#until i used another machine i didn't realize how much i fought the first one because it'd slide around the table

[thetravelingfryingpan]

finally I'll be able to sew a straight line

[dronebiscuitbat]

Oil is Thicker Then Blood (Part 78)

That night the apartment was quiet, Uzi laying on her back, staring at the ceiling. The inside of her core feeling like a pinball machine. She idly realized that tonight marked the beginning of month three, and the code within was beginning to become independent.

If the sudden increase in movement was anything to go by.

“Mmh!” She winced, holding her core breifly as her core flickered brightly for a moment, before the movement died back down, she sighed deeply, before turning her attention to the doorway.

N was in the kitchen, leaning up against the wall with Tera in his arms, watching her down a bottle of oil that she was holding up by herself, draining it into nothing. A far away look painted on his visor.

It would take time for Khan to organize an event for the entire bunker, where he would attempt to get everyone on board with Uzi's plan, until then, all they had to do was wait.

But waiting felt so much different when they both knew they were on a time limit, every minute ticking past was another minute towards oblivion, neither knew how long the time limit was, but they could both hear the ticking of their internal clocks, knew it was creeping closer.

N sighed, taking the now empty bottle from his daughter, who giggled at him as he sat it on the counter. He touched his own visor, as if trying to make sure he still existed.

“Papa?” Tera cooed, gripping one of his fingers tightly, smiling up at him. At this point in her life, he and Uzi were her entire world. Her day to day was the two of them and it showed. She chirped, and nuzzled her cheek into the palm of his hand.

He began to tear up, he couldn't help it. This tiny little life trusted him so completly. Trusted them to get her though everything no matter what. And he wasn't sure anymore if he could, the only thing any of them could do was wait and see.

“Papa…?” Her little voice spoke again, her head tilted to the side as she reached up to touch his face, making him smile as he fought the tears back.

“I'm ‘right, Papa’s just tired.” He hummed, his voice a near whisper, he knew Uzi was trying to sleep in the next room.

He also knew she was probably wide awake, but it was still rude.

“Mama tiwred too.” She replied, and he winced, one of her first full sentences and it was of her noticing the less then stellar moods of her parents.

“Yeah, she is.” He nodded slowly, taking a glance toward the closed doorway that housed his sleeping girlfriend.

Life partner.

The second voice in his system corrected, sounding like his own only deeper, more protective. They were his thoughts, but they also weren't, at first he didn't realize it, but now it was fairly obvious.

“I think we're all tired, we've had a long day.” He leaned forward and nuzzled his daughters cheek, making her laugh and do it right back. “I think it's bed time.”

“Noooo…” She whined, gripping onto her dad's face, holding on even after he lifted his head back up, leaving her feet to dangle as she held his visor.

“Awww, why not Jellybean, sleep makes you feel better to play in the morning.” He hummed, letting her stay on his face even if the words were muffled, she laughed a little, but then gripped tighter.

“Bad.” She nearly whispered, her eyes looking too scared for his liking. He used his tail to wrap around her and pull her off his visor, placing her back in his arms.

“Bad?” Bad what?” Tera looked up at him, as if she was trying to think of a way to explain it to him with her limited vocabulary.

“See Bad.” N blinked, wracking his processors on what that could possibly mean, it probably didn't mean she needed glasses, he knew what that looked like, and she wasn't squinting at everything like V had done before she got her glasses.

“You see bad things when you sleep?” He asked, and Tera nodded against him glumly.

Oh…

“Those are called nightmares, they aren't real baby.” He hummed, rubbing a calming circle into her back, she whimpered as if she didn't quite believe him.

“You wanna sleep with Mommy and Daddy tonight?” He asked softly, feeling his daughter nod rapidly into his chest, making him chuckle.

“Alright…” He hummed, making his way to the bedroom where Uzi was facing the ceiling, a hand on her chest and the other locked at her side, very much not asleep.

He looked down at her, her eyelights shifting on her visor to better look at him, he smiled the best he could. “Having trouble sleeping?”

She sighed, nodding slowly as he sat Tera down on the bed, where she immediately curled up next to Uzi, chirping once before purring loudly. N followed suit, tucking in under the covers and almost immediately turning to face her.

He liked looking at her, he always had (especially now, when she kept wearing loose fitting shirts that hung off her shoulders or exposed her core around the house) but right now she looked exhausted, downtrodden, and stressed. She held her head in a way that suggested pain. The answer was obvious, but he asked it anyway; “You Good?”

With that, it was her turn to face him. She didn’t answer verbally, but her expression told it all, being only a degree short of tearing up. He reached out to pull both of them closer, burying Uzi’s head into his chest and sandwiching Tera in between them.

“Waiting feels like torture… we should be trying to find a way to escape.” She murmured, and yet she gripped his back like a lifeline, he stroked down her own. Something now ingrained in his muscle memory.

“We are. We can’t do anything if we don’t sleep.” He replied, his tail wrapping around her leg and a gentle purr coming from deep in his core. He could almost feel her body try to relax in response. But she was simply too wound up. She huffed.

“Are you talking to yourself or me?” She bit sarcastically, releasing a tense laugh from N’s throat.

“Yes.” He hummed in return, his hand coming up to splay flat against the glass covering of her core, which was now solidly pink, it pulsed with energy, and he could feel a little core-beat within, thrumming away.

“Girl or Boy?” He asked, partly trying to distract her and partly himself from the deep feeling of dread that had fallen over both of them. They didn’t have to address it, they both knew it was there.

