#tell me why the fuck does my tablet take better pictures

[toonymoon-doodles]

Soon, he will come home

I love this feral girlboss male-wife uncle. Bro went from 100 points to 200 when he fucking drugged Scott, then he went up to infinity when his official trailer came out. Man is unhinged and it's amazing!

[mactavishwritings]

Fresh Ink part two

Ghost x Tattoo Artist!Reader

No matter what happens to him, he always comes home

tw: tattoo needles and slight arguing

this one will primarily be from ghost's pov. will switch to reader's pov occassionally. this one is also slightly longer!

part one | part two |part three | part four

The days leading up to the 29th dragged on and on. Ghost couldn't wait to get back into your little shop. Price made fun of him slightly, "I told you that it would become an addiction soon."

The day before the team was suppose to be sent home and Ghost could get his next piece was the final piece of the mission they were on. It should've been so simple, but fucking Graves had to go and throw everything away.

Ghost pictured you sitting in your little chair, waiting for him. He wanted to call or something, but he couldn't. He was stuck in the middle of Mexico, directing Soap to a church. He knew you understood because for active duty soldiers, you did not have a cancelation policy. He always thought it was so sweet that you would do that.

Sitting around a table with the rest of the ghost team, they plotted their next mission. "After this, we should commemorate this shit. We should get little tattoos or somethin'." Soap joked and the team laughed. "We could go to Ghost's girl. She does a fantastic job on him." Price sent a wink Ghost's way and he felt himself tense. The thought of sharing you with the rest of the team made him feel jealous.

He didn't want to share your softness. He didn't want to share your kindness or your artistry. He refuse to allow the others to be tattooed by you, but it was your job; your livelihood. How dare he take that from you.

Ghost nodded. "Considering I was suppose to see her a month ago for my next piece, maybe she can fit all of us in."

You were laying in your bed when your phone started ringing. You were up late like usual, drawing the next day's appointments. You picked up your phone and noticed it was a number you didn't have saved. You usually allowed your clients to give your number out to their friends so it may have been the case.

"Hey this is (Y/N). If this is regarding a tattoo, can you please call again at a better time. It is 2am." You said into your phone, trying to be as polite as you could muster at this hour.

"Why are you up then? Shouldn't you be asleep?" You heard a familiar British voice ask in response and you smiled.

"I was starting to think I offended you or maybe you died. What's up, Simon?" You asked, putting your tablet down. You could hear other voices in the background. You guessed that he was still on the mission that caused him to miss the last appointment he had with you.

"I'm sorry for missing that appointment. Do you think you could possibly tattoo me and my buddies? We wanna get dumb matching tattoos?" While on the surface, it sounded like he hated the idea, but you could tell that he secretly really loved it. He had told you previously about how some of his tattoos were dedicated towards old team members of his who had passed.

"Sounds good to me. You and I can work out a day to continue your sleeve. For this group piece, wanna do like four weeks out? I don't have the book with me. I do know I should be free 'bout a month out." You slightly rambled.

Ghost smiled, nodding along to your words. "Yeah sounds good to me. I can just text you when we get back?" Ghost picked at his thumb again, feeling nervous that you would tell him to keep your relationship more on the business side. "Yeah of course. Now I have your number so I can text you shit about your tattoos." He could tell that you were beaming. He felt his shoulders relax at the thought.

Soap elbowed Ghost and started snickering. "Ghost is in looooove." Ghost quickly thanked you and you two said your goodbyes before Ghost turned to Soap. "I have never seen you so flustered, L.T." Soap leaned forward on his elbows, sighing dreamily. "Shut it."

-

A few weeks had gone by and Ghost opened the door for your shop. The rest of the team followed him inside, all looking around curiously. Ghost nodded at your receptionist. "(Y/N) in? I actually have an appointment for once." Emma smiled at the group. "Course. Let me grab her. Any of you boys need anything? Water, snacks?"

Soon Emma brought you out as well as some snacks and water. You smiled brightly at Ghost and threw your arms around him. "I'm glad you made it back safely. I worked hard on your half-sleeve!" You laughed.

"Price! How's it been? Lemme see the tat. I wanna see how it healed." You moved on to greet Price and Ghost stepped back, allowing you to greet the team. Soon you led the group back to your room.

Since he had been there last, Ghost noticed that you added a few more couches and just general sitting place. He took the one closest to your usual chair, Soap sitting next to him on the coach, Gaz sitting on the tattooing chair, and Price sat on a bench next to the tattooing chair. "Right boys. Let me know what you guys think. I've been doodling." You smiled and flipped your tablet around to show your designs.

Immediately, Ghost smiled. Most of the designs were serious; Skulls similar to his mask, actual grave markers with dog tags, guns shooting out a ghost. Then there were non serious ones; a cartoon ghost, a small group of ghosts who were holding baseball bats. The guys looked over the designs, all smiling and laughing.

"This is some good shit." Soap looked up at you as you were prepping your work station. "Thank you. I work hard for my favorite client." You nodded your head towards Ghost. Thank god he had his mask on because Ghost felt his face heat up. Soap reached over and nudged Ghost.

Price rolled his eyes and grabbed the tablet from Gaz. "I think we all like the design with the gun shooting out the ghost. I do want you to explain the baseball bats." Price looked in your direction. "Ghost team. Baseball team. Therefore, Ghost sports team. Duh. Alright who's first!" You responded, causing the room to erupt into laughter.

You printed out all the stencils and got them all placed on the boys. Price decided to go first and you got his tattoo done quick. It was a relatively simple design so it wasn't had to get done. Ghost was never able to watch you tattoo from this side before. He was always the one being tattoo, not the watcher. Your arms flexed with each line you created. Your eyes squinted when you concentrated. He felt himself relax in your presence like he did every time he heard the hum of your machine.

Gaz was next. He was the only one in the group who did not have a tattoo. "Is it gonna hurt?" He looked at you with big eyes and the rest of the group rolled their eyes. "Dude, you've been shot before. Grow up." Soap groaned. You laughed and started on Gaz's tattoo. Ghost felt himself tense as Gaz tried to get you to comfort him. It was clear the young man was flirting with you.

After you finished Gaz, Soap plopped down and looked at you. "How many do you have? Tattoos I mean." Ghost was thrown off. He had never thought to ask you. He was sure you had tons that had many deep meanings. "Well, I have two full sleeves. I also have a sternum, a few on my rips, I got two matching pieces on both thighs, and some on my back." You recounted. Ghost had seen most of the ones on your arms. When he first came to you, it helped make him feel at home to see that you were somewhat tatted.

Finally, it was Ghost's turn. He decided to put his piece behind his ear, close to his hairline. Each of the boys had picked different spots and this was an intimate spot for him. You adjusted the tattoo chair and patted it. "Alright, your turn." Ghost lied on his back and turned his head. He lifted his mask up enough so you could tattoo the spot, but didn't reveal his face. You placed a hand on his head softly, running a thumb over his forehead. You started on the tattoo and while the hum of the machine was loud, he could still hear Gaz flirting with you.

Ghost clenched his jaw and slightly adjusted his position, not wanting to mess you up. You suddenly also moved to block his view of the team and your hand rest on his jaw. Once you started tattooing again, he heard you whisper something. "Relax, Simon. He's just messing."

The way you tattooed the rest of the team compared to him was completely different. You were gentle with him. You held him softly in a way that no one had before. He had never felt such softness before and he wanted to keep you to himself. He could feel himself falling.

He could feel himself falling in love with you. Hard.

-

Ghost's appointment to continue his sleeve came and he actually was able to make it to this one. He had stopped at the local coffee shop before his appointment to grab your favorite coffee. After the team tattoo, the two of you started talking more. First, it was to plan out his sleeves, but now the lines between professional business had blurred.

Emma smiled when he arrived. "Coffee? Someone's really trying to impress her." She sent the man a wink before nodding back to your room. "She's already back there. Go ahead, Ghost." He nodded at her before heading back to your room. You had just put up curtains, after asking for his advice. He was glad you did, made the room a little more private.

He stepped into the room and smiled. You had a stick of incense burning, leaving a warm feeling in Ghost's stomach. You weren't facing him, in your own world. You had music softly playing and were nodding along to it. You were wearing a pair of black jeans that you had cuffed, a black short sleeve shirt that showed off your tattoos, and a pair of black shoes. You soon turned and noticed Ghost standing at the door.

"Si! Is that coffee?" Your eyes soften as you accepted the cup from him. "You're a life saver. I'll have this after so I'm not shakin' with the machine." You put the cup off to the side and gave Simon a hug. He wrapped his arms around you and all the tension melted away. You tended to have that affect on him.

"Ready to get started?" You adjusted the tattoo chair for him as he sat down. He pulled his sleeve up so you'd have full access. He nodded, looking over at your station. You had the stencil already printed out, ready to be fitted. You lifted it up and started fitting the stencil, cutting small dents into curves to fit his biceps.

"Feeling better?" You asked casually, causing him to look at you confused. "Last time you were in, looked like you were gonna rip the little one's head off."

"Oh..Gaz. I don't know what you mean." Ghost immediately got defensive. You looked at him with an unconvinced glare. "Simon. I'm gonna let this stencil dry and you are gonna sit here and tell me why you almost killed your teammate for flirting with me."

You sat back in your chair and prepped the ink. He looked at you, terrified that he was going to have to admit his feelings. He didn't want the one constant kindness to be ripped from him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want him to make you uncomfortable." He said flatly. You rolled your eyes and turned away from him. "Sure. Cause I was the uncomfortable one."

A silence fell over the room as the stencil finished drying. Ghost watched your movements carefully. He could tell you had a lot on your mind, a lot you wanted to say. As you sat back down and grabbed your gun, he sighed and turned his head away from you. "I'm sorry. I didn't like him flirting with you."

He saw you nod to yourself out of the corner of his eye. "Thank you. Why didn't you like that?" You asked as you leaned closer to him, starting to tattoo him. "Who are you? My therapist?" You smiled again and looked at him. "In a way. You're always relaxed with me. Expect for that day. I wanna know why. If it's what I think it is, then okay."

"What do you think it is then, little miss therapist?" Ghost turned his head towards you. He knew that you could break him down with a single glance and no one else in the world could do that. He would let you though.

"I think you like me. I think that you don't want to share me, because no one has giving this kindness before so you don't want to share." You said it so casually as if it was your coffee order. "Am I right?"

Ghost remained silent, not wanting to confirm for you out loud that you were correct. "It's okay Simon. I don't let all my client have my personal number to text whenever they want. I really like you too, so it's fine that you don't want Gaz to flirt with what's already yours." Your focus then went back to the tattoo.

Ghost was taken aback. He had always been so afraid to be so vulnerable, but around you, it came so naturally. He wanted to show you every side of him. He reached up and slowly pealed the mask off his face.

"Can I kiss you?"

[skzimagines]

Part one

Characters: Lee know x Reader

Genre: Angst | Friends to lovers | fluff | smut |

Warnings: Cursing | Crying | Yelling | slight physical fighting | Sexual content |

Summary: Minho is your best friend. He has been for almost 5 years. Minho never keeps secrets from you, besides the one where he’s madly in love with you. But when your deceiving boyfriend screws you over.. again, he does everything in his power, to win you over.

—————————————————————————————

The tears roll down my face as I look at the picture that was sent to me. It’s a picture of my boyfriend, shoving his tongue down another girls throat at the club. This isn’t the first time either. I thought I loved him, but at this point, I think I’m just scared of being alone. I’m in love with the idea that deep down maybe he does love me. I sigh as I forward the image to Minho, then lock my phone and throw it on my bed.

I wipe the tears from my cheeks, feeling the burning sensation as my hands rub against my face. Great, another week of having a dry cracked face. All because I keep forgiving this guy, just to have my heart broke again. My throat stings and my head is pounding. I grab headache medicine from my bedside table, hoping the tiny tablets will help take some pain away.

I hear my phone vibrate, but completely ignore it, thinking it was my boyfriend trying to get ahold of me and tell me how sorry he is that he fucked up again. My phone goes silent. A few seconds go by and it starts vibrating again. He wouldn’t call me twice. I pick up my phone and see Minhos face lighting up my screen. I answer.

“Hello?” I whisper, scared if I talk any louder than this, my emotions will get the best of me.

“Where are you?” Minho asks, I can hear the pity in his voice. The pity that I just don’t understand why he has. He has been through all of this with me, I really thought he’d be sick of me by now, taking that loser back and getting fucked over, over and over and over again. And every time I do, Minho’s the only person I go to.

“I’m at home.”

“I’m coming over.” He says.

“Minho, it’s alright. It’s late, I was just about to go to bed anyway.”

“Shut up, loser. I’m coming over. Stay awake.” He says.

I groan into the phone. He’s always been stubborn.

“Fine.” I give in.

“Okay, I’ll be there in a bit. Love you.” He says and hangs up the phone.

“Love you too…” I whisper into the phone as if he’s still on the other line and throw my phone back onto my bed, feeling tears fall down my face again.

•

A while passes until I hear Minho ringing my door bell. I get out of bed and make my way to the front door to let him in.

I open the door. “Minho you really didn’t have to…” I stop talking and my eyes go wide. It’s not Minho, it’s my boyfriend standing there, holding a single rose. I quickly try to shut the door but he’s faster. He shoves his foot in front of hit, stopping it from shutting. “Y/n, please let me talk.” He says. “No, I don’t want to hear it. Leave me alone.” I say, trying to shut the door again, but he still hasn’t moved his foot. “Listen to me! Alright? Im sorry! It was and accident!” He yells.

“An accident?” A voice booms from behind him, it’s Minho. In that moment, I’m thanking the gods that he’s here right now. “How the fuck is cheating on her for the 12th time, an accident?” Minho asks, with venom in his voice. Minho makes his way up to the door, hitting him in the shoulder, pushing him out of the way and making his way into the door. “So this is what you’ve been doing behind my back?” My now ex-boyfriend asks. “What are you talking about?” I ask. “You’re bringing him over, when I’m not here?” He says. “Oh fuck you!” I yell. “Fuck me? That’s really rich y/n. You haven’t fucked me in months. Is it because you’ve been fucking him?” He yells. “My life would have been much better if I had started fucking him before I met you!” I yell back. “Alright! Stop, enough.” Minho yells from beside me. He wraps his arm around the front of my chest, pulling me back into my apartment. “You need to get the fuck out of here.” Minho says, grabbing the rose from his hand. “Thanks for the rose, make sure you pass the rest of them out to your other girlfriends.” Minho says, with a smirk and slams the door shut and locking it.

Minho turns around to face me. “You good?” He asks. “I’m good.” I say, making my way into the living room. Minho follows close behind me. “What do we do with this?” He asks, holding up the rose he took from him. “Fucking burn it for all I care.” I say, sitting on the couch.

Minho walks away and returns shortly, opening the door to my balcony. “What are you doing?” I ask. “Burning it!” He says, holding up a lighter. I get up and follow him out onto my balcony. “Minho, we can’t burn this out here!” I say. “Oh hush, it’ll be fine.” He says with a smirk. He holds up the flower and hands me the lighter. “Burn it.” He says.

I flick the lighter, watching the flame rise. Minho holds out the flower toward me and I set the flame against it. We both watch as the flower engulfs in flames, and ashes to the ground.

Finally, the rose is nothing but ashes. Minho and I look at each other, bursting into laughter and falling into one another. “That may have been the cheesiest shit we’ve ever done.” I say. “No, the cheesiest thing we’ve ever done was definitely the time at the beach when we agreed to marry each other if we were still single by the time we’re thirty.” He laughs. “Well, by the looks of it… I think we’ll be getting married.” I sigh, smiling at him. He chuckles and pulls me in for a hug. He rubs my back in circular motions.

“Everything will be alright. I’m always here.” He whispers in my ear. I nod, taking in his scent. He always smells so good. I pull away and lean over the railing of the balcony, to stare up at the stars. Minho copies me.

“So, one question.” He says.

I look at him and hum in response.

“Is what you said earlier true?” He asks with a smirk.

“What did I say earlier?” I ask, giving him a confused look.

“About how your life would be better if you were fucking me before him.” He smiles while biting his lip.

My heart drops.

—————————————————————————————

Part 2 here

Tag list: @yumiblogs @chubbyanarkiss @chansbabygirlsstuff @multeciahucho @nhyunn

[dishtothedeath]

Class Action Settlement

There was a lot presented to them that they needed to address and to say. The room was vibrating with energy but as a message comes through from her tablet, she knows there’s not that much time left and they deserved the truth or as much as they could give.

So though she asked, Araceli knows better than to expect Tsuki to immediately comply so she can take the lead. Let’s start with an easy one.

“The staging of this finale is Severin’s handiwork… I’m not entirely sure how everything works but I do know that there were no plans to execute us. I… can’t tell you why it might be that he just ran out of time.”

She shouldn’t regret that that was the case. If anything she should be thrilled to live but it’s weighing on her. They wanted their justice, whatever form it took, but would have to wait.

“In any case, while what you’ve experienced here is real… the world at large does not think that is true. It was framed as a show and HDQ Entertainment bought out the broadcasters, networks, and internet providers along the way… There are people who have tried to voice concern but they are far and few between. Though I suspect that the proper authorities have already been alerted so… It’ll be easier for you to share your experiences if you so wish to.”

She had considered if her manager or dad were part of those people who cared enough to speak. It feels just as sick saying it as she remembers hearing it for the first time. Worse, actually. Back when she had convinced Basile to follow her lead even at the detriment of Tsuki.

Araceli stops her talking and keeps her eyes on him, nodding to signal that he should start. 

“Everything is a broad ask you know… besides I already said it early on… there was no good reason. The person in the pod, my brother, was just a bonus once I realized I could potentially use him for all of this too. 

The short of it is I was at a company party and happened to have a chance to speak with the boss about my future career… one bad faith joke after another lead to me saying that with how desensitized people are to the media these days we could likely get away with actually killing people on a show. I get along with some of his tech support staff who were sharing details of a new VR project going on since the environments fucked, so I added that we could use the people we kill to further the project. Honestly I thought it was corporate banter at first, but he liked the idea… This is where I’d love to say I’m a better person and I called him a freak, but once I saw he was genuinely invested… I mean honestly I was curious about it all.

So why? It was a sick joke between two corporate bigwigs that became real because neither saw an issue with it. We toyed with you like all reality celebrities are toyed with. And to be honest for most of you… you’re getting bodies back and will have full control, so there’s really only emotional damage.”

It was quick, clinical, and painless, at least on the Producer’s end. A clear lack of guilt in his words, in his tone, in his expression, save for a small glance towards Araceli before he closes his eyes and continues.

“I put Haruki into a coma when I tried to get him out of the picture… oh over a decade ago? Since then my mother made me replace his existence, as she could live without her second son existing, but her dear precious first born needed to live. Add some resentment, some wanting him dead, and now I have a chance to put him, or a version of him back so she’ll finally leave me alone. Like I said… he was just a bonus. If anything, the fact that research can at least potentially help other coma victims… is an even further bonus?

Despite the lack of chip in his brain initially, the combination of it, and some time has lead to his AI self being a one to one with how he was, and I never added any blanks in for him… it was just the system itself. The new issue is figuring out how to get my idiotic brother’s consciousness back to his physical body, but clearly I don’t have time for that anymore, so I’ll probably just shove him in a robot too, he’d probably prefer starting at 18 again instead of his atrophied body.”

As long as his brother was back so his mom could leave him alone, it was clear at this point that was all he cared about. Shallow, just like everything he claims.

“So, most people think this show was actually a performance by all of us, once you’re all in new bodies it will be like this never happened, and you can have as many chances at further life as you want until you’re done. Even us who never died, that chip can still be used down the road if wanted. Optional of course.”

Tapping the side of his head, the Producer continues.

“Orrrr you can stay in the servers. Love the whole virus idea, but you’d be just that. A global virus and I really don’t care to have several governments after me just because you want to hack Tesla’s. Soooo… those are the choices. Oh and to keep things from being all how do we know you didn’t add mass self destruction, I’ll work on Sunny first with him overseeing me. Then once Sunny’s back we’ll work on everyone else…

Until I get bored, then it’ll just be Sunny. He’s a fast learner he’ll probably figure things out, and if he really needs advice he can contact me. If anyone who is currently alive and wants a backup body since you also want a second life, you’ll have to let me know now. Otherwiseeee I can’t really do much, oopsie.

Feel free to pitch other ideas that don’t involve me dying though. Maybe I’ll consider them. Any cool special features you want your bodies to have like built-in roller blades.”

Thumbs up.

Araceli… doesn’t know how to possibly follow all of that up. There were bits and pieces she didn’t know and information being put into a different light. Whatever picture she had of Tsuki warped into a different form. She didn’t have enough fight left in her to scream or even get angry. It just hurt. 

“Right. You may not need it depending on what HDQ is going to have to spare, but Sweethearts can and will provide you with money, legal services, or.. connections but I doubt many of you would want to be involved in the entertainment industry.” She hadn’t gotten approval from this but Araceli knew the names and faces of all those who attended the meetings. This was only part of what she was owed. “Public Relations will also be handled on our side. Even if you want to disappear from the public eye, that can be arranged.”

She looks down at her tablet, carefully sending a message and looking to make sure that none of the dead glitched out more than they already have been. She receives a message in turn. There’s relief on her face.

“The rescue will be here soon, with medical staff for those who need it… Wherever you want to go, they’ll take you. You should pack your belongings, if you still want them. They’ll take you when you’re ready to leave.”

The Producer takes a moment as his tablet beeps at him and nods to confirm Araceli’s words.

“Meanwhile I have work to do. Please give your last requests of what you want so I know where to focus my efforts. If you don’t make one, I’ll choose for you. Perhaps I’ll see you all again, though, probably not since none of you really want that, if you really want to… I don’t know. Add that onto the requests because I’m assuming no otherwise?? You guys really are all so mean, making Sunny have to do extra work.”

[thornyrose463]

A Tale Of Three Dojos (Cobra Kai story): Chapter 4

Daniel and Johnny were in a bar.

Daniel talked about his fight against Mike Barnes at the 1985 All-Valley Tournament. “So, that’s when Mr. Miyagi agreed to take me back, and after I beat Barnes, I never saw Silver again, until today.”

“So, let me get this straight. The year after our title fight, they put you straight through to the finals? That's bullshit.” Johnny said.

Daniel sighed. “That's not the point. I'm telling you, Silver knows how to fight. I'm serious. I've seen his methods. I know how his warped mind works. The game has changed. We need to change with it, which is why I need to take over our students' training from now on.”

“Don't start this shit again.” Johnny told Daniel.

“Miyagi-Do defeated Silver last time.” Daniel said.

“Doesn’t mean it's going to work this time. If you're so worried about this son of a bitch, why don't we go down there and kick his ass right now?” Johnny asked.

“Because that's exactly what he wants. Why do you think he showed up at my dojo? Everything he does...” Daniel trailed off.

“Your dojo?” Johnny asked.

“You know what I mean. Silver's a psychopath, all right? You cannot strike first with this guy, trust me. Look, I just want what's best for Miguel and all your students.” Daniel said.

“Oh, so now you know what's best for Miguel, huh?” Johnny asked.

“I'm just sayin'.” Daniel responded.

“You know what your problem is? You think one win by one point thirty years ago makes you better than me.” Johnny said.

“Johnny, I mean...” Daniel trailed off.

“One lucky kick doesn't make you the better fighter. I was Cobra Kai's number one student. If anybody knows how to beat 'em, it's me.” Johnny said.

“Yeah? And how are you going do that? They strike first, you strike firster?” Daniel asked.

“Well, I'm not going to play defense all day.” Johnny responded.

“Worked against Silver and you, remember?” Daniel asked.

“Barely. We both know if we'd fought ten times, I'd have beat you nine!” Johnny yelled.

“We have fought ten times!” Daniel yelled.

The bartender walked up to Daniel and Johnny. “Gentlemen, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to keep it down.”

“Shut the fuck up. Beat it.” Johnny snapped.

The bartender walked away.

“We never fought to the finish.” Johnny said.

Daniel scoffed. “What? Is that what you want, Johnny? To finish the fight?”

“Think you'd beat me again? Prove it. You and me, tournament style. First to three points wins and takes over the kids' training.” Johnny told Daniel.

“You're on.” Daniel said.

“Tomorrow. Sundown on the sparring deck. You'd better not back out.” Johnny put some money on the counter and walked away.

“Oh, I'll be there. Don't you worry!” Daniel yelled.

The bartender walked up to the counter. He counted the money that was on the counter. “This is only three dollars.”

Daniel sighed. “Just…Just put his drinks on my tab and bring me another.”

The next day, Demetri and Hawk were at West Valley High.

Demetri was holding his tablet. He showed Hawk what he had learned about Terry. “Vietnam vet turned businessman. Had a few ups and downs, but still turned out pretty rich. Not much dirt, other than some toxic waste scandal in Borneo back in the 80’s.”

“Sounds like a Renaissance man. How did you find out his name?” Hawk asked.

“I took a picture at the dojo, found an old facial recognition beta test, and tweaked the code to make it compatible with HEIC.” Demetri said.

Moon, her boyfriend, Riley Carter, and Yasmine, walked up to Demetri and Hawk.

Riley had fair skin and blue eyes. His short, straight blond hair was styled in an Ivy League cut. His locks were a little longer on the top, allowing him to spike up his bangs. He was clean-shaven. His body was slender but muscular. He was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, dark blue denim jeans, and black low-top Vans sneakers with white laces.

Moon and Piper broke up a few weeks ago. Shortly after that, Moon started dating Riley, and Piper started dating a girl named Carly Bennett.

Riley didn’t do karate. He wasn’t involved in any sports.

Carly didn’t do karate. She wasn’t involved in any sports.

Yasmine smiled and twirled her hair. “I love it when you talk nerdy.”

Demetri smiled. “You are both the first and my favourite person to say that.”

Yasmine giggled and kissed Demetri.

Moon looked at Hawk.

“I like the new hue. Purple is the colour of the crown chakra, you know,” Moon said. “It symbolizes enlightenment.”

“Thanks. That’s what I was going for.” Hawk said.

Yasmine sighed. “Bad news. I just found out my dad's wedding is going to be in Sydney.”

“Sydney, Nova Scotia?” Demetri asked hopefully.

“Australia.” Yasmine said.

Demetri frowned. “Oh.”

“Since it's in May, I won't be here for prom or the tournament. But I'll still root for you. Consider me an admirer from afar.” Yasmine told Demetri.

“Hey, I will take whatever I can get.” Demetri said.

“Save me a seat at lunch?” Yasmine asked.

Demetri smiled. “Yeah.”

Yasmine giggled and slapped Demetri’s butt. “Specifically, this one.”

“Oh!” Demetri exclaimed.

“Later, guys,” Riley said as he, Moon, and Yasmine walked away.

“All right, no offense, but I have no idea how you pulled that off.” Hawk said.

“Neither do I.” Demetri said. “I guess I was just myself, and somehow, that worked.”

Sarah, Miguel, and Sam walked up to Demetri and Hawk.

“You guys won’t believe this. My dad got drunk and went on a Twitter rant.” Sarah said.

Sarah was wearing an unzipped black leather jacket, a white t-shirt, black denim jeans, and black ankle-length leather boots. Her naturally straight blonde hair was down. She had on a light amount of black eyeliner, a light amount of black mascara, and soft brown eyeshadow. Her lip balm was a pretty peach colour.

Sarah joined Twitter a few days after Johnny formed Eagle Fang.  

“I believe everything except for the part where he knows how to tweet.” Demetri said.

Miguel took out his cell phone and showed Johnny’s Twitter page to Demetri and Hawk. “Looks like he and Sensei LaRusso are going to have a rematch.”

“They’re really going to fight?” Hawk asked.

“Apparently. Should have seen this coming.” Sam said.

Demetri looked at Miguel. “Who does he even think he's tweeting to? You and Sarah are his only followers.”

Miguel put his phone away.

“I don't know. He seems serious about it.” Miguel said.

“So, this is real? Sensei and Sensei are going to throw down?” Hawk asked.

Miguel nodded. “Mm-hm.”

Hawk smiled. “That's awesome!”

At his dealership, Daniel was sleeping off a hangover.

“Daniel!” Amanda yelled.

Daniel jumped, startled. “Huh? Oh, hey, hon.”

Amanda took out her cell phone and showed Johnny’s Twitter page to Daniel. “Our daughter just sent me this. Anything you want to tell me? I thought you and Johnny were finally past all this.”

“So did I.” Daniel said.

“Well, apparently not. The two of you are about to have a showdown at the Okinawa Corral.” Amanda said.

“Wait. You're going to fight that stronz?” Louie asked.

“I don't know what that means, but are you sure you want to do this?” Anoush asked. “This guy had me in an armbar like he was Royce Gracie and I was...Me.”

“I’ve got to agree with Anoush on this one. Johnny's a bad man. He took down me and two bikers, and I had a bat.” Louie said.

“Okay, guys. Thank you. Appreciate it. Let's go. Come on.” Daniel told Louie and Anoush.

Louie and Anoush left.

Daniel sighed.

“What happened?” Amanda asked.

“Terry Silver happened. He's this certified wack job from my past who has just come back to Cobra Kai.” Daniel said.

“Another one? Seriously, Daniel? Are there any other Cobra Kais from your past who are going come out of the woodwork and destroy our lives?” Amanda asked.

“No. Well, I can't say that for sure.” Daniel said.

“Oh, my God,” Amanda muttered.

“Don't worry, okay? I know I can prepare these kids for whatever Silver's up to. I just need Johnny to step back and give me the reins.” Daniel said.

“Let me guess…You told him as much, he didn't like that, you didn't like that, and this is where you landed.” Amanda said.

“More or less.” Daniel said.

“You’re not actually going to fight him, right?” Amanda asked.

“Of course not. We'll sort this out. We just...” Daniel paused. “The booze got the better of us both. I'm sure he woke up as hungover as I did and realizes how stupid this all is.”

While listening to Survivor’s song Burning Heart on his cassette player, Johnny jogged, broke stacks of bricks, and punched and kicked the ocean.

Daniel was in his mansion.

Daniel walked back and forth. "Hey, Johnny. We both said some things we regret. I…Uh, I'm sorry if I offended you. No, no. Don't apologize. It shows weakness.”

Daniel sighed. “Let's just get this over with.”

Daniel picked up the phone and started pressing on the buttons. He stopped what he was doing when Sam walked into the mansion.

“Hey. Why aren’t you in school?” Daniel asked.

“Uh…I only had study hall left, so I played the cramps card and came home.” Sam said.

“You played the...” Daniel trailed off.

Daniel sighed.

“So, you're skipping class now?” Daniel asked.  

“I'm not skipping. I'm just setting my own schedule. What about you? Why aren't you at work?” Sam asked.

“I…Uh, I wasn't feeling well. I had a bit of a rough night.” Daniel said.

“Makes sense. I saw Johnny's tweets. Everybody at school is talking about the fight.” Sam said.

“Oh, great,” Daniel muttered.

“So, what did you do to set him off?” Sam asked.

“What did I do? That guy gets set off by anything, okay? That's the problem here, Sam. I've tried to make this work, and Johnny's impossible.” Daniel said.

“No, he's not. He just has a different style.” Sam said.

“It's not a different style. It's the wrong style. Now is not the time to be aggressive, trust me.” Daniel told Sam.

“Does this have something to do with the guy at the dojo?” Sam asked.

“Yeah. He lured me into Cobra Kai when I was young. It was only through Mr. Miyagi's teachings that I was able to snap out of it, so right now, we have to double down on Miyagi-Do.” Daniel told Sam.

“So, no more Eagle Fang? Johnny's never going to go for that.” Sam said.

“Yeah, so he says. That's how this whole thing started. We were...” Daniel paused. “But don't worry. There's not going to be a fight.”

“Of course not. Miyagi-Do is all about avoiding fights whenever possible.” Sam said.

“Yes, it is, and since when do you have a problem with that?” Daniel asked.

“Since a psycho attacked me with nunchucks. Johnny says that if we keep taking shit, they'll keep coming at us.” Sam said.

“That's what Johnny says? I'm sorry, Sam…Uh…Whose side are you on?” Daniel asked.

“I'm not on anybody's side. I just want to learn both styles so I have twice the techniques if I face Tory at the tournament.” Sam said.

“You sure you can wait that long? Your mom told me about the party. It seems you're doing the instigating.” Daniel said.

“Come on. Compared to what Tory has done, that was nothing.” Sam said.

“I get that. But we don't believe in aggression. That's not how we act.” Daniel told Sam.

“Maybe that's not how you act, but I can make my own decisions.” Sam opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. She opened the bottle. She threw the cap in Daniel’s direction and walked away.

After school, Miguel headed to his and Sarah’s apartment complex. Sarah wasn’t with him. She, Hawk, and Demetri had made plans to hang out at Hawk’s house. Johnny recruited Miguel to help him train, but Miguel was reluctant.

“You going to help me win or what?” Johnny asked.

“Honestly, I wish you weren't fighting at all.” Miguel said.

“Well, too bad, 'cause it's go time. You'll thank me when we're done with the kata crap and I can prepare you for an actual fight.” Johnny said.

“So, if you win, we train Eagle Fang? There's no Miyagi-Do?” Miguel asked.

“You’ve got it, Pontiac.” Johnny said.

“But what if I don't want to stop learning Miyagi-Do?” Miguel asked.

“What the hell are you saying? You want him to win?” Johnny asked.

“No. I...” Miguel paused. “Well, I guess the way I see it, no matter who wins, nobody wins.”

“Somebody always wins. That's how fights work, no matter what ancient philosophical bullshit LaRusso has been feeding you.” Johnny said.

Miguel scoffed. “Okay, Sensei. Well, good luck.”

Miguel walked into his apartment.

At the Cobra Kai dojo, as the students practiced their kicks, Terry talked about the importance of defeating their enemies when it mattered and ordered them to stay focused on their training until the tournament. Disagreeing with Terry’s orders, Kreese told him they needed to talk. Robby came up with a plan to get revenge without fighting.

Daniel was at the Miyagi-Do dojo.

Daniel talked to a picture of Mr. Miyagi. “I didn't want it to come to this. I've tried to do the right thing. I thought if we taught together, we could make the kids stronger. I tried to put aside the past. It's only a matter of time before somebody gets hurt. His ideas are dangerous. For my students, for my daughter, fighting him is the only way to move forward. And if I'm wrong, I just hope that you'll forgive me.”

Daniel began to train.

Kreese and Terry were at an upscale restaurant.

A waitress walked up to Kreese and Terry.

“Can I get you started with something from the bar?” She asked.

Kreese spoke. “Yeah. Cutty and water.”

Terry spoke. “Scratch that. Bring us whatever bottle of scotch your boss has stashed for special occasions.”

The waitress walked away.

“You don't have to do that.” Kreese said.

“I know. So, what did you want to talk about?” Terry asked.

“I want you to know I'm glad you came on board, but I want to make sure that we're on the same page. These things that you're teaching my students…” Kreese paused. “Well, they’re a little confusing. Cobra Kai never backs down from a fight, tournament or no tournament. We always strike first.”

“But you already did.” Terry said.

“What are you talking about?” Kreese asked.

“I'm talking about Robby Keene. You never told me his father was Johnny Lawrence.” Terry said.

“What does it matter?” Kreese asked.

“What does it matter? You stole the man's son. If that's not a direct attack, I don't know what is. Now you've got him and the other kids wrapped up in all your old drama. If you're not careful, it's going to take Cobra Kai down all over again.” Terry said.

“I've got everything under control, including Robby.” Kreese said.

