#there is no way that roman doesn't bring this up at least once a week

[zorilleerrant]

Hi, just saw the word prompt thing? I don't know if you're still doing them or taking them, but if you are, would you mind something with either 25: Hair or 27: Sick with Bruce and/or Jason? Thank you so much! Love your writing ❤️❤️❤️

(absolutely still taking them! see this is the problem with reblogging everything in a row instead of in a queue because that post is like three hours old or something)

"I'm not sick," Jason says, once the coughing fit is over, trying to shove himself away from Bruce without stumbling over. If he falls while Bruce is watching, Bruce will know he's lying, and then he's done for. The thought only occurs to him when he's already leaning against Bruce's shoulder.

"I know you're not, Champ," Bruce says, and it's ridiculous hearing that tone of voice when he's full on Batman mode, the cowl on with smudges of greasepaint all across his eyelids, wrapping the cape around him like when he was small. It doesn't work. The cape back then was soft, quilted one patch at a time by Alfred's careful hand, and warm enough to keep at least the chill of Gotham's winds howling over rooftops at bay. Now it's the thinnest nanofiber metamaterial Jason's ever seen, soft as silk but not half as warm.

It's a nice night. He's only cold because he has the flu, but Jason always wears a mask, so why is that his fucking problem? Nothing's supposed to be able to get through the filters. Not even whatever has Bruce so wary, using dad voice even through his gas mask. "I'm fine. There's just a problem with the filters." Is there a problem with the filters? He was coughing earlier, and something smelled deep maroon and ominous. The people shuffling around the building - no one left inside, but not so far removed yet - are coughing, too. Speaking in strange voices, like they don't know what they're saying themselves. Their faces screw up when they try to talk.

"Jaylad? Are you with me?" Bruce says, pulling Jason's full weight against his chest, as if they're not in front of a crowd right now, cameras pointed at them from all sides. Jason barely refrains from shoving him away, feeling like a little kid trying not to get hugged at school again, and aware that most of the reason he's not pushing is that he doesn't have the energy, and he needs something to balance his weight on anyhow. "How much of that stuff did you breathe in? Here, list off your siblings, will you? I don't know who's behind this new toxin, but we'll find them."

"No one's behind it," Jason says, completely ignoring Bruce's instruction, and fuck him for trying to give it, anyway, Jason is fine. "Look around at the fucking building, B, it was a science fair. It was an accident. No one was behind - okay, actually, that's a lie, Black Mask is behind it, but it's not exactly like you can throw him off a roof over it, so." Jason can throw him off a roof. Maybe. Once he gets a good night's sleep, at least. Oh, fuck, sleep sounds good, right about now. If only Bruce would hurry up and get him to the Batmobile. Of course, if he says that, Batman's going to worry. Like an asshole.

"Black Mask?" Bruce says, in horror, finally moving them in the direction of the car, finally moving Jason out of the way of paramedics that he's absolutely certain would demand to take his temperature and then the jig would be up. "What the hell does he have to do with any of it? How long has he been running this plot?" Oh, sure, once you bring Roman up, Bruce is all invested again. Couldn't have just listened when Jason said the sprinkler systems needed to be double checked. 'Oh we just checked them last week' last week before the last villain siphoned toxins through them again, yeah. Some detective.

"Well, it's not about to help to fight crime at him, B, I assure you, all of his horrifying chemicals are perfectly legal," Jason says, climbing into the chair and reclining it so he can lie down and never get up again. He almost can't hear himself over the roar of the Batmobile's engine. "Some idiot posts a video about how you can hack the blush, soak it in alcohol and precipitate out the metallic component. You know the new bronze and silver ones? Yeah. Well, if you're not careful, you know. I was checking to see if it's made of Nth metal. Some precocious teens beat me to it, I guess."

"That can't possibly be legal," Bruce says, taking a curve a little bit slower than Jason would've expected him to, even on the drive home, even while they're having a totally civil conversation and Jason hasn't yet resorted to trying to bite him. "There are all sorts of regulations on strange metals. We voted on a referendum last week! And you're telling me he's doing this through his company? To, what, entice kids to accidentally cobble together bombs?"

"He doesn't fucking care about the kids, Bruce. I don't even know if he knows - like the advertising isn't even aiming at them, it's aiming at, fuck, celebrities and influencers and shit, he probably doesn't even know it can do this or he'd be selling the shit to Wall," Jason says, tiredly, words that would be mumbled through his hands if his helmet weren't beaming them straight to Bruce's earpiece. "He just found a way to pawn off his trash to the rest of his company, and told them to come up with profits. And they did! Like you always say, crime doesn't fucking pay, eh?"

"Okay. I very much do not want Amanda Waller to get her hands on this. You really think that's his long term plan?" Jason shuts his eyes, not that Bruce can tell under the mask. Because, like, did he fucking say that? Bruce never listens when Jason tries to explain in completely straightforward English - or any other fucking thing - what is going on in Gotham. He missed the limited edition pretzels, too. Asshole. A warm gust of wind blows across his face and Jason realizes that, at some point while he wasn't responding, Bruce pulled his helmet off. Undoing all the latches silently and everything. He's saying something soothing.

Jason ignores him. Wiggles his mouth a little; it's always easier talking when you don't have to aim directly at the mic. He's used to it enough it's reflexive by this point, but it still makes his jaw sore. "Yo, you know the mayor's get kickbacks, even the new one - I mean, I didn't ask him personally, so his kickback may be, like, his own head - there's no such thing as a regulation with no loopholes in Gotham." And then the kids try to mix it up and test out cool new properties, two projects get too close to each other, someone's baking soda volcano sets of a chain reaction or whatever happened in there. The sprinklers took a beat too long to set themselves in motion, Jason knows that part for sure.

"Jay, kiddo, you sound like you swallowed an entire sheep worth of steel wool," Bruce says, in that grudging way where he's trying to show emotion the way Leslie taught him to, but he sucks at it, because Alfie's British and never made proper expressions when he was a kid. Only the thing is he's turned the car to whisper mode and Jason can barely feel the rumble of the engines now, and Bruce's hand is stroking through his hair, and he could probably fall asleep, moving car or no. "Let's get you some of Alfred's soup."

"Yeah," Jason says, even though Bruce is right for once in his life, and Jason's voice does sound a thousand times more like sandpaper now that his voice modulator is gone. "Alfred is the one that misses me, sure thing old man." Actually, who Jason really needs to talk to is Lucius. Maybe over the phone, so as not to get him sick. Because if one thing will piss Roman off it's a fucking hostile takeover. Plus then they can hoard the metal to, whatever, build a Batspaceship or who knows what, like that part matters.

Bruce's hand stills, fingertips still cool against Jason's skull, and they just breathe like that for a few moments, in sync and slow, their heart rates slowing to rest, just the way he used to after a panic attack, even though Jason's pretty sure neither of them are panicking, unless Bruce cares a lot more than he assumed about a flu he's pretty sure he's mostly over anyway. Bruce squeezes his neck a little too hard, and hesitates before he opens the door. "Alfred does miss you."

[roman-cates]

Bryce nods. "I could go for eggs," he says, and starts to slowly sit up.

After he's showered and dressed and gotten Roman his pills, he starts on breakfast. Bacon, toast, sunny-side up eggs. Roman sits at the table and looks longingly out the window when he thinks Bryce isn't looking. Bryce tries not to be annoyed at the passivity. At least he's expressing desires in some way right now, and he did bring it up in conversation earlier. It's an improvement, and more time will lead to more improvements.

At some point they're going to have to talk about what happens when he can walk again. Not until he's had a good few days. Definitely when he's had a good week.

"You want to grab drinks so we can eat outside?" Bryce asks as he takes the last toast from the toaster.

Previous

"I could go for eggs." Bryce sits up, slowly, and Roman does as well, swinging his legs over the edge as Bryce gets up.

Bryce heads out of the room to go take a shower. Roman tolerates this separation— what else is he going to do?

While Bryce is off showering, Roman gets his own clothes together and sets off down the hall to the main bathroom. He turns on the sink to run hot water for a moment so he can wet a washcloth. Quickly, and not very effectively, he washes up some. There's not a lot he can do on his own and this hurts more than it needs to since he hasn't taken any painkillers yet, but he's tired of feeling dirty all of the time. He does his best and then starts to get dressed.

While he's dressing, he pauses, picking back up the shorts he just took off and checking the pockets. They're empty.

Fuck.

The moment of pause turns into a moment of panic. Where is that drawing he did? The one of Avery. If it's not in this pocket now, that means it was in the pocket of something that was recently washed.

What happened to it..? Did it dissolve in the washer? He hopes it dissolved in the washer. If it didn't, that means it's either still in the pocket— which would be fine— or Bryce saw it— which is less fine.

As he finishes getting dressed, the panic subsides. Mostly. Why is he even worried if Bryce sees it? So what if he did? Roman feels ashamed for the things he wishes had happened to Avery, but those are still thoughts he has. He tries to convince himself he wasn't really hiding it in the first place— he just wasn't talking about it. He doesn't need to pretend that he doesn't have those thoughts about Avery. He doesn't need to.

Once he's dressed, Roman comes out to the kitchen. Bryce is there shortly after and starts on breakfast. Roman watches out the window. He should have said he wanted to go out this morning. Not just sometime. He wants to be outside...

"You want to grab drinks so we can eat outside?"

Roman breaks his gaze away from the window. "Hm? Yeah, sure!"

Roman gets drinks and Bryce carries the food outside to the picnic table. For a little bit, they eat quietly.

Roman's thoughts wander to the question he wants to ask Bryce. It's probably an outside question. Maybe. He'd rather not risk asking it inside, anyway.

"Bryce..? I think... I think I've asked you this before, but... Why are you so nice to me? Why are you patient when... well... when you don't have to be?"

Is that question okay? Is it going to offend him in some way? Is it going to cause him to realize he really doesn't need to be nice to Roman? Is Roman going to regret asking..? He sort of already does...

[loveandthings11]

Truly, no one ever brings it up???

[perseusjackson-jasongrace]

weapon? monster? child.

this was a request from ao3 for some roman jason! i hope y'all enjoy

CW: vague manipulation themes

[images have alt text]

Even wolves bow to the law.

Jason Grace wakes up with his alarm. 7:00 a.m., it blinks at him. The first thing he feels is the cool breeze that blows in from the river bordering their camp, and through the window near his bed. They put him here so he’d be the first point of protection should anything from outside try to attack. He took the position gratefully. Lowered his head in thanks and packed up the little he had. From the big warm rooms of the main house where the youngest of them slept, to the straight and narrow dormitories of their assigned cohorts.

His blue eyes, dull and wide, blink as he stares at the roof. He’s one of the luckier ones. He has a whole bunk to himself. People are scared to sleep next to him, or near him. This son of Jupiter, this child of Lupa, this being of Power. What if they shake the bunk in the night and he tears them apart with his father’s lightning.

Jason would never. He is trained better than that. He will have control of his emotions. If he doesn't, innocent people will die. He knows this. A cub got hurt once. He wasn’t allowed to eat for a week. At least not with the pack. He was too young to get food on his own. He must learn the ways of the wolves, for they are the way of the world, and the bearers of the law.

Even wolves bow to the law.

He swings his legs over the bed, and jumps down. His landing is silent. The floorboards do not even creak. They are cold though, but he is used to this. It is the second thing that wakes him up.

The routine goes like this: alarm>roof>floorboards>cold water>clothes> weapon check>breakfast>camp activities.

Everyday. Every Single Day. Always the same thing, never a deviation, never an interruption. We must be organized beings Jason , he hears Lupa in his head over and over again, f or if we are chaos we must expect to be destroyed. Chaos must not exist outside of it’s containment. That was the final lesson. Chaos doesn’t follow rules therefore it should not exist.

Jason splashes cool water on his face, stares at himself in the scratched mirror. Too many demigods looking through the same glass. He wonders if any of them want to see something different? He does. Gods he does, desperately and ungratefully.

He wants to see how blue his eyes can get. And if his hair can be messier than this buzzed golden blonde look. If his hands can be softer than the callouses he always sports. And if his skin can be more golden. Would he look more alive?

He goes to breakfast. They're serving an array of things. Jason gets oats with too much honey. He sits at the edge of a table, nearest to the exit. Some people come to sit at the same table, but they keep a distance that moving closer would not bridge. Their laughter is his curiosity, their questions are his silent answers. He agrees that Silene from cohort three should go with the blue hair ties because it matches her socks. He decides diet coke is the best of the diet cola series. He frowns when Lucian from cohort two shows off their new throwing dagger at the table.

No weapons where you eat. Lupa frowns when he brings a whittled stick to their meal. Why? Because eating is a time of truce and peace. If I bared my fangs at you while you ate how would you feel? And his little eyes had grown wide as saucers, tears filling faster than he could stop them. Yes Lupa , he had mumbled, throwing his tiny spear away. He had just wanted to show her what he could do. He would never use it on them. That was the first of many things he had made and lost. Hard labour is only accepted when it benefits someone else. Another lesson learned.

Even wolves bow to the law.

The sword slips from his grip. Before it hits the floor his other hand is grabbing it. With a low growl he starts again. Twirl, strike, counter, direction, twirl, sidestep. He gets it this time. He allows a small smile. If there was a mirror he would have seen his eyes shine a little brighter.

“Jason!” Someone calls his name from outside. He nearly flinches. With a toss of his sword it pockets as a coin and then he’s jogging towards the door.

“Hey,” He squints the sun out of his eyes, searching for his summouner against the bright morning.

Reyna, a new camper, still young but full of anger, stands in front of him. Her legs are shoulder width apart, hands on her hips. Her tattoo is so pitch black against her brown skin. A single stripe mars her arm. He wonders if her collection of lines will someday rival his. The frown creasing her dark eyebrows is securely in place.

“What’s wrong?”

“They said you have to train me today.”

“Why me?” He frowns, looking around her for older campers. It is not traditional for campers as young as him to be training new recruits. Even if he has been here longer than most demigods. Still the older ones are given duties and responsibilities like this. There is a hierarchy and it starts with the time of your birth.

“Will you teach me?” The demand sort of irks him but only because he has never been asked to do something like this and now it is just being thrown at him with no warning, or training.

He tries not to let it show on his face. He must do a good job because her own fierce expression doesn’t change, react to him. She simply stares.

“Yes,” He motions for her to follow him back into the training center. “I will teach you.”

“What do we start with?” Her excitement is starting to wage war with her anger. They are still little kids after all.

“We start with body training.” He looks her over, assessing the thinness of her arms, the way her legs sway even when she tries to stand still. As if she had been on a ship for too long and her body no longer knows what solid ground feels like.

“What?” She’s back to frowning, glaring at him. “I want to learn how to use weapons. I want to fight.”

“The first weapon is your body.” He says, moving to the center of the room where a large training mat is spread across the floor.

“No, the first weapon is the one I can get my hands on.”

“How will you use a weapon if you can’t even hold it?” He doesn't understand why she won’t follow the order of things. Train your body>wield the weapon>fight the war. That’s how it is. That’s the order.

“My mother is Bellona!” She growls. “I already know how to fight.”

He stands in front of her, considering. They are about the same height, definitely the same age, though his weight is solid, whereas she looks like she’s been eating nothing but berries and cold meats for weeks. No sustenance.

“Okay Reyna,” He raises a brow. Something thrums under his skin, increases his heart rate. He believes it’s excitement. Are his eyes glowing? “If you can lay me down in two minutes, we’ll start on weapons training right away.”

The gleam that enters her gaze, brown eyes brightening like headlights, almost makes him laugh. “Fine.” She gives him a single nod.

And then she’s sprinting towards him, teeth bared, hands clawed in front of her. She fights like it's survival. He knows something of that. He steps out of the way. Her frustration is a spark. And she is dynamite. He is there to watch the world blow up. His eyes are lightning blue.

Wolves may bow to the law. But they hunt the chaos.

[thekingsfortress]

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Waiting for the right time

Word Count

3464 Words

AGERE JANUS JUST CUZ WE NEEDED MORE!! THANKS!!

Also this is my first Agere oop, please be nice ^^

Proof reading- who's she never heard of her-

It had been a long week for Janus, he had to calm down Patton from his little rampage, he had to try and convince Roman that he wasnt all that bad, which didn't work at all, and on top of it, he revealed his name.

At the moment he kinda regretted sharing his name, he wasn't ready to share it, not at all, however he felt it necessary to get thomas to just listen to him, and lo and behold, it worked! However, because he made himself so vulnerable, he left himself wide open to Romans laughter.

He knows he shouldn't have said what he had said to him, he knew how insecure the other got, but he couldn't help it, the other just mad him so angry!!! He felt like he needed to protect himself... but- but.. he ended up hurting the other.

He knew he should go and apologize... but he really didn't want to, the other started it so why should he Apologize first!

He shakes his head, holding it in his hands, he had to stop thinking like that... he knows that if he kept it up, he would end up regressing.. he can't afford to do that, it was too soon after the video, he had to make sure no one would come for him.. he also really didn't wanna.. he was always too lonely when he regressed, it's not like he could help it, he knows if he told the others.. they would just laugh.. just like how they laughed at his name.

Janus sighs, glancing around the room, trying to find something to focus on so that he wouldn't lose himself to his other half. He hears a knock on his door and gets up, going over and opening it.

Staring at him was the light blue side everyone knew as Patton, Janus hums, he can't say he didn't expect a visit from the light side, he knew sooner or later the other would come, he WAS basically accepted by Thomas now, so it was only time before the dad side decided to pay him a visit.

Janus tried to keep his composure and looks at the light side, clearing his throat, "good evening Patton, what do I owe the pleasure for such an intelligent, like minded individual such as yourself to come visit a dark, visious, evil, side like me?" He questions, plastering on a smirk.

"You aren't evil Janus" Patton says, using the sides real name, making said side flinch just a bit, he was definitely going to get used to that.

"Ahah, alright, whatever you say, however, you still haven't answered my question" Janus rolls his eyes a little, glancing at his gloves, his thumb picking at his fingers just a bit.

"Oh, well I was wonderingggg if you would like to uhhhh- join in on movie night with me and the others!" Patton grins happily.

Janus's eyes sparkle for a small second, movies!!! With the light sides! Did that mean candy and popcorn and- wait no! Stop!!! You clearly can't join if you are going to be like this!!!

Janus shakes his head for a bit, not noticing the concerned look on Pattons face, "kiddo?" The fatherly side questions.

Janus's head snaps up at the nickname, confusion on his face, Patton had never called him kiddo, not even once! He awhs a bit, he felt his chest swell up with joy at the nickname, but he pushed that aside, "what?" He questions.

"Is something wrong?" Patton asks, "you looked a bit dazed out when I asked you to join.. you seemed happy at first but then just stopped?"

