#tranq dart moment

[huh-i-guess]

Fever

(Task force 141 x F!reader)

Summary: While out on a mission you are injected with a substance that might lead to a shift in the dynamics between the 141.

Warnings: SMUT 18+, sex pollen, fingering, dub-con/non-con (under the influence of sex pollen), choking, nasty Simon, Gaz has morals

Word Count: ~ 4.2k

(Reader's callsign is Pepper)

I don't own MW2, the characters, or the gif above.

“What the fuck was that?” You shouted as you felt a sharp pricking sensation on your left ass cheek. You reached behind you to feel what was causing the sensation and groaned as you felt a syringe protruding from your behind. You looked down and noted that you had stepped on a pressure plate of some kind and triggered the laboratory’s defense mechanism.

“Oh fuck, lass.” Johnny mumbled.

“Shit, Pepper.” Gaz exclaimed in disbelief.

“No fucking way. Why does this shit always happen to me?” You yanked the dart-like needle from your behind and examined the leftover contents. The remaining contents appeared to be a blue syrup-like fluid. You sighed and pocketed the syringe hoping you could take it back to base to have it examined by the scientists at the lab. 

“Pepper, what was that?” Price called over the comms hearing the distress in everyone’s voices. Your thoughts ran at a mile a minute as you tried to figure out if you should tell your captain, that you probably had a mild crush on and always wanted to impress, that you just stepped on a trap. Or if you should lie. You hated lying to Price. It felt like you were letting him down and any time you did, you found yourself immediately retracting your statement and telling him the truth hoping he’d forgive your indiscretion. You readied your mouth to let out some kind of answer but snapped your mouth shut as you heard Gaz from your right side, “Looks like they tranqed Pepper or something. We were sweeping the lab and she was the first one in.” You turned your head toward Gaz and offered him a look that was a mix of thankfulness and regret. 

“Shite. You're still standing, lieutenant?” Price probed in a tone that, only those close to him could tell, was full of doubt and concern.

“Yes sir.” You pushed further into the lab taking extra care where your steps landed. The lab had been recently abandoned by russian terrorists working on some kind of bioweapon. You could only hope that you didn’t just get dosed with whatever they were concocting. As the three of you pressed further into the dingy lab you felt like the mass of your body was slowly doubling. 

“Soap. Gaz. If I drop, I need two to keep moving. We need to get this intel out of here as soon as we find it.” You could faintly hear the heavy footsteps of the terrorists behind you.

“No way in hell we’re leaving you behind.” Gaz contended. 

“Listen I-” 

You were quickly interrupted by Laswell’s voice in your ear, “Pepper. Evac will get to you and the boys in 11 minutes. It’ll be 2 clicks north of your current location. We’ll get you to the safe house from there.” 

“Copy.” You replied as Soap took a step closer and fixed his mouth to ready a response to your order. 

“Lass I don-”

“Listen. We don't have time for this. I don’t know what I got hit with but I know that at the moment we have a job to do. Let’s keep moving while I can and clear the files we came for. You will keep moving if I drop and that’s final. This mission can't be a waste of time.” You were met with an apprehensive “Yes Ma’am” and a “got it LT” and you snapped your head around to continue sweeping the lab. 

You knew you were being harsh but if you gave them room to argue you’d be stuck here going back and forth with them about it. Truthfully it was a ruse to make it look like you weren’t basically shitting bricks. You couldn’t stop the thoughts that flew through your mind.  I’m going to die today. Holy fuck I’m not making it out of this. I don’t know what I got hit with. How long do I have? You didn’t have much going on in your home life so the thought of a family didn’t even cross your mind until you thought about who around you did have one. Soap had his sisters back in Scotland that loved to “force” him to watch those really crappy rom-coms that he claimed he hated so much but then recommended for team bonding nights. Then you had Gaz who had his mom waiting at home for him. She always sent him care packages with little hand written notes that gave him updates on the status of his neighbors’ cat who had slowly been making itself comfortable on their property back in London. She even sent him photos of the cheeky little tuxedo cat. Your mind shifted from thoughts about yourself to thoughts about them. I have to get these boys out of here. They have so much going for them. They really are some of the best we have to offer. I can’t let them down. If I can't get out of here at least they can. 

Gaz went to the computer and plugged in a decryption device and began to sift through the scientist's digital files while Soap went through some of the scattered papers left in the room.

“They were in such a rush to get out of here they weren’t even effective at scrubbing their drives. Pep, I think I might have something.” You walked to the computer Gaz was stationed at and noticed a folder titled “Project Vitality”. 

“Good job, Gaz get it and we go. Soap anything?”

“A couple of poorly redacted files with the same name.” Soap chipped from your left. You made your way to him and patted his shoulder in praise.

“Alright we gotta move.” You heard the footsteps boom as the incoming enemies approached. You felt yourself slowly start to stall and noticed you had a difficult time focusing your eyes. It was like you were wearing a pair of glasses that weren’t meant for you and you couldn’t take them off. You willed your eyes to focus but it was becoming a hassle. Fuck me. You turned your head to Soap on your left and said, “Soap I need you to take point on the way out. I'll watch our backs as we exit.”

“Are you-” he started then pressed out a short, “Will do.” The look on his face was filled with so much concern, that for his sake, you almost wanted him to ask you if you were okay. He turned and rushed out of the room followed by Gaz and you at the back. The three of you navigated the winding corridors of the combatant base and made your way back, passing the rooms you had previously cleared. 

“Pepper. How we doing?” Price questioned over comms.

“Got the documents and drives, sir.”

“I know you did. That’s not what I’m asking about.”

“What kind of answer do you want, Cap?

“You know what I want to hear.” You knew Price wanted the truth but you couldn't let him know the fact that you might be starting to lose motor function and that the mass of your body felt like it had doubled. There was a large part of you that wanted to make him proud and craved his approval so the thought of disappointing him always stirred something deep inside you. But then there was Gaz and Soap. They were your sergeants and they often looked to you for guidance. The image they had of you rarely faltered from confidence and strength. They were right by your side and were clearly worried for you. If you told the truth to them they probably want to stop and question your status or maybe even try to do some kind of makeshift field evaluation on you and you’d definitely lose out on valuable time. 

A shaky, “I’m doing just fine, sir.” fell from your lips then silence. A sigh from Price that was then followed by a gruff, “Bring it in safe. I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Of course sir.” You acknowledged. He knew you were lying. The slight tremor in your voice told him exactly what he needed to know. 

Soap led the three of you out of the compound but not without running into a couple of the remaining terrorists that missed your group upon arrival. You, although struggling to see and move, caught the slight movement as you three made your way to the entrance of the compound. A brown jacket sleeve that moved just a bit too slow was all you needed to gather that the combatants had reached your location. Years of intense practice and strenuous training had you firing your weapon with a practiced precision that was barely impacted by your declining physical state. 

As soon as you exited the compound you were met with a glaring brightness from the snow of the siberian tundra. The almost blinding whiteness was a massive contrast to the dimly lit compound so the massive shift in intensity had your head spinning. Gaz noticed you stumbling but only met you with a face of concern and a hand on your shoulder as he watched you struggle to get your bearings. 

Trekking through the Siberian tundra in your worsening condition was one of the hardest things you'd had to do in your career. The whirling of the wind was so intense that it felt like someone was screaming directly next to your ear and the pressure of it was enough to make your head pound. The snow was coming down so hard that each snowflake that hit your face felt like a tiny pin prick over and over again. Your feet were so deep in the snow that it felt like you were gaining an extra 20 pounds of weight with the effects of the drug starting to control your movements. You tried to pull yourself together. It was undeniable at this point that you would not be winning the battle against whatever medication they injected you with.

“2 minutes till evac” Ghost chimed in your earpiece. Your hearing was so sensitive that you could almost feel the loud mechanical static and the whirl of the helicopter in the background of his response.

“Oh my days. Ghost is the one flying us out? I don’t want to end up out the bloody chopper again” Gaz groaned. Oh. I wasn’t the only one to hear the helicopter then. 

“It was either me or you freeze out there, Sergeant.”

“LT, if you fly that thing the way you drive, Gaz might be better staying down here. Less chance of him getting thrown from the bloody thing.” Soap chirped. 

The world slowly started to look like a mass of colors and shapes with no definite beginning or end. The only thing you could do at this point was push and pray that you were gonna have enough strength to make it to the evac point. Everything was so intense that overwhelming wasn't even the right word to describe the feeling. You struggled to pick up your head as you began to hear another distinct whooshing sound that could only belong to that of a Puma HC2.

“I’m here aren’t I?” Soap and Gaz stopped moving as Ghost put the helicopter on the ground. 

“I’m glad you are sir. Good to see you, Ghost.” Soapsaid as he flung the door open and made his way on the aircraft.

“Always good to see that ugly mug of yours, Johnny.” Ghost turned his head to get a good look at everyone. “ Pepper, you don't look too hot.” Ghost concluded as you dragged yourself into the seat next to what you could have only imagined was Gaz. The words that came out of your mouth were something along the lines of “Not” and “Good” but no one really understood you with how slurred your response was. They did however understand that something was really wrong when your body slumped backward and went limp next to Gaz. You could vaguely hear the commotion of Gaz, Soap, and Simon, around you as they shouted your name and desperately tried to keep you from slipping out of consciousness. The last thing you heard was Price pressing to be informed on your state and him telling Ghost to get all of you to the safe house. 

---

“A neurotoxin that sends the body into overdrive. Increases nervous sensitivity and impulsivity, and impairs functionality of the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus.” Price read from the lab report with a stubby cigar in hand.

“Why the hell would they want to make something like that?” Gaz questions.

“Apparently in small doses it can be used as an aphrodisiac that it increases blood flow throughout the body, promotes sexual stamina, and increases pleasure outcomes? They must’ve been trying to develop something to sell on the streets.” Price continues.

“Right so they dosed her with super viagra?” Soap questioned. 

“That's what it sounds like?” Gaz said. 

“I thought that stuff didn't work on women?” Simon interjected. 

“It looks like they’ve altered it so it impacts both sexes but they haven’t been able to work out the less desirable symptoms. Tachycardia, fever, headache, dizziness, loss of consciousness, heart failure, and death.” Price paced as he read the outcomes. 

“Oh shit.”

“Heart failure? Death? How do we make sure that that doesn’t happen?” Gaz frantically questioned.

“The only way the toxin can be expelled from the body is through coitus…” Price trailed off as he dropped his cigar into a bowl. That can’t be right. He read it three times just to be sure and the words on the page didn’t change. 

“Steamin’ Jesus.” Soap deadpanned.

“No blood way.” Gaz stood with an open mouth. 

“Someone has to fuck her.” Simon said. 

---

When you awoke, you noticed you were lying on a firm mattress and were surrounded by the smell of smoke laced with a heavy sweetness that only came from Price’s cigars. You felt undeniably cold and couldn’t help but to shiver. You rubbed your fingers across your palms and felt them drenched in sweat. As you slowly began to turn to your side, you were overwhelmed with the feeling of the rough sheet that laid under you. 

“What the fuck?” You noticed that you had been stripped out of your vest and snow gear and were left in your black polyester thermals. You could feel every inch of fabric that you wore and immediately moved to take off the thermals. You were left in your sports bra and underwear.  Why am I taking off my clothes? I’m freezing? You ran your hands up and down your body trying to get a semblance of warmth but then decided that putting thermals back on would be too much for your unusually sensitive skin. As you dragged your hand down the sides of your thighs you couldn't help but notice how good it felt to touch yourself. You moved your hands to your inner thighs and couldn’t contain the moan that slipped from your mouth. You brushed your hand over the gusset of your panties and whined at the feel of your hand gliding over your already sensitive clit. 

“Pepper?” rushed out of Gaz’s mouth as he entered the room. He looked over to the pile of thermals on the end of the bed. “How are you feeling?” he probed.  When did Gaz get so attractive? He wore a red henley that hugged his arms perfectly and his soft curls made an appearance without the presence of his well worn UK hat. He made his way over to you and touched your forehead. “You’re burning up. Damn. The fever’s started.” The feeling of his hand on you was almost indescribable. He was warm and firm and exactly what you felt you needed at that moment. 

You felt yourself acting on purely impulse as you grabbed his hand and dragged it down to your mouth. You started to kiss his palm and moved your attention to his thumb. You placed it firmly between your lips and began to suck. “Oh fuck.” Gaz exhaled as he watched you with wide eyes. You continued your ministrations and moved from his thumb to his index and middle fingers. You began to lick around his digits before you engulfed them in your mouth with a guttural moan. You could taste the salt and gunpowder from the mission and it only made you crave him more. You lifted your gaze to him and willed your eyes to meet his. The groan that fell from his lips was divine. You removed his fingers from your mouth and helped his hand descend to where you really needed him. “Fuck. No. I can't do that princess. Not when you're like this.”

“But I really really want you to. Come on, Kyle. It’ll help me feel so much better.” You purred. Gaz let out a shaky breath, pulled his hand from you, and walked out the room but not without you noticing him readjusting himself in his pants. Fine, I'll do it myself. You sighed and pulled your panties down your legs till they rested at your ankles. You slid your fingers between your legs and gasped at how wet you were. You slowly started to trail your finger through your folds, collecting some of the wetness that had dripped from you and began to rub your clit. As soon as your finger pressed against your reactive little nub you were in heaven. You started in small circular motions and rubbed until you felt you needed more. You moved your other hand to your breast and tugged at your nipple. You kneaded and grabbed your breast like it was the key to your survival. You’ve never felt like this before. It's like you can feel everything, everywhere, all at the same time. You felt the rough fabric of the sheets, the scratchy wool of the pillow behind your head and you felt the soft cotton that was resting around your ankles.  You were still shivering from the fever but you felt like you could feel the stimulation of your clit in your toes. You needed more. 

You moved your hand from your plush breast to rest right at your soaked opening. You circled your middle finger a few times just to get it wet, and sank right into your leaking entrance. “Oh fuuuuuck”. You could feel the pressure of the finger at your walls as you started to curve your finger inside of yourself searching for your g-spot. You continued rubbing your clit and curling your finger inside of you hoping to seek your elease. It felt so good but it just wasn't enough. You slipped in another finger and moaned at the intrusion. You started to pant and whine with how good you were feeling, but you felt yourself needing more. You continued the calculated movements and felt your orgasm approaching. You just needed a little more. One more push to get you there. One curl of your finger turned to two, then to three, then the pleasure turned into frustration. “Fuuuuuuck.” You groaned as you  pulled your fingers from your body and layed on the mattress in a heap of sweat and frustration. You felt yourself slowly drift back into the unconscious void even as you worked to steady your breaths.  

---

“She sucked my fingers. Wanted me to fuck her. With my fingers. Uh she begged me to. And she was down to her knickers” Gaz confessed as he dropped his eyes to his combat boots, too unsure to look at his team. 

“Did you lad?” Price probed. 

“No, I couldn't do it. I really thought about it and I- I don't know. She definitely has a fever though.”

“Hm.” Was all that left Price's mouth. 

“We're gonna have to check up on her. Make sure her heart isn't working too hard and see how to keep her satiated. For her sake.” Simon stated matter of factly. 

“Does it say it has to be expelled through “sexual intercourse” or can she just, ya know, uh.. “Get there”, and work it out her system.” Soap questioned, looking toward Price and seeking the answers he normally has. 

“Johnny. It says coitus.” Simon replied. 

“No one’s gonna fuck her like this. It’s not right.” Gaz stated.

“What if we have to?” Soap doubted.

“Maybe we should see if an orgasm is the solution. If that doesn't work then last resort, someone will do what needs to be done.” Price said with a sense of finality. 

---

You felt the press of two fingers at your carotid artery and shivered at the warmth they offered. You fluttered your eyes open and nearly jumped out of your skin when they met dark brown ones behind a human skull mask. You’d seen Simon before and regularly worked with him but you'd never woken to him standing over you like the grim reaper.  

“Jesus, Simon.” 

“‘Just checking your heart rate.” He confirmed. Simon almost always has his gloves on. To feel his fingers at your neck had you craving more of his touch. You grabbed his hand that was at your neck and splayed it across your jugular. You looked up at him with full, pleading eyes and felt him squeeze a bit. A light moan left your lips as you begged him to squeeze harder. The groan that left his mouth would surely implant itself in the depths of your mind for years to come. The sound coming from him went straight to your core and you felt yourself clenching your thighs. 

“Simon, please.”

“Fuckin’ hell. Don’t look at me like that. Not while you've got your knickers round your ankles.”

“Please. Si. I need you. I’m so fucking horny. I can feel everything Simon. Please just help me feel good. I promise I’ll be good. You can use me however you want. However you need to. Please.”

“Don't say that y/n.” He turned his gaze away from your face. 

“I mean it. Please help me.”

“Just my fingers darling.” 

“Yes. Yes, thank you so much.” You nodded your head eagerly and bit down on your lip. If your fingers weren't working to get you there, maybe his would. You parted your legs for him and he hung his head and rolled his shoulders while he let out a deep “Fuck”. His grip on your neck tightened and you felt your head go light. “Oh fuck yes.” His other hand made its way between your plush legs and ran between your folds. Simon’s eyes were locked onto your pussy and he was in awe of how wet you were. He knew what the toxins effects on you were but to see them in person had him stiff as a board in his pants.  Fuck this was so wrong of him. He knew he wanted to help you but part of him was living out his sick and twisted fantasies. To have you, a stunning woman, dripping wet and begging for him to fuck you, he’d be insane to not feel at least a bit aroused. He dragged a finger around your clit and almost purred at the whine that left your lips. He continued to make slow and tedious circles around your clit. 

“Simon, please I need more. Can you - mmm fuck- can you fuck me?” How could he deny you when you’ve asked him so nicely. 

“Only with my fingers, darling.” He slipped in two fingers and groaned at how tight you were. Your back arched so deeply and he wondered to himself what it would be like to be behind you when you arched like that. Simon began to work his fingers inside of you. He started with slow but deep pumping motions and moved onto scissoring his fingers inside of you searching for that special spot that he knows will make you tick. Your breath hitched in your throat and you let out a long high pitched squeal. 

“Is that it, darling? Right there? Hm?” He beamed with a sense of condescension that made your pussy tighten on his fingers. 

“Oh fuck Simon. Please, please let me cum.” His fingers were hitting all of the right parts of you and you felt your orgasm nearing. 

“Of course you can come, darling. Fucking soak my fingers. I know you need it. Come on, darling.”

You slid your hand down to your clit and rubbed it in furious circles. His grip tightened on your neck and you felt fuzzy everywhere. “Cum all over my fingers. Make a mess, why don't you.” And at that final comment from Simon, you felt the band within you snap as you had one of the most intense orgasms of your life. Your toes curled and your back was nearly curved into a C shape. Your pussy clenched and unclenched as Simon continued his assault. You felt your ears ringing from the intensity of the orgasm and felt like you lost hearing for a little moment. As you panted and tried to recover from your climax, Simon removed his drenched fingers from you, lifted his mask to just below his nose, and brought his hand up to his mouth. He locked eyes with you and you watched him in amazement as he cleaned you from his fingers. Your eyes flutter at how intense the sight was. His strong jaw, scarred but pink lips, and traces of stubble left you wanting more. He moved the hand that was on your neck back to your pulse point to check your heart rate.

“It’s slowed a bit. Get some rest," and with that he left the room and you felt yourself slip from consciousness.

[angelpuns]

50 au part 25

Donnie sat there for a long time, just staring at Leo. He knew- he knew he needed to get up. Needed to check Leo's leg and set him up in bed and possibly restrain him. Needed to clean himself up so Leo didn't see what he'd done to Donnie when he was finally back to his senses. 