“No offense, John, but that's not how it looks from where I'm sitting.” Terry said.

“It wasn't long ago that where you were sitting was at a vegan tofu brunch.” Kreese said.

“You were right about me, John. I was living a lie. I lost who I was along the way, but now there's nothing I want more than a second chance at finishing what we started. I just want make sure we win this time, and the only way to do that is to forget about the past and focus on our students. If we do that, everything else will fall into place. LaRusso will have to shut down Miyagi-Do, and Johnny Lawrence will rue the day he ever left Cobra Kai. So, what do you say?” Terry asked.

“I say we've got a victory in our future.” Kreese said.

Hawk wanted to get his back tattoo redone. His car had a flat tire. Sarah drove him to the tattoo shop.

A shirtless Hawk laid on a table, texting Moon and Riley about the upcoming fight between Johnny and Daniel. Sarah sat in a chair, watching as Hawk’s back tattoo was being redone.

The tattoo shop’s doors opened.

Hawk turned his head in the direction of the doors.

“Hey, Rico, you good?" Hawk asked.

Hawk and Sarah heard Kyler say, “Tattoo shop's closed for the day."

Kyler and the other Cobra Kai students walked through the doors.

Kyler smirked at Hawk. “Hey.”

“Shit,” Hawk muttered, getting off the table.

Sarah got out of her chair.

Hawk and Sarah started running.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Kyler asked.

The Cobra Kai students chased Hawk and Sarah. Hawk and Sarah kicked the table, causing Hawk’s cell phone and most of the Cobra Kai students to fall. One of Kyler’s friends stepped on Hawk’s phone, causing it to break, and then he ran towards Hawk. He grabbed Hawk and pushed him towards the table. Kyler was standing behind the table. Kyler wrapped a towel around Hawk’s neck and pulled, causing him to hit the table.

Kyler leaned over Hawk, looking at him with a smirk on his face. "You weren't that hard to find, you little bitch."

Tory restrained Sarah by wrapping one arm around her waist and the other around her neck. Sarah tried to step on Tory’s right foot, but she missed.

“You assholes just ignoring the no fighting rule?” Hawk asked.

“Oh, we’re not here to fight.” Robby said.

Robby pulled out a water balloon full of green paint and threw it at Sarah. Tory moved out of the way just in time. The paint got on Sarah’s shirt.

Robby pulled out a straight razor and walked towards Hawk.

Robby cut off Hawk’s mohawk.

As soon as the Cobra Kai students left the tattoo shop, the paint dried.

Johnny arrived at the sparring deck. He was surprised to see Sam, Miguel, Chris, Bert, Mitch, Nathaniel, and Demetri.

“What are all the kids doing here?” Johnny asked.  

“That's what happens when you broadcast your life all over social media.” Daniel said.

When a last-minute truce failed, Daniel and Johnny agreed to settle their grudge once and for all. With Sam and Miguel acting as referees and Mitch providing commentary, Daniel took a 2-1 lead over Johnny. Hoping to finish the fight, Daniel used Chozen's pressure point technique to disable Johnny's left arm. Johnny countered with a scissor-leg takedown in order to even the score at 2-2. 

“What the hell, man? Got any more dirty tricks up your sleeve?” Johnny asked.

“I’m not the one who fights dirty.” Daniel responded.

As Daniel and Johnny tried to score the final point, they kicked each other simultaneously and fell.

“Point, Lawrence!” Sam yelled, raising the flag she was holding.

“Point, LaRusso!” Miguel yelled, raising the flag he was holding.

Sam and Miguel looked at each other in confusion.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked.  

“Are you sure?” Miguel asked.

Demetri spoke. "Check the replay."

Johnny and Daniel groaned as they stood up.

Johnny, Daniel, Sam, Miguel, Bert, Mitch, Nathaniel, and Demetri gathered around Chris and watched the video of the fight.

“Go to another angle.” Johnny told Chris.

“There is no other angle.” Chris said.

“Don’t you guys have another phone?” Johnny asked.

Sarah and Hawk arrived at the sparring deck. Hawk’s hair was covered by his hood. He had tears in his eyes.

Miguel was the first one to notice Sarah and Hawk. “Sarah? Hawk?”

Johnny, Daniel, Sam, Miguel, Chris, Bert, Mitch, Nathaniel, and Demetri gathered around Sarah and Hawk.

“Shit. Sarah, Eli, what happened?” Demetri asked.

Hawk grabbed his hood and pulled it down. 

“Who did this?” Johnny asked.

“Cobra Kai.” Hawk said.

Johnny looked angry. “Kreese and Silver did this. They need to pay.”

“Jesus, Johnny. Please. Kreese tried to kill you last time. Now you want to fight them both?” Daniel asked, looking at Johnny in disbelief.

“Damn right I do! Look what they did!” Johnny yelled.

“Dousing the fire with gasoline? That's your answer? Why am I not surprised?” Daniel asked.  

Miguel looked at Johnny. “Sensei, stop.”

“You still think your way is the only way. You were so proud when they pulled their little sprinkler prank. If they stood their ground and kicked ass like I taught them, this never would have happened.” Johnny said.

“If they fight every time they're provoked, where does that lead? Back to the hospital? Or to jail? Just 'cause you spent time in both...” Daniel trailed off.

Sam spoke. “Enough, Dad.”

Daniel looked at Sam in shock. “What?”

“Johnny’s right. It doesn't matter how many times we stand up to Cobra Kai. If we don't strike back, they're going to keep coming at us.” Sam said.

Daniel looked at Johnny and scoffed. “And you were worried about my influence on your kids? Is this what you want, Johnny? To have my daughter and the rest of my students acting like you?”

Johnny’s jaw clenched. “You don't have to worry about it anymore, ‘cause we're done.”

Daniel sighed. “Works for me.”

“Eagle Fangs, let's go.” Johnny ordered.

Johnny walked away. Sarah, Miguel, Hawk, Bert, and Mitch followed him. Once Johnny and Sarah were in their apartment, Sarah changed her clothes and put her ruined shirt in the trash can.  

A few days later, the All-Valley Committee, minus Daniel, who was no longer eligible due to his sensei status, met up and talked about the upcoming tournament. Among the topics discussed were celebrity guest appearances and the recent increase in female viewership. Fearing that sanctioning an event where boys were encouraged to kick and punch girls could be perceived as problematic, the committee voted unanimously to create separate tournament brackets for boys and girls, as well as introduce a skills competition. Due to the new rules, there would be two All-Valley champions, and the dojo that got the most points would earn the title of Grand Champion and receive a trophy.  

Daniel, Sam, Demetri, Chris, and Nathaniel gathered at the Miyagi-Do dojo. Daniel told his students about the new rules. Sam was confident that she would win the girls’ division. Demetri, Chris, and Nathaniel were skeptical about their chances of winning the boys' division, believing they would be better off if they were still partnered with Eagle Fang. Daniel encouraged them to put the past behind them and see the new format as a potential blessing.

Johnny, Sarah, Miguel, Hawk, Bert, and Mitch gathered at the Eagle Fang dojo. Johnny wasn’t happy about the new rules. It was clear that they would need more female students. Bert suggested a girl from the debate team at West Valley High. Johnny told Bert that they didn’t need more nerds. Johnny told his students to run laps. Miguel tried to convince Johnny to recruit Sam, but Johnny was adamant about cutting ties with Daniel.

Kreese, Terry, and their students, minus Tory, gathered at the Cobra Kai dojo. Kreese and Terry were happy about the new rules, as neither Miyagi-Do nor Eagle Fang had the numbers to compete with their students separately. In anticipation of the tournament, Terry had purchased some new top-of-the-line gear for the dojo, insisting that Cobra Kai be represented in style.

As Tory was on her way to the Cobra Kai dojo, she encountered her aunt, Kandace.

“You're a hard girl to find. Avoiding your Auntie Kandace now, sweetheart? Ignoring my calls?” Kandace asked.

“What do you want?” Tory asked.

“Well, to see you, of course. And to ask if my sister's disability came in yet.” Kandace said.

“Need funding for another scam? That money's for us.” Tory said.

“Come on. My sister always promised to take care of me. She taught you better.” Kandace said.

“She taught me to recognize a low-class leech.” Tory said.

“Mind your manners. When your mom kicks the bucket, who do you...” Kandace trailed off.

Tory glared at Kandace and took a step towards her.

“Ooh. Quick temper, just like your old man. When your mother passes...Gracefully, then what? You think your daddy's just going to show up out of the blue? I'm all you’ve got.” Kandace said.

“You don't give a shit about us. You just want her survivor benefits.” Tory said.

“I was at little Bobby's 4th birthday party last year.” Kandace said.

“Brandon is 8, and next year, I'll be 18.” Tory said.

“Who do you think is going to win a custody battle, huh? You're a high school dropout and a criminal.” Kandace said.

“So are you.” Tory said.

“Yeah, but I know how to play the game. A judge is going take one look at you and laugh you straight out of court. See you at the funeral, sweetheart. Tick-tock.” Kandace walked away.

Johnny, Sarah, and Miguel arrived at West Valley High and made their way to the field.

A whistle blew.

“Okay. This is it. This is where most of the girls’ teams practice. You sure you’ll be able to convince them?” Miguel asked Johnny.

Johnny scoffed. “Please. When I went to this school, the only thing I was better at than karate, and I was pretty good at karate, was talking to chicks.”

Johnny patted Miguel on the chest. “Watch and learn, Diaz.”

Johnny walked away.

The cheerleading squad chanted.

Johnny ran alongside two girls who were on the track team. “Teen girls wanted. You’ve got to be under 18, or it's a no-go.”

The girls were creeped out and ran away from Johnny.

“No, not like that!” Johnny yelled.

A group of girls were sitting on the bleachers and looking at their cell phones. Johnny walked up to them.

“Let me guess…Posting photos on Facebook? You know what would look rad? A photo of you kicking someone in the face.” Johnny gave the girls flyers.

The girls gave the flyers back to Johnny and walked away.

Johnny walked up to a girl and gave her a flyer. “We meet out at the old Webber Industrial warehouse.”

The girl gave the flyer back to Johnny and walked away.

Johnny walked up to two girls and gave them flyers. “We're looking for badass chicks just like you.”

The girls gave the flyers back to Johnny and walked away.

Johnny walked up to a girl and gave her a flyer. “An abandoned factory smack dab between the pipe supply and the burned down Chuck E. Cheese.”

The girl gave the flyer back to Johnny and walked away.

Johnny told Miguel to take off his jacket and t-shirt.

Miguel took off his jacket and t-shirt, revealing a grey tank top.

Johnny poured baby oil onto Miguel’s cupped hands. "Trust me, the chicks are going to love this."

“Hey, too much!” Miguel yelled.

“You’ve got to get it into every groove. It's about molding highlights to emphasize curvature.” Johnny said.

Miguel rolled his eyes and lathered his arms with the oil.

Johnny walked up to two girls who were on the soccer team. “Hey, ladies, want to work up a real sweat? Try Eagle Fang, the most bitchin’ dojo in the Valley.”

The girls shook their heads and walked away.

Johnny walked up to Sarah and Miguel.

“Where's your beach ball?” Johnny asked Miguel.

Miguel sighed, then he flexed his arms. “Here's the beach ball.”

Johnny walked up to a girl.

“And the best part is that we have a whole stable of hot young dudes, like my man Miguel over here.” Johnny gestured to Miguel.

Miguel flexed his arms.

“You like what you see? He's not even in the top five. We’ve got babes and everything. Whatever floats your boat.” Johnny said.

“I’m asexual.” The girl said.

“All right. He's a sеxual too. Check him out. Total stud.” Johnny said.

Miguel kissed his right bicep.

“So, what do you say? You ready to become an eagle?” Johnny asked.

The girl shook her head and walked away.

A whistle blew.

Johnny, Sarah, and Miguel started walking towards the parking lot.

“I don't get it. I thought girls today were supposed to be tough. Why can't we find another girl for our team?” Johnny asked.

“Maybe not everyone needs karate, especially girls who are already on sports teams.” Miguel said.

Moon approached Johnny, Sarah, and Miguel.

Moon smiled at Sarah and Miguel. “Hey, Sarah. Hey, Miguel.”

“Hey, Moon. What’s up?” Sarah asked.

Sarah was wearing an unbuttoned long-sleeved green and white plaid flannel shirt, a white tank top, and beige ankle-length boots. Her naturally straight blonde hair was down. She had on a light amount of black eyeliner, a light amount of black mascara, and soft brown eyeshadow. Her lip balm was a pretty peach colour.

“Some perv was creeping on the track team, so we're going to practice inside. What are you doing here?” Moon asked.

“We’re recruiting for our new dojo, Eagle Fang Karate.” Sarah said.

“You should join.” Miguel said.

“Really? Okay. Yeah. That sounds like fun. Wait. Do...Do I have to hit anyone?” Moon asked.

“Hell yeah, you do.” Johnny responded.

“Oh, no, then I'm out. I can't do the whole physical aggression thing. You should ask my ex. She’s    the best athlete in school, and she's not afraid to get into a fight.” Moon said.

“Sounds like the badass babe we've been looking for.” Johnny said.

“You might want to take a different approach with her. Want some pointers?” Moon asked.

“Absolutely.” Johnny said.

Johnny, Sarah, and Miguel made their way to a local gymnasium. Some gymnasts were doing tricks.

Johnny, Sarah, and Miguel watched as Piper ran forward, did a cartwheel, then did three backflips.

“She’s fast, she’s strong…” Sarah trailed off.

“The girl’s a natural Eagle.” Johnny said.

“Oh, which one is yours?” A man asked Johnny, gesturing to the gymnasts.  

“Well, that one looks good to me. I haven’t talked to her yet, though. I'm still working on my approach. Got any advice?” Johnny asked.

The man looked horrified and walked away.

“Remember what Moon told you?” Miguel asked Johnny.

“Yes. I will be awake.” Johnny said.  

“Uh, no.” Miguel said. “No, no, no. Be woke.”

Johnny, Sarah, and Miguel approached Piper.

“Hey, Piper. I wanted to introduce you. This is...” Miguel trailed off.

“Sensei John Lawrence of Eagle Fang Karate. Let me tell you why my dojo is perfect for a modern young woman like yourself. We live in a world where you’ve got to be an alpha to survive. You're either a killer or you're dead meat. You’ve got be a man. At Eagle Fang, we confront that phrase and make it empowering for all. We teach anyone who identifies as female to embrace their queenly strength and tear down the neo-masculine hierarchy to confront internalized sexism.” Johnny said.

“Sounds inclusive, but what about non-binary and gender fluid?” Piper asked.

“Yes, fluids are crucial. If you don't hydrate, it affects performance.” Johnny said.

Piper laughed.

“And he's funny.” Miguel said.

“Well, actually, I have been meaning to join a dojo. I don't want to be the last person who doesn't know karate.” Piper said.

Johnny handed Piper a flyer. “Then today is your lucky day.”

“Hey, Piper, come check this out,” a girl called out.

“Okay, cool. I'll be there.” Piper said.

Piper walked away.

Johnny, Sarah, and Miguel exited the gymnasium.

“I can't believe you pulled that off. Did you know what any of those terms meant?” Miguel asked.

“Do I look like I pee sitting down?” Johnny asked.

Demetri arrived at Eli’s house. He made his way to the basement and saw Eli sitting on the couch.

Eli’s computer was in his lap. He was playing a game. His hair was covered by his hood.  

“Where the hell have you been?” Demetri asked.  

Eli paused his game.

“How did you get in here?” Eli asked.

“Your mom has left the key under the gnome since kindergarten. You should really think about increasing the security, given…You know, the karate war! But that's not important now.” Demetri said.

“What’s so important?” Eli asked.

“Didn't you hear? The All-Valley has separate gender divisions. Do I look like Miyagi-Do's best hope at defeating Robby Keene? Mr. LaRusso says that anyone can be the hero, but I'm not Batman. I'm more like Alfred. You're Batman.” Demetri said.

Eli looked confused.

“Oh, right. I forgot you're not a DC guy. Whatever. Forget Batman. You're the Hawk.” Demetri said.  

Eli sighed, grabbing his hood and pulling it down. “Not anymore.”

“Hey, at least it looks better than the last time I saw it.” Demetri said.

“Everyone at school knows what happened. It's embarrassing,” Eli said sadly.

‘Who cares what they think? Besides, it'll grow back.” Demetri said.

“It doesn't matter. I ruined my reputation, talked a big game, and just proved I was an asshоlе. To Sarah, to Miguel, and especially you. I got what I deserved.” Eli looked down at his lap.

“Hey, Sarah and I forgave you, remember? And I don't care if you have a mohawk, or a mullet, or pigtails. Miyagi-Do needs you.” Demetri said.

Eli looked at Demetri. “I'm not going back to Miyagi-Do.”

Demetri scoffed. “That's great. You're choosing Eagle Fang over your best friend.”

“I'm not going back to Eagle Fang either. I'm done with karate, man. I quit.” Eli said.

“You can’t quit!” Demetri yelled.

Eli frowned and shook his head. “I already told you, I made up my mind.”

Demetri sat on the couch.

“Hey, you’re the one that got me into karate, remember? I was perfectly happy playing Dungeon Lord after school, but you put me in a situation where I had to join a dojo. And you know what? It was the best thing that ever happened to me. I got stronger, gained confidence, got the girl of my dreams…” Demetri paused. “Even if she ends up leaving me for some hot Aussie dude she meets there. Hell, I'm actually excited about the All-Valley Tournament. I never thought I'd say that. But it's not going to be as exciting if you're not there.”

Eli didn’t say anything.

Eli continued playing his game.

Demetri sighed. "Okay, you're going to make me do this."

Demetri moved closer to Eli. He turned Eli’s computer off. “Excuse me.”

Demetri took out his cell phone. He opened the YouTube app. He showed Eli a video called “Binary Bros Theme Song.”

“You said you deleted this.” Eli said.

“I say a lot of things, which tends to be a polarizing attribute of mine.” Demetri said.

“Why are you showing me this?” Eli asked.

Demetri paused the video, then he put his cell phone away.

“Because this is who you are.” Demetri said.

“A loser?” Eli asked.  

“My best friend. I know you think that mohawk defined who you are, but it didn't. Not to me. Eli, Hawk...Hell, call yourself Cornelius for all I care. None of that changes the fact that you're my binary brother, whether you're number one or a zero.” Demetri said.

Eli smiled.

Tory arrived at the LaRusso family’s mansion and knocked on the door.  

Amanda walked towards the door. “Hold on. I'm coming.”

Amanda opened the door.

“Oh, so you're knocking this time.” Amanda snarked.

“Mrs. LaRusso, I need your help.” Tory said.

“Okay. Come on in. You remember the way?” Amanda asked.

Tory walked into the mansion.

Amanda and Tory made their way to the kitchen and sat at the table.

“So, the principal said he'd consider letting me back into school because of my situation at home, but your family would have to sign off.” Tory said.

“Well, I'm glad you want to get your life back on track. Going back to school is a big step. But I need you to promise me something.” Amanda told Tory.

“I'll stay away from Sam, I swear.” Tory said.

“That's great, but I want you to get support. Talk to someone. You've been dealing with a lot. You have been for a while. You should talk to a therapist, a guidance counselor, the Dalai Lama. It doesn't matter. Just someone who isn't karate related.” Amanda told Tory.

“Whatever it takes, I'll do it. I need this.” Tory said.

Daniel and Sam walked into the mansion.

“So, today was a setback, but the boys are going to improve. You're going to be fighting lots of new opponents. And...” Daniel trailed off.

Daniel and Sam noticed Tory. Sam looked angry.

“What the hell is she doing here? What were you even thinking? She didn't smash up the house enough?” Sam asked Amanda.

“I know this is difficult, but...” Amanda trailed off.

“You wanted her to go to jail, and now you want her back in school?” Sam asked.

“I don't want this rivalry dominating your life anymore.” Amanda said.

“Dad can't get along with his high school rival, and I'm supposed to go to school and be best friends with a psycho?” Sam asked.

“My and Johnny's differences have nothing to do with...” Daniel trailed off.

“Yes, it does, because you guys just do whatever you want. You don't stop to think that maybe I liked training with Johnny or I don't want to get my face torn off again.” Sam said.

“As long as she's in school, she has something to lose. She's not going to hurt you.” Amanda said.

“You're just going to believe her? You'll listen to what she has to say, but nobody listens to what I have to say? God!” Sam yelled.

Sam stormed off.

Amanda sighed. “Thanks for the backup.”

“She has a point. Why are you helping this girl?” Daniel asked.

“Did I tell you about the time I was arrested?” Amanda asked.

“Sure. What? It was a high school prank.” Daniel said.

“Right. And by ‘prank’, I meant I took a baseball bat to my math tutor's car. With her in it.” Amanda said.

“What? Why?” Daniel asked.

“She was having an affair with my dad. My parents' marriage was falling apart, I thought the world was ending, and I blamed her for taking it all away from me.” Amanda said.

“I know you didn't get along with your dad, but I didn’t…” Daniel paused. “I had no idea.”

“I was charged with misdemeanor reckless endangerment. I didn't walk my graduation. And then my parents divorced anyway.” Amanda said.

“Why did you never tell me?” Daniel asked.

“I worked hard to put it behind me. And it's not exactly a first date story. Or any date story. I was young and upset. And I'm lucky it didn't ruin my life. Tory's young and upset. Maybe she's a lost cause, but...” Amanda trailed off.

“We'll never know if we don't try to help.” Daniel said.

“All I want to do is try to break the pattern, Daniel. Kids like Tory get the same messages delivered to them over and over again the same exact way. Sometimes, they just need a wake-up call to change course.” Amanda said.

“She's not the only one who needs a wake-up call.” Daniel said.

A few days later, Robby walked into the mini-mart. He greeted the cashier, then he made his way to one of the shelves.  

Daniel appeared in front of him. “Robby.”

"Of course." Robby scoffed.

“This will only take a minute.” Daniel said.

“I can save you that minute. You’re here because you realized you’re training a bunch of wimps and you need a male champion, right? Let me guess…Your sales pitch is ‘I'm here to rescue you. This isn't who you are, Robby. I can help.’ Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,” Robby said with an emotionless expression on his face.

“I've said all that before. It's time to break the pattern. I heard about what you did to Eli.” Daniel said, taking a step towards Robby.

“I just gave him what he deserved.” Robby said.

“I'm not here to judge you. I'm here to tell you what's going to happen next. Terry Silver popped up out of the blue, right? He did the same thing to me. He'll seem decent enough, show you a few moves, and then he'll worm his way in, chip away at you, and push you past your limits. You'll become stronger than you thought possible, but Silver won't stop there, okay? This man is sick and twisted, and when he's done with you, you won't be you anymore. One day, you'll find yourself with some kid's blood all over your shirt, and you'll hope it's not too late to change course.” Daniel said.

Robby and Daniel heard Terry say, “He's not interested, Mr. LaRusso.”  

Robby and Daniel turned around and saw Terry standing behind them.  

“New equipment just got in. Why don't you go check it out?” Terry asked Robby.

Robby walked out of the mini-mart.

“It's considered unethical to poach students. You had your opportunity with Robby. Now he's with us. You should respect that.” Terry told Daniel.

“Respect? Res…You are not a sensei. You're a con man. Manipulating people to turn them into something they're not.” Daniel snapped.

“I didn't turn you into anything, Danny Boy. I brought out what was already inside.” Terry said.

Daniel scoffed. “That’s bullshit. You tortured me.”

Terry chuckled. “Please. You were a hothead. All I had to do was wind you up and get out of the way. And if you're being honest with yourself, you know you liked it. You were powerful, free. You just don't want to admit there has always been a little Cobra Kai in you.”

“We'll settle this on the mat. And when we win, Cobra Kai, and you, will be out of business.” Daniel said.

“One of us will be.” Terry said.

Daniel walked out of the mini-mart.

“If you're going to use this place as a conference room, buy something.” The cashier told Terry.

Terry glared at the cashier.

“T-Take your time.” The cashier stammered.

At the Eagle Fang dojo, Johnny and his students were waiting for Piper.

Sarah was wearing a green long-sleeved shirt, black leggings, and green high-top Adidas sneakers with black laces. Her naturally straight blonde hair was tied up in a high ponytail. She had on a light amount of black eyeliner, a light amount of black mascara, and soft brown eyeshadow. Her lip balm was a pretty peach colour.

Johnny spoke. “All right, so she's a little late. No big deal. Just a few minutes."

Mitch spoke. "Uh, 20 minutes, actually."

Johnny glared at Mitch.

Miguel spoke. “Okay…Uh…Look, I'll DM her. See where she is.”

Miguel took out his cell phone. He opened Instagram and viewed Piper’s story.

“Oh, no,” Miguel muttered.

“What?” Johnny asked.

Miguel showed his phone to Johnny, Sarah, Bert, and Mitch.

Piper, Carly, and their friends were smiling while holding Cobra Kai merchandise.

“Cool!” Carly yelled.

Carly had fair skin and blue eyes. Her naturally straight blonde hair was parted in the middle and reached her chest. She was 5 feet tall. She had a slim build. She was wearing a white t-shirt underneath an unbuttoned red cotton jacket, dark blue denim jeans, and red ankle-length boots. She had on a light amount of black eyeliner, a light amount of black mascara, soft brown eyeshadow, and nude lip gloss.

Carly was a lesbian.

“Nothing but the best for the best. Can't wait to kick ass with team Cobra Kai.” Piper said.

"She joined Cobra Kai?" Johnny asked.

"It looks like they made themselves designer gear for all the students. And they got a bunch of new recruits." Miguel said.

Johnny looked annoyed. “Great. That was a big waste of time. I even learned feminism."

"We can't just give up. If we want to win first place, we need to find another female student.” Sarah said.

“How? We don't have Cobra Kai's money. We have no chance at finding another potential champion.” Johnny said.

"Look, I wasn't a champion when you met me, okay? You made me into one, saw something in me that no one else did. Maybe you just have to see that in someone else.” Miguel said. “We just have to think outside the box.”

“Everybody, start thinking outside the box. Whatever that means.” Johnny told his students.

Sam decided to visit Aisha, who now lived in Santa Barbara. She drove to Aisha’s house and rang the doorbell.

“Sam?” Aisha asked.

“Surprise.” Sam said.

Aisha pulled Sam into a hug.

Sam walked into the house.

Aisha and Sam made their way to the living room. Aisha sat on the couch. Sam sat in an armchair.

“I can't believe you drove all the way to Santa Barbara.” Aisha said.

“I can't believe you live in Santa Barbara. Your house is beautiful.” Sam said.

“Thanks. My dad got a job offer from UCSB that he just couldn't pass up.” Aisha said.

“Wait, so the fight at school had nothing to do with it?” Sam asked.

“Oh, it had plenty to do with it. My parents were pissed. I broke a kid's nose. Who knew these things were lethal weapons?” Aisha asked, making a fist.

Sam didn’t say anything.

“You didn't drive two hours to talk about the butts I've kicked. What's going on?” Aisha asked.

“Tory wants to come back to West Valley High. My parents want me to be cool about it.” Sam said.

“We're talking about the same overprotective LaRussos who made me wear a helmet on your trampoline?” Aisha asked.

“She sold them some sob story. I just feel like I don't have control of my life.” Sam said.

“When I started my new school, there was this girl in my homeroom. Pink for days. Looked like she walked out of a Malibu Barbie beach house. She gave me a look that I'd seen before. I just knew she was going to be my next bully. But I wasn't going to let the cycle repeat itself. So, I walked up to her, and you know what I did?” Aisha asked.

“Is this going to be another front wedgie story?” Sam asked.

“I introduced myself. I told her I liked her shoes. I didn't, but it seemed like the polite thing to do.” Aisha said.

Sam chuckled.

“I told her I was new and asked if she could show me around.” Aisha said.

“How did that go?” Sam asked.

“She's my bestie. My new school bestie. You'll always be the OG. I attacked my problem head-on. I struck first.” Aisha said.

“Just like Johnny taught you.” Sam said.

“My parents moved here to get me away from the karate drama, but they can't stop me from using the lessons I learned from Sensei Lawrence. I set my own terms. Set yours.” Aisha told Sam.

At West Valley High, Miguel, Sarah, Bert, and Mitch were watching the debate team practice.

A girl named Devon Lee was standing in front of a podium. “Capital punishment is a legal penalty of the U.S. state of California. As of March 2019, further executions are halted by an official moratorium ordered by government officials.”

Johnny snuck into the school and took a seat next to Miguel.  

“What are you doing here? You said debate was for nerds.” Miguel said.

“It is, which is why we're ditching it. You're right. I'm not giving up on the girls' competition. I'm thinking outside the box. Look.” Johnny opened a black duffel bag and pulled out a blonde wig.

“You ever see the movie Ladybugs?” Johnny asked.

Miguel, Sarah, Bert, and Mitch didn’t say anything.

Sarah was wearing an unbuttoned dark blue denim jacket, a green t-shirt, dark blue denim jeans, and green high-top Adidas sneakers with white laces. Her naturally straight blonde hair was down. She had on a light amount of black eyeliner, a light amount of black mascara, and soft brown eyeshadow. Her lip balm was a pretty peach colour.

“I had to sit through it with a babe. Long story. Anyway, this coach…The guy gets no respect. He has this all-girls soccer team that totally sucks. He gets his stepson to dress like a chick, and they start winning.” Johnny said.

Miguel looked at Johnny in confusion. “You want me to dress like a girl?”

"What? No. I need you to win the boys’ competition. I'm thinking of Penis Breath. Not the best fighter, but he stands a shot against the chicks, except maybe Sarah, Sam, and Tory. What do you think?" Johnny asked.

“A lot of things. I don't know where to start.” Miguel said.

Devon looked at the boy across from her. "My opponent is full of crap. His evidence is garbage, his arguments don't make sense, and I was bored to death, which is ironic, considering we're debating the death penalty."

"Uh…You're not going to deduct points for lack of decorum?" He asked.

Devon scoffed. "Screw decorum. Want to know what I really think of the death penalty?"

Devon walked up to him. She grabbed his book and ripped it in half.

“My book!” He yelled.

"Choke on it. I cede my time." Devon returned to her side of the stage.

Bert spoke. "Sensei, that's the girl I told you about. She loves extracurriculars."

Johnny spoke. "Can it, Bert. I just found another potential champion.”

At the Miyagi-Do dojo, Daniel began prepping Demetri, Chris, and Nathaniel for the All-Valley Tournament, even going so far as to set up speakers around the sparring deck and getting the speakers to play crowd noise.

While Daniel was sparring with Demetri, Eli showed up at the dojo.

“Well, look who decided to come back. It's good to see you, Eli, or is it Hawk?” Daniel asked.

“Doesn't matter. I'm just here to do what I can to help out the team.” Eli said.

“That's good. The more help, the better. But first, you need a gi.” Daniel said.

Daniel walked away.

Demetri smiled at Eli. “Good to have you back, man.”

Demetri and Eli did a bro hug.

Sam was stretching in the interior dojo.

Daniel walked in.

“Oh, hey. I didn't know you were in here.” Daniel said.

“I didn't want to interrupt your boys’ club.” Sam said.

“Hey, Sam, about yesterday...” Daniel trailed off.

“No, Dad, it's fine. You and Mom were right. It's time to leave the past behind us, right?” Sam asked.

“Yeah. I'm proud of you, Sam. It's never easy being the bigger person.” Daniel said.

When he got home, Eli texted Sarah. The text read “I need to tell you something. I joined Miyagi-Do. I was going to quite karate, but Demetri talked me out of it.” Sarah’s reply was, “If joining Miyagi-Do means you’ll keep doing karate, then it’s fine by me. You’re amazing at it. It’d be a shame if you quit.”

The next day, Sam drove herself and Sarah went to a clothing store. They wanted to find dresses and shoes to wear to prom. Sam picked out a dress and a pair of shoes, then she showed Sarah a dress and a pair of shoes she thought would look good on her. When Sarah said she wouldn’t know how to walk in the shoes because she had never worn heels, Sam said she would teach her.

A few days later, Tory arrived at West Valley High and handed her bag to the security guard.

The security guard inspected Tory’s bag, then they grabbed a metal detector and scanned her body.  

The security guard spoke. “Okay, you’re good to go.”  

Tory grabbed her bag and walked down the hallway. Several students stared at her.

“It’s her,” a girl whispered.

Tory walked up to Sam.

“I heard you let me back in, LaRusso, so I guess I should…” Tory trailed off.

Sam glared at Tory. “I don't know what game you're playing, but I'm not scared of you. You're not in control here. I am. My parents might fall for your bullshit, but if you so much as look at me funny, I will kick your ass for a third time. I'm coming for you, bitch.”

Sam walked away.

[britishassistant]

I wonder what the supervillains (the dorm leaders) would do if they get switched with their other self in Twisted Wonderland.

They'll meet a younger Yuu calls them senpai and probably get shivers when they hear someone shout Prefect but then realize its Yuu's role in that world.

Bonus would be if Yuuken's there too, sharing the dorm with Yuu.

Thank you for the ask, dear anon!

I decided to take a little inspo from my Villainous Paranoiac series for this one! Not a whole lot, but the idea of Twisted Wonderland Yuu being put in the infirmary after the events of Chapter Five!

(Also consider it non-canon, since it kinda involves everyone’s identities being exposed!)

Basically imagine that the supervillains find themselves in what looks like a private school infirmary, late at night. The air is buzzing with a strange energy, almost like the powers back in their home world, but...different, somehow.

The room nearly empty, save for one occupant in a cot close to the door.

Poison Queen and King immediately begin bickering over whose fault this mess is, while Royal Flush tries to get them to keep their voices down or else they’ll be detected. Charon is half a minute from going to curl up in a corner, clutching his freeze ray like a lifeline, while Octo Dealer and Snake Charmer are busy inspecting their surroundings for anything of value or that can be requisitioned into a weapon on short notice.

Tsunotaro has wandered over to inspect the sole other living being in the room with them.

He is pleasantly surprised to see what looks like a younger version of the reporter he’s so fond of, fast asleep in the infirmary cot. Their cheeks still retain the last bit of baby fat from childhood, and there’s some acne left that will fade with age. He may give one cheek a gentle poke, just to satisfy his curiosity. The sleepy mumble they let out is a little more high pitched than normal, but that’s the reporter’s voice alright.

He is less pleased to see dark circles under their eyes, or the bandages around their throat that stink of medicinal salves. If this truly is a younger version of his child of man, then why do they look so worried, even in sleep? Why are they injured and sleeping in this place of healing in the first place? They’re a mere child, barely old enough to operate a vehicle or live alone. Their only worries should be trivial things, not whatever is causing this furrow in their brow and hunch in their shoulders.

The other supervillains have begun to migrate over to where Tsunotaro is crouching in silent contemplation. King flips his eyepatch up to get a better look, whistling lowly. Octo Dealer busies himself with refilling their water glass, sneaking glances at them as he places it within easy reach. Snake Charmer pulls their pillow more under their head from where it’s almost slipped off. Poison Queen straightens the arrangement of the very tasteful bouquet on the bedside table, so the flowers’ best angle is shown to the bed’s occupant. Royal Flush carefully tucks their covers in over them.

Charon takes a picture with his tablet.

He forgot to turn off his flash.

Yuu cracks their eyes open...

To see seven adults looming over their bed in masks that resemble the ink from the overblots that haunt the Prefect’s nightmares.

Cue terrified screaming.

Snake Charmer lunges forward instinctively to cover Yuu’s mouth—

It’s only thanks to Poison Queen yanking him back that he doesn’t end up with an arrow in the shoulder.