Janus curses under his breath, "I-I'm fine, it's nothing, I just have a few things I need to get done with.."

Patton pouts a little, "awhhhh! You can't even spare one night?" He asks

"Nope! Too much work, I'm sorry Patton but this is a matter between life or death!" Janus nods to himself, forcing himself not to giggle at that little statement- damnit! That sounded too kiddish!!!!

It did make Patton giggle though, "okay kiddo, just know you're welcomed if you want to come okay?" He asks.

"Yeah, I know... now go watch your movies" Janus rolls his eyes, smirking a little.

Patton beams and nods, leaving the room and running back up the stairs to the light side.

Contrary to the light sides belief, Janus could hear all their voices, all their happiness, it made him feel every bit lonelier.

Janus bites his lip, maybe he can.. indulge his urges just for a tinyyyyy bit, but only a little!!!! And only cuz a side already talked to him! He doubts anyone else will come to see him again for the night.

Janus goes over to his nightstand and slides it a bit before pulling back a floorboard and pulling out a tiny box, he opens it and pulls out his plus snake and coloring books, he doesn't have anything else.. he can't summon much things like how the others can..

He does have a snake onesie though!!!! The thought of his snake onesie just makes him really really excited, he lets out little giggles and runs over to his closet and reaches to the far far back, he pulls it out and smiles.

The little one struggles to take off his clothes, whining a little, he does eventually get them off, however, trying to pull the onesie on was a totally different problem.

You see, Janus has been repressing his headspace for way too long, and when he finally decided to indulge in it this time, he slipped really fast, and not only that, but he slipped to a very young age, making him struggle immensely.

The bab sniffles, whining, he was really confused, which hole went where. He ended up guessing a few times and had ended up getting it on, although not zipped. It took him probably 10 tries just to get the onesie on. The zipper still remained down though, he tried zipping it but it got stuck! But.. it wasn't that bad, at least he got most of it on.

He goes over to his coloring books and grabs the strawberry shortcake one, he then grabs his 120 pack of crayons and his snakey and lays on the floor, he begins to color while listening to the others laugh from upstairs, from inside his room.

Janus slowly brings a thumb to his mouth, whimpering quietly, he sniffles a little, he wanted to be with the others, but he knew the others wouldn't accept him, they would just laugh at him..

The child tries to focus on his coloring book until he's finishing coloring his page, he smiles when he finishes and holds it up giggling, he gets up, ready to find someone to hang it up on a fridge.. before he realized, oh yeah.... he didn't have anyone...

He heard more laughter coming from upstairs and felt tears well in his eyes before he rubs them away, he gotta be a big kid, he couldn't bother the grown ups, they'd only get upset at him, he didn't wanna make them upset..

Janus gets up, thumb properly positioned in his mouth as he goes over to the tv, he turns it on like a big boy and ploped back on the floor, grabbing the controller, he looks at the pretty colors of Netflix and Hulu, he knew which colors associated with which and picked Hulu, it had Henry hugglemonster on it!!!

Janus giggles a little and plays the show, holding his stuffed snake in his arms and singing along or more like babbling along to the tune. After about 2 episodes of that he gets up, he was hungry... but he knew he couldn't go out... cuz if he went out, the others would know.. unless he bes sneaky! Maybe he can have icecream!!!!

Janus makes it his goal to be sneaky and get nummy icecream, he gets up and makes his way to the stairs, when he looks up however, he becomes a bit scared, it was so far up.. what if he trips and falls?

B-But.. But Icecream-

Janus bites his lip and takes in a deep breath, for the honor of icecream!!!!

He starts to climb the stairs, holding his stuffed snake tightly in his arms, trying to be as quiet as possible, occasionally putting a finger to his lips as if the snake could make any sound.

Once he makes it up the stairs he quietly opens the door, happy that it doesn't make a sound, also happy that the kitchen is just right there.. though.. that meant the living room was right there too..

Janus bites his lip, maybe he couldn't get icecream.. b-but maybe he could get oreos!!!! Oreos are the second best.

Keeping his giggles down, the boy moves fast to try and get oreos, the only problem was that he didn't know where they were and if the lights had them in the first place.

Janus starts with the bottom cubborts, being extra quiet, holding his snake tightly, crawling from cubbort to cubbort, but all that was in the bottom cubborts were pans and sink supplies an dumb stuff like that.

The mentally two year old pouts before looking up, giggling quietly before covering his mouth, he looks at the couch to see if anyone heard but no one turned their heads.

Alright!!! Time to continue with his plan! He climbs onto the counter shakily but also trying to be quiet, thankful that the movie the light sides were watching was really loud.. at least to him.. his ears were sensitive. So he thought that just because it was loud to him it was loud to the others to.

And yes- he did gotta climb on the counter, he was the shortest side an couldn reach, shuddup.

The boy pulls the cubbort open quietly, finding no oreos which made him pout quietly, he went to another cubbort and pulls it open, and no luck, he whines quietly, feeling his tummy rumbling, lip trembling, there was no oreos and there wasn't anything good to eat...

Janus pouts a little ready to give up till he sees one more cubborr he hasn't opened, he goes over to it, still standing on the counter and opens it quietly... wellll... theres no oreos button

There isssss Crofters!!!!

Janus gasps excitedly, maintaining quiet and grabbing the jar, he doesn't have difficulty opening it as it had been opened before it seems. It was definitely still a new jar, barely eaten out of, well until the mentality 2 year old sits on the counter, eating it with his bare hands.

The others didn't even notice that Janus was in their kitchen until Logan got up and was going to call it a night, when he seen dee eating HIS crofters, the others were quick to look where logan was looking.

Janus wasn't paying any attention to the others, he was just eating the yummy jam stuff, it was really really nummy.

Logan was furious, he makes his way over to the snake side, "hey!" He calls, scaring the life out of the bab who dropped the jar out of fear, making it shatter all over the ground.

Logan gasps as he sees the jar drop, he looks up even more angry, "what do you think you're doing!!! That was my crofters!!!" Logan exclaimed

"Logan be nice, you can share!"

"Not when he sticks his saliva filled hands into my crofters jar!!"

"Loga-" Patton starts, but stops when he hears crying, he turns to face the deceitful side, face full of shock, he did not expect this to happen.

Logan and Patton were now staring at a red faced crying Janus, it made both the sides super confused.

Virgil and Roman were also watching confused from the background, Roman a bit more frustrated that the side had came and ruined everything again!

Patton suddenly takes notice of the others attire and the plus he was holding close, listening as the boy sobs out i'm sorries.

Patton suddenly knows what's going on and so does Logan, suddenly feeling very very guilty.

Patton goes over to the child, and gently rubs a hand through his hair, "hey Jan?" He questions quietly

The sobbing child doesn't answer, trembling with the fear of getting caught and the fear of getting in trouble, he was still saying sorry over and over.

Patton quietly gets down to the others hight, even though he was sitting on the counter, patton may be the second shortest but he still was a few inches taller then jan.

"Sweetie, its okay, hey hey, in 4, hold 7, out 8, remember buddy?" Patton asks, also tapping out the pattern on the others back just in case.

Janus sobs still, but he can feet the pattern on his back and knows what to do, he inhails for 4, holds for 7 but it breaks off of 8, he was about to sob harder until patton gave him a quick assurance.

"You're doing good buddy, can we try that again hon?" He asks.

Janus nods quietly and tries again, and after a few minutes, he's doing alright, theres still tears falling down his face, but at least he wasn't panicking.

Patton smiles softly. "There we go buddy" he says gently, "do you wanna tell me what happened hon?" Patton asks in his best caretaker voice he can muster, usually Logan was the one to do this with him, but he feels like Logan wouldn't be the best at this at the moment.

"Got scawed" Janus slurs over his words sniffling, rubbing at his eyes.

"Why's that buddy?" He asks again.

"Got cawght and was bein bad" he sniffles.

"Aw kiddo, you weren't being bad" Patton says gently, running a hand through his hair.

"Uh-huh! I stow wogans cofters!" He exclaims, his little voice showing.

"Well that is a problem isn't it" Patton says making Janus nod through tears, "but I'm sure Logan can forgive you can't he?" Patton asks, looking at Logan who was watching the scene with guilt, not realizing he was being spoken too.

"Can't he" Patton nudges him, making his eyes widen, he nods, "O-Oh yes, Janus, I apologize for frightening you, it was not my intention, however, next time you want to steal my crofters, you could just asks" Logan says.

Janus looks up at him then at Patton, "M' Not in twouble?" He asks.

"Of course not! It was an accident kiddo" Patton says gently.

Virgil and Roman were watching the whole scene in confusion, why was Janus acting like a little kid? Why was Patton and Logan not questioning this? What was going on?

"Um.. Padre?" Roman calls after clearing his throat.

Patton looks over at him, "whats up kiddo?" Patton asks, tilting his head.

"What is going on? Why are you treating deceit like a kid?" Roman asks both his and Virgils questions.

Upon realizing that Patton did treat him like a kid, Janus awhs, did he know, was he gonna tell them.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that, Janus will tell you when he decides to, I'm sorry kiddos" Patton says, glancing at the boy behind him, looking at the older with awh.

Virgil looks at Logan who shakes his head, the two decide to drop it and face back to the tv.

"I think Logan and I are going to head to bed kiddos, you two don't stay up long now okay?" Patton asks

"Yes Pat" both Virgil and Roman answer.

Patton turns to Janus then to Logan, "Lo, can you clean up the glass while I go clean Jan up?" He asks

Logan nods, "sure Pat" he says, smiling softly.

"Hey Jan"

The boy looks at him, hugging his stuffy tight, getting jam all over it.

"Can I pick you up buddy"

He nods and even makes grabby hands to Patton.

Patton smiles and gently picks him up, he didn't know what he was expecting, but he was definitely NOT expecting Janus to be so light, was the boy eating right? It just added to the list of concernes he had for the other.

Patton brings the other upstairs and into the bathroom, "can you stay here for a bit kiddo?" Patton asks.

Janus looks up, he nods a little, Patton runs to his room and grabs an oversized tee and some shorts for the other, he then bites his lip, he didn't know if the other needed them, but he decided to bring them just in case.

Patton comes back to see the boy still sitting where he put him, Patton smiles, "look at you" Patton chuckles, making the younger giggle.

Patton then runs the bath and puts bubbles in for the younger, he knew that he himself liked bubbles so he assumed the other liked bubbles as well, and he was correct in his assumption, after asking the other for permission to give him a bath, the other had ended up having a giggle fit with the bubbles, he absolutely adored them, making himself a fake beard and other things, Patton even gave the baby a few toys to play with.

He was definitely overjoyed, he didn't even realize when Patton had cleaned him all up, except for his hair, when patton said to close his eyes.

Yes he was sad to get out, but he was also very tired.

"Hey Jan sweetie, I never asked before, because it was a bit chaotic, but how old are you hon?" Patton asked.

Janus held up 2 fingers but then looked at one, he held up 1, not quite sure, he was about 1 and a half now, and Patton smiles softly, he assumed the other might be on the younger spectrum, he smiles, "wow, such a big boy!" Patton smiles, makimg the little giggle happily, rubbing his eyes.

"Now Jan, I have another question for you buddy" Pat says

Janus whines quietly, he was getting tired, "I know, I know, but uh.. buddy, do you wet the bed at nights"

Janus flushes a little a whines, but he nods slightly.

Patton gently rubs his back, "its alright bud, its okay, you don't have to feel bad about it, its totally okay, I'm just going to need you to wear a diaper bud" Patton says gently, earning another whine of protest.

"I know, I know, but we don't wanna wet the bed do we?" He questions, with that thought in mind, the boy shakes his head no, making Patton smile in sympathy, "alright buddy, lets get you changed then" Pat says gently.

Pattom had to lay Janus's other pajamas to go to the washer, and thankfully Janus's snake was easy to clean without having to go into the wash, Patton would hate to hear the boy cry again, he's already been through so much In one day.

Patton changes the boy into the clothes and diaper he brought just in case and hands him his now clean snake and smiles, he picks up the boy, and holds him tight, but not too tight.

Logan was coming upstairs right as Patton came outta the bathroom with Jan in his clothing.

Logan smiles sympathetically and the child, noticing what he was wearing, though he pretended not too.

"How was bath time?" He asks both of them.

Janus snuggles against Patton titedly while Patton smiles softly, "he had quite a journey, although I think its time to put the little one to sleep" he says, smiling at the side.

Janus was already half asleep by the time Patton said those words.

Logan smiles softly, "seems so, we should go lay him down in his room" he suggests.

That seemed to wake the bab up just a little as he starts sniffling, "noooo!!" He whines quietly, hugging tightly to Patton.

Patton smirks, "you heard the boy, he said no so no's the answer" Patton chuckles.

Logan rolls his eyes and chuckles, "alright, your room then Pat?" Logan asks.

Patton nods, "my room" he says

They both walk to Pattons room, Patton lays Jaus in the middle while he gets on the right and Logan on the left, it was the first time Logan and Pat had company, but they found that they didn't mind one bit, especially when it was an adorable little snake just wanting some cuddles.

Janus obviously stayed more against Patton during the night, but during the days to follow, and the more he regressed, he found that he didn't mind Logan either, only time would tell when he would tell the other too, but for now, he only wanted his two caretakers, and one playmate.

The end

[kileyrose-2003]

Dan Torrance x Fem! Reader: Intro

A/N: Hello lovelies! This is the beginning of the fic I posted about earlier during the week that is going to be revolved alot around Rose. How many parts It'll turn out being, I don't know. Most of this fic, I'm doing in pretty big detail and I've never written anything like this before.

I am going on a date on Valentine's Day to most likely see Birds of Prey and from what I've heard about it, my sappy Bisexual heart already has a soft spot for Harley Quinn and Roman Sionis so I probably will begin accepting request for them as well as the Dr. Sleep characters I already write for. (Doctor Sleep Request are still open) I do have 2 Rose the Hat request am I working on rn. Anyways, Criticism is welcome on this one. I hope you enjoy and all is well.

Warnings: Child abuse, sexual tension, mentioned violence against children, gore, kidnapping, the usual.

Key: Dragă is the equivalent to sweetheart in Romanian

1980:

SNAP! Rose the Hat removed the top from one of their many full cannisters. "Eat well, live long," She whispered amorously before members of The True pushed her out of the way to get a whiff of their freshest thing of steam.

She stepped back, crossing her arms as she watched The True feast. This one's name was Anthony and she could remember juiceness in the taste of his steam. Yet, she didn't want him.

She missed the feel of the hunt and seeing the steamheads squirm underneath her. Rose felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist and she smiled at Crow, kissing the crook of his neck. "Aren't we quite frisky?"

"Just in love with you." He kissed her cheek and rubbed up and down her sides. "Crow.." Her eyes rolled into the back of her head. "I want you Rosie..only if you're okay with it, of course."

"You idiot, you already know the answer to that question." She smashed her lips against his and the two of them stepped into her trailers.

The noises coming from her RV were not unfamiliar to anyone who belonged to The Knot. When all was said and done, the two laid in each other's arms. Having their typically late night talks.

"There's not as much steam." Rose rolled her eyes into the back of her head. "Oh please don't be daft." She rolled over and buried her head in his bare chest. "We have three empty cannisters, not a big deal."

"It is a big deal. That's all time low for us and the kids now are being taught the whole stranger danger things. It's not as easy to lure them in."

"Well then what do you suppose we do about it? Without turning anyone." Rose looked him in the eye.

"Well, I've been thinking about it for a while...I have an idea but I don't know if you're going to want to hear it. It's a little..unorthodox." Rose raised a brow and chuckled. "Oh? Do tell because now I'm curious.

"You're going to think I'm insane, Rosie." She rolled her eyes. "Oh please, you of all people know I've seen it all. Just be honest and tell me."

"What if we got a baby or a kid?" He fiddled around with his hat. Rose had to fight the urge to laugh. "A baby? What the fuck would we both do with a baby?"

"Well not exactly a baby but look, I was thinking most rube children typically tend to relate to other rube children better than adults."

"And?"

"And what if we got a child, a particularly steamy one, to help us get what we need?" Rose thought about it for a moment. "That beats the whole point of not turning anyone though. Because I know you well enough to know that eventually you will get attached to it and you'll end up wanting to turn it."

"Rosie, they wouldn't be an it. They would be family. By the time they would be old enough to be turned the cannisters would be full and she-"

"She?" Rose questioned. "Assuming it's a girl. They don't have be a girl but anyways, by that point all the cannisters would be full because we'd have them to help us find the steamheads and it wouldn't be an issue turning them because we'd have such an easier time finding steam."

Rose sighed rubbed her face. "I don't know..it's just- Crow, I'm not fit, no- we're not fit to raise children. We kill them, Crow!"

"I know but we have everything to gain and nothing to lose. Worse case we wipe the kid's mind and everything goes back to normal or we kill 'em."

Rose stared deeply into Crow's eyes and pulled his face close to her's. "I'll think about it." She kissed the top of his head and looked up at the clock on the wall. "The rubes are probably wondering when they'll hear from you. Time you get ready to get on the road, big man."

"I know," He groaned and stood up, kissing the top of her. "Just think about it?" Rose made a humming noise and kissed his hand before watching him walk away.

Rose actually did think about it for a while before bringing up the matter with the Grampa Flick while Crow was away on business and the others were asleep.

"Well..it could be worth a shot. It's really up to you though, Rosie." She took a sip of her tea. "I'm not asking for pros and cons. I want to know what you think I should do."

He gripped his cane in his hand and sighed. "I think it's worth a shot. Even if it doesn't work out, we still do end up with extra steam and it's not like we hurt for money, Rosie."

"You're sure?" Rose held her hands in his. "I'm positive." She looked him up and down as if she was analyzing him. "Okay." She stood up from the lawn chair and kissed the top of Flick's head. "You won't mention anything to Crow when he comes back and make sure the rest of the family doesn't either?"

"Not a word," He coughed. "Not a word." She nodded and smirked as she walked away.

About two days after that conversation, Rose began her search for the perfect fit for The Knot. The first two weeks she hit nothing but finally she found something.

Just outside of a resort area in Colorado, Rose discovered a small row of cookie cutter homes located on the beginnings of a mountain. While she thought the houses were very rube like, she paid them no mind. What interested her more was what laid beyond those homes.

Farther up the road if you made a left, there was a long dirt driveway that after about a mile or two, lead up to a large cabin.

At first the house seemed like nothing but ordinary at first glance but to people who shined the way The True Knot did, it was a light shining to the moths searching meaninglessly in the dark.

Hardly anyone ever came in and out of the house and took Rose over a week to actually pin you as the steamhead in the house since you did have an older brother.

You were different from the rest of your family. "Special," Rose heard your mother mutter to you one night as she tucked you though she didn't have to be in her head to know special was not the word she was actually thinking of.