He didn't reset when he slept. They knew that now. Donnie checked the time. It was about 11:05. He thought Leo would reset at midnight. On the cameras it had been like…but then again, Leo hadn't woken up til about 1 am before, so how could he have known…but why the hell would someone make a curse that resets your memory at 11 o clock?

He let out a shaky breath. He still hadn't moved. Donnie had work to do and he needed to move. 

He put a hand up to his tender face, wincing at the light touch. Something was probably broken. Hopefully it was a simple fix and maybe- maybe their amazing mutant super healing would kick in before Leo had to see. If not, Donnie would lie. Or get Raph to lie for him. 

He glanced at his hand when he pulled it away, barely registering the blood on his fingers. Yeah. Yeah, okay. That was okay. He could handle a little blood. For now, anyway. 

Donnie took in another shaking breath, willing himself to stop fucking shaking. It was just another fight with Leo. Just another wrestling match gone wrong, like when they were kids. 

And Donnie wouldn’t cry, even if Leo accidentally hurt his shell a little or if he got a small scrape. Even though it hurt. He just couldn’t cry over pain like that sometimes. Something about being too overwhelmed by the sensation to cry at all. 

But Leo would always know, and he'd cry enough for the both of them. 

He'd hold Donnie's hand and apologise over and over, even if it was an accident. And even though Donnie couldn't cry or speak or do anything other than shake like a leaf, he would look at Leo. And he'd hold his hand. And he'd try to tell him silently that it was okay, because accidents happen. And it wasn't as if Donnie hadn't accidentally hurt Leo before, too. 

Except he could absolutely not tell Leo about this. Because he didn't want Leo to stare at him and cry like he did when they were kids. He didn't want Leo to apologize over and over like after the invasion, either. Because that's all he seemed to say for a while. To all of them. 

Just apologizing over and over, not even aware of what he was saying. Donnie didn't want to hear another apology from Leo for a long, long time after that. 

Donnie looked at the clock. It was nearly 11:30 now.  

“Fuck-” he finally got up, wiping his bloodied hand on his hoodie. That was another hoodie ruined by this whole debacle, but he found it difficult to worry about that right now when a bout a thousand other things were on his mind. He had to fix this- not just the curse. He needed to fix this before Leo woke up and was inevitably at their throats again. 

He snatched the tranq gun off the ground and stuffed it back in his pocket. He hated to use it, especially at that close of a range. But he was fairly certain Leo would have kept going until he was- well, possibly until he was dead. 

And he didn't want to die. 

He tried not to think too hard on it, shaking his hands out and kneeling down next to Leo's still form. He turned his head a little and removed the dart, grimacing at the mark that was left there. 

The gun wasn't made to be fored that close, after all. The scales there were going to bruise terribly, he would have to apologize for that when Leo knew what was going on. Later. Much later at this rate. 

Donnie tossed the dart in the trash and picked Leo up underneath his armpits. He was heavy, but the bed was close enough it didn't matter too much. He carefully maneuvered Leo into his bed, peeling back the covers so he could check on his leg. 

It was bleeding through the bandages again. The stitches were definitely fucked. 

Donnie sighed and stared at Leo for a moment, just to make sure he wasn't close to waking up. His chest rose and then fell in a steady rhythm, as if he were just sleeping peacefully. 

It was a good thing Donnie had made it a little longer lasting this time. He didn't think he'd be able to fight Leo again. 

He finally stepped away and headed for the med bay, listing off the supplies he'd need in his head. He hated that he had to do this again, but he didn't really want Leo bleeding out when he didn't have his memories and Donnie hadn't been able to convince him to cooperate. That chance of him being violent again was high, and Donnie wanted his leg patched up before Leo tried to fight one of them again. 

He grabbed what he needed and started back to Leo's room, preparing himself mentally for the blood and the terrible sewing and the having to deal with the icky-ness of it all. 

He'd have to make sure the TV was ready again. Maybe they convince Leo it had been a nightmare. As much as he hated lying to his twin about something as important as his memory, it might be necessary. 

Donnie was all too relieved to see Leo was still there - he reminded himself that the tranquilizer lasted at least 2 or 3 hours. And Leo hadn't slept well either. So he had time. Plenty of time. He set the supplies down and got to work, making a note to tell Mikey and Raph what happened So they too would be prepared. 

Tomorrow was going to be a long, long day. But it would be the last day of this goddamn curse, Donnie would make sure of that.  

---

queuing this for later and my back hurts v bad so sorry for no author's note. Lemme know if it needs warnings, hope y'all enjoy <3

part 1 | Part 24 | Part 26

[natrogersfics]

The Anthology - Prologue

Artwork by @faith2nyc Read on AO3 He really should be paying more attention. The thought crosses Steve’s mind as he listens to the directors take a question from the vast crowd gathered before them. What the question is about, though, he couldn’t say. By all accounts, he’s very much aware of what a privilege it is to be teasing an upcoming project at, of all places, the legendary Hall H of Comic Con. And while he’s grateful for the opportunity, and even more so for the palpable enthusiasm of the fans in the room, with this being their third promotional engagement of the day, the banal inquiries have grown cumbersome.

They couldn’t even really talk about the project, anyway. Not with the studio’s policy of devout secrecy when it comes to the plot. What details he and his colleagues could divulge about the scope of the movie have been so extremely limited that he’s surprised that not only have they been able to keep this panel going for the last hour, but also that the crowd hasn’t tired of the non-answers they’re being given.

It's with that fact that he’s able to extinguish what guilt he’s feeling about his lack of interest at the moment. With another glance at the crowd before him, he carefully slides the napkin that was once underneath his coffee cup to his left, and from the corner of his eye, he catches the way his costar takes her bottom lip between her teeth, trying to suppress a smile as she looks down at the table to see the grid he’d hastily drawn. Natasha clicks down on the top of the pen she’s been twirling between her fingers, scribbling an X on the centermost square before pushing the napkin back towards him.

“This question is for Natasha,” the panel’s mediator announces. “What do you think of Captain America and Black Widow being paired together for this film? Doesn’t it seem like an odd partnership considering that morally, these characters exist on opposite ends of the spectrum?” “I guess you’ll just have to see the movie to find out,” Natasha quips without missing a beat, eliciting a laugh from both the crowd and their castmates. He rolls his lips to keep from beaming. Such a professional. “But in all seriousness,” she continues, “I think these characters have a lot to learn from each other. Cap very much lives in black and white and Widow is highly comfortable operating in the gray, but as you'll see in the film, with the challenges they face, they’re both going to have to learn to be comfortable in each other’s moral spheres. So, yeah, an interesting dynamic to see play out for sure.” “Now that we’re on the topic of dynamics,” the mediator says. “In the teaser that was played exclusively for us today, we find Cap and Widow looking like they’re on an undercover mission. Widow is doing her thing, Cap is looking uncomfortable but also really… entranced by her, maybe?” He pauses as the crowd voices their agreement. “What do you think, Steve? Is this where Cap finally finds his perfect partner?” “Well… our Executive Producer, Kevin, looks just about ready to tranq dart me, so I’m going to pass on that last question,” he says as another fit of laughter echoes throughout the room. “But one thing I will say is, this is a whole new world for Cap. It hasn’t been that long since he was in the ice, so to see someone like Widow who’s so quick on her feet and razor-sharp in her environment, yeah, I think you could say he’s entranced, if not completely in awe.” “Interesting that you say that because even with what little we saw, it’s obvious that Cap and Widow have sizzling chemistry…” The crowd begins to hoot, and the mediator smiles like a cat that’s caught the canary. Here we go. “Could that have anything to do with your chemistry with Natasha in real life? I mean, I think I speak for everyone here today when we say that we’ve noticed.” The crowd cheers, cajoling him for an answer, and when he steals a glance at Natasha, he finds that she’s turned his way as well, an amused expression on her face. “It’s true, you guys are noticing something…” he begins as he turns back to the crowd. “And that’s Natasha being absolutely tremendous at her job.” A chorus of laughter reverberates in the hall before the mediator turns to Natasha. “Is that true, Natasha? Is movie magic all this is?” “Oh, for sure,” Natasha says, her tone serious even as her smile says she’s anything but. “Have you seen him? Who wants to be close to this” – she gestures towards him – “all damn day?” She scoffs. “It’s a chore.” He tips his head back, one hand flying to his chest as he laughs along with the entire room. Next to him, Natasha just shakes her head. “But no, Steve and I are great friends. That’s all you’re seeing there.”

“Great job out there, both of you,” Kevin says when they finally make it backstage after signing autographs at the end of the panel. “You had them eating out of the palm of your hands! You guys are total pros and I’m so glad you’re friends. Makes my job a lot easier, that’s for damn sure.” “We aim to please, boss,” Natasha says with a two-fingered salute. “And please you do,” Kevin says. “And as a show of my gratitude for soldiering through a full day of promo, why don’t you two take the rest of the day off? Grab dinner or something. On me.” He turns to Natasha. “I’m game if you are.” “I think I can free up my evening,” she confirms. “But I do have to grab my purse in the back.” “I’ll leave you two to it then,” Kevin says. With a final nod at their producer, they begin to head back towards the green room where the cast was gathered prior to the beginning of the panel. The walk takes longer than usual as they stop to greet familiar faces and pause for conversations and pictures with excited fans, but he doesn’t mind. He didn’t hold any love for extended press conferences, but this part of the job – meeting the people who his work resonated deeply with – is one he holds dear. “Where do you want to go?” Natasha asks once they make it back to the room and she walks over to the corner to retrieve her purse. He looks around the empty room before following close behind her. “Don’t care,” he mutters, causing her to turn. His hands find her waist then, and she gasps in surprise when he pulls her close and slants his lips over hers in a kiss that’s nothing short of a claim. Her purse falls to the ground with a thud, but neither of them pay it any mind as she snakes her arms around his neck. There’s an amused smile on Natasha’s lips when they eventually pull away, the both of them heaving for air. “What was that for?” “This…” he says, his fingers toying with the hem of the colorful chiffon blouse she has on underneath her blazer, giving him just a glimpse of her skin through the material. “Has been driving me crazy all day.” “That was kind of the point,” she says, a devious smirk painting her lips. He narrows his eyes at her. “And here I was about to make it up to you,” he says, watching as she raises a brow up in question. He grins. “You know, seeing how working with me is such a chore.” “It really is,” she laments jokingly, causing them both to chuckle. She trails her hands up his arms, feeling his biceps through his sweater as she looks up at him from underneath the fan of her lashes. “And it’s going to take a lot more than dinner to convince me otherwise.” “Is that right?” he asks, watching a glint spark in her eyes. “In that case, your place or mine?”

The Anthology Masterlist | Chapter 1

[auspicioustidings]

Dark Signs

Summary: You string up Johnny in the woods and get Ghost into subspace tied to a tree. That's it. That's the story. I deserve to imagine topping the shit out of Simon Riley as a little treat.

Word Count: 1.1k

CWs: CNC (I have not written in negotiations and the fact that there is a safe word/action, just know that there is), BDSM smut, breeding kink

He was the Ghost, he was the scariest thing in the woods. He was the Ghost, he was the scariest thing in the woods.

"Aww come on Simon, I know you think Johnny looks pretty all tied up like this" you cooed.

It was a rookie error, both of them so wound up from your stalking that they tripped a simple tranq dart trap. Honestly it would be easier if they were smaller, had taken ages to get Johnny all nice and naked and strung up between the trees. Simon you just dragged against the tree that gave the best view before tying him nice and tight. He was struggling against the rope, no doubt hurting himself with how he pulled. You loved to see it. Loved the juxtaposition of one man naked and immobile, the other fully dressed and wriggling.

"Fuck you" Simon snarled.

You laughed, setting a hand against Johnny's ribcage and delighting in how he tensed. He was blindfolded and gagged, not able to anticipate your touch.

"Patience Simon, we'll get to that."

He howled when Johnny whimpered around the gag, fighting hard to try and get free. That skull mask made him look cute to you and you went to crouch in front of him, smiling indugently when he tried to bite at you.

"Aww you want your teeth out, is that it Princess? Don't like them sitting behind fabric do you? Or maybe it's your tongue that's feeling a little restrained?"

"Don't fucking touch me!"

How sweetly he hissed when you pulled off his mask, jaws gnashing to try and get purchase on your hand. You smacked him hard across the face.

"Bad dog, trying to bite me when I'm just taking your muzzle off."

His face was blotchy from all his panicking, eyes wild underneath all that grease. You saw the blooming mark from your hand, ran fingers through his messy hair to soothe him. You did so hate to have to be violent with him after all, but when he practically begged for it like that you could put your own wants aside for him. That's what love was.

When you grinned manically at him and grabbed at his hardening cock you saw the switch. There he was. Not the Ghost hiding behind a mask, not the big military man who was always in control. No, it was Simon Riley now tied to this tree, pulling once more to see if he could move his arms before the realisation settled in that he was not getting out of this unless by your hand.

"There we are pet" you said softly, continuing to pet at his hair as his eyes got wider. "Isn't this nice? You just let me take care of everything. If you behave real good I'll let you fuck Johnny, how does that sound?"

You watched the fight go out of his eyes. Simon Riley was an easy man to break you had learned. He wanted it, to break and bend to his basic need to be loved and close to somebody.

"I'll be good. Please. I'll be so good for you sweetheart."

The whine that came from Johnny delighted you and you took a moment to admire the saliva dripping from around the gag and the leaking from his hard cock. You knew he would like it when he heard you slap Simon, knew he liked it even more hearing him give in.

When you moved enough clothing out of the way to sink down onto Simon it felt divine. He desperately tried to buck up, not able to get anywhere with how securely he was tied. He bit off a growl, earning him another smack hard across the other cheek.

"S-sorry! Sorry sweetheart, didn't mean it, I-" he started pleading, choking back a sob when you clenched your walls around him. "Please, need it. Need it so bad. Just a little faster, please. Fuck!"

You were languid in rolling your hips, torturing him. How could you not with how his pleading turned to whimpering? With how tears of frustration sprung to those pretty eyes of his. You leaned back, back arching so your could tilt your head and look behind you at Johnny pathetically trying to rut his hips and only finding air. Poor thing.

"Look at that, got your pup all worked up talking pretty like that! Like a bitch in heat."

You felt the cock inside of you throb at that and laughed, lifting your hips before slamming back down to sink him into your warmth. He cried out desperately. You loved him like this, in that drowsy space where he couldn't really handle stringing words together unless you made him. He couldn't do anything unless you made him right now. Such a pillow Princess. He started sobbing little whines at you when you stopped moving, just cock warming him.

"Use your words Princess, can't help you if you don't tell me what you need."

"Need to cum, please."

"Mmm" you moaned, starting to ride him properly now, "where do you wanna cum baby?"

It took him a moment to answer, only being spurred back to speech when you pulled sharply at his hair to get him to focus on actually using words rather than just moaning.

"H-hand!"

"Aww you don't wanna cum inside Princess?" you pouted, leaning in to whisper into his ear when you saw his eyes widen, senses sharpening a little at the thought of it. "Think I want you to cum inside me. Not safe y'know, it could take today. Wouldn't you like that? Can breed me for practice before going to your bitch and breeding her proper."

"N-no, please!"

You leaned back again, laughing and riding him until he came with a broken sob deep inside of you. You panted, staying on his softening cock and planting kisses to his face, praising him for doing such a good job.

It didn't take long for him to harden up again once you untied him and let him start getting Johnny ready. God it was always your favourite part of this watching them go at it. In the end, as always, it was Simon who brought him down and rubbed his skin to get the blood flowing again. It had always fascinated you watching the slow journey he would take from subspace with you to topspace with Johnny.

It had always delighted you when they would try their luck, exhausted and fucked out as they were, thinking that now they were free they could take you. Only you had disarmed them and kept knives on yourself, giving Johnny a good nick on his throat that made him yelp and immediately back off. Simon knew better than to even try right now, especially watching you with rapt attention when you brought the knife up to lick away at the blood.

"Maybe next time boys! I'm sure you'll catch me one day."

[awbarnes-no]

closed starter  ∶  @marvelmyriad ( bucky )

────── SHE'D BEEN IN THE APARTMENT ON HER OWN FOR TWO WEEKS. And aside from a couple bumps along the way . . . She was actually doing rather well. She wasn't really sure what to do with the space, but she was figuring out how to ( function )  on her own. Something she needed to learn. Something she had never really had the chance to learn. As ironic as it was. Despite not having many people there for her . . . She never got used to being alone.

────── One week and she was actually feeling like she didn't need to have her dad come over every single day to check on her. Now she was proudly only requesting he come by every ( other ) day to check on the . . . ANIMALS. Yeah . . . yeah it was definitely that.

────── And two days into week three, she was on her way home frome Kate's house when it happened. She had felt like she was being ( followed ) and had make quick measures to change her route, not going home but instead heading for where the rest of her family lived. She knew her dad was the type to keep close tabs on his family, and upon seeing how she had been on her way to their house if she did get taken. She already knew he looked at her gps weekly . . . he wasn't that sneaky.

────── They HAD to have known what they were dealing with, and it was obvious when they finally did reveal themselves. She fought the best she could . . . But tranq darts were a bitich, and soon enough they had her . . . and she was on her way BACK HOME . . . Back to SIBERIA.

────── Luckily she had managed to drop her phone on the ground before being thrown into a van, and speeding off. She also managed about ten seconds of recording, but other than that . . . Her last location was all Bucky was going to be able to go off of. Between dozing in and out of sleep, she could only make out little snippets of what they were saying. Something about losing the first fist . . . And that she would be an ACCEPTABLE SECOND. They would soon have another fist of HYDRA.

────── From there she couldn't remember much. Fading in and out of concoiusness too quickly to be able to make anything out. Not until she woke up, strapped to a chair.

────── She couldn't do much. Mostly she could only look around, before she realized that her head, arms, and legs were all secured to the chair/bed she had been placed in. It took a moment for her to focus, and realize she was restrained, before she attempted to get a better look . . . and that was when she saw it.

────── All she saw was metal, and when her eyes focused on where her arm should be, she realized what shap that metal took. Her heart started speeding up, her breath starting to quicken and grow more hyperventelated. The confirmation, and that moment her heart sank was when she looked down, and attempted to move her fingers, and watched the metal appendages move. Whoever it was that did this to her wasn't there. But they'd likely be back soon. She was always going to be sitting with that until help came. ' Because help WAS coming. '

[live-from-flaturn]

From that prompt list: #41. But can I add to it? Not just overhearing the other person talk about their feelings, but these people know they like each other already (possibly already dating). But the one doesn't usually communicate those types of feelings to the other (not their love language) and the other overhears and is just rush of butterflies, glowing skin, heart flips and isnt mad because the one shows their affection in other ways. I hope this makes sense.

Oooooh this was a really fun idea to play with. I hope you enjoy this sappy character study that might be partially based on a true story about my stepmom asking my dad (her husband) where her husband had gone after surgery.

tw: medical environment, side effects of anesthesia

wordcount: approx. 750

Title: "Goodnight Kiss"

Chay’s leg won’t quit bouncing no matter how hard he tries, but he can’t help himself.

The sight of Kim in a hospital bed never fails to make his heart race. Even if the operation was successful and his boyfriend’s burst appendix has been entirely removed, Chay can’t seem to calm down. He knows that Kim is safe. He understands perfectly well that Kim is alive and breathing. His heartbeat forms a steady beep beep beep through the machine that almost soothes Chay’s frazzled nerves. Almost.