“Huh?” Uzi put her own hand over his, lifting an eyebrow before scoffing. “N, is now really the time?”

“Humor me. Girl or Boy? I personally think we’ll have another girl, and she’ll have your beautiful purple hair, and that lovely Doorman attitude.” He smirked, and she rolled her eyes before smiling, shaking her head.

“I think it’s a boy. And he won’t look like me, he’ll look like you, golden eyes, fluffy hair-“

“-Aww, but you’re so much prettier then me.” He interrupted, the suddenness of it making her blush and pushing his hand off her gently and turning away, crossing her arms and causing him to chuckle.

“Bite me. No I’m not.” She grumbled, but easily accepted defeat with she felt N give her a small kiss on the head, and she flipped back around, searching his eyes for something.

“We’ll figure it out-“

“- Together. Yeah, I know.” She finished for him, sleep finally taking hold and causing a soft purr to escape her lips, he curled around her protectively, keeping both girls safe pressed against his chassis.

He wouldn’t sleep a wink. His processors screaming;

Protect. Protect. Protect.

Next ->

[scream-into-the-voiddd]

you know what I think the rottmnt fandom sleeps on,

how Splinter/Lou jitsu went form unwilling fighter

to beloved champion (and loving being a champion)

to locked in a cage vowing to never fight again.

The first one makes sense like yeah fighting for your life after you have been betrayed by a woman you loved. Would make you feel down and out, and keep fighting to stay alive even if begrudgingly.

the second stage is actually in charter for rise splinter as he loves attention and praise above all things. But he also loves fighting so being an actor used to be how he got all that, but (and many others have pointed out) that after the shock wares off of a action star going missing no one would be looking for him. So the idea of him being loved and admired in the battle nexus would be appealing after a while and since we know he actually lived in the hidden city (as he showed Mikey) my guess is that mama gave him more privileges the better he did (but under her watch). this was also the time Draxum spotted him.

literally standing on a pile of beaten yokai.

So what changed?

what made his not want to fight anymore?

what was it that made him feel so strongly that he would rot in a cell for the rest of his days then fight another battle.

If I had to guess it was a mixer of things.

1, he got privileges not freedom

2, his popularity waned

3, he killed an innocent

I think the first point specks for its self, big mama would never chance him leaving so I think he was under watch every time he went out.

point two I think as time went on people didn't care for lou's easy wins and just didn't care about his fights anymore.

which leads into the third point, I think as he got lower on the poll and as time went on, he was fighting less and less capable fighters, until he was facing someone who was innocent and scared, and who feared the wrath of the battle nexus' all time champion. and splinter did beat them badly and when the crowed cheered he realized what he had become. The monsters he fought when he first came to the battle nexus.

I thinks it is interesting how much enthusiast he puts one "innocent creatures" when he says he is not fighting anymore and only fights Draxum when he sees the depths of his evil (mutating babies to turn them into killing machines)

But yeah, there is a story there.

[batsyforyou]

I Fought Car Thieves and Lost

And no, this isn't fake, this literally happened to me today. And the only reason I'm even making this post is to hopefully make sure that no one else makes my mistake. I mean guys, I’m 20 years old soon to be 21, about 5 '4 and barely pushing 111 pounds. I’ve never been in a situation like this and I’ve never seen a situation like this. I wouldn't even be bringing this up if I didn't think it was important. So if you're like me and have never been taught what to do in situations like this this post is for you. And I mean yeah, this is common sense but I apparently lacked all common sense unfortunately. 

Disclaimer: I have made this post with every intention of helping people with warning them, writing advice, and I have so much respect for everyone involved it was not easy. 

Trigger warnings: I will be talking about blood, police, and I’ll be mentioning guns, knives, pepper spray but be made aware there were no weapons used okay? So, please if those things bother you, scroll away. For the rest of you let me give you the basics. 

So, me and my family just moved into a small town a few months back and we run a small family business involving huge machines. The building we bought was right on the main highway and there’s two alleys beside it. My Dad and I are out in the back of the building working in the car port and moving our CnC which is basically a big automated machine that is operated by computers. I only bring this up to tell you how loud it was. I had my headphones on and I heard a scream that I thought was, “Help!” I paused and took my headphones off and listened because I thought I was hearing things at first. And I heard it again the scream for help but my reaction was, wait-is that actually a cry for help? Is this real? And there it came again and yeah it was definitely a cry for help. I took off running and when I rounded the corner I froze again because I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. 

An elderly woman was being robbed by a younger woman and it looked like they were trying to steal her purse. 

Now, I was one of the first people on the scene, if not the very first. I think the only other person there was a guy and his dog. I would say he was behind the women but I actually don’t know. He didn't help until after which is when I became aware of him. So I don’t actually know if he was there when it started and to be honest I don’t think he was. I didn’t look around or take in any other details, I only saw the two ladies fighting. If I had taken the time to look I would have seen a huge medium sized man there as well. 