Several more follow the first one through the window above the prefect’s cot, cold iron sharp and perfectly aimed to seriously maim if the supervillains don’t immediately get away from the screaming teenager. Rook was lax in protecting the Trickster after VDC ended, assuming there was no more danger after Roi du Poison’s overblot was saved. He will not make that mistake again.

The infirmary doors burst open, a younger Yuuken in a sleep-rumpled uniform barging in from where he decided to sleep outside because Ramshackle felt too empty and quiet to bear, but was forbidden from staying in the infirmary himself. He only has a pillow, but he brandishes it at the strange adults, fully willing to defend his dorm mate in whatever way he can.

The vanguard appears in a flurry of bats though, too many to fight off, small and vicious and furious. Their commander materializes in the center if the swarm, hovering over the head of Yuu’s cot, pink eyes brimming with a cold rage that makes his small and cute form look like it’s bursting at the seams holding something much older and angrier back. He opens his mouth, fangs long and glistening—

Only to stop short at the sight of one of the supervillains. “Malleus? Malleus Draconia?”

Tsunotaro nods warily.

“Wh-What in Twisted Wonderland are you wearing??”

Tsunotaro ducks his head like a chastened child. “I could say the same thing.” He mutters sullenly.

From there the lights get turned on, and the seven supervillains are made to explain themselves to the sleep-deprived students and staff who trickle in to see what’s going on. All six dorm leaders and one vice dorm leader vanished from their beds, setting everyone on high alert until news of these...alternate versions spread.

It is very weird for the supervillains to see all their minions as teenagers (again in some cases). It is only surpassed by how weird it is for everyone else to see their dorm heads and vice head all grown up and adult, even if they are dressed weird.

Ortho still wants to shoot them with a beam until they bring back his nii-san. Luckily Charon is able to convince him that Idia should be fine if he’s in Charon’s lair—he’s got plenty of the latest games, manga and tech for him to play with, so that should keep him occupied for a while.

Sebek is in a state of Malleus awe. He has shut down and will not restart. Silver has taken to pinching himself just to make sure this isn’t a Lilia’s cooking induced fever dream, while Lilia himself scolds Tsunotaro that he raised him better than to go around watching people sleep like that! Tsunotaro tries to use the “but I’m a supervillain” excuse, only for Lilia to shoot back “and I’m a war criminal in some nations, what’s your point?”

King is enjoying watching the overgrown lizard get scolded. Now if only the tiny Ruggie would stop asking him what injury the eyepatch is for, and making remarks about how embarrassing it would be if it were totally pointless—King does not pay his adult self so much to put up with this shit. The baby Jack also needs to stop demanding to know if his adult minion self can pull a sled faster than a moose or something...

Jade and Floyd are attempting to wind up the adult Octo Dealer, trying to see how much they can get away with compared with the normal Azul. Octo Dealer is legitimately at a loss as to how this world’s Azul doesn’t keep them in line without letting them turn to a crime or two. Then he learns about Azul’s contract business and feels a pang of commiseration and understanding.

Poison Queen, Royal Flush, and Snake Charmer are unpleasantly shocked when their dorms address them by their respective secret identities in front of their fellow supervillains out of the blue.

Poison Queen has to put up with King’s uncontrolled laughter as he finally understands the full extent of the incident with White Neige so long ago, while Tsunotaro tries to tell him he liked Schoenheit in his role as the evil dragon prince in the GaoGao dramatization. Royal Flush is about two seconds away from throttling Octo Dealer if the bastard doesn’t stop trying to make a deal to guarantee his mother doesn’t learn about her son’s private activities. Snake Charmer’s just glad his civilian identity flies under the radar enough that Charon has to try and look him up to understand who he is (and fails because he’s not on school wifi and his cellular data is bust).

Poison Queen is also getting a headache from Rook rhapsodizing about how his villain form is another, enhanced mode of beauty he is fortunate to lay eyes upon, as if he hadn’t been willing to skewer Poison Queen along with the rest of the supervillains five minutes ago. He’s at least able to amuse himself by letting Epel run away with his speculations about how he’s the buff hyper-masculine muscle for Poison Queen.

Kalim is crying that Jamil had to resort to becoming a villain in his home world! He must be so sad if he has to do that! He’s mildly cheered up when Snake Charmer tells him they work together on schemes, and that Snake Charmer is actually reasonably happy with his chosen vocation—and then he begins panicking that Jamil will like that world so much, he won’t want to come back.

Royal Flush is glad his counterpart at least has good people around to look after him, even if it is odd to have young versions of Trey and Cater trying to mother hen him despite the fact that he’s the older one now. At least Ace and Deuce acting up seems more fitting now considering their age than it ever did on their adult selves.

Ace huffs a sigh and leans on Yuu’s shoulder. “This is a mess, huh Prefect?”

“You said it.” Yuu replies. “I just wanna sleep forever.”

The supervillains go still.

“I’m sorry,” Snake Charmer says carefully. “But isn’t Enma-san the Prefect?”

“No?” Yuuken replies, confused. “Yuu’s the prefect of Ramshackle Dorm. I’m their vice— or would be, if we had any other students apart from them, me, and Grim.”

Octo Dealer laughs, sounding slightly strained. “Ah, apologies, but you see, that isn’t possible. It can’t be. Yuu isn’t—”

“But I am the prefect, Azul-senpai.” Yuu the Prefect says. “I’ve–I’ve always been the prefect.”

There’s a stunned silence.

Royal Flush places his head in his hands. “What the fuck.”

Back in the Supervillain AU universe, Yuu the Reporter sneezes sharply while trying to wrangle five frightened teenagers, one frightened-but-playing-tough twenty year old, and one confused however-old-he-is-but-younger-than-Tsunotaro fae.

They wonder what the chill down their spine is.

[nethandrake]

Blood In The Water

stevethortony. mcu. rated t. 1.8k words.

based on this fanart i commissioned from​ @justlous-art

also on ao3.

*****

Press conferences, in Clint’s opinion, are one of the worst things he has to experience.

Every time the Avengers has to host one (which is usually almost every fucking week), it’s always the same old reporters throwing accusations, the same old debates being tosses around, the same old headaches and boredom creeping into his mind. They always end with everyone in a shitty mood.

The only upside Clint could see is that he only needs to speak up if a question’s directed his way. Otherwise, it’d be their co-leaders’ job to fend the wolves off.

Their co-leaders who are currently and unfortunately answering another stupid question from the press.

“Yes, Stark Industries will be footing the bill,” Steve says tiredly.

“We always do,” Tony chimes in. “Now, you with the green-striped tie. You’re up.”

The journalist in question straightens, fixing his tie. Clint doesn’t remember seeing him at any of the conferences but he looks awfully familiar.

“He’s from Fox News,” Natasha supplies next to Clint.

It takes everything in Clint to not bash his smash his face against the conference table. “Shit.”

“Shit indeed.”

“It is no secret that Mr Stark is, to put it lightly,” Fox Man begins, his reedy voice making Clint’s skin crawl, “promiscuous—”

“What does this have to do with the giant squid we took down?” Steve interrupts.

“—and have been known to get into relationships with men, women—”

“What is the point of this?” Thor cuts in, his cool demeanor now turned irritated. “We are deviating from the—”

“My question to you, Captain,” Fox Man continues, unperturbed, “is, what are your thoughts regarding Mr Stark and Mr Odinson’s…relationship?”

Tony stills as murmurs begin to fill the room. Pepper immediately whips her tablet out.

It’s not the first time Clint’s heard of rumors of the Avengers dating amongst themselves but it’s never been brought up during their press conferences.

First time for everything, he supposes.

Thor jumps to his feet, slamming his hands on the table. Outside, thunder crackles.

“You dare—”

Steve isn’t doing much better to rein his temper in, leaning forward with a dangerous glint behind his eyes. “I’d be careful with what you say next. Rumors of the Avengers fraternizing isn’t new so—”

“Oh, this isn’t just a rumor,” Fox Man says coolly. He jumps to his feet, holding out his phone. “I happen to have…proof.”

In a flash, Happy strides over, most likely to block the man’s path like the good Head of Security he is. Steve waves him off, beckoning for the device to be handed over to Clint.

On the phone is a picture of Thor and Tony kissing in a dimly lit alleyway. Or at least, men who are supposedly Thor and Tony. It’s hard to tell since the quality’s crap.

Then again, they’re both bathed in a soft blue glow. A soft blue glow that Clint’s come to associate with the arc reactor.

“That isn’t photoshopped,” Fox Man claims. “If you swipe left, you’ll find a video.”

True enough, there is one of Thor pushing Tony against the wall and god, that’s so gross. Who knows what’s on that wall—

Natasha snatches the phone out of Clint’s grasp, giving it a long once-over.

“Thoughts?” Clint murmurs.

“It looks authentic,” she admits.

Well, then. Fuck.

When the phone ends up in Steve’s grasp, Clint swears cracks form on the screen.

“I would like to know if there have been…issues between you and Mr Stark,” Fox Man continues like the oblivious idiot he is. Clint’s ready to reach pluck an arrow from his quiver and pin the asshole to a wall. “You come from a different time, a time where traditional and wholesome American values are valued. Mr Stark isn’t known for possessing such values. And it is widely known that you and Mr Stark did not get along. And with this…alien—”

“I get it,” Steve growls. It’s been a while since Clint’s seen in this furious. He looks ready to pounce, if Tony hasn’t stilled him in place.

Steve’s features meld into something soft, a look that Clint’s privately coined as the ‘Tony Look’. Oddly, it’s the same look he flashes Thor. The three of them trade glances, glances that only a super soldier, a god, and a genius would know. Tony’s lips curl into a reassured smirk. The other follow suit.

Clint wonders if that’s how Natasha and him are like. Because damn, he gets why people think it’s eerie.

“First of all, let me be clear about this,” Steve begins, “I will not let you or anyone disrespect my friends like that ever again. This is a warning to the rest of you all as well. You, however, I’ll make sure you’ll be banned from the next conference. And don’t think I won’t remember your face. Because I will. I have a good memory. As for your question, I don’t have anything to say about that. But I do have something to show you.”

Without hesitation, Steve leans over to capture Tony’s lips in his.

Clint would’ve toppled over if Natasha hadn’t steadied his chair.

“That’s…”

“Bold?”

“I was gonna say unexpected,” Clint says. “But yeah, sure. Let’s go with that.”

It’s an open secret among the Avengers that Steve and Thor have been hopelessly pining for Tony for months, even going so far as trying to outdo each other with their efforts of wooing Tony.

Judging by the way Tony’s cupping Steve’s face as they make out and the shit-eating grin Thor has plastered on as he saunters over to the two, it seems like they’ve come to a mutual agreement. A silent mutual agreement.

How the fuck did this escape the rest of their notice? Of Clint’s notice? Steve and Thor are two of the least subtle people around. The fact that they and Tony could keep their relationship on the downlow is blowing Clint’s mind.

Steve and Tony part with a quiet smack. Tony turns in his seat to fist Thor’s shirt to give his own kiss.

“I think my brain’s short-circuiting.”

Natasha scoffs. “You’re acting as if you’ve never seen two men kiss in your life.”

“Well, I’ve never seen my friends kiss each other,” Clint hisses. “You gotta cut me some slack here. I mean, look at Bruce.”

“Bruce looks fine.”

“His eyebrows look like they’re gonna climb off his forehead.”

Steve’s cheeks are flaming red when he shyly turns back to the stunned crowd in front of him. His expression quickly turns icy when he meets Fox Man’s eyes, who looks torn between hiding in a hole or lighting the rest of them on fire.

“Does that answer your question?” he challenges. “Or do you need me to give you another demonstration?”

Thor doesn’t let Fox Man reply, smirking as he inches over to Steve. “I dare say we have not finished his question, my love.”

And with that, he seals Steve’s lips with his.

Clint almost passes out.

“Okay,” Natasha says. “Now, that? That I didn’t see coming.”

Tony’s all smiles as he watches his boyfriends (boyfriends!!!!!) make out in front of everyone. It’s the smuggest and proudest he’s ever seen him.

“Suck it,” he says into the microphone, casually flipping off Fox Man, who looks like he’s ready to explode.

For some unexplainable reason, the rest of the journalists zero in on Clint after that.

“Don’t look at me,” he says, hands held high. “I ain’t kissing them.”

Natasha smirks. Bruce covers his grin behind his sleeve.

Out of the corner of Clint’s eyes, Pepper rubs her temples and pops a pill.

*****

The next day, Clint and the rest of the Avengers pile into one of the stuffy conference rooms on the helicarrier because according to Tony, ‘Eye Patch is in the mood to ream their asses’. Which is so, so unfair since Clint wasn’t the one who made out with his boyfriends in front of the press. Why the hell did he need to face Fury’s wrath when he wasn’t the one to out himself to the press?

Much to no one’s surprise, said boyfriends don’t show up.

Fury’s scowl is much more steely than usual when he storms in, slamming a newspaper onto the table.

Emblazoned on the front page is a picture of Tony flipping the camera as Steve and Thor make out in the background. Avengers: Gay Orgy?!, its heading screams.

“Is there something you people wanna tell me?” Fury begins icily.

“There is no orgy going on between the six of us,” Natasha immediately answers.

“Or five,” Bruce adds.

Clint nods his head, gesturing towards the newspaper. “Yup, yup. The only Avengers having an orgy are them.”

Fury raises an eyebrow. “And what the hell do you call this, then?”

“A threesome,” Natasha replies.

Clint frowns at her. “But that’s not even a threesome. They weren’t even having sex.”

“Threesome could mean three people as a group,” Bruce offers.

“Ah.”

“Speaking of threesomes, where the hell are Stark and—”

A resounding crash cuts Fury off, jolting everyone in their seats.

Everyone hustles out and makes a beeline for the conference room next door. Clint gets into position, readying himself to let his arrow fly.

He expects AIM beekeepers, HYDRA goons, or even Doombots. Instead, they’re greeted by the sight of the conference table cracked, the room in disarray, and the other half of the Avengers in a tangle of limbs.

Tony has sandwiched himself between his boyfriends as he sucks the soul out of Steve. Next to them, Thor glances up at Clint and the rest, beaming and flashing them a thumbs-up before Tony drags him into a kiss.

Clint’s going to need bleach for his eyes when he gets home.

“Are you sure the squid didn’t spray them with sex pollen or something?” he begins tentatively.

“Nope,” Bruce replies. “We got checked over, remember?”

“Twice,” Natasha adds.

Steve has the decency to look ashamed when he catches sight of them. He pries his boyfriends apart before jumping to his feet in haste. “Director! I– We were just—”

“Late,” Tony continues for him. “Sorry about that but—”

“We were distracted,” Thor declares.

“I’ll pay for everything,” Tony adds.

Fury looks absolutely murderous.

Clint clasps his hands. “Well! I think it’s safe to say that we all need a break. Or bleach. How about we adjourn this meeting for a while and—”

“Three of you are dismissed. But you three,” Fury jabs his fingers at Steve, Thor, and Tony in turn, “stay. We need to talk.”

Steve’s cheeks darken. Thor puffs his chest. Tony grins lazily. Their hair is disarray, their clothes wrinkled, their lips red and puffy and— Clint is not going to think about that. Nope. Not at all. Not if he wants to sleep at night.

Natasha immediately makes a beeline for the door. Bruce wipes his glasses with his shirt, following after her.

Out of the corner of Clint’s eyes, Fury rubs his temples and pops a pill.

*****

True to his word, Tony ends up paying for all the damages incurred on the helicarrier. All twenty thousand dollars’ worth of damages.

Clint couldn’t look at Conference Room Three the same way ever again.

*****

also on ao3.

[nastybuckybarnes]

Monsters  -  Eight

Pairing: Dark!Bucky X Reader

Summary: Bucky Barnes is a man who just wants to do better. But he can’t stop the monster from coming out every now and then. As a last and hopeless attempt at calming The Winter Soldier, SHIELD finds him something they figured would help. An innocent young woman with not a lot going for her. Or, The Winter Soldiers newest victim.

Warnings: Angst, Injuries, Language, Violence

Word Count: 2.1K

A/n: Hello and welcome back to this shitshow!!!! I have a midterm next week but I wanna write today instead of studying. I’m gonna start up part nine and I want you all to hold onto your pearls cause I’m in the mood to fuck shit up

THIS IS A DARK FIC WITH SEXUAL AND TRIGGERING CONTENT!!!

SORRY IF SOME TAGS ARE FORGOTTEN!!!!

Series Masterlist

~*~

Natasha’s chest heaves, her eyes hooded and dark as you pull the thirteenth orgasm from her. Her legs are trembling and her body is covered in sweat, but you have no intention of stopping.

“So, Natty,” you sneer the nickname, eyes hard as you look at her.

“Have you learned your lesson? Are you gonna leave James alone? Or do I need to take more extreme measures?” She glares up at you and you giggle, leaning forward and pulling the gag from her mouth.

She pants openly then spits onto the floor, trying to get the taste of your panties out of her mouth.

“Why are you doing this to me?”

“Because you think you can have him. You think you can have James. You think you’re strong enough for him. You’re not! And I am! I’m the only one who can take the pain.” She furrows her brows in confusion.

“What are you talking about?” You chuckle, the sound hard and lacking humour.

“What do you think I’m talking about?! I’m his fucking remedy! I’m the reason he’s so calm! I’m why the monster stays away! I can fucking tame the soldier! Me! Not you! You’ll never be able to tame him like I can!” The pieces slowly click in her mind and she gapes at you.

“He's been taking it out on you, hasn’t he?” You scoff. “He loves me.” She shakes her head, seeing through you.

“He hurts you.” You shrug. “But I can take it. I’m strong enough to handle it.” Her eyes flash down to the long angry scars on your wrists and she raises one eyebrow.

“Really? Because it doesn’t look like it.” Your hand is suddenly wrapped around her throat, squeezing tightly while she struggles to breathe.

“Make another fucking comment. I dare you.” Her eyes stay hard and trained on you, even as her face turns red then blue. You finally let her go and she drops her head forward, coughing and trying desperately to catch her breath.

“You fucking doubt how strong I am... how strong I have to be.... you have no idea what I’ve been through. The shit I've endured. And I’ve only come out stronger because of it.” She scoffs, the sound weak and scratchy.

“Oh yeah? Like what?” An idea pops into your mind and you walk away from her to grab the tablet off of the table across the room. You return, plopping down next to her.

“You really wanna know what I’ve gone through?” She suddenly looks slightly afraid, not liking the fact that she has no idea what you’re going to show her.

You open the tablet and scroll through the files until you find the video you’re looking for.

“You think you know James. You think that you can handle him, that you’re strong enough to take what he dishes out? Fucking tell me that after this.” You push the tablet between her spread legs, the video playing at full volume.

Anger burns in your belly and you watch on the video as Bucky fucks you with a gun. The memories burn the back of your mind and you look at the redhead, watching as tears fill her eyes.

She stares, absolutely hypnotized by the video as she watches the man she thought she knew humiliates you on camera.

Her eyes dart to your face, and suddenly it makes more sense while simultaneously making less sense.

“Why do you love him?” She asks softly. You look at her, the video now acting as background noise.

“Because I’m important to him. He saved me. He cares about me. He needs me. Without me, he’d be alone. He’d be hopeless. James needs me and the soldier needs me. They both need me. I love them because they need me and they take care of me.” She shakes her head, glancing down at the video in time to see him pressing the gun to your head.

“This... this isn’t love.” You raise your eyebrows. “Oh? And what do you know about love? Do you love James? Does he love you? I didn’t think so. And to prevent that from happening, you need to be taken out of the picture. That’s why I brought you here. You’re not going to get in the way of me and James. Not again. He’s been spending too much time with you.” She looks up at you with pleading eyes.

“(Y/n) this isn’t healthy. He’s hurting you. This is your mind putting up a shield to protect you from the pain he’s caused.”

You stand up, shaking your head at her. “This is love. He loves me. They both do. And I’m not gonna let you come between us. Not now, not ever.”

~*~

“Still nothing from her?” Bucky asks into the phone, a frown on his pink lips. Steve huffs from the other line. “Nothing. It’s not like her to just disappear without saying anything to anyone. Even Fury doesn’t know where she is.” Bucky pushes his front door open and tosses his keys aside, stressed beyond belief.

“Alright. Keep me updated.” He hangs up the phone and pauses, listening carefully before sighing. It sounds like you’re upstairs, from what he can hear. He’s not exactly in the mood to be with you, far too worried about where Natasha is.

He makes to sit down on the couch, halting for a moment when he looks at the coffee table.

His tablet’s missing.

The shower starts upstairs so he knows you’re here. Why would you touch it? What would you do with it?

He grabs his phone and opens the ‘find my device’ app that Tony installed, thankful that it’s finally coming in handy.

He follows the little red dot, brows furrowed when it leads him down the stairs. His tablet is forgotten momentarily when he hears what sounds like sniffling coming from further in the basement. Following the sound, he gets to a latch on the floor that leads to the cellar.

With his heart racing in his chest, he lifts the latch and listens closely, brows furrowed in confusion.

That’s not what you sound like when you cry. Part of him is disturbed that that’s the first connection he made, but he quickly pushes that aside, hesitantly descending the ladder and looking around the dimly-lit room.

His heart nearly stops when he sees the redhead bound across the room, tears on her face as she shudders in the cool air.

“Nat!” He cries, sliding to his knees in front of her, his hands fluttering around uselessly as he tries to figure out what she needs first.

Her head snaps up to him, different emotions playing across her face before horror settles on her features.

“Don’t touch me,” she whispers, jolting away from him. He stares at her in confusion before his eyes zero in on the tablet between her naked legs, a familiar video playing.

The colour drains from his face and he looks at her, mouth gaping.

“I- th-that wasn’t...” She shakes her head at him, fear and anger chasing each other through her body. The wooden ladder creaks as someone enters the cellar and both spies look to the sound.

“James! I wasn’t expecting you home so soon! Welcome home,” you say happily. He’s absolutely beyond confused.

“What the fuck is going on?” He demands. You smile sweetly at him, walking over and pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek.

“You know, I found out that you don’t really talk about me to your coworkers. I’m hurt. Imagine my surprise when Natty over here doesn’t even know who I am. That hurts my feelings.” He’s still so fucking confused.

“I invited her over. I wanted to get to know her better. Turns out, she spent this time getting to know you better. She didn’t know what you did. Who you are. But now she does.” The two spies are silent for a long moment, Bucky avoiding the redhead’s intense gaze.

“Why did you do it?” Nat asks in a whisper, glaring at the man.

“I didn’t... it wasn’t me.”

“Bullshit!” She snarls. You watch the exchange, a smile on your pretty face as Natasha lashes out at him.

“But it’s okay, James. This is why we’re so perfect together. This is how lesser people react to you... all of you. But not me. You bring out the best in me, and I tame the beast in you. We’re so good for each other.”

Natasha shakes her head, terrified for your sake.

“You can’t possibly believe that. Not after everything he’s done to you.” You shrug, resting your hands on his shoulders and smiling at the redhead, smugly showing off the fact that you can openly touch the man before you.

“I love him,” you say simply, ignoring the way he stiffens at your words.

“No, you don’t.” You shrug again, running your fingers through Bucky’s hair then tugging gently to get his attention.

“James I’m giving you a choice, an escape. You don’t need her. She could never understand you the way I do. She’d never be able to handle you the way I can.” He looks between the two of you, brain running in circles as he tries to figure out the best course of action. You grab his hand and pull him to his feet, tugging him towards the exit.

“Come on. Let’s go upstairs. I’m thinking we should have pasta for dinner.” You turn around and walk to the ladder, stopping when you don’t hear him behind you. You look over your shoulder, frowning at the way he’s looking at Natasha.

“You’re not... you’re not seriously considering picking her over me, are you?” He looks up at you with pain in his eyes and you giggle.

“Come on, James. Look at how she reacted from seeing the monster. Imagine what she'd do if she ever met him.” He walks over to you, eyes glazing for half a second before returning to normal.

Two hands cup your cheeks, one cold and one warm, and you sigh happily.

“You are so very important, (Y/n). To me and to... him. But I can’t just leave her here.” Your eyes snap open and you stare up at him, lifting your head out of his hands just a bit.

“Is that your final choice?” You ask, voice a soft whisper. He squeezes his eyes shut and nods.

“I’m sorry. But I... I can’t.” You purse your lips and nod, one hand coming up to cup his cheek while the other reaches into your pocket.

“It's okay, James,” you whisper, pressing your lips to his while your free hand slowly sneaks out of your pocket.

He’s surprised but kisses you back, hoping that this will be enough for you to let him and Natasha go without him having to hurt you.

“If I can’t have you,” you murmur against his lips, pulling away to kiss down his neck, “no one can.”

By the time the words are registering in his brain you’ve already plunged the knife into his stomach and ripped it out again.

“No!” Natasha screams, watching the bloody knife enter his torso again.

You smile and pull away, eyes wild and dangerous as you stab him a third time, this one under the ribs.

He stumbles back and you sigh. “I really hoped it didn’t have to be this way, James. I love you. And you... you let me be the person I’m meant to be. The person I’ve buried away for so long. I’ll never be able to thank you enough for it.” You push your hair away from your face, leaving a bloody streak of red across your forehead.

He slumps against the wall, hands pressed tightly to the wounds on his chest.

You step over his outstretched legs and up the ladder, not sparing a second glance at the two of them before closing the latch and locking it tightly.

~*~

“Why did you do it?” Natasha asks, her voice rough with emotion. Bucky leans back against the wall, wincing at the pain in his abdomen. You’ve hit something important, that much he knows for sure. He’ll probably survive, but it’s gonna hurt like a bitch for the next week or so.

“I... it wasn’t all me. It started off as me but then it was... him.” She furrows her brows in confusion. “What do you mean ‘him’?” He sighs and closes his eyes tightly.

“The monster. I can’t control him. It was getting better but... that was the worst. And I’ve never... he’s never lashed out on her like that since. I think subconsciously I’m starting to appreciate her and realize how much she helps, but I never thought...” He thinks back to how you stabbed him with a smile on your face. Whoever he thought you were clearly isn’t who you are. And at that moment, he’s sure that even Fury would be surprised by this.

[msgrumpygills]

Social Media Anon Here!

Firstly, never change Grumpy ;) you are probably the only person on Tumblr to LISTEN to another view and let it change a prejudice.

Secondly, the Padagram/Social Media change bus continues. Don't be fooled people will be looking at positive and negative reactions to that change on social media.

So here goes!

1. They are starting to market season 2 of Walker in Hiatus. That really doesn't happen. That means they know they need to target new viewers. They are acknowledging they have a problem. The main problem is Jared either didn't learn enough about production quality on SPN (Jensen/Misha were both more interested in behind the camera's) or that he thought he could stick a Stetson on and we all had such sh1t for brains we'd watch anything. So they need a viewer boost DESPARATELY and are going all out to (a) persuade Walkers remaining viewer(s) that it's worth sticking around and (b) get back old viewers or convert 1m+ viewers to season 2. So now we see all the cast (and Keegan has more followers than Jared and Lindsay has a VERY engaged following) trying to persuade their followers how fabulous Walker is. Expect this scrabbling to continue if they want their COVID paychecks.

2. Connected to 1, Jared has started trying to break out of the fandom bubble. I don't think he's trying for power couple (the clue in a power couple is that two FAMOUS people get together and create a super brand, here we have one niche C famous guy and a hanger on wife), I think we are in Jared profile raising and trying to raise his recognition score, which is probably a little low having half assed it in the last year and a half. He's doing it by scatter-gunning so I'm not sure it's going to stick.

3. Connected to 2,

(i) if I run my algorithm clean laptop with a "Jared Padalecki" news search, I get (a) a daily mail article on Jared "clarifying the rift" (b) a "hello" magazine saying he's been "inundated with support after death of "family member"" (c) the new york times article on Walker and Supernatural. It then goes into a variety of articles about Jared raising money for Holly's family (fucking atrocious in my view to use her death for publicity) and a series of derivative articles on his mantrum and later explanation. ONLY THE NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE MENTIONS WALKER other than as a throw away, all of the others link to Supernatural only. Walker isn't on the main radar of anyone as a show. It's not mainstream enough to mention. it has ZERO buzz.

(ii) if I run the same search on my compromised tablet, I get a SEA of fluff articles "jared padalecki goes to venice", "jared padalecki's wife wishes him a happy birthday" "jared padalecki goes to watch soccer" "jared padalecki goes to the wrestling". I'm expecting "Jared Padalecki defecates regularly" tomorrow.

At the end of that I get the same articles as in (i) but the majority of his publicity is still going through the fandom and the, not very viewed, endless zine type websites that update on every episode of every geek show every day.

So we are seeing, and I expect it to continue, a break out Padalecki, (who knows he and his forehead may wish to have a final crack at films), and a fluff Padalecki, trying to stay relevant a year after SPN relevance ended, because he hasn't got the same push for season 2 of Walker as he had for season 1 and Walker has zero presence. No one, not even the fans are talking about Walker.

Will it work? I don't think so. Keegan has 7m followers on Insta and that's because he's a photographer and writer and it's interesting. I would follow his account (I don't), but certainly it isn't a Walker instagram.

Jared is a clever guy, but he's boring on social media. He has a limited appeal. He does family snaps, hunk snaps, flogs orange pee and flogs his show. He says "family" and "mantra" a lot but that's really it. The clue is, if you didn't know who he was and came across his instagram you wouldn't follow him. Why would you? For a video of a guy running up steps? A smug picture of two middle aged men trying to flog you something?... (oh and lots of "brother" comments on Keegan's social media, which is irritating. It's like he thinks that is his repeatable formula and it isn't).

His media approach won't work because advertising and exposure pushes a product. In TV's case, it's not a one off product and there is a lot of competition. Product Jared needs to be more interesting (his mantrum's are the only exciting thing about him - and that is tragic) and his TV show just needs to be BETTER, well, a LOT BETTER.

Soooo, expect the Padapush to continue, but it's not about a couple, it's about individual marketing and for Jared breaking out of SPN bubble. For Gen, it's her tag along profile that she'll never break out of. She'll have to be satisfied with her superpower of being able to persuade people to buy toothbrush's and dog food (if she can).

Expect though the couple's bit to die off a little. Jared is getting over exposed. His engagement rating is plummeting (nearly 3% is a plummet) because of the repetitive photo content. He'll have to back off or people will switch off (I have already). What makes me laugh is.... from the dawn of time when cavemen took their wives 2 miles away for a new cave weekend.... NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN INTERESTED IN SOMEONE ELSE'S HOLIDAY SNAPS.... Gen and Jared apparently need to learn that lesson...

I might stop these posts now because, well, it's gotta be a bit boring for you and I write LONG. :)

Stay safe and wear your masks ;) xxx

I don’t want you to ever ever change, lovely! Also, I’m NEVER bored by your messages! You put so much effort into the research you do and the messages you send and it’s appreciated! <3 

I started following Lindsey on IG because she seems pretty genuine, and her cat is way too cute! Plus, I like her attitude. I haven’t followed her for the whole Walker season, but even she doesn’t post a lot about it. She posts interviews and then posts about that night’s episode, but other than that, nothing.  Can’t speak for Keegan, but how are fans and non-fans supposed to be excited about a show when the people STARRING in the show can’t be bothered? Maybe they’re all aware of how shitty it is or maybe they’re lazy, but it doesn’t make sense. 

I’m always interested to see the difference in an “algorithm-free” setting and one that has an algorithm. I always figured Google was the same for everyone, but seeing the difference in articles you’ve outlined is insane. It really just goes to show that Jared isn’t the star that his stans think he is. He’s not as important as they think he is, he’s just an actor.  It’s even more jarring to see just how little Walker is talked about at all. All of my devices probably have been “contaminated” when it comes to algorithm so I can’t really speak personally about the public and fans talking about Walker or not talking about it. I can say that on the posts about Walker from the Supernatural Facebook page, a good chunk of the comments are people saying they stopped watching, never got into it, or thought it was trash. There are only a handful of comments talking about how they enjoy the show. 

I think it was disgusting for him to use a fan’s passing for publicity. And no, I don’t think it was anything other than a PR stunt. Her family had a GFM going that was promoted by plenty of the case INCLUDING GEN, so you know he knew about it. But for him to make his own special one and then have articles posted everywhere about how charitable he is? That’s gross PR bullshit and I hope it backfires. 

I still follow a few Supernatural fans, Jared fans, Jensen fans, etc. on Tumblr and even they aren’t mentioning it. I think maybe the hardcore Jared stans post gifsets or whatever, but I don’t see much praise for the show itself, just Jared’s looks. Even the fans aren’t biting and that would make me reevaluate everything if I was Jared. 

I'm expecting "Jared Padalecki defecates regularly" tomorrow. This made me laugh way too hard!

who knows he and his forehead may wish to have a final crack at films You are on a ROLL!  Maybe I’ve become biased, but I can’t see Jared doing films. I mean, I could see him doing like a side character role or something small, but I can’t see him having a big part of a movie. Like I said, maybe that’s me being biased but I see him staying in TV. I could be proven wrong, but I don’t know. 

I agree about Jared being boring on SM. I used to get some giggles from his Twitter posts and even some of his early IG posts because they were goofy, clever, and candid. It showed his humor and was more personable. Now it’s just all fake and comes off as someone whose only motivation to engage with fans is money and that’s a big turn off. 

For me personally, I think that if instead of the “couple goals” bullshit that they try to push for their lavish trips, if they just posted cool pictures they took of different locations, activities, food or whatever, that would be more palatable than all the “Look at my hubster and I! We’re in Italy! Look at how in love we are!” But maybe that’s because I’ve become a bit of a photography nerd? 

I guess time will tell whether or not Jared will make positive changes and if Walker can be saved, but I’m not really optimistic about it. 

I AM optimistic about your takes on things so keep them coming! Long posts or not, I love them! <3

[nohoney]

Do It For Me - 3.2

warnings: 18+, drug use, toxic relationships, polyamory, brief mention of assault

summary:

“He said he’d do anything for me.”

He leans forward, his forehead bumping against yours and his hand cupping your cheek. Your breaths intermingle in the small space between each other, your lips just a few precious centimeters away from Keigo’s. “Of course he would dove, you deserve so much. You’re just so… so fucking…”

3.1 ✧ 3.2 ✧ 3.3

Touya is better at checking up on you if you accompany him to a house party, Keigo keeping you company sometimes like tonight as you walked through the front doors. You take a quarter of the ecstasy Touya gave to you earlier and Keigo takes a half, just like the first night the two of you rolled together at a house party. More than likely he’s selling whatever he got in that case just last week. Touya always deals sober, he needs a clear mind when he goes out to these functions but he’s happy to see your little high-off-your-ass self enjoying your roll. The way you tousle your own hair when you vibe to a song, that look of wonder as you just stare off into space, and just how fucking adorable you are in general.

It’s not like you roll every single time you attend a house party, sometimes it’s just drinking or maybe a little bit of weed or a few lines of coke, but your eyes had zeroed in on a particular someone a few minutes after you walked through the doors so you decided that you just wanted to relax. It doesn’t necessarily make you anxious or afraid seeing this particular person but your communication was broken in an instant the last time you had seen them.

Your eyes glance at one another, much too quick for Touya or Keigo to notice, but eye contact is made.

Ecstasy should distract you right?

Well, it’s more like Keigo distracts you and the ecstasy just helps.

So Keigo mingles with the other partygoers while he keeps you close to his side, keeping an even conversation that would seem normal had you not been so touchy with him and him returning those affections without breaking eye contact with the people he speaks to in the moment. He gives light warnings when you get a little too handsy, and you swear that you’ll be good if he just gives you another kiss or feeds you another stick of gum or even tilt the water bottle towards your lips because you’re too lazy to do it yourself.