He won’t be truly calm until–

“Hnnn.”

Chay’s full attention snaps to Kim’s face. His perfectly manicured eyebrows have scrunched together at the center of his forehead and his mouth is pulled into a pale, thin line. The pattern of beeps coming from his heart-rate monitor speeds up by an increment only noticeable to Chay’s finely tuned ears. 

“Kim?” Chay barely holds back a grin as he leans closer. “Are you awake?”

Kim grumbles something unintelligible and his frown grows thunderous. Worry dives headfirst into the rushing current of Chay’s thoughts. 

“Are you alright, P’Kim?”

“Didn’t you hear me?” he slurs. Still half-asleep and doped on painkillers, Kim’s tongue struggles to form each angry syllable. “Go away. I want my boyfriend.”

Chay bites the inside of his cheek and takes a moment to ponder whether he should call Tankhun for moral support. Drugged Kim is already a handful (Chay still giggles fondly at his memories of The Great Halloween Tranq Dart Incident), but he also can’t be sure if Kim is asking for him or someone from before. 

Before that fateful open house. Before their guitar lessons. Before they’d started dating. Before–

“Ugh, where the hell is Chay?!” 

“Oh, uh. Babe, I’m right here.”

Kim either doesn’t understand or doesn’t hear him. The morphine has his boyfriend in its clutches and is not letting go.

“How does he expect me to feel better when I can’t see his beautiful smile, huh?” Kim is immediately belligerent. “How am I supposed to heal without Chay singing me to sleep and playing with my hair? He’s so good at it, too. Hey, do you like head scratches?”

 Chay startles at the accusing finger pointed toward his chest. He nods hesitantly, “Yeah…”

“Then you should meet my boyfriend ‘cause he’s awesome at them.” Kim smirks triumphantly and then jerks as if he’s been electrocuted. His glazed eyes narrow into threatening slits, “Actually, forget I said that. I’m taking back my offer and shredding it for good measure. You should stay far away from my sweet, vicious angel. He’s mine and nobody else can ever have him or I’ll…” 

Kim tears up so fast he’s barely able to rasp out the final part of his statement: 

“I’ll make sure they never find the bodies.”

Well that’s… nice?

“You’re very sweet, P’Kim.” Chay stands and pushes his patient’s shoulders back against the bed. “But I think you need a bit more rest before you wake up properly.”

“I can’t sleep without a goodnight kiss,” Kim pouts. “And I only accept goodnight kisses from my boyfriend, so don’t even try.”

Chay thinks back on all the times he’s taken care of Porsche after anesthesia and puts on his most serious Medical Professional Face. “One moment, Khun Kim. I’ll go and fetch Khun Chay for you.”

“Hmph. Thank you.”

Chay walks to the door, slips outside, spins around for the hell of it (and to amuse the single evening nurse behind her station) and walks back inside. “P’Kim, the nurse told me you woke up?”

“There you are! Where have you been?!”

“I needed to use the restroom.”

“Oh…” Kim’s confusion is adorable. Especially when his bottom lip sticks out like it is. “I guess that’s okay, then.”

“Thank you. What can I do to make you more comfortable?”

“Give me a goodnight kiss,” Kim demands, ever the little prince. “And… And play with my hair so I can sleep?”

“Alright, P’Kim,” Chay smiles warmly. His heart damn near explodes at the unrestrained grin Kim sends back, too loopy to hide a single drop of his obvious joy. “I’m happy to do that. Would you like a sip of water first?”

“Yeah, my mouth is gross.”

“I bet.”

Chay gently presses his lips against Kim’s warm forehead and thanks every star in the universe for second chances. 

[gumnut-logic]

WIP Monday

Kayo had been in the Appalachians when John broke comms silence. The fact he broke that silence just as she was about to forcibly enter a building and detain a GDF spy spoke urgency just by itself.

TI New York was under attack.

She didn’t swear.

But she did whip out her tranq gun and dart the man through the window of his log cabin. The fact he was wearing a similar plaid shirt to her heavy lifting brother was just insulting.

“John, tagged but not bagged. Get London in on this please.”

“FAB.”

She was running as she spoke. S was hidden as she always was, the breeze through the trees rattling against her hull in these tight confines the only giveaway that she even existed. Woods were not Kayo’s favourite. Jungle was worse. Plains and deserts and high cliffs gave her line of sight to see them coming.

‘Them’ was everyone. Trees hid far too much.

She didn’t need her ‘bird to be visible, grabbing invisible rungs as her ladder lowered, leaping up into her cockpit. The world’s most quiet VTOL engaged, lifting her above the trees, high enough to let Shadow’s wings unfold.

She still marvelled at her ‘bird. Wings as thin as origami paper and speed that almost rivalled One. Almost.

Which meant she was on approach to TI New York within moments.

The building was architectural brilliance. Older than any other TI building, bar the factory in Kansas, it was a spike of eco-conscious glass reflecting the New York skyline.

Thunderbird One was perched on the roof.

Five was churning situation reports via One’s sensor array. Everything was mostly unknown. An emergency signal had been triggered, and the seventy-second floor was a blindspot. It was as if the floor didn’t exist.

Acknowledging Five and shunting the feed to her wrist, she perched S ever so silently on the side of the building. Ignoring the wind buffeting at this height, she slipped out of Shadow and into the shadows.

-o-o-o-

[donnetellotheturtle]

Chapter 1

Leo peered out at the city. It was another sleepless night. Nightmares and flashbacks in his brain echoed as he stared. The city had been built back but, not the same. Nothing would ever be the same after…

Leo shook his head, trying to clear it. His family had made it perfectly clear it wasn’t his fault. Not truly. Still he couldn’t help but blame himself.

“Sens-Uh, Leo?”

Leo turned to see Casey standing there, eyes puffy. He looked like he had been crying. Silently, he patted his side. Casey sat down, curling up.

“Bad dreams?” Leo asked. Casey just nodded. “me too…”

“…I’m not used to all this.” Casey said after a long moment.

“…really?”

“Well im used to noise…gunfire …lazers …explosions…” He paused, taking a shaky breath to avoid crying again. “but not cars. Not lights so bright they could blind you not the smells…”

“heh, that’s new York for you.” Leo smiled.

“Sensei used to tell me about it…He talked like it was the best city ever.”

“it is the best city, Case.”

Casey chuckled and was about to speak when the two saw a bright gold light. It lit up the sky, and split it in half.

They saw a figure fall out of it. Leo could just make it out. A bunny yokai. Unconscious, wearing Japanese garb and tattoos over his fur. He was falling fast. The sky closed as quickly as it opened.

Leo and Casey only shared a look before they ran towards the falling rabbit. He wasn’t too far away and this was far too interesting to not look into.

~~

Usagi opened his eyes as he was falling into brightly lit space. It was so loud on his ears. He tried to get his bearings but

Boom!

He hit something metal. He groaned as he felt his back bruise but thankfully not shatter. There were loud noises everywhere. It was so bright. He blinked rapidly, seeing everything. He was on a mental carriage of sorts. The driver stepped out. He wasn’t sure what matters of creature it was.

Light skin, but had little hair. Save for his upper lip which was a grey brush. Usagi groaned.

“The hell are you?”

Usagi laid up, seeing more of them moving closer to him. if these creatures intended to surround him, he needed to get out and fast. He was hurt, but he could move. That was enough.

He hit the ground running. Pushing through the probably cracked ribs and bruised spine. Some of the carriages almost hit him and made loud noises as the drivers yelled. Eventually he made his way into an alley. He caught his breath on a wall.

“….what is this place?” He wondered to himself.

There was a whooshing sound. Usagi reached for his sword and quickly realized he didn’t have it. He swore, bracing himself for a fight.

Two large shadows came towards him and he looked at them. A large owl like yokai and a walrus one. He frowned.

~~

Casey and Leo split up as they got into the city proper. The rabbit had landed a bit away from times Square and Leo was looking down alleys of where he could have gotten to. That’s when he saw the dented taxi cab and knew it was that yokai.

“Leo to little Casey, I have a lead.” He said into his computer watch.

“great! Keep searching I’ll meet you over there.”

Leo nodded and asked the cab driver who quickly pointed him in the right direction. He thanked him and ran off towards the alley way. Only to see the rabbit fighting two yokai. Big mommas yokai.

Leo frowned and ran in without a second thought. Or at least he would have been if he hadn’t been shot with a tranq dart in the arm.

“shiiiiiiiiiiiiii….” He fell to the floor.

~~

Usagi blinked at the turtle who had unceremoniously fallen to the floor. Then blinked and stole one of the swords. He wouldn’t miss it if he borrowed it for a second. The guy was unconscious.

The two seemed to have more of those darts ready. Usagi grinned as they were shot at him and dodged effortlessly, slicing in the air.

A glowing portal appeared. ‘Unexpected but useful.’ Usagi thought.

The two guys tried to tackle him but he sliced at the air and made another portal and jumped through. It was almost too easy to dodge them. He looked at the turtle and picked him up, saluting as he jumped through a portal with him on his shoulder, getting to the top of one of the tall buildings.

~~

Leo woke up to the rabbit sitting over him, and looking at his sheath. Which he quickly realized was off his back along with his swords which were sitting at the rabbits sides.

“What the-hey! Give those back!” Leo demanded.

The rabbit looked over, surprised Leo was awake.

“I apologize.” He immediately came over and placed the weapons and sheath in front of Leo. “I just wanted to see how they work.”

PLeo quickly put it back on, putting away his swords. “Mystic energy. Duh.”

The rabbit blinked. “What is that?”

Leo paused then remembered the reason he had been knocked out in the first place. “The real question is, why did you fall out of the sky? Who are you? And why are you dressed like a samurai like in a lou jitsu film?”

The bunny blinked, then paused, pondering each question. “my name is Usagi Miyamoto. I am a samurai, or to be more exact, a ronin. I have no memory of falling out of the sky, however I do remember crashing on one of those carriages down there. So I assume you’re telling the truth…no reason for you to lie…”

He noticed Leo staring at him and cleared his throat. “the last thing I remember before waking up here is touching this odd coin.”

Leo frowned. “Weird….”

Usagi held out a hand. “I never got your name.”

Leo smiled and took it. “Leonardo Hamato. Everyone calls me Leo though.”

“Leo?!” Casey’s voice made both of them jump. Usagi looked quizzically at the watch but said nothing. Leo looked down at the watch.

“I’m okay. Meet me at the lair.”

“Okay but you didn’t respond for a while. I thought something happened.”

“I’ll explain later. I met a yokai. Says his name is Usagi.”

“that the rabbit guy?”

“yes case. I’ll explain everything later.”

“alright. Over and out.”

Leo chuckled and looked up. Usagi grabbed his wrist with the watch, looking at Donnies device curiously. “How does this work? Some mystic energy as you said?”

“Actually no its like satellite and radio waves and stuff…im not 100% sure. Donnie can probably explain more.”

“Donnie?”

“my twin. He’s a huge nerd.”

Usagi blinked.

Leo rubbed the back of his head. “anyway, let’s get back to the lair. We can get you set up with a place to sleep and tomorrow see if you can go back home.”

“I’d like that.” Usagi said. “today has been…interesting.”

“I get that. Keep up!”

Usagi raced Leo across the rooftops.

Chapter 2

Donnie was sitting in his lab, scanning the city for mystic activity. Something he had taken to doing after the Kraang invasion. He sipped his coffee, noting that he hadn’t slept more than a couple hours in two weeks. He shook his head and worked on some staff upgrades.

An alarm sounded. Donnie turned and looked. A spike in sudden mystic energy. He stood up and typed, trying to track it.

It was gone in an instant. Donnie frowned. “What was that?”

“Donnie?”

He nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of Raphs voice. He turned, seeing both His older brother and Mikey.

“What was that?” Mikey asked. “We could hear it from our rooms.”

Donnie shook his head. “I don’t know…I…it was some kind of spike in mystic energy.”

Mikey moved towards the computer, but one of Donnies technological arms held him back. “Please don’t touch anything.”

“Aw.”

Ralph sighed. “We also don’t know where Leo and Casey are. We were hoping you saw them?”

He shook his head. “No. Ive been holed up in here all night. I do have trackers on both of them though!”

“…forgot you did that.” Ralph said. Mikey made his way up onto Raphs back and made himself comfortable, yawning and closing his eyes.

Donnie looked at his computer, switching it over to the tracker. They were both reaching towns square. “Looks like theyre close. We can ask them in the morning.”

“When did you sleep last?” Raph asked. Mikey was now lightly snoring.

Donnie just sipped his coffee.

~~

Casey stood at the entrance of the lair when Usagi and Leo came down the latter.

“Hey leo!” Casey smiled.

Usagi looked around silently. “your lair is…underground.”

“yes captain obvious.” Leo said chuckling. “this is Casey. Casey, this is Usagi.”

Casey stared at usagi, then his eyes widened. “general Miyamoto!”

"excuse me?”

“Oh sorry.” Casey blushed. “Leo, I knew of him in the future. He worked besides sensei in the rebellion before I could remember.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah I didn’t know him by first name. But his picture was up in his room.”

“The future?” Usagi questioned.

“Long story.” Leo chuckled. “Come on, let’s get to the lair.”

Usagi followed the two into the lair. He looked around and was impressed. It was bigger than he thought, with plenty of space and different rooms.

“We can set you up in the living room for now. That’s where Casey has been here so I hope you don’t mind sharing.”

“is there anywhere to get clean? A spring possibly?”

“oh yeah the shower is down the hall a bit to the left.”

Usagi nodded and moved over there. He paused at the beginning of the hallway. “I don’t have any other clothes.”

“Oh. Um.” Leo thought to himself. “oh! I’ll see if my dad has some old clothes you can use!”

Leo ran off without another word. Usagi and Casey looked at each other awkwardly.

Leo ran into splinters room. Splinter himself was watching TV in bed.

“What are you doing blue?”

“Oh uh I made a new friend! He needs some clothes to change into. Do you have any old clothes from when you were my age?”

Splinter nodded. “Yes in that box on the bottom of my closet…Who is your new friend?”

“His name is Usagi. He fell out of the sky.”

“What?”

“Yeah. Super weird. He helped me out though so…he can’t be too bad right?”

“be careful blue.”

“I will. He’s staying here so we can keep a close eye on him.” Leo found the box and pulled it out. “…You’re up late pops.”

“I was worried about you and Casey.”

“oh…sorry. I should’ve called...”

“it’s alright my son. I’m always worried when you go out.”

Leo smiled a bit and looked into the box, finding a dark blue jinbei. “this looks like it’ll fit him. Can I use this?”

“Sure blue. It doesn’t fit me anymore. There is also a belt that goes with it.”

Leo looked through it and found it. He grinned. “thanks pops!”

Leo came back with the clothes and shoved them into Usagis hands. “think thosell work?”

Usagi looked at them. “These will be perfect. Thank you.”

“Oh to use the shower left for cold and right for hot.”

Usagi paused, going to ask about that but apparently thought better about it and turned, following Leo’s directions down the hall.

Casey started settling into bed after changing into his PJ’s and setting out a sleeping space for Usagi. It was simple, a blanket, a pillow, and a blow up mattress. Usagi walked in after a bit. He was still a bit wet but looked better. His ears were no longer pulled back, instead flopping over his head. The Jinbei looked like it fit Usagi well. Still, there was something bothering Casey.

“Usagi?”

“hm?”

“how old are you?”

“…17. Why?”

“just curious…you have a lot of scars.”

“Yes…most samurai do.”

“you’re a samurai?”

“yes. Is that a problem?”

“Of course not. I’ve just never met one before.” Casey settled in more, yawning. “it’s cool. I bet wherever you’re from is amazing.”

“…It can be. I hope to go home soon.”

Casey nodded, eyes growing heavy. “I understand that…” He fell asleep in a moment.

Usagi laid up and looked at the ceiling, going through the events of the day in his head.

He was running as fast as he possibly could. The thing chasing him was something he had never seen before. He had lost his sword in the original fight before he realized it was run or die.

He tripped and fell down a creek and rolled down hard. He looked up and then hid the best he could, waiting.

He waited for a long time. It felt like days inside that dark spot. After a long time, he crept out. There was no one. He climbed back up, wondering what that was and why it left him alone.

Then there was a glint. In the dirt, there was a gold coin with odd engravings. He couldn’t stop his curiosity and moved over to it slowly digging it out and holding it, trying to see the engravings better.

Then a bright light filled his vision. He yelled out and then he was falling.

Usagi took a shaky breath, turning over on his side. Hed better try to sleep. He was safe for now after all, better take advantage of it.

~~

“So, you failed?” Big momma asked her henchmen. The two looked at each other. “well that’s quite the fizzy winkle… I was looking forward to a new battle nexus champion.”

“Ma'am, how did you know where he would be?”

Big mama just glared. The two swallowed hard and left. He sat, rubbing her forehead.

“Can’t find good help these days…” A voice like the grave said from the shadows.

Big mama smiled.

Chapter 3

Usagi woke up to the smell of something delicious. As he opened his eyes, he made eyecontact with an orange turtle. The two paused for a moment before the orange turtle smiled.

“Hi I’m Mikey! Leo may have told you about me! I made breakfast for you since Leo isn’t up yet. He can’t cook anyway.”

Mikey put the food into Usagis lap, looking at the rabbit expectantly. It was a stack of fluffy brown and white circles. They were covered with something that smelled sweet. Usagi picked up the fork set to the side of the plate and tried it, then smiled as his stomach almost begged for more of it.

“This is delicious!” Usagi said through a full mouth.

Mikey grinned, shaking his hands excitedly. “awesome! I’ll get you some orange juice too!”

He ran off without Usagi being able to respond. He shrugged and kept eating.

“So youre blues new friend.” a voice said.

Usagi looked up, swallowing his current bite. He saw a short rat staring at him. His eyes were firm but gentle. Usagi cleared his throat, realizing he didn’t look his best. He stood up and put his fist in his hand, bowing. “I am Usagi Miyamoto. Are you the master of this household?”

Splinter chuckled. “No need for all that formality.”

Usagi cleared his throat, sitting. “Thank you for allowing me to stay the night and barrow some clothes.”

The rat smiled, looking at Usagi. “you are my sons age, aren’t you?”

“I-”

“My sons need friends. Don’t hurt Leonardo. I fear he cant take any more heartbreak.”

Splinter walked out without another word, leaving Usagi confused. Mikey came in a second later with a cup of orange juice which Usagi took gratefully.

Then a big turtle with spikes on his shell, adorned in red, walked by, then poked his head back in. “Who are-“

“Raph! This is Usagi! Leos friend!!” Mikey said with a grin.

Raph blinked, staring. Usagi looked nervous.

“This isn’t a Mrs cuddles situation again right?”

“No! He’s just a yokai.”

He shrugged and walked off, seemingly looking for breakfast.

“That was Raph. My older brother.”

“What was the Mrs cuddles situation?” Usagi asked.

“Oh. Hehe, you don’t want to know.” Mikey suddenly got a very haunted look in his eye and then cleared his throat. “anyway ill go wake up Leo.” He ran off.

Usagi paused for a second, looking at his clothes. He moved and put his ears back in their ponytail, patting down his head fluff. He looked for his old clothes, unable to find them, he frowned, until he was hit in the face with them.

When he pulled his kimono off his face, Leo was standing there with a smug grin. “Threw them in before I went to bed last night. You’re welcome.”

Usagi blinked, then smiled a bit. “thank you, Leo.”

Leo blushed a bit. “Yeah don’t get all mushy about it!”