I rushed in between the two and I started to try and fight the younger woman back and it's at that point that I realized that the fight wasn’t over a purse, it was over the elderly woman's car keys. Another set of arms gets into the middle of all this but I don’t actually register it but I know it's a man. The younger woman gets away from me and rushes into the driver's seat, slams the door and tries to start the car. I rush after her and reach into the open driver's window and I try to take the keys back or at least stop her from starting the car. The other pair of arms from before comes back and an arm comes in on the side, gets in the window and shoves me back. I instead run around the car and I notice a red car pull up. I open the passenger side door. I almost get in but instead I fling the door out hoping that it’ll hit the car in front to slow them down. While I’m doing this the red car tries to block them from turning around towards town. But it didn’t work and the man, A.K.A. the other pair of arms, threw open the back door behind the driver’s seat and jumped in and they barrel out of there. The red car barely dodged them and then raced out after them. But since the car isn’t there anymore I turn around to the elderly women who’d collapsed onto the cement. Blood dripped from her mouth and it was almost everywhere. This is when the man and the dog come over saying something Idk. 

Despite the fact that I have always been told to call 911 in the event of an emergency, I still stood there and asked myself, what do I do? Do I call 911? And I turned around to look for my Dad because I didn't have my phone on me and I didn’t know what to do. Behind me my Dad comes over and says to call 911. I tell him about my lack of phone and he goes to call them with his phone and heads back to our building. I talk with the woman and I try to comfort her while I and the man with the dog listen to her ramble about things I couldn’t understand. From there a lot of other people come over and start to help. And the red car pulls back up and a woman comes out from the driver's seat and moves to help the elderly woman on the floor. As she tells us that she got the license plate and had followed them out until the prison before she turned around. I glanced in her car and in the front passenger seat was her Dad and her two young boys, 12-13 years old, in the backseat. My neighbor, another elderly woman, and her son came out because this all happened in front of her fence. And they start to help out and the police come and blah blah. 

I was so stupid. Instead of being shoved to the side by that guy he could have chosen to either grab me and attack me or put me in the car, or if he had a knife on him he could have stabbed me, and if he had a gun he could have shot me. I didn’t realize these things until after everything went down and I saw my sister freaking out about 30 minutes later. 

The lesson here is to never ever do what I did unless you are a trained professional with proper training or you have a weapon and you know for sure that they do not have a gun on them. But even then I wouldn’t ever recommend getting involved like that. And if you are the victim in this situation and are being robbed, don't fight them. Whether it be your car or your purse, let it go. Whatever they are taking from you is not worth your life. (The only exception that I can think of is if someone was trying to take your kid from you.) That elderly woman was so lucky she didn’t have a heart attack or break anything when she fell. Guys, she was on oxygen. Freaking Oxygen. And yeah she was brave for fighting back but she could have gotten incredibly hurt. Thankfully she only got a cut on the lip and had managed to bite the woman’s hand so she fought hard. But I still wouldn’t recommend it. And to the people who steal and pick on the elderly, pregnant women, childern or the disabled and whoever is at a extreme disadvantage you are a fucking coward and I hope you get what you deserve.  

And I mean I was so stupid it could have gone from car thief to kidnapping or I could be in the hospital or dead and this post wouldn’t be here. Please do not ever do what I did. And yeah, this might be a little dramatic but whatever I genuinely don’t care. 

The one thing that bugs me though is that I had pepper spray in the house with my phone and everytime I think about it, if I had that on me I could have resolved the fight much faster. I could have taken out the woman but I’d then have to deal with the man after so idk how much that “what if'' would have helped me. I'm just glad they didn’t choose violence while choosing violence if that makes sense. 

To my fellow writers. Let me give you the details. 

If you have a character who either encounters a situation like this or is put into a situation like this I hope this helps. 👍 

You don't really think. 

The first few details you lay eyes on are going to determine your reaction and you only see very few details. (I’m a civilian and I have no idea if that's the same for trained professionals. They probably see a lot more.) So when you write I recommend that you don’t really describe the surroundings much if at all. Only the first key details that the character first laid eyes on. For me, the details were lady, purse, elderly lady, fighting. I didn’t think I just reacted especially in the beginning but there is a point where you do think. Like when I reached into the car window I could hear a thought racing into my head that I didn’t need to get the keys, I just needed to stall her. And when I threw open the passenger door and almost jumped in but thought better of it because “what if I get trapped and they drive off?”  

You shake. 

After everything I was shaky, not extremely shaky but enough for me to notice and go “Oh, that's weird-anyway.” My breathing even seemed shaky for a little bit and my hands shook too. It was very weird. Like the shaking wasn’t even that noticeable and wasn’t even that big a deal but it was there. About an hour after (by this point it was resolved) I still felt shaky but I wasn’t shaky if that makes sense? Like I had this feeling in my chest that I was shaky. And after the cops showed up I just told the officer where to find me if they needed me and both me and my Dad just went back to work like nothing happened. And for the victim she was shaking quite a bit too. And she was asking me for an inhaler and as an asthmatic I had one but I hadn't used it in months and had no idea where it was. So I instead decided it would be a better idea to stay and keep her calm instead of looking for something for a long period of time and not know if I'll actually find it. Also, I should have my inhaler on my person anyway but I didn't so yeah.

Time 

When everything was said and done I could have sworn it was late afternoon almost evening but when I looked at the time it was in the early afternoon like 3:15 p.m. I was so shocked. So time has no meaning with these things. 

Energy 

 I was also extremely calm after and I felt like I had energy like nothing happened. And I was fine. I mean I felt a little sore in the arm where I got shoved but I only noticed that about an hour later when the police were wandering around and everything. I’m assuming I was in such a shock and adrenaline high that when I stopped working with the police and finished my work outside I sat down and I suddenly felt so exhausted. Like I had never felt so exhausted before it was like a mix between upset tired and tired because it was a long day tired. And I had sleepy tears in my eyes but they didn’t really do anything like there was no crying, they just sat there in my eyes like “you good?”

