered her a piece of the cornbread.

Faye picked it up, sniffed it, and took a bite. Her eyes opened wide. Gertie and Bridget knew Vivien’s baking; it was likely the best cornbread Faye had ever eaten.

“Yeah, okay, alright.” Faye nodded. “Two dozen apricot turnovers sound fair?”

Vivien nodded. “Expect them next weekend.”

The girls found Vivien’s car again, parked in the back of the lot. Erwin purred in Bridget’s arms, having apparently forgiven her for almost killing him. Faye must have passed along a sufficiently persuasive apology after all.

Gertie read the address from Erwin’s collar to the car, and it rumbled to life, taking them to a small house near the campus.

They rang the doorbell and waited nervously.

A pleasant-looking woman answered the door.

“Erwin!” she said, accepting the cat without a word from the girls. “Where did you get off to?”

The cat began yowling to her in the same way he had spoken to Faye. Bridget bit her lip from her nerves, trying to figure out the excuse she would give to Erwin’s owner as the cat ratted her out.

“Oh, you little fluffer, let’s get you inside,” the woman said, placing the cat on the floor. He sniffed and stalked off into the house. His owner turned back to the girls. “Thank you for bringing him back. Did you find him on campus? He loves the flowers there.”

“Yes,” Bridget said, letting out a sigh of relief. “Erwin sure does love flowers.”

Vivien offered the tupperware to the woman. “Cornbread?”

[just-fandomthings]

B, N, I, F, T

I am so sorry for responding so late; I didn’t see this until now. Oops! I can tell already that this is going to be long, so I’m going to drop this under a ‘keep reading’. I hope you enjoy my answers, anon, and are having a good day. :)

B: A pairing–platonic, romantic or sexual–that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind.

Aha! I love this question. Well, the credit goes all to @antanddecstuff. When I first made a tumblr, she was one of the first few blogs I followed. There was a span of time where she continuously reblogged posts about Niall Horan and Zayn Malik’s friendship/suspected romance. At the time, I knew who they were, but wasn’t interested in them at all. After weeks of scrolling through my dashboard, only to see pictures, gifs, and videos of them, I couldn’t help but see how strong their friendship was. And, behold, that was when I discovered a new platonic/romantic pairing that I had never considered before. Thanks @antanddecstuff for adding to my list of ships. ;)

N: N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

My main fandom as of right now is Sherlock, and this is the fandom I struggle the most with when it comes to the episodes’ plots, so I’m going to answer for this fandom. I wish there were more moments where viewers got to see John and Sherlock’s friendship develop. I suppose there are many things that fall under this answer, such as scenes that could have used a quiet moment where they explained concerns, fears, and their care for each other. I’ll give three examples and those can be my three things. John told the banker in TBB that Sherlock was his colleague, not friend (after Sherlock introduced John as his friend). I would have liked Sherlock to confront John about this, and John give his reasons for pretending they aren’t friends after he shot a man to protect Sherlock. Seems like they are friends to me... In TBB as well, I would have liked to see Sherlock being worried about John after he rescues him and Sarah. Maybe caring for John at 221b- John did have a nasty head wound, after all. Lastly, in TGG, I wish John and Sherlock would have briefly discussed how they have grown to trust in one another and care about each other greatly after they escaped from Moriarty. (specifically when John jumps Moriarty and tells Sherlock to run). Just in all of the episodes in general, I feel like it’s focused on the case, with their friendship in the background. Considering their friendship is what gave John a reason to continue living, and made Sherlock jump off a roof in order to protect John, I think there’s a lot of friendship development we don’t get to see that I would loved to have gotten to see. 

I: Has Tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why?

This is an interesting one to answer, because my longest running fandom is my first fandom from two years ago. I don’t have very many fandoms, to be honest. I really only have three fandoms I’m active in, although I have other pairings that I ship. I guess because I’m so limited (or perhaps devoted to the fandoms I am in already) I’ve never explored...so I can’t really say I’ve ever stopped like any fandom. Certainly never because of Tumblr. So, to answer in a word, nope! 

F: What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom?

Two years in the Ant and Dec fandom. I joined Tumblr in August of 2015 and that’s when I first joined the AAD fandom. However...I did re-write an ending to an episode from a TV show from the 1970s called Emergency! when I was eleven. At the time, I didn’t know what a fandom was, nor that I was technically writing fanfiction. I’m not sure if that counts, though. 

T: Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending? 

You have to pardon me, anon. I am horrible when it comes to this sort of thing. When I first heard the word ‘canon’, I had to ask @antanddecstuff what it meant. I was clueless. Even know, I probably still am, despite her awesome explanation. Wait, that’s different from ‘headcanon’. Shoot! Okay, I looked it up on google. (If you’re laughing at me, anon, don’t worry, I’m laughing at myself too. This is how clueless I am!) So, headcanons, eh? I’d say I have two that I’ll absolutely defend me until my last day. Number 1: Sherlock Holmes and John Watson are in love. In ACD’s novels, there’s subtext everywhere. In a foreword in one of the novels, it was written that Irene Adler’s character was created so viewers would not believe that Sherlock Holmes was homosexual. Not to mention in BBC’s Sherlock, John and Sherlock gaze into each other’s eyes as if the world’s greatest treasures are shown in those two blue eyes. The list of reasons why I believe they are in love goes on and on, so I’ll move on before I begin to ramble. (more than I already am). Number 2: Tony Stark is not a bad person. If you saw my page yesterday, you probably came across my rant about Tony Stark and how he is portrayed and seen by others. I think he’s someone who has been traumatized, broken, and hurt, which causes him to make quick, unwise decisions. He’s hurt people, and he used to sell weapons, but he’s trying to become a better person. He’s a better person than he was when Obadiah was alive , and he’s a better person than he was yesterday. Each day he’s trying to improve who he is as a person, and on top of that, he’s a genius with multiple jobs whose main goal is protect his loved ones by any and all means. He often gets seen as the bad guy because of his past and the decisions he has made, but no one seems to realize that it takes two to argue, two to disagree, and two to start a fight/war. He’s definitely not the only one at fault. He’s been beaten down, and I’d love to see him have a chance at a happier ending. He deserves to be happy. The guy’s been through a lot, but just keeps going. 

Hmm. I said I wasn’t going to ramble about Johnlock, which is my main fandom...and I ended up ranting about Tony Stark again. I do apologize, anon. I hope you enjoyed my answers, though! It was very fun to think about and answer. Thank you so much for your ask!