Usagi couldn’t help but smirk a bit and came up to Leo, putting a hand on his shoulder, which only made the turtle blush more. “Seriously Leo. This Kimono is very special to me.”

“….oh. it is?”

“it is the last thing my lord gave me before he was killed.”

“Your lord?”

“Lord Mifune. I served under him since I became a samurai, but he died in battle, making me a ronin.”

“Im sorry.” Leo softened. “…I can’t say I know exactly how it feels to loose someone, but from some experience of mine, I know it hurts.”

“You’ve lost someone?”

“thankfully no…but I almost lost my brother Raph.”

“The red turtle”

“Yeah. He looks a bit scary but hes a sweet guy.”

“He mentioned a Mrs cuddles and when I asked your other brother, he acted weird.”

Leo laughed a bit. “yeah it was a whole situation with a living plushie which toed everyone but Raph and dad up for the screams which made her grow bigger.”

Usagi blinked. “oh.”

“Yeah not our best moment.”

“Sounds like it…anyway, I appreciate all you’ve done, but it’s time for me to find a way home.” Usagi turned to change into his Kimono.

Leo put a hand on his shoulder. “You don’t have to do it alone.”

“I’m used to being alone.” Usagi smiled. Leo felt a pang in his chest. He understood that fake kind of smile.

“Are you sure?”

Usagi paused. “…Would you like to help?”

Leo nodded. “We should talk to Donnie and Mikey first. They might be able to help.”

So after changing, Usagi followed Leo to his twins lab where it was quiet. Leo opened the door to find Donnie fast asleep on his computer desk.

Shell-Don activated as they came in the room.

“Hey Shell-Don.” Leo said, scratching under the robots robotic chin.

“Hey. Who’s the rabbit?”

“his name is Usagi….is Donnie okay?”

“He hasn’t slept in over 2 weeks.”

“What!?” Both Usagi and Leo said in unison.

Donnie shifted in his sleep. Shell-Don threw tennis balls at both their faces. The boys groaned quietly.

“Don’t wake him.” Shell-Dons mechanical eyes glared.

The boys laughed nervously.

“I can take him back to his room, then.” Leo said. “Without waking him up.”

“And I can help.” Usagi said, fearing Shell-Dons wrath. Shell-Don floated over to his station, watching.

“you grab his legs ill grab his arms?” Leo whispered as he went next to his twin.

Usagi nodded. “I can also just carry him?”

“no he doesn’t like to be carried. Even in his sleep. The easiest way is arms and legs.”

Usagi hummed to himself and grabbed the purple turtles legs, Leo grabbing his arms and the two got the sleeping Donnie to his bed without much of a fuss. Shell-Don moved over and hovered over Usagi’s shoulder as they closed Donnies door.

“Shell-Don was it? What manner of creature are you?” Usagi looked at him.

“I’m a robot!”

“a what?”

“Your world doesn’t have this stuff?” Leo asked.

Usagi shook his head. “not as far as I’m aware.”

“Where are you from?” Leo asked. Shell-Don, bored with the conversation, hovered away.

“Somewhere much unlike this…we don’t have metal carriages or mechanical beings.”

“hm. Do you have ninja?”

“Yes. Most of them are reprehensible.”

“Ouch. Tell me how you really feel.”

“Excuse me?”

“All of us are ninjas. Kinda the best ever, actually.”

Usagi blinked. “You don’t dress like the ones I know.”

“That’s cause we’re like none you’ve ever seen before!” Leo grinned. “we got ninpo, mystic energy, and awesome skills!”

Usagi frowned.

“Whats that face for?”

“it’s nothing.” Usagi said.

“it’s Donnie’s feet wasn’t it?”

Usagi couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped him. Leo smiled. This was the first time he had heard Usagi’s genuine laugh. Butterflies fluttered in his stomach. He stuffed down the feeling best he could.

Little did they know splinter, Mikey, and Raph were watching the two from the other room, giving each other knowing looks as the two talked.

Chapter 4

Donnie’s eyes opened. He was in a field in the dark, the stars and very full moon his only light. He quickly noticed he didn’t have any of his tech, or his mask for that matter. He heard an uncertain hum and loomed over.

He was standing next to Karai, who had a nervous look on her face. Donnie couldn’t tell what it was about until the moment a wolf yokai came into view. The sight of his pupiless eyes and shadows following his steps sent chills down the purple turtles spine.

“I don’t like this, Donatello.” Karai said simply.

“I…” Donnie frowned. “Why am I here?”

Karai looked over at him, then smiled gently. It would have been soothing if the wolf wasn’t slowly coming closer, like a predator examining its prey before pouncing.

“You saw that spike in mystic energy, yes?”

“Yeah?”

“I am still examining the cause itself but I know that Usagi Miyamoto was sent through a portal. And he followed.”

“who is he?” Donnie

“Jei.” She answered simply. “He is a demon. Much unlike we’ve known. He cannot be killed, only temporarily stopped.”

“so what can we do?”

Karai frowned, her eyes closing for a moment. “We can do just that. Stop him…He has a stake in Usagi being here. Find out what it is, Donatello.”

“Why did you come to me? I’m not talented in mystic stuff. It would have made more sense to go to Mikey or Raph or hell, even Leo.”

Karai chuckled. “Do you really think so lowly of yourself?”

“I-No of course not! I’m good at tech! Not at the magic!”

“You fought shredder by combining your talents.” She put a hand on his shoulder.

Donnie smiled a bit.

“Never the less, You’re all stronger together. In the meantime, you need your rest.”

She put a hand over his eyes and he drifted off to deep sleep.

Usagi and Leo wore hoods to hide themselves as they walked up the steps to draxums apartment.

“So who’s this? And how can he help me?”

“Our other dad. He kinda made us.” Leo said. “his name is Baron draxum but we just call him Barry now. Hes a lot like Donnie with his tech but for mystic stuff.”

“huh…” Usagi mumbled. They got to draxums door and knocked on it.

“Barry its your favorite turtle!” Leo said. Draxum opened the door and Usagi had to admit he wasn’t quite what the rabbit had expected. He was wearing a pair of shoes, some black slacks, and a grey shirt. Usagi and him made eye contact and Barun immediately made a face like someone had farted.

“You.”

Usagi stepped back. Leo put a hand out to protect him.

“Barry what’s-“

Barry easily pushed through Leo and picked up Usagi by the upper arms. “You aren’t from here.”

Usagi blinked, speaking nervously. “Uh yeah I um,-“

“how’d you know?” Leo asked.

Barry put usagi down. Barry turned and beckoned the two to come in. “Yokai of our world have a very specific aura.”

“aura?” Leo asked.

“I figured you knew of this already.” Leo sat at the kitchen table. Usagi, rubbing his arms, sat next to him. Barry closed the door, turning to make something hot. “Everyone has an aura. The case for your family Leo, it’s the same color of your ninpo.”

“Leo mentioned ninpo earlier. What is it?” Usagi asked.

“it’s our powers.” Leo said with a smile.

“Powers?”

Barry rolled his eyes. “it’s from the hamato clan, primarily. Most warriors such as myself don’t have it. Either way, you, rabbit, have a different one from any others I’ve seen.”

“my name is Usagi. Like Leo said that’s why we’re here. I need to go home.”

Barry nodded. “That’s not an easy ask. It will take time.”

Usagi nodded. “I guess ill have to wait then.”

Leo smiled. “in the meantime, I can show you the awesome stuff!”

“Huh?”

“Like pizza and skateboarding! Oh and the hidden city!”

“In the meantime…” Barry picked off a piece of fluff from Usagis head. The bunny winced, rubbing it. “this will help me narrow down where I need to send you to.”

“Thanks draxum!” Leo grabbed on to usagis arm and pulled the rabbit out, grinning widely. “there’s a lot to get to usagi!”

“Oh okay.” Usagi couldn’t help but smile a bit as he was pulled out of the apartment building.

Mikey heard his phone ring and picked it up. “shello?”

“Michaelangelo, I could use yours and Donetellos help. It’s in regard to your new friend.”

“Oh usagi! What do you need?”

“I need you both to help me make a portal to another world. This…Usagis home.”

Mikey nodded. “I’d be happy to! And I’m sure Donnie will be excited!”

Barry chuckled. “alright. Talk to you in a bit then. Bye.”

“bye!”

Usagi chuckled as leo grabbed some gems out of his pocket. He gave one to usagi before tapping his own. He transformed into a black 18 year old with short dreadlocks and a blue sweater. Usagi looked at his own crystal, and tapped it.

He transformed into an Asian 17 year old with his hair pulled back into a ponytail. He looked at his new form.

“interesting…” usagi mumbled.

“these concealment crystals will keep people from staring. And we can do anything in New York! Oh let’s get you a hot dog!”

“Why would I want a overheated dog?”

Leo chuckled and grabbed usagis hand and pulled him down the street. Usagi smiled lightly, allowing himself to be pulled.

It wasn’t long before usagi and Leo were sitting on a bench, both eating hot dogs.

“This is surprisingly delicious.” Usagi said after swallowing a large bite. “what’s in it?”

“Oh you don’t want to know.”

Usagi chuckled and turned his body towards Leo. “So, this is new york.”

“Yeah. What do you think?”

“its different than home…it’s so bright and noisy and in some places it stinks. But I think I enjoy it…maybe not all the time but…”

“…I get it….have a girl waiting for you back home?”

Usagi sputtered. “what? No!”

“sorry sorry! You just seem super adamant to get home. I just figured it was someone waiting for you.”

“no…like I told you im used to being alone. That’s the ronins life. Ever since lord mufine passed I never stayed in one place long enough to make any real friends. Every once in a while I’d come across Gen but...he’s not the friendly type.”

“Well at least here you have some friends.”

Usagi liked the sound of that.

Chapter 5

The two sat in quiet for a bit, people watching and talking softly about whatever came to mind.

[tortoiseguy]

So I've made a post about how the Hunter's Guild from Monster Hunter should be the series's antagonist that got a bit of traction. So I figured I'd write up a rundown of how this could look in a story for the mainline series.

So the setup is this:

In the past couple of years, the population of Monoblos have been slowly decreasing due to a mixture of poaching and over hunting due to their cultural significance as a right of passage for new hunters. They were rare before but not to the degree that entire generations of desert dwelling people have never seen one in the flesh. The Guild has thus far not addressed this rapid decline, and have made no plans to attempt at conserving them either. And every time someone comes forward with a proposal for a conservation effort it's declined with the excuse of limited resources, or lack of evidence, and even sometimes with no reasoning at all.

You the player, a new and upcoming hunter, are hired as an escort alongside a few other hunters to guide the cart of a passionate researcher couple to a nearby desert town. These two are researching the increasing decline of Monoblos and are gathering evidence to build a case for the guild to begin a conservation effort. They had heard of sightings of a large flying Wyvern with a crimson horn a few towns over and began their truck there.

On the way there, there's a boulder blocking the road. Upon going up to inspect it alongside one of the other hunters present you both note distinct scratch marks and massive horn shaped holes pierced into it. Immediately the researchers jump up and go to inspect themselves and then dart off in a direction to find more tracks. After following the for a bit you discover a small but healthy herd of Monoblos all living in this secluded and out of the way grassland. Immediately the researchers send for the guild to get funding for a conservation effort and, with no real argument against, it's accepted reluctantly. The funding is limited and very restrictive, but it's something! The Guild agrees to fund the conservation effort under the condition that there be a guild official present to supervise the operation and that if there's any violations of Guild guidelines, or accidents involving major property damage that it would be shut down.

And the the game would go one like a normal monster hunter game! You'd help around the village, hunt a few monsters to secure areas or get materials for tools all alongside the Hunter's and researchers you came here with. Every mission is this big victory and everyone's super excited at new discoveries. The guild official is being a real stick in the mud the whole game as is this one rich merchant in town who isn't super jazzed about these dirty hunters muddying up their vacation and closing one or two of their trade routes for their silly conservation effort.

But it's going really well! The groups learning all sorts of stuff and getting closer with one another and building this sort of found family thing. You learn at some point the herd is actually comprised pretty much entirely of females taking care of their young and begin searching for a nearby male to maybe keep track of. And you find one! A white Monoblos male! Heck! The guild official is even getting on board and being won over by all this infectious optimism!

And then something goes wrong. While on a quest to capture and get scent trackers onto the male Monoblos, it escapes the trap before you can use the tranq bombs and one of the hunters is gravely injured and you see it run into a few carts while fleeing away. Obviously the Guild official finds out and now there's this moment where you don't know what's going to happen. Throughout the entire story they're grumpy demeanor and pessimism had been slowly chipped away at to the point that they've become friends with the team and villagers. They've even grown attached to the Monoblos and is fully bought into saving them from extinction.

Will they tell the guild? Shut down the whole operation?

A day passes and nothing happens. Everyone's overjoyed! We can continue the conservation! You go out to run a quick errand and when you return there are guild knights everywhere. Funding is being pulled left and right, everything you've worked for is being confiscated or destroyed and their calling for this aggressive white monoblos' head. Everyone on the team is discharged and told to go back to the nearest guild city. You find out that the guild representative wasn't the one who actually told them and that they were actually fired. The culprit who informed the Guild was instead the grumpy rich merchant because the carts destroyed were theirs. They were still running their trade in secret and illegally.

The games sort of final quest would be an off the books repel quest where you, with the help of the now ex Guild worker, go behind the Guild's back to redirect the Monoblos away from the village before they have a chance to kill it.

The game could end a few ways. Like the guild learning of the merchant's illegal trading and arresting them and the conservation effort receiving the funding they need. Or it could end with the White Monoblos reuniting with the back and relocating away from civilization. Etc etc.

This is what I mean when I say they should antagonize the guild. I'm not asking for a grandiose story about the guild's corruption that paints us as the bad guys or paints hunting as this immoral thing that's solved by the end of the game. I just want small scale stories that play with the themes of environmentalism and colonialism that Monster Hunter has baked into its very core. I want character driven narratives that are about people and how they can achieve amazing things through cooperation.

And this is just one of them! They could do stories involving the tribe of Anjanath worshippers and mirror real life colonialism. They could do one where two central characters have completely different ideals about hunting and how that fractures their relationship. There are so many possibilities for multiple different games! You could even have recurring characters with arcs that span across multiple entries! Do it Capcom! Please!

[heliads]

everything is blue • conrisa space au • Chapter Eighteen: So Die the Kids Worth Saving

Risa Ward escaped a shuttle destined for her certain, painful death. Connor Lassiter ran away from home before it was too late. Lev Calder was kidnapped. All of them were supposed to be dissected for parts, used to advance a declining galaxy, but as of right now, all of them are whole. Life will not stay the same way forever.

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Risa is no stranger to captivity. Sixteen of her years around the standard sun were spent in a jail for children, forced there by parents who couldn’t spare the expense of committing to the dominoes they’d already pushed over. Even the Graveyard had been a bit of a prison, even if it had been the best damn prison of her life. This latest one, then, should be fine. It isn’t.

Maybe it’s the throbbing headache threatening to split her skull that truly makes the difference. This is Risa’s first experience being on the receiving end of a tranq dart, and she’s already decided that she would quite like it to be her last. For the first hour or so, it took everything in Risa to lie very still on her back with her eyes squeezed shut and not throw up. The nausea has worn off a little by now, but every part of Risa hurts, and her brain only seems to want to work at half speed.

Slowly, painfully, she puts the memories together to remember how she ended up here. She had been with Connor in that synth-park, and they’d been found by Dorian Heartland. They’d tried to run, and Risa had sacrificed herself to lock the gates so Connor could get away after she was shot. 

She can only hope that her little stunt had worked. Maybe he’s lightyears away by now, free and alive. If he were smart, Connor would use this last bit of freedom to get as far from Dorian Heartland as he could. He’s got a bit of a head start; if he went fully off the grid, there’s a good chance that he might never be found again. The galaxy is a big place. There’s plenty of room for a boy and his ghosts.

Knowing Connor, though, he’s probably lurking nearby until he can get a chance to break her out. Secretly, Risa’s both mad and glad of it. She doesn’t want to be here, she doesn’t want to get distributed. She wants Connor to live, but she wants to live, too. She wants them to be alive together, if possible, and she most certainly does not want the guilt on her shoulders if he dies trying to get her out of here. Risa knew what she was getting herself into when she locked the park gate between them. 

Still, the idea that someone might eventually come for her is appealing, even as a metaphorical safety blanket to clutch in her mind while she waits for her captors to come back for her. Once her head clears enough for Risa to slowly raise herself onto her elbows, she takes a good look at her surroundings. She’s been placed in a room that, by some miracle, has managed to beat out her old quarters in the OH-10 StaHo in terms of raw minimalism. There is no furniture here, not even a chair on which she can sit. The walls are bare, the ground smooth and uncovered by rugs. The only object in the room other than Risa herself is the narrow cot she’s been placed on to recover.

Clearly a cell, then. This place obviously isn’t meant to hold anyone for a long time, which means that she’s going to be moved pretty soon. They were probably waiting for Risa to wake up before they could do something with her, but what? If she was headed straight for her distribution, she’d just wake up in the Chop Shop of the nearest harvest complex. Suns, they probably wouldn’t even bother to wake her up, just put her in the embrace of a dozen scalpels. Her last memory would be of Connor screaming her name back in the park, reaching out to her before the darkness of the tranquilizer pulled her under. 

Honestly, not the worst moment to be her last. Risa’s done a lot of living. It’s been depressing and boring at times, gritty and terrifying at worst. The brightest spark has been Connor by far. If she had to die now, having not quite made it to the upper age limit of distribution, maybe it would be alright if her last recorded thoughts were of him. At least then she could end on a good note. The last taste on her tongue would be sweet instead of copper-bitter like blood.

Risa gathers her strength, then forces herself into a seated position, swinging her legs over the edge of the cot so she can stand. Immediately, her head protests, and Risa sways so badly that she almost falls over before catching herself in the nick of time. Once she blinks the last of the swirling black spots from her eyes, Risa stands straight again and walks over to the door. Trying the handle once, she discovers it’s locked, although this doesn’t exactly come as a surprise.

The only thing left to do, then, is to wait. Risa’s thoughts, although desolate at times, are certainly a better threat to face than whatever calls her name outside that locked door. She lies back down for a while, then stands up again when the nerves get to be too much, pacing back and forth in an effort to drive off the stress. Time passes, might be hours or just minutes. It’s hard to tell in this windowless box.

She’s just starting to think that they might have forgotten about her when the lock clicks open. Risa springs back, regarding the door warily as it swings wide to reveal Dorian Heartland, hands clasped comfortably in front of him. The man files in, followed by two soldiers, who stand on either side of Heartland.

“Risa Ward,” he says by way of greeting. “Good to see you up.”

“What, afraid that you damaged the product too badly with your tranquilizers?” Risa asks daringly.

Unfortunately, Heartland doesn’t even bat an eye. Risa wonders why she bothers with emotional appeals; this man has no soul on which such claims would grate. “Precisely. I’m glad that you’re able to see things from an efficient perspective. Connor was awfully emotional.”

“Was?” Risa asks, struck by horror. “You don’t mean–”

But Dorian Heartland just waves a hand absentmindedly, clearing her worries from the air like smoke from a snuffed flame. “No, no. I misspoke. I simply mean that, the last time I had an AWOL captive, it was Connor and he repeatedly jumped to conclusions. Connor Lassiter is not dead. Not yet, at least,” he muses, “But he will be. No one can hide from me forever.”

“We did,” Risa hisses. “You had to go to the trouble of laying a trap, remember? You couldn’t find us on your own.”