People come together. Like they're attracted to this stuff especially after the fighting. And I mean humans kind of are anyway. Like when we keep trying to take a look at a car wreck but can’t actually see it because we're in the middle of driving and other cars block it. 

I noticed that when the woman with the red car came back and everyone started to come together to tell each other what happened from their perspective. They were interrupting each other and telling each other what they did to contribute multiple times. I didn’t really get involved with the conversation. Mostly because I felt like a kid and when I did try to tell them my side of the story they very quickly interrupted me and talked over me. Which was fine, I didn't really want to talk anyways but I did want to make sure they knew a few key details. So that the people who were also calling 911 would have a better picture to give the person on the phone. Mostly because I didn't know if my Dad had managed to find his phone and call 911. Like at first they didn’t know that there was a guy in the car with the woman I had to tell them. So don’t be afraid to have characters circle back to and repeat things again and again. People actually do that. They want to tell their part. I think it's to help them process what happened and I also think it's to relive it but still. 

Side characters and patterns.

I actually had encountered the man and woman before today. I had encountered them when I had walked up the side of my building, two days ago, and she was sitting in my old beat up saturn. In the driver’s seat while the man was in the middle of the street. I, at first, didn’t do anything because I was like “Huh? What? Is that actually my car? Is there actually a woman sitting in my car?” And I raised my voice and said “Excuse me, what the hell are you doing?” She got out of the car and closed the door, clutched her purse and went “Oh, sorry. I mean I was sitting in your car but I’m sorry.” Said sorry one more time before I cocked my head and looked at them. And with attitude but also politely because that had never happened to me before and I was alone, I said “You're sorry?” And she was like “yeah.” With a little girl voice and then the dude was like come on let's go and they walked away and down the street but not before the woman looked into the driver side window of my Dad’s truck. Right in front of me. I shouted at them again about staying away from our vehicles and I had my building's door open at that time but I again didn’t have my phone on me. I usually have my phone on me and it's weird that the two times I decided to leave it because I’d be “right back” is so weird. Like everytime I needed my phone I didn’t have it on me. We had called the police then too and gave them a report and moved our vehicles. And by the way when dealing with side characters in these situations you’d be surprised how quickly everyone teams up. Strangers work together in perfect teams (sometimes). They all have their own parts to play in helping the victims which is usually their main priority. Cause most people who gather around like this tend to have good intentions (sometimes). And btw I would have lost that car if they had managed to turn it on. 

Setting 

The scene of the crime was literally so perfect and it wasn’t even planned (I think). When we were all sharing details and POVs I learned that the man and woman had asked the elderly woman if she’d drive them into town. She had said no and mentioned only to us later on that she didn’t even do a lot of driving anyway and that the car was under her daughter’s name. After the first no the woman asked “Not even if I give you gas money?” And after the second no the woman started to steal the keys and everything. I have no idea how the elderly woman got her mouth cut and I mean she did bite the lady but still. I have no idea. Anyway, I looked around and noticed that what the elderly woman had pulled over for was the garage sale that had a “everythings free” sign. And she said she was going to ask my neighbor if everything really was for free when she was attacked. But literally if you're standing back from everything looking in from the street you have a huge tree that sits at the corner of the alley. It's untrimmed and blocks most of the corner sidewalk and it also blocks my building. So you wouldn't have seen anything if you’d walked by and never walked down the sidewalk. You also have more plant life on this high fence that the garage sale was leaning against and the only thing from my neighbors property that could have allowed for a witness was one small empty window. And on the other side of the street a dude lives in a place with boarded up windows and isn’t even there 99% of the time and is the only building on that side of the street. At the far end of the sidewalk was another untrimmed plant and another alley and a building that had its windows covered. If the elderly woman hadn’t screamed for help no one would have known. I mean I wouldn’t have. I never look down that sidewalk ever. But now that I think about it probably was planned. And since we had moved in pretty recently in terms of months my family didn’t have security cameras up yet. Which sucked cause it would have been nice to have footage and everything but oh well.

The fight 

The elderly woman had been up against one of those white plastic tables at like fairs or something and was in a corner when it happened. And to be honest some of what happened during the fight or whatever I can’t even remember. Like I couldn’t tell you which side of the car I ran around. Was it the back or the front? Idk and in some of my memories I have no idea how I even got there or what I did but I know what I did if that makes sense? So, while I know a lot of what happened was pushing and grabbing no one actually threw hands at each other although I probably should have. So think about that when you write your scene not everyone thinks to punch each other in situations like this. And I think that's very interesting to think about. And apparently my dad had come up to see me rush to the side of the driver’s window to try and get the keys and get shoved and then watch me go for the passenger door. He says that he shouted at me to let go because he thought that I was gonna hold on to it but I didn’t hear him let alone know he was there until I went looking for him. I didn’t hear anything. Just the lady screaming to stop them and even I only heard that once despite the fact she said it repeatedly. I know this because again everyone likes to share their part. One thing I know is that what happened was very noisy but I didn’t hear any of it. When I think about what happened in my perspective, there is no sound. No car doors slamming, no shouting, nothing. Also, I don’t know if I mentioned this before but I didn't fight back against the shove because I saw it was a man and I assumed he was trying to help. Because I saw it was the same pair of muscular arms from before and thought “yeah, you do it your stronger anyway.” Idk why but I thought that as important to note.  Because I didn’t even realize until later that the dude was in on it. 