She was scared of you. Your whole family was scared of you and Rose couldn't understand why. You never were particularly domineering with your gifts and you always obeyed everything they asked of you. Even staying out of there heads when they felt their minds going adrift yet, they were terrified of you.

Rose watched you for weeks, constantly consulting back and forth with Grampa Flick about whether you'd be a good fit for a group. You didn't seem to notice though, as you were preoccupied with other things in your home life and wanted nothing but to hear from at least either of your parents that they loved you.

The one night in particular, Rose got to have a front row seat on your pain. She sat up on a tree branch, swinging her legs back and forth as she stared intensely at your bedroom window. The rest of the house was dark but your room was lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Now do you see why we're so stressed out?!" Your silhouette came into view from the light colored curtains shrouding your window and Rose could make out the outline of a male much taller than standing across from you.

"I-i'm sorry, daddy!" You screamed, terror brimming from everything to your voice to your posture. "I-i can't help...I wanna be normal!" You sobbed hysterically. "Come on, dad. She can't help she is, the way she is."

"Quiet, son!" Rose shook her head, still keeping her eyes fixed you. "Fucking rubes," She muttered under her breath.

Your father's fiery gaze turned back to you. "Then why can't you be normal?!!" Rose could see him gripping your wrist and closed her eyes as she heard the sound of a hand smacking against flesh followed by a scream. "Dad!" She heard your brother yell followed by another hit, except this time a male cry radiated through the house.

Rose could take no more and began her way back to the jeep as she seen your mother's figure enter view. "What the hell is going on in here?" She could hear from the distance, the further Rose went the more she blocked out the noise.

She got in the car and watched your house for a few moments. The light went out in your room and Rose could hear no more screams. She admitted a sigh of relief and covered her face. She knew it was unhealthy to feel so attached to you. She didn't even know you but that insecurness in your voice reminded her so much of yourself and how lonely she felt when she was younger. Rose had to have you. There was no option.

When Rose shared the news with the rest of The Knot, there was hesitance at first but eventually they gave in. Knowing that she was their leader and they'd do as she intended anyways.

The next couple of days were spent carefully meditating in her RV away from the rest of The Knot and planting little worms your head. While Rose didn't think you would give her much trouble leaving home once she got in your head, she was taking no chances.

The night before she planned on taking you, Crow finally came back from business and Rose still had no intentions of telling him what she was doing. Besides an extra add on steam, she figured she could also use you as sort of a gift to Crow. An 'I'm sorry I don't listen to you and here's me making up for it.'

He knew something up when she refused to speak anyone in The Knot but didn't question it. He figured she was going through one of her moods and decided it was probably best not to say anything to her at all.

The next morning when you woke up, you felt an almost magnetic pull on your body like something or someone wanted your attention from outside. It wasn't a scary pull like the ones from whatever stray lost souls were around. This pull felt warm and safe.

You unbraided your long, Y/c/h and threw on the first dress you seen in your closet before skipping downstairs. "Where do you think you're going?" Your mother called out from the kitchen. "Just to pick some flowers." You made up.

"Don't wander to far, please." You slipped on a pair of sneakers. "I won't. I promise. I'll see you soon, mama." You blew her kiss, hoping she'd return the gesture but the older woman refused to even look at you and you stepped onto your porch dejectedly.

You closed your eyes and focused your attention to the direction of the pull. It came from the woods and you hesitated, thinking of all the ghostie people you seen come from there yet something kept telling you to just go for it.

You walked off towards the edge of the woods, letting your shine be your guide. Even though it was still day, everything was so dark and desolate around you. You felt chills on your arms the further you went and just as you were about to turn around you felt the pull grow stronger, horribly strong.

"Well, hi there!" You jumped at the unexpected voice and spun around to look at Rose. You squeezed your eyes shut, expecting her to morph into one of the ghostie people but she didn't. Rose chuckled and you blushed. "..Hi." You toddled over to the much the taller woman, staring deeply into her gray eyes before she pulled you into a small hug.

The gesture was surprising but it didn't bother you. It was her aura that bothered you. Something was off about her. "I was wondering when you were going to get here." She smiled and held out a flower in her left hand. "Do you want one?"

"Yes please," You hummed in the cutest little voice, getting the feeling that this was a person you didn't want to mess with yet you thought the top hat lady in front of you had to be probably the prettiest person you'd ever seen in your short existence.

Rose smiled and slipped the flower in your hand, but not before taking it gently in her own for a second. "There you are, Y/n." Your eyes widened and Rose chuckled. "What's the matter?"

"You know my name?" Rose smirked self assuredly and ran an empty hand through your hair. "Of course I do! I know everything about you. How else did you think I was able to get you here?" Her tone was questioning but hinted on a doting nature.

You pulled away from her, still a little frightened but Rose gently gripped your wrist. "There's no need to be scared, honey. I'm special, like you." You shook your head, thinking back to what your dad said the other week and looked down a little ashamed. "Oh...I-I'm not special." You tried to deny. "Oh yes, you are. You are a very talented little girl."

(You can hear me can't you, sweetie?)

At first a feeling of panic arose inside you but it sooned bubbled over with excitement.

(I thought I was the only one!)

Rose thought about scolding you over how loud your thought came out but let it go because she too knew how happy she felt the first she knew she wasn't alone.

(You are far from the only one, Y/n. There are alot of other special people out there.)

"My friends..my very, very best friends, they're all special like us. I bet you must have friends who are so magical like you." You shook your head. "No?"

"I don't have alot of friends and my family doesn't think I'm special," You pouted. "That's because they're jealous because not all people can be special like us. Besides, I wouldn't worry about them."

"Why?" You asked sweetly. "Because I'm here to take you away from all that. I'm here to give you a family. Don't you want a family, Y/n?"

"I-i already have a family." The look in Rose's eyes scared you. It was possessive and determined. "But they're not really family though. Tell me dear, when the last time you've heard either of your parents say they love you?" You felt a pang of sadness ringing through you. "I-i should get back to my mom." Rose gripped at your wrist again, this time enough to hurt. "No, no..stay a while. See more magic."

You shook your head and struggled. "Just a fresh new start with your real family. You don't remember me and your daddy?" She held your tiny hand in her's. "No.." You said softly but now you started to question yourself. Maybe you did. Pictures of a man with black hair flashed infront of your eyes. "He loves you so much. We love you so much and we want you to come home with us. You want to come home with." For a moment you found yourself taken back by the warmth and you thought maybe it wouldn't be so bad to go with her.

"N-no! I can't. I won't-" Rose shushed you, sending you calming waves that started to make you feel tired and sluggish. "Or maybe I-i do wanna go home." You mumbled hesitantly, still trying to keep some grip on reality. "You do want to go home. You're happy to come home."

Every piece of control you had began to fade and your mind went blank. "I-I'm happy." Your mind finally caved and Rose held her arms open to you and you stepped into them. "Good girl. Sleep well, Y/n.." You went limp in her arms and everything went black around you.

By the next hour, any memories you had of your family would be gone and everything you ever knew would be fabrications Rose made up in your head.

Part 1: The True Knot

The fire at The Knot's campground burned bright in the mix of the setting sun when Rose arrived back at home. She stepped out of the Jeep, slinging your stirring form over her shoulder. "Mhh..wha-what's happening?" Rose shushed you and walked down hill with you. "Nothing. We just got home." There was a pause. "Do you know who I am?"

You had to think about it for a moment. "M-mama?" You asked hesitantly. "Yes," Rose hummed and pressed a kiss to your temple.

You heard the crunching of leaves and turned to see people walking towards you. "Mommy?" You whispered nervously and held onto Rose's floral patterned shirt tightly, still feeling some of the residual emptiness from your true upbringing.

"Shh..it's okay, my sweet. They're family and they're just going to watch you for a few minutes. Mommy has someone she has to address in conversation and then I'll come get you. Okay?"

"O-okay." You nodded and let her hand you off to Silent Sarey as she walked off not to far in the distance to one of the larger size trailers, knocking on it before stepping inside.

"Crow?" He looked up from his copy of 'A Clockwork Orange' with a smile. "Yes, Rosie?" She plopped down in his lap. "I missed you." She kissed his ear, nipping at the cartilage. "How the business deal?"

"A waste of my time." He kissed her forehead. "Well, you were out I didn't waste my time." He raised a brow. "What are you playing at?" She smirked and turned her gaze in the opposite direction. "You can let her in now," She called out loudly.

The door to his trailer swung open and shut and you stepped inside. Crow's face went blank and he put a hand up to his chin. "Rosie, what the hell did you-"

Rose grinned and knelt down to your level. "Come here, Y/n. There's someone important I want you to meet."

You obeyed and approached Rose, letting her scoop you up in her arms. The two lovers exchanged glances but nothing was spoken out loud. "This is your daddy, Y/n."

"Hi." You smiled sweetly and Crow cracked a large grin. "Hi honey...Rosie, can I-" Rose nodded and shifted you over to Crow.

At first you tensed up but the closer you snuggled up to him, the more you relaxed. "My little darling." Rose smiled softly as he kissed the top of your head and rocked you in his arms. "I love you so much."

"I love you too daddy." Crow held you in silence for a few more minutes until he attempted to hand you off to Rose. You gripped onto his shirt tightly and buried your head in his chest. "Don't let me go," You begged. You were still so touch starved and he just felt so warm and kind.

Rose was slightly taken aback. You knew her more than Crow yet you were already attached to him. "I won't, I promise." He maneuvered you that way he was cradling you and he rocked you back and forth.

She felt a pang of jealousy growing inside her, feeling slightly threatened that you seemed to like Crow more than her but she didn't let it bother her too much. She had a feeling you were going to be a mommy's and daddy's girl.

It didn't take long for you to fall asleep, feeling soothed by Crow's presence. "So..are you happy?" Rose asked lowly.

"Very...Rosie?" She made a slight humming noise. "Where'd you find her?" He asked hesitantly. "A little outside the more touristy area of Colorado. The rubes she belonged to are nothing worth writing home about if you catch my drift."

He nodded solemnly. "How-what did you to her to make her-" Her warm grey eyes interlocked with his. "Do you care?" He decided he didn't. Sometimes it was best to not know anything at all.

Part 2: Danny

Your presence in The True Knot did not bring in that much of an increase in steam but you made it much easier to find steamheads which was extremely helpful to Crow in the long run.

No longer did he have to take an extra cannister for himself to find far away steamheads because all he'd have to do is ask you if you felt someone 'special like you,' close by and without knowing any better, you'd always say yes and immediately pointed him in the right direction.

Neither him or Rose let you near the rubes anymore, though. Not that long after Rose brought you home she had you try to lure a little girl over to her but the girl's parents, both big steamheads, knew better.

For you to be gone for a half an hour was normal, maybe even forty five minutes since you were a child after all and barely ever got to see kids your age, let alone like you but an hour was way too long.

What the rubes said or did to you neither Rose or Crow could figure out but the both of them agreed they didn't like the mortified expression on your face or the tears that stained your cheeks afterwards.

The two of them took turns securing their food, that way you wouldn't ever see what exactly it was that they did to your newly made friend but if Crow was being honest with himself, he probably would of admitted somewhere deep down he knew you probably knew the truth of what they did way before he would of liked you to know.

While Rose secured their meal he tried asking you alot of different ways what it was that they said or did to you but you wouldn't say. He let it slide for a while and settled on just comforting you for a while but made sure to bring up again later on when everything was all said and done with their hunt.

"You got to talk to me, Y/n," He tried his hardest to not sound like he was begging as he pulled the covers over your tiny. Rose stood in the corner of the RV and stared as if she was examining everything you said and did.

You shook your head avidly and nuzzled closely to his form. "I can't." He ran his fingers through your hair. "Why not? Honey, you know we're not mad and you're not in trouble."

"Because it would make you and mommy sad and I don't want to make either of you sad." Rose bit down on her lip as Crow thought of a reply. "Baby, you could never-"

"Leave her be, Crow," Rose interrupted. "She's had a long enough of a day and she doesn't need either of us interrogating her. When she's ready to talk about it, she will."

Crow let out a sigh and nodded. "Okay." He shut the light off above your bed and kissed both your cheeks. "Goodnight, sweetheart."

"Night daddy." He ran fingers through your hair one last time before stepping away.

The next morning when you woke up Rose sat across from you on your bed, lazily sipping on her tea. "Good morning, my sweet."

"Morning mommy." She plopped a kiss sloppily into your hair and handed you a cup of tea. "Can I have a little talk with you?" You nodded and set your cup of tea down on the ledge of the window.

You looked Rose deeply in the eyes and she took your tiny hands in her's. "I know you don't want to talk about what happened yesterday but I want you to know that not everything everyone says is necessarily true. You're understanding what I'm getting at?"

You nodded and Rose smiled. "Just know that no matter what, none of us would ever hurt you and we love you. Alright?"

"Okay." Rose reached inside the pocket of her jeans and pulled a necklace with a little crystal obelisk hanging from it. "This was given to me by someone very special a long time ago. You probably wouldn't know, but at one point I felt lonely like you. Maybe a little scared so they gave me this, along with my hat. My hat will always stay with me I think you need this more than I do."

She placed the necklace in your hand. "Whenever you feel, lost, scared, whatever. You squeeze that stone, and that stone will keep you safe. Got it?" You placed the necklace around your neck and nodded. "Thanks mommy." You hugged Rose tightly. "You're welcome, my dearest..I love you so much." She kissed your cheek. "I love you too, mama."

In that moment, Rose didn't care whether you even brought in steam or not. She truly just enjoyed you. It was the first time she could truly say she loved you. The whole Knot really did love you. They would do it all over again with raising you if they could and not change a thing about you or that entire duration of time. Except when they brought you to Florida.

December, 1980:

"Y/n, my love. It's morning." Rose gently shook your shoulders and you groaned. "Why are you all up so early?" You sat up and stretched. "We're going to move camp today." You raised a brow. "This early? I feel like we just got here," You whined sleepily.

"I know but daddy and I have some business to attend to." She ran her fingers through your hair. "You'll like the next place better. It has a pretty lake overlooking it and trees. There's lots of flowers there too." She paused and ran a thumb across your cheek. "We can pick some later if you want." You smiled softly. "I like flowers."

"I know you do, my sweet girl." Rose pulled you into her arms and held you for a few moments, kissing the top of your head. "Go get dressed and say good morning to daddy. He'll get aggravated if I keep asking him if we're ready to move."

You giggled and slid out of her lap. "Okay mama." You placed a tiny kiss on her cheek and picked out a bohemian dress from your dresser that Apron Annie sowed you once Rose gave her word you were the one.

"I don't think daddy could ever get mad at you." You mumbled as you slid the dress over your head. "He loves you alot. He doesn't even have to say it. I can see it in his mind." Rose smiled softly. "Daddy is a very loving man. He loves you alot too." You could tell she was trying to hide something from you and you attempted to get inside her head to figure out what she was thinking but she immediately shut you out.

"Mommy!" You whined. "Sorry sweetie. You're just not old enough yet." Rose ran a quick brush through your hair. "And then when you're old enough, you're not going to want to know." She plopped a kiss on the top of your head. "Now go on."

"Okay," You pouted and stepped outside. You seen Grampa Flick sitting outside on his lawn chair and waved. "Good morning, Grampa."

"Morning, dragă." He held his arms out to give you a hug which you immediately gave him. "Have you seen, papa?"

"His trailer." He pointed to the left. "Thanks Grampa." You kissed his cheeks and walked off in the other direction. You watched Crow fiddle a few of the bottom conpartments on his trailer before saying anything.

"Hi daddy!" Crow turned to look at you and smiled, stopping whatever he was doin. "Hey babe." He scooped you up in his arms and kissed your cheeks, his mustache tickling you slightly. "How'd you sleep?"

"Good. Mama and I cuddled last night so she kept me warm." You smiled happily. "She gives good cuddles, right?"

"The best!" You smiled and nuzzled closely to him. "Daddy, what's that for?" He turned his head to the side. "What's what for, sweetie?"

"That." You pointed to the rope by his feet and he kicked it aside quickly. "Oh..nothing you have to worry about." You furrowed your little brows curiously and he smiled gamely.

Was he trying to trick you or something? Crow chuckled and kissed your cheeks. "I don't have to be in your mind to know what you're thinking." He gently set you down on your feet and knelt down to your level. "We'll tell you when you're older, okay?"

"Okay, daddy." He placed a kiss on your forehead. "Good girl. Anyways-" He ran his fingers through your hair. "What do you need?"

"Mommy wanted to know if we were ready to go. She sent me because she was afraid to ask you. I don't know why though." Crow chuckled and shook his head. "You can tell mommy, I'll be ready in about thirty minutes. Got it?"

"Got it." You skipped away and Crow let out sigh, wondering just how much longer they could hide all this from you til you got too curious for your own good.

The ride to Florida was long and didn't have that much interesting scenery. The roads were long and straight and it didn't take you long to fall asleep in the passenger seat of Rose's colossal RV.

That whole time while she knew you were fast asleep, Rose used her radio system to formulate a plan on how they were going to trap Violet. Normally one of them would stay with you while other went with the rest of the group but this time they couldn't afford to have one of them stay. From what Rose could tell at the time, this kid was big steam all though it wouldn't be til years later it was in fact the wrong child she chose to take within just a few mile radius of each other.

Once you reached the campsite Rose quickly woke you up and informed you she had some business to attend to with Crow. "Y/n, stay inside while I'm out." You let out a groan. "But mama-"

"No buts." Rose knelt down to your level and ran her fingers through your hair. "It won't be that long."

"I don't like being by myself in here though. It's scary," You whined and nuzzled into her. You pointed to the cabinet she kept all the cannisters in. "I hear things in there and it makes me feel small and it's scary."

'And see things too.' You thought but wouldn't dare say outloud. You curled into Rose and she kissed the top of your head. "Hey, it's okay..Nothing can make you feel small unless you really feel small and tell me, what are you Y/n?"

"Tiny but mighty." Rose grinned proudly. "Exactly, so no. You are not afraid. Because I know whatever you hear coming from that cabinet, you can deal with. Right?" You nodded and she ran a hand through your hair. "You still have the necklace I gave you?"

"Yes mama." You squeezed the pendant hanging from your neck. "Good, that'll keep you nice and safe." You nodded and she pressed a kiss against your head, handing you her TV remote. "I'll be back, my flower."

She gave you a slight wave before slamming the door shut behind her. You quickly ran over to her bed and buried yourself under the covers as you turned the TV on.

'Snow White' was playing on one of those channels you were scrolling through and you settled down, snuggling into the blankets. You didn't know how long the movie was on when you felt a cold hand lace their hand on top of yours.

Your blood ran cold and you squeezed your eyes as your open hand squeezed the necklace your mother gave you. "You know, this movie used to be my favorite too when I was a little girl."