“Yes,” Heartland admits, “But then I captured you. So the point remains.”

Risa greets this with harsh silence, staring at Heartland as if she could tear the flesh from his borrowed bones with only the force of her eyes upon him. Heartland sits contentedly in the hostile atmosphere, then jerks his chin towards the two men bracketing him.

“I hope you don’t mind the guards,” Heartland says abruptly. “They won’t be casting judgment on anything we say here, trust me. They’re just a necessary precaution, I think.”

Risa arches a brow. “What, in case I go crazy and try to rip the distributed parts out of your body with my bare hands?”

Heartland’s expression doesn’t even flicker at the threat, which is a shame. Risa would like him to be disgusted or afraid. Anything to upset this power imbalance. “Something like that, yes. Were you considering it?”

“I do whenever I look at you,” Risa tells him matter-of-factly. Her old administrators at the State Home would be horrified. So much for only treating adults with respect. Then again, she’s already failed them once, right? Might as well commit until the end. If she’s a wreck, she’ll be one through and through.

Dorian Heartland just chuckles. “Such spirit. It’ll go to good use in a better host, of that I am certain.”

“If you’re so keen to distribute me, why are we still talking? Save your breath and ship me off to the Chop Shop.” Risa says.

Heartland shakes his head. “There’s something I need from you first. I’m certain you won’t mind the delay between yourself and the knife.”

Risa’s forced smile turns a sickening shade. “Hundreds of years alive, and you still need something from teenagers other than their body parts?”

He doesn’t respond to the insult. “Yes, actually. If there’s one fault of the older generation, it’s that we often aren’t the best at connecting to the younger ones. You’re going to do that job for me by speaking to the distributes across the world.”

“How would they possibly all hear me?” Risa asks. It’s somewhat of a pointless question, more a matter of buying time before the inevitable than anything else. Risa has already seen firsthand the impact of one AWOL against the world, and it was called Radio Free Hayden.

“A broadcast,” Heartland answers her. “Pre-recorded, obviously. I don’t trust you enough to do anything live. I have a feeling that you’d try to act out. As for your script, I should think it would be obvious. Scores of teenagers around the worlds have felt inspired by you and Connor. They think anyone could avoid distribution by just running away or even fighting the Juvenile Authority officers. It’s inconvenient to my policies, I’m sure you can understand. You’re going to convince them that distribution is a good thing.”

Risa actually laughs. It feels good to clear her lungs. “That’s absurd. I’m not going to say that, obviously. Who in sunfire do you think I am?”

Heartland sighs, although his polite smile hasn’t shifted for an instant. “You know, I have to say I’m disappointed, Miss Ward. I was really hoping that you’d be willing to think a little more rationally. Then again, I suppose I learned my lesson with Connor when I asked him the same thing. No one likes to feel as if they’re betraying their friends.”

“So you knew better,” Risa summarizes. “Fine, nothing changed. Kill me already.”

He scoffs lightly. “Oh, no, no. You misunderstand me. Just because you are not willing does not mean that you won’t film it. If there’s one thing I have learned over my centuries, Miss Ward, it is the importance of control. If you cannot inspire it naturally in others, then you must have a way of manufacturing it synthetically.”

Risa’s throat dries up. “What are you talking about?”

Heartland’s sinister smile broadens. “I have a way of making people do what I want. Trust me, you won’t feel a thing.”

Risa’s head rears up. “No. Whatever you’re talking about, I won’t do it.”

Heartland takes a step forward, leering down at her with his unsettlingly asymmetric eyes. “That’s the thing, my child. You will.”

He beckons his guards with one finger and they lunge forward, seizing Risa and dragging her from the room. She fights the whole time, but these soldiers have the benefit of a steady diet and workout regimen, plus several more years of experience under their belt, and they hoist her down the corridor like an errant child.

She’s deposited in a larger room. There’s a machine in the corner that she doesn’t recognize, sized to hold either a small engine or a large person. Most of it is underneath a polished, curving shell, but there’s a window on the side near the top. A conveyor belt feeds in and out of the coffinlike center piece, and a bland logo on the side labels the machine as UNIS.

Risa doesn’t recognize it, although she is more familiar with the several cameras pointed towards a chair in the center of the room. She’s steered into the seat and held there by the guards, while someone in a doctor’s scrubs appears in the door after Heartland, preparing a syringe loaded with a substance even Risa can’t recognize.

“What are you doing to me?” She asks. Risa tries to sound brave, but her voice cracks along the way, and she’s exposed for what she really is– terrified, absolutely terrified. Risa wants to be courageous, but in this moment, hope seems like a far and fleeting thing.

Heartland sits down on a chair opposite her, giving Risa the vague impression of a particularly fascinating holo about to be studied. “I’m taking over your self control. It’s a simple procedure, merely a matter of adjusting your brain to be more open to receiving instruction. I’ve had plenty of time to develop it, so don’t worry about that. It’ll fade once I’m done, so I can still have your cerebral matter harvested without issue.”

“Sounds like you’ve thought this out perfectly,” Risa growls, watching the doctor loom ever closer, syringe in hand.

“I have,” Heartland says pleasantly. “All things according to plan.”

Risa wonders about this plan, if he’s been working on it since his first natural lifetime, if it’s ever shaped or changed. She wonders if her life factored into it at all, if her death will affect it. If there’s any conceivable way she could throw it off kilter.

Then the needle is in her vein, and the only thing Risa can wonder about is just what is being pumped into her, and how to fight it. Already, she feels that something is shifting in her mind. Her head is a little fuzzy, more so than just the lingering aftereffects of the tranq. Something is wrong, very wrong. She tries to struggle against the guards holding her in place, but halfway through flailing around, Risa can’t entirely remember why she wants to do this. It would be much more convenient to just sit there and wait for instruction. There’s a man opposite her. She hates him, she thinks, or did at one point. Why? He wants her dead– yes, that’s it, but the deep cut of that is blurred a little, no longer relevant. It is simply a fact, and Risa is not affected by facts.

“Risa Ward,” the man says. “Do you know who I am?”

Risa ponders this. The hands are gone from her shoulders, but she has no need to run. “No.”

“Think harder,” the man urges. “You will remember.”

Now that he’s suggested it, Risa recalls it easily. “Dorian Heartland,” she answers, the name rising readily to her lips as if she were answering a question in school.

“Yes,” he nods. “That’s right. Do you know what I need you to do?”

“Film a holo. About distribution. I’ll say it’s the right thing to do,” Risa says obediently. Something churns in her stomach when she relays these words, but she can’t fathom why. This is what is expected of her. Why would it be wrong?

Heartland claps his hands together once. “Technology. You have to love it.”

This makes no sense to Risa, but she watches motionlessly as Heartland abandons his chair to stand behind a recording device in front of her. His empty chair is removed by an assistant, who returns moments later holding a holo in her hand. It projects only a few large words into the air, just out of sight of the recording device.

“You’re going to say exactly what we show you on the holo display,” Heartland informs her. “No deviations, no improvisation. Our story is sufficient.”

“Okay,” Risa affirms.

They click a few buttons on the recording device and a green button flashes on the side, indicating that the camera is live. Risa’s attention is forcefully dragged over to the holo with her script. It feels as if an invisible hand is pressing against her skull, forcing her to look at the words, tugging her jaw open and shut to speak the words.

“My name is Risa Ward, and I am an AWOL,” she begins. “I ran away from my State Home when I heard I was going to be distributed, even though they only wanted to help me. I didn’t understand that this choice was for the best, and by becoming an AWOL, I was ridding the galaxy of the resources it desperately needed.”

She pauses for a moment, frowning. Her heart is beating erratically in her chest, and she wants to suggest to Heartland or the doctor holding the empty syringe that she should perhaps be checked out, but then she remembers that she was not to say anything but what was projected by the holo, so she stays silent before carrying on as normal.

“Distribution is a necessary task for the survival of the human species. It’s a good thing, and I realize that now. All distributes who have run away should turn themselves in to the nearest harvest colony. We all know what is right, and we have a moral duty to fulfill our responsibility to the galaxy that raised us.”

Bile is rising in her throat. A voice flashes across Risa’s mind, screaming no, no over and over again. A heartbeat later, she realizes that it is her own. Risa doesn’t want this.

Heartland snaps his fingers, dragging her back to reality. Risa realizes that she must have gone silent; although she was urged to say only what was on the cues, Risa was never given guidance as to how slowly she could say it, or if she could pause for an exceptionally long time, or even stop speaking. Somehow, her body is rebelling, even if her mind can’t recall why this is important.

Now that she’s been reminded of the task at hand, Risa straightens up. “I say again, stop running from distribution. It’s for a good cause. I stand by it.”

Heartland joins her, standing in front of the recording device with a pleasant smile. “You heard it there, from one of the galaxy’s most notorious AWOLs. To prove it, Risa Ward will conduct a distribution right now.”

Risa’s eyes widen. Her blood runs cold in her veins. This isn’t a direct order, and since the assistant has put away the holo with Risa’s script, she realizes that she can’t say anything at all. Her lips feel stretched thin in a forced smile, so dry that they crack and begin to bleed. She can’t move to fix it. She can’t do a thing at all, not unless Heartland tells her.

The door to the room flies open. In struggle three guards. At their center is a shifting figure, thrashing about wildly in an attempt to escape. Risa stares at him unblinkingly, watching as the guards force the boy to the machine in the back of the room. Once they’ve got him pinned, standing in place in front of the machine, she realizes she knows him. This is Starkey, from the Graveyard. And, according to Heartland, she is about to distribute him.

Heartland’s hand comes down on her shoulder. It’s supposed to be comforting, she thinks, or maybe just a reminder that she must obey him. That wasn’t a problem before. It isn’t supposed to be a problem. Maybe it is.

“What do you think of this boy facing his necessary distribution, Risa?” Heartland asks her.

Risa feels as if she’s being torn apart. “No,” she grits out through bloodied lips. “No.”

It’s just two words, but Risa feels as if she’s fought a battle. Unperturbed, Heartland just sighs. “We’ll have to cut that out of the final holo,” he directs his assistant, then turns to Risa again. “One more time. How do you feel about Mason Michael Starkey’s distribution?”

“It’s good for the galaxy,” Risa’s mouth says.

Across the room, Starkey’s face contorts. “Risa! Don’t let them do this to me.”

It is Heartland, however, who interrupts. “She’s not just going to let them do it,” he remarks, “She’s going to oversee it herself.” Turning towards the recording device, Heartland continues, “This is our new UNIS system, capable of distributing a patient without needing a doctor. The latest technological advance around. All Risa has to do is press a button on the side to begin the process. She’d love to do that, wouldn’t she, Risa?”

Risa bites down on her tongue so hard she tastes a spill of copper in her mouth. Her voice box is begging to say one thing, just one thing, that will stop all of this pain. The yes gets muffled somewhere in a desperate cough Risa lets out, a cough that turns into a choking, hacking spill of blood into her lap.

Heartland sighs again. “Risa.”

“Yes,” she mutters bitterly. “His distribution will be good.”

Starkey screams at her again. Risa’s head is a mess of right and wrong, complacency and rebellion. Briefly, she wonders if this is how Dorian Heartland feels with all of his hundreds of different brain donors– a broken, raucous symphony of overlapping voices, all shouting over each other until he goes mad. She thinks she’ll crack first. She’s got less experience with insanity.

Heartland grips her by the arm, leading her over to the distribution machine. “On the illegal AWOL sanctuary known as the Graveyard, Risa Ward as a medical officer in charge of healing runaway distributes. Now, she’ll put that knowledge to good use by overseeing this AWOL’s distribution.”

Risa’s head shakes back and forth, a violent denial. “No,” she grits out once more.

Heartland’s gaze feels like a brand burned into her skin. She can practically hear the hiss of searing flesh. “Try again.”

Risa straightens up like a puppet on a string. “This is the perfect process.” She gestures to Starkey, who’s staring at her in abject horror. “This boy was selected to help us all. Now he will. Distribution is required to save our universe. A person is not a person. A person is nothing more than the sum of their parts. Sometimes, the galaxy wants those parts back. We are giving them back now.”

The guards force Starkey onto one end of the conveyor belt. He tries to fight, but he’s been strapped in with thick metal bands that resist even the smallest of motions. “Risa,” he begs, tears starting to slip out even despite his attempt at a stony demeanor. Risa is embarrassed for him. “Risa, please. I know I messed up. I know I did. Please, don’t do this to me. I won’t bother you again, I swear. Not you, not Connor. Please don’t do this.”

Risa stays silent, unable to do anything but stare at him. He’s sobbing openly now; so much for the brave boy, so much for the bold one who stalked Connor deep in the bones of the Graveyard, who swore he could do the whole savior thing so much better than any of them. “Please, please, please. I’m just a kid.”

Risa leans closer. She can’t explain why. Starkey seizes hold of her hand, clutching to it so desperately she almost thinks he’s trying to break her bones to stop the process. Quietly, in a voice scraped raw from pleading, so fine of a whisper that Risa barely hears him at all, Starkey begs, “Just kill me now, Risa. I’m scared of this. I’m scared.”

Risa is crying. She wasn’t told to do this, so she automatically stops once she realizes it’s happening, but the tear tracks refuse to leave her face. They burn treacherously against her skin. She’s doing something wrong. This is wrong.

“I can’t,” she tries to say. Only some of the syllables make it out.

“Yes, you can,” Heartland soothes. “Just press the button, Risa. I am asking you to do this.”

Her body lurches forward, towards a panel on the side of the machine. Starkey is pleading with her again, saying anything to get her to slow down even a little. He’s choking on the tears and saliva in his mouth, blood running out of fresh wounds on his face. He’s telling her to take one of the guards’ guns and shoot him now. He wants it fast, and unwinding won’t be fast. Please, Risa. Please.

“Just one button,” Heartland repeats. “Do you not have hands capable of completing the task? A mind with which to listen and receive commands? I ask this of you, Miss Ward. I demand it. Heed not the boy. He would say anything to avoid this fate.”

“To avoid agony?” Risa asks. Her teeth gnash down around the syllables, and she has to force her jaws apart to keep speaking. “How horrible, that he would want to live.”

“Yes,” Heartland says. “Horrible. End it.”

Risa’s arm flies up on its own command. She half expects to see Heartland gripping the wrist, compelling her to this awful task, but this is Risa, all Risa. The instrument panel is smooth. Risa’s mind knows how to start it. She can do it right now. It is what has been asked of her.

No.

The button awaits.

No, please.

So easy to activate.

Risa, please. I never wanted to hurt you.

She can’t tell if it’s Starkey speaking or her.

Risa. Risa!

She presses the button.

Starkey screams once, never-endingly, a high, drawn-out sound that makes Risa clap her hands to her ears in a failed attempt to block it out. The conveyor belt jerks him forward into the machine. A hatch shuts him inside, and the scream is abruptly cut off, like a slashed throat. Through the small window in the side, Risa can see Starkey thrashing about. Something metallic flashes near the bulging veins in his throat, a needle maybe, and his muscles slacken completely. They’ve paralyzed him to conduct the procedure. Starkey’s eyes drift slowly in his skull, and then they roll up to meet Risa’s gaze. She sees it in his expression when they start to cut. He may not feel it, but the brain knows anyway when it starts to disappear.

Risa spins away from the window, and, unable to suppress her gag reflex any longer, throws up in the corner of the room. This is wrong. This is wrong. Starkey is being distributed, and she can’t stop it. She started it. It was all her fault. No, not her fault. Heartland’s. Heartland’s fault, because he was the one who injected her with that solution, the one that took over her neurons and made her comply. Risa doesn’t want to comply anymore.

When she straightens up from the fetal position, Risa realizes that the machine has gone silent. The rest of the guards have shifted around in the room, as has Heartland, leading her to believe that significant time has passed while she was trying to undo the mental lock on her self control. A hatch at the opposite side of the machine clicks open, and a series of small containers roll out, each individually labeled with pre printed signs. Heart. Hands. Liver.

It’s Starkey, in pieces. Unwound. Acid surges forth in Risa’s throat again, but she manages to fight it back. Across the room, Heartland rises from his chair, clapping his hands together matter-of-factly.

“Well, that’s over, then. Not so hard, was it? A job well done.”

He moves to inspect the vials and flasks, but Risa stands in between them, blocking him off. “You don’t come near him,” she hisses.

Heartland frowns. “Why not? It’s not a him anymore. Just pieces.”

“Still Starkey,” Risa glares. She couldn’t protect the boy from this awful fate, maybe, but she can watch out for him now.

Heartland sighs. “Come on, now. You have to obey me. Step away from UNIS.”

Risa doesn’t. The tug is gone from her brain, the metal hook slipped out from the cerebral matter. It can pull her no longer. “Not a chance.”

Heartland’s brow furrows. “Let’s try that one more time. You have to step away.”

“No,” she spits. “You can’t mess with my head anymore. Get the fuck away from me.”

Heartland glances back at the doctor, who’s still idling in a corner, scrubs creasing from his awkward posture. “You gave her the full dose, right?”

“Yeah,” the doctor confirms. “No way it should have worn off this quickly.”

Heartland swings around to look at her again, peering at Risa like she’s a lab rat on a dissection table. “Fascinating. What could have caused that breakthrough?”

Risa just grins, sickening and slow. “Me. We’re better than you think. Stronger than you know.” She turns back towards the recording device, which is still blinking a methodical green in the background. They must have forgotten to turn it off during the process, or maybe they were hoping for a triumphant speech after Starkey’s unwinding was over.

“It’s wrong,” she shouts, “All of it is wrong. Unwinding will never be worth it. Get your parts and pieces somewhere else. The children don’t have to bear your burden. Unwinds deserve to live.”

Instead of being genuinely alarmed, Heartland just looks disappointed. “That accomplishes nothing. We’ll just cut that clip out. And seriously, Risa, language. I thought I’d only have to lecture Connor about that.”

Risa feels maniacal. “We’re more alike than you think. It’s him and me, always will be.”

Heartland tsks under his breath. “I can see that now. I had hoped that at least one of you would be able to listen to reason, but I suppose the same fate will befall you anyway. No matter,” he says crisply, directing his guards towards the unwinding machine, “Take the samples away. We can finish their packaging and send them off later this evening. Who knows, maybe I’ll even keep some skin. I could use a new graft or two.”

The thought of any bit of Starkey ending up in this monstrosity makes Risa’s stomach sour. Not entirely aware of what she’s doing, Risa reaches behind her, grabbing a container. Lungs. Trying desperately to ignore the fact that she’s holding the still moving samples of someone she knew, Risa holds it high.

Heartland’s face pales. “What are you doing? Put that down.”

“No,” she mutters. “Starkey wasn’t yours when he was whole. He won’t be yours in pieces, either.”

She holds the glass container in her hand for a second longer, then throws it down onto the ground, where it shatters and breaks. Pink liquid spills onto the floor, depositing a pair of intact lungs onto the ground. Risa watches as they desperately beat, fluttering in the air from the sudden lack of nutrients, and then go still.

“What are you doing?” Heartland shouts.

“I’m killing him,” Risa announces. “He’s not your toy anymore. None of him.”

No more will Starkey suffer. They say you’re still conscious even after distribution, that each and every one of your pieces remembers what it was like to be whole and responds appropriately. If any semblance of Starkey is still alive and thinking in these vials, Risa will put him out of his misery. She launches another container to the ground– kidneys– then grabs the brain samples as the guards attempt to draw near. These are the ones she needs to destroy most of all, the parts of Starkey that can still form thought. She couldn’t save him from unwinding, but she can save him from the awful, permanent afterlife of being a foreign part in someone else’s body. Maybe he’d want it. Or maybe this is just the only thing she can do to destroy Heartland’s carefully laid plans.