Your character 

Your character doesn’t have to be the hero. They could be the victim or the woman in the red car or a passenger in that red car. Imagine being in the backseat of your friend's car who then gets involved in stopping a crime and almost gets you T-boned when the culprit escapes. Imagine how that mom must have felt knowing her kids and her own Dad were in the car with her. Like whoever your character is, they don’t have to know everything while coming to help. Example. Your character could be my neighbor or my neighbor's son. Her son had called the police and asked the woman if she wanted a chair to sit on instead of the floor and my neighbor asked if she wanted a glass of water. Things I didn’t think about I mean I got her a towel for the bleeding but that's nothing. I mean there were chairs in the garage sale right behind me and I didn’t once think about getting her off the floor. And they still told their side of the story a few times as well and my neighbor's son had done most if not all the talking of collecting information from everyone and talking to the police. He came in and decided to take charge and lead everyone. And the dude with the dog went to find the woman’s address and went to tell her husband what happened. A ton of people came to see what was happening but so little did anything. Flight, fight, freeze. Most came and freezed others who came just left and I was the only one who acted during the act not just after. I helped during, after and with the police and others helped after if that makes sense? So when writing, think about what if things did go south? Did your character get stuffed in the car? Did your character get stabbed or shot? Or did your character get into the vehicle while it was leaving like I almost did and did they get shoved out the door of a moving vehicle or something else entirely? Or maybe they just watched and didn’t get involved? Idk that's up to you. 

Blood

It dripped from her mouth and she tried to stop it by putting her hands over it. And it dripped a little trail onto concrete and blood dripped onto her shoes and everything. In her hands, down her arms and off her elbows. She had been standing before she fell too.  Bloody mouth as well. And the tone of voice with which the elderly woman screamed is also important to note. My Dad said that he’s almost 70 years old and had never heard someone scream like she did so think about that as well. Oh, and everyone came after the third scream for help Idk why but I think that's important to note. 

I hope this helps people. Hopefully when you write you have this to kinda base your story’s events on. Like some kind of outline. And I hope people take this as a lesson on what not to do as well. I should put another disclaimer here but I am not a professional anything. And I actually don't know what advice is or isn't good. I'm just telling you what I think would have been the better thing to do for my situation.

Anyway, stay safe guys and God Bless. 💕

And don't be me.

[yurtletheturtlehenderson]

COSMIC - S1:E3; Chapter Three, Holly, Jolly - [Pt. 2]

A Will Byers x Male!Reader Series

𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘠/𝘯, 𝘔𝘪𝘬𝘦, 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭. 𝘈 𝘩𝘰𝘳��𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳.

WARNINGS: Mentions of [lots of] blood, use of the 'f' word literally ONCE, uhh, I think that's it?

|| 𝟑𝐫𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐎𝐕 ||

El sits on the floor of Mike's basement, back to the couch. Candy wrappers and crumbs were scattered around a finished puzzle of a beautiful green forest. The strange plastic ship, floating in the air in front of her. It suddenly drops to the ground as her attention is brought to the Supercomm on the couch. She picks up the device and clicks it on, bored with the static that comes from the other end, she soon abandons the device and stands up.

She walks up the steps, eager to explore the house more. When she reaches the top of the steps, she cautiously peeks around the corner. When she decides no one is home and the coast is clear, she continues to explore the house.

With the house to herself, she had more time to linger, and appreciate and explore. It was fascinating to her, and yet it made her sad. Could she have had a life like this? She didn't know what to think when she admired every object, every picture on the wall. There was one in particular that caught her eye.

It was a small photograph, but you could tell it was important. It was another picture of Mike and his friends. Only, they were younger. They were playing and splashing around in the water, a lake it looked like, surrounded by beautiful green trees. Each of them had an arm wrapped around each other forming a line, and their pants were rolled up to their knees.

The young boy on the very left had messy black hair, who El immediately recognized as Mike. He was smiling brightly at her from the picture. A young Lucas to his right, who wore a rather proud grin. Dustin was looking at the two, more specifically Lucas; he had been laughing when the photo was taken.

Will, she believed his name was, had one scrawny arm draped loosely around Dustin, however, he had his full attention on a very cheery looking Y/n who stood proudly showing off a very small frog to the camera. He had daisies on his head, tangled in his hair, and a gleaming smile showed off a missing tooth. He was holding the frog so delicately.

But it wasn't Y/n, or even Mike that caught her eye. It was the way Will was looking at Y/n. His eyes held a certain fondness and appreciation, his smile warm and genuine. El tilted her head ever so slightly, thinking. Something deep inside her was gnawing at her, a feeling that was foreign to her. Shaking her head, she moved on to the rest of the living room.

She went back to the funny chair Mike had shown her and took a seat. She reached over and pulled on the lever, sending her back and forth as it kicked her feet out. She looked around curiously as the chair rocked her back and forth.

El noticed the weird device on the table beside her and picked it up. It was a strange curved thing attached by a curly wire. It had many buttons, every one of them had a number on them. It let out a strange noise, barely audible from the top. She brought it up to her ear to listen to the endless monotone hum. Not knowing what else to do she mimicked the tone, just for fun before putting it back.

She stood up from the chair and sat herself down on her knees in front of the TV. Curious, she ran her fingers down the side until she felt the button and pressed it. A brief crackle of static rang out and as soon as it came on it was replaced with the voice of an older man, the screen lit up in front of her.

"...was occupying a large part of Lebanon. Today, Syria has become a home for-"

Click.

El pressed another button.