You seen the face of a bloodied and clearly beaten woman infront of you and you fell backwards off of Rose's bed. "When I was alive, I thought you were a freak but now I know you're special and I never got the chance to appreciate you, my special girl."

"Please..please, go away." You squeezed the necklace as hard as you could. If you weren't in Rose's possession, you would of known who the woman standing infront of you was automatically but now you hadn't a clue. "Stay safe, my little one." Your real mother bent down to kiss your head and you let out a scream before running as far as you could. "MAMA!!" You shrieked.

Not even 15 minutes later you were farther from Rose than you even were before and The True arrived back to where a majority of their trailers were parked with a hysterical Violet in tow.

"Please let me go! My mommy will be so worried about me. Please, please, please!" She begged. None of them paid her any mind though as they began to bound her. They were so used to the screams and begs by now, it didn't bother them.

"So where are we going after this?" Crow asked, as he threw a couple of items that they would need later to various unoccupied members of The True.

"I don't know. I was thinking maybe Massachusetts, because you know how Y/n loves the snow.." Rose continued to talk as Crow zoned out, putting the left over rope in the storage compartment of his RV. "..She is in your trailer, right?" Rose closed the door to her RV.

Crow furrowed his brows. "Who?" Rose sighed inwardly. "Y/n, Crow Daddy. She is in your trailer, I hope. Because she's not in mine." He closed the compartment and unlocked the door to the trailer. "Let me see."

He walked inside and shut the door behind him, examining the space for you. "Crow, she's there right?" You weren't. A spike of panic rised in him and he ran his fingers through his hair in a frustrated manner, unlocking an almost unconfident reserve on his face. "Uh, yeah..she's in there," He lied through his teeth, desperate to save him and you from Rose's wrath. "Rosie, is it okay if I stop with her really quick to get some fresh air?" He asked. "I don't care what you do. You'll be able to find your way back?"

"Sure." He smiled through gritted teeth even though Rose couldn't see him and silently cursed you underneath his breath. "Okay..tell Y/n, I love her." Rose began to walk off to her RV after making sure Barry had everything with Violet handled.

"I will.." He watched the rest of the caravan leave before getting behind the wheel and closing his eye. "Alright Y/n, let's hope my instincts are good enough."

Meanwhile a few minutes away in driving distance, as you passed the lakeside view Rose told you about, you heard noise coming from the distance and jumped back.

The more you listened though, the more you realized there was mostly children there. You walked up the small hill and watched them for a second. "So many rubes.' You thought to yourself. 'None of them like well..or not?'

You began to feel that same magnetic pull you felt from Rose the first time you encountered her and you found your eyes fixated on a boy sitting by himself.

You felt attached to your family but never did you feel such a connection strangers and you didn't know why. It wouldn't be until years later, you would put two and two together and realize the person infront of you was in fact your soulmate.

Despite your fear of all the rubes around you carefully approached the stranger sitting on the bench, not daring to put your guard down.

"You mind if I sit next to you?" The little boy shook his head and you sat down next to him. "What's your name?"

"..Danny." You smiled. "That's a nice name. I'm Y/n, it's nice to meet you." He didn't say anything back but you didn't mind. Your parents were both mostly laid back but if there was a thing they were big on, it was respect.

"..nice to meet you too. Sorry, I'm just having an off day." You shrugged. "I'm okay. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No..you wouldn't understand." The more you looked at him the more, the more you could tell he wasn't exactly so rube like.

(Is it because of this?)

The boy sitting next to you looked at you blankly. "Danny, I know you can hear me," You said softly. "No..not because of that. Well..maybe a little. She'll just keep coming until she gets me. I don't care what Dick says."

"Who will come and get you?" You asked then blushed. "Sorry, I shouldn't of pried." Dan shrugged dismissively and looked up towards his apartment building and pointed to the bathroom. "The lady in the bathroom."

A decaying woman flashed infront of your eyes and your posture stiffened. "You can see her, right?"

"Yeah, I see her..If it makes you feel better, I see scary things too sometimes." You took his hand in your equally tiny ones. Dan felt the urge to pull away from you but there was this warm element to you that made him feel comforted by you.

"Really?" You nodded solemnly and moved your hand away from his to take a necklace of your neck. It had a little crystal obelisk hanging from the bottom if it. "My mommy gave this to me for when I get scared. If you squeeze the crystal, it's supposed to make you feel safe." He said nothing and you put the obelisk in his hand. "I think you need it more than I do."

"You're sure?" You nodded and for the first time in a while, Danny Torrance actually gave a hint of a smile.

(Thanks, Y/n.)

(You're welcome.)

"Y/n?" You could hear someone calling your name and you turned around. "Y/n, honey?" You looked at Dan. "That's my daddy. I have to go before I get in trouble. Bye Danny."

"Bye." He was a person of very few words but it didn't bother you in the slightest. All you knew was you didn't want your dad to see him. You didn't know what was going on but you knew something wasn't right.

"Y/n?" You sprinted towards him. "Daddy!" You exclaimed. Crow's eyes went wide with relief. "Y/n." Your father pulled you close to him. "Don't you run off like that EVER again. You understand me?" You could see his infrequent temper in his eyes and you were quick to nod. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I-i-" Crow didn't bother to wait for a response from you before he continued speaking.

"People out here are bad, Y/n. They'd hurt you in a heartbeat." He cupped the sides of your face. "Do you know or did you even think about how upset your mother and I would be if you just disappeared?"

You felt your heart sink and your lips trembled. You knew there was a possibility they might do bad things but that didn't mean you didn't love them because of it. You felt so selfish and cruel. "I-i didn't think about it. I'm sorry daddy.." Your eyes watered as you looked down at the ground and he sighed. "Just don't do it again, got it?" He wiped one of your tears away. "Yes daddy. Y-you're not going to tell mommy, are you?"

Crow kissed your cheeks gently. "No, I won't tell her. I think this can be our little secret. What do you think?" You let out a giggle and Crow smiled. "That's my girl. Come on, let's get you back to the caravan before mom notices we're gone because you know how she gets."

You nodded and held your arms out to Crow who immediately scooped you up. You wrapped your tiny arms around his neck and nuzzled closely to him as he carried you away.

(Y/n?)

You smiled softly as you felt that little ping in your head.

(Yeah, Danny?)

(Am I ever going to see you again?)

You paused before responding.

(Maybe. I hope so because I like you Danny.)

(Me too, Y/n.)

You felt one of Crow's finger poking your shoulder and you pulled yourself out of your thoughts. "Yes, daddy?" You asked. "Did you feel someone steamy?" He whispered in your ear.

You thought about telling the truth but thought of Danny. You only just met him but something deep down told you, you couldn't let him get hurt. Maybe..just maybe, all rubes weren't so bad after all. "No, daddy," You lied.

"You're sure?" He pressed. "I'm sure." Crow sighed and patted your back. It would of been nice to have double the amount of steamheads but he supposed Violet would be enough to sustain them for a while. Besides, beggars couldn't be choosers and he trusted you enough to think you wouldn't lie to him. "Okay, honey.."

The next time you would see Danny Torrance after that fateful December day, would be 26 years later and by that time any bridge you had built with The True Knot would be burned.

[inconcieveable]

Chapter 2 bby. Have fun reading and any feedback is greatly appreciated. :)

Chapter: 2

Words: 1.7k

Roman P.O.V.

"Okay, i'll pick you up here later. You should be fine, just remember-"

"To look for the signs, make friends and don't beat anyone up we get it." Remus reiterated. Uncle sighed.

"Just.. be careful. okay?"

"We'll be fine uncle. C'mon Roman." Remus said, nearly dragging me out of the car.

"see you later," I smiled at Uncle as I shut the car door.

We stood in awe at the building in front of us. "Who knew schools could be this big," i whispered.

"I know right. Fucking hell."

We wandered around like lost puppies as we tried to find reception. "Look." I said, pointing to a sign that said "office"

"Thank-fucking-finally," Remus sighed as we started to follow the signs.

/////

"Oh you boys must be Roman and Remus King, correct?" The receptionist asked, noticing us as she lifted her head from her computer, before she went to back to her work.

"That's us. We were told to come here and get our schedules?" I replied, noticing the "she/her" badge she had on her blouse.

"Oh! You're English!" She stated, looking up and giving us her full attention.

"Yep! We're good ol' Brits! Now can we get our schedules please?" Remus interupted, already annoyed at her.

"oh, of course! here-" She said as Remus snatched the schedules off of her. I elbowed him in the rib, somewhat harshly.

"ow! you bitc-"

"be nice" i chided. He responded by growling lightly.

"Sorry for him," I apologised to the receptionist.

"Its okay!" she smiled. "There should be a student coming soon to give you a tour.." She went on, explaining how the timetables worked, where to get lunch and how the one-way system on the stairs worked. Remus gave up listening pretty quickly and instead was looking out for the student that was going to tour us.

"hey babes" I heard as Remus nudged me. I turned to look at Remus as he nodded towards the student. click click. The sound of heeled shoes filled the room. A man wearing big, round sunglasses, a black jacket and obnoxiously sipping a Starbucks strutted into the room.

"Remy!" the receptionist exclaimed "Good to see you. Here are the new students, Roman and Remus king" She gestured towards us.

"hi!"

"sup bitch." Remus saluted. Remy giggled as I turned to Remus exasperatedly.

"I'm Roman. He/Him" I continued, sticking out my hand. He shook it.

"Remy. Also he/him." He purred, winking at me. He chuckled lightly at my eyes widening slightly at his confidence and forwardness.

"Oh, and who is this cutie?" He pondered, moving so he was in front of Remus. He took a slow sip of his Starbucks as he checked Remus out, eyes fluttering up and down.

"I'm- er- Remus. Um- he/him and all- hehe- did you know if you clenched every muscle in your back at the same time you'd break your spine? hehe" Remus spluttered quickly, not used to all the attention. Remy smiled affectionately.

"I didn't. Thanks for the knowledge Einstein. Logan's gonna like you." He said, muttering the last of the sentence.

"Remy dear, the receptionist interrupted. "May you please give our new students the tour so they can get to lunch on time?."

Remus looked to me, confused. "Lunch? Isn't it like half way through first period at the minute?." Remy chuckled again.

"Yeah, but schools here aren't as small as they are in England. It might be a while. Plus I need to take you to the Principal's office and god knows how long that'll take. So come on hon," he gestured with his head towards the door and took another slurp of his Starbucks as he placed his phone in his pocket. click click. I turned to Remus who just shrugged and started following Remy.

/////

It was around lunch, when we had finished being dragged around and severely warned by the principal of the punishments for any misbehaviour. We trudged along through the canteen, making our way outside.

"that's a good spot," Remus said, pointing to a big oak tree, where no one was sitting.

"alrighty then."

Remus plonked down as we reached the tree. "heads up" I called. Remus barely had any time to react before I flung my bag towards him. He caught it milliseconds before it would've hit his face.

Bitch." he scowled as I sat down, a few feet away from the tree. "That tour took us fucking forever," he complained.

"I knowww."

"Why the fuck did we go to the dorms if we aint gonna get one for another week or so?!"

"I suppose it was so they could get the tour done in on hit?" I reasoned.

"Yeah.. Its still fucking shite though." I smirked as Remus sighed dramatically and brought his sketchbook out of his bag. Along with a pencil and rubber.

"I thought Uncle said not to bring that. It coul-"

"I don't give a shit. Let me have this one thing. Be thankful I didn't decide to bring my iPad." Remus scowled. I pouted at him.

"Well what am I supposed to do now?"

"Practice your lines for that shitty play your doing." He offered, throwing my back towards me.

"Excuse me. It aint 'shitty'. Its fun! Plus doing community plays will help me get to a good place in the future. you know this." I defended, air-quoting the word "shitty"

"Whatever. I still don't understand how you managed to find a theatre and audition when we've only been here for like a week and a half." I flicked the ends of my hair obnoxiously.

"What can I say? I'm just amazing." Remus snorted at that and through a crumpled piece of paper at me.

"nerd." He returned to his drawing, ignoring my "offended princey noises" as he called them. I stuck my tongue out at him as I rooted through my bag to find my lines.

Remus P.O.V

Watching Princey practice was always funny. Without fail, he would always go from sitting down, to walking around, practicing the delivery of the lines, script in one hand, the other flourishing through the air, within a maximum of 5 minutes. I leant back on the tree more as I stopped drawing for a second to watch my brother. He was walking back and forth, reciting about slaying some dragon thing. "Don't worry. I will save you! Begone evil Dragon!" he shouted, jumping into a fighting stance. His free arm acting like it was holding a sword. I burst out laughing at him. Roman turned around furiously, shooting death glares at me. Unfortunately for him, this only made me laugh louder. His eyes narrowed at me before he too, started laughing.

"You're a fucking dork."

"Yeah, yeah. Just lemme practice." I rolled my eyes before focusing back on my design. No matter what I did, I couldn't get it to look right. And boy, was i determined to get it right.

/////

"Hey!" a new, chirpy voice said. I looked up to see a kid looming over me.

"can I help you?" I asked, trying to be nice.

"Yeah. I was wondering If you've seen our friend? they're around so-high, chestnut hair, blue overalls, yellow t-shirt, black jacket with a.... double headed snake? on the back." The boy explained.

"nah I don't recognise the description. Why would I have seen.. them?" he asked, noticing the pronouns used and feeling slightly proud of himself for noticing.

"It seems they're new Patton. That would probably explain why they don't recognise Janus and they don't know that we normally sit here." A different boy said. "where the fuck did he come from?!" he thought.

"Its alright Logan. Janus will find us and we can always sit somewhere else for today." the first boy, Patton? ,said.

"But vi-"

"Hold on lemme get that dipshit." I interrupted. I turned towards Roman, who was oblivious to the entire conversation as he was quite a few feet away. "OI TWAT!" I shouted. Roman jumped at the sudden noise and his foot caught on a visible tree root and he fell over, landing on his arse. I, once again, burst out laughing.

"Wha-" He cut himself off when he noticed the boys. He quickly got up and walked back towards us.

"He's much better at things like this." I explained between laughs as Roman arrived, cheeks dusted In pink from embarrassment.

"twat?" The taller one, Logan?, asked.

"Its a British thing." I said, waving my hand dismissively.

"Oh, you're British!" The smaller one, (Patton? I don't fucking know) said excitedly.

"Indeed we are." Roman said, entering the conversation.

I let Roman take over as I tuned out the conversation and focused back onto my design.

//

"I'd draw an extra petal there." someone said. I jumped slightly at that and turned to see someone sat next to me, snickering at my shock. I turned to see that Roman was sat opposite me, the boys from earlier were sat to my left and the person who I could only assume was 'Janus' was sat next to me. I stared into their face, searching for a sign that he was mocking me. "Janus. They/them." The person said, unfazed, confirming my suspicions. Once I felt satisfied with their intentions, I turned back towards my page where they had their hand.

"Remus. He/him." I said as I started sketching. I was trying to draw a rose, with its flowers wilting off. Kinda like the flower from Beauty And The Beast. The movie which I was forced to watch the other night by my brothers demands.

Once I was finished sketching the flower, I saw how much better it looked with Janus' addition. I turn to thank Janus, only to see them looking at me. Smiling at my own happiness towards the now finished design.

"Thanks," I said cheerfully "it looks so much better now"

"No problem," Janus simply said.

"Ah so you've decided to come back down to earth now?" Roman teased, noticing how I wasn't fixated on my page anymore.

"Fuck off." I said, sticking out my tongue. Roman giggled whilst Patton inhaled sharply. I turned to Janus, a confused look etched onto my face.

"Patton doesn't like swearing." they explained. I chuckled mentally. "Well i'm fucked" I thought, Laughing again at the irony.

"well at least he didn't fall over a tree root now," Janus said to Roman, smirking. I started laughing.

"I like this one." I said and everyone joined In with my laughter.

The bell cut the fun short though. We all, besides Logan, groaned as we started to collect our things and head towards our next lessons.

[inkshro0m]

Logan's Secret Emotion - A Platonic LAMP Oneshot

cba to get rid of the big gaps so.... sorry bout that😅

--------

Logan found it very hard to express his emotions. He kept them all to himself in his big brain, the one that's stuffed with knowledge and facts. Or that's what Virgil, Roman and Patton thought...

Patton felt as though Logan found him annoying. The nerd seemed to ignore him or he just had an annoyed expression etched out on his face. Patton always tried to make him feel loved and cared for, and only wanted to express his friendship! Maybe he shouldn't be so bubbly and friendly all the time...?

Roman felt as if he was too... him for Logan. Said man usually rolled his eyes whenever the prince-like man would sing his sentences out, enthusically commenting on the weather, or something like that. Honestly, Roman could be who he is. If who he is is a man who is so extra he could become chewing gum (extra?? the chewing gum???...yeh, that metaphor was wEiRd- hi, future kat here.... pls ignore this =_=) and is just... loud, then too bad for Logan, he wasn't changing.

Virgil felt like Logan just hated him. He was probably too edgy and too emo. The smart guy probably thought he was too anxious for his own well-being and needed to stop, and maybe he just found him too annoying because he was in his way. Then again, Virgil thought that everyone feels that way about him.

One Wednesday morning, Logan received a notification, which is quite rare for him. He usually only got notifications from the news or something.

He was currently solving questions in his favourite problem solving book, 'The Ultimate Trivial Pursuit', smothered in his favourite unicorn onesie, with a coffee sitting out in front of him, slowly cooling down. He rested the book on the table and picked up his phone, opening it up to display one of his best friend- Patton -'s name, along with some tumblr notifications which he just swiped away. He read the text with slightly intrigued eyes following the words displayed before him.

Hey Lo! Sorry to bother

you, but I was just wondering

whether you would like to

join me, Ro, and Virge at

Sanders' Cafe at 12pm?

You don't have to of course,

just wondering! xx

Hmm... did he want to go? Who was he kidding, of course he wanted to go! He loved his friends with all his heart! And yes, he had a heart.

Salutations, Patton. You are

not bothering me. I would

appreciate the oppertunity,

thank you.

What Logan didn't know was that that single message caused an excited squeal to errupt from his beloved friend's mouth upon seeing it.

Three beady eyes had been eagerly watching the three dots slowly bouncing up and down, anticipating for a response. They all felt as though they needed to hang out with Logan more, it felt like he was growing apart from them. Leaving the nest.

Logan had started to get ready as soon as he'd replied, leaving his favourite book and coffee to go cold. His friends were more valuable.

Quickly slipping into his black polo and blue jeans and messily tying his tie around his neck, he was stumbling around the room, way more excited to see his friends than an ordinary person would be. He picked up his comb and brushed his bird nest of hair... how it got this tangled, he didn't know the answer to (which is quite rare). Then, he cleaned his teeth for 2 minutes because body maintenance is important.