You get some weird looks at first but when they’re told that you’re rolling, it’s an immediate and knowing ‘ahh’ that comes from them. You don’t care about their looks or stares, Keigo’s got you safe and sound. But you do get some looks when Touya comes to your side for a brief break to check on you and you ask him for kisses also. When you’re lip locked with Touya and also switch off to Keigo, it causes some murmurs for the ones who bother to pay attention. Sure there have been lots of instances where three people are making out together or something to that effect, but they could all swear that ‘Didn’t Dabi just come out from one of the rooms with a girl?’

And it captures the attention of one individual in particular.

Touya has to return work, assuring you for just an extra minute longer before depositing you back to Keigo and with a simple order, “Be good.”

He walks away, you lean against Keigo again, complaining that you want to go outside because it’s too hot inside the house. But going outside serves another purpose because you know that Touya is busy talking and dealing and you need to have this conversation where you know he and a certain other person won’t overhear it. In the backyard there’s a game of king’s cup going on, a fire pit with a small circle of people nearby, and a little group of people that are smoking together. But you pull Keigo to the furthest part of the yard, a decent distance away from everyone. Sure you could have just stuck by the door and talked quietly enough but it wasn’t a risk you were willing to take because anyone could come out.

Keigo sits on the grass and pulls you to sit in his lap, making sure you’re comfortable and that you take a sip of water from the new bottle he just got.

“You got something on your mind dove?” he asks.

You nod your head and glance back towards the house briefly before looking back at him, just enough light for you to see how big his pupils are. You’ve got a better handle of yourself while on ecstasy but you’re not brave enough to take a whole by yourself just yet, still working up the nerve to at least take a half. Never mind about the ecstasy, you have to tell Keigo something. You take a few seconds to collect your courage and tell him, “My ex is here at the party, the most recent one.”

Golden eyes widen slightly in surprise. “Oh… does Touya know?”

You never talked about your ex in detail with Keigo, just a general overview of how things weren’t working out but that was it. Touya didn’t know all the details but he knew just enough, the relationship lasted almost a year and by the halfway mark things were starting go south between you and your ex. It worked out for you anyway because you didn’t want to talk about your ex in general, just enough to get it off your chest and let your boyfriend know. “Touya doesn’t know what Jun even looks like, he didn’t want to see a picture at all.”

“Yeah, that sure sounds like him. So how do you feel about Jun being here? How exactly did things end between you guys?”

It was great with Jun at first, meeting through a mutual friend and getting to know each other before making it official. You always understood giving your past partners space and time to do their own thing, everyone is entitled to their alone time. The issue was that further down the relationship, Jun could not and would not manage his time well with you and eventually just revealed altogether that he didn’t want to put the extra effort in anymore.

“We haven’t even dated for a year, why are you taking us so seriously?” he asked when he looked up from working on his car when you confronted him in his garage.

“I’m your girlfriend, there shouldn’t have to be a threshold for how serious our relationship should be based on the passage of time. Why are we even seeing each other if you don’t want to try to make it work?” you huffed and leaned against the wall of the garage and had crossed your arms. “What are we even doing?”

Jun had sighed and grabbed a rag to wipe the oil off his hands. “(Name), it’s not that I don’t want us to work, it’s that you are getting so hung up on some of the menial shit that it makes me not want to be with you as much. We hang out, we cook dinner or go out, and then I go do my thing. And all I hear from you is that we don’t talk enough or that I don’t separate enough time for you. You’re fucking yourself in the head and working yourself up.”

“You are not being good to me! You used to want to talk to me all the time and wanted to know what my free hours were so that you could be with me. Now it’s the bare minimum you give and you act like my feelings are an inconvenience to you!”

You and Jun had argued for a solid hour before you stormed off, it was the last sober conversation you had with him. You had gone out with friends to a club afterwards, drinking away your frustrations and wondering why you were with a guy who had consciously chosen to not put you first. It hurt way more than it should but only because you kept on sloshing shots back. You were getting shit faced, all the people dancing in the club and getting in your space, the strobe lights providing a certain atmosphere to your fucked up state of mind, and then Jun had shown up. He claimed that you had texted him to come but you were drunk as hell, pushing him off when he tried to pull you out of the club.

Instead you screamed at him, hands around his throat as you pushed him to the wall and told him that you wanted to kill him. He must have been high on something because the sober Jun wouldn’t have allowed such a thing, he had smiled and breathlessly laughed that he was all yours to kill. You kissed him, rum and tequila clouding your judgement, even though you called him an asshole, you ground yourself against his body. In your mind, all you could think that this was over and this would be the last time.

You woke up in his bed the next morning, looking at him for just a few minutes before getting dressed. His number was blocked and whatever belongings you kept that were his were sent back to him. He hadn’t bothered to seek you out after that one last fuck, it hurt a lot at the time that he didn’t even want to rectify the way things were left off. But you got over it eventually because you accepted that not all conflicts would have closure and you met Touya just a little over a year later.

“Wow, I’m sorry things ended that way dove. Sounds like he really didn’t deserve you though.” Keigo tells you, the slightest hint of anger in his eyes. Someone like you should be treasured but he can’t help but feel grateful that things didn’t work out because otherwise you wouldn’t be here right now with him, Touya would wholeheartedly agree. “You sure you’re okay being here with him in the same house?”

“Jun’s not a bad guy, he really isn’t. We just clearly weren’t on the same page and I was pushing for a relationship that showed pretty early on that we were on different wavelengths. I’ll be okay, I have you and Touya and that’s all that matters.” you tell Keigo as you peck his cheek, forgetting about the shadow of the breakup with Jun and tenderness pouring out instead. Even with the hiccups and arguments with Touya, he’s given you more than Jun ever did. “It’s just us, Jun doesn’t matter.”

Keigo couldn’t have said it better himself and he thinks it’s a good time to continue the roll, holding up the half of the tab to you. “I think you’re ready to take a half baby bird, you can handle it.”

The two of you pop the remains of your tablets, wash it down with water and then just a quick peck on the cheek. You sit outside the yard longer and just enjoy watching the outside activities from afar, the cheers and jeers when someone is forced to drink after fucking up their turn in the drinking game, different people go to hang around the fire pit and stoke the fire, two guys even came to chat with you and Keigo for a few minutes and they bid goodbye when its their time to leave the party.

You’re practically giddy with excitement as you see Touya approach you, taking another break from the party as he sits down with you and Keigo on the grass. You move to sit on his lap and tell him that you took a whole half of ecstasy, to which he just chuckles and tells you, “That’s my girl.”

“You guys ever think about what kind of super powers you would have? I already know what powers I think you guys would have.” you tell the boys as you trace the lines on Touya’s palm and look to them. You chew on the gum in your mouth for a few seconds before asking, “You guys wanna know?”

“Of course baby bird, tell us.” Keigo is massaging your calves, attentive as always while Touya has his free hand smoothing up and down your back. They really do spoil you a lot…

“Okay, so at first I thought Keigo’s super power would be like being really fast because, you know, Keigo likes to do a lot of stuff fast and makes it look so easy. But I started thinking that maybe it wasn’t completely right, like maybe some kind of thing that can be really fast. I don’t think Keigo would be a power type, like he’s not weak by any means but he would have more proficiency that makes his powers really impressive.” you lean against Touya and curl against his body. “I think that he’d look so cool with a big pair of wings on his back, like huge red wings with all these feathers that he can control at will, like being able to call them back individually and collectively. So like if you sent out too many feathers out you wouldn’t be able to fly unless you call them back. And I think if you had to choose your super hero name, it’d be Hawks.”

Keigo is amazed as he listens to you. “Wow (Name), sounds like you put some thought into mine but I actually kind of like that. What made you decide all that?”

“You like eating a lot of chicken, so an avian-like power just seemed really fitting.”

Touya laughs in mock at his friend, not even fighting back as Keigo punches him in the arm.

“She gave me bird wings! At least she didn’t give me a bird head!”

“I almost considered it.” you chime in.

“Dove… that’s not right.” Touya continues to laugh, trying to stifle it behind his hand and control himself. “Grr… well what did you think of for Touya?”

You look into Touya’s eyes for a few seconds before answering. “Touya’s was pretty obvious to me, I think he’d control fire. But not regular fire, he’d be able to summon really strong blue fire from his hands. It’d be like crazy destructive because blue flames are the hottest, something to do with them being a complete combustion as opposed to other types of flames that are incomplete combustions. But because blue flames are so hot, it’d be a crazy bad drawback to Touya’s body because he’d overheat and he probably wouldn’t be able to fight for long because he needs to cool down.”

“Oh? No ice power for me to counteract overheating?” Touya asks, actually invested in your choice of conversation.

“Nah, it didn’t really seem fitting for you. Plus that’d be like a cheat because that means you get two powers while Keigo only gets one.”

“I’m good enough to have two fucking powers. But mine is better than Keigo’s anyway, way fucking cooler than having wings.”

“What? You’d rather be able to start forest fires over flying? My power is way more awesome, I get to fly and control all my feathers!” Keigo boasts about the fake powers you thought he’d have while you were high out of your mind a few times. “I say my powers are way better, I think I’d win in a fight against your stupid blue fire.”

Touya clicks his tongue and lets you leave his lap as you go to lie down on the grass in between them, looking back and forth between your two favorite boys. It’s cute that they’re getting so caught up in the conversation and actually debating who’s powers would be cooler. It almost makes them seem like they’re kids in elementary school.

“Obviously I have more power compared to your stupid chicken wings. You heard her, you wouldn’t be a strength type.”

“But I would have proficiency so that means my techniques would be perfected over just brute force.”

“I’d like to see how fucking proficient you are with your little shit feathers when I would just burn them off you.”

You have a feeling this debate would have gone over for a while if a few guys from the party hadn’t started calling Touya over. So he leans down to give you a kiss, intending for it to be quick but you grab the collar of his shirt, making out with him for a few seconds before he pries your hand off his collar and stands up. You whine when he starts walking away but you have Keigo as always to take care of you. “Keigo, gum please.”

“Alright spit out the old one here.” he tells you as he holds out the palm of his hand. He’s unbothered as the chewed gum lands in his palm, just tossing it somewhere over his shoulder and feeding you a new stick. “Well that was fun while it lasted. I’d have to come up with some counterpoints if this ever comes up again.”

“Mm-hmm… was fun listening to you guys.” you nod your head, quiet for a few seconds before moving onto something else. “I thought Touya was going to tell me he loved me a few days ago.” Keigo looks down at you, his hand coming to your forehead and his thumb rubbing smoothly just right above your eyebrow. It’s a weirdly comforting sensation and you hum in content. “I’m not upset that he didn’t say it but I think he said something that comes pretty close to it for the time being.”

Keigo nods his head, having had plenty of conversations with Touya in private and watching him struggle to articulate what exactly he feels for you. It’s good to know that he’s slowly getting better at being emotionally available for you. “What did he say to you (Name)?”

“It’s not like something crazy romantic, like a soliloquy or monologue from Shakespearean plays or whatever. It was really simple and it’s just the way he said it… it just kind of stirred something inside of me.” you sit up to look Keigo in his eyes. “He said he’d do anything for me.”

He leans forward, his forehead bumping against yours and his hand cupping your cheek. Your breaths intermingle in the small space between each other, your lips just a few precious centimeters away from Keigo’s. “Of course he would dove, you deserve so much. You’re just so… so fucking…”

Between you and Keigo, you’ve breached the line of platonic when you had that first threesome. It borders on romantic at times with still a hint of platonic, a certain fondness that Touya isn’t capable of. You think you might be in love with the both of them but you’re unable to measure exactly the distance of that love still. You’ve said ‘I love you’s’ while rolling but that’s what ecstasy does to everyone, makes a person love everything and everyone rather loosely.

Keigo dominates you in the kiss, different than the sensual make outs you’ve engaged in before. Ecstasy is more associated with deep emotions and sensuality rather than just sexual desire. But goddamn he’s getting hard in his pants and he wants to fuck you so bad and if you were just his, he wouldn’t mind just taking you right there on the spot. But you were Touya’s first and his friend would never tolerate letting you be seen naked by other people, would probably break his arm if he found out he tried such a thing. “Wanna get fucked song bird?”

You dumbly nod your head and spit out the gum were you chewing, already stroking the outline of his cock through his pants.

So Keigo pulls you to your feet and you’re unable to grab the water bottle that was brought with you outside. You try to tell him as he drags you back inside the house but he’s moving fast, probably so that no one will have a chance to see his dick print. You whine as he stops suddenly and push onto his back, and you’re about to whine at Keigo but then you’re on the move again. There are a few people upstairs, just drinking and chilling, probably a couple or two hooking up behind closed doors. You’re not certain if this is an Airbnb or if it really is someone’s home but you don’t ask any questions when you’re pulled into a random bedroom.

Normally you’d be very against having sex in someone else’s bedroom, a bathroom or in a closet of a house is fine, but you’re not really thinking about the consideration of who’s bed this might belong to. Not while you’re getting undressed and desperate for Keigo to keep on kissing you as he pushed you on the bed, bent over it and ass out. You fists the sheets in your hands when you feel his mouth against your pussy and eating you out, you feel like you’re wetter than usual and you think it might be from the ecstasy, you never really thought about it the few times you had Touya fucked while rolling. You’ve had friends tell you that they’ve struggled to have sex while rolling but it’s never been a problem for you so far.

“Keigo… Kei, it’s so good.” you whimper as you reach behind and spread your ass cheeks for him. It encourages something new, Keigo’s tongue licking up from your pussy and circling the tip of his tongue against your asshole. Touya’s played with it and fucked your ass before but he’s never actually eaten your ass. So it’s definitely new as Keigo spits on your tight rim and licks you up and down. “Oh god…”

You can hear knocking on the door but your blissed out brain prevents you from being embarrassed about the position you’re in. Keigo can just tell whoever is on the other side to go away.

“Fucking hell, my horny little princess just wants to be stuffed so much. We just fucked last night and you wanna go again?”

“Touya…” You move to sit on the edge of the bed and open your arms to him. “How did you know we were here?”

Touya doesn’t hug you like you hoped he would, he just pushes you to lie back on the bed as he shrugs off his jacket and undoes his belt. “Keigo said you want to get fucked, stopped by me while you were on your way up here and told me to come by in five minutes so I’m here to do that.”

“Thought you were busy…”

“Oh? You don’t want me here?”

The thought of Touya leaving makes you sit up and whine petulantly. “No! No, I want you here! I want the both of you to fuck me!”

“That’s our little whore, always hungry for cock.”

You nod in enthusiastic agreement.

“Let’s make it quick, shouldn’t be in here too long.”

Keigo gets to go first, spreading your legs and making you lie on your back. Your pussy flutters around his cock, groaning when his hips are pressed against your ass. He holds your legs up, ankles in his hand as he starts fucking you. Everything feels so good ecstasy, especially sex as you’re swimming in a warm pool of orgasmic water. When you look up into his golden eyes, it almost makes him falter. He drops your legs and hovers his body over you, his arms braced just above your head as you share eye contact with one another. Everything feels heightened, the pleasure and the fondness for Keigo rises. “You feel good Kei…feel fucking good…”

His cock is bottoming out and you mewl even louder, body feeling feverish but you feel no urge to want to cool down. He talks so much about how pretty you are and that you’re such an angel, all sugar sweet and sentimental. “I wanna eat out this sweet cunt and fuck you until you don’t have anymore goddamn thoughts in your pretty little head.” he’s panting, looks like he won’t last much longer because shit it’s all so overwhelming. Keigo is all you can feel and all you want in this moment. His movements are desperate, pounding you so hard the bed creaks. “My pretty baby bird— fuck!”

You had reached up to his shoulders and dragged your nails down his back and it drives Keigo mad, his eyes briefly rolling to the back of his head but regaining his composure long enough to drive himself into you. You cum, of course you cum, but now you know what it’s like to get fucked by Keigo while rolling. His cock pulses as he finishes in you, thick ropes of semen stuffing you full. When he pulls out, it leaks out onto the bedsheets and you should be more mindful because this might be someone’s bed but you can’t bring yourself to care.

It’s Touya’s turn as he takes Keigo’s place and throws your legs over his shoulders to start brutally pounding you with an enthusiasm that matched Keigo’s but not the same sentimentality. He slides in easily thanks to the cum that was already stuffed in you and doesn’t waste any time. This fucking isn’t exactly kind, Touya isn’t rolling like how you are, but you’ll take any kind of fucking from him in this moment. There’s no sweet words from him, it’s all filth; “So goddamn horny all the damn time, I swear you could be a professional whore with how much you love getting dicked down. You just love being a fucking sex doll, you fucking live for getting your pussy stuffed with cum until it overflows out of you and even then you’ll beg for more!”

You want to scratch Touya’s back too, he loves the pain of your nails making him bleed, but he’s standing up right away from you. Even as you beg for him to come closer so that you can hold him, you can see that he has no intention of giving you what you want. So you have one hand playing with your tits and the other on your clit as Touya uses you shamelessly, wailing as he pummels his cock into you.

The music downstairs is loud but you wonder if you’re louder than it, maybe the people downstairs can hear you screaming how you love cock and that you’re cumming all over Touya’s cock.

He’s panting hard as reaches a hand forward and chokes you while he cums… hard. It’s surprising to see Touya with so little composure, he really must have enjoyed himself.

“Fucking hell, you realized how much you were cumming and what a slut you sounded like? I could barely— fucking hold myself together.” he pants, wiping sweat off his brow and kissing your ankle before setting your legs down. “Fuck… I need water.”

Lucky for you guys, the room you entered has an en suite so you can just drink straight from the faucet instead of wobbling downstairs to get a fresh bottle.

The boys are able to recuperate faster but you still need a few minutes so you tell them you’ll meet them downstairs. After a much needed potty break, you splash your face with cool water and then cup your palms together for it to pool in your hands, leaning down to sip from it. It’s refreshing, quenches your throat and cools you off a bit. Looking into the mirror, you see that your pupils are still as big as dinner plates and you smile at your own reflection. “Fun…”

Another drink of water from the faucet and you decide it’s time to exit the room, getting dressed and smoothing down your hair the best you can. When you open the door to leave, you’re taken aback to see your ex on the other side. He looks the same like the last time you saw him, though he gels his hair a little bit differently now. He looks unsteady on his feet, probably drunk, so you steady your hands on his shoulders and help him inside. “Jun…”

“Whoa… (Name), sorry I didn’t know you were in here. Was lookin’ for an empty room to take a nap…” he explains himself, leaning some of his weight against your body. You help him to sit at the computer chair by the desk in the room. “I can fin’ another room.”

“Ah no, I was just leaving. Just um… I wouldn’t go on the bed.” There’s an obvious wet spot on the bed from where you had cum, Keigo and Touya’s semen leaking out in globs out of your pussy before you cleaned up. “And maybe air out the room too.”

“Yeah, smells like your pussy, all sweet and sunshine. Makes me nostalgic.”

You don’t know what to say to that; clearly he knows that you just got fucked.

Sure you missed Jun at one point in your life, but since being with Touya he hasn’t really crossed your mind since. You look at him, thinking that there was a time that you really wanted to make it work with him but that feeling was long gone now. So you move to open the window for him to clear out smell of sex… and your pussy apparently. “Okay well… I’m gonna go downstairs. Have a good nap.”

“Hey, stay here for a little. Let’s talk.”

Even though you’re rolling, you know that’s not a good idea. “You look tired and my boyfriend is waiting downstairs.”

Jun looks at you, relaxing against the computer chair and undoing the top two buttons of his shirt. “You talking about Dabi? When I heard he got a main girl I was pretty surprised, he used to have a roster of bitches. Then I heard that it was you and I got even more surprised, didn’t think he’d be your type of guy.”

With a mere shrug of your shoulders, you just tell Jun that it’s been working out well between you and Touya, careful to not use his real name.

“Yeah? Things are good? You ever talk about me?” Jun asks as he taps his feet on the floor. “Or you busy getting double teamed with his friend Takami? Can’t talk if one of them is stuffing your mouth while the other plows you from behind.”

If you didn’t know Jun then you would be offended by his words, but that’s his mannerism of speaking when he’s drunk. So you take it in stride and evenly answer, “You came up a few times in the beginning, that’s it.”

Jun nods his head, swivels back and forth in the chair while his head lolls side to side. “You high or something? Got this weird look on your face I’ve never seen on you before.”

“I’m on ecstasy right now.”

“No shit, really? I thought you were all anti-drugs and all that? At least you were when I was seeing you, I guess Dabi turned you huh.”

You sigh and lean against the wall, fingers playing with the hem of your shirt. “I was against hard core drugs like meth or heroin or PCP… I still am against that kind of stuff. A little bit of ecstasy and coke every so often doesn’t hurt me. I’m not cracked out or popping tablets to the point my body can’t produce serotonin anymore.”

“Mm… I see. So you tried new things since the last time I saw you huh?” Jun sits straighter in the chair, leaning his elbow on the arm rest and resting his cheek in his palm. “Ecstasy, coke… threesomes.”

Jun looks at you, seems to be scrutinizing you under his gaze. “You’re not the only person to be hooking up on this floor. But when I was looking for a room to nap in, I passed by this one and I recognized your voice on the other side. Thought it was just you and Dabi at first but I could hear a third person in there and figured it was Takami ‘cause he’s the only person your man likes to hang around. I guess now that you tell me that you’re rolling, it makes sense why you were enjoying yourself so much. I’ve fucked on ecstasy before too, feels pretty fantastic.”

You stand a little straighter and look down at Jun. “Right… well you seriously look exhausted so I better-”

“I realized a couple months after you left why you broke up with me. I realized I was kind of fucked up when I was with you and you didn’t deserve it. You were nice back then, wanted to be with me so bad and I didn’t see it. Any guy who wanted to settle down, you would be the right person to do all that stuff with. You were like the girl next door, perfect to bring home to meet mom and dad. But the way you are now…” Jun stands up from the chair and saunters up to you. “You just looking to get stuffed with cock these days? You really a whore like Dabi said you were? You must be if you’re fucking him and Takami.”

“You’re drunk Jun, don’t say stuff that’s going to make things bad between us. This could be a chance for us to start over.” you press him, not wanting to get into this conversation. “We didn’t exactly leave on good terms so we can build something different now.”

“Different huh? Things sure are different now, you’ve got Dabi to do all your nagging to now right? Or maybe he’s fucked you into a mindless whore that only thinks about getting dicked down.”

You huff and clench your jaw harder than it’s already doing because of the drugs, glaring at your annoying ex boyfriend. “So what? You listened to Dabi’s dirty talk like a pervy little voyeur?” It’s hard to gather up your guts when you’re on ecstasy and honestly a little hard to concentrate but you definitely won’t let yourself be talked down like that and you won’t allow yourself to take this kind of abuse. “You’re a bitch.”

His hand goes for your throat and you’re thrown hard against the wall, stress on your windpipe making you gasp and fingernails dig into your neck. This takes you back to the break up when you did the exact same thing to him; the irony is definitely not lost on you. But even with Jun’s threatening hand around your throat you gasp out, “You’re a pussy.”

“This is kind of like how our break up happened except you’re the one against the wall. How does it feel to be choked on ecstasy? Feel good? Miss my hands?” he asks, liquor heavy on his breath. “You used to be so nice, you know that?”

You’re strangling me you asshole.

If only there was enough pressure lifted off your throat to tell him that, weakly grabbing at his wrist and trying to tug him off.

But it’s a very lucky thing for you that Touya likes to keep tabs on you because you recognize the sound of his boots approaching the door, wondering what’s taking you so damn long. If he sees Jun like this, he’ll for sure beat his ass or worse. Even though you hate him so much in this moment, you’d rather not put Jun or Touya through that kind of thing. So you wheeze out to him the best you can, “Let go… he’s coming…”

The door swings open as Jun takes his hand back and you lower your head down.

“The fuck’s taking you so long doll…” Touya’s voice drifts as he looks at Jun when he enters the room and even though you’re not looking at him, you can see in your imagination that he’s got suspicion in those turquoise blue eyes of his. “Friend of yours?”

What you remember about Jun is that he doesn’t have a lot of tact, that it’d be smarter in this situation to just say, ‘yes, we’re friends.’ After all, Touya doesn’t know his face so he could get away with that and just be on his way. But he’s such a smug shit when he tells Touya, “I’m her ex-boyfriend, Jun. The guy before you, you know? We were just catching up a little, right (Name)?”

“Mm…” you hum, going to Touya for a hug and hiding your face in his chest. Despite the apathetic expression he’s sporting, you can tell that he’s a little disgruntled with Jun already. “Yeah, just catching up. It’s hot in here…”

Touya pets the top of your head and tells you to go to downstairs, prepared to walk down with you but Jun stops him with a question. “Dabi right? Before you go, I was wondering if you happen to have any 2CB I can score? Or maybe another connect I could go to?”

You walk alone out of the room as Touya stays behind to do business with Jun. Keigo waits by the foot of the stairs and when your feet touch the ground floor, you hug him and tell him that you want a drink. “Okay dove, I saw them making another jungle juice so I’ll get you a cup.”

An hour passes and you’re surprised that Touya is going about his business and Jun is mingling with the set of friends he came to the party with. You figure that probably nothing happened despite your ex’s snarky introduction to your boyfriend. Keigo has you in his lap and you’ve been curled against his body since coming back from the room while Keigo is happily chatting with a fellow classmate from one of his lab’s. He’s got one hand around on your thigh and the other massaging the back of your back. It feels good but hurts a little at certain spots and you’re not sure why.

It’s getting close to three and the party is dwindling down, hyped up drinking has turned into chill sipping and the music plays mellow hiphop beats. Last you saw Jun he was standing in the kitchen when you went to go get more water, not sparing him any of your attention as he took a shot of whiskey and chased it with cola. Touya will be done soon, three in the morning is usually his cut off if he hasn’t taken anything to keep him awake.

“Alright you two, let’s get going.” Touya stifles a yawn as he walks up to you, nodding passively at a random party goer that greets him.

You stand up from Keigo’s lap and smooth down your shirt, frowning down at the wrinkles and thinking that you have to go through the trouble of ironing it. “My neck kinda hurts for some reason, I don’t know why.”

“Really? I’ve been massaging you but you haven’t said anything dove. Let me see…” Keigo stands behind you and plants his hands on your shoulders, pushing the pads of his thumbs up into the muscles at the back of your neck. “Is it here?”

“No… more like in the front?”

“(Name), lift your head up. Look at the ceiling for me.” Touya tells you, his voice sounding hard for some reason when it was just a little tired a few seconds ago.

You don’t know what they’re seeing when you look up but you hear a growl from Touya and a gasp from Keigo. “Jesus dude, did you have to choke her that hard?”

“I fucking didn’t.” Touya turns sharply on his heel and walks fast. Suddenly he’s a man on a mission and Keigo is after him and asking what had happened. You take your phone out of your pocket and use the front facing camera to see what they were talking about. You see what they were seeing; purple bruises around your neck in the shape of a handprint.

Jun is fucking dead.

[aceofshitposts]

Happy Valentines Day everyone!!! This wasnt actually what I initially planned and it technically... isn’t v-day themed but it DOES feature idiots in love so that’s good enough, right? No beta we die like robins okay hope you enjoy! (will probably throw this up on ao3 tomorrow too)

ALSO a reminder that you can totally send me prompts for little drabbles/ficlets!! a sentence or dialogue or just an au you think might be cool (i adore aus) or if you just wanna say hi!

-

Jason's not stupid. It's just that. Things can sneak up on you sometimes, okay? They all have that habit of getting lost in the details or not looking for what isn’t expected. And boy, is this not expected.

"Please," Tim is imploring in the same tone a child asks their parent for a candy bar at the grocery store checkout, "Bruce isn't even going to be there so you don't have to worry about him."

That's. Really not the problem. The problem is Jason has no idea why Tim is asking him, of all people. Not that he doesn't like hanging out with Tim, as a matter of fact he probably likes it too much. Seeking Tim out had become a bad habit, if he’s honest, that has escalated from working on cases together to eating meals after patrol and even occasionally meeting up during the day to whisk Tim away from the office for a proper lunch.

They're friends, right? But that doesn't explain why Tim is inviting him to an important social gathering and not, say, one of the Titans if he needs a second that badly. Hell, Dick or Stephanie are better choices than Jason is. Asking Jason is. Is. It’s-

It feels a little like Tim’s asking him on a date. Which is absurd for all kinds of reasons, least of which is that Tim doesn’t like Jason like that.

"Why are you asking me?"

Jason winces. That sounded harsh even to him and the way Tim’s expression goes from distinctly hurt to completely closed off has Jason cringing even more.

“Okay,” Tim says, turning towards the open window.

“Okay?” Jason repeats, already forgetting that Tim hasn’t answered his question.

“Mhmm, don’t worry about it,” he says in a tone that suggests Jason should absolutely worry about it.

With that Tim slips out the window and into the early Gotham morning, leaving Jason with an extra breakfast burrito that they’d never even got around to eating before Tim had… whatever the hell that had been. Jason stares at the open window for a moment more, the wind blowing a napkin into his face, and decides he’ll deal with it after sleeping.

-

“What the hell did you do??”

If the sound of Jason’s bedroom door violently hitting the wall didn’t wake Jason up then Stephanie’s indigent yelling would have done the job just fine.

“What the hell do you want?” Jason asks, then shoves a pillow over his head in the vain hopes she will go away.

“Get up!”

The covers are pulled from his body which wouldn’t be so bad if this didn’t also give Stephanie better access to punch him squarely in the stomach. Jason snarls, leaping out of bed to tackle Stephanie to the floor. They grapple around on the floor for a while, Stephanie succeeding in nailing Jason in the throat with an elbow and pinning him to the floor.

“What,” she says pointedly, “did you do to Tim??”

Jason wheezes, only half due to the pressure still on his throat. Stephanie stares down at him furiously.

“I have no idea what you mean,” Jason says hoarsely. 

Stephanie’s eyes narrow.

“Well, you better figure it out because he showed up at my apartment and has spent the entire morning moping under my blankets and obsessively redesigning Redbird on his tablet.”

Stephanie gets up in one smooth motion then offers a hand to help pull Jason up from the floor. Jason rubs at his sore throat giving Stephanie an incredulous look.

“I dunno what his problem is; he asked me to some fancy dinner and I just asked why he wasn’t asking you or whatever-”

“You what?”

“What! What did I do?”

“What did you do??” Stephanie shrieks in lieu of answering the question. “You have to be joking.”

When Jason just stares at her for a good minute Stephanie’s expression breaks and she starts laughing.

“Oh my god, please tell me you got dosed with something from Ivy or took a blow to the head recently,” she wheezes through her laughter. “Oh, noo, this is too stupid.”

“If you’ve figured out whatever is going on, could you clue me in?” Jason implores which only makes Stephanie laugh harder.

“Nope!” she says, popping the P, “this is too fucking funny. You’re on your own, bro.”

Before Stephanie leaves she makes sure to steal some of Jason’s leftovers and laugh at him some more, giving a two fingered salute as she leaves through the same window Tim had earlier that morning.

Over the course of the day Jason tries to busy himself cleaning his weapons and kitchen but he just end up stewing in the echoes of Stephanie’s laughter. He’s slumped on the couch rereading the same paragraph of a random paperback he’d grabbed when around four in the afternoon he receives a text from Cass that’s just a smiley face. It’s the only warning he gets before Tim comes stumbling through his window, laptop tucked under his arm.

“Okay, so, I’m still mad at you,” Tim starts, which is great, “but I want you to watch this.”

He sets his laptop down on Jason’s coffee table and maybe Jason can finally find out what this is all about.

On Tim’s laptop screen he opens what looks like a power-point presentation, and isn’t that just incredibly Tim, with the title: “Reasons We Make A Good Couple and Shouldn’t Break Up”.

Wait-

Back up.

“Break up??” Jason asks incredulously.

Tim’s head whips around to look at Jason, the slide on the screen changing to a picture of the two of them in uniform at the local 24 hour diner, probably taken by the waitress and posted on some social media platform, Tim reaching across the table to snag a piece of Jason’s bacon. It’s got several heart emojis all over it.

“You- yes? Isn’t that?” Tim sputters suddenly turning a bright shade of red.

“To break up don’t we have to date first?” Jason asks in a rush before his brain has really caught up with the situation.

Tim gets impossibly more red, muttering, “oh my fucking god,” while slamming the laptop shut. He runs a hand through his hair, looking as nervous and off kilter as Jason currently feels.

“I’m. I’m so sorry, Jay, I thought-” Tim starts rambling, words flowing together into an incoherent string while Jason’s brain tries desperately to parse what’s happening.

Like a lightbulb finally turning on in the middle of the night, Jason understands.

“Tim. Are we dating?”

Tim stops, jaw audibly snapping shut. He looks at Jason for all of two seconds before his gaze darts away miserably, looking at the floor.

“Yes?” he ventures, sounding unsure. “I just. I assumed you wanted to take it slow.”

Jason can’t help the bark of laughter that escapes his throat.

“Do I look like I do anything slow, Babybird?”

Tim growls in frustration, throwing his hands in the air and then pointing an accusing finger at Jason.

“We go out all the time! I hang out in your apartment! But whenever I’d try to initiate something more, you’d back off! I was trying to be considerate!”

Oh holy shit. Stephanie is right, this is stupid. Jason had thought he’d been projecting his own desires onto Tim, that there was no way Tim would want to be close to him like that. Even after all this time, Tim still finds ways to surprise Jason.

“Well, this explains why Stephanie punched and then started laughing at me this morning,” Jason laughs while draping an arm over his eyes. They really were Batman’s kids if their complete inability to communicate like normal people was anything to go by.

“God, Jason, I am so sorry,” Tim says, dropping down beside Jason on the couch with an oof. “I never should have assumed anything.”

“Hey, Babybird?” Jason shuffles over so he can throw his arm over Tim’s shoulders.

Tim startles, looking at Jason with wide blue eyes.

“Shut up and let me kiss you.”

Yeah, okay, maybe sometimes Jason is stupid. But he can at least find solace in the knowledge that sometimes Tim is also. Besides that, Jason tells himself, what really matters is that they got their shit together in the end. Even if that realization is undoubtedly going to come with a large amount of their family all pointing and laughing at them for being idiots.

“So,” Tim ventures after they’ve spent half an hour making out on Jason’s couch, “does this mean you’ll come with me to the dinner?”

Jason muffles a laugh against Tim’s collarbone and says, “yeah, sure I’ll come.”

“Okay, cool, cool. We’ve got to be there in an hour then.”

[hacked-by-jake]

Was that Jake there?

Part 2

Fandom: Duskwood

Paaring: Jake x MC

Word counter: 5,3k

Passage:

-"It doesn’t have to be just one night”

"Okay, just kidding please don’t hit me" Phil grins.

You roll your eyes.

"But you noticed when we wrote that I thought you are pretty" he adds.

"Phil.." Actually, you want to tell him that he should stop but you were interrupted.

"I think that were enough jokes for this night" you hear a dark voice behind Phil talking.

Phil scares out and turns around. You were expecting Dan, but that’s definitely not Dan.-

Preface: Hi guys👋🏻 I’m back with a new story. This one takes place after episode 6. Those who know my other stories know that I love it when the mysterious hacker suddenly appears. I don’t think it’s a spoiler, most of us are already done with episode 6.