The moving picture on the screen changed, where many bright flashes of color dance across the screen. A fake man with yellow hair held a sword as he exclaimed.

"I have the power!"

Click.

"...gift that will last forever. From the Harmony Treasures' collection-"

Click.

A beautiful melody came from the TV set and El's eyes widened in surprise.

Click.

"On the beach and in the sun"

El froze. She recognized the rolling tin can that appeared on the TV. Her breathing began to quicken as she fought the memories back.

- 𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗛𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 -

The all too familiar humming and beeping of the machines echoed off of the cold, isolating walls. Eleven sat at the same table, with the same camera facing the same window with the same adults who watch her and study her. Nothing was new, and she feared nothing ever would be. All she wants is to go this over with. Wanting to get the damn wires off of her head.

Yet, she sat still, compliant, unmoving. Never taking her eyes off of Papa as she watched him hand the clipboard to one of the men and give her a nod of his head. She turned her head and attention to the small Coke drink. Her eyes bore into the empty can and she concentrated.

Her head shook ever so slightly as she focused, straining. It was difficult, but she was able to do it. The can caved into itself with a loud 'crack' and it wasn't until the monitors stopped did she realize how loud they had been. She looked back to Papa, looking for his approval.

He stood unmoving, a glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes. She felt her nose run damp, a warm liquid oozed from her nose. She blinked, confused and slowly brought her hand up to her upper lip, realizing she was bleeding. She looked to Papa, expectantly. He only smiled a cold empty grin.

- 𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗛𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 -

"Coke is it! Coke is it!"

El quickly pushed the first button, shutting the TV off. Breathing heavily, she stood up and made her way to the basement.

|| 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕 ||

My back was beginning to hurt from hunching over for so long, but nevertheless, I continued looking. Lucas needs ammo for his wrist rocket, so naturally, the four of us were currently scouring the schoolyard for rocks.

"How about this one?" Mike asks, walking up to Dustin.

Dustin examines the rock Mike handed to him.

"Too big for the sling." He shrugs, tossing the rock to the grass. "So, do you think Eleven was born with her powers, like the X-Men, or do you think she acquired them, like... like Green Lantern?"

"She's not a superhero. She's a weirdo." Lucas says as he searches for that.

"You don't know that," I mumble, Lucas, however, doesn't hear me.

"Why does that matter? The X-Men are weirdos." Mike adds.

Lucas turns to Mike, agitated. "If you love her so much, why don't you marry her?"

I roll my eyes, and straighten up, stretching out my back.

"What are you talking about?" Mike sighs.

"Mike, seriously?"

"What?"

"You look at her all, like... 'Hi, El! El! El! El! I love you so much!'" Lucas teases, grabbing Mike in for a hug before getting down on one knee. "'Would you marry me?' I'm telling you, man, you're just as bad as Will!" He stood back up when he said the last-

'Wait...What?'

"What?" I asked, completely thrown off.

The boys freeze, Lucas especially. Lucas excluded, the boys all look at me with awkward smiles on their faces. Dustin chuckles and gives a still frozen Lucas a few pats on the arm.

"Good job, man. Real smooth."

"Guys, what is going on?" I asked exasperated, crossing my arms.

"Shit," Lucas whispers, closing his eyes.

"Lucas..."

Mike wears a triumphant grin on his face and looks expectantly at Lucas.

"Yeah, Lucas. Tell him."

Lucas sighs, and stiffly turns around, his change of attitude dramatic. He looks around once or twice before growing stern with me.

"You, and Will?" He suggests.

"What about us? What does that have to do with- Oh come on... You can't be serious. He does not like me."

"Literally everyone knows he is totally in love with you." He scoffs.

I scoff in return. "Love? Don't you think you're being a little dramatic? Not to mention, ridiculous?"

"Am I wrong?" He turns to the boys, who hesitantly shrug.

He turns back to me, a look screaming 'There you have it.'

"That doesn't prove anything! We're best friends! So what if we're close?"

He laughs. "Yeah, just as close as Nancy and Steve! And you're no better. You just haven't realized it yet."

"W-What? W-what ar- No!" My words are caught in my throat and I felt my cheeks begin to burn.

'No, I don't!'

It takes moments for me to recover. "Okay, let's say you're right. Let's say he does love me. How can you know for sure, huh? It's not like he told you!"

"Uhh, yeah! Might as well have. He didn't deny it!"

My heart stops, and I feel butterflies erupt in my stomach.

'Will? And me?'

"Look what we have here!"

'Oh, God. Not now.'

I roll my eyes and before I can stop myself I speak. "What do you want, Troll?"

My eyes widen at my sudden boldness but I remain confident. I stare down the two boys who have been bullying us for as long as we've attended this school.

"You better watch your mouth, freak-"

"Back off!" Dustin yells, cutting him off.

Troy looks over to Dustin, looking prepared to throw more insults at my brother but something changes his mind and he cools off. A smug smile tugs at his lips.

"Or what?" Troy spits.

Dustin falls silent, and Troy continues.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. What are you losers doing back here anyway?"

"Probably looking for their missing friend." Troy's goon laughs.

Anger begins to take over and my blood starts to boil.

"That's not funny. It's serious. He's in danger." Dustin immediately cuts in.

"I hate to break it to you, Toothless, but he's not in danger. He's dead. That's what my dad says."

'Where's that damn rock?'

"He said he was probably killed by some other queer."

I feel a lurch in my chest, and I can practically feel my vision going red.