Risa’s hand and legs are stained with pink and red from where the vials shatter. Her limbs are covered in gore, but still she keeps going, until each and every sample is gone. It’s a mercy, she thinks. No one should continue like this. She eyes the pieces visible in Heartland’s own face, how the seams ripple with the contortion of his face. If she launches herself at him now, is there a chance she could claw those parts out, too?

She’s taken down before she gets the chance. Once they no longer have to fear the threat of destroying any more of Starkey’s samples and incurring the wrath of their boss, the guards tackle her in moments. Risa is sent plummeting to the ground. Her hair becomes matted with blood, Starkey’s blood, but she still fights and punches and kicks and claws until they drag her to her feet. The last thing Risa hears before she’s forced back into the hall again is Heartland shouting to the guards to prepare her for her own distribution, and then the door shuts on him and the only sound is her scuffling against the iron lock of the guards’ hold.

A nurse is sent in to take Risa’s vitals. Risa is tied down firmly to a chair; they had to hold her still and send more guards to bring in the seat, plus tie her down. She bit at least one of them. When the nurse comes inside, she almost drops her supplies in shock at Risa’s condition. She must be an absolute mess; blood and cell media has dried on her clothes, her skin, her hair.

“What did you do?” The nurse asks, horrified.

Risa grins slowly, deliberately. Madly. “I killed him. I killed Starkey.”

She’s happy about it, the killing. If there was ever a girl named Risa Ward, a girl who thought that she could be good enough to beat the rising distribution rates at the OH-10 State Home, who believed that she could maintain her morals and decency even as an AWOL, she died on that bloodstained floor with the bits and pieces of Mason Michael Starkey. So die the damned. So die the innocent.

This is how Risa loses herself. Blood splashes and bone splinters. In a few short hours, she’ll be nothing more than that. So much for victory.

a/n: are we having fun guys

unwind tag list: @reinekes-fox, @sirofreak, @locke-writes

all tags list: @wordsarelife

[itsdappleagain]

GUESS WHAT TIME IT IS??

THATS RIGHT IT'S TIME FOR THE STICKY RICE CAPER!!!

Alright, I'ma be honest here- there are a few episodes in CS which I just NEVER rewatch, and this one is kind of one of them. I don't know why. The start of Season 1 just never really invites me to click on it...BUT I DON'T KNOW WHY!

Every time I DO watch them I really like them!! So weird little mental block. ANYWAYS you know the drill by know let's get crack-a-lacking (or crackle lacking...his memories lmaooo)

WOO HOO our first caper episode!!! I love the caper formats- such a staple of the series (at the same time I wish we'd have gotten some deviation sometimes for...character based episodes or something but oh well).

OKAY HEY HI HAVE I GUSHED ABOUT THE INTRO ENOUGH YET BECAUSE I WILL NEVER EVER SKIP IT. ITS SO GOOD. THE BLACK AND WHITE WITH ONLY THE RED THE COOL BADASS MOMENTS THE AMAZING ANIMATION THE SCENE DESIGN HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

see the intro sets up a sort of mystery and finesse about carmen's character i wish we actually got more!! like she seems so mysterious but they infodump everything about her onto us in the first two episodes immediately. i promise ill stop complaining about the infodumping thing now though

okay also but the moment in the episode when it match cuts to carmen walking from the tower to the crosswalk its sooo fucking gooood

Carmen Sandiego Fun Fact: That guy who's Agent Zari's partner in Season 1 and shows up sometimes is actually not one guy but three identical ones who keep switching out

OH also the shift into color as she looks up godddd its so good i will talk about the intro more than the fucking episode

also the!! she does the thing from s2 e1 in the intro!!! in rio!!

the tone of voice she uses when she says "looky-loos" i didnt know that word could be kind of hot

i like how offended she sounds "I DID" djfdhasfdg shes like player of course i fucking did what do you think i am an amateur

calling vile sleazy is so funny as a kid (13 yo) watching for the first time i thought sleazy was kind of a bad word (its not) and it caught me so off guard

zack's first line....its so zack

ALSO i love the intro cards so much i didnt mention it last week (two weeks ago?) but theyre so fun

carmen: hey we've got a tail

zack: im going to shake my ass all night oh yeah

i love how little carmen is doing about the acme agents shes just like zack can we not :/ we KNOW she can do shit on boats, seeing as she clotheslined devineaux in s3 or whatever she did. threw a tree at him. what the fuck did she do to devineaux i dont remember

zack: HOW TO DRIVE A BOAT SAFELY (continues talking whilst not looking where he's going)

the background couple that gets doused with water twice as the boats go by and then are never acknowledged again are so funny why didnt they have more funny background moments like that jadshfgahdsgah

imagine if acme had actual projectile weapons like idk tranq darts carmen would be so arrested immediately

ivy did it first (talking about the suez canal)

love how ivy didnt need to have that beard on at all. really didnt honestly. she should have dressed in drag more actually i think

can you imagine the thoughts going through zari and jawline's heads when the frenchman turned into a 20 year old bostonian

THE BEARD WAS ONLY FOR THE CLOSE SHAVE JOKE.

how the hell did they scale the side of that boat

i like ivy's dumb orange cat energy in jumping 30 feet off of a barge without looking

i do agree with whoever else said they wished she'd gotten a better intro though. i don't think they quite knew what they wanted to do with ivy, and by the time they were like "hey maybe her thing with red drone is because she like builds stuff or whatever" they kind of. only got to relay that by having baby ivy go "hey we should give that lady a gun" in the boston tea party caper

the combination of three languages <3 never change ivy

"while i picked up carmen at the train station" okay so the river they're driving on is the river seine, right? its right by the eiffel tower as we see. fun fact: the nearest train station? 4 minutes away or less! cool detail

ivy definitely had time to get him food just saying . also still confused about why carmen took a train to paris but ive already hounded that detail last week so whatever

carmen completely blank faced saying "yum baguettes" to tease zack is so funny you didnt have to do that

i relish the intrigue and enthusiasm in carmen's voice when she goes "SO off to indonesia" we don't even see her face but she sounds so excited to go there agh

infodumping sections beloved. ive actually learned so much from them. we were talking about coffee and how it can be called java and i was like "OIHOOHOGFOGIHOOGOOGOG JAVA IS AN ISLAND IN INDONESIA HOME TO "THE BIG DURIAN" OR THE CAPITAL WHICH IS JAKARTA"

player: i have cool facts!! this is so cool!

carmen: i stopped paying attention five minutes ago actually sorry about that my thing now

so interesting btw that all records of acme agents are taken off of anything?? why dont they have identities anymore??

how?? did the cleaners manage to get crackle out if he "only woke up moments ago" which implies that someone like. watched him do that. moments ago. the cleaners just sliced a hole in the wall again like they do in s4 jkhfkhsadf

i like how devineaux thinks carmen would go after the gigantic blue diamond but also steal some more aussie shmuck's wallet AND his train ticket for good measure

the mints were suck a weird little thing to have devineaux have and i love that he had them?? idk if it was for the sole purpose of julia following them to the ACME Closet TM but theyre a cool little character thing that i kinda forgot about (bc the writers did too after the very start of the next season lol)

is crackle implying that he has crawled through sewer tunnels? is he referencing the shawshank redemption? is he referencing black sheep crawling through the drain pipes?

bellum is so funny "I AM LASER FOCUSED" (swimpes through fifteen unrelated tabs that are actively open) adhd icon

hey by the way why did she have missile launch sights and bomb tests and gun blueprints open. because. why didnt that ever go anywhere. i know she's orchestrated some of the most strange but also deadly capers in the show but. i. okay

"the student formerly known as black sheep"

PLS BELLUM IS SO SHORT

part of me wonders if shadow-san intentionally breaks up the height slant to make him feel out of place. if they wanted everything to look cohesive he would be sitting...maybe after malestrom. but he isnt, hes on the end and his height, in the lineup, is jarring compared to the slope of everyone else's.

mael also has some pretty good nicknames for her

love that one of their finest operatives is a year-in-the-field catgirl

the little silent laugh carmen does when zack starts reminiscing about how they met awww

r&d they make it sound so sinister. it means research and development

hello trailer scene. i love how carmen runs off screen for the trailer shot and then slows down to walk with them immediately because she actually has to be in the scene

the animation when she said "plan a" was so snappy

#feminism red drone is a she

(a bunch of lights flashing and making pew pew noises)

zack: STATE OF THE ART???!?!?!!

just kidding zack love ya

that tracking shot of red drone going through the lasers?? mwah

red drone out here with a strontium nitrate fire damn

what was their plan if someone was at the lab

that light moving behind them as they walk forward into the labbbbb

SEE theres the transition sentence for next ep!

what braincell of zack's saw a pile of white rice in a petri dish, first thought "that must be someone else's food" and then thought " i should eat this stranger's petri dish food"

also i am in love with how he just was about the bite down on the whole dish at once

the teeny tiny twitch of carmens teeny tiny nose as she sniffs the petri dish dahdjhdsdsg

cleo's capers: im going to steal four dresses >:)

bellum's capers: i will cause a famine for the entire population of the fourth largest country in the world and force them to either starve or submit to me via creating a monopoly of overpriced rice which is shit quality but their only choice, and will do so by releasing an untested superspore which hypothetically could mutate and wipe out all life on these islands if all goes wrong. teehee cat videos

zack and ivy's dialogue sounds like. you know when a teacher presents a problem and then in a really dumb vice they suggest an obviously bad solution? that

"we're thieves" ivy tomorrow you're going to tell a goat that your boss's name is carmen san jose and then almost die five times in the next week

ivy's so supportive. no braincells on planning but such a cheerleader /hj

here we see the majestic long-necked ivysaur stretching her neck for a leaf

pls zack looks so hungry and sad

"so vile can make a quick buck hehaha she has a surprise coming 😌"

she looks so hot when she jumps on the roof of the jeep and then jumps off a cliff. well right before anyway lmaoo

loook

ok just thought the glider mechanic was cool. anyway

VILE HENCHMAN WATCH THE FUCKING ROAD

"HYASSSSSS" tigress never change

i love that they kept the consistency in the boston bean caper that tigress wasnt there- just the gays

tigress free plastic surgery!! good surgery? no. but free

i love when cs does high motion shots and the background just becomes one streaky color

zack driving down the cliff so true actually

ivy saw carmen climb on the hood and jump off a cliff and did the same thing. ivy dont do that

i also love the consistency of ivy being able to pick locks. she's been able to since the boston molasses disaster caper

carmen almost falls off of very quickly moving vehicles quite a lot

yes i would thats why im asking pls this show

carmen isnt really so much protecting the face as dodging very quickly and hoping

the animation of the car swerving as the durian hits it 👌

i like how immediately ivy goes flying and ZACK COULDNT SEE THE WHOLE TIME??? HOW DID HE NAVIGATE THAT TURN

that weird "eYAHOO" ivy makes is playing my my head 24/7

vile ops constantly have carmen in situations where they could do anything and they just let her do whatever. tigress. you had her hands bound and she was under your control why did you kick her in the back

also i love how carmen is getting batted around all day but tigress kicks her once and she can't get up

ivy and jumping 30 feet into vehicles

ivy's voice when she shrieks about the durian is so cute

ok its 4:30am im sorry im gay

why are there so many roads that go to the same place

"sky rockets" what other kind are there

carmen u literally have a glider you could have NOT shot the tire and caused zack and ivy to almost crash and die

love how zack hits her with the car

me too honestly zack and ivy

HELP?

i like how the car is at normal speed but carmen is in slow motion at the same time

PLS THE TIRE TRACKS ON THE GROUND WHERE ZACK SWERVED

this episode doesnt even get to what specifically vile is doing for the caper until 16 minutes in and its still good i love it

zack and ivy changing the tire just like their racing days </33

what time of year is it that player was contemplating both new years eve and 4th of july

chase is like a bad parent like julia says something and then chase calls it her fault ihgahsgajds

the glare julia shoots chase jshdgsh

i love when she's sarcastic

the way she stares right at the camera when she says "details are lurking just out of view somewhere in the shadows"

OHHH THE MUSIC FOR THIS EP IS REALLY GOOD

why do they keep putting ivy high up. poor ivy

"tigress, you know the rules. but i will say them again for the audience's benefit"

fedora the explora!!!

that kick had to hurt so bad

just imagining carmen on her new phone on like. facebook tapping "unfriend"

the way carmen just takes tigress out wheeze

cat lesbian <3

this fight is honestly so good

POOR IVY

THIS FIGHT IS. SO. GOOD. I LOVE HOW THEATRICAL IT IS

the confused looks as they keep playing music kills mee

the curtsey and the way carmen just keeps lying there for a little while for the dramatics is hilarious

tiny layering issue

and here (and once more too lazy to ss it tho)

love how she lit that match with her finger

also love hot the fuse just gets eaten. no burnt rope only FIRE

i wonder where?? like under lock and key...where?? po box?? lol

poor zack hasnt eaten in a day

oNe jUmPy RoO

the please from mael...ugh

mr. crackle

the poor sad puppy noises gray makes in the chair jdgsahdgds

that mindwiper really honestly sounds like shes gonna just kill him. yeah crackle it wont hurt. we're gonna send u to live on a farm

CHIEF ON THE OTHER END GOING "again" THATS SO FUNNY

PLAN B

Okay sweet!! Solid episode. See ya next Saturday wink wink its not 5am on sunday i promise i didnt stay up for 5 hours doing this

[artzzyb00-27]

{❤️Victim and Savior❤️}

Trigger Warning for people who don't like human experimentation. The reader in this is Indigenous Algonquian. It was requested by someone and I took the opportunity to represent people of this ethnicity/group. I myself don't have direct connections to them as I am mainly Mexican, however I still find it important for them to be represented.

It had been a couple of days since the attempted invasion of the Kraang an the city was being rebuilt from the destruction that had occurred. After beginning to team up with the NYPD, the turtles were able to investigate any potential signs of mutagen that had occurred at TCRI. Of course, there had obviously been some. More specifically a mutant somewhere in _ at a facility secured by foot ninja members.

Donnie had been tapping into their security systems trying to find a weak spot when loud footsteps were heard. Turning slightly to his right putting his eyes on Raph who was pacing back and forth in his lab huffing and puffing.

"Did you fight with Leo again?" Donnie asked with annoyance, trying to concentrate fully on how the hell to get into the fire wall of the files this place had. Raph rolled his eyes at his nerdy brother and kept pacing back and forth.

"Nah, just bored and don't know what to do with the sun out." the aggressive brother expressed while throwing his head back in annoyance. Whilst listening, Donnie had typed in random codes into his hacking system. 1/20000 worked and it revealed a dozen files that showed pictures of Kenyans, Saudi Arabians, Mesoamericans, Vietnamese, and one Native American girl. Donnies' eyes widened in horror at the files.

"Holy shit-" he breathed out getting the attention of his brother who got a better look at the screen and stared in disgust. Getting closer he read the files alongside Donnie. Most of these people were proclaimed; Dead- Experiment gone wrong. Raphs' stomach twisted inside him as he pulled his eyes away from the screen.

"Guys get in here! Ya' gotta see this!" he called out to his other brothers who at the time were reading comics in their gaming area. As they came piling in, they were able to get a glimpse of what their other brother was looking at before trying to not look away. Donnie clicked on the Natives' file and read it over. Scanning it quickly, and coming to a quick and easy decision.

"Most of them are still alive, stationed by the Connecticut border. They're not that far from here, let's go!" he yelled as he geared up and grabbed the his equipment heading towards the garage were their 'Tartarugo Brothers' van. While it took getting onto backroads to avoid the sunsetting on the freeway they made it to a forest nearby Connecticut and stopped it about one mile away from the building.

Jumping from tree to tree, the turtles saw guards walking around with AR-15's and and enforced body armor. Donnie took out his pea shooter and replaced the peas with tranq-darts. Having accurate aim, he was able to make a clearing for him and his brothers. Breaking in and sneaking around, they found an elevator that would take them to the lower levels.

"Think they'll be down there?" Mikey asked. Leo looked at the elevator more and then looked down the hall. Donnie put a hacking device on the keypad for the elevator and opened it.

"Anyone else gettin' flashbacks?" Raph asked making the others smile from memories. 'Elevator Beat Box' was probably one of their most favorite moments.

Once getting to the level that indicated life forms in cells, the turtles braced themselves for whatever was waiting for them. What they got,... was definitely unexpected.

Blood splattered on the walls. Mutants and humans, some from the files Donnie had been able to see, we're laying around the corridors. Ahead, to the right, and to the left. At least 26 different piles of bodies.

"Jesus Christ-" Leo breathed out. Sheathing his twin katanas into their respective holders on his shell. His brothers moving around with less care, more en captivated by the sight in front of them. "What now D?"

The purple bandana'd brother didn't know what to do. He knew there would have probably been things down here they wouldn't want to willingly see, but this felt sickening. A few of the bodies were small, children to be simplistic.

"Some of these people are younger than 10." He informed no one in particular. As his brothers pretended not to hear the oh wonderful news.

Looking at his tablet again, he realized that the life forms he had seen were still ahead alive. The tablet hadn't been wrong. He nudged Leo and led them down the right.

After a bit of walking the turtles came across a giant door that opened to a code. Using the same device, Donnie was able to unlock the door and check to see if the people in there were safe.

Once the door opened the brothers stepped in, revealing another hallway. This one filled with pictures of some of the test subjects with there files. There was around 10 other beings there. Six of them were mutated, while the others looked human. The Native girl was there too. Raph studied her photograph more and saw how short her hair was.

Not that he was an expert by any means, but he was pretty sure most Natives had long hair and mainly braided together. Maybe that was racist, maybe it wasn't. Who knows, all he knew was that him and his brothers needed to get these guys out of here as soon as they could.

Once at the end of the hall, the turtles saw the girl with other people and mutants. All covered in blood from themselves or the guards who were laying around. One gecko mutant spotted them and nudged the Native girl who had her arm extended outwards. Paying closer attention, Raph and his brothers saw that she was making one of the guards float and spin around. She turned around and saw the brothers. No emotion evident except in here eyes. Brown eyes, the color of earth that held precious metals and life.

"Woah!" Mikey reacted to the girls power. She turned back to the guard, made him stop spinning and threw him at the wall. Pulling the small mutant boy next to her close and motioning to the others around her to get near. Looking at the turtles again and placed her focus on Raph. His red color palette drawing her attention.

"What floor did you come from?" she asked. Her voice soft yet sturdy. An accent evident in there as well. They couldn't place what kind of accent though. Trying to get over the initial shock of all the mutants, Raph gathered up thoughts to respond.

"We ain't from here, we're from da city. Who are you guys?" he asked wanting to pummel the people who did this to them. All of them had some type of scarring. Though it seemed that that was taken care of already. Donnie saw a blue heeler-pup mutant and went to check on them. They had a gash going across their arm so it needed to be patched up.

Leo looked around studying them all while Mikey tried to comfort the younger looking mutants and children. Including the gecko boy that didn't want to leave the girls' side. One of the humans, a Malian girl with a tattoo on her shoulder blade, stood in shock at her friend. Going up to her then looking at Raph. She tapped her and pulled her aside and started using sign language. The girl responded back and made the other girl sigh. She walked up to Leo and Raph and introduced herself.