I hope there are not too many mistakes and you can understand everything. It took all night to translate the German text. It may be that I missed some things but I hope you don’t mind by reading this.  In the text there will be short passages from two songs, I have linked the songs but you don’t have to listen to them. I just wanted to bring the feeling over more. I hope you like it and have fun

-

"Jesssyyyy" you call out loud so she can hear you despite the loud music. Excited, she turns in your direction and you go through it between the other guests to get to Jessy quickly. It’s your first time in Duskwood. In keeping with Jessy’s birthday she celebrates at the city’s most famous club. She extra rented a Vip Lounge for this day.

You landed with the plane two hours ago, and Dan picked you up at the airport.

You brought your luggage to Jessy’s apartment, she gave Dan a key so you could leave your things in her apartment.

Unfortunately, you could not take an earlier flight because your Boss needed your help at work. But in this Moment is isn't important. Now you are finally in Duskwood. Jessy and the rest are already at the club celebrating. Actually, it’s her birthday tomorrow, but she wanted to party in. "MC" calls Jessy back loudly as she sees you between the people.If you hadn’t waved, she would never have seen you. Shortly thereafter, you happily fall into each other’s arms.

"Oh my God, I’m so happy to finally see you, so finally in real and not just about pictures," she murmurs into your ear. "I’m looking forward, too."

"Today we are having a party and forget everything for a few hours okay?" she asks grinning. You nod to her with determination. "It’s my turn to say hello" shouts a male voice.

Richy lifts you up a little bit and turns you both in a circle. Laughing, he lets you stand on the ground again. "THERE IS THE RIDDLE QUEEN YES" he shouts loudly and gossip. You bow and wink at him.

"MC" someone calls your name. This time Cleo’s coming at you. "Hello Cleo" you giggle and hug her too. "Nice that you managed to come" "I am also very happy, I must not miss this" "You should have come much earlier" she looks offended away but grins. "You could have invited me, but you didn’t," you giggle.

"Touché" she laughs.

Shortly thereafter, Thomas greets you. "Today we don’t think about the bad" you demend. "Tonight is ours," he agrees. He holds his hand up and you claps.

Also you and Lilly greet each other.It was weird at the beginning but after a short time it got better.

Since you’ve been standing in the way all the time and everyone has to walk past you, Dan finally pushes you into the sitting area of the lounge.

You recognize Phil right away, but you don’t know the rest of the people. You sit next to Jessy, and right now, Dan will hold you a glass of whiskey. "Whiskey Dan? Are you sure?" you ask. "No, we’re drinking tequila," Jessy blends in and puts a little glass on the table. Two shots of tequila and a glass of whiskey later, you’re suddenly tapped by someone. Your head turns in the direction you think the person is.

Frightened you open your eyes, Phil’s face is not ten centimeters from yours.  "Woah" directly you slide back a bit. You bumping into Jessy. The glass in her hand starts to shake and the drink lands on the floor. Jessi’s face turns in your direction and you look at each oher in surprise. She starts laughing and you join in. Phil looks at you troubled. "Okay, that’s a girl thing," he grins. Another girl calls out to Jessy, she gets up and walks towards the bar. Phil starts talking, but you don’t hear anything through the loud music. "What did you say? I didn’t understand anything," you shouted. The bench of the lounge has a padded backrest. Phil puts his arm on this one just behind your shoulders, leaning down a bit to your ear. "I said we didn’t have time to say hello, you wanted to come to the Aurora" "That’s right, I haven’t made it yet, I’m in Duskwood for the first time today," you murmur. "Then you should come more often from now on" he winks. Nervously you smile at him and try to slip away a bit. You drink a sip of your cocktail and look around, you see Dan standing a few meters away, watching Phil skeptically. This is your chance. Inconspicuously you squint in Phil’s direction to show Dan that you need help. You have become quite good friends lately and he understands your situation immediately. He comes up to you and waves. Immediately you wave back and act like you’ve only just noticed him. Phil, who was about to tell you something, gets interrupted by Dan. "MC come with me, Jessy wants you to go dancing with her," he calls. You’re looking at Phil. He just smiles and moves aside so you can go to Dan. The bearded one immediately takes your hand and pulls you in the direction where the bar is. "Thank you" you say. "Watch little one, I really don’t like your hacker friend very much, but then I’d rather take him than a fuck boy like Phil. He is not a relationship person" You’re starting to smile. "If he shows up again, I’ll take care of it," you answer. "Yeah, and I’m gonna have to talk to him, just not as nice as you plan to do." Asking, you look at Dan and pull up an eyebrow.

"MC you don’t have to pretend like you don’t care about anything. You have changed slightly, become paranoid and much more careful with what you say. We haven’t said anything yet because we didn’t want to interfere, neither of us understands what’s between you and Jake." You look at the floor sad. You haven’t noticed yourself that you are feeling so bad, but if the others even notice it when writing, it will be true. "It doesn’t matter, I promised Jessy that this evening was ours, so let’s just celebrate." You blink at Dan and hit him lightly against his shoulder. Suddenly you’re hugged from behind and almost thrown to the ground. Dan can hold you just as tight as Jessy screams into your ear. "LET’S DANCE MC PLEASE" she shouts. "AUA JESSYYYY NOT SO LOUD, I’M NOT DEAF" you call back just as loud what makes her giggle. She looks at you like a puppy, pleading her hands folded. "All right, but only if Dan comes too" "What? No! I don’t dance..." "Yay" calls the redhead in between and pulls Dan and you behind her. On the dance floor you will meet the rest of the group. Richy and Thomas have put an arm around their shoulders and jump up and down to the beat of the music. They call the lines of the song.

"When I saw her Walking down the street She looked so fine I just had to speak I asked her name But she turned away As she walked All that I could say what"

Typical party music is played by the DJ. When Richy finds you three, he screams. "MCCCC" He shouts so loudly that some strangers turn to you and look at you. Giggling, you look back at Richy who just shrugs his shoulders. He and Thomas still jump up and down. Richy puts his right arm around you and encourages you to join in. Laughing you do what he wants and put an arm around Jessy’s shoulder. Jessy does the same with Dan. Dan puts his arm around Cleo and these around Lilly. And so you all stand there and jump together to the beat of the music and laugh.

"So many girls in here, where do I begin? I seen this one, I’m 'bout to go in Then she said, I’m here with my friends She got me thinking and that’s when I said Where the girls at, girls at? Where the girls at, girls at? Where the girls at, girls at?

So go get them, we can all be friends" you all sing together in the choir for "Where Them Girl At - David Guetta".   Soon you realize that Richy seems to be pretty good at rapping. Even if the text is rather screamed, in real life it would certainly sound good. Meanwhile, Phil and a friend of his have also come to you. You didn’t care because first they brought a tablet with shots you all drank together. Second, Phil has a certain distance from you and doesn’t stand right next to you. Third, because you just didn’t care about anything and you just enjoyed the music and the time with your friends.

“No, no I don't endorse that, pause that, abort that Just the other day mi go London, saw that, kids down the street Paparazzi, all that Hey hey what can I say? Day day day da-day day Coming through the club all the girls in the back of me This ain't football why the fuck they tryna tackle me?"

Thomas pulls Lilly between him and Richy. The poor girl is pushed back and forth for fun while both sing the lyrics.

  "Really, I pick dude at the bar like really Looking like he wanna good time like really" 

Richy puts both hands on Lilly’s shoulders from behind and jumps around next to her. 

"Said he had a friend for my home girl Lilly Lilly, Lilly, Lilly" Lilly looks at him unsettled and almost loses the balance because of the movement Richy produces.

The song ends and a different melody sounds.The melody of "Happy Birthday" It’s zero o'clock, it’s Jessy’s birthday. All guests who don’t belong to Jesse’s birthday are looking around confused. Dan and Thomas disappeared a minute ago to get the cake for Jessy. Jessy gets pulled into the middle by Richy and the rest of you line up around her. You’re looking confused at Richy, who took care of "Happy Birthday" being played for Jessy.

"Feliz cumpleaños? That’s Spanish?" you realize.

He nods proudly.

You look at him "Why?"

"Is something normal with us?" he asks grinning.

You’re shaking your head.

"See? That’s why Spanish"

"Can anyone here speak Spanish?"

"No, I don’t think so, but whatever"

"Idiot" you answer laughing.

People make way and you see a bright light of candles on the cake. Cleo keeps her hands on Jessys  eyes, so she can’t see. The music goes out and Cleo takes the hands off Jessy’s eyes.

Her eyes get big when she sees the cake Cleo made. "1...2...3..." Thomas shouts, at the same time everyone starts singing again for Jessy, even the guests who don’t belong to Jessy sing along. Like on command, Jessy starts crying. Quickly you go to her and take her in your arms. At the end of song, everyone starts to applaud. You congratulate her, "Happy Birthday Jessy" and hug her tight. "You have to blow out the candles," says Dan. "Make a wish," Lilly adds. "But don’t say it out loud, otherwise the wish won’t come true" you warn her. "You’re so cute," Jessy murmurs, wiping away the tears. Then she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Then she blows out the candles. Then everyone applauds again. Little by little, everyone congratulates her. Even some strangers wish her well. Everyone gives the presents to Richy, who then takes them to his car and puts them in the trunk, where everything stays all night. Since each of you drinks alcohol, you and Jessy will take a cab home to her later.

And as soon as everyone wakes up, Dan Richy drives back to the club so Richy can get the car. Then you all meet at Jessy’s and have breakfast together, and then the others want to show you some Duskwood. You took a week off so you’ll be here a few more days. Arrived in the lounge Dan puts the cake on the table to wish Jessy finally all the best. "So how do we eat it now? We’re definitely not allowed to use cutlery in here" Jessy looks at us questioningly. "You’re right, that’s why the cake has already been cut, and Cleo brought a pack of napkins, which should be enough" Richy explains. After eating the cake, Jessy bought some drinks for all. Now you’re all back on the dance floor. So slowly you start to sweat and also you get a little dizzy. "I’m going outside for a minute, get some fresh air" you call out. "Shall we come with you?" Dan asks directly and looks worried. "No, I’ll be fine. I need a little rest, there must be other guys outside. And if the man without a face kidnaps me, look for me and hit him"

"Okay, but if you’re not back in 20 minutes, we’ll come looking for you," Dan warns you.

"Okay, dad, do that" you wink at him and start squeezing you through the people.

Shortly thereafter, you open the door and step out into the night.

Immediately, the cold wind hits you, goose bumps spread on your arms and you take a deep breath.

Immediately you relax a little.

Further away is a small group who smoke and laugh.

Well, you’re not alone, and even if the bouncers are still there. And the way they look, the man without a face has no chance of kidnapping you. You lean back against the cold wall and close your eyes for a moment.

You didn’t expect it to be so cold and folded your arms in front of your chest to protect your arms a little.

Enjoying the tranquility you do not notice the steps that come to you.

"Hey, there you are" suddenly sounds.

Immediately you flinch and jump away from the person.

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you" Phil looks at you.

"Oh my God, never do that again" you hiss and hold your hand to your chest to calm your heart, which beats twice as fast as usual.

"All right? You’re pale.Did you get so scared?" he grins at you. "Of course, you know I’m trying to find a missing girlfriend? It can happen that one is more frightened than usual" you explain.

"Why are you out here all alone, you’re right, there’s a murderer running around, it’s pretty irresponsible of you."

"Or are you seeing the kidnapper?" he jokes.

"Haha, no, I was just warm and I needed some fresh air, and what are you doing here?"

"The same" he mumbles and brings a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of the shirt he is wearing over the tshirt.

"Any?" he asks.

Considering you look at the box he’s holding out to you.

You were just reaching for it when you saw a movement across the street, it looked like a man. You look at the street light in a flash, but there’s nothing.

"Everything okay?" asks Jessy’s brother.

"Yes, everything is fine, thank you, I do not want any" you refuse the cigarettes.

"How do you like the evening so far?"

"Very good, and how do you like it?" you answer his question.

"It’s okay, but the night is still young, so much can happen or not?" he breathes.

Oh no, please don’t.

"Uh, sure?" your answer sounds more like an overwhelmed question.

"Where do you sleep?"

"in Jessy’s apartment" you answer and try not to show how unpleasant the situation is.

"You can sleep with me too" he grins at you. "Oh, uh, I don’t think that’s a good idea," you mumble and nervously rub a strand of hair behind your ear.

"Why not? Do you have a boyfriend?"

You look at him annoyed.

"No, I don’t, it’s complicated, but I’m not the type for One Night Stands" you explain.

"It doesn’t have to be just one night" he laughs.

"Okay, just kidding please don’t hit me" he grins.

You roll your eyes.

"But you noticed when we wrote that I thought you are pretty" he adds.

"Phil.." Actually, you want to tell him that he should stop but you were interrupted.

"I think that were enough jokes for this night" you hear a dark voice behind Phil talking. Phil scares out and turns around. You were expecting Dan, but that’s definitely not Dan. "Wow, who are you?" Phil asks. In front of him stands a dark-clad man. The hood of his black jacket is pulled over his head. Instead of a face, you look at the face of a staring mask. That one mask you missed so much. "It doesn’t matter, but now you should stop giving MC a bad feeling" hisses the man who’s obviously Jake. "Oh, and who are you to speak for MC? She can say that by herself or not?" hisses Phil. "She can, and she certainly would, but if you had looked out for her, you would have seen that she was not feeling well. So go back inside and leave her alone. And don’t worry, I’ll take care of her" the voice sounds a little mechanical but not like the one he usually uses. But distorting a voice in the mask would also be weird. But wouldn’t surprise you either.

Instead of interfering, you’re frozen in the same place. Your mouth is open with amazement and you forget to blink.

"You are threatening me?" Phil keep provoking. He’s not a man who likes to take orders.

"Never mess with a person you don’t know, you never know what the person is capable of. I could destroy your whole life, Philipp Hoppkins. Owner of the bar Aurora. I even know the name of your first girlfriend"

Jake is a little bit taller than Phil.

It looks a little creepy the way he looking down on Phil from above and holding his head slightly crooked.

"Are you a stalker or why do you know everything about me?" Phil looks confused at Jake.

"That also doesn’t matter, but if you want to keep your bar, get out of here now" Jake’s voice sounds like a warning. "You’re really threatening me," hisses Phil.

"No, I just gave you a hint," counters Jake.

Finally you come back in the real world, you had to realize for a moment that Jake was there, he was here, he is one meter in front of you.

"Is it really you?" you breathe overwhelmed.

Jake’s head is moving in your direction and you realize he’s nodding to you.

As if Phil wasn’t there, Jake slips past him and stops in front of you.

"What are you doing here?" you immediately ask.

"I wanted to..I wanted to see if everything is okay, how you are" he whispers.

"Why? Where have you been? Are you okay? Are you safe?" the questions just pop out of you. "I’m sorry, MC, I don’t have much time. The important thing is that I was worried that you were in Duskwood so I wanted to check on you to make sure everything was okay."

"Please, Jake, can’t you stay a day or something?" you beg him.

"MC please, it’s not safe here," he whispers.

"I’m weird because I’m flirting with you, but you’re talking to the masked guy?" Phil suddenly asks.

You look at him hard and you reach for Jake’s hand.

You feel his whole body tense as you pull him away from Phillip.

A few feet away, you stop to talk alone to the hacker. "Jake, please, we can meet at the motel. I’m sure Lilly can help us, so no one can see us at the motel.Please, I have so many questions and I’m worried about you"

You can hear him sighing.

At this moment, you wish the mask away so you can see his reaction.

It’s quiet for almost a minute.

"Jake please" is your breath.

He’s growling.

"That’s not good, MC, that’s dangerous, you’re dangerous, dangerous to me," he murmurs.

Dangerous for him? That sounds kind of hot but also like an insult.

"What do you mean?" you ask.

"I should have left long ago, but I’m still standing here and I feel like I’m having a heart attack. my heart is beating so fast it can't be healthy" he calmly explains. "Are your persecutors so close to you or why is your heart beating so fast?" you ask him uncertainly. "No MC that’s not the reason, I have a bit of a lead right now which is why I can be here" "Are you scared about the raven guy?" "God MC no, because of you! Because of you it beats so fast, that’s why I’m still here, because I missed you" "Ohhhh ah" you murmur and you notice how your cheeks turn red. A little moment it’s quiet between you both. "I was hoping for a reaction," Jake whispers, wanting to take a step back. before he can move, you hug him tight. He breathes in surprised Again, you realize how he’s tense.

But shortly afterwards he relaxes and also put his arms around you.

His smell draws into your nose and clouds your mind. It feels as if all the problems and every difficulty just falls from your soul.You automatically feel safe and secure. It’s like a switch in your head flipping.

A few moments ago it was cold and now you are warm, cuddly warm and beautiful. And you know right away that you want that feeling that you’ve only felt with Jake, forever.

Forever in your life, forever by your side.

Him by your side forever. This hacker whose face you don’t know, whose identity you don’t really know, who is wanted by the government, this hacker has sneaked directly into your heart with his sweet nature. And that’s where you want to keep him.

"I missed you too, Jake, you can’t imagine how much" you sniffed. You can’t control it, you’ve been so worried about Jake that you’re just relieved to see him. In addition, you have already drunk one or the other glass of alcohol today and therefore your senses are already a little foggy. "Are you crying?" you hear Jake asking. You press your head firmly against his chest and hide your head under his arm lying around your shoulder. "No," you snifed again. "Yes, you do, look at me, Mc," he breathes and pushes you away to look at you. "Why?" he asks quietly. "I was just worried! I didn’t know until just now if you were caught by the government or if you were safe. And now you’re standing in front of me." "I’m sorry, really, but I also have to think about you, if they catch me, and find everything, you’re in danger. You hacked with me. Not all of this, but simply trusting a hacker and hacking a stranger’s cell phone is also illegal" he explains objectively. "Couldn’t you at least get in touch once? So much has happened where I needed you.I know you can’t help it. I don’t want to blame you, but I was alone. The others from the group were by my side but that’s not the same as with you. Besides, Hannah and I don’t know each other. I can look at everything objectively and at the same time have to consider whether Jessy or one of the others is acting out of emotions. I talk too much for that you don’t have time I’m sorry" your voice sounds desperate.

"You don’t have to be sorry, I have to be sorry. And I want to protect you, that’s all I care about, that you’re safe."

Overwhelmed by what you’re supposed to do, you push your body back again Jake's. "Your action with #IamJake helped me, by the way.For that I thank you and say thank you to Lilly.That means a lot to me." he murmurs. "Jake, all these people, they don’t know you, and they’re behind you. Behind you and me, behind Hannah. Please, Jake, come back to me." "MC...I’m sorry, I can’t" Jake’s voice sounds desperate. Just like yours, you’re desperate, you don’t know what to do. There’s only one logical reaction for you before you let him go again. Now all you have to do is hope everything goes well. Breath in, breath out. Without warning you put your hand on the mask and pull it up only so far that you get to Jake’s lips. You quickly stand on your toes, reach for the collar of his jacket and pull him down to you. Before he has a chance to move, you press your lips on his. If only you could see his reaction now, his face. Or maybe read his mind. A flood of happiness hormones is spreading through your body. Even if Jake doesn’t move, this is the best moment of your life. His lips feel soft, soft and perfect for yours. If you haven’t been in love by that point, you’ll be in love by now. This sad conversation was perfect in your eyes, even if it was sad, it was with Jake. Just as quickly as you kissed him, you break away from him. God, did you really do that? Why you do that? You see the kiss as a kind of goodbye to him and you just want to get out of here, away from this place. You didn’t know if he wanted to. In addition, he had a mask on. Actually, that should be reason enough not to kiss someone. Before you can run,Jake grabs your wrist and before you can react, you feel his lips on yours this time.

He’s kissing you now.

HE KISSES YOU.

HE KISSES YOU!

Quickly he pulls his head away. You look at him, the mask is gone, he holds it in his hand. "God damn it," you murmur and wrap your arms around his neck. Desperately, you kiss him again. Desperate to see him next time, whether you’ll ever see him again. Whether he will be free or whether his persecutors will catch him. You don’t know all that things, and you don’t know how to go on, how you can ever live normally. Yes, quite dramatically to think like that but this boy has something about himself that immediately captured and fascinated you. But what you just said about the best moment of your life was a lie. This is the most beautiful moment in your life. Because this time, you both want it, without being surprised by the other, you kiss like there’s no next day. As if all you have is this brief moment between you, this moment of uncertainty about the future, about everything. Because actually, this has been your life for months, but you love it, you love the people you’ve met. Hell, even Lilly made you like her.

You have become a team, and Jake is also part of that team.

You were like a family, and right now you’re planning on moving to Duskwood as fast as you can. You want to live here, with your friends, with the best friends you can have, they’re so different, but they’re still the same. You want to live here, with Jessy, with Cleo, with Richy, with Dan, with Thomas, with Lilly, also with Hannah, and of course with Jake. You knew from that moment that is the best decision of your life would be. A life full of joy, happiness and great people around you until you’re old, and even then. As in a book "To Death and Much More" But this is not a book but the real life, the life where you’re kissing a man who’s perfect for you in your eyes. Your lips move perfectly to each other as if it were the only thing you ever did, the only thing that ever counted. Admittedly, you didn’t expect Jake to be able to kiss so well.That sounds mean, but he seems to have been lonely the last years. Even if it took you a while to kiss, you are breaking away from each other far too quickly. You feel drunk, whether it’s alcohol or the kiss, you don’t know, but probably both. Your knees tremble from the adrenaline flowing through your veins. Your heart is racing and your hands are shaking easily. "Tomorrow at the motel. Please ask Lilly to find a solution where we will not be seen. And be careful the rest of the evening, and please stop drinking so much alcohol. I taste the tequila." Without waiting for your answer, he turns around and disappears towards darkness. He puts the mask back on while running. Like in a movie, a car gets hit and makes a full stop right in front of Jake. He opens the door, gets in, closes the door again and the car drives on. And again, you’re standing there with your mouth open, staring at Jake. "Oh, my God" you hear a woman say. Your head turns in the direction of the voice, you look into Jessy’s eyes. She stares at you and holds a hand in front of her mouth.She seems to be more shocked than you. You’re being stared at by all your friends standing next to Jessy and just as overwhelmed as you are. Right, Dan wanted to come after 20 minutes to see if everything was okay. Like trapped in a dream, you turn your head back to the spot where Jake stood with the car seconds ago. Jessy comes running at you. "Was that HE?" she asked immediately. "MC’s all right with you?" you hear Dan worried. They keep asking you things, but you just can’t answer. "Tomorrow at the motel," you hear Jake’s voice in your head. Jessy waves her hand in front of your face to get your attention. "Tomorrow at the motel," you hear his voice again. "MC Hello? Can you hear me?" "Shit, tomorrow at the motel, but what time?" you call out. "MC talk to us now" Lilly begs. "Lilly I need to talk to you! You need to give me a motel room.Is there a back entrance? Where someone can come into the building secretly? A hidden room? I’m also satisfied with a storage room" the words just flow out of you.

"Um, yeah?" Lilly looks at you confused.

"Okay, I need a plan, explain the way, and best time, do you have to work tomorrow?"

"No, I have free time, but tomorrow, Miss Walter will be there. And since the body appeared and Hannah is gone, we have almost no guests. Nobody wants to go to Duskwood at the moment" she explains. "That’s perfect, okay, explain to me how to get in without anyone seeing you" you demand.

"Tell us what happened first" Jessy tries to make you talk.

"MC, that was Jake, wasn’t it?" Dan calmly asks you.

"Yes, yes, he was, and I’ll meet him tomorrow" you said excitedly. No one say a word. Jessy has hiccups. "You’ll have sex tomorrow" she giggles. At the same time as Lilly, you call Jessy’s name as a warnin, she just twitches her shoulders and drinks a sip  her glass. You are sighing. "Dan? I need a glass of whiskey now"

--

I hope you enjoyed it🎭🌹.                                      

  Masterlist

[astringofmadhousefloozies]

Hobbies and Holidays, Or The Halloween Fic

Yes, I know it’s June. I just like Halloween, man. Yuu’s quiet dedication to the finest of holidays sours when confronted with assholes who fuck around for clout.

Contains coarse language, attempted violence, sexuality and nerds being nerds. As always, if you enjoyed it or have any questions, let me know! I like talking with people.

~*~*~*~

"What's cooking?" Ace, cheery as could be, walked his way up towards your set up on the Ramshackle front lawn. "Is it curry? I hope it's curry."

"You might not want to stand downwind." You poked at the bubbling mess on the propane stove, sweat rolling down your back. A beautiful August day, perfect for your project. This sure as hell wasn't something you wanted to do indoors.

"Whaddya mean by that?" The breeze shifted towards him, and he turned an impressive shade of green, stumbling back with his nose covered. "What's in there?"

"Mice. I told you to keep upwind." You went in with a hand strainer, and scooped a pile of tiny bones onto a ratty towel.

"Why are you boiling mice?" 

You mirrored his are-you-goddamned-stupid-or-something face back at him. "I wanted the bones. I went to Sam, but he said he's not allowed to order in dermestid beetles after last time, so I gotta do it the old-fashioned way."

"That's absolutely disgusting,” her said, the disgust and disbelief plain on his face.

"Don't we all know. Grimm fucked right off when the ghosts showed me the mouse graveyard."

"And your first thought at a pile of rotten mice was 'ooo, free bones' like some kinda crazy necromancer?"

"Yup." You scooped out another pile of bones. If you left them in there too long, they'd simply dissolve like in a cooked fish. As it was, you'd have to find a way to strengthen them. Maybe dip them in resin?

"Why am I your friend, again?"

"Because you feel responsible for me."

"Yeah. And you're fun when you aren't being weird and doing shit like taking cemetery pictures."

"I'll stop taking the pictures when I stop finding good grave iconography."

"Yeah, weird. I'm going to leave you to be a gross little maggot by yourself today."

"I'm not eating them."

"They're stewing in a pot."

"To get the meat off!"

"Yeah, whatever. See you at supper. I hope you don't stink."

"We'll find out, won't we?" you muttered, sotto voce, but he was already gone.

~*~*~*~

It was a beautiful day in September, and you heard him far before he knew you had. When you turned to look at Idia, floss wound around your fingers, he started. "Is my stealth that bad?"

You gave him the ghost of a smile. "You're not as quiet as you think you are." He hasn't cottoned on that you can hear what's in his headphones, if they aren't set just right on his head, and you aren't about to tell him. The face he makes when you pick him out so easily was too good to lose.

He nodded, fidgeted, looked at the spread on the table. "What are you doing?"

"Well, she's got to dry. So I'm working on this pattern until the top coat goes on."

'She' was a currently eyeless, disembodied head, that you'd picked up along with her body in a second hand store for a pittance. You'd unstrung her, scrubbed her clean, and now were putting on a face to match her sweet if imperious expression, a bratty princess of a girl in miniature. You hadn't realized you'd liked dolls until you'd seen her. But, when you had, your breath fled your throat in the same way it had only once since coming here.

He looked, but knew better than to touch. He did a little bit of craft work himself, mostly model painting, and wasn't about to muss your hard work. "She's... nice?" He didn't quite get the appeal, despite having two vinyl dolls you knew of stowed carefully in their packages under his bed. When you'd asked, he just muttered that they were anime characters and didn't come out except for photos because something something collectibles something resale value. Boys.

"I could do better. But it's enough. Thank you for letting me borrow the painting set up."

"Y... welcome." He squinted at the embroidery, finally noticing something. "Are those bones?"

In the center of each withered, poisonous blossom in your embroidery hoop, you'd stitched a tiny vertebra to serve as the center. "Yeah?"

"Why?"

"Why not?"

He wasn't ready to push it any further. "If you want..." He hesitated, and stumbled, and you waited until he just brought out his tablet to tap it out on a screen instead. "You can come do that in Board Game Club, if you want. There's a window. Azul shouldn't mind."

"I'll join you after I gear up and put the sealant on her. Thank you for inviting me." You gave him your best, most dazzling smile. "You know how much I like when you include me in your stuff. I know it's not always easy for you; how shy you are and all."

He squeaked and looked away, and you continued. "I should be there in about an hour. Make sure Azul doesn't keep up trying to wager me in chess. I can't fucking play worth a damn and he knows it."

He smirked. "He likes easy marks. Maybe try and get goo-"

You flicked a bone at him, and it hit him square on the nose as he yelped.

~*~*~*~

Welcome, October. Coolness and colour, a certain something on the breeze that felt like a home you'd never let go. Even if it hadn't quite hit the dorms the same way as they main area of the school. (Those little fairies that ran the weather machine didn't seem to believe in seasons for the dorms, or perhaps Crowley gave them a chewing out after the spring?) In amongst the Heartslabyul roses, you'd think it was still summer, and you weren't one to let a day of warmth go.

"Oh, in this chapel of ritual, smells of dead human sacrifices from the altar..."

"Stop that."

You looked up at Riddle, who'd found you in your secluded corner. "Why?"

"You can't sing and the lyrics are awful."

"Is there a rule against that?"

He nodded. "The queen gets to approve all music."

"Ah, of course, mine rosen liege. My petaled monarch. Emperor Rosa." A collar appeared on your neck, and you did not slow down. "Cardiac Sovereign. Dauphine De la Coeur. I can do this all day, Riddle; that collar don't do shit cause I ain't magic."

The colour was high on his cheeks. "Is it your job to annoy me?"

"Oh, you got me. I wake up and spend every moment thinking 'How do I best piss off Riddle Roseheart? How about I stand outside his door and blast nightcore from a boombox?' "

He narrowed his eyes at you. "Stop joking."

You laughed. "Yeah. I only do that with Shoenheit."

That managed to get a bit of a smile out of him. "Why are you being a pest over here, and not at your own dorm?"

"I'm just doing crafts, man."

"While sitting on the grass."

"Yeah, man. Won't be any grass to sit on soon enough. Made sure to not be on the croquet grounds or anything."

He looked at the mess of foam and ribbon around you. "What are you even doing?"

You looked down, and back up at him. "Crafts?"

"More specifically, before I kick you out for being awful."

You held up a padded frame, that you were carefully wrapping a satin ribbon around the many bars of it. "What does that look like?"

He just glared instead of admitting he didn't know, so you got to your feet and held the frame over your chest, the shape clarifying by being pressed over what it mimicked. "It's ribs. It'll tie on with more ribbon. Might put beads and stuff on it too."

He looked for a beat before nodding. "For later this month?"

"Indeed."

"... Continue, then. But be quiet!" 

He was nice enough to remove the collar before he left, but not nice enough to leave it off as soon as you resumed singing to yourself once you'd assumed he was out of earshot.

~*~*~*~

"Hey, Lil?”

"Yeah?"

You looked over the riot of cheery pumpkins and Far East aesthetics that had sprung from your lawn. "You should've asked me, first."

Lil smiled at you. "But then you would have said no."

"I wouldn't have. But," you guestured to the papier mache dragon, "Really, my dude? This isn't what I would have picked at all. I'm not going to match."

"You're working on a costume? Already?" He lit up. "What's it going to be?"

"You'll see."

"Do I get a costume?"

You looked down at your not-cat. "Grimm, I didn't think you'd want one."

"I do now!" He scrambled to your shoulder and tugged at your hair, wailing. "Costume! Costume!"

You rolled your eyes. "Stop that, before I sell you to Lil to practice recipes on."

~*~*~*~

Grimm was no help. He changed his mind every few minutes on what he wanted. At least your incorporeal roommates were a sweet help, finally gearing him up with a hat by the beginning of the week.

"Do you still need one, Yuu?" The middling ghost, the one neither plump nor skeletal, seemed concerned.

"No, babe. I've been working on this since..." August, you think. "I'm good. I hope I can get a week out of it. I could at least do a different face each day."

Realization dawned across his face. "That's what that was for? I see. I guess you won't need..."

Oh, he made you a costume. Layers and layers of rotten gauze from the curtains, a spindrift take on the bedsheet ghost. 

"Hey, I can use this, don't worry. Can you stoke the fire? I've got to dye this to match, I'll need some water boiled."

~*~*~*~

There's too many fucking people. You don't know any of them, they're loud, and they cram in wherever you need to go. But their fussing over you, their asking for pictures is nice. If only...

"Hey, are you lost, kid?" You lean down and reach a hand out to a fearful-looking six-year-old. "I can help you find someone who can help?"

He promptly burst into tears and collided into Floyd as he ran away.

"Hey there itty bitty. You need an adult? Hold on." Even with Floyd... being Floyd, he was a hell of a more welcome sight to the kid, and soon had him balanced on a shoulder to yell for his parents. "Who's under all that?"

"Your favourite shrimp, you overgrown string bean."

Floyd make an o of surprise and flicked the veil up. "It is you under all that! See, kid, She's not scary. She's pretty."

The kid simply eyed him dubiously before going back to trying to wave his parents down to get away from these lunatics.

All your hard work paid off beautifully. A mass of bones, beads and decay, a beautifully jeweled skeleton crowned with a fine halo of gold-and-bone spines and dried flowers. You rattled gently with every step, eyes staring out from a painted skull. They only thing you regretted was Riddle catching you earlier. Even if he hadn't intentionally steered it that way himself, everyone would assume you'd intentionally went to match Heartslabyul. Even more, now that you'd turned those curtains into a veil, even if you'd stuck all the bone and garnet drops you could onto the edges.

"Thank you, Floyd." You leaned up towards the kid. "Didn't mean to scare you, little darling."

The kid just stared at you in fear, and fortunately his parents came along to claim him, leaving you and Floyd by yourself.

"Shrimpie~" He'd scooped you up to replace the kid in his arms before you could protest. "You're so cute like this! Let's go to the alchemy room."

"What's in the alchemy room, Floyd." At this point you were used to him just... hauling you wherever. And you’d found that if you went along with the lighter end of it, he took you seriously when you said no. Weirdo he was, he'd at least gathered that you'd hang out willingly if he didn't push it.

"Oh, well you look so nice! You'll look much nicer in the water tube than the dummy we have in there."

"There are several reasons that can't work, Floyd. Least of it is I only breathe air."

"You're a ghost right now, you don't breathe at all."

"This outfit would not survive a dunking. I'm not sure it'll last the week if I don't repair it every night."

He kept smiling at you. "Even better! Wearing nothing at all on Halloween! Everyone would take even more pictures."

"Yeah yeah, and you have nothing at all in your room if I want to speed that up." You flicked his nose. "Put me down and we can walk over and check how it's going."

"Excuse me?" A stranger. "Can I take a picture of you and your boyfriend like that."

"I'm not her boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend. Go ahead though."

~*~*~*~

"What are you working on?"

Idia's voice was slightly muffled under the pumpkin head. "People kept calling my projection 'cute'. Idiots! They don't know the true fear of Pumpkin Hollow. So I'm adjusting the projection mapping so it's less cute, and more accurate."

"Hm. It seems fine to me as it is."

"You would think that. You don't care if there is a cuteness to things that are scary."

"There's beauty and sweetness in even death." You thought for a moment. "This is for that series you sat me down for? You got mad when I played with the toys?"

"Those. Are. Collecta-" he stopped when he whirled on you, faltering into silence. You really wished you could see the face he was making, he made such sweet faces, especially when he looked at you. You craved them, wanted him to look only at you with those expressions.

You smiled at him. "There's no use in leaving a toy in a box! I don't buy anything I don't intend to play with."

"Ah. Errrrrrrrrghhhmmm." He turned back to his work, took a deep breath, and turned back around. "You watched them, would you give me feedback?"

"Sure. Could you lean down a little?"

He did, and you carefully pulled off the pumpkin, revealing - nothing. No head at all.

You laughed. "Turn that off."

"Why?"

"I just opened your box. Time to play."