"Come on. Just ignore them." Mike soothes, not only to me but to Dustin and Lucas as well.

He's right. I need to get out of here. I storm off, ready to shove him in the shoulder as I pass but suddenly I feel something catch my foot and I fall to the ground. A sudden wave of searing pain explodes on my chin when I hit the ground.

Dazed and confused, I push myself up enough to see a large, rather bloody rock just inches from my face.

I groan, rolling over on my back, I hear laughing and frantic footsteps.

"Y/n!" Dustin and Mike run over to me, Lucas storms up to Troy.

Dustin and Mike each grab an arm and help me sit up. I hesitantly bring a hand up to my chin and I hiss in pain. I look at my fingers and they are absolutely covered in blood.

'Holy crap.'

I groan and look to Lucas worried. He stands firm and tall, right up in Troy's face.

"Leave us. The fuck. Alone." He says through clenched teeth.

My eyes triple in size, surprised by Lucas's actions.

Troy and his friend laugh and walk away. Repeating Lucas in a mocking voice.

"You okay Y/n?" He reaches out his hand.

I gladly take it. However, I get a little lightheaded as I stand. "Shit, that's a lot of blood."

I look down and I see splots of blood already sprinkling my shirt.

'Great. This will be easy to explain to mom.'

"You still have that first aid kit?"

I close my eyes, sighing.

"Crap. No. I left it at Mike's." I sigh.

"We better get you to the nurse's office then."

"No, I-I'm fine." I sigh, wincing at the pain.

"Are you sure? You're bleeding, like a lot." Mike says.

"Yeah, I'm good. As long as I stop the bleeding, I'll be fine.. My body has always been able to heal quicker than most, anyways."

"He's right. I've seen it."

I offer a small smile. "Well, I at least better go get a tissue or something. I'll be right back." I say.

The boys nod, and I head off to the bathroom. My mind wanders back to what Lucas was telling me earlier, and the weird feeling in my stomach returns...

[lightrises]

"Only in allowing her to pass..." — Hornet, The Radiance, and the means by which Hallownest turned its victims against each other

A quick note: I read Hollow Knight as an anti-colonialist text. As such I'll be touching on topics related to colonialism as it's depicted in the world of the game, and said analysis will reflect both a sympathetic take on The Radiance and a critique of The Pale King that won't pull its punches. If this sounds up your alley, hello and thank you for the read! Let us be sad about these bugs together.

———

So!! A while back I realized something about pre-canon that felt rather... "curious" is one way to put it, I think. To wit: for all the effort and scheming and determination The Pale King poured into trying to get rid of The Radiance, neither of his plans involved directly killing her.

Was that his long game? Well, sure, that seems clear enough. His tack changed from luring the moths away from their god and creator to a more literal form of incarceration once the infection became a factor, but at its core the end goal never really changed—The Pale King very sincerely wished to destroy Radiance via obsolescence. The Seer lends us foreshadowing to confirm as much:

[Image descriptions: Two screenshots from Hollow Knight, showing the Seer and Ghost in the Seer's alcove at the Resting Grounds. Across both screenshots, the Seer tells Ghost the following: "None of us can live forever, and so we ask those who survive to remember us. Hold something in your mind and it lives on with you, but forget it and you seal it away forever. That is the only death that matters." End description.]

(Which, by the way and given the context, talk about an extremely unsubtle allusion to cultural genocide huh!!! Whew.)

In any case, we're left with a whole bunch of machinations which build up to... well, two very roundabout attempts at committing deicide. That's kind of weird, all things considered! Why not just do the deed in one fell swoop and get it over with?

This could be for any number of reasons. Maybe the king was devoid of the means to instantly kill another higher being. Maybe his personal sense of scruples stopped him short of signing off on MURDER murder (although, y'know, the aforementioned genocide + eternal imprisonment = still cool and copasectic apparently!). Maybe the long drawn-out cruelty was the point. Maybe the idea of playing fuckign 4D chess with the circumstances was too delicious for him to pass up—that man did love to tinker and stick his claws where they sure as hell didn't belong—or maybe it was a little bit of All The Things. Who knows!!

But interrogating The Pale King's methodology on this count isn't what I'm here for, at least not really. The main reason I raise this question at all is that in her own way, Hornet did too.

"I'd urge you to take that harder path... "

See, going by The Pale King's actions and what The White Lady explicitly says, they both foresaw two outcomes wrt the infection: it can be allowed to spread, or it can be contained. At Teacher's Archives, Quirrel acknowledges the fact that Ghost is expected to do... something about this, but he doesn't elaborate on what HE thinks that's supposed to be apart from the obvious "Gotta bust into Black Egg Temple first". Hornet is the one person who presents to us—to Ghost—what's framed as a third option: confront and destroy the infection at its source.

And she doesn't bring it up like it's just another tactic for Ghost to consider, prim and indifferent to what they would do. She nudges them towards it, actively, up to the point where she throws herself into the fray against Hollow at a juncture that's uniquely dangerous to her and her alone just to make that option feasible.

Even when she's couching it in disclaimers that this is still Ghost's decision to make (and let's be fair, she's extremely not wrong about that lol), no one can pretend Hornet is unbiased. It's obvious in that buttoned-down Hornet kind of way that she is way the hell done with the increasingly tenuous stalemate that's kept Hallownest's desiccated corpse from collapsing in on itself. Personally it's hard for me not to read some Toriel Undertale-esque "My father was too entrenched in his own foolishness to pursue any course of action that would have DEFINITIVELY ended this" shade into her stance here, regardless of whether that's strictly true in canon.