Meanwhile, the other three were slightly nervous (even though it is just their friend). What if he was bored or didn't actually want to be there. Roman was the least worried; he didn't really care about what Logan was thinking. Patton just wanted Logan to have a fun time, and Virgil was just his anxious self. What if he was just going because he felt he had to?

Logan was already rushing out of the door and almost tripped down the three steps at his porch... oops. That was just enough to remind him that there are probably people watching... so he just carried on being as fast as he could because why should he have to wait any longer? He tugged at the car door, only to remember that he left his car keys on his bedside table when the door refused to open... dammit!

Sprinting back into his two-story house and up the staircase, he snatched up his keys and went back out to lock the front door (which he'd stupidly forgotten to do the first time). He, more orderly than last time, got into the car and started it.

To check that there where no cars coming, he looked out the window to find a little boy sitting on his bike, wide-eyed. Oh... so there was someone watching...

The embarrassed man just gave him a small smile, just to assure the boy that he was fine. Logan was well known for his stoic manner and teacher-like personality in his neighbourhood, so this must have been pretty weird for the boy... oh well. He can't go back now (both of them can't).

The boy's eyes followed Logan as the car rolled down his driveway. This was awkward. Once the man was sure there were no cars coming to stop him from seeing his friends, Logan pulled out onto the road and sped off towards the cafe the 4 friends where supposed to meet at. Wait... what if they were pranking him? What if they weren't going to come at all? No. Patton wouldn't do that. Neither would Virgil. Roman? maybe, but not Patton nor Virgil.

With anxiety in his eyes, Logan stepped out of the vehicle once he'd parked it and walked, normal pace, into the cafe. His glasses-shielded eyes darted around the room, looking for 3 familiar heads... Bingo! Phew, they weren't pranking him. A tiny smile (you could hardly even see it) made it's may onto Logan's face, all anxiety washed away. He was going to see his 3 favourite people! Those people's heads turned his way when he made it to the table they were sitting at.

Patton's eyes widened upon seeing the necktie-wearing man, despite expecting him. "Hey Lo! I'm so happy you came!", he excitedly greeted, genuinely meaning what he said. The bubbly one hasn't seen the other in over 2 weeks, and that's a long time for him!

Still with a smile that was unnoticable, the formal one slipped into the booth beside Virgil and nodded, "Salutations, I appreciate being able to see you too". He looked around, secretly happy to be with these people again.

Virgil was on his phone, but he'd nodded at Logan because he doesn't want to be rude and be hated even more. Also, speaking wasn't his strong point.

Roman waved, "Greetings, pocket watch! How have you been doing? We haven't seen you in so long". There was slight sarcasm in his tone, obviously a little annoyed that Logan didn't spend more time with them but it wasn't really his fault, they'd need to invite him first. 'Pocket watch' ignored the nickname and the tone, he was used to this sort of thing from the flamboyant man. "Adequate, thank you. What about you? Have you all been doing well?", he looked around the table.

The usual answers came: A grunt from the emo, a "Great!" from the bubbly man, and a "Very well" from the actor.

Logan let his lips twitch upwards to show he cares at least a bit.

"Well, shall we order our drinks? Or are we going to just sit here in awkward silence?", Roman suggested, chuckling a bit after the end of that sentence.

Patton stood up, quite quickly may I add, "Oh yeah! I'll pay for it all; my treat!", he giggled. Everyone reluctantly agreed, knowing there was no point arguing as the dad figure would always win.

Three of them stood up, Virgil staying behind because he doesn't like doing things in groups, he'd go after they'd figured out what they wanted. The emo noticed that Logan's phone had fallen out of his pocket as he'd gotten up, so he picked it up and set it on the table for the teacher-like man to pick up once he comes back. The phone's screen lit up upon contact, revealing several notifications from tumblr. Huh... Logan has tumblr? 'Didn't expect that', Virgil thought. Maybe he'll follow him, his posts must be interesting - seeing as he's very intellectual and smart. He checked the username: '@logical-crofters'. 'Man... he's really obsessed with that jam, isn't he?', Virgil snorted. The darkly-dressed man opened up his own phone and quickly followed him, before the others called him over to choose what he wanted.

Slipping his phone into his pocket and leaving Logan's on the seat, he rushed over to the others to pick a hot chocolate. He'll read his posts later.

Once everything was ordered and everyone was sat down, Logan noticed his phone, causing a confused expression to make its way onto his face. Virgil noticed this, "It fell out your pocket", he simply stated. A nod came from Logan, letting him know he understood.

About 5 minutes later, everyones drinks got delivered to their table. Patton sighed, relaxed, as he smelled the lovely scent of his sweet hot chocolate, which had whipped cream and marshmallows mounted on top of it. Mmmmmm...

Roman happily sipped on his iced tea; it was so refreshing!

While Logan drank his black coffee, Virgil quietly tried to start up conversation, which was a rare sight to see. "So... Logan, I didn't know you had tumblr", this caused the addressed man to almost spit his mouthful of coffee all over Patton, but luckily he's not that careless.

He looked over to the man who'd spoken, "You saw that?". The anxiety that had gone away a while ago had come back, making him fear what the other thought.

"Yeah. When I picked up your phone, I saw the notifications. I haven't read any of your posts yet but I've followed you", he stated, letting him know the details.

Logan let out a squeak that sounded like an 'oh'. 'Please don't read them, please don't- What if he reads them? What if he shows the others? What will they think of me?!'

"Hey, is everything okay?" Patton layed his hand on the almost-panicking man's forearm, bringing him out of his over-working mind. Logan's eyes had been dialating, telling the others that something wrong was obviously going on.

Logan's eyes finally went still, focusing onto the man who was currently comforting him. "Yes, yes. I am fine. Just, Virgil-", he looked at the man he'd addressed, "please do not read my posts..."

Virgil wore a look of confusion. 'Why wouldn't he want me to see them?', he queried.

"Why?", Roman, who'd been quiet this whole time, spoke Virgil's thoughts.

What was he supposed to say? Logan didn't want to let them know why, or his secret would be out! "Just...", he sighed, causing the other three to raise their eyebrows, even Patton. The necktie-wearing man was bright pink, wondering whether he should let the others know what he'd been hiding.

Too late. Virgil was already getting his phone out and clicking on '@logical-crofters' on tumblr. The owner of that account hadn't noticed until a small gasp came from beside him, causing everyone else at the table to whip their heads towards the sound. 'Great', Logan gave up. Virgil knew... he'd definietly tell the others.

Virgil's thumb wouldn't stop scrolling. These posts... they were so sweet! Oh my goodness, Logan, you are so adorable!

Some of the posts read:

"My three best friends: Virgil, Roman and Patton, are the best people in the whole galaxy. I'll bet on it. Virgil is so considerate of other people and is an interesting person over all, he is also fascinated by space, as am I. Patton is, though I don't like to admit it, very funny and adorable... in a friend way. He cares about others so much and does his best to make everyone feel alright. Roman is very creative and a great guy to be around. He is so dramatic, but in a fun way. He tries to agrue with me, which is funny because we all know that I'll win, but he tries his best."

"Patton is so loving and it warms my heart :')"

"I had a long talk with Virgil today and I have found out that he is interested in space!"

"Roman was great at performing as 'Evan Hansen' from 'Dear Evan Hansen' today. The musical was so moving."

Patton and Roman had scrambled their way under the table between them and Virgil to look at his phone with wide eyes, excited to know what Logan was holding from them. Their beady eyes watched the emo's thumb slowly scroll through the posts, reading the compliments and sweet messages talking about them so passionately.

Meanwhile, Logan groaned and stuffed his face into his arms, not before taking his glasses off because... we wouldn't want smashed glasses now, would we?

About 3 minutes had gone by and Logan was contemplating whether he should just leave because this was just way too embarrassing. Suddenly, a pair of arms were thrown around him and squeal sounded, way too close to his ear. Ouch. "Oh my gosh, Logan! I didn't know you felt this way about us, I thought you didn't like us or something but this just proves me wrong!", what it sounded like to be Patton practically shouted into the embarrassed one's ear.

"So you did like the performance! I knew it!", Roman exclaimed. Logan could just see the dramatic pose that man was doing.

There was silence from the darkly-dressed man, which caused Logan to slowly lift his head up, put his glasses back on, and look around. His eyes landed on the silent one. Were... were those tears?

"I- no one's ever said anything like that about me. So... nice", he finally spoke, eyes watering from joy and happiness. He looked up at Logan, a smile creeping up onto his lips. "Thank you, Lo"

This definitely wasn't the reaction he was expecting. "Uh- I... I was just speaking my thoughts. You all mean a lot to me... I know it doesn't show but... it's true", Logan was so suprised he could hardly even speaking in an orderly manner!

All three beloved friends shared a look, one that Logan didn't understand. Oh no...

They all looked back at him..."No thank you. Please-" He was cut short because there were 3 pairs of arms squeezing the usually serious one so hard he was sure that his eyes would pop out, and that's pretty hard to do. "Guys, I can't... breathe...", Logan was pleading now.

They all let go after one more squeeze from Patton, allowing Logan to breathe once more. The dad giggled, "You're so amazing, Lo".

To this, Logan adjusted his glasses and regretfully said, "I believe the correct phrase for this is: 'no you'".

Virgil snorted and Roman burst out laughing. Patton just couldn't resist another hug and Logan was fully smiling. This was very unexpected, but he loved it. They all knew how much he loved them. No more awkward conversing. No more secret emotion...

--------

originally written on wattpad

[dailyaudiobible]

11/11/2020 DAB Transcript

Ezekiel 23:1-49, Hebrews 10:18-39, Psalms 109:1-31, Proverbs 27:13

Today is the 11th day of November welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it's great to be here with you today as we move forward in our week and forward in our year for that matter. Step-by-step day by day we make the journey together. And, so, the next step leads us back into the book of Ezekiel. We’re reading from the God's Word Translation this week. Ezekiel chapter 23.

Commentary:

Okay, So, as we continue our journey through the letter to the Hebrews…I mean we…we keep reminding ourselves of certain specific things almost every time we talk about Hebrews and the first one is that Hebrews is for Hebrews. Hebrews was written to Jewish people. And Hebrews does a really good...I mean…it's not the you can't see this in other letters in the New Testament but Hebrews does this really good job of really providing us the Hebrew backdrop, the Hebrew side of the argument for Jesus, that God was the God of the Hebrews, is the God of the Hebrews. Jesus is that God incarnated as a human being among His own people showing them the way forward. O that in and of itself, that could, you know, that that could turn off lots of people. Like, well, it’s like just another cult leader or this is just a dynamic person that people are following…are following around or whatever. But the point in Hebrews is Jesus was foretold, like this was always supposed to happen, this was always on the radar. That's the argument. Like basically, open your eyes and see what is actually happening…happening here. God is doing a new thing, but hints of this have been foretold from long, long ago. It's happening now. We’ve also talked as we’ve read through Hebrews, if we read it at face value, just to understand that you don't have any of the Hebrew context and that Hebrew context is very much provided in what we know as the Old Testament, then the implications, because they are religious implications, they are…they are unpacked through the lens of Judaism then they don't make a whole lot of sense if you have no background whatsoever if you just come…while you just come to the faith itself but you come to something like the letter to the Hebrews and you start reading it and it's all kinds of things about high priests and temples and sacrifices and this and that and the other and it doesn't…like…like there's no context for it. So, without the Hebrew context it’s hard to understand the implications of Jesus. And then the third thing is why this letter seems to have ever existed in the first place. And that was because Hebrew believers who were following Jesus and were in community with each other were being marginalized on a lot of levels. And we’ve spent a lot of time, so I don’t need like to retell the whole thing. We've talked about this several times throughout this year, especially while we were going through the letters of Paul. So, they were being marginalized, persecution was beginning. The Jewish people, they weren’t not buying into the Jesus story en masse. They were mostly rejecting this story. The Hebrew leaders were rejecting the story because. It was the Hebrew leaders who had plotted the killing of Jesus. And, so, they basically had a stick by their story. And, so, no one is accepting this. And, so, people who do are being marginalized by the Jewish people. Meanwhile the Jewish people were marginalized by the Roman empire that was in…in the region of Syria where…where the land is. So, people who were following the way of Jesus who were following His teachings, they were like double marginalized. They were being marginalized by the marginalized. So, kinda not a lot of places to maneuver then. And, so, they were shrinking back, falling away, turning away, basically going back into their Hebrew tradition and into Judaism and going back and following the Torah religiously or just walking away from the whole thing. So, the letter to Hebrews comes along to encourage them not to do that, not to walk away. And that's precisely what we’re seeing in our reading today. So, I'm quoting just to bring this point home. “Remember the past when you first learned the truth. You endured a lot of hardship and pain. At times you were publicly insulted and mistreated. At times you associated with people who were treated this way. You suffered with prisoners. You were cheerful even though your possessions were stolen since you know that you have a better and more permanent possession”, right? So, these are words encouraging them, “don’t fade, don't disappear, don't hide, don't walk away, don’t go backward. God is going forward. God has come and a new thing is happening, and the only way is forward. Don’t go backward.” And understanding the things that we just talked about, we can see why they were going backward and why this letter comes at the right time to say, “don't forget what God has done for you and don’t forget what God is doing for you. And even that is unpacked in our reading today. “Brothers and sisters”, I'm quoting, “brothers and sisters, because of the blood of Jesus, we can now confidently go into the holy place. Jesus has opened to new and living way for us to go through the curtain.” Okay. So, we may all understand the Hebrew context because we’ve heard this kind of stuff before but the Hebrew context here is that the holy place, like the most holy place here is in the temple behind a curtain, behind a veil. The high priest can only go into the most holy place once a year. The writer of Hebrews is saying, “like…like there's no veil anymore. It's gone now. Why would you go back when you can confidently enter the holy place? Maybe you’re not gonna go up into the holy place in the temple in Jerusalem, but spiritually, you can enter into the very presence of the most-high God as His child, like confidently as a beloved child.” That is a drastic paradigm shift. And, so, the writer of Hebrews is saying, “don't walk away from that. That’s all you ever wanted. That’s always been the goal, is to find righteousness so that we might enter God's presence. It's now possible. Don't walk away from that.” And, so, we can see the context for the tension. But the mirror always goes up with the Bible. And we can look at ourselves. And maybe we’re not gonna be marginalized or persecuted, but we shrink back, we fade, we disappear all the time. And this ancient letter is speaking to us from thousands of years ago saying, “why would you do that? Why you fade when everything you've been after is before you? There's only one way to go and that's forward. God is doing a new thing. The veil has been removed. What could happen to the world if God's people could experience God's presence, knowing that there were no more hoops to jump through, that it's a Father and His children not a veil and a chest with a covenant in it, and sacrifice? It's like hearing about a relationship all your life as a kid. Like, one day…one day I’m gonna get married, one day I’m gonna have a spouse, someday I'm going to grow up and constantly thinking of the coming day when that will happen. It’s the difference between thinking about it and that day when your eyes locked with the one who would be your spouse and it started a brand-new story of actual intimate relationship. And, so, let's ponder that today. What are the ways that we’ve just faded? What are the ways that we’re just kind of…we’re here but we’re just disappearing? It’s just happening. It’s like everything's moving on and we’re standing still. And, so, before long, everything will have moved forward, and we’re just stuck here. Why would we do that when everything we’ve wanted, when the…the very intimacy that can make us whole, union with God is available.

Prayer:

Father we enter into that. By the fact…the very fact that we are reading this letter to the Hebrews and by the very fact that we still have these struggles, it may look a little different, but the heart issues are the same. We can see that this has been a struggle all along and that brothers and sisters have been struggling with this for thousands of years. And, so, on the one hand it’s comforting to know that we’re not alone and we’re not messed up. On the other hand, the question still remains, Why would we disappear? Why would we fade into the woodwork when everything we have ever wanted is before us? So, Holy Spirit we need eyes to see it again. That's the thing. The veil keeps falling before our eyes and we can't see it because the world is swirling around us and discouraging us in every possible way. And, so, we reach for You Father. Remove the veil. Let us see the joy of our salvation again and let us bear witness so that others who are struggling too can see that we can move forward if we move forward together. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base. It is indeed the website it is where you find out what's going on around here. And I promised yesterday that there was something to talk about today. And there is ad I’m just thinking. “how can I share this in five minutes? I think this is like the coming together of a couple of things that have joined themselves and made something. So, I guess…man…it’s been five years at least, maybe even longer that I started seeing vinyl records come back. And I come from the music industry so music packaging all the…just the entire apparatus of the music industry is something that I’ve spent a very very long time making a living doing. So, I get it. And, before all that I was younger and was a music fanatic. Like by the time I was 15, 16 years old it was like, “I'm gonna be in music business one way or another whatever it takes.” So, I was an avid music student, music business student, music listener. Like I was the guy reading every bit of the liner notes. So, when LPs faded away way back a long time ago I was kinda bummed because I kind of loved being able to hold my music in this kind of 12" x 12" square format where the…the artwork could be seen and appreciated and everything could be read. And we kind of migrated from there to CDs which was like a junior version of that and cassettes which were even a smaller version of that and then they faded. I’m sure I’m not telling you anything you don't know. Music is pretty much in your pocket now, right? Anything you would want to listen to you can carry in your pocket. You remember when it used to be, we had…you maybe 2had 0 CDs in your car or whatever, and you know, those were your choices and now you have hundreds of thousands of choices. So, anyway, trying to consolidate a long story. It’s like a year and half ago I started collecting records like vinyl records. I bought a record player. I started listening to records. What I was specifically doing was re-accumulating all of the albums that were meaningful to me in my childhood in the format that I had them in and I just realized really interesting things listening to records again, like you can't just get 15 or 20 seconds into a song and go, “nahhh I want the next song. You have to get up and go switch it. And, so, you…you find yourself appreciating the way records were laid out, how they were a journey and how you listened to a side of an album, you sit there and you're participating with the artwork, etc. etc. I started doing that mostly trying to get vintage albums from my childhood and vintage Christmas music because that's the sound of my…my childhood, like the crackle of the records at Christmas and just sitting there waiting and waiting and waiting for it to finally arrive. Okay, so that’s one part of the story. The second part of the story is that for the last several years I had been working on some music that we released in July, July 7th in specific. That was the day of the Daily Audio Bible long walk. Doesn’t that sound like forever ago. And didn't come at a time when we needed to get outside and out of quarantine and hear the birds again and feel the breeze on her face and go for a long walk with God. And, so, we released this music. It's called Heart, a contemplative journey. And it's…it's like a guided prayer journey with the intention of leading us into the emotions of our heart, the things that we've been dealing with in our lives but maybe don't have language for. And, so, the prayers lead us to that place, and then the music does what music does. It speaks volumes with no words at all. And, so, we released that and it struck a nerve and ended up becoming the number one album…Christian album in the in the nation for a minute there, which was shocking and encouraging. And then the feedback started coming back in just letters and emails sent in about how it did what it was sent to do basically, how it did what I hoped it would do, lead us back to feeling again, to feeling our heart beat again, to not just closing down to all of the chaos going on around us. So, that was in July and it's been available since then online at the iTunes Store or the Google play store. And then there's one more component to this story. It's been two and a half years I think about now that we were preparing to launch our own, very own Daily Audio Bible app. And for all of the years previous to that we had worked with technology partners and strategic alliances and the app was a paid app in the store and we had invested heavily in the building our own specific app because there was just no way to go forward where we were wanting to build the app to be a real community presence. There was no connection points. There's no way to do it. We...for the things we were dreaming up it’s like we’re gonna have to build this from scratch. We’re gonna have to this. And, so, we…we did. And it was very time-consuming and very expensive. And, so, a couple years ago we did something called the Global Campfire initiative. Some of you…many many many of you will remember this and we printed up some hatch prints. That…that’s a Nashville, classic Nashville thing that just dates back pre-Elvis even. These hatch prints were all over…all over Nashville…Nashville and all over the world for that matter. There's books on them. Anyway, I digress. We had this Global Campfire initiative and just invited people to so into the app. And as a way of being grateful we sent on these hatch prints. Here's where the whole thing begins to converge into the story we’re trying to tell now. After it was apparent that the heart album was really striking a nerve, I thought, “let's press up some vinyl of this, let’s press up 500 copies of this. This will be so interesting to do.” So, I set about the business of seeing what manufacturing…manufacturing was gonna look like and I realized “wow…there’s only a few places to do this and they are backed up months and months and months and months.” So, I was like, “well maybe that won't work. But I was like why not?” And we pressed into it and made them and waited months and months and months and months to get them, and now we have them. And now is…is the right time. It’s been two and half years and it's time for a Global Campfire initiative again where I’m just inviting anybody who can participate in this to sow into the development of the app that is more and more and more becoming home base for us. When we release the Daily Audio Bible app we released it as a free app. That was never the intention while we were developing. It was like, well, we’ll slowly over time be able to deal with this and I felt so strong the Lord that it's supposed to be free. So, that was counterintuitive and that's what we did. We released a brand-new app, it has been free, it will be free, it is free but it's no less expensive to develop. So, here's the long and short of the story. Some of the things that we’re trying to build into the app right now, some of the things we have underway are important pieces and we just need to sow into this. One of the important pieces that have been in develop…development all year, and that should hopefully see the light of day sometime next year is the multilingual nature of the app. Like there's several languages and we have several teams reading the Bible in different languages. But the app is in English. And, so, if English is not even a second language. If English isn’t the language you speak, then it's pretty hard to navigate, but to be able to build an onboarding process that just simply asks, what’s you’re primary language here and if it's one of the languages that are…that…that we have the Bible in, to be able to switch to that language natively and then matter where you are if English isn't your language to still be able to navigate and be involved, this is a missional effort to allow the spoken word of God to reach anyone who will listen anywhere on this planet any time of day or night. But we've also been working really, probably the dominant priority this year was to build in the badges. Remember when badges came online. And, so, every time we cross a threshold, a portion, a section of the Bible and we've completed it then we get to see that we've completed it. We get a little word of encouragement, a little badge that comes up and says we've completed this. And that was kind of phase 1. Phase 2 was a more robust view of where we are in the Bible, like…like what percentage are we completed in the Bible? What percentage are we completed in the New Testament? What percentage are we completed in the Old Testament? To give us a more robust view of the journey that we are on every year. And, so that is…well…that's been being rolled out all year and that whole phase should be completed. In fact, the next major update that we do will have all of that technology baked into it. All of this development is to more completely to more robustly dial us in together and dial us into the fact that we are on a journey and there are indicators along the way they we’re making progress, that this is happening. And it's all free for anybody to get involved and take the journey. So, here's the deal. Anyone who is willing and is able to donate, to contribute to the Global Campfire initiative this year by giving $100 or more. And, gosh you guys, you have no idea how much like I squirm inside when I say those kinds of things because I kinda grew up watching televangelists and all that and I made it the mission of my life to not become that guy. And, so, I'm not but this is a need and we are a community and really do want to bring excellence into this community, but it just can't happen if we don't do it together. And this is a specific need. So, anybody who can, is willing to contribute $100 or more, if you’re one of the first 500 people than we want to send you the Heart, a contemplative journey album on vinyl, like on one hundred and eighty graham audio vinyl. Like this is not the kind of vinyl I used to buy when I grew up. It’s so thick and sounds so good. But one of the major reasons people collect vinyl these days is for the packaging, to be able to hold your music in your hand again, instead of it being like a virtual thing. So, we worked really hard to make it really, really beautiful. It has a gape…like it opens up like a double LP. It is beautifully packaged. It's serene. And all of the prayers that are included in the Heart project for the first time that like they’re printed, they’re printed and included in the package. So, it’s the one place that you can get the prayers in a written form. It’s just really, really beautifully done. And if you are in a position, if you are able, if you have a desire to help in this way then we’d love to give this to you as a collector’s item, as a limited-edition that’s only available here and is only available until there gone. So, I can keep saying words but I think that's the long and short of the story. And if you're if you’re in a position, if you're able you can check it out at dailyaudiobible.com. You can check it out in the Daily Audio Bible Shop or there's an Initiatives section and that will just zoom you right there. Just click the Initiatives button and then look for the Global Campfire initiative and that'll take you right there and you can look at it and see what I'm talking about. And I…I thank you I thank you humbly. I mean I thank you with all of my heart. What we’re doing is remarkable to me even though this has been like my everyday life for almost 15 full years, it's still remarkable to me that we can do this, that I can be here speaking to you knowing that this will go out across the world and that we have the community here and our desire is to be together around the context of being together in the Scriptures each and every day. And, so, I am grateful beyond words. In Fact, that’s a frustrating thing in my life. I don't know what other words to say. It's just…you just keep saying bigger words. This is amazing, this is spectacular, this is miraculous. But it's just special that we get to spend our lives together and that we get to grow together as God words…as God's word speaks into our lives. So, that’s it, brand-new Global Campfire initiative supporting, specifically supporting app development and our development team. If you can partner with that than we want to send you the heart album and you can find it a dailyaudiobible.com.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, like in the app is where that hotline button lives and this is what we are sowing into, further developing this, this is home base for us., So, you can hit that hotline button in the app or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that's it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hello this is Daughter of the King from Tennessee. Lord I thank you for being our shepherd and as our shepherd you said that we would have no need or want because you promise to supply all our needs according to your riches and glory by Christ Jesus. And we thank you for your promise not only to supply all our needs but to supply them exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think. And we thank you father. Mike, I want to thank you and take you up on that five minutes a day Proverb challenge. I will do that. Ms. Tyler you’re a first-time caller and you’re seeking a place to live. God will help you and we’re praying for you. Brian we just commend you for choosing to do the right thing in your marriage. Two wrongs don’t make a right. But we know God can make it right and we pray for healin’. Lisa the Encourager always, and we just thank you for the beautiful prayer, praying for our elderly parents. And yes, I can remember praying for Brian go through with his mother. Brian we just thank you and know that must’ve been hard too. Danny, we’re praying for Christopher your 15-year-old grandson, his friend Tony and Dustin. We know it was a horrible situation and we know God can still make that thing right. And Kathy your martial art test that you’re taking on, that’s important to you and we just commend you as a sister that wants to do this and that’s important to us as well. Jordan we’re praying that God will get you back on track and don’t surrender your joy. Peg where praying for your dead son and Jared where praying for your son and we hope things went well with you guys when you all met during his birthday. As well as running walking in the light we are praying for your son. As you say don’t surrender your joy. And that was so beautiful. And we won’t surrender our joy. Emberley…

This is Charlotte from Missouri and I want to share some testimony. Recently my partner of seven years abandon me for somebody else. The pain of this heartbreak has been hell and has been agony and the heartbreak I’ve experienced has been like…unlike any other. I’ve been asking God why and how to get through this. And today’s reading and it was Ezekiel and describing God’s heartbreak with us, how we…we have caused him the same heartbreak. It’s really just humbling and exactly what I need because this relationship I had this man on earth, you know, will never be able to be again. It will never be able to be restored but there is a man who will always restore me, who will always restore our love, who will always take me back, and that’s just exactly what I needed. Today I’m just asking for your prayer. I need to move out of the city and get a new job. So, I’m asking for prayer, direction, and wisdom. Thank you DAB family. Love you guys.

Good morning DABbers it’s November 6th and am praising the Lord thanking Him. Oh, His love is so great. I knew this Ezekiel song would be just coming again. I just felt it was coming and today’s the day and oh my goodness that song, wow. It is so good. Thank you, Brian for playing it again. It totally wrecks me but in a good way because it just once again just reminds me to the full extent, it’s like nothing, nothing does God not know about heart and suffering and loss and pain and rejection and all those things. There’s nothing that we go through that he doesn’t totally understand. And the magnitude of his understanding is just so great. And, so, even though I cry, it’s tears of joy because we’re so loved by such a loving loving loving loving loving Father. We have everything to rejoice in every day no matter what. And, so, on this day I’m just thanking You Lord. I’m praising You. I’m rejoicing in You. Bless Your people Lord. May they just turn to You and just rest in You and be bathed in Your love. Thank You. Amen.

Hello this is Chile from Florida. I’m calling about that teacher on the 7th of November your…your heartfelt request to be able to be in your classroom. I just want to speak a word of encouragement to you. That was a…that was a beautiful thing that you shared. Lord Jesus I pray for this teacher and I thank you Lord Jesus that the day will come sooner than she expects where she will be able be back in her classroom teaching her kids. And Lord I ask you bless not only her but all…all those out there who want to get back in the classroom and teach our kids one on one. We…we…we thank you for them in Jesus’ name.

Good afternoon DABbers this is Soaring on Eagles Wings from Canada. It’s with a heavy heart that I come to pray for Danny from Southern Oregon, her grandson, the family of the young man that was shot. One is in jail and then the other friend who was present during the shooting. This is a hard hard time. It’s so difficult. One doesn’t even know what to pray. But our Father knows everything. So, I am asking Father God that You would touch these boys Father. Chris’s best friend, that’s the grandson, was shot by Dustin and Tony is the other boy who was present. These boys are going to go through some awful times. But Father God You are there to protect them, their minds. I pray for all the families. And Lord I don’t know what happened, but You do. And in the midst of all of this please be real to these boys. I pray that their families will get together and try and get peace and harmony, that bitterness won’t overtake. But it’s difficult. And, so, we need intervention Father for grandma, Danny here, she’s worried about her grandson and the whole situation needs Your intervention.

Seeking your face at the start of my day I found that for me there’s no better way in fact you said to acknowledge you in all of my ways and to bring all of my thoughts in subjection to you whenever my mind and heart strays because trouble surrounds me wherever I go health problems family problems bills a sack full of woe should I try to work it all out with the strength of my own hands or stand in faith and wait on you ignoring my hearts well thought out plans because you said the wisdom of man is foolishness to you and I know that all your words are faithful and true so I’m gonna seek your face the start of my day because I know that for me there is no better way

blindtony1016@gmail.com

I’d like to give a shout out to Sherlock Washington and Kim and also to Victoria soldier haven’t heard your voice in a while and I sure miss it. Know you’re all thought of pray for love daily and missed very much. And once again Brian and the Hardin family thank you for this wonderful podcast for God’s Holy Spirit to flow. Keep it flowin’ y’all. All right. Bye-bye.

[aint-no-highschool-au]

The Repressed Nerd And The Anxious Prep:

"I debated Logan Picani in lit class today!!!!! and he debated back!!!!!!!"

That was the text Virgil got Immediately as the lesson ended.

"r u OK?"

He sent right back. Knowing his excitable friend, he wouldn't be surprised if Patton was about to faint right now. Which might sound a little harsh but it was simply out of concern.

"not really, I feel like I'm gonna faint!"

Yep, it was as bad as Virgil had feared.

"he stared right at me Vee! He looked directly into my eyes, I couldn't fucking breath!!!!!!"

Oh no, it was worse than Virgil had feared.

"it's okay, where are you?"

"I'll be there with cookies and a water bottle in 2 minutes."

"im walking to my locker."

"great."

"Jesus Christ Logan Picani could step on me and I would thank him"

"that's nice but if you text me anything else that you want him to do to you you're paying for the eye bleach that I'll have to use afterwards."

"how are you the prude between the two of us again?"

"not a prude, just demisexual. Sorry pat, we can't all be horny 24/7"

"more like 22/7, you can't be horny when you're doing homework it's physically impossible. Instant mood killer."

Virgil reached the locker and saw Patton leaning against it as if his body was too heavy for him to stay upright. He shoved a bag of cookies and a bottle of water in his direction and Patton accepted both greatfuly.

Patton drank the water bottle nearly to the end, and then started happily, if still a bit nervously eating the cookies.

"what's your next class?" Virgil asked

"P.E." Patton replied with a defeated tone.

"yikes."

"yeah, exactly. Well at least I have Roman to keep me company on the bench..."

"Roman Sanders? Since when does he even bother to show up to gym class?"

"since he found out I like Logan. We've been using that class to talk about him. Well we talk about other things too but you know me, I talk about Logan a lot."

"seriously? How long has this been going on?"

"the past two weeks I think? Why?"

"why? Really Pat?? At no point in these two weeks did it occur to you that I might want to know about the fact that you're suddenly friends with my enemy???" Virgil was more shocked than he was angry, but he was still a little angry, which made Patton tremble in his place.

Immediately recognizing his mistake Virgil took a deep breath to calm himself down.

"sorry Pat, that was too harsh. I'm not mad at you I just, wish you would have told me sooner is all. I don't know how I feel about you and Roman being friends but it's not my call anyway so, it doesn't really matter."

Patton calmed down as well and blinked in surprise.

"wow, Picani has really been helping you deal with your anxiety huh?"

"yeah, I think him being friends with my dad is the best thing that ever happened to my mental health."

"well, I forgive you. You were overwhelmed and I suppose I could've told you sooner or at least not drop the information on you out of nowhere."

"it's alright, just as long as you don't force me to tolerate the edgy bitch."

"hehe... Well actually, it's funny that you mention it-"

"oh God Pat what did you do?" Virgil asked, more reluctantly accepting of his fate now than angry and aggressive like he was before.

"I invited him to sit with us at lunch today? And before you say anything you should know that I did it for two very good reasons! One, he's bringing Logan with him and because there's four of us to carry a conversation, I'll never have the chance to make a fool of myself in front of him. Hopefully. And two, you know how Dezi and Remus always try to get you to join their table?"

"and have sucseeded a few times, yes. It's only what i dread every lunch period, why do you bring it up?"

"well, when you're sitting with just me I don't really have the guts to say anything, those two already don't like me and they run the whole school. But if you were sitting with all three of us, we could back you up together! It's the perfect plan!"

"...you've really put a lot of thought into this, haven't you?"

"pleeeeease Virgil?? I really want us to all just get along for once. Is it really such a bad thing if I have more than one friend for the first time in my life?"

"well no, of course not! But does it have to be Roman?"

"you know, you and Roman have a lot in common. You'd get along really well if you just gave each other a chance."

"fine! But only for you pop star. And don't expect me and the prince of darkness to go skipping around in a field of flowers together afterwards, this is the only chance I'm willing to give that drama nerd."

"the feeling's mutual, you preppy pest-al prick." Roman said as he appeared behind the conversing friends. He turned his head to Patton and his entire demeanor changed, his face lighting up and, was that a smile?

Virgil couldn't believe his eyes but Roman seemed...happy. and if he was happy to see Patton maybe they did have something in common, at least enough to tolerate each other for one lunch period.

"hello, puffball! Here's that bow tie I promised you, it would look much better on you anyway."

The Goth held out a sparkly grey bow tie for Patton to take, smiling with a kind of charm Virgil had never seen in him before. Is this what he was like around the people he genuinely cared for? Virgil had to admit, it was rather endearing, maybe even cute...

Wait what?

"well, I'll see you two at lunch!" Roman stepped back and turned around with a dramatic flourish.

Just then, Virgil saw that someone had stuck a "kick me" sign on Roman's back, a dumb prank. He had half a mind to just let him walk around with it, but having seen this softer side to him, he felt sympathetic towards the dramatic Goth for once.

"wait!" Virgil called to him.

"oh? Is the prince of darkness wanted in the company of a his royal shyness?" Roman snarked, turning his head slightly to look at him but not his whole body.

"you wish, princey. Just thought we should get rid of this dumb sign on your back, seeing as you're not wearing your cape today to hide it." Virgil snarked right back as he ripped the sign from his shirt.

"oh. um, alright then." Roman blushed, feeling like a clumsy fool, but also greatful. Gratitude? To his arch nemesis?? The mere thought was enough to make him blush even harder, but he swallowed his pride and did the polite and honorable thing.

"thank you, Virgil. Any lesser man would have let me walk around with that sign all day. Amd now I know why I've been kicked five times on my way here."

"yikes, humans are trash." Virgil said without really thinking much of it, but it made Roman giggle. ~he giggles?!?~ Virgil thought in amazement.

"yes, they are. Which is why it was very noble of you to help me without being asked."

"don't mention it. Anyway, you better get to class you dork, or eles Patton won't have anyone to talk to."

Just as he said that, the bell rang for the next class.

"right! Well, I'll see you two later." he made his dramatic exit a more humble one this time, shyly smiling at Virgil.

Virgil found himself staring off in the distance to where Roman was heading.

"somebody's got a cruuuuuush~" Patton teased him cheerily, smiling wide.

"what? No I don't! He's my enemy, I barely even tolerate him. I just... I just thought it wasn't fair that he got pranked like that. As a matter of fact, I'm the only one who should get to prank him because he's my enemy!"

Patton snorted, entirely unconvinced.

"okay, whatever helps you sleep at night." Patton said as he walked away to his class with Roman.

"see you at lunch, Vee!"

Virgil was so screwed.

[creative-nightmares-37]

How to become punk

This is  4000+ words so it's a very long shot, and i made this a longgggg time ago but I hope you like it, at the bottom ill post his transformation!

"I don't understand it!" I sighed to myself angrily as I watched Patton blush.

     What's so great about Virgil?! I mean I could be like that!

     "Anyways Patton, I gotta go." Virgil says giving him a two fingered salute as he turned his back and walked away.

     "Oh my goodness Logan did you see him?!" Patton exclaimed. "I can see it now, we're going to own four dogs, and our house it gonna be mag-" He starts as I interrupt him.

     "I wouldn't look to far into the future Patton, your not even sure if you two at compatible ." I state feeling my heart break slightly.

     "Plus he's no good for you, he's got a bad reputation in the school, and previous schools."