He made a strangled noise and started back, looking this way and that. "Right now? Anyone could come in!"

"Just for a moment! How can I give you a kiss if I can't see where I'm aiming?"

His head flickered into view, with a face full of mischief. "... Just one?"

~*~*~*~

"What happened to your makeup?"

"Wouldn't you like to know, model boy." You looked Vil up and down. "You're actually pretty hot like that. It's a miracle."

"Of course you would only find me attractive when I look like a corpse." He rolled his eyes hard enough to sprain. "Do I need to go lie down in a glass coffin too? Stay very still while you actually work up the courage to touch me?"

You snorted. "You wish I would touch you, you overblown jackass."

"With you looking like that? I'd die."

"Bite me, asshole."

"You'd like it if I did."

Your tone grew playful. "Is that a promise for later?"

"Ugh." His shudder was too exaggerated to be anything but an act. "Go ask your ugly little playmate for a bite, we all know what gross shit you get up to."

"You're just mad it's not you."

He pointed a perfectly manicured nail at your painted nose. "You're just mad I want nothing to do with you."

"Then why are you even talking to me?"

"I- why am I talking to you. Go away."

You did, but not before pulling on his cape to wrinkle it.

~*~*~*~

You had a dreadful feeling things were about to get worse. Call it intuition, or paranoia. But with any luck, that would change after a good night's sleep.

(It did not.)

~*~*~*~ These fuckers were getting exhausting. What a grand idea, picking unknown flowers to stick in your hair for selfies! That wasn't an excellent way to come down with a hideous case of contact poisoning at all. You had to swat one girl's hand away from a bed of monkshood, reciting symptoms of aconite poisoning at her until she stalked off in a huff. 

And futzing around with the decorations! The only reason you didn't outwardly congratulate Leona on trying to rip apart a bunch of tourists was that murder is supposed to be bad, no matter how irritating and disrespectful the murder victims were. Even you knew better than to go around fondling random ears and tails! 

(That's why you'd made the anatomy books in the library your friends. Far more polite than going up to a fellow student and saying, "May I feel around your skull for a few hours to satisfy my scientific curiosity? No one at home has ears like that and I'm very curious about the underlying muscle structures." )

Better see what's going on everywhere else.

~*~*~*~

You got up in tiptoe and lightly touched his arm. "Hey, Floyd?"

"??? Yes, Shrimpie?" His face instantly brightening, he dropped the absolutely delighted Magicammer he'd had pressed to the shelf and turned to you, leaning in as you crooked your finger.

You whispered in his ear, "Why waste magic on them when you can do so much more with your fists?"

He shone like the sun as he pressed his cheek to yours in lieu of something more intimate. "You always know just what to do."

~*~*~*~

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE."

The crowd of idiots instead turned on you with flash photography. "Another ghost! This'll get so many likes!"

"I MEAN IT!" Blinking away the spots from your eyes and casting all good sense to the wind, you grabbed a fire poker from inside your bedroom door and started swinging. They laughed and clapped - and only stepped back when you got the damned thing stuck in the wall while taking a swing.

"What an excellent show!" And more. Fucking. Pictures. How in the fuck Vil deals with this shit without murdering everyone in a hundred-foot radius, you'd love to know.

"I SAID-" yank "GET THE FUCK-" yank "OUT OF MY HOUSE!" The force of finally pulling the poker from the wall sent you careening onto your ass, and Grimm only stopped long enough to laugh at you before resuming his own ineffective charge. You stumbled to your feet, muttering. "Stupid little mother fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking..."

"Oh, it's a chase game! Let's go!" And they all fucking scattered into different rooms as you watched them in disbelief.

"I am going to kill everyone in this building and then myself for good measure."

~*~*~*~

"Leave."

"Aren't you going to scare me, Miss Ghost?" This last idiot was joyfully skipping around a bedroom that you'd had the ghosts empty out, nattering into her phone. A livestream, you think.

You're in you goddamned pajamas. "Sure. We don't use this room because the floor's not sound. Get the fuck out and leave before you fall through to the next floor."

The girl instead started to hop in place. "Oooooo, so scary! You'll have to try better than that!"

You rushed her. You probably would have throttled her (and wound up with a new ghostly roommate in the process) but as she backed up, your leg went through the floor where she'd weakened it, which left her cackling. 

"You weren't kidding! Bye now!" And she just fucking left you there like the wretched asshole she was.

~*~*~*~

"I'm so sorry, Yuu."

"Nothing to be sorry about, Mal."

He rested his head on your bare knee and looked up at you. "If I hadn't picked your home as a stamp location, people wouldn't be invading this dorm, and you wouldn't have been injured."

"You fixed me up, didn't you?" He was the one who had pulled you rightways, and shut the scratches on your leg. Of course, he could have left your socks on to do that, but hey, those had been fixed too. You reached down and put your hand on his cheek, rubbing circles by his eye while he stared up at you like an adoring dog.

"This was supposed to be fun for you, so you could have a perfect Halloween."

"That's still a few days away yet. There's still time. And hey."

He blinked up at you as you leaned your face in close, flushing faintly as you did. "Any luck, we'll all make it to November without assault charges."

~*~*~*~

"Yuu?"

You subconsciously growled like a rabid animal as you turned to Lilia with your eye twitching.

"By all the queen's powers." He shrank back. "You alright?"

"Magimons broke the lock on our bedroom and shook her awake last night." Grimm was, by some miracle, in a better mood than you; content to be a comforting weight in your arms and be your anger translator.

"They took," you added, "my groceries."

Lil looked at you in blank shock. "What about the wards on your doors?"

"That's for magic, not fucking morons with no sense of personal space." If you made it through 'til November without actually biting someone's throat out and getting put down like a mad dog, you'd be sincerely surprised. "You of all people should know that."

"Hey, I put them back up after I drop in. You want to go sit with Malleus today? I think you need it."

"Nope. If I snap at him he'll take it to heart. Or just kill everyone who's not staff or student because they upset me."

"No he wouldn't."

"We both know he would."

"He would not because that would be bad press for the kingdom."

"... well, damned if I ever though I'd say this, but thank god for politics."

~*~*~*~

You stare at the empty plinths as everyone started yelling and scrambling. You look to the rubble of the statues, the bases, to Cater, and back to the rubble, nudging what may have once been a staff with you toe.

"And it's not even for a fucking political movement."

~*~*~*~

"Yuu, if we can get rid of the magicam monsters, we can have the party!" Grimm smiled up at you, all sharp teeth and blue eyes. "Aren't you happy?"

You didn't have the heart to tell him that at this point, you'd rather they'd just cancel everything and simply sleep through till All Saint's. Fuck your costume work. Fuck the party. Fuck everything. If you see another jack o lantern you will smash it. Fuck this holiday. You're so tired.

"Yuu, do you have ideas on how to drive the magicam monsters away?"

You stared past Cater's ear because you didn't feel like looking anyone in the face. "Tried to brain a few with a fire poker. Th'just thought it was funny."

This was met with the sound of air sucked through teeth, and a warm hand on your shoulder. "Come with me please!" And Ortho pulled you away with the force of a vaudeville hook.

"You're having a very bad time!" So sweet, so earnest. Right now he was the only person here who could be that chipper and you not want to put their nose out the back of their skull.

You gave him a weary smile. "What was your first clue, honey."

"She keeps kicking in her sleep. When she sleeps. And she's all snappy and horrible!"

You gave Grimm a single light warning shake. "Shut up, Grimm."

"Would you like to stay over so that you can rest properly?" He was hovering directly in front of your face. "Maybe if you're somewhere you won't be woken up, you'll feel better."

You raised an eyebrow and stared over at Idia, who was trying very hard to pay attention to both your conversation and his. "Shouldn't you clear that with someone first?"

Ortho rolled his eyes, the effect on his little boy face frankly hilarious. "Oh, he'd be so upset you have you over. Deeply so. He wouldn't get a wink of sleep with you there." He leaned in. "Except he would, because you wouldn't do anything to keep him up with me there, would you?"

You wheezed. "You think so little of me, Ortho."

"I like you very much even if what you both get up to is gross."

"Of every boy in this school, Yuu. You picked that one."

Ortho glared down at Grimm. "That is my brother you're talking about."

"Stop it. Can we check back in?"

~*~*~*~

"So we're going to run round and scare the piss out of them?"

Jade nodded. "That is the idea, yes."

"... Can I help?"

"Of course, Yuu." Jade smiled his smile that didn't reach more than a millimetre beneath his eyes. "But we've agreed you can't have any blunt objects. For everyone's safety. And the school's reputation, of course.."

"... Yeah, that's for the best."

~*~*~*~

"Can you guys watch Grimm for the evening?"

"Of course." Mal beamed at you from his seat on the Ramshackle steps. "Where will you be that he doesn't want to be?"

"I don't like the horse."

"You ride horses?" Idia was sitting between Mal's legs as Malleus carefully arranged the bright hair into a high ponytail.

"Epel taught me." You paused for a minute. "Do you?"

"Mother made me learn. I haven't in years."

"Makes sense." He didn't like the outdoors, after all. "Mal, how'd you convince him to let you touch his hair? He only lets me do that in private."

"It will look nicer coming out of his pumpkin helmet if arranged higher." Mal crooked his mouth and dragged his lacquered nails along Idia's scalp, making a soft noise when Idia gasped, shivered and abruptly stood up.

"Nope nope nope nope no more of that-"

"May I at least put the elastic in?" Mal held up a black band. "It's fireproof."

He instead snatched it and ran for the library as fast as he could without cracking the armour. You and Mal watched him leave.

"Hm."

"Mal?"

He was still watching the blue light vanish into the distance. "I think I can see the appeal." His dreamy smile gained a sharp edge. "What a delicious sound."

You snickered. "God, I know, right? You should hear some of the other ones I've got out of him."

"You're both disgusting."

~*~*~*~

You hadn't worked out an actual story for this one, just your ghostly roommates and Grimm telling everyone to leave the statues alone. But some asshole, wearing aviator shades and the ugliest piecemeal hoodie you'd ever seen, mounted a plinth to start taking selfies. And once that started, more got the idea, and joined him, trying to nudge the statue away to make room.

So, that's where you came in, pulling into sight at the end of the drive, in tarnished gilt and rotten splendor, jeweled Death on a pale horse.

Sunglasses looked at you and froze, before snapping another picture.

Fucking pictures. You're so sick of pictures.

You snapped the reins and nudged your heels, and who knew anyone on two legs could move that fast? Though potentially being run down by a warhorse was great motivation to move thine arse, as it were. And, thank god, everyone else booked it out the gate after him. 

It only took a little maneuvering to lock the gate while still up on a pale horse named Beans, and now? Time to take him to his stable and go the fuck to sleep. Maybe through past tomorrow. Fuck Halloween.

~*~*~*~

You were riding your merry way when a familiar voice called out to you. "You dropped some loot!"

"What did I lose, Idia?" His little speakers mimicking the clang of armour were working overtime as he jogged up beside you. Once he reached you, he held up... a shoe.

"Huh." You looked down, and you had indeed lost a shoe while charging down a bunch of Magicam-obsessed assholes on a warhorse. "Thank you." That's when you gave Idia a level gaze, and stuck you leg out at him.

He swallowed back his noise of shock, and shaking, took your stockinged foot and slid the shoe back into place. 

"Good boy."

He was turning from shell pink to a deep red that rivaled the roses in Heartslabyul. But that didn't mean he didn't know how to keep playing when emotions were high. Before letting go, he leaned down and kissed the top of your foot.

Now it was your turn to go red; a wonder the painted skull didn't simply melt off of your face.

~*~*~*~

"Shrimpie~"

You took a breath and prepared yourself. Scoopsies was inevitable.

True to form, Floyd had his whole conversation with you in a bridal carry. "We're gonna have the party!~ We chased them all away!~"

"That's..." Honestly, despite all the rage and pain this week had caused, you were rather happy about the news. "Nice."

"Ah - where'd your face go?" He leaned in, and you stopped him from getting too close with a finger pressed to his lips.

"I didn't feel up to wearing everything." Your embroidered gown and painted skull was replaced with a simple back veil and black dress. "I kind of hate this whole holiday right now and I'm ready to kick the next pumpkin I see."

He nodded, kissing your fingertip as he did. "I can help you after. But we need this all for the parade." He brightened. "You should paint up and get on the horse again for it!" He smiled, full of dreamy fondness and not a small amount of hunger. "I heard what you did to the magicam monsters... I wish I could have seen."

"Hey, I heard you didn't do too badly yourself." You leaned in conspiratorially. "Anyone pee themselves?"

He smiled like the sun post-eclipse. "Yup!"

~*~*~*~

Epel had been nice enough to help you kit out Beans in a fancy black harness, so in amongst the crowd of costumed students, you were both equally eye-catching. And hell, pictures weren't so bad right now. People were keeping a distance, murmuring to each other as they aimed their cameras. You thought you were getting a dirty look or two from Vil for stealing his thunder, but he had himself on the prow of a ship! It wasn't comparable.

"So," you said, leaning down a little, "How are you handling this?"

Idia looked up at you, you thought. "The mask makes it easy. They're looking at the costume, not me."

"I'm glad it helps. I wish you'd take it off, but you being comfortable is more important."

"What? You want me to ruin the effect by taking the mask off? Clearly you have no respect for the holiday." His voice had the sweet, bubbling quality that came when he was excited and happy, and it warmed you to hear it.

"Oh, no, of course not. But why would I want to taste a plastic kiss,” you said, reaching a hand down to run the trailing ribbon of his hair through your fingers, “when I could taste you instead?"

You had to give him credit, he only faltered for a moment before continuing. "Right now? In front of everyone?"

"I would if you'd let me, right now." You lowered your voice. "And worse."

He stifled a groan and only walked funny for another ten minutes.

~*~*~*~

"I thought you didn't like horses." The stables were in sight, but Idia had turned up, surprising you.

He rolled his eyes, and held his arms out. "Dismount, fair maiden."

What.

"I mean it. Your Pumpkin Knight awaits."

You shook your head, voice soft. "Baby, no."

"I'm trying to be romantic. Like your novels."

"Idia."

He stared back at you, sour-faced. "What."

"I outweigh you by at least sixty pounds."

"I can do this. I carry Ortho around all the time."

"Ortho's chassis is mostly fibreglass and aluminum. I can carry Ortho. I think Grim could carry Ortho."

He took a step forward. "Do you want me to leave you on the horse or not."

"His name is Beans." But, you managed to dismount into Idia's arms, where he stood stock-still and trembling.

"Kkc."

"Babe? Put me down before your back goes out."

His knees gave out first, and he crumpled beneath you as you both yelped.

"You alright?"

"hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

You crawled off his chest and he could actually breathe again.

"Better?"

After a few breaths, he managed a weak smile. "Maybe kiss it better."

Beans beat you to it, snuffling at Idia's face to make sure he wasn't dead.

~*~*~*~

You are not much of a party person. You like them, but the ideal party is a few friends hanging around in the same room, chatting at a reasonable volume and then going home to go the fuck to sleep. This was a little much.

But you know what this party had that you hadn't seen in what felt like years? Cute girls. In cute costumes! You've been flirting your ass off, with decent success; it turns out that the Magicam Live you did with Vil weeks ago had paid off in the form of smiles and fluttered eyelashes as girls crowded around you to hear tales of how fucking obnoxious you could be in this school and get away with it because you had friends in high places.

At least, until you caught something out of the corner of your eye, and you stopped. "Hey, I gotta check on someone - raise your hand if you like boys. Okay, you see -" You stopped and pointed at your poor, unsuspecting target. "With the blue-black hair and the painted spade? That's Deuce, he doesn't know how to talk to girls worth a damn, so give him some slack. But he's a sweetheart, you won't regret it."

"What about the redhead?"

"Ace is a prick but he's delightful. Chat him up too." With that, you went to check on Idia, huddled into a corner after an attempted force-feeding.

"You alright, babe?"

He nodded. "They're too much. But I'm alright now."

You leaned back against a nearby chair, looking him up and down. "You sure you aren't going to eat anything? I don't think anyone's going to care too much if you have your face out."

He remained completely still, and you realized you could hear a faint whirring.  "Idia. Have you been using the robot double all evening."

"... I swapped out ten minutes ago."

You made a noise and he flinched. "I was going to swap back in after it calmed down!"

"... No you weren't."

"Okay, no I wasn't. But I was there for a while. I have proof, I brought plates back with me."

"You could have just told me. It's been a hell of a lot for you, I know what you're like."

Idia - well, his robotic avatar - shrugged. "If you're going to lecture me... come by and do it here."

You stopped. "You really want me to yell at you in person?"

"I want you to come by. If you want. You can stay as long as you want... if you want. I have snacks, and movies, and games that even you could play."

You snorted. "Oh, the siren call of a fucking nerd trying so hard to woo his chosen..."

"I changed my mind actually, you can't come."

"Aww."

"... That's a lie." He paused. "You can even take the Yume Twins out."

Those vinyl dolls he never let you touch. You throw your veil back and kissed the stupid plastic pumpkin head. "It's a date."

~*~*~*~

"Yuu?"

You peered at Malleus from around a stack of Tupperware. "Mal?"

"You.. enjoyed it all, despite everything?"

"Despite everything." You hefted the stack towards him. "Would you like to help? I want to grab stuff from the party that'll keep at room temperature."

He absently flicked a finger, sending the dishes swirling around to settle in a stack in midair, before placing a hand on your shoulder. "I have a... request."

"Anything," you said, and you regretted saying it as his breath hitched.

"Would you..." His voice faltered, and instead he simply wrapped you in a tight embrace, leaning down to bury his nose in your hair. You could feel him, chest heaving, scenting your greased hair through tulle, murmuring something against your scalp.

"Malleus."

He stopped, but did not move.

"No spells."

"You would not forgive me if I tried." You could feel his smile against your hair.

"I would not." You pulled back enough to look at him, and nearly froze at his besotted gaze before he schooled it into his more usual face. "Mal, you know you only feel this strong because I'm your first friend, right?"

"Does it matter? It is sincere."

And that makes it so much worse. "You know I don't feel about you like that."

"..." The grief that flickered across his face was enough to shatter a stone heart. "To stand with you and hold you is enough."

And they said fairies can't lie. They could, they were just terrible at it.

"You said you were going to ask for something?"

"... Not anymore. I doubt you would give it."

He vanished into thin air in a swirl of wind, and the Tupperware clattered to the steps, the spell holding them gone.

~*~*~*~

The nice thing about Idia's room is that, being a prefect, he had an attached bathroom to scrub the paint off of your face. It was a monochrome murder in the sink, splatters of grey with the occasional pinprick of red where you'd disturbed the new bumper crop of pimples from painting up as a skull for a week. Thank fuck that was over with. Even if the day proper had been lovely, the events of the week had thoroughly soured you on Halloween.

"You alright?" Idia poked his head in, long since divested of armour.

"Yup. How'd you get that shit off so fast? You got a suiting-up machine hidden somewhere?"

"It's less complicated than you'd think. Cosplay magic."

"That's nice. Unbutton me."

"... wha."

You looked at him via the mirror, meeting his wide eyes and shimmying in place. "Unbutton me. I can't reach them all myself."

"How'd you get that on every day?" He hesitantly walked behind, eyeing the row down your back as though it would burn him at the touch.

"I have roommates, remember?"

"Mmh." He finally undid the first three, before flicking his gaze back to yours in the mirror. "A... Are you sure?"

"I wouldn't ask, otherwise." You kept looking, as he took a breath and resumed. "Idia."

He paused.

"Keep going, I'm just going to chat at you for a bit." Two more. "You know I..." How to phrase this. "I don't intend to stay mint on card forever, you know. You can take me out and play."

He twitched, but kept going. "Maybe I don't want to damage you. There's only one of you, after all."

"I'm not so breakable." You had one side of you face completely clear, the other still smeared grey in the creases. "Would you rather stay mint condition, yourself?"

"..." He took a moment to gather himself, staring at the exposed skin of your back. "Maybe I want to... admire a bit. Get to know my- your- Uh."

You waited with a soft smile, until he found the words. "No one said you have to play straight away when you take something out of the package. Right?" He placed an experimental hand on the expanse of flesh between bra band and waistband, and did not draw away.

"Right."

"... Maybe I just want to hold you a bit before we play."

What a sweet boy you had. "Take all the time you need to. Even if we never play like that, I like you. Spending time with you is what I want."

You could see the motes of pink flickering through his hair. "Can I hold you now?"

"Of course."

He slid his hands under your dress, around your waist - then grabbed your soft, flabby tummy in both hands and squeezed. "Soft~"

You squealed with laughter. "What are you doing?"

"It's bare skin that's neutral territory," he huffed, before hugging your back to him and resting his chin on your shoulder. "And it's warm, too."

"Not so much as you. Keep me warm, will you? It's getting so damned cold at night."

He buried his face in your hair. "I can do that."

~*~*~*~

You woke to someone banging at the door.

"Son of a bitch." You managed to free yourself from Idia's sleeping grasp and make it to the door as a familiar voice started up. "Shroud, your tin can brother's already helping with clean-up, if you skip out because of a stupid game I will-"

You opened the door and looked levelly into Vil's face, which twisted in surprise. He gave you a once over (unshaved legs, mussed hair, boxer briefs from the men's section and a blue-black striped shirt that was clearly not yours) and then peeked over your shoulder at Idia (dead asleep, smiling faintly, possibly naked under the blankets). He kept looking between the two of you with increasing disbelief and horror, until he stepped back, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Good for you."

"Thanks." Your face still hadn't changed.

"It's twelve thirty. If you're not both out helping clean up by three, I'm telling everyone."

"That's not much of a threat."

"Maybe to you. Shroud!"

Idia shuddered awake, bleariness washed away by terror as he saw Vil in the door and covered himself in the blankets.

"Be out helping cleanup by three or I'm telling everyone exactly why you're late." With that, he stalked off and you shut the door, mirroring his nose pinch.

"Dramatic bastard, ain't he? Even when he's being nice."

"How is that nice?" He only stopped shivering when you sat back down on the bed.

"Two and a half hours, Idia."

He blinked at you.

"How much can we do in two and a half hours?"

Realization dawned, and he started snickering as he dragged you in close.

[mellometal]

It seems like Dhar Mann has fucked up AGAIN. I'm pissed. He really thought that it would be cool to make ANOTHER video about ASD to spread the ableist, misinformed, harmful narrative that "autism isn't a disability, it's a different ability". LET'S TALK ABOUT IT.

To sum up the video, an autistic man who uses a device to communicate with people gets hired at this restaurant. The boss says to the guy who brought in said autistic man that having a disabled person working at his restaurant would "make things worse". The guy tries to stand up for the autistic man by saying that he's smart and stuff, but doesn't bother to call out the boss being completely ableist.

The boss then tells the autistic man to not touch anything and to stay out of the way, which is underestimating what he's capable of. When the two cooks in the kitchen ask a genuine question about who their new coworker is and why he uses a communication device to speak, the boss doesn't introduce him to the cooks and says that he's "nobody".

Pretty much the ONLY person who bothered to do anything remotely positive with the autistic man (that was shown) was the pastry chef. She was teaching him how to decorate a cake, was very patient with him, and gave him praise along the way. She was interested in getting to know him. She wasn't mean to him or anything. She stood up for him when the boss was being an ableist bag of dicks. He even threatened to fire this guy, who did nothing wrong, just for being autistic and the boss had no idea how to help accommodate his employee in any way. He ended up discriminating his employee for being autistic. (Which he could get sued for in the United States, if this happened in real life. Disabled people are a protected class in the workplace under Equal Employment Opportunity, or EEO. Dhar Mann, this includes autistic people.)

Hell, even the autistic man stood up to the boss. He went into how nobody wanted to hang out with him and stuff when he was growing up, that he had to be hidden away from other people, and nobody bothered to give him a chance because he's autistic and uses a communication device to speak. He's good with people. He pretty much told his boss to stop being an ableist piece of shit.

When the cooks and the pastry chef all say that their new coworker fixed the fryer and decorated the cake, the boss then changes his tune. Happy ending, Whoop-dee-fuckin-doo.

First off, how does being nonverbal affect a person's intelligence in any way? How does a communication device affect a person's intelligence? Let me tell you, none of these things affect a person's intelligence whatsoever. To think that they would is misinformed at best, and ableist at worst.

There are people who genuinely don't know about all the different types of communication that people use, and that's okay! I'm not mad at anyone who doesn't know about different types of communication besides oral speech, writing, and sign language. (I've worked with and interacted with a few people who use some of these different forms of communication.)

Some people use a communication device like a tablet for Text-to-Speech (that was shown in the video). I worked with someone throughout school who used a communication device.

Some people use basic mands (expressive language) and/or basic statements. An example of that would be a person saying, "Me, walk." to mean they're going on a walk. Sometimes they'll make a gesture to show they're going on a walk when they do this. I work with someone who mainly uses this form of communication.

Some use books or wear something like a belt with pictures held on with velcro that they can take out and put back in their books or belt. I've worked with someone in school who mainly used this form of communication.

Alright, now that's out of the way....onto my response. I'm happy that I saved screenshots of my comments because I think Dhar Mann deleted them! (Edit: Scratch that, I commented these on Dhar Mann's other account for his behind the scenes shit instead of his main.) I might get blocked, but it'll be worth it. I have multiple accounts, so I'm not going down easy. He really can't handle being told that his narrative is wrong. (I've been wrong many times before, so this ain't about that "holier-than-thou" shit. I try my best to fix things, learn, and improve. I mean, it hurts sometimes, but I at least try to improve myself.)

This video hit home. I had to hide being autistic from my employer because I was afraid of being rejected for a job opportunity because of it and I was afraid of dealing with ableist people like these men shown above.

While I'm fortunate to be able to hold down a job, there are many autistic people who can't hold down a job or can't work at all. This shit doesn't help.

(For anyone who needs a description for my comments....I am calling out Dhar Mann for his blatant ableism and his fans in the comments for eating up this ableist, misinformed, harmful narrative and about the performative activism quite a few people on IG are about. It's way too long for me to go into extreme detail.)

(ETA: Yes, autistic nonbinary people exist. I didn't intentionally forget y'all in my comments! I love y'all! /p I wrote it while I was quite heated, plus the sleep deprivation didn't help.)

The YouTuber I mentioned, for anyone who wants to know, is TheMysteriousMrEnter. He's an autistic creator who makes commentaries about cartoons (just animations in general), he has talked about his issues with @utism $p3aks, and a lot of other things. He's even talked about his own cyber harassment and how he had stalkers on a few occasions. Honestly, I can relate to him on a few things, mainly because I've been harassed on the internet and have had stalkers online. Plus the love for cartoons and anime. If you're into cartoon commentaries, check him out. He's underrated. (Also....some ace representation for all my ace people here.)

Dhar Mann's a real piece of human garbage! The fact that he still has supporters is sickening. Again, I feel bad for all the actors in his videos. They deserve better.

[descendantofthesparrow]

Shuffle Playlist - Rewrite - Part of Your World - part 13 - Safe and sound

=

You woke up to Evie gently pushing at your shoulder Hey, we’re back” she whispered, carefully stepping over your legs and out of the limo, Carlos and Dude exiting just behind her. You groaned as you released Harry's hand and unwound your arm from around his shoulder, you cupped his cheek, and rubbed your thumb against it to wake him up.

Gil stretched and groaned as his back cracked, he looked down and poked Harry's forehead “Dude, come on wake up, we’re home” Harry slowly blinked awake, wincing in pain as he slowly sat up “Woah are you still hurting?”

“Sore” Harry muttered,  letting his head fall back on the seat as he tried to stretch out his legs “I think Mal's spell took away the main stuff but I gotta deal with the end healing shit”

“ouch,” you muttered, grabbing onto Harry's hands and tugging him out of the car “come on, let's get you a hot shower or something, you need to relax after the last two days, and plus you don’t smell all that good” Harry snorted at that and grabbed onto the door frame to lean on as he got out of the limo.

“yeh try being a nasty ass cell for two days with no bathroom” he joked, giving you a soft smile when you just looked at him. “sorry, yeh know that’s how I deal with stuff love” you rolled your eyes and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“yeah yeah, come on” you intertwined your hand with Harry’s and walked after the others who were just a little ways ahead of you. Gil stepped to Harry’s other side and tossed his arm around his neck, not wanting to let go yet.

Lonnie walked off towards the school building, waving the group goodbye as she went to go put away the fencing swords.

“Ben! There you are!” Jane rushed up to Ben's side, holding her tablet in her arms “Cotillion is tomorrow!” she ushered him closer, showing him the stained-glass window design “This is your design for Mal's window, isn’t it beautiful she’s gonna love it!” Ben turned away from Jane and leaned close to Mal, whispering to her;

“Hey…should we cancel?” Mal looked up at him, if they suddenly canceled the day before the cotillion, the press would go wild, and Mal didn’t know how to deal with that.

She slightly shook her head, Jane saw their looks and attempted to backtrack for a bit to come back later. You smiled at Harry and walked up to Ben, tapping his shoulder to make him turn to you.

“Tomorrow is exactly six months since the vks came, just change what we're celebrating” you whispered, Mal and Ben, grinning at you as you said it.

“Actually…that's perfect” Ben muttered, turning back to Jane and nodding at her “Yeah, um, no it's fine…looks good.” he turned to Mal, nodding at her “Do whatever you need to do” she nodded back, watching him walk off with Jane.

Evie linked her arm with Mal’s and started to guide her to a private area “We need to talk” Evie muttered, Mal letting out a small sigh, she had already explained mostly everything on the isle, but there were still some things to be said.

“Yeah” Mal muttered back, the two girls stopped as Carlos stepped behind them.

“No.” Evie and Mal turned, their brows furrowed in confusion.

“No?” Evie asked, slightly appalled at Carlos’ random objection.

Carlos licked his lips, glancing at Jay before looking back at the girls “you guys are always going off in a huddle, whispering your…girl-talk stuff, or whatever…and Jay and I are tired of it!” Jay shook his head immediately, holding up his hands a bit.

“I’m not.” he shrugged as Carlos glared at him a bit. Carlos rolled his eyes and looked back at Mal and Evie.

“We’re you’re family too. We’ve been through a lot, together…and I’m not stopping that now, okay?” it was a moment of silence as everyone stared at Carlos, who watched Mal as she nodded in agreement. With her approval, Carlos looked to Jay and Evie “Everyone sit” he plopped down to the ground, looking up at everyone as they just raised their brows “Come on” as Jay, Evie, and Mal slowly sat down on the grass, Carlos turned, stopping you, Gil, and Harry in your tracks as you walked towards the dorms. “you too!”

You gestured to Harry, who was about two seconds from falling asleep again “I said everyone sit, this is a mandatory VK meeting” he yelled, smirking as Gil shrugged and helped Harry over to the circle, Harry sitting down next to Carlos as Gil plopped down next to Jay. You shuffled your feet awkwardly before Carlos turned back and nodded his head towards the circle “I said all of us, that includes honorary VKs” you gave a small smile and walked over, sitting down next to Harry and snorting a bit as he leaned into you, arm wrapping around your waist.

It was silent for a moment as everyone stared at each other awkwardly, before Carlos broke the silence again. “I don’t know how to start girl talk” you snorted, pressing your face into Harry’s side.

Jay pursed his lips, shrugging a bit “what up?” Evie laughed a bit, as Mal took a deep breath.

“Well…I’m a mess” she started, letting out a sigh as she started to pull grass from the ground “I’m such a fucking mess, like-six months ago I was stealing candy from babies and planning to take over the world and now-now everyone seems to want me to be this picture-perfect princess who never messes up and I’m just so stressed because it was such a sudden change and I've been freaking out for the last five months? And-and I broke up with Ben because I realized that I’m NOT ready for a relationship yet and-and it was moving so damn fast-and” Mal was speaking so quickly she hardly had time to take a breath. You finally decided to butt in, grabbing onto her moving hand.

“Woah woah woah, slow down Mal, take a long deep breath and hold it” Mal followed your instructions, taking a deep breath and holding it as you held your hand up. “Now let it go, slowly” as you lowered your hand, Mal followed with releasing her breath, her slightly glowing stressed eyes calming as her shoulders slumped “Better?”

She gave a watery smile and nodded, reaching up and rubbing at her eyes to rid of the stress tears “Yeah, thank you” you nodded, squeezing her hand before letting it go and leaning back against Harry.

“Now, Mal” she looked back up at you “ I’m going to give it to you straight, all of what you just ranted about? Your fault” Evie gasped, grabbing onto Mal's shoulders and attempting to rebuttal but Mal knocked her hands off and sighed.

“No Evie, I need to hear this, I’m not six years old needing to be given the happy dappy glitter version of everything” she looked back at you, nodding for you to continue.

You nodded back “Having to be ‘a perfect princess’? no one ever made you do that, that was all on your own. The fast relationship with Ben…okay that’s on both of you, yall NEVER talk about anything and in Auradon, it’s filled with people who get married after knowing each other for three hours, so it's on him for not asking you if you were okay with moving that fast and it's on you for not telling him you aren’t comfortable moving that fast.” Mal pressed her lips together and nodded, looking down at her hands that were clenched on her pants. “and good on you for breaking up with Ben” she looked back up with wide eyes “because in my world, yall “broke up” for like three hours before getting back together, into a toxic relationship might I add, so I’m proud of you for taking the mature step and breaking up with him…for what reason?” Mal shrugged.

“Mental stuff, it was going too fast and he kinda…doesn’t help with my…what did you call it?” you hummed and looked off for a moment.

“um, god complex?” she pointed at you and nodded.

“Yeah that, he doesn’t…try to call me out on anything, like-yes he got angry with me for using magic to cheat with my lady of the court stuff and I get why he got angry with me, but…he doesn’t call me out on the important stuff like….okay two months ago, I royally fucked up with Jane and I kinda…insulted her, I didn’t mean to but it slipped out and, Ben was right there and he did…nothing, no ‘Mal that was mean go apologize’ no ‘Mal think before you speak’ nothing, he just stood there and acted like I had done nothing wrong!” you clicked your tongue.

“He did that with Audrey too, she's more passive-aggressive on things and petty as all hell, and when she would, well, insult Jane for her hair, or Lonnie for preferring sports over mani-pedis, he acted like she didn’t say anything at all. That’s something he needs to work on, and I think he does that because of his parents.” The vks looked at you confused “Well look at them, Beast locked all the villains away on an isle and kept you all on there as if you had done something to the people in Auradon, when you didn’t you are all innocent kids just trying to survive, not once did Belle speak up against that, and that’s something she passed down to Ben, she ignores the red flags in someone because she loves him and in turn that encourages his behavior! That’s what Ben does with you and what he did with Audrey, you both have some nasty habits, Audrey’s passive-aggressiveness, and your lying tendencies.

He needs to see that what he has been taught is wrong, just like you’re learning what was wrong with your parent's teachings, you don’t need to lie or cheat your way through life, sometimes just being true to yourself and others gets you farther than anything else. Ben needs to learn that he doesn’t have to stand by and watch as everything else happens around him, he was able to break free of that before with bringing you six over but then…he lost it, and I don’t know what happened but he was so adamant of giving you guys a chance and was protective over you and then….I don’t know, he just…changed”

It was a few moments of tense silence as the VKs realized Ben had changed throughout the last couple of months.  You waved off your rand “Sorry, that got away from me there, but we can talk about it properly later, but Mal, no one forced you to change, no one, that was all you. And I know you were only thinking of being accepted by the people of Auradon but that wasn’t good, you don’t NEED to be accepted by everyone in the world, you don’t NEED to be liked by everyone, because there's always going to be a handful of people who don’t, and that’s okay. What's important now is that you find yourself and become a better person in turn, yeah?”