"The name given to me is O-9, but the name given to me by my mother is Mathi." she said to which Leo nodded and Raph gave a small smile. He looked back to the girl from earlier and saw her crouching down next to small girl with red curly hair and green eyes. She wasn't saying anything but instead just made signs and gave a comforting hand to the girl to lean against on. He went up to her and began conversation with her. She replied happily though it wasn't that evident on her face. Mathi turned to them and gained a puzzled look. "She never speaks. Not with me or anyone she doesn't know. She must see something special in him." Leo listened and began to think. What could Raph have that allowed the presumably mute girl to talk with ease.

After getting the names of everyone, and the base of how each of them got there, the turtles found out none of them were adults. Only a few being eighteen, but even then, that's still considered a child in most cultures. So they called up the chief and asked for trucks big enough to carry anywhere from small mutant rodents to a large mutant crocodile. Within 40 minutes, coming from back roads, the chief stepped out with a few officers and some doctors to inspect the health of the injured. Other cops were arresting who they could and began interrogating.

"There's an abandoned manor near the city. It should be big enough to house them and it's connected with the sewers so you can check in on them whenever you want." she assured the turtles. Mathi and the girl overheard and went over to introduce themselves. "Ah, are you two the ones the turtles told me about?" they nodded and Vincent continued. "My wife's a fashion designer, she can make some clothes for your friends to be more comfortable." the girls nodded in appreciation.

"I'm Mathi, this is my friend Abooksigun. It means wildcat in her language." Vincent smiled and offered her hand for them to shake but put it down quickly when they flinched. The smile gone quickly. Then returned to cover up and faced the turtles.

Abook' was in thought. Deep thought. These turtles were mutants like her friends. Like her brothers and sisters. But not like them. They seemed more content. Sort of. It's was difficult to explain.

"Hey there! I'm Mikey, the cute one of my brothers. That's Donatello, brains with never ending sass," the turtle with tech gear struck a pose which gained a curious look from Mathi. "Leonardo, our fearless leader who is denial of feelings in general," the one with katanas on his shell rolled his eyes with a side smile. "and finally Raphael, the big brute with an even bigger heart." The red-bandana'd turtle looked down avoiding eye contact.

Abook' smiled and went closer to Raph. He looked up at her slightly and caught her hand coming up.

"Kwe." She said making him raise a brow muscle. Donnie typed something on his watch and translated.

"She's saying 'Hi' in her native language." He told his meat-headed brother who nodded and turned the attention back to her. He put his hand out and shook hers. The size difference was hilarious and also kind of endearing.

"Hey there. A-again," After that, the checkups of the other mutants and humans with powers went well, and Raph was able to get her to talk about herself more. Her powers were telekinesis. Controlling objects, and living beings with her mind. She could tear them apart if she was angry enough. Something they had in common, ironically.

Mathi had the ability of far-sight. Being able to know where people were at all times. She had to see the person first though. It helped to know if her friends were okay when they were still locked away.

--------------------------------

After a few months of visiting, bonding, sleeping over with the turtles. Abook' was able to form strong connections with them. Especially with Splinter and Raphael. Though she only ever talked to Raph, the friendship was strong. They even trained sometimes, with her powers or not.

He cared for her more than she knew. More than she could imagine. More than she wanted to imagine. Seems narcissistic, or dramatic, but from the eyes of someone who was only ever socialized with people who gained everything but gave nothing did that to you. He knew this. Hated this. But understood it.

So much that he made Donnie teach him her language. Seeing she was more comfortable speaking to him with it. The others tried talking to her, but only gained head movement or expressions that correlated to 'yes' or 'no'. Aside from that, they got along pretty well. It made for a comforting environment for her. Abook' was wandering the lair looking for Raph when suddenly the alarm went off. She ran to Donnies' lab and saw the turtles standing around him.

"It's the foot clan! They're attacking the markets down by the docks. We need to get down there." He informed, mainly Leo, but told all his brothers. Ordering them to gear up and hurry to that truck, Leo rushed by Abook' and gave her a nod of notice. Mikey ran by with Donnie following saying 'Hi,' while Raph stayed there looking at her. Knowing what she was going to say but would shut down immediately.

"Manininatakin!"('Take me with you,' in Algonquin most likely) Raph shook his head and tried to walk past him.

"Saraminoke, you're not ready for this."('No can do,')He explained trying to not make eye contact. Abook' grabbed his wrist and used her powers to make him stop.

"Please, I can help! Give me a chance to-"

"No! You go out there with us and they realize what you can do, it won't end well. I know you can take them, but I can't have you be taken and tortured again for the purpose of data." Breathing in again after that tangent, he turned to look at her and met a concerned expression on the girl. Like her spirit and will power, her hair had grown and had been braided by Raph. Having three fingers was an advantage sometimes. "I'm sorry Abook', you can't come. Mathi will come to stay with you, watch over Splinter for us."

That was what he said ten minutes ago. Now Abook' was walking back and forth in front of Mathi and Splinter, who kept looking at each other wondering what they should do.

"It's taking them too long," she said, with stress evident in her voice. "They've been gone for too long."

"Abs', they're probably kicking butt still, you've heard how persistent the Foot Clan can be. Also, it's been ten minutes." Mathi said trying to calm down her sister. Not that it would go away, but the sentiment was comforting to Abook'. She stopped pacing and looked down.

"I need to go help them. Splinter please let me go!" she asked her best friend's father. He ran his hand through his beard and contemplated. After 3 seconds he sighed and begrudgingly nodded his head in approval. "Thank you, I will bring them back. I promise!"

"Not without me!" Mathi said using her power to see where they were. Still at the docks fighting the Foot Clan and what appeared to be a giant dog mutant. "They're at the docks still, let's go!" she said grabbing her spear and ran off through the tunnels. Meanwhile Abook' grabbed her bow and arrows and ran after her.

Once running through the rooftops and shadows of the city night, they arrived at the edge of the docks to see Foot soldiers knocked out and the turtles with scrapes on them. Gashes big enough for blood to pour out slowly and panting heavily. Looking around, Abook' saw the mutant dog they were fighting. They had cream colored fur with a big bushy tail and giant front paws. Using her telekinesis, she lowered herself and Mathi down to the ground and lifted the turtles towards them before the dog could get to them again and, most likely, kill them.

The turtles looked up in shock, Raph with fear. He went to grab Abooks' arm but she and Mathi had already ran in to stall for them. Mathi ran up to the mutant and jumped in the air throwing the spear impaling their arm. Abook' used her power to rip the weapon out and gave it back to her friend. She steadied her arrows and fired them, directing them towards the canines chest.

Dodging but getting skimmed on the side causing more blood pour out. Using his ears, he realized Abook' was readying more arrows and Mathi was in fighting position. He ran off leaving a trail of blood and the turtles had come back from the alley and went up to the girls. Mikey and Donnie thanked them while Leo applauded them for their techniques.

Raph on the other hand was off to the side looking down at the floor holding his injured arm. Abook' noticed and walk over to his side, putting a hand on his other arm. He flinched slightly but calmed down when he saw it was her. 

"I told you to stay put." he grumbled making the girl stare at him with a side smile. He sighed and patted her head. "Thank you, I'm glad you're here." she smiled and used her powers to levitate up to his level and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Raph froze and lifted his hand to his face and stood in shock. Hearing snickering, Abook' turned and saw the turtle brothers and Mathi taking the scene in wonderfully.

She smiled in content of her new life. Every dark beginning really does have a good ending eventually.

[herarcadewasteland]

Curious, Darling? (Hoseok Ver.)

A/N: The third fic inspired by the lovely @kookslastbutton 's page title (curious, darling?).

-Mafia!Jung Hoseok x Hacker!Reader

-Descriptions of violence, bombs and injury, guns as well as tranq darts. Hobi is lowkey a condescending asshole. Reader really doesn't know self-preservation and taehyung is just there

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Clunk.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Your head snapped up from the computer, your fingers typing frantically as Taehyung guided you through what you needed to extract. The earpiece crackled to life after a moment's pause, Taehyung questioning the beeping as you froze your search of the room, trying to get the last file off the device with frantic fingers.

“What is that? Y/N, you need to get out. You’ve been compromised.”

“Give me one minute! That’s all I need!”

The beeping picked up its speed, your eyes scanning the text flying past the screen, fingers typing code frantically as Taehyung shouts at you to get out. You took a deep breath and sighed it out, Taehyung panicking as the beeping increased in volume as well.

“I’ve got it! It’s done!”, you shouted to Taehyung over the beeping, your heart pounding as you shut down the device.

Beep. Beep. Beep, beep, beep.

The ominous beeping filled your ears faster now, each beep less than a second apart. Your eyes landed on the source of the noise as you rounded the desk. Seeing the bomb feet away from you and the desk, you sprinted. The hallway seemed to fade around you as you approached the giant staircase in the middle of the entrance hall, Taehyung telling you to hurry the fuck up as you slowed for a split second a few feet before the first stair. That split second, well, you regretted it. 

The explosion rattled your brain, ears ringing as you turned back in mild surprise, the wave of force from it colliding with your body as Taehyung shouted at you in concern. Flying through the air with a shrill scream, your body landed on the stairs before you tumbled down the rest, a crack filtering past your ringing ears as you landed on your arm. Coming to a stop near the shattered glass doors, you groaned as you were flipped onto your back with a rough kick to your ribs. Wheezing out a breath, you tried to focus on the figure above you as it leaned down and plucked your earpiece from its spot. Taehyung's now distant voice still shouting, asking for you to respond so he could send in the other boys if you needed help. The crunch made your skin crawl, bloodied hand reaching weakly for the broken earpiece before you were stopped by the same boot pressing down on your hand with another crunch. You shouted, coughing up some smoke from the explosion as the man crouched beside your beaten body.

“I wouldn’t try to shout for help. It’s useless. You’re clearly overpowered here and you’re injured. Now, you must be wondering what I’m doing, why I’ve done this, why you… that doesn’t matter. What does matter is you. And you’ve caused a sinkhole in my system.”, his long fingers traced over your cheekbone, his sharp eyes following your own eyes frantic movements as you tried to think of a way out. 

“That just won’t do, will it? No, no.”, his heel pressed into your hand and your back arched, lips parting painfully to let another scream echo through the remains of the building. “It won’t.”

“Just- Just let me go.”, your voice cracked as tears tracked through the ash that settled on your cheeks, his eyes following the path they took with a sinister smile. 

His head shook ‘no’ as you cried, his foot lifting as he yanked you from the ground with a small grunt, smile still in place. Your arm throbbed with pain, each breath ragged and hand aching. You felt helpless. Small. Broken. And that's what you were. But as he guided you outside, Taehyung standing with a smirk at your broken state, you went numb. You could feel nothing but pain as your face dropped, Taehyung reaching for your shaking body with a mocking smile. The man holding you let you go as Taehyung bowed in respect, but you stood still. You couldn't bring yourself to walk towards the man you had thought, for 4 years, had been a friend. Yet here he was, mocking you with his boxy smile as you stood trembling in pain from an explosion you could’ve avoided if you hadn’t wanted to be so thorough in taking down the boss of Bangtan. But, you should’ve known that out of all the boys you worked with, Taehyung would’ve been the one to double cross you in the end. Your lack of feeling went out the window as the man in question approached you with his outstretched hand. 

Anger filled your entire body as you took the last step between the two of you, launching yourself at Taehyung to land a harsh slap to his beautiful face. His head snapped to the side with the force of it, a chuckle sounding from behind you before a forearm hit your neck, your back meeting the ground with a thump and an oomph. You wheezed as you rolled from side to side, Taehyung cracking his knuckles before his jean clad thighs were caging your torso in. Your head snapped to the side as his large fist met your cheek, a sigh now coming from the other man as he pulled Taehyung from your broken body.

“Enough.”

“But Hoseok-”

“I said, enough. Now go. You’re of no help right now. Get the others together. I have some words for my new doll.”

Taehyung nodded and walked off with a scowl on his pretty lips, the man behind you, Hoseok, helped you to your feet as you coughed. You shoved his hands off your body, stumbling away from him as he watched with a smirk. He took you back into his arms quickly, breath being knocked from your lungs as your back collided with his solid chest. His plush lips met your ear as you trembled, arm aching further as he gripped it harshly.

“Now, I know you have questions, let’s start over.”, His lips parted against the shell of your ear, his teeth nipping at the skin gently as he let his hand wander from your arm to your broken hand. “My name is Hoseok. It’s nice to finally meet you, Y/N. Taehyung has told us a lot about you and I couldn’t help myself once I found out you were single handedly taking down my systems from the outside.”

“I haven’t done anything to you. I have done nothing but take down your systems like you deserve. I haven’t hurt you.”

His chuckle hit you like a brick. It was like all his rage over your actions, hacking into his system before extracting and deleting files from his personal computer was all packed into that chuckle as he gripped your hand with increasing pressure. Hoseok’s head shook from side to side against the back of your own before he kicked the back of your knee, your knees hitting the ground with a dull thud as your arm was twisted behind your back before being let go. You fell forward onto your scraped palms, head hanging as exhaustion caught up to you slowly. 

Your head snapped up in the next moment as you heard a gun cocking, your body spinning to face Hoseok as you watched his hands spin the pistol in their grip. 

“Curious, darling?” He laughed happily this time, his eyes meeting yours as you scrambled backwards as fast as you could while he raised the gun to his eye level, the barrel pointed directly at your head.

“You should be. We have many days ahead of us. Together.”

His finger shifted to the trigger, his hand tilting down at the last second as he squeezed. A pinprick hit your leg and you looked down, a fluffy ended dart sticking out of your thigh. Oh well, you thought.

There was no way life with this Hoseok figure was worse than harboring a massive crush on the man you considered your best friend… the same man who stood by the van, watching your eyes drift closed with a smirk. Jung Hoseok had you in his grasp. And now, you could never leave. Maybe you didn’t want to, only time would tell.

[recoveringdreamer]

TIMING: current LOCATION: outside the grit pit. PARTIES: @wonder-in-wings & @recoveringdreamer SUMMARY: parker and felix meet for the second time, and parker finally decides what he wants from them. CONTENT WARNINGS: drug manipulation (tranqs), eye trauma

He couldn’t go in there, not again. In fact, even being near the surly-looking building, knowing what was inside made Parker’s heart race every now and then, letting it get away from him until he breathed deeply enough to control it once more. There were so many fae, so many things he’d seen once in his lifetime, in there, and the cacophony of sounds filtered hazily through one ear mixed with his rippling blood going haywire just under his epidermis mixed with the sights very nearly sent him into a a shutdown. And that thought was mortifying to him, if only because he didn’t want to die of embarrassment. Parker hated those feelings, when they built up and he was confronted with endless possibilities but stricken with such severe decision paralysis accompanied with his high enough sense of self-preservation that he couldn’t actually enact on those sensations. No, he couldn’t go in there. So instead, Parker lingered outside in the back, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed in front of him as he decided to wait for a passerby, someone he could identify as fae and either gather more intel or possibly even find fortune in his harvest that evening.

—

They didn’t usually do this. Leaving the Pit without shifting back entirely, risking being seen by someone outside… It wasn’t the kind of thing Felix normally did, but tonight was a little different. The last fight had been long and hard, and they had no desire to go back to the locker rooms and calm down enough to shift. When Leo spotted them in the hall and called their name, ducking outside into the back alley had seemed like the best move. There was never anyone out there, anyway. Felix could compose themself, could avoid Leo, could go home and spend the evening with their cat instead of listening to whatever their ex had to say tonight. It was a decent plan.

Or… it would have been, had the alley been empty as it usually was. 

They didn’t see him at first. Felix had never been quite as observant as they should have been, often stuck in their own little world to an extent that saw them missing much of the actual world around them. Tonight was no different. They slipped into the alley and shut the door behind them, leaning their back against it. Their tail curled around their body in a way that was almost protective, ears flattening on top of their head.

And then they heard it. The quiet beating of a heart, the slight intake of breath that indicated that they weren’t alone in the alley. Felix tensed, scrambling for the doorknob behind them only to remember that this door locked automatically from the inside when you shut it, that the only way back in was to go around to the front. Panic gripped them as their eyes darted around the alley, golden yellow replacing deep brown as they allowed the jaguar to lend them his sight so they could peer through the shadows to find…

The warden. The one from the college campus, with Rayne and the bird. The one who’d been turned into a damn donkey with a few poorly placed words. Immediately, Felix’s heart ticked up, pounding in their chest. Wardens couldn’t sense balam, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t hunt them. That didn’t mean they didn’t know about them. “I, uh — It was — Costume night.” They mumbled, inching towards the entrance of the alley. The only thought on their mind was get away. They’d put up with Leo’s anger if it meant avoiding a hunter. “Just stepped out for some air. I gotta…” Their tail swished behind them, and they ducked their head.

— After an indeterminate amount of time, Parker heard the door swing open and his eyes fluttered open from having previously been allowed to close for a moment. That would’ve been considered foolish but he obviously found himself safe or able to react enough that he wasn’t too bothered by it. His head did cock to the side to better hear and he turned his head to regard whatever it was that came out. To his surprise, it wasn’t a fae that seemed to have materialized through the doorway. Rather, Parker’s eyes fell upon the dimly-illuminated visage of who appeared to be that intellectually-deficient individual from the university. Or if it wasn’t then the resemblance was uncanny, even if this one was donning what appeared to be pieces of an animal, though the Warden wasn’t quite skilled enough to be able to tell what it was aside from ‘not a tiger’. Rounded ears pinned, an animal’s eyes that glimmered with light refraction. And almost immediately his gaze intently focused on the tail that swayed behind the figure, rhythmic, anxious, the way the colors played with each other in a tango of spots on a pitch river. Leopard? Jaguar? That would also account for the scent of cats he carried with him during Parker’s brief stint as a donkey. They wanted to disengage, clearly not having expected anyone to be anticipating them outside but Parker couldn’t; he was instantly enamored with the tail of this shapeshifter or cursed individual. “What are you?” He asked, completely disregarding anything else that was said as he took a curious yet slow step forward. He didn’t buy ‘costume night’ for a single second; both of them knew what the Grit Pit contained. He took a tone to his voice, softer, less naturally antagonistic.

—

What are you? What a terrifying question to hear in the mouth of a warden. He stepped forward, and Felix took a step backwards in response, eliminating what little ground they’d covered on their quest towards the front of the alley and knocking their back against the locked door again. They were probably overreacting, weren’t they? The guy seemed harmless enough. Rayne had gotten him turned into a donkey, and the worst he’d done to her was a headbutt to the stomach.

But Rayne, as far as Felix could tell, was human. And that was hardly a claim the balam could make for themself, especially right now. How could they have been so stupid, coming out into the alley like this in a half-shifted state? Was it really worth avoiding Leo? A conversation with an ex who made your chest feel tight and your stomach ache was still better than being cornered in an alley by a hunter who wanted to know ‘what’ you were. 

At least the man didn’t sound angry; Felix wasn’t sure they would have been able to breathe if he had. They were so nervous already, their default state one of intense anxiety. With a reason for those nerves, they were all the more potent. They scrambled to think of an answer, thinking of Rayne and how she’d handled the warden before. She’d say something smart here, wouldn’t she? “Uh, I think — I’m pretty sure I’m a Pisces. But I’ve never really been into all that, haha. Hey, it’s good seeing you, man, but I — I need to go. I’ve gotta go home and feed my… cat…” Bad choice of words. Anything that drew attention to the unnatural parts of them was a bad choice of words. Felix cursed themself silently. 