     "Maybe that's why I like him..." Patton mutters to himself as he stares lovingly in the direction Virgil walked in.

      Patton, the school most innocent kid, has fallen for the 2nd most bad boy in ringwell high.

     And his best friend has to watch.

-

     "His hair is soooo purple now, it's a great color on him!" Patton smiles growing red in the face.

     "You know if you like him so much why don't you talk to him." I suggest putting on a fake smile.

      "But I couldn't!" Patton starts.

      "Yes you can, you've been swooning over him for the past two months." I say rolling my eyes.

     "Will you come with me then? I need a wingman." He pleas

     "If it will make you happy." I say knowing he doesn't know the double meaning to that statement.

     "Awe thank you Lo!!" He says as I lead the way to Virgil.

     "Hey teach, hey pat." Virgil states leaning back against the wall.

     "Hey Virgil!" Patton smiles, as they quickly start to talk.

      Soon I see a tall figure, covered with tattoos, hair in a Fo-hawk. Wearing a jean jacket with the arms ripped off combat boots and ripped jeans. Devan, the reason why Virgil is the 2nd biggest bad boy of the school.

     "Hey Virgil." He says voice deep. "who's this?" He asks raising a brow at Patton, and I can see his heart skip a beat,

     "I'm p-Patton." He states flustered

     "And I'm Logan." I state as Devan nods his head.

     "Well do you want to ditch next period. Virgil?" He asks as Virgil nods.

     "Sure thing Dee."

     "I'm going to get a new tattoo, I'm thinking snake scales right here." I says turning his head and pointing at his neck.

     "That's sweet! I think imma get a thunderstorm, or something" Virgil states as he licks his snake bites on his lips.

     "Well I'll see you two around." Devan says giving a wink to Patton and I can see his breathing quicken.

     "Sure thing." He blushes as the other two walk away.

     "He was sooooo hot! I would let him fu-"

     "Don't finish that sentence" I sigh trying not to sound sad as I fix my glasses.

     So Patton as a thing for bad boys huh, well I guess that is do able.

     "He Logan, I'm gonna be gone next week, my cousin is getting married!" Patton smiles as my heart explodes.

     "That's fine, I'll pick you up when your back." I state as he nods happily.

-

(Next week)

     "Virgil I need your help." I state as he glances up at me.

     "With????"

     "I need to be more like you, Patton has a thing for bad boys and-" I start but get interrupted

     "You have a thing for him, and trust me I can tell he likes bad boys." He laughs "but don't worry I got you covered." He states as relief washes over me.

     "But under one condition." Virgil states as my stomach sinks. "You need to help me with Mr. popular over there He states pointing over at Roman Prince.

     "Why that moron?" I think out loud as Virgil blushes.

     "I don't know, maybe it's because he's a moron, but you get him to at least befriend me, and I'll give you a free ride into Patton's heart". He states before mumbling "since h- a- does"

     "What did you say? Ya know nevermind, you have a deal." I say as Patton's smile flashes through my mind. "I bet I could do it within 30 minuets." I state confidently as Virgil stares at me strangely

     "If you can I'll even teach you how to build and ride a motorcycle." He laughs not believing I'm my capability's and Romans arrogance with his overwhelming lack of common sense.

     Oddly enough I'm pretty good friend with Roman, although it's safe to say I'm probably the Biggest nobody in the school, and he's the one who's got everyone around his finger, we make a pretty good team.

     I make my way over, as a smile grows on my face "oh Mr. Popular." I say in a goofy voice as he turns around with a smirk.

     "Oh great it's Einstein himself." He says putting on a face of disgust and I laugh. "What's up lo?" He asks.

     "Can I talk to you for a bit?" I ask as he nods his head and waved goodbye to his friends.

     "You good?" He asks In a soft voice as I nod.

     "I just got a few questions for ya that's all." I shrug "first what's your favorite color

     "Purple? Why?"

     "Do you like guys?" I ask

     "Wow big jump okay..."

"Oh shut it, i think i know the answer." I state slapping his arm as he chuckled under his breath.

"and uhh yeah I've been openly bi for a few months, I can't believe I didn't tell you." He laughs awkwardly.

     "What do you think of Virgil August?" I ask

     "I've never talked to him, he seems kinda Unapproachable." Thats what he says about everyone he likes, he uses it as an excuse, even tho he knows he cab talk to anyone.

     "Hmm, what about look wise." I ask knowing he won't catch on.

     He turns around full 180° and checks Virgil out in the least subtle way possible. "He's a cutie, I guess. But I adore his piercings."

     "Wanna meet him?" I say alittle surprise on how he hasn't even guessed why I'm asking all of theses questions revolving around the angsty bad boy.

     "Alright." He shrugs as we make our way over to the dark dressed teen.

     "Virgil this is Roman, Roman, Virgil." I state as he looks at me surprised.

     "Hey, your the receiver on the football team right?" Virgil asks as he doesn't know.

     "And your the kid who plays the guitar before and after school." Roman says giving his, what the girls call it 'heart stealing smile' and I can tell it worked on Mr. bad boy over here.

     "Uhh yeah." Virgil blushes. "I didn't think anyone heard that." He states bringing his hand to his neck and rubbing it nervously.

     "Your really good, Is love to hear you play sometime." Roman claims casually as Virgil shrugs

     "Roman! Come here!" I hear josh call as Roman holds up a finger telling him to wait.

     "Here." Roman says pulling a sharpie out of his letterman's jacket as he grabs Virgil's hand and taking off the lid.

     "Give me a call, maybe we could see a movie sometime." He smiles as he finishes writing his number and just as he leaves he turns around waves us goodbye and gives Virgil a wink.

     "Holy shit you did it. Holy fuck I have his number, holy damn he wants to take me to a movie." Virgil fangirls

     "Holy hell, can you say holy one more time?" I laugh as Virgil rolled his eyes.

     "Well, lets make Patton fall for you harder than I can fall down the highschool stairs."

I laugh as I remember Virgil staring at Mr. Royal pain, not paying attention to the snow covering the steps, as be sails down the stairs spraining his wrist as be almost manages to do a hand stand only to flip over the rail to the other half of the stairs. And somehow I was the only one who saw it.

-

"Alright Logan, now that you've built one, now you need to learn how to ride one." Virgil sighs as I look at my hands covered in oil and other substances.

     "Can I you know, wash up first?" I ask wiping my hair out of my face.

     " No you gotta learn now dammit." He states with a smile.

     "Uh alright." I state akwardly. "Ohhh you were using sarcasm weren't you?" I say as it clicks.

     "Yes, yes I was." He says shaking his head, but once you've learned how to ride, we will do something about this." I states pointing me up and down.

     "I'm thinking electric blue." He mumbles outloud.

     "You know if it makes patton, share similar, feelings I'll do it." I sigh

      "You do know you shouldn't have to change for him, he should like you for you." Virgil states uneasy.

     "That's the thing, no one is going to want to date a super computer with no style." I state.

     "Well, I'll do this for you, but I'm not going to have you do the permanent stuff, just in case you ever want to go back." He states as we make our way inside to get washed up.

     After an hour of relaxing I hear Virgil call my name.

      "Let's teach this nerd how to ride!" He laughs as I walk into the living room rolling my eyes, knowing full well he's just teasing.

     I follow him out side to see the motorcycle I built, and his.

     "So what have you driven?" He asks

     "A car and a Moped" I shrugged as he lets out a snicker

     "So you've driven a gay motorcycle?" He laughs." As I nod laughing with him. "Don't worry I've driven one too, but atleast you should be decent at riding this bad boy."

     "If you say so." I claim as I climb onto my bike."

     "So when riding your right hand is responsible for two crucial functions, acceleration and braking." He begins to explain "remember that a little twist on the throttle goes along way, you'll find that out when you find your ass on the pavement."

      "You have to be smooth when pressing the brakes, if not you can and will skid and cause an accident if you push the brake to quickly." He states moving over to the other side of the bike "but if you are going to use your rear break right here, you are going to have to multitask and use your foot, this is the most effective way of stopping." He explains while I make a mental note to use that one more often.

     "The clutch on the motorcycle is very similar to a car." He starts pointing at it. "You must brake slightly when switching gears, so your bike won't rattle. But finding neutralwitg your left foot will get some getting used to, make it a habit to clutch every time you switch." He stated as he grabs the clutch and puts it in neutral.

     "That about it, now go to first gear and ride."He states walking over to his bike.

     I take a deep breath in as I slowly let go of the break, hold down the clutch as I make it into first gear, and I start off down the dirt road.

     Slowly it becomes more natural, me using my left foot gets easier and I'm learning how to use the brakes without almost flipping the bike. After a few hours of riding around me and Virgil decide to call it a night.

     "You did good," he stays with surprise In his voice "better than my first go."

     "Thanks!" I smile at him as I walk inside and flop on the couch.

     "I say when we wake up in the morning, we go get some bleach and box dye, and mix up your wardrobe alright." He says throwing me a few blankets and pillows.

     "Thanks Virgil, really."

     "Anytime, plus you got me a date with Mr. Roman Prince so I might as well." He laughs slightly, " if ya need anything holler, I'm probably gonna be awake till, three."

     "Alright But you should sleep more, really." I state

     "Oh god your beginning to sound like my mother." He scoffs lightheartedly as he walks into his room.

     I pull out my phone to see a text from Patton,

Hey lo, my flight will be here at 10:30am on Thursday, I know your going to be at school. But I'm hoping you can still pick me up

Yeah that should be fine, and you know how you were telling I should change up my style?

Yeah! Omg did you do it,? What are you going for?! I think you would look fantastic with a piercing or two!! Or like a jean jacket!!

You'll see, let's just say I've picked up a few tips from our neighborhood edge lord.

Omg I'm so exited, I can already imagine what your going to look like!!

Yeah anyways I'm gonna head to bed I'll see you in a few days, goodnight Patton.

Goodnight lo, I have something ive wanted to tell you, but since your suprising me, I can wait.❤️

Strange he normally doesn't send hearts to me. I think as I feel my heat rate increasing. he's probably is just excited to see me all 'punked up' I think to myself as I plug in my phone and allow myself to fall into a peaceful sleep

-

     I wake up at a semi reasonable time, later than I normally sleep.

      I sit up and rub the sleep out of my eyes before realizing that I slept in my clothes from before.

     I stand up, and make my way into the kitchen to see a note.

I'm guessing you wake up early so if you so eat what ever, I'll be up around one, if you want you can continue practicing riding

-V

10 isn't early. I think to myself shrugging as I open the fridge and decide to make myself some egg toast. I'll make Virgil some before he wakes up.

     After about 15 minutes it's done yet food isn't really on my mind. All I can think about is patton. His smile, his laugh, his very sexual innuendos that are actually funny, how he's been by my side since day one. I love it how his curly hair springs back up when he pulls on them. The freckles that line his glasses, his dimples. He bright emerald eyes. He, in my eyes is the definition of perfect. But I'm worried he won't like me, even after I change for him, after all I'm just... me

     My hair is a taupe brown, messily combed back, so strands naturally fall in my face. Brown eyes, they sometimes look gold but they aren't anything impressive. I'm tall, lanky, boring. My smile doesn't light up a room. My laugh isn't the best. Patton is everything I'm not, so why am I trying so hard to 'win him over?'

     I sigh as I push my plate to the side, I know I'm in too deep, plus Patton already knows that my look is going to change so I might as well.

     I sit in the same spot at the breakfast bar, pondering, the 'What ifs' and all the possible endings if we got together, having some be a magical fantasy others, heart breaking friendship ruining endings . Apparently I was sitting here for a long time since Virgil stumbled into the room pulling out the milk from the fridge.

     "Logan I can feel your doubt in my sleep, what's up?" He asks with purple hair flying every which way.

      "I don't know, I feel like even after I change, Patton's still not gonna like me." I explain as Virgil laughs slightly

     "Are you Fucking me right now? Patton only ever talks about you!" He exclaims. "He May not know it but I can see that he is head over heals, believe it or not Patton is always happier when your around. He blushed when he retells the adventures you've been on, like I said were not doing anything to permanent, just making you pop, so everything clicks for him." Virgil says trying to lighten my mood.

     "But how do you know, all we know is he loves me platonically, Patton likes bad boys, and guess what I'm not." I huff as Virgil rolls his eyes as the doorbell rings.

      " Uhh I'll be right back, but this conversation is not over." Virgil states as he stands up and swings open the door to see Roman standing confidently, hair styled to his perfection, while Virgil is standing embarrassed, hair like a train wreck, purple pajama bottoms with storm clouds, and shirt less.

     "Uhh her Roman!" I hear Virgil squeak out "I didn't know you were coming."

     "Well I wanted to surprise you!" Roman laughs as Virgil pats down his bed head. "Trust me you look great." Roman complements as Virgil opens the door letting the taller In

     "Hey lo! What's up?" Roman asks as he slides into the chair next to mine.

     "The ceiling." I shrug. As he give me a small smile and shakes his head.

      "You ready for your hair transformation?" He asks giving me wiggly eyebrows, like the goofball he is.

     "Actually, I am."

     "Great! Cause I already got the dye!" Virgil says shaking two boxes, one is bleach the other a bright blue dye box.

     "I thought we were getting those today?" I ask aloud

      "Yeah but i was bored last night, sooo." He laughs while he stands on the other side of the breakfast bar.

     "When did you go out?" Roman asks.

     "4:30 I think maybe 5ish" He states already mixing the bleach.

     "Good god! No wonder why you sleep in so late." I claim surprised.

     "Yeah, yeah, I've heard it allllll before. Now come over hear and imma make your hair look hotter the Dee's. I glance over at Roman and I see a look of jealousy that's covered with a smile.

-

     "Is it supposed to feel it itchy?" I yell going into the shower for the second time.

     "Yes!" I hear the two yell

     "Just like last time!" Roman adds as I watch the blue run down the white tile

     "It looks like I killed a smurf!" I yell and I hear laughing.

      After the color fades in the water I hop out and get dressed.

     "Holy fuck" roman states with a giddy smile.

     "Your hair took the dye so well!" Virgil complements, well I think it's a complement. "Now let me style it!" Virgil says as I sit in the familiar chair, that I've been sitting in for 2 and a half hours.

     After fifteen minutes I hear the blow dryer get turned off and the combing stops.

     "Well go see your luxurious hair." Virgil's says pointing at a mirror and I'm met with the brightest blue hair I've ever seen.

     "Wow..." I say running my hands through my fingers speechless.

     "Now how do you feel about contacts?" I hear Roman ask.

      "I have some, but I normally don't use em." I explain as Roman pulls some out of his letterman jacket.

     "I stole theses from your house last night." He shrugs handing them to me and I take them rolling my eyes.

"You mean my landlord let you in?" I state raising an eyebrow as Roman nods and laughs with a cheesy smile.

     I get up close and personal to the mirror in front of me, and put them in with ease, while I can feel Virgil cringing.

     I blink a few times as it shifts into place. I look over at the two smiling like idiots.

     "Hey Virgil?" I start. "Do you know how to do any piercings?" I ask as he cocks a brow, smiles.

     "Yeah, I can do snake bites, ear piercings, tongue and eyebrows." He states,

     "I want all, except the tongue one." I state. If I'm being completely honest I've always wanted piercings but I've never had the means or courage to get them.

     "You sure? I mean they are a pain to clean." He states making sure this is what I really want.

     "Yeah." I state confidently as he leaves, and returns with a box."

     "I'm starting with your ears." He starts. "They are the easiest to do." He claims as he pulls out a lighter and a needle.

      "Roman go into the kitchen and find me a potato." He states as Roman stands up and leaves and Virgil starts lighting the needle.

     "Roman what's taking you so long?!" Virgil yells? After at least five minutes of waiting.

     "I'm coming! Calm you horses." He Roman sighs dramatically as he tosses Virgil the potato. And before I know it my ears and my lip is pierced twice.

     "Your right! This didn't hurt at all!" I say surprised as Virgil nods concentrating intensely as I feel his hands pinch my left eyebrow.

     " be still." He grunts as he gets a bigger needle with a piercing connected to the end."

     I feel the needle go in and this time it's painful.

     "Fuck." I mutter, as Virgil freezes in fear

     "Your lucky." Virgil states as he starts to clean up his gear.

     "Why?"

     "I normally don't do eyebrow piercings because there's a vein near there where it could permanently paralyze you, unless your lucky." He says

     "And your only now telling him?!" Romans gasps and I nod along.

     "Trust me, I know my Shit, I'm trying to be a professional."

     "But your not." I state as he gives me a playful glare.

     "Alright nerd, well I guess i cant call you that anymore, anyways lets go shopping."

     "I love shopping!" Roman smiles happily as we all head out the door

-

We come back with bags upon bags of  grungy/ punk outfits that I personally like, and will make me look 'cooler'

     "Well that's been enough shopping for me, my children and my grandchildren." Virgil says flopping on the couch.

     "Are you serious?" Roman gasps. "It was only 2 and a half hours!" He says

     "Well how long do you normally shop, Mr. Flamboyant over there?" He asks lifting his head from the cushion, just to let it fall back down.

     "I normally go out, and wander around all day, then go home with all my Goods." He states holding his few bags.

     "I'm so happy I'm not you" Virgil stare muffled as I get a call by the one and only Patton.

      "Hey Patton? What's up?" I ask and I hear a weak voice respond

     "Um, are you alone right now?"

     "Uhh." I state walking into Virgil room and locking it behind me. "I am now, what's wrong."

     "So uh, my cousin slipped up that I liked guys at her wedding, and my parents didn't take it well." He states voice cracking.

     "I'm so sorry Patton." I sympathize as my heart breaks for him.

      "It's alright." He sniffs. "But they made me come home early, and I know it's all of a sudden but I need a place to stay, and a ride, and I know that you just got your own place and I don't want to intrude but I-"

     "You can stay with me Patton. Where are you right now?" I say understandingly.

    "I'm out side the airport."

     I'll be right there, luckily for you, I just finished shopping so you can see my new style." I say trying to lighten the conversation.

     "I can't wait." He says and I can hear the soft smile on his face.

     "See I'm a few." I state.

     "Thank you so much Logan, really, and I've been thinking a lot, and I've decided that I got something important to tell you once your here."

     "I can't wait." I say just as he did to me as he hangs up and I open the door to clothes thrown at me."

     "Go to your lover!" Roman squeals as I stare at him and shut the door.

     "I get dressed in a long green shirt with a flower print on it, black skinny jeans and boots as quickly as possible, and I freeze at the door.

"Do you think i can drive all the way to the airport?!" I panic.

" Of course you can! Your a natural, just go on the back roads." He states worring a little since we didnt practice much.

     I soon arrive to the air port where I see Patton with a back pack and I pull up beside him.

     "Hey patton." I smile as I see his jaw drop slightly.