Mal took a shuddering breath and nodded, giving you a tight-lipped smile. “Yeah…thank you (y/n)” she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around you tightly “I needed that”

You patted her back “I’m always here to give it to you straight” Mal pulled back and rubbed her eyes.

“Well…this was dumb” Jay muttered, starting to stand when Evie stopped him.

“Maybe it wasn’t” she took Mal's hand, smiling at you for a moment before looking back at the vks “We’re always gonna be the kids from the isle…I tried to forget it…I really tried. But those are our roots, and I know you two, Harry and Gil” they perked up a bit, raising their brows “never tried to forget it like I did…or Mal did. But there's really nothing to be ashamed of for being from the isle, because it made us into who we are today, we’re villain kids, and that’s never going to change.” Harry, Gil, and Carlos gave her a look as if they were saying.

‘We were never trying to change it but okay?’ Evie waved her hand at them in dismissal.

“Point is, there is no reason we have to change for anybody because who we are right now, is great…because it’s us” Mal smiled at Evie and leaned into her side, squeezing her hand “and if they don’t like us for being isle kids….tough shit” you cackled at that.

“oohohoh! The princess swore! Not something you hear every day!” Evie rolled her eyes as the rest of the VKs laughed at your remark. She turned to Mal.

“I’m going to make some changes to your dress, and if you’re up for it, only if you’re up for it…it'll be waiting for you” Mal nodded, leaning into Evie as she wrapped her arms around Mal's shoulders and hugged her.

Evie looked at you and mouthed; ‘thank you’ you nodded back and stood, holding out your hand to Harry and helping him stand. The others stood moments later and started walking towards the dorms, Jay's arm tossed over Mal's shoulder as they walked side by side.

You sighed, turning to Harry with a smile “How bout a self-care afternoon huh?” Harry grinned at that and nodded, leaning into you as you took his hand again and walked back to the dorms.

“I’m starving, see you guys later!” Gil walked the opposite way of you, waving you goodbye as he walked over to the cafeteria.

“See ya Gil!” you yelled back, leaning your head on Harry’s shoulder as he moved his arm around your neck.

-

Carlos smirked as Jane rushed past him with a panicked look. “Jane!” he called, laughing a bit as the girl jumped and spun around to look at him.

“Carlos!” she rushed up to him and grabbed his shoulder “do you know where Gil is?!” Carlos snickered and pointed towards the cafeteria.

“yeah, he went to go get food, good luck!” Jane grinned at Carlos and spun on her heel, running towards the cafeteria, pulling out a small box and a sparkly blue envelope from her bag.

It was only one more day till cotillion! And she didn’t want to risk losing Gil to someone else asking him to it…and she didn’t want to ladle punch AGAIN.

“Gil!” he spun around, a small smile growing on his face as she got closer.

“Hey Jane what’s-woah!” she tripped on thin air and flew forward, Gil lunged forward, easily catching her and setting her back on her feet “Careful Jane! Don’t wanna hurt that pretty face of yours” Janes face burned at Gil's words “Sorry, slip of the tongue again heh” he rubbed the back of his neck, glancing back at the cafeteria “So um-what did you…oh!”

Jane looked to the ground and shoved the box and envelope towards Gil. he gently took them from her and opened the box first, humming at the Orange and Blue decorated cupcake that sat inside, he quickly pulled it out, handed the box back to Jane, and ate it. Smirking as Jane giggled at the dollop of orange buttercream on his nose.

He finished off the cupcake and wiped the dollop of blue edible sprinkle covered buttercream off his nose and licked it. He opened the letter and let out a small gasp.

Written on the letter, in Jane’s curly neat handwriting; was an invitation to him.

He slowly looked up from the letter, smiling a bit as he looked at her shy form, her hands covering her burning red cheeks. He folded the letter ad put it in his pocket, reaching out and gently grasping Jane's hands and pulling them off her face. He chuckled at her closed eyes and leaned forward, pecking her forehead. Jane squeaked and looked up at him, her entire face turning red as she stared at him. “You can take that as a Yes, I forgave you a while ago after you made me a cake after your…fiftieth, apology” he laughed “Well I forgave you before that but I realized I still liked you when you did that” Jane giggled, then stopped.

“You-you still like me?” she mumbled, covering her mouth as if she had spilled the world's biggest secret. Gil nodded, smiling as Jane squeaked again.

“I do, and I would be happy to go to cotillion with you…wait our outfits, what if they don’t match?!” he stood, running his fingers through his hair as his eyes blew wide. Jane laughed, reaching out and grabbing his hands.

“Okay okay! I have-I have a solution” she giggled for a moment at his confused yet relieved look “Evie has some ribbon leftover from my dress, you can wear it as a hair tie! And I-I’ll wear one of your bracelets!” Gil grinned, bouncing in place a bit.

“That sounds amazing! Yeah, let's do that” some passing students smiled and shook their heads at the excited maybe-once-again-couple and entered the cafeteria.

“and-and maybe if you don’t hate me again after all of this, maybe, maybe we can get back together?” Jane tried, squealing as Gil nodded and leaned in to kiss her cheek.

“that would be amazing Jane” Gil hummed, rubbing the girl's arms and looking back at the cafeteria “um, food?” Jane clapped her hands, grabbing one of Gils and pulling him into the building.

“Yes! Food!”

-

You turned off the hot running water and stuck your hand into the bubbly hot bathwater, nodding to yourself. “Kay Harry, it's ready!” you shook your hand off and dried it on your pants, walking out of your pretty large bathroom and cooing as you walked out to see Harry curled up on your bed “okay I know you're tired but!”

you climbed onto the bed and gently shook his shoulder, pouting at him as he grumpily looked up at you “you need to take a bath, you stink, your dirty, and it'll help with the soreness” Harry let out a harsh breath, blowing your hair back a bit and sat up, undoing his shoes and letting them drop to the floor, tossing his jacket back at you and walking into the bathroom.

He closed the door and you heard the sound of clothing hit the floor as you gathered up his jacket and hung it in your closet. You walked back over to the bathroom and yelled through the door; “I’m gonna get some   comfy clothes for you okay?!” “Thank yeh love” he yelled back sleepily, you smiled as you heard the sound of water being splashed around. You kicked his fallen boots out of the way and went to his shared room with Gil. you let out a small sigh as you rummaged through his dresser and pulled out a soft long-sleeved shirt with a compass stitch on the chest, black sweatpants, a pair of boxer briefs, deciding to grab a pair of his socks as well before shutting the drawers and walking back to your room.

You knocked on the bathroom door and pushed it open, peeking around the corner to see harry almost completely in the water, only his head to be seen above the bubbles. His bright blue eyes staring straight at you. You lifted up the pile of clothes “got you a change of clothes, they will be on the counter for you when you’re ready” you set the pile on the counter opposite of the bath and turned to walk out of the bathroom to give him some privacy when he whined and reached out to you. You turned with an exasperated laugh “I swear you were a cat with separation anxiety in your past life or something” you snorted, walking over to the bathtub and crouching down next to it, your eyes level with Harry’s now. “Not that it’s a bad thing though.”

He hung his arm over the edge of the tub, making a grabby hand at you and grinning sleepily when you intertwined your fingers with his. You rested your chin on the edge of the bathtub and closed your eyes, just enjoying the peace that you finally had with Harry after a crazy two days of him being missing.

Wait- you perked up, looking down at the water and smirking as the water was no longer clear, but blue and shimmery and smelling of lavender, ocean salt, and a slight hint of vanilla. “You used my bath bombs didn’t you~” you teased, lifting up Harry's hand and pressing your lips to the back of it. He gave a shy smile and shrugged.

“It looked nice” he mumbled, closing his eyes and resting his head against the back of the tub.

“Well, it's fine, go crazy with my shit, anything to help you relax” you sat up and pressed a kiss to his forehead “You deserve some pampering after the days you’ve had” he hummed with a dopey smile on his face, cracking his eyes open as you stood and walked away. As he whined, you turned, smiling as he pouted at you. “I’ll be just outside the door baby” he turned red at the pet name and turned away from you. You chuckled and closed the door most of the way “I’ll leave the door open, yell if you need anything.”

“Kay” was his only response, you snorted a bit and turned, putting your hands on your hips as you overlooked your room…time to do a little R&R redecorating.

First, hang fairy lights above your bed, next, get some big ass blankets and sheets…there should be some extras in the back of your closet.

-

Half an hour after he got in the bath, Harry narrowed his eyes at the large grey basket slightly hidden in the nook below your bathroom counter. You did say he could use any of your stuff. He pulled at the box, smiling a bit at the array of self-care items, ranging from simple face wash to charcoal foam face masks and the little paddles that allowed easy appliance.

He ran his hand through his freshly shampooed hair, which smelled like (fav shampoo/conditioner), and the waft of your (fav body wash smell) body wash floating up, making him inhale your sent with a smile.

He let out a little sigh and rummaged through the basket, brow-raising as he spotted an exfoliating mud mask. He pulled out the small container it was in and nodded, it would do. He grabbed a small bottle of face moisturizer and stood, walking to the door and pulling it open, mouth dropping open at what he saw.

The curtains to your room were closed, shutting it in near darkness, the only light being the soft yellow fairy lights that hung just above your bed, hidden from the rest of the room by large sheets and blankets laying across the bedposts and pinned to the walls.

“Wow,” he muttered, walking into the room and setting the cosmetics on the bed, sitting down and smiling up at the soft lights.

“Like it?” he nodded as you re-entered the room and set your now full bag next to him, he looked down at the bag, tilting his head curiously “I got some snacks that I didn’t have in my room” you pulled out a bag of popped popcorn and handed him the bag, he carefully opened it as you got out more snacks and set them on the bed “So I was thinking, movie cuddle afternoon, and then…I was thinking I could paint your nails?” you suggested, squealing a bit in happiness as Harry grinned at you and nodded “really?” “Aye, sounds fun, what color?” he stuck a handful of popcorn in his mouth and looked at you, smiling as you flicked off stray corn from his lip.

“Black to red ombre, then-your hair is still wet” you sighed, turning to walk back into the bathroom and grab a dry towel. You walked back up to harry and motioned for him to lean towards you, he obeyed and you ruffled the towel in his hair, biting your lip as it already started to floof up. “Actually” you stopped, throwing the towel around his neck and turning back to the bathroom “Better idea”

Harry bobbed his head a bit, listening to the non-existent music in his head as you did whatever in the bathroom. His eyes dropped a bit as he reached next to him and grabbed the box of fruit snacks.

“There we go” he perked up a bit as you suddenly appeared beside him with a hairdryer “Stand up” Harry looked at you with squinted eyes as you plugged the device into the socket next to your bed, eyes following you as you moved to stand in front of him “…Alright then” you stepped up on the bed next to him and plopped down behind him, grabbing his shoulder and guiding him to lean into you.

He happily did so and almost purred as you started to dry his hair, your fingers rubbing comfortingly at his scalp. Five minutes later and Harry was almost asleep, heavily leaning into your hand as you gently guided it around to dry his hair properly. As you felt the warm dry fluffy hair, you nodded to yourself and turned off the hair drier, setting it next to you and letting your hands run through Harry's hair.

He groaned a bit and fell back, cheek resting against your collar bone as you scratched his head. Harry suddenly jumped as a knock suddenly sounded on your door. You gently lifted him out of your lap and let him flop back on the blankets.

You walked over to the door and opened it “Oh!” you stepped outside and closed the door behind you “Fergus! What’s up?”

He furrowed his brows, looking down at your outfit. You glanced down, wincing a bit “That…outfit aside. Ah haven't seen ye or Harry fur a'maist twa days, is everything okay?” you pursed your lips in thought, before sighing.

“Mal went back to the isle and Harry went with her” you held up your hand to stop him from interrupting “Both of them are back now and Harry went through some shit when he was there, right now we're both just relaxing until tomorrow…okay?” Fergus glanced back up at your door and slowly nodded.

“Harry...he's okay sricht?” you paused, Fergus’s eyes widened for a moment “Ye hesitated” he pointed out, gritting his teeth anxiously as you waved him off.

“I did…Harry’s dad is a piece of shit that’s all I’ll say, if you need to know anything else, either ask Harry or ask me to get permission from him, I won't just blab away about what happened” Fergus nodded, reaching up and patting your shoulder.

“A'richt then... I’ll see ye twa efter okay?” you smiled at him and patted his arm, turning to walk back into your room.

“See you later” you opened the door and stepped inside, shutting the door with your foot. You looked down at your outfit and sighed, you were still in full isle gear, minus the hook and sword. You shrugged off Harry’s jacket and tossed it on your desk chair.

You walked over to your dresser and grabbed one of Harry’s black long sleeves that you had commandeered from him a few weeks back and a pair of black sweats.

You walked over to the bathroom, cooing at Harry already curled up in your large red fluffy blanket, tufts of dark brown-black hair peeking out from the top and light snores reaching your ears.

You walked into the bathroom and quickly changed, you walked back out and placed your boots next to Harry’s, and chucked your old set of clothes into your laundry.

You cleaned up the scattered snacks on the bed and set them on your table set by your tv. You grabbed the cosmetics Harry had put on your bed and walked over to the side he was mostly laying on, shaking his shoulder a bit. He grumbled and popped his head out of the folds of the blanket, sleepy ocean blue staring into you “Don’t you want to do the face stuff?” he slowly nodded as his mind caught up to your words and sat up, the blanket falling around his hips. He patted his cheeks to wake himself a bit and grabbed the items from you, spreading the mud mask on his face as you turned on the tv and went through your movies.

“So, what are we watching” you asked, tilting your head towards Harry a bit, wanting to hear what his maybe request would be.

“Um, Ah dinnae know...something lighthearted?” he tried, his accent slipping deeper than usual. You giggled a bit, poor baby, so tired.

“Um, how bout…Pirates of the Caribbean; Dead man's chest?” Harry almost snapped awake at that, he grinned and nodded enthusiastically. “Okay, it's not light-hearted buts it a hella good movie”

You put in the blue-ray disc and walked back over to the bathroom, taking out your black and red nail polish, along with the top and bottom coats. “Alright scooch forward” Harry did so, eyes locked onto the Tv. You sat behind him, legs on either side of his torso, and grabbed onto his shoulder, pulling him towards your chest, his head resting just beneath your chin. “Hand please” he lifted his right hand, letting you grab onto it and start painting his nails.

The next twenty minutes of you painting his nails and him watching the movie were silent and calming, you felt Harry almost drift off multiple times before snapping back awake when someone spoke or action exploded on the screen. You cursed as you had forgotten the hardening nail UV light thing to let Harry move his hands without worrying about ruining the polish. You patted his shoulder, making him whine again as your warmth disappeared from his back. You returned moments later, resuming the position you had and hardening the polish on his nails.

You glanced at his face, admiring the flutter of his lashes as he fought off sleep, before the mud mask caught your eye “shit!” you once more got off the bed, laughing a bit at Harry's loud complaint as you got a washcloth wet “your mask dummy!” he shut up, scooching towards you as you walked toward him with the wet and warm cloth.

He grabbed it from you and cleaned off the mask, stopping a bit as you opened the bottle of moisturizer and dolloped some on your finger. He dried his face with his sleeve and hummed as you dabbed it on his face and rubbed it into his skin for him “Ta loue” he murmured, you gave him a look and snorted.

“um, English please?” you laughed, pecking his nose and moisturizing your face before putting away the cosmetics.

Harry pouted and shook his head “Thank yeh love” he murmured again, smiling sleepily as you grinned at him.

“You’re welcome baby” you grinned as his face turned pink again. “Come on, how does falling asleep to Pirates of the Caribbean sound?” Harry grinned, tightening his grip on your fluffy red blanked and waiting for you to lay down on the bed before flopping on your chest and nuzzling into your neck.

You felt Harry’s soft breath on your neck as his body relaxed, you closed your eyes, reaching up and placing your hand on the back of his neck, rubbing your thumb as you pressed a soft kiss to his forehead.

“A loue ye (y/n)” a soft whisper brushed against your senses, only able to be heard because your ear was right next to his mouth.

You felt a tear slip down your cheek and you wrapped your other arm around his shoulder and held him tighter.

“I love you too Harry”

-end of part 13-

aaand part 13! and we are officially back in Auradon! Mal gets a talking to, Bens weird passiveness is “explained” (and soon to be “fixed”) Jane asked out Gil and he said yes~ and some harry n (y/n) fluff! thanks to @sephiralorange​ for giving me the self care idea n Harry using (y/n) products~!. yes i made the art, i couldn't help myself! next chapter! the last stretch to Cotillion! and to answer anyone's possible question about what happened to Davy? lets just say there's Davy wont be doing anything with his left hand for....well never lol.

hopefully that rewritten vk “girl” talk made sense, but i do want to say if it does sound like im ragging on Ben, i wasn't trying to, i was just trying to possibly explain why he acts like he does in D2 and beyond. also i love Audrey as a character but she's kinda nasty lol 

anyway! permtaglist!

@queer-cosette​ @sephiralorange​

@lunanight2012​ @daughter-of-the-stars11​

@musicarose​ @random-thoughts-003​

@remembered-license​ @imtryingthisout​

@verboetoperee​ @rintheemolion​ @thecaptainsgingersnap​

@descendantsobsessed​ 

taglist

@thesailbells​ @beccad10x​

[heartofsnark]

Can You Feel The Sun? (Chapter Seven): Flying Towards An Early Grave

Notes: Still posting my little backlog, I will warn in advanced, the next chapter is the heist (finally) AND IT IS A CHONKER, but for now have a little appetizer with some fun times, smut, and foreshadowing!~

Word Count: 10860

Chapter Warnings: heavy foreshadowing, food, blowjobs, groping, protected vaginal sex, car sex

If you haven’t yet, you can read the previous chapter here!~

V’s body is heavy as she gets to her apartment door, ready to curl up into bed and call it a day. She’s exhausted with adrenaline gone. She presses her thumb to the panel. The little intercom doorbell is also the lock, scanning and searching for SID validation. It takes a moment to scan, it seems to be lagging more lately. 

Calling. 

The intercom says it’s calling, why is it calling? She can hear the automated ringing and her lights inside are probably flashing. It only does this if the SID doesn’t match the apartment owner’s, assuming them a guest. V presses again. 

Calling. 

She presses harder. 

Calling. 

She tries her entire hand.

Calling. 

She kicks her door, a heavy sound as her boot collides with it. That doesn’t help with the lock, but it makes her feel a little better. Just what she needs; bloody, sore, and locked out of her apartment for who fucking knows why? Her stomach growls as she pulls up the number for building maintenance. 

“Megabuilding Maintenance, how can I help?” 

“I’m locked out of my apartment,” V signs, her choker translator on. 

“What do you mean?” 

“The lock isn’t recognizing my SID.” 

“Can I get your name and apartment number?” 

V gives them the details and they say they’re sending a maintenance guy. All of the services floor is nearly shut down at the late hour, her stomach growling. No doubt the maintenance guy will take his sweet fucking time, so much for getting some decent sleep. She gets a burrito, a Nicola, and a little thing of ketchup from the machines. Sitting on the ground near her door, dumping ketchup on her burrito as she eats it. 

By the time the guy arrives she’s finished eating, drinking, and is a little unsure what’s dried blood versus dried ketchup on her shirt. She hops to her feet when she sees the guy walking up, a massive case of resting bitch face. V doubts he wanted to be dragged out at three am to help unlock a door, but it’s not her fault the tech fucked up. 

“You V?” he asks, voice gruff and annoyed. 

“Yep.” 

“Hard day?”  His eyebrow raises, gaze focused on her blood stained flesh and chrome. 

“Work.” 

“Ah… I see,” he nods, “so, what's the issue with your door?” 

Night City is one of the few places where one can just admit to being a mercenary for a living, even if it did earn her an odd look. V presses her hand to the lock button again and it once again initiates a call. 

“Doesn’t recognize my SID.” 

“Hmm, you are V, right?” He raises an eyebrow. 

“Who the fuck else would I be? The building has a picture of me on file for fucks sake.” 

“Hey, hey, nowadays with enough eddies anybody can look like anybody.” 

“If I had an identity worth stealing, you really think I’d be living here?” 

“Fair enough, let’s check something,” he pulls out a holo tablet, jacking it into the bottom of the intercom lock, “this will show what the lock is reading it as, try again.” 

V keeps an eye on his tablet as she presses her hand back to the lock and the projected information starts to show. And for a moment she sees herself; her face, her name, her information, and all the shit Vik had to set up for her to have SID. Then in a blink of an eye it glitches out and the information shifts. She watches her nearly mugshot like photo shift into that of a man, with short dark hair and dark eyes. V [REDACTED] becomes Robert John Linder. Birthdate shifting from November 12th, 2056 to November 16, 1988.  Birthplace shifting from Seven Devils, North Carolina to College Station, Texas.  

Who the hell is this old man? 

“Looks like it’s reading your SID chip as someone else's, strange, any chance you’ve been spiked by a ‘runner?” 

“No, even if I was, not sure why they’d want to make my SID register to some senior citizen.” 

“Weird, can’t think of how else this would happen? Seems like it starts to read your chip and then changes to this guy’s. Do you know him?” 

“Don’t hang around old folks homes too much, actually. Just some random dude to me.” 

“Hmmm.” 

“I can promise you, I’m not a ninety year old cowboy man.” 

“Somehow I noticed that, actually… looks like the guy is dead.” 

“What?” 

“Mmhmm, scroll down a bit and there’s the date his death certificate was issued,” the guy shows her, “you’ll probably need to have your SID looked at, see what’s wrong with it. For now, I can unlock it for you and have them add whoever this guy is to registered owners, so, you won’t be locked out until you fix it.” 

“Fine, I guess.” 

“But that does mean if this guy’s ghost decides to pop in for a visit, lock won’t stop him,” the man jokes, offering the first smile since he’s been here. 

“Somehow I’ll handle it, thanks for the help, and if it’s not too much trouble can you forward me the details of that SID info?” 

“Sure, no problem,” the maintenance man’s eyes glow and she can feel the very soft warmth and whirr of her neuroplant as it accepts the file. 

She gives one final thanks as he unlocks her apartment and she’s finally able to step foot inside. Thankfully her door locks behind her and she makes a beeline for her shower, scrubbing blood and sweat from her skin; finding bruises, cuts, and flesh wounds she hadn’t noticed in the midst of fighting. 

It takes her a little longer than expected to wind down for the night, the merc putting in her optic contacts and playing with the bot. Looking through its eyes, she has it twist and climb all throughout her apartment, making herself dizzy until she falls out of  bed and bangs her head against the floor. Finally, putting the cute spider looking tech away when she feels the knot starting to form on her head. Then, setting her alarm and sleeping for the night. 

V is still tired when her alarm vibrates beneath her pillow, waking her up as the sunlight streams in from her large window, warming her skin. She checks her phone, double checks the time and that Dex hasn’t sent the car for her yet. The young merc rushes through her morning routine; showering, brushing her teeth, dressing, and taking her medication with some Chromanticore in hopes of getting some energy back. 

She’s out the door and has her  mask on in a matter of minutes, phone buzzing with the message that Dex’s car is waiting for her. As she comes down the steps of her building she sees the same limousine and bodyguard waiting outside of it. But this time when he opens the door for her, there is no Dex, nobody. Chills creep their way up her spine, but she gets in nonetheless, sinking into the leather backseat as Dex’s guard starts to drive them away. 

The guard is quiet, doesn’t explain where they’re going or why, V has a feeling he wouldn’t tell even if she asked. So, she doesn’t. Only the radio drones on, a mixture of news and occasional pop music from bands and singers she doesn’t know or care to know; an anouncer coming over the radio to speak somberly. 

“Today marks the fifty-fourth anniversary of the attack on Arasaka Tower. Fifty-four years ago a group of terrorists stormed Arasaka Tower and detonated a bomb, which forever changed the history of our dear city. Devastating the lives of millions; thousands dying in the initial attack and more perishing in the aftermath as well. Today we ask for a moment of silence to remember those who lost their lives in this senseless act of violence so many years ago….:” 

A beat of silence, barely a moment, then the high energy voice returns. 

“Now, after this short music break, we return with the heartwarming story of Stumpy, the three legged puppy who’s gone viral after the use of  veterinary cyberware has given the pup a new lease on life!~” 

V rolls her eyes, sounds about right, barely a moment for something so somber. No real grief or empathy, time to move on to a cute puppy because that keeps people happy and listening.  She watches the city around her change, spotting the Valentino graffiti starting to cover the buildings and that they’re entering Heywood.  She sends a heads up text to Jackie, letting him know they’re not far from his house. 

A short moment after,  the driver is parking outside Jackie’s garage and she watches the older merc walking out. The guard opens the limousine back door and Jackie relaxes when he sees V, climbing into the seat next to her. 

“Hey, V, you figure out what’s going on?” 

“Was sort of hoping you had…” 

“Asked T-Bug, said it’s a surprise.” 

“Not sure I like Bug’s idea of surprises.” 

“Hey, hombre,” Jackie calls out to the guard as he starts to drive them away, “mind telling us where we’re headed?” 

They’re met with silence, because of they are. V nervously wrings her hands as she watches for signs of where they’re going based on the passing scenery. 

“Has to be something to do with prepping for the job, just wish I knew what.” 

“Speaking of which, you got the bot on you?” 

“Yeah, brought it just in case and if Bug’s there she’ll want to take a look. Wonder if there’s any chance of keeping the Flathead after this?” 

She knows Dex said it’s a single use toy, but...who knows, maybe she could somehow keep it afterwards. 

“Why’s that?” 

“Its cute.” 

“You think a military grade combat bot is cute?” 

“It's a little spider.” 

“You find the weirdest shit cute, I swear.” 

“It is cute!” 

“It’s-” Jackie looks out the window, “shit are we in Corpo Plaza?” 

“Maybe we’re just passing through?” 

As if only to prove her wrong, the limousine parks outside a store on Senate Avenue, the bright sign says Jinguji. Even looking through the window, it looks entirely like a place that her and Jackie do not belong. Brightly lit, immaculately clean with fancy designer clothes on display. 

“We’re here,” the guard tells them and the doors open with the press of a button. 

V and Jackie share a look before getting out of the limousine, standing before the Jinguji store like deers stuck in headlights. 

“Dex can’t be serious, Jinguji?” Jackie says, scratching at the shaved underneath of his hair. 

“Looks…. Fancy.” 

“Corp store, designer; a sock in there will cost you a few thousand eddies.” 

“I know he says we need to play corpo, but… I don’t know, it feels weird.”

“I’m sure Dex knows what he’s doing. But, uh,  you gotta take off the mask, chica.” 

“What, why?” 

“‘Cause its fucking Jinguji, they’re not gonna let you through the door looking like that.” 

“You’re one to talk, you got a ketchup stain on your shirt.” 

“Firstly, that’s blood. Secondly, you’re a wearing a jacket you stole off a dead guy last week.” 

“Not like he needs it!” 

“Jackie, V!” A voice yells out, drawing the merc’s attention into the doorway of the store, T-Bug in realspace, wearing a black netrunning suit, “would you gonks stop bickering and get in here?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the mercs speak and sign in unison, falling the netrunner into the corp store.

There’s a large lit up advertisement at the back of the store. Gold decor dripping down from the ceiling, plush white couches, and an ice bucket with champagne. To her surprise, there’s no other shoppers within the store. A man in a tailored designer suit sits at the desk, greeting the two mercs as they walk in. 

“Welcome to Jinguji, an oasis of elegance!~” 

V gives an awkward nod and wave. She’s not sure what else to do. She doesn’t belong here; she knows that much. A dirty black leather jacket under the bright lights and old raggedy boots on shiny polished floors.  The merc wants nothing more than to run out of the store, some of the clothes she sees displayed are nice, if she’s being honest. A few bit tacky for her taste, but others are cute or sexy with dramatic flair, but nothing she would ever really have a reason to wear. 

“Mind telling us why the fuck we’re here, Bug?” Jackie asks and the netrunner chuckles. 

“To get into Konpeki, you two will have to look the part. Rather than blindly guessing what will fit, Dex is flitting the bill and getting you both some corpo threads,” T-Bug explains, taking a seat on on of the couches. 

“Where is everyone?” 

“Store is rented out for the next couple hours, discretion. V, did you bring the bot?” 

“Got it in my bag.” 

“Lemme see, got to make sure it’s in working shape.” V puts the bot down on the table, T-Bug opening the case and looking over the bot, running diagnostics that the merc can’t begin to understand,

“Right this way, you two, I’m sure we’ll find something perfect for both of you,” the man who greeted them, grabs their attention again, “but it would be easier,  if I have a full idea of your features, miss.” 

“Told you,” Jackie taunts and V elbows him in the side, slowly taking off her mask and she feels bare. And she knows people have seen her face before, but this is work and it just feels… wrong. 

“Wonderful, so we’ll begin with the gentlemen, I think you’ll find we have a wonderful array of fine suits in our men’s department.” 

The man, who’s fancy name tag says Zane, shows them a vast collection of suits. They range from slick classic black ones, deep navy blues, florals, brights, embroidered, and every color she can imagine. Its hard to imagine the big merc in any of them. She’s always seen him in muscle shirts or his favorite red and black jacket. His eyes seem to land on a red suit with gold detailing. 

“Well-” 

“Point is to blend in, not stand out, Jack,” T-Bug calls out, scolding him without having to even look at him or his choice in suit. 

“Just black then.” 

“Wise choice, sir, our tailors will get your measurements and get the perfect fit for you.” 

Another employee guides Jackie to a fitting room and V feels the sudden urge to sink into the ground, Zane’s attention now solely on her.  She scratches at her cheek and flips on her choker translator. 

“Now, what about you? We have plenty of formal options in women’s fashion as well. A more androgynous business suit or perhaps a dress?” 

She’s shown mannequins dressed in tight body con dresses with various necklines, materials, colors, and a few well fitted pants suits. Her eyes are drawn to the dresses, if she’s being honest. She has a rather small collection of skirts and dresses, for off days, but she never has a chance to wear anything more formal than a sundress or mini skirt over leggings. These dresses are dramatic, gorgeous; some with mesh inlays or cut outs. 

But, like Bug said;  they’re there to blend in, not stand out. This isn’t an outfit for fun but for work and if something goes wrong, the last thing she needs is this going to shit and having to battle in a tight constricting dress or too high of heels. 

“I think a pants suit in black would be best; keep it simple.” 

“Understood.” 

V taken to a fitting room, given the chance to put on the ready to buy pantsuits in privacy. A stark white button up blouse, black blazer, and black slacks. And she knows immediately it will need to be tailored to suit her; the pants longer than her legs and the shirt loose around her chest. The tailor comes in after a moment and begins measuring, marking where things need to be taken in and raised. V left trying not to get embarrassed each time the measuring tape is wrapped around a part of her.

“Is there a way to make the blazer sleeves easier to roll up?” She signs once her arms are done being measured. The material is stiffer and harder to get tight around her elbows when trying; she wants her Mantis Blades easily used.

“Hmm, lets see, maybe it’d be best to use it more like an accessory rather than wearing it properly?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Well, you could just wear it over your shoulders like a cape,” the woman drapes it that way across V’s shoulders. 

“Not my thing.” 

“Then you can carry it, like this,” the woman shows  holding the jacket back over her shoulder with her fingers hooked in it’s collar. It looks alright, casual enough, though having a jacket and not wearing it still reads as strange to the merc.

“I’ll consider that.” 

“It can also help keep you cool. Now, lets talk about makeup, hair, and shoes.” 

V listens and nods as the woman gives recommendations; getting V a pair of low heeled black synthetic leather shoes. Then going into advice on hair; recommending french twist, a bun, or a low ponytail depending on how formal V wants to go. The woman recommends simple classic makeup styles and a few other tips for the merc to meet her full corpo potential. Finally, with measurements, adjustments, and everything marked; V is allowed to change back into her street clothes. She leaves the room, seeing Jackie already in his regular clothes again and sitting next to T-Bug. 

“We have all the measurements down and will begin altering the clothes immediately.” 

“Good,” T-Bug confirms with Zane, “remember we need them finished and delivered to The Afterlife by five.” 

“I assure you, our tailors are already on it.” 

“V,” T-Bug calls out when she sees the short merc, “got something for you.” 

V sits down on the couch, watching as T-Bug sets out a pair of white hearing aids. They’re designed like her normal ones, just more boring. 

“Hearing aids? I already have those.” 

“These are special, optic camo. No corpo worth their salt has anything less than top of the line phonic implants, with press of a button or a thought, these will go invisible.. They’ll work just like your regular ones, but look like you’re wearing nothing. Try them out.” 

She switches her blue hearing aids with the new ones, they fit well and she pushes the thought of turning the camo on.  V catches her reflection in a mirror in the store, she can feel them, but see nothing. 

“Perfect, no one will be any the wiser. This also means no signing or translator.” 

“Oh, I see.” 

“I know its not ideal, but it’s just the reality of it. Corpo types like this; lose your hearing, new implants. Vocal chords fried, get a new set in gold. Get paralyzed, new legs or entire nervous system. Go blind, new optics. They see you signing or using hearing aids, you’ll stand out like a sore thumb.” 

“I get it.” 

“No sweat,  I’ll do the talking, V,” Jackie comforts her and then turns his attention to Bug, “So, what now?” 

“We’ll go over the full plan this evening at The Afterlife, you two need to be there by five. We’ll talk with Dex and you’ll be in Konpeki by eight tonight, relic in hand before midnight strikes.” 

“So we get to kick back and relax until five?” 

“As long as you’re there by five and ready to go, I couldn’t care less what you do, Jack.” 

“Said this place was rented out, right?” V asks, noticing a dramatic purple dress that reminds her of a certain tarot card reader’s favorite color.

“Yeah, why?” 

“How much longer is this place reserved?” 

“Another hour, maybe two and again, I ask why?” 

“Ow, hell that for, chica?” Jackie looks up when V kicks him in the shin. 

“Call Misty, dumbass. Buy her something nice, make a date out of it before we go on the job.”  V tells him, remembering Misty’s concerns from the other night. It might ease her mind a bit to have a nice afternoon with Jackie, dress shopping and a fancy lunch in City Center. Just a chance to enjoy themselves. 

“Dex is nice V, but sincerely doubt he wants to pay for Misty a new dress.” 

“Oh no, if only one of us had scammed ten grand off of Militech, oh wait,” V says, pulling the Militech credchip from her bag and sees the twinkle in Jackie’s eyes. 

“You serious, V?” 

“Should get her a hell of a nice dress, maybe you a suit, and a nice fancy lunch; play corpo for an afternoon.” 

“Shit, V,” he takes the credchip from her fingers, “what’d I do without you?” 

“You two are going to make me puke,” T-Bug says, rolling her eyes while Jackie is already calling up Misty. 

“Just wait until Misty gets here and the constant pet names start,  you’ll really lose your lunch.” 

“Ugh, more reason to get out of here, I’ll be taking the Flathead with me to keep in working shape.” 

“Can I ask you something before you go?”

“Got more code you need me to check?” 

“Not quite, had an issue with my SID chip last night, was wondering if there was a chance I was hacked?” 

“You get spiked, jaina?” Jackie asks when he finishes chatting with Misty. 

“Don’t know, couldn’t unlock my door last night, reader thought I was some old dude.” 

“Hmm, SID hacks are tricky, we’re going to be using one for your covers in Konpeki. But they usually only alter your ID a bit and die after so many hours. Thing is, that wouldn’t really benefit anyone.”

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking, I don’t think anyone would get much out of pretending I’m some ninety year old dead fuck.” 