— He took a step. They took a step back in turn. Parker found himself in a dance of his own - the compulsive addiction that bit at his brain to harvest, his mind already thinking of shapes and the music that accompanied it as he worked in timeless reverence with his tools. What contrasted it was the unusual question of how to obtain such a thing - this shapeshifter wasn’t a fae so he couldn’t be sure if iron was even useful against them. Would a regular steel blade do the trick? Was iron still accessible, just in a more practical application as a sharp weapon? Parker took another step forward, forcing himself to tear his eyes off the tail and focus on the face of the shifter. “Pisces. Fish. Ironic considering.” He said slowly, his unblinking stare looking forward. “You can go home and feed your cat but first I must ask for your tail.” Ever graceful in getting what he wanted. “I don’t want to fight and I don’t want to hurt you.” Parker made sure to emphasize these statements, as he did every single time this happened. And he only stuck to what he said because sometimes fae were accommodating; some of them hated their wings, their vestigial limbs that reminded them of the monsters they were. He’d never encountered a feline shifter before but perhaps they could be reasoned with as well? “It’s utterly beautiful; I’ve never seen anything like it.” As Parker said this, his tone got softer, the emotion that threatened to overwhelm him sometimes tugging at his throat and in that moment, a trained ear could tell that nothing he said was untrue.

He wanted what? Felix had been warned against hunters all their life, even before their mother’s death. Their parents had been sure to tell them that while rangers were the most dangerous, wardens and slayers should be avoided as well. Their father had been beyond paranoid about it, making sure his children were raised with a healthy fear. They’d grown up with horror stories about how people like this would kill them just for existing and call it a heroic thing to do.

And in all that, they’d never once been warned about something like this. 

The warden wanted their tail? What the hell was that? The appendage curled around the balam’s body as if it had its own discomfort on the matter, as if it had a fear separate of Felix’s own. The more the warden spoke, the less sense the whole thing made. He didn’t want to fight? He didn’t want to hurt Felix? What did he think would happen here? That Felix would allow themself to be mutilated just because a warden wanted something of his, something attached to him? 

“I, uh — I appreciate your… interest, but I’m, um… pretty attached to my tail. Literally. Haha.” They tried for humor, but the fear was clear and present in their voice. Their eyes darted towards the mouth of the alley, towards freedom. Could they make it by the warden without him grabbing them? He said he didn’t want to fight, so maybe he’d just… accept the ‘no’ and let Felix go. “If, um… If it’s all the same to you, I really do need to get home. Have a nice night.” They ducked their head, moving to walk around the warden.

— Parker had to admit that he was new to this whole ‘parts of an animal’ thing; of course the shifter might’ve been more attached - literally - to their parts. Then again, he wasn’t sure how much of the shifter could shift and even then, his field of interest wasn’t in mammals, not to mention he still just… didn’t like cats. He wasn’t to be deterred though and he didn’t say anything for a moment as he simply watched the tail cling to the shifter’s leg, almost as though it were independently aware. But it was just part of the shifter, right? Parker had no idea how it worked. But he needed it. It wasn’t an option for him anymore, it was the familiar addiction, the hyperfixation that kept Parker from eating, sleeping, making rational decisions at the complete worst of times. He was aware of this defect in his brain, having been told what it was more than once but never committing it to memory; creating excuses and falling back on labels assigned to him outside what he gave himself was a waste of time and made people look ineffectual, weak. He was neither, but he was solely focused on how he could get that appendage without irreparably harming it. Did he make a grab for it? That didn’t seem like a good idea so instead, as the shifter moved to pass him, one of Parker’s hands shot out like a serpent striking its prey, latching itself onto the shifter’s shoulder firmly while his other arm made a move to retrieve one of the needle-like knives from his belt. “I won’t ask again.” He said, his tone losing its softness and his blue-eyed stare bore through the shifter.

For a fraction of a second, Felix let themself believe that this was going to be the end of it. They would politely decline the warden’s offer, they would walk out of the alley, they would Uber home. They’d sleep a little lighter tonight, anxiety keeping them awake more than it should, but they’d do it in their own bed. It was a pretty thought, this assumption that they’d be allowed to say no to the odd request, this idea that they could walk away and pretend that this had never happened at all.

It was also a lie.

Somehow, in spite of everything, the hand that shot out to grip their shoulder and hold them in place came as a surprise. They could feel the warden’s strength in the grip, understood with a sick certainty that it was stronger than that of a normal human. His other hand moved to his side, and Felix saw a flash of metal there that made them feel sick, heart pounding in their throat.

“Please don’t do this.” Their voice was small, quivering. They tried to look the warden in the eye, tried to humanize themself by maintaining eye contact in hopes that it might make him pause, make him remember that there was still a person here even if that person did have ears and a tail. But their eyes kept darting back to the hand reaching to the man’s belt, to the glint of metal shining beneath the dull streetlamps. “Please. Please don’t hurt me. I’m not — I just want to go home. Please, please, please.” 

In their chest, the jaguar stirred. It was used to its host being in danger; their job was to throw themself into harm’s way for the entertainment of others. But the fear was something new. Felix wasn’t afraid in the ring. They knew they could handle themself, even if they didn’t really want to do it. But here? There was a hunter reaching for a knife, and Felix was terrified. They felt the jaguar clamoring in their chest, desperate to be let out. And that scared them, too. “I don’t want to hurt you. Please. Please, just let me go. We can forget about all of this, I swear.” 

— Had he been someone else, someone with that fraction of humanity that this was a living creature, a breathing being who laughed, cried, spoke, felt deeply about anything and experienced pain, Parker could’ve had enough of a moment to let the poor shifter go; the latter was obviously scared, coming down from the high of fighting, anxious to separate itself from this situation, go home in peace. Parker… wasn’t. He couldn’t be. No one thought he was going to amount to anything. He was deficient as a child; unskilled, slow, unremarkable. Focused. He couldn’t be a human, not when there was something that let him feel anything. Something to distinguish him as special, something more beautiful, more unique than anything he could’ve created on his own. As he stood there, sharp hand on the shifter’s shoulder, their eyes found his and were greeted with steel. Emptiness, a machine that saw something it needed to complete its ever-growing set. The shifter was pleading, their words going through Parker like a computer system that needed to filter out the value from the junk. “I don’t want to hurt you.” Parker replied, his tone robotic, yet with that sickening honesty that came with machinery - it held no values above what its directive was. “I just need your beautiful tail. Then we can forget about this.” As he spoke, a forceful wrench of his fingers in the shifter’s flesh forced them to the ground where his other hand pulled one of the iron-coated daggers, its long thin tip imperceptibly sharp and he made a motion to insert it into the shifter’s neck. “This will help. I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want you dead.” This wasn’t going how Parker would have liked but Parker was on borrowed time, as he normally was. He could only do as he said and make the process as quick and painless as possible; the shifter hadn’t assaulted him yet so he had no reason to retaliate.

—

To say that Felix was panicked would be an understatement. They were practically hysterical, quietly repeating their mantra of begging to be let go. It seemed to fall on deaf ears. The warden was like a machine, face expressionless and grip like a vice. Even his voice when he spoke sounded inhuman, like a computer reading words off a screen. His eyes were blank, like there was nothing behind them at all. Like this was so commonplace that he could do it without thinking, like it was methodical. It was terrifying. It was sickening. 

It might have been less unsettling had the warden’s words not been so starkly separate from his actions. If the two lined up, at least Felix could have made some sense of it. Instead, it was a new contradiction with each syllable that crossed his lips.

I don’t want to hurt you, said the man shoving him into the cement. His back ached where the ground dug into it. The heart in their chest thrummed a desperate plea for survival.

I don’t want to hurt you, said the man holding them down. They couldn’t move from their position, that strong arm keeping them still even as they tried desperately to thrash.

I don’t want you dead, said the man behind the hand bringing a knife to their throat. Felix yowled, arching their back and shaking their head back and forth, desperate to make themself as difficult a target as possible. As if the warden would give up if they made this harder for him, as if they weren’t well past that now.

“Don’t touch me, don’t touch me, don’t touch me, don’ttouchme,” Felix repeated it like a mantra, in time with the pounding in their chest. It grew louder and louder, yells echoing off the walls of the alley. They didn’t care if someone saw them in the half-shifted state that they were now too worked up to get out of; anything would be better than this. Even Leo bursting through that door to rescue them and giving them one more thing to owe to the Pit would be preferable to being trapped beneath a hunter with a knife moving towards their throat.

—

The struggle was admirable and it did make Parker go from just using his hand to pin the shifter to using his whole forearm, again being firm but seeming almost as though he were trying to mitigate any potential damage. Ultimately their thrashing was futile though, the increasing noise of their yelling rattling louder off the walls of the alley than in the Warden’s half-deaf head. There was no man, no gratification in the process or satisfaction in controlling. There was only the monstrous desire to obtain that which he’d never seen before. The reasoning was out, the machine was there now and he had a feeling that the shifter could see it glistening behind his dead expression, his unblinking eyes. Most animals had intuition for something that wasn’t right. With a swift gesture, waiting for an opportunity where he could pierce the flesh with his needle-like dagger like a serpent looking for a weak spot in the armor of the meal, Parker moved his hand deftly around the flailing arm and the blade was inserted, hypodermic in its process but made of iron so the only purpose it served was to pump the body with the unique cocktail of sedatives that were stored in the hilt of each of those daggers. He pressed the end of the hilt down, but not all the way as this wasn’t a fae and he didn’t want to risk the health of the specimen. Immediately after that was done, Parker pulled the dagger out of the wound it had created and he eased up his forceful pressure on the shifter, indicating that now he was ready to wait for them to lose consciousness so he could begin the procedure and he started to stow the now-empty dagger back on his steampunk of a belt, reaching for one of the long silver scalpels that dangled and glinted in the dim alley light above the heavy door.

—

The pressure pushing them to the ground increased, and Felix only became more desperate under the bruising grip. Were they going to die here? Not in the ring, the way they’d assumed they would since the moment they realized the grip that contract had them in, but in the dingy alley just outside of it? It seemed so remarkably cruel, so incredibly unfair. They were supposed to be safe outside that building, supposed to hurt only between those four walls. There’d always been a level of separation they’d allowed themself — like the world outside the Pit was different than the world within it, like it was kinder. But they knew better, didn’t they? Their mother hadn’t died in the Grit Pit. Their father hadn’t torn people apart in a ring. The world outside that building was just as dangerous as the one inside of it. Maybe even worse; at least the Pit didn’t pretend to be something it wasn’t once it had landed you in the trap.

Struggling seemed a useless endeavor, but Felix couldn’t stop. They couldn’t stop the yelling, either; it was largely instinct driving them at this point. “Help! Somebody help me! Please, I don’t want to die, please somebody —” 

A sharp pain shot through his shoulder, and Felix turned his head to the side to see that blade sticking out of their arm. For a moment, a confused dread overtook him, because why stab them there? Why go for a wound that wouldn’t kill, or even incapacitate them? Did the warden intend to take them apart slowly, piece by piece, right in this alleyway? 

The answer to their question came when the warden pushed on the hilt of the dagger and sent a warm rush of chemicals into the balam’s veins. “Nonononononono,” Felix whimpered but, already, they could feel the drugs taking effect. Their vision blurred, their throat felt dry. They tried to fight it, but that cocktail pulled them under hard. Slowly, despite their best efforts, Felix’s consciousness fled…

…and the jaguar’s rose up to take its place. Skin rippled and shifted into fur, the body twisted and changed, shrinking from a human adult into a large, imposing jaguar. Felix’s fear gave way to an animalistic rage, driven by the bleeding wound that knife had left behind and a sense of disdain that this man believed he could be felled so easily. 

The jaguar yowled, the sound echoing off the walls in a way that was far, far different than Felix’s human pleas before. There was no sign of the person who had been there before; no recognition in the animal’s eyes, no fear. Even the clothes Felix had been wearing were in a torn bundle on the ground. Felix was asleep now, pulled under by the sedatives they’d been forcibly given. The jaguar locked eyes with the warden who had caused it, rage rippling through every muscle as it saw the man reaching for another blade. A small one, the creature thought. Far too small to harm a god.

Rage driving its every twitch, the jaguar bounded forward, intent on eliminating the threat.

— When he eased up to allow the sedatives to perform their duty, he was expecting the shifter to fall into a peaceful unconscious so Parker could perform the operation quickly, smoothly, with a little bit of impromptu experimentation along the way - how could he cauterize the wound? Would silver be more effective? …Would it be ever worse? These were all questions that he could answer in the moment as he learned more about the shifter through the practice. The question that needed to be answered now, however, was ‘why was there a jaguar where a man once stood?’ Parker all but dropped his scalpel, his eyes widening with apparent surprise as the figure, true to the assumption of what they were, shifted fully into the big cat in what seemed like no time at all. As the beast’s roar reverberated through the alley, loud even by the Warden’s being half-deaf, that spark of humanity that had completely dissipated as he was overcome with obsessive compulsion to harvest the tail from the shifter had returned in some small capacity. Was Parker afraid, as the predator turned and met his eyes with nothing but animal fury in its gaze? Was he afraid as he did drop the scalpel now, his advanced training and inhuman reflexes needing to match this jungle cat as best he could to avoid being mauled, resulting in the Warden curling into a ball to roll out of the way? Was he afraid as he used a deft motion to unclasp the grip of a long, decidedly broader dagger that rested in a sheath on his thigh in preparation to defend himself against the creature? Did Parker know what fear was? If he did, it wasn’t obvious by the way he pulled the dagger out and lifted his other arm defensively, getting onto one knee as though ready to spring out of the way again. Parker also wasn’t stupid. Naive about what the true form of this shifter was, maybe, but not stupid. He didn’t hunt beasts, he didn’t even really consider the Fae to be monsters. They were pests, an entitled inconvenience that he had to deal with more often than he’d have liked. He didn’t have the tools or know-how to fight whatever this was. Parker wasn’t afraid, but he also wasn’t stupid. The mantra echoed in his head, keeping him rational, allowing him to think critically when confronted with an unexpectedly dangerous threat. He needed to disengage from this, painful as it was to have to leave the melanistic tail behind as it wasn’t any longer on a whimpering human but he couldn’t do so yet, instead steeling himself for an incoming attack. 

—

The smell of desperation filled the alley, though the jaguar took little joy in it. He wasn’t a malicious beast — only an angry one. An animal that had been hurt one too many times, a beast that had been locked away for so long and only ever let out in pieces, and even then only to hurt. Lack of control wasn’t something the Grit Pit tended to encourage. It made for a good fight in the moment, sure, but after? The jaguar couldn’t understand that the ‘danger’ ended when the match did, especially not when his host feared the Pit itself. So they kept the beast locked away until they needed it, until necessity made the lack of control worth the risk.

Like now, for example.

The jaguar knew that Felix hadn’t intended to free him at all. Felix, in all their fear, would have let this man do what he’d come to do simply because they were too terrified to remember that they could stop him. The jaguar had no such fear. He didn’t fear the small blade the warden dropped, nor did he fear the larger one it was replaced with. What was a blade to something like him? Especially in the hands of a fool. 

After all, who but a fool would deliver this kind of disrespect? Who but a fool would genuinely believe they stood a chance against this? The jaguar was not the sort of beast you could put down with a small blade in the arm of the human who housed his spirit. The jaguar was an ancient thing, a deadly one.

He intended to show this man just how deadly he was.

The man went down to one knee, and the jaguar stalked around him for a moment, growl low in his throat. He pounced all at once, a flurry of motion as he swiped a massive paw towards the man’s face. He would make this foolish human pay for the small amount of blood matting the fur around his shoulder, would take retribution for the silence in his mind where the remnants of Felix’s humanity was usually housed during a full transformation. The jaguar didn’t understand the drugs that had pulled Felix’s consciousness away, but he didn’t need to. He understood rage; he’d never needed anything else.

—

Tachypsychia, not that Parker knew what the term for it was as it happened to him, was a strange effect when it occurred. It was viewing a car crash in slow motion, the anticipation of the action pumping chemicals through the brain. It wanted to stop it, how desperately it wanted to stop it, and yet the inevitable was just that. The big cat leapt. It leapt with all the time in the world between the two of them. It leapt with the deafening ticking of a grandfather clock in Parker’s head. It leapt and in his incredibly limited time to react, even given his advanced senses, the Warden could tell it was aiming for his face and as it leapt, suspended in the air like a terrible omen, Parker’s brain was rushed with fear. An animal instinct that he didn’t acknowledge until it was presented to him in the form of sharp claws so potentially close to his lifeless blue eyes, the lifeless blue eyes that were suddenly full of life.

Time dilated, then didn’t, then warped again then returned to normal and somewhere in that period of fluctuating time, the predator landed, Parker had turned and he made a motion to slice at the feline’s legs with the knife to provide enough distraction to get away but not before feeling the sting of a puncture wound in his face, just below his eye. The most prominent claw of the big cat had found his periorbital socket and ripped it open like a can opener to aluminum as Parker wrenched his body away from it, feeling the rush of air on his exposed flesh, muscles, and perhaps even the white-hot chill of wind on a bone. And still, with a fresh Parker didn’t scream. Clutching the dagger in one hand with a white-knuckled grasp and pressing a palm down in an attempt to stem blood flow and apply pressure to the wound that stretched from eye socket down to his jaw, got to his feet with an inhuman agility of his own and he ran. Ran as fast as his legs would carry him, making sure he was exposed in every conceivable light. Stay in the light. Find people. He ran.

—

The jaguar found pleasure in the resistance of the hunter’s skin against his claws, enjoyed the fear he saw in the eyes of his prey. Perhaps this would show the man some semblance of what Felix had felt with the hunter’s weight pinning them to the concrete, would share with him what had been going through the fighter’s mind as they had struggled to maintain their grip on consciousness. The jaguar was a protector, first and foremost, and while Felix may not have always allowed his protection, they would have it all the same. In moments like this one, when they were not around to stop it, the jaguar could do as he pleased.

But perhaps not indefinitely. 

The hunter’s blade sliced the jaguar’s legs, sending him stumbling back with a pained yowl. The big cat’s blood mixed with that of the hunter on the pavement, flowing artistically into the alley. Anger burned in the jaguar’s chest, but when he regained his composure, the man was fleeing.

There was a moment, of course, where the jaguar wanted to follow. A moment where anger battled with instinct, where the idea of vengeance nearly won out. But the animal’s mind was still just that — animalistic. And the forest was calling. 

So, with one last yowl that he hoped would haunt the man, the jaguar turned away. To the woods, he thought. That was where he belonged.

[anotherhumanpet]

The raucous elf in the hat is bucked, but this only provides an opening for tranq elf to hit him with a few more darts. Will you yield to the holiday spirit, Dennis Wenny?

He will not, but he also has little choice in the matter. The first dart had considerably clouded his thoughts enough as it was. With the additional darts now coursing through his system, he's given no choice but to collapse into a heap and let forced slumber take him. He kicks and writhes and struggles though, up until that last faded moment before everything goes black.

+1 kidnapping incident.

[aceofwhump]

Hey Ace! Weird question, but I lost all my copies of the Hardy Boys to a donation haul and I've been looking for a specific moment, but I cannot for the life of me remember which book it is.

They're in a forest. One of the brothers leans down and rubs his leg, and says "I've been stung by a bee!" Then, shortly after, he collapses, and it's revealed he was hit with a tranq dart instead.

I haven't read those books in ages, but I really want to read that scene again--could you nudge me in the right direction?

Hi nonny! You know it does sound familiar so I did a little digging online and guess what? I FOUND IT! It happens in The Melted Coins and it's Frank who gets hit. It's good stuff for sure. Gotta love a poison dart. And you can borrow it for free right here: https://archive.org/details/meltedcoinshardy00fran/mode/2up