     "Holy fuck." He whispers but quickly turns pink.

     I open my arms as he clings on to me.

"What was the thing you were going to tell me?"

     "I Uhh... I've thought... um." He starts as he pulls away.

     "So, I was talking to Virgil and he made me realize that Ireallyreallylikeyou! Butnowyoulooksogreat! Andidontknowwhattodowithmyself!" He says quickly as my heart speeds up.

     And I do something the nerd I was would have never done. I grab his face and kiss him, and he quickly melts into the kiss. And we break apart smiling.

     "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that." I gasp as Patton blushes.

     "I liked your nerdy style, but I love this one." He states.

     "That's why I did it."

     I watch as his eyes grow wide as he runs his fingers through my hair. "Logan! You shouldn't have changed for me! I was going to ask you out anyway."

     "But I like the style too, so don't worry about that." I reassure him and he stares skeptically.

     "If you say so." He states as I take off his back pack and put it beneath the seat the I get onto my bike.

     "You coming?" I ask as he nods happily and climbs on the back seat, his arms snaking around my waist and as I begin to ride I feel his head lean against my back and I can truly say that this is the happiest I've ever been.

@dailypattondoodle @ashstormfall @loki-god-of-soap

[roman-cates]

"… I had friends, growing up. They were nice… usually. Have an older brother, too… We haven't talked in a few years though…Well… I guess now it's been maybe more than a few…"

Roman's family life really was the opposite of Bryce's. He can't imagine having a sibling and going more than a week without talking to them, much less years. He checks that his own mother is still alive more than once a year, and he would never give her the time of day.

"You told me you couldn't find any sort of missing persons report on me… You said it might have been because of something Avery did. I… I guess in the back of my mind, I'm just scared that maybe no one looked for me… is looking for me."

Bryce grip on his fork tightens. That does make way more sense than his own hypothesis, but it's infuriating. Bryce only really has one friend, but if he disappears, he knows there are people out there that wouldn't rest until his killer was found. Allies, not friends, but still.

It's better that no one is looking for Roman. Easier for him to disappear into a new identity. It's better that he doesn't have close ties he'll have to give up ever recovering.

"Shit, Roman…" It comes out with more pity than he wants it to. The sorrow is evident, too, though.

Roman give him a sort of smile. More sad and anxious than any other emotion, including happy, but the corners of his mouth do come up, so it probably counts. Bryce wants to reach out and grab his hand, at least, but he's eating with it. And it seems wrong, too.

He's still not sure why Roman decided to share any of this. Does he want confirmation that someone filed a report two years ago? Bryce could actually figure that out. It would be annoying, but if it was filed there's a paper copy somewhere he could get his hands on if he needs to. He considers offering, but what if Roman is right, and it doesn't exist? It the uncertainty better than knowing no one cares?

He decides not to bring it up.

"I'm sorry," he finally settles on. "I don't know what to say, but I'm sorry. If my si--I can't imagine what that must feel like."

Previous

"Shit, Roman…" Bryce sounds like he's pitying Roman. That's... not exactly what Roman wanted. What even did he want?

He's not really certain why he felt this was important to share... Part of him just wants Bryce to know him, though. Know him as something other than the weak, pathetic person he is right now... has been for so long now...

The pity in Bryce's tone says this was counterproductive to that purpose. Roman tries to smile, maybe to alleviate the pity, but it feels wrong. He knows it looks sad. And hurt. Probably anxious...

"I'm sorry. I don't know what to say, but I'm sorry. If my si--I can't imagine what that must feel like."

If my si--

Sister?

I've been dreaming about her. The funeral home. Our mother.

Before Roman really has time to think about what he's saying, he asks. "... Did you have a sister..?"

Even once he's said it, he doesn't really regret it... He probably gave away more than he meant to by asking that. By asking it in the past tense, too... He gives a half hearted apology. "Sorry... that's... I didn't mean to be invasive..."

[dani-the-mark]

A Slept-On Review: WWE Smackdown 8/27/22

Ricochet vs Happy Corbin

First thing first: Richochet deserves better. He’s so flippy he should keep doing that forever. Beyond the talent seen in this match alone, I’d rather not see Corbin on TV at all, but he should be nowhere near each other on the roster. Pre-first commercial, Corbin’s most interesting contribution is foddering for the elbow puns on commentary. After the said commercial, Ricochet gets thrown around including a slam into the announce table. Admittedly, I did like that this match was very well paced. Each opponent got a larger segment in the beginning before flipping offense towards the second half. In the end, Ricochet wins with a shooting star press.

Post-match, Pat uses the telestrator to show how down and out Corbin has once again become. Pat should be given screen drawing telestrator privileges forever.

Various Mini Segments 

We get a small but exciting backstage segment where Hit Row and Street Profits align themselves. 

Also, there is a video package, the first of two, for Drew ahead of Clash at the Castle. We get a look back at his indie career and first WWE run. Drew used to be so (comparatively) tiny! He also brings up his emotions on losing that first WWE contract and the death of his mother, which as a fellow member of the Dead Mom Club ™, I was about ready to sob.

Carrion Cross is also creepy in the rafters (or at least very high up in seating), but there’s nothing much new to see there. 

Nikki A.SH & Doudrop vs Sonya Deville & Natayla vs Dana Brooke & Tamina vs Shotzi & Xia Lee

That's a mouthful. Hey, WWE, can we get some formal names for these tag teams, please?

Gigi Dolin of Toxic Attraction is injured, so we have a fatal four-way to determine who will be taking their spot in the tournament, comprised of previously eliminated teams. Now, I know why Alexa and Asuka weren't included coming off of their alignment with Trish, but I still think they should have been. If for no other reason, because I love them. Nikki and Xia started this match, but quickly poor Nikki gets run over by almost everyone else as they tag in. With this match having to get put together in a limited time, they did manage to get to the point rather quickly. Natalya and Sonya win by Sonya’s trademark scheming.

Sheamus Promo 

Gunther takes the chance to interrupt quickly. I guess “starting fights and drinking pints” from Sheamus was also too corny for him. In their back-and-forth, Sheamus lists off his accomplishments (really ruminating about his win against HHH), and Gunther makes it very clear that he doesn't care. Butch snaps at Ludwig, and they proceed to go at it while the competitors just stare. This reminded me a lot of those MMA stand-offs, and I imagine they will be using that image as long as they possibly can. 

Sami and The Bloodline Backstage 

The Usos once again attempt to keep Sami from Roman, but Roman allows him in. They review last week's altercation with Drew and Sami’s loss. In what appears to be officially using Sami as a meat shield, Roman decides to see how he can do against Drew properly later in the night 

Sonya Deville & Natayla vs Aliyah & Raquel Rodriguez 

Bayley and crew are here to watch once again. I was worried this is just filler, considering how the earlier match felt. We get a nice moment of Raquel, my love, holding Aliyah like a hurt baby after she was thrown from the ring. The wrestling itself was adequate but often overshadowed by Bayley on commentary the whole time. Most of it was spent bullying Micheal Cole, which was funny. To my relief, Aliyah and Raquel get the win. So it was still filler, but with the right result.

New Day Promo 

Xavier is in a wheelchair and I'm in tears. Kofi and he review their Viking funeral and hint that it may be a proper end for them. Full honesty, they had us locked in. Before they can finish. The Viking Raider’s come in to officially “put them down”. Xavier is wheeled into the corner, and Kofi is able to get the raiders away from the injured king, we have the reveal: kendo sticks in Xavier’s “injured” leg. The New Day gets a hint of revenge and a match is set up for next week. 

The New Day better not go anywhere. I was ready to throw up.

Maximum Male Models Backstage 

MMM is having a photo shoot in the parking garage because they are MMM. Unfortunately, a bus in the parking garage has decided to blast Hit Row's music. In their natural cheekiness, their solution is spray painting the bus. But it's not Hit Row's bus! It's the Street Profits bus! Now MMM actually has to wrestle the Street Profits, and I'm very excited. 

Also, do the profits have a bus? Nice.

Sami Zayn vs Drew McIntyre 

Sami is as slippery as ever, dodging and rolling out of the ring during the beginning of the match, but does eventually get his own offense in. Even if there is a clear power and size difference, Sami is starting to hold his own again. Then there’s a run-in from the Usos and I'm so confused. Do they actually help him? Do they actually like him? I’ve personally become lost in this plot. Are they doing this for their own benefit? And if so, what’s the benefit? Are they trying to make the meat shield tactic last as long as possible? WHAT’S THE GAME?

Anyway.

Sami gets the pinfall victory, which I’m quite happy about. Then, Roman joins his cousins and they just destroy Drew, including many chair shots. It’s brutal, and even a little scary. Roman is pissed. I loved his closing line, straight to the camera over Drew’s battered body: “I want someone to take this from me.”

Chills. 

[s-e-v-e-n-24]

@xandriagreat

Logan sighed, taking off his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose. He had to focus. He had to finish this new schedule for Thomas.

They has made progress in the last one, getting some of the needed stuff done before Remus's meddling had completely distracted them. He- It wasn't ignored...again. It doesn't matter if it had been cut short. There's always another time, and he should be prepared.

And yet he couldn't make himself focus. Normally he was very good at getting his work done but not today, apparently. That horrible feeling was back. The one that carved him out until he felt hollow, leading behind an almost longing loneliness. It was unbearable to ignore now.

He shouldn't even be lonely. He's more or less bonded with the rest of the sides. There was no reason to feel like this.

But there had to be something. Maybe an unfulfilled need?

Logan mentally ran through different checklists, and after a few minutes, it clicked.

An article he had read a few months ago had listed touch. He was looking it up for Thomas, who never really had a problem with lack of touch until quarantine hit.

He recalled the small paragraph under it.

"Lack of touch (or Skin Hunger as he remembered Virgil once called it) can lead to heightened feelings of anxiety, depression, loneliness, and isolation.

That certainly.......rung a few bells.

Well..if he was ever going to focus and get his work done he'd have to go ask another side to help remedy that.

A feeling if shame crept up his spine. This was stupid, honestly ridiculous. He hadn't really much had a need for this before. Sure a human might need it, especially when they were younger, but he was a side, it was different.

Was this feeling just something that would get worse overtime? Did he do something to set it off recently? Why was it past the point if manageable.

He thought back to his more recent actions and routines. He's been working alot, holed up in his room since the...incident where Remus had been pushing his buttons, so to speak. The memory was still glaringly fresh in his mind (He didn't think Remus would "spill the beans" as to say, on this one, he was smarter then that, even if he acted dumb. Still, never hurt to be careful.).

He'd also been skipping out on group activities, like movie nights or family dinners. Events where someone, despite his protests and eye rolls, always ended up touching him. Remus took special pride in his annoyance.

He couldn't bring himself to really dislike the touch though. It felt oddly nice, and the imprint would still be there hours after contact, lingering.

Logan stood up.

No point in really wasting time anymore, just find the nearest side.

He walked out the door, the hallway barren. No one was around. He'd rather not approach someone specifically.

He made his way down the stairs, they created softly under his weight. An odd panicky feeling flitted through him, squeezing his gut. The script for what to say already writing itself in his mind, going over different variations until it settled on one.

He quietly entered the kitchen, immediately spotting a certain prince.

Roman was attempting to eat the latest of Patton's cooking, this one brung a pastry that was way to hot to be eating right now. Ah, and there was that same pastry, dropped on the floor for being way too hot to eat right now.

He sighed internally, but honestly it was good just to be around another side again.

He just wishes it didn't have to be Roman for this. He'd surely get teased about this for at least a week. You know what actually leaving didn't sound bad he could always do this later with someone who wouldn't make that big I'd a deal out of it although he's not sure who'd that be-

"Oh hey Microsoft Nerd."

Drat. He'd been spotted. Well. Nothing else to do but power through it.

"You've used that one already."

Roman made a face that looked like he couldn't decide whether to pout or act annoyed. Either way eyes were rolled.

Figuratively.

He hoped.

"Some things are so good you need to savour them." Roman eventually shot back.

Logan scanned his face, momentarily forgetting why he was there. Roman didn't look the best. He noted the bags under his eyes dark enoughto rival their local emo, the rumpled clothes, and the greasy hair. Most likely a new project had taken him over, and he was forgetting to do basic needs again. He'd have to remind him to drink water later.

He was drawn back out of his thoughts by Roman calling his name, and snapping his fingers. "Hello? Are you paying attention?"

"Not quite."

"Typical." The prince crossed his arms, mock annoyance etched ibtonhis body language.

"Roman I have something I need to ask of you."

Roman looked taken aback, then suspicious. "Like...like a good something or..."

"Could you.." He hated how quiet his voice sounded. "Maybe engage in physical contact? With me?"

"I'm sorry what."

"Hug me. Can you hug me Roman." Why did he have to repeat something so embarrassing.

A grin slowly spread across Roman's face and he braces himself for impact, the inevitable teasing.

It never came.

Instead he felt the other wrap his arms around him and pull him closer for a very tight hug.

"No problem teach!"

Before he could relax into the hug he could hear more voices come near them, and then stop.

Four more pairs of arms joined in the hug.

Janus offered him a pat on the back and a doughnut, and before he could leave, finally gave in to the hug.

Logan would deny he cried that day, but the others knew.

Logan and all (or one of the sides of your choice) hugs stories

God I love Logan getting hugs

[roman-cates]

Bryce helps get the groceries put away. Roman seems excited to start cooking, and accepts Bryce's offer of help. Bryce hastens to clarify that while he's happy to follow instructions, he doesn't know the first thing about cooking. He emphasizes the happy to help part, remembering last night's misunderstanding around the cookbooks.

He excuses himself for a few minutes once Roman is occupied in the kitchen, and goes to strip the bedsheets and start the laundry. He's very careful, entering and exiting the laundry room, to make sure Roman is not in sight. The weapons and torture implements are locked up, not visible, but the two "holding cells" seem to glare at Bryce whenever he opens the door. The chains on the walls are also highly visible, hung in neat rows by length.

At some point Bryce will have to at least think about attaching one of those to anchor in the kitchen. He has weeks, though, and maybe he can bring up other possibilities, in a slightly more believable way. A less true way, but believable is more important.

Bryce shakes himself from his thoughts and turns the washing machine on. He slips out of the laundry room and locks it behind himself in one motion, then heads to the kitchen.

"So," he says to Roman, and smiles, "how can I help? Or be in the way the least?"

Previous

Roman rereads a particular recipe while Bryce is gone, making sure he understands all of it and won't miss any steps. He's never really been much of a cook either— although he's not bad at it.

When Bryce comes back, Roman mostly gets his help with any tasks that require carrying things or moving around very much. It's hard to do tasks of those types on crutches.

It's a little difficult to direct Bryce while Roman is also a little unsure of what he's doing himself, but he doesn't want Bryce to leave, so he makes sure to find plenty of things he can help with— even if they're small.

Roman is a little nervous about how it will turn out, but once they're outside and sitting at the table, everything actually tastes pretty good. It's nothing you would get at a fancy restaurant, but it's better than half the food Roman ate growing up.

[roman-cates]

It's good to see Roman walking, even if he is only able to go a few feet at a time. The house is small, so he'll be able to get around even if he's a bit slow.

Which means Bryce should make sure everything he shouldn't access is locked up.

"Take your time," he tells Roman, and goes into the kitchen. He adjusts the rice on the stove and grabs the bottle of painkiller. He leaves the vitamins out, hard to abuse those. The kitchen is short and narrow, barely enough room for two people even if neither has crutches, so he glances at the living room -- nothing there to move -- and heads goes to the other hallway.

There's three doors at the end. Bryce he takes a key from his pocket and locks the one on the left. Storage, laundry, and two small holding cells. Better if Roman doesn't see that. He slips into the door on the end that he's claimed as his bedroom and deposits the medicine inside. There's a cage in here too, but Bryce has never actually seen this one used.

He locks the door behind him and opens the door on the right. This room is motel-simple: a full bed, an empty dresser, a bedside table that holds a clock with glaring red digits. A rod in place of a wardrobe, sunk deep into the walls. No hangers, good. There's a chain scattered across the floor, anchored in the center of the room. It has an ankle cuff attached. Bryce kicks it to the side so Roman won't trip. He won't need to even think about using that for a few weeks, and so he does not think about it.

He returns to find Roman has almost made it to the living room.

"You're allowed to sit on the red chair in here, on any dining chair, or I might let you on the sofa sometimes." He'll have to explain if anyone sees Roman on the furniture, but the leg is a safe excuse for now.

"There's a bedroom for you through that hall," he gestures, "It's open. The other doors there are off limits." That's about it, right? Oh, and…

"When I leave the house, you need to engage the second deadbolt for safety." That's about it for now, he thinks. "I'll get you some more rice."

Previous

Roman focuses on getting out of the bathroom and into the main area of the house. It takes a lot out of him. He's not very strong at all after two years almost exclusively chained in a basement. Still, he's determined. His determination makes up for the lack of strength.

Once he gets past the hallway to where he can see the main rooms, Roman looks around. Under the guise of being amazed and interested at the new environment, he's really looking for ways to escape.

There are windows. Roman is able to tell what time it is roughly. It can't be later than 3 in the afternoon. It looks... so bright outside. The windows are all barred. No way out through them.

There's a door, too. Only one. Unless there's another door somewhere he can't see, then that's the only way out. Roman puts that information into a safe corner of his mind. He can't use it right now, but he sure as hell will later.

Eventually, he gets out to one of the chairs that Bryce says he's allowed on. The remark about being allowed on the sofa 'sometimes' makes Roman feel like he's a pet. Then he realizes that... he kind of is...

Somehow the though of having a label like pet is worse than having the label of captive. At least captives are still human beings, there against their will, but still recognized as a person— even if their captor doesn't care. A pet... Well. Pets aren't humans. Pets are there for their owners amusement.

Roman is curious about the bedroom down the hall, but his arms were already screaming at him to stop by the time he got to the closest chair, so he can't go look right now. He has to take a break.

When the rice is ready, Roman is allowed to feed himself this time. Bryce takes the crutches away once Roman has settled in. He's gone for an odd amount of time. It feels long. But when he brings the crutches back, they don't have blood on them anymore. Bryce doesn't say anything about it, so Roman doesn't either.

After a while, Bryce picks out a DVD and puts a movie on— there's a much bigger TV out here— before making his own dinner in a microwave. Roman is more interested in watching Bryce than watching the movie, trying to glean any information that might aid an escape attempt.

When Roman starts getting tired— which doesn't take very long— he's allowed to go to the open room at the other end of the hall. It's hard to get there— his arms are already too tired— but he makes it.

For a moment, he freezes in the doorway when he sees the chain on the floor. It looks much too similar to the one J put on him— only this one is longer. It takes Roman a minute or two to swallow his fear and go into the room anyway. He doesn't sleep well.