“I can jack in, see if I find anything in your soft.” 

“Sure, if you don’t mind.” 

V shifts her back to T-Bug, sweeping her hair off the nape of her neck and showing her neuroports. The netrunner pushes some loose strands out of the way and slots her personal jack into V’s biomon. A few moments pass and V can feel her cheeks flushing a bit, a weird feeling to having T-Bug directly touch her and jack in to her tech. This is the first time they’ve met in person, may even be the first time Bug has seen her face. 

“Everything looks clear to me, SID is registering as yours, no signs of a hack,” Bug explains, jacking out. 

“Weird, maintenance guy showed last night it was showing as some dead guy.” 

“Strange, must be some sort of glitch.” 

“Or you’re being haunted.” 

“Haha, very funny, Jackie.” 

“Hello… “ 

A soft voice calls out and V lights up seeing Misty poking her head into the fancy luxury store, looking every bit as nervous as V had been. Jackie is up and rushing towards Misty in a heart beat, pulling her into a hug and twirling her around, kissing her head. 

“You’re here, mi carina.” 

“Babe,” Misty says, giggiling as she’s put back down on her feet, then steps up on her tip toes to kiss Jackie’s lips. 

“Gonna puke,” T-Bug comments low under her breath and V tries not to laugh. 

“V, Bug,” Misty smiles at the two, “glad I got here before you two left out.” 

“What’s up?” 

Jackie walks Misty over closer to them, large hand on her hip as she rummage through her purse. After a moment, she pulls out three beaded bracelets. A mixture of beads in black, gold, and blue mottled with gold. T-Bug is already raising her eyebrow and V’s not sure how well Misty’s spiritualism will go over with the runner. 

“These are protection bracelets. Lapis lazuli, black tourmaline, and gold sheen obsidian. They’re all meant to help with creating a protective spiritual barrier, it should keep you all safe from negative energies and frequencies.” 

“Ay, you still in knots over this, mi alma?” 

“It would just make me feel better knowing you have a little more protection, babe.” 

Misty slides the biggest of the bracelets onto Jackie’s wrist and he gives her a soft smile, kissing her temple before starts to give the others to V and Bug. The young merc slides it on with a smile and T-Bug takes it in hand, with a less enthusiasm. 

“Thanks, Misty, I appreciate it,” V tells her and elbows T-Bug in the side, earning her a glare, but the netrunner plays nice. 

“Thanks…” 

“I know it’s not much, but a little protection is better than none and should keep energies bright.” 

“Right….” 

“Well,” V cuts in before Bug can say anything else, “we’ll be getting out of your hair, have fun you two!~” 

“Thanks again, V, see you two at The Afterlife.” 

Jackie waves them off, Bug packing up and V putting her usual hearing aids in their case, away in her pocket. The runner and young merc leave the store, Dex’s guard already left a while ago, so V will have to either call her car or use the public transit. Come to think of it, she’s not sure how she’s going to kill time until its game time. 

“V,” Bug stops her outside Jinguji before they go their separate ways for now, “gotta ask, you really believe in that spiritual crap?” 

“No, but she does and it makes her happy, so, why not?”

“I guess, if she really thinks a bracelet is going to save us from Arasaka.” 

“Won’t kill you to accessorize a little, Bug.” 

“Whatever you say.” 

They say their goodbyes and V is left thinking again about what she wants to do to pass the time. She could do a few short gigs, but her mind is preoccupied with the heist. Ultimately, V finds herself taking the NCART to El Coyote Cojo. Mostly just because she’s bored and maybe something or someone there will occupy her time.  The bar isn’t too active at the early hour and she doesn’t see Mama Welles around. 

“V!” Pepe greets her when she walks through. 

“Hey, what’s up?” 

“Same old, same old. Jaquito is still out, Senora Welles is out shopping, but Jake is taking out the trash in the back if you want to say hi.” 

“I think I might go and do just that.” 

Playing grab ass with one of her go to lays seems like a solid way to waste her time. V walks through the bar and out one of the backdoors that open to the alley with the dumpster. Sure enough, Jake is there tossing away a trash bag. He’s around 6’5 about as tall as Jackie, muscular, with a head of ginger hair shaved down on the shades and a thick beard. 

She throws her arms around his waist, feeling the muscle underneath his shirt. He teases his fingers over her forearms, the chrome of his Gorilla Fingers cyberware sending a soft chill through her skin. 

“Hey, V, new chrome?” He runs over the chrome patterns in her arms. 

She hums against his back in response, not wanting to move. But, he twists in her arms. He cups her face in chromed fingers, for a moment, his browns furrow in confusion. 

“No hearing aids?” 

She pulls away, enough space for her to sign. 

“Camouflage ones, it and the blades are necessary for the gig.” 

“Oh yeah, Jackie’s been talking everyone to death about this heist you two got planned. He better be damn glad no one here’s got loose lips.” His hands drop from her face and loosely wrap around her waist, fingers starting to graze over her ass. 

“Can’t blame him for being excited.” 

“Hmmm and you?” 

“Nervous.” 

“Figured as much,” he squeezes her ass, “you looking for a distraction?” 

“If I wasn’t I wouldn’t be letting you grope my ass in broad daylight, now would I?” 

A low dry chuckle echoes in his chest and he dives in for a kiss. It’s quick and rough, his beard scratching over her skin before he pulls away. She can’t help but giggle as he pulls her back into the bar, hand still shamelessly on her ass. 

“Pepe! I’m going on lunch break!” 

“Yeah yeah, go on.” 

“C’mon,” Jake guides her out of the bar, “lemme at least buy you lunch first.” 

“You actually trying to be nice today?” 

“Something like that.” 

V settles into his passenger side seat as Jake climbs behind the wheel. They pull away from El Coyote Cojo, driving around Heywood and finding a drive in to go through, Burgers, fries, and pop bought; Jake finds a relatively empty place to park meanwhile V has already begun taking the pickles off her burgers. 

“So, you wanna actually talk about it?” Jake asks, taking a bite of his burger. 

“Not much to talk about,” she signs with salt covered fingers and a mouthful of fries, “biggest job of our career. Nerves are natural.” 

Not to mention the shady client, the fact they’re robbing Arasaka, the fact they’re robbing Yorinobu specifically, the fact they have to play corpo, that V will have to force herself not to sign, and that every fiber of her being is screaming that something  is going to go wrong. Then she has the weirdness of her SID chip fucking up on her mind as well. 

“Yeah, but you overthink, so I know that little brain of yours is spinning in a billion directions.” 

V shrugs, “No more than usual, so,  what’s been going on with you?” 

“Not much, been thinking of quitting the bar.” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah, get to work the day shift so I can pick the twins up from school and spend some time with them. But, day shift in a bar basically means staring at a wall and waiting for Senora Welles to cut me a paycheck.” 

“You don’t like getting paid to sit around and look pretty?” 

“Not gonna lie, it’d be hard to find a boss as forgiving as Senora Welles.” 

“Not every boss would let you take an hour or longer lunch just to play grab ass with me?” 

“Eh, pretty sure if she knew what I was doing with her precious adopted daughter, she’d already have me fired.” 

“Oh please, she’s known you longer than me.” 

“Yeah, but she likes you more, you’re basically her kid and I’m her employee,” he pauses watching V roll her eyes, “you know, she’s been worrying a lot about you and Jackie, lately. She knows things are getting riskier with the merc work and-” 

V quiets him with a kiss, not wanting to hear another word of this. She comes to him for a distraction. The kiss is messy and he tastes like greasy fast food, but she’s sure she’s not any better, pushing her tongue into his mouth. She cups his jaw with one hand, scratching over his beard and as he deepens the kiss, she drops her other hand into his lap. He’s already half hard in his jeans, pressing into her touch as she gropes him through the denim. Jake curses against her lips, breaking their kiss. 

“You talk too much, honey,” she chastises him, a soft smile on her lips as she undoes his belt buckle, he lifts his hips, allowing  space to pull his pants and boxer down just enough to get his cock out. 

She pulls her legs up into her seat, on her knees so she can fully lean over the center console into his lap. V pushes hair back behind her ear and takes his dick into her mouth; not bothering to tease, swallowing around him. The taste of him on her tongue causes a heat in her center to stir, getting slick between her thighs as she bobs her head up and down. He groans as she strokes and sucks him, teasing her tongue ring along the head of his cock. The bitterness of his precum and the salt of his skin making her dizzy with need. 

His chrome fingers slide across the expanse of her back, reaching out to grab her ass. He gropes and fondles her through her pants, the rough feeling of her jeans and panties being pressed against her sensitive wet folds. Jake curses as V alternates between sucking, licking, and taking him as deep into her throat as she can. 

He tugs on her hair, bleached strands wrapped around chrome, pulling her mouth off him. Drool covering his cock and her lips. She pouts at him for stopping her, cheeks flushed and breathing heavy.  He gives her a swat on the ass, barely hard enough to sting. 

“Want inside of you.” 

That’s all the explanation he gives and she pulls away, thankful that the windows of his car have steamed from body heat, she begins to quickly strip off her clothes. Its clumsy as she tries to strip down in a car seat, throwing her jacket off into the back, kicking off her boots, before yanking her pants and panties down in one fluid movement. She curses herself for not wearing a skirt or something with easier access. A part of her mind recognizes how stupid she must look, still in her shirt, bra, and her socks staying on after tugging off her pants. But lust has killed her ability to think, just wanting him inside of her. Jake has rolled a condom on, but otherwise has simply watched the flustered merc strip down. 

V’s easily able to jump into his lap, straddling him and having her back to the steering wheel. She steadies herself with one hand on his shoulder, the other lining his cock up with her entrance, sinking herself down onto his dick. She’s slick enough that she takes him all in one movement, both cursing out at the feeling. The stretch of his cock inside of her and the tightness of her cunt around him. Jake digs his nails into her hips and bounces her on his cock, fucking up into her. He takes complete control, setting a brutal pace that leaves V reeling with every thrust. All she can do is wrap her arms around his neck and moan against his sweaty skin, accepting each harsh movement of him inside of her. 

The tension inside of her grows tighter with every thrust, every smack of skin against skin like a strike of a match trying to grow a larger flame. She can’t think, can’t focus, every thought consumed with pleasure and a desire to be pushed over the edge. Bruises form on her hips where he hold her, where he uses her for pleasure. The chair of his cheap car creaks with each bounce and a few thrusts slams her lower back into the steering wheel, but she doesn’t care, couldn’t if she tried. She whines and whimpers against his skin, feeling her end nearing. 

And then the tension snaps, orgasm hitting her fast and hard, she digs her nails into his skin, squirming and writhing as she moans out her pleasure. Mind a haze as she’s overwhelmed with her pleasure. He thrusts a few more times and she nearly chokes at the continued stimulation, the feeling of him fucking into her already sensitive cunt. Then he curses, bringing her hips down fully to meet his own one last time before he cums, spilling his seed inside the condom. 

V rolls off of him and back into the passenger seat, hating the empty feeling  Her skin is sweaty and flushed, as much she hates it, she needs to get her clothes back on. Fumbling to get her pants and panties out of the passenger side floorboard. Pulling them on and shoving her feet in her boots. V waits as Jake ties off the condom and adjusts his jeans, opening the car door and tossing the condom away into a nearby dumpster. 

The Night City air feels cool compared to the heat of the car after fucking, she watches him light up a cigarette outside of the car and grimaces. He climbs back into the driver's seat, keeping the window rolled down and she makes a gagging sound as the smoke hits her nose. 

“You coming back to the bar with me?” He asks, blowing smoke out of the window. 

“No,” she signs, thankful the choker translator can survive sweat, “I’ll catch the train back to Watson.” 

“Let strangers see you sweaty and fuck-dazed?” 

“Well, it’s a good look for me.” 

“Can’t really deny that, now can I.” 

She rolls her eyes and grabs her jacket getting out of the car, walking away on still slightly wobbly legs. V takes the train back to Watson, fiddling with her holophone the entire way. The merc gets off at the stop closest to her megabuilding and makes her way to her apartment; lock recognizing her on the first try. 

V checks the time and decides to get ready to go to The Afterlife. Those nerves she had managed to fuck away for a moment creep up on her all over again. She shakes her head not wanting to focus on her anxieties, she strips down and grabs a shower, cleaning off the sweat from her liaison. 

The merc pulls her hair back in a small low-set ponytail and does her makeup to the recommendations of the stylist. She gets dressed and uses the new camouflaged hearing aids, she takes her mask with her too. Though she knows she can’t wear it into Konpeki, she’ll still be walking into The Afterlife. That thought alone twists her guts into nervous knots. 

The Afterlife is the go to bar for the top of their game, Major Leagues mercs and fixers. It’s where the biggest deals are made, the easiest place to catch a drink and a job, but only mercs or fixers of a certain standard are allowed through its doors. Jackie brags about the place like it’s heaven for mercenaries. If they’re going to become regular fixtures of the bar after this, then she’d prefer to maintain her usual level of anonymity for fixers moving forward. She’ll drop the mask when they’re finally in corpo threads. 

V slides on Misty’s bracelet as well, fiddling with the beads meant to provide some form of protection. Her mind goes back to Misty’s tarot card reading, while she doesn’t put much weight on it, her friend’s fortune telling often sticks with her. The Wheel of Fortune is sticking out to her; she could care less if the cards thinks she’s stupid or if she’s about to fall in love, the latter of which so ridiculous she can’t help but dismiss it. But the idea of conflict sticks out, fear of the heist going wrong has been heavy on her mind. Something always goes slightly wrong, no job is perfect. But this has the highest stakes she’s ever encountered. 

V has new cyberware, the best possible tech and upgrades from Vik. She has Jackie, her best choom and partner in crime who’s never let her down. There’s T-Bug, her friend and brilliant netrunner who could bring half of Night City down if she wished. Their fixer is Dex, one of the best in regards to his job, he has everything to gain by having their backs covered. They have military grade tech and an inside look into Konpeki. They are going in under the best possible circumstances. 

She has to remind herself, review this again and again, that if something goes wrong someone there should be able to take care of it. But, those nerves don’t fade even as she leaves her apartment. 

The Afterlife isn’t far from V’s apartment, practically a hop and skip downtown. Barely five minutes pass before she’s under the roofed alley, nearing the club. Vivid cyan and purple graffiti across the wall, trash along the way.

“Porque ya tengo planes para esta noche!" 

The voice is familiar, Jackie’s and V pressed her back to the side of the vending machine, he’s telling someone he already has plans for tonight. He sounds frustrated, like he’s on the verge of pulling his hair out. 

“Virgen Santsima, ma! Te vas a enterar mañana,” a beat of silence, “también te quiero, ma."

The conversation ways on her, he’s talking to Senora Welles. Remembering Jake talking about her feelings, that the matriarch has been worrying herself half to death. And it sounds like Jackie has been on the receiving end of that worry for a while.  V pulls her mask on and rounds the corner past the vending machine, stepping in front of the main entrance of The Afterlife. Her friend standing in the doorway under the harsh green light. 

“Heh, about time, chica,” he greets, tucking his phone into his pocket, she catches the blue of Misty’s bracelet mingled with his usual gold ones. 

“What’s going on?” 

“Ehhh, y'know. She's worried about me - whatever. Can't help herself, y'know - checkin’ to see if I'm not rottin' in some dumpster… like most of the Welles boys. Been worse lately.” 

“Why’s that?” 

“Started climbin' our way up. Got more an' more knives out there, waitin' to stab us in the back. Higher stakes, higher risk. She can see that.” 

“Look like you’re about to keel over.” V reaches out, touching the red blotches on his skin, stress and sweat inflaming his skin. 

“Years of merc work, and yet,  still sweat like a roasted pig when I talk to my ma. It's really startin' to wear on me. More tell her everythin's OK, more I feel like I'm straight-up lyin’.”

“Well, hopefully you had a nice date with Misty at least.” 

“Went about as well as talking to my ma right now,” he scratches at the back of his neck, “for two women who don’t get along, they sure agree when it comes to worrying about me.” 

“They worry because they love you, worse things in life than people giving a damn about you.” 

“Yeah, yeah, don’t matter none. Not anymore, Afterlife, here we come, baby!” 

Jackie changes the topic and she can’t really blame him for it, rubbing his hands together and practically cheering in excitement. This is everything they’ve talked about, everything they’ve said they want. So, why does she still have a lump in her throat? 

“Afterlife… we’re really here.” 

“Does not get any higher, choom. And you know somethin' else? We fuckin' earned it, chica!” 

“No point in standing around then, is there?’ 

“Ready to get your cherry popped?” he laughs leading her into the club, “Yeeeah! Come on!”

“Little late for that one, Jack,” she teases as they make their way down the stairs, a pair of double doors opening up for them. A short step down into a small hallway with mercs and fixers alike talking under the green glow of a sign bearing the club’s name. 

“Place used to be a morgue - you believe that?”

“Really?” 

“I know, right? Way before our time, that. When proper burials were still a thing.”

They come to another set of doors, through the small window V can see the true club main room beyond them. But a man stands guarding them, around Jackie’s height and a similar bulky build. Cyberware indented along his jawline and nose. His face is stony, eyes sharp when Jackie and V stop before him, then he puts a large hand out in front of him. 

“And who might you clowns be?”

“Jackie and V,” the taller of the mercs says with a grin, “Dexter Deshawn is waitin’ on us.” 

The bouncer gives them a look and V is glad for her mask helping hide her emotions. His expression is dismissive, looking down on them, making her feel all at once that she has not earned her place in this club. A baby merc, new to the city, barely six months under her belt and she’s standing at the Afterlife. How the fuck did she get here? 

“Yo, Dex. Got two live ones sayin' they're here to see ya,” his optics glow as he calls Dex, “Yeah? All right, then. Says he needs a second or two. Go get yourselves drinks or somethin'.”

The doors open to a green and cyan lit club. Music louder as the barrier breaks away, people fill the room. Some sipping on alcohol and other’s puffing away on cigarettes; the smell of nicotine and booze wafting from the bar. 

“Way ahead o' you, viejo,��� Jackie laughs and leads the way in. 

V follows him around the corner; the large bar coming into full view. It’s lit green, the same neon sign reading Afterlife at the top of it. A bartender in a blue button up slings drinks to the patrons. Floor to ceiling columns, like tubes, are places around the club each filled with water with a dancer twirling around inside with strategically place chrome clothing covering the most private parts of them. Everything is basked in that green neon light, despite being surrounded by mercs like her, she feels so completely out of place. 

Jackie marches proudly across the bar floor, stride confident and unwavering. 

“This is it… The heart o' Night City! That's it right there - beating. Hear it?” he proclaims as they pass by rows of half closed off booths, “Can you imagine? Susan Forrest, Boa Boa, maybe even Morgan Blackhand… All sat on those stools, fell asleep on that same bar.”

Jackie sits in one of the barstools, beaming and brimming with excitement. His eyes wide as he takes it all in, the place he’s dreamed of for all his years. V climbs into the seat next to him, placing an elbow on the bar, leaning her head onto her hand, as she shifts to face him. 

“Doubt that puts us in the same league as them,” V teases, Morgan Blackhand brought down Arasaka Tower. They’re stealing a biochip, hardly the same thing. 

“Oh, but we are. They just don't know it yet,” Jackie tells her with a wink and she can’t help but roll her eyes. 

“We-” 

V drops her hand when she realizes Jackie’s attention has gone elsewhere, an older woman walking past the two. She’s nothing unusual, older looking than most of the crowd here, sure but nothing immediately stands out to V. An older woman with long gray hair shaved on one side and a bright yellow cropped sweater, She marches her way across the bar and into a blue lit booth, moving past a guard.  

“'Ey. See that old lady there?”

“Yeah, didn’t know grannies were your type,” V taunts him again, he’s always given her shit for her taste in older people, yet he’s ogling some grandma? 

“Fuck off,” he playfully smacks her, but nearly knocks her from her chair, “that’s fuckin’ Rogue, best fixer in all o' Night City.” 

“Thought Dex was the best?” 

“Pff… Rogue was linin' up jobs when Dex was still shittin' in diapers, heh. Place belongs to her.”

“What can I getcha?” The bartender cuts in, hands down on the bar in front of them. She’s a woman with long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail and a soft round face. 

V doesn’t drink on the job, something she’s always stuck to. But, this is Jackie’s dream and she knows how he likes to celebrate. If nothing else, their banter has failed to undo her nerves, maybe booze will do the trick. 

“You order,” she signs to Jackie and he grins. 

“You drinkin’?” 

“Special night, pick me something nice.” 

“Two Tequila Old Fashioneds with a splash of cerveza and a chili garnish.”

“A duo of Johnny Silverhands, comin' up,” the bartender starts to put the drinks together, “somebody did their homework.” 

“Guessing the dog ate mine,” V signs, confused because what the fuck is a silver hand?

“Age-old tradition. Drinks're named after our regulars,” she explains, putting the drinks down in front of the mercs. 

“What’d I have to do to get a drink named after me?” 

“Snuff it,” she grins, “ In mind-blowingly spectacular fashion, Mid-op'd be best.”

“Aah, what a beaut of a tradition!”

“Steep price for a drink, not going to lie,” V signs, letting her nerves speak for her, if only for a moment. Her guts are in knots, she can only hope the alcohol will untangle. All of the merc’s usual stress relieving tactics other than a weed brownie, have failed to do much of anything.

“Hey, everyone's gotta go sometime, right? Why not in style? Death’s nothing but the final flourish!” 

“To hitting the major leagues,” she signs, holding her shot in the other hand.

“To becoming legends.” 

She pushes her mask just up above her mouth, careful not to smudge her lipstick and  they throw back their shots. Smooth but strong booze with a kick of spice from the garnish, a burn in her throat. Not her style, but she’s had worse. She pushes her mask back down, regarding the bartender, her nametag says Claire. 

“So, who else can I drink here?” She still has no idea who Silverhand is, but maybe there’s a name she does recognize, reading the posted drink menu. 

“All on the menu…”  

“'Cept there's a spot missing. Morgan Blackhand, right?”

“Heh,  true. Morgan's yet to make up his mind he's dead or still kickin',” Claire tells Jackie and V rolls her eyes. 

“Think he’s still alive? It’s been years,” Jackie asks Claire. 

“No way he’s still alive,.” The radio was just talking about the devastation of the tower going down, if that many folks were killed who were just near it, then there’s no way someone who was in the tower survived. 

“Why not? Look at Rogue. Peeps from that era - a species unto themselves.”

“And one day we’re gonna be there too,” Jackie probably proclaims, “speaking of which, name’s Jackie Welles if you want to write down my recipe.” 

“Sure.” There’s a playfulness in her tone, just going along with Jackie’s whims. 

“Shot of vodka on the rocks, lime juice, ginger beer… oh, and most importantly - a splash of love.”

“Haha, I'll remember that.”

“Gag,” V signs just to see the glare Jackie levels her way, the playful smack of her arm. 

“Okay, what’s your drink then?” 

“Literally, the only thing I drink is like cherry cola with a splash of bourbon.” 

“You know those are usually supposed to be reversed, the bourbon and coke.” 

“Maybe so, but, and hear me out… cherry cola tastes better.”  

“Heard you were Dex’s latest finds,” Claire tells them. 

“Just biz, no big deal.”

“How'd you know?” V raises an eyebrow behind her mask. 

“My job to know. Look around - how do you think meres earn their reps? Through gossip rivaling that of schoolgirls, that's how.”

“Mr. DeShawn see you now,” a booming voice rings out behind the mercs, turning around she sees Dex’s bodyguard. The first time she’s heard his voice. 

“Love to hang, imbibe the vibe, but we got an important meeting,” Jackie tells Claire, getting up from his seat and V following suit, throwing some cash down on the bar. 

“Break a leg.” 

“This way,” the bodyguard tells them and the mercs falls in line behind him. He leads them around the bar, past the crowd and through a door towards the back of the club. The lighting shifting, more blue than green as they walk past another vending machine. 

“Damn, holmes, you're huge... Work out?” Jackie asks, unable to stand the silence. 

“Hmm.” A vague grunt as they pass through another door, the music fading as they get further from the main bar. But V can just hear the starting beat of some old dad rock, something about losing another day to pointless drudgery. 

“Same here, y'know, in the ring. You do some kinda exotic shit? Kempo? Ninjitsu?”

Nothing as they turn another corner. 

“Think you could take me, drop me?”

“Jackie…” Why must he sound like he’s picking a fight with the guy?

“In here,” the guard says, stopping and standing in front of another door. 

"Este pinche tipo..."

The door opens and they’re greeted to the first room with warm lighting, though it just seems to be a storage corner. With a cabinet and vending machine. But to the left are barely see through walls of a booth that takes up half the room, through them V can just see T-Bug’s outline and leather couches. 

They walk around, the front of the booth opened. A wrap around black leather couch goes around the back wall and left side of the booth. Dex sat on the back portion, talking into a holo about Excelsior and cold hard eddies. T-Bug sat to side, a table in the center of the room with the Flathead, Jinguji boxes, and shards placed on neat little index cards. There’s a small disconnect leather seat in the right corner, next to the door. 

“Gotta bounce,” Dex hangs up, “well, if it ain’t Miss V.” 

“Whole family in one place! Hah! Finally!”

“That’s one way to put it,” T-Bug teases and a shine of blue catches V’s eye, the netrunner wearing Misty’s bracelet. She can’t help but smile. 

“A’ight, then… Set your butts down comfy,” Dex tells them. Jackie plops himself onto the larger couch next to T-Bug, comfortably spreading his arms over the back of it while V takes the smaller seat, putting her at an angle to see everyone.  She stifles a laugh, seeing Jackie’s leg excitedly bounce up and down. 

“Sweet booth, is it soundproof?” 

“Jackie…” T-Bug scolds and V stifles a laugh. 

“Now, now, Mr. Welles is right. We gon' be goin' over some sensitive material. But if it's all right with y'all, I'd like to start with a question for Miss V… Evelyn Parker - how'd you fare?”

All eyes on her, stomach still twisted in a vise, this is her chance. She’s got to tell him, but she doesn’t want Evelyn hurt. Some fixers will go to any length to get revenge on a client or merc who does them dirty. But, he’s got a right to know the shit she pulled. 

“Intel was good, brain dance was exactly what we needed….” 

“So, she just wanna see wha'ss good, or was there somethin' else?”

“Honestly?” 

“Wouldn’t ask for anything else, Miss V.” 

“She’s high risk as far as clients go. Shady as fuck, naïve as all hell, and genuinely thought she could make me another offer.” 

“Another offer?” Dex’s brow raises about his sunglasses. 

“Wanted me to cut you out for more cash, told her no, of course. But, wouldn’t do business with her again, if I were you.” 

“Cut me out… shiiiit, now that’s rich,” Dex laughs, Jackie nervously laughing along, “Clients... never learn, do they?” 

“You’re not pissed?” 

“Lived in NC too long to blow my top every time some amateur thinks they can take me for a ride. Parker ain't the first and sure as hell won't be the last.”

“Fair enough,” V lets out a sigh, thankful if nothing else that Dex doesn’t seem prone to getting too mad at Evelyn. Maybe she’s being too kind, but she can’t help but think Evelyn is more naive than malicious when it comes to the offer. A stranger to the merc world. 

“I do appreciate you sharin' this info, though, Miss V. You see, trust… …is essential in any partnership that's to be long-lasting and fruitful.”

“Figured you had a right to know, so, what’s the plan?” 

“This.”

Dex gestures towards the shards on the table, V takes the one in front of her and slides it into her shard slot.  UI and graphics lighting up her mask, a map pulling up on the tech. 

“Me and Dex've already covered the fine detes. Ops wise, should be a stroll on the beach.”

“Elaborate, I wanna hear it.” 

“A Delamain'll drop your asses at the front door of Konpeki Plaza,” a picture of the hotel shows,  then two names, “You'll stroll right in thanks to your false identities. Then, with Bug's help, you'll breach the hotel's subnet…”

“Mine and the Flathead's help.” Images of the hotel’s interior and the bot flash by. 

“Last but not least, you slip into Yorinobu's penthouse and klep the Relic,” his words bring up images of the heir and his suite.

“Goes without sayin' we do this on the hush - ideally no bodies, not a one.” The shard shows them The Relic and then blips out. 

“You'll have T-Bug on comms for the duration. Time for your burnin' questions.”

“What’s our cover?” V asks, they’ve been told a thousand times they’ll be acting like corpos, but that’d be hard to do if they have no idea what their story is suppose to be. 

“Hello, Ramón Victorino,” T-Bug looks at Jackie and then to V, “and you’re Hannah Conwell.” 

“Ramón - yeah, OK. What do we say we're there for?”

“Biz as usual. Corpo arms deal. Case anyone asks, you there for a bogus meetin' with Arasaka's defense rep - Hajime Taki. Anything else?”

“How do we get in the penthouse?”

“Yorinobu's got barely any muscle. Hardest part'll be penthouse security. If we wanna disable, we'll need to neutralize Konpeki's dweller - elite ‘runner monitoring the hotel's subnet twenty-four seven. Only catch is there's no way to get in the dweller's den from the outside.”

“Hold on, how you want us to get inside a room you can't get into?”

“Trust me when I say whatever hitch you think up. T-Bug's solved it already”

“This is where the Flathead comes in. You'll have to get him in the ventilation shafts, guide him to the dweller and force the dweller to… take a break. Flathead'll stay there, jacked into the dweller, but thanks to that I’ll be able to roll out your red carpet into the penthouse.”

“Anything else?”

“Transports a Delamain?” She has no idea if the company has an ASL sign like most other corporations and doesn’t have time to think of one on the fly. 

“Preemest cab company in all Night City… Nada mal,” hackie tells her. 

“DeShawn don't ever work with anyone but the best. I consider Delamain just that.”

“Yeah, who needs creepy, nosy cab drivers when you've got a clean AI to get you from point A to point B in style?”

“And how he bags a permit to operate every year's still a mystery.”

“If everythin' goes as planned, Delamain'll drop you back here. If things get sticky, he'll head for the safe house.”

“Which is?”

“The No-Tell Motel. Quiet, no questions asked. Make our next move from there. But I'm flat certain that won't be necessary. Though, there is one more consideration for if it does.” 

“What’s that?” 

“Hate to put you on the spot, Miss V,” Dex explains, “but if shit goes sour, I’m gonna need to know who I’m letting into the hotel. Mask can’t go with to Konpeki, so I’d sure feel a hell of a lot better if I knew what was hiding behind that thing.” 

“Oh… yeah, that makes sense.”  

Even if she’d have Jackie with her when shit goes down,  Dex is trusting her with this heist. The least she can do is trust him to see her face and not write her off or sell her out to The Herd if the chance arised. Not that she can see that happening anyway… 

“Don’t even know why you wore the thing in, V,” Jackie teases. 

“Well, there are other fixers here, didn’t want to give away my face…” 

V carefully pulls off her mask, feeling exposed all over again, a new set of eyes on her face. The merc knows how she looks; five feet with a head of bleach blonde hair and big gray eyes. Not the picture one conjures in their mind when they think of a capable, strong, badass merc. Sprinkle in her disability and the reactions to her deafness; most people think she’s not a threat, weak. 

“That what you’ve been hiding behind that mask? All that fuss, for what?” Dex laughs. 

“Hard to take,” she stumbles over her English trying to sign at the same time, “be taken- seriously sometimes when you’re five foot nothing, deaf, and look like…” 

“Gutterpunk Barbie,” Jackie cuts in to tease, earning him a sharp kick to the shin. 

“Fuck off.” 

“Trust me, Miss V, you pull off this job; ain’t nobody in their right mind gonna underestimate you” 

“That’s the hope...”

“Any other questions?” 

“I got a question. When do we get to the real reason we're all here?” Jackie asks, shooting a wink V’s way. 

“Now's a good a time as any. Fresh talent gets thirty percent always, but I'm willin' to make an exception in your case. I'ma cut you a nice, juicy forty as a bonus for your honesty, V.”

“Much appreciated.” 

“Ka-ching baby!~” 

“Last thing, Konpeki's got a strict no-iron policy. Security gates, the works. So you dawgs'll leave your lead-spitters in the ride, take the Flathead inside in its case.”

“Got your suits from Jinguji on the table.” 

“¡Chido!”

“Thanks, Bug.” 

“So, not to count chickens, but when'll we see our eddies?”

“All depends how Ms. Parker unrolls herself or her role, but a week, two tops is my guess.”

“And what do we do in the mean time?” 

“You sit tight, heads down, 'cause ol' uncle Arasaka be watching. Now, as that ol’ Greek dawg says, life's a banquet - so don't go thirsty, but don't get drunk, either,” he tells them as he leaves the booth, “Your chariot awaits outside.”

“My cue to delta, too. Gotta prep to jack in, be there when you come on comms. Any other issues, now's your chance,” T-Bug tells them, shifting her feet and something catches V’s eye. Delta V emblazoned on the netrunner’s boots, was that there before?

“Plan - your take?” V shakes the thought from her head, must be a brand or a runner thing V doesn’t know.

“Enough, I hope, to put me in a luxury Creton Villa from which I'll never set foot in cyberspace again.”

“Send me a postcard?” 

“No offense, but I'm gonna burn any and all bridges - need a clean break.”

“Gonna take Misty’s bracelet with you?” Jackie teases, grinning because he caught it too. 

“Shut up,” she tells him, rolling her eyes. 

“Uh, just realized something, what’s gonna happen to our clothes? I don’t want to lose my mask…” 

“No worries, put them in the boxes, we’ll have ‘em sent back to your places.” 

“Alright then, lets get this show on the road.” 

“Let's get to work, go ahead and get changed, Delamain is parked out front, uh, okay-”Bug starts to trip over her words when the two mercs start taking off their jackets, “you can use the bathrooms.” 

“Eh,”

Jackie and V shrug their shoulders, the outfits are right there. Not much point in dragging them out to the bathroom. The pair shared a bedroom for the better half of six months, a room with one bed. They’ve seen each other naked plenty, boundaries destroyed a long while back. 

“Why do I bother,” T-Bug rolls her eyes and leaves the booth, letting the pair change. 

V kicks off her boots and takes off her socks, Jackie tugging off his jewelry first. 

“So, you’re nerves still going crazy?” Jackie asks her as she tugs off her shirt, his own tossed off. 

“What do you mean?”  She tugs off her pants, both mercs soon standing around in their underwear. 

“Can’t hide that shit from me, chica, been giving me twice as much hell as usual. You’re freaking out.” 

“High stakes, Jack, of course I’m a nervous mess. Means I give a shit.” 

She pulls the slack on and tugs on the white blouse, buttoning it up. The two of them putting on the corpo clothes, similar in look. Black slacks, white button up tops, black suit jackets, and Misty’s beaded bracelets for protection. Each perfectly tailored for their body types. 

“Don’t sweat it so much, V, we got this.” He sticks his fist out. 

“Sure fuckin’ hope so.” She bumps her fist to his. 

Their street clothes are packed away in the boxes, V puts in her optic contacts and slide on her heels, then they start to make their way out of the booth. But, Jackie stops her with a hand on her shoulder and he taps his throat. She catches on taking off her choker translator, neck feeling bare and odd without the tech. With that they leave out through the club, Jackie carrying the Flathead case and the smaller merc keeps her head down as best she can. Her stomach still in knots as they spot the Delamain in the parking lot. 

Her life is about to change forever; hopefully for the best. She’s on the cusp of having everything she’s wanted since she’s come to the city. The verge of earning the respect of everyone in this city and finally feeling like she’s someone, like she’s done something. 

So, why does she feel like she’s about to puke?