And that bit—Hornet's hopes for an end to Hallownest's stasis, moreover her grim calculation of what needs to be done to get there—that's the bit I find super interesting but likewise tragic and depressing as shit, on multiple levels. In no small part because a) canon itself gestures towards Hornet feeling conflicted about the very plan she's pushing, and moreover b) she has at least two (2) damn good reasons to feel that way.

So, what do I mean by that? Let's look here first:

[Image description: A screenshot from Hollow Knight, of Hornet and Ghost inside the Temple of the Black Egg, standing in front of the unsealed egg itself. Hornet has been struck by the Dream Nail and her dialogue is displayed as follows: "... Could it achieve that impossible thing? Should it?" End description.]

As the curtain is about to drop on things one way or another, Hornet thinks,

... Could it achieve that impossible thing? Should it?

Now, looking at that last bit it's easy to go "Oh no, Hornet's worried that Ghost won't survive killing The Radiance!" And I do think that's part of it: Hornet is, categorically, not her father. By endgame it's clear she's not content to view her Void-borne siblings as tools to be used then disposed of. She's also well aware that as a healthy autonomous Vessel amongst the countless dead, Ghost is the only person left alive who has a fighting chance against The Radiance. Knowing someone is the only qualified candidate for the job doesn't make encouraging them to embrace a probable death sentence any less of a bitter pill to swallow, though. And odds are on that this sentiment extends to Hollow too, who IS going to die no matter what happens here. To put it bluntly, it's more than reasonable to conclude that Hornet hates the absolute fuck out of this.

But I don't think that's all there is to it either. Remember what I said earlier about The Pale King's bids for genocide? Well, it's not like the man deigned to limit his efforts to just the moth tribe.

"We do not choose our mothers... "

On top of everything else—an infected Hallownest being all she's ever known, the fact that she only exists because of the infection, the list goes on—Hornet has spent her life wedged into a position that's been uncomfortable and terminally unglamorous at best: she is both a daughter of her father's kingdom and of Deepnest.

Deepnest, which like the moths and many others was here long before the wyrm and his lady wife swanned onto the scene and the God Become Bug laid claim to everything the Light touched plus a considerable amount of change. THAT Deepnest, which has fought claw and thread to retain its sovereignty against same-said settler king, and for which Herrah not only surrendered her life but also agreed to bed her worst enemy, all in hopes of securing a viable future for her people (put a pin in that last part by the way, I'll come back to it soon).

Two Worlds, One Family (Ft. An Indigenous Woman Trying Her Damndest To Work With What She's Got Versus An Imperialist Who Only Signed Up For This Because He Needed The Political Favor THAT Badly, So It's The Height Of Dysfunctional Actually). Fun times!!!!

The baggage this entails for Hornet is gnarly enough without implications made by The White Lady and the pre-canon timeline of events and even Team Cherry's dev notes that the king may well have looked at baby Hornet, gone "YOINK", then ensured she spent the lion's share of her childhood reared within the pearly auspices of his Pale Court*. That would be rather advantageous for Him Specifically after all, the potential to mold a born foe into a future ally and even have her trained in combat under the same tutelage as her doomed sibling. And far be it from him to stop a grown Hornet—his own flesh and blood too!—from making Deepnest her forever home if she so pleased. He totally wouldn't be reneging on his "fair bargain made" by doing this one simple thing until Hornet came of age, not t e c h nic c a l l y.

If that is indeed the case, there's a non-zero chance Hornet's formative years were a hot mess of cultural alienation and being a good deal more privy than most to just how much of a bastard her father could be. There's an equally non-zero chance that at some point she stood or sat within earshot as The Pale King finally, finally dropped all pretense and euphemism to name the Light for precisely what (for who) it was.

See, in conjunction with the question that started this whole dang train of thought I've been asking this one too: Does Hornet know? When she speaks of confronting "the heart of [the] infection" does she know she's talking about not just a literal person but someone very specific? The Radiance, who god though she may be shares skin in the game alongside Hornet as a native woman screwed over by the same settler king, likewise deprived of her kin and saddled with a life gone horrendously pear-shaped?

I'll assume for the sake of exploring the possibility and because I think it's a likely one anyway that yes, Hornet does know. She knows, and despite everything can't help empathizing. She might even look at Radiance and see bits and pieces both reflected and slightly inversed in her own mother: Radiance was forced to the sidelines while her people—her children, the brood she was meant to lead and care for—died out under The Pale King's rule, and it's no stretch to assume she's at least as upset about that as she has been about everything else; Herrah too took drastic measures for her people's sake, trying to head off annihilation by relegating herself to the sidelines in an act that was as much calculated risk as an attempt to find wiggle room and leverage in the face of a nasty proposition.

A calculated risk that, if things continue as they are, might well amount to nothing as the rest of Deepnest gets eaten alive by the infection. It survived The Pale King's advances for so so long, only to fall here. Herrah's sacrifice would be for naught; the other tribes—themselves the king's victims—would keep succumbing to the infection too.

And this is where things fall apart.

"... or the circumstance into which we are born."

Let's be clear: I think Hornet is wise enough to know what's what here, that all the carnage and suffering falls on her father's head for starting this slow-motion trainwreck in the first place. Hallownest wasn't always Hallownest. This domain was Radiance's home first, along with many others. It was the worm-turned-king who rolled up on the scene unsolicited and decided this was a ""'problem""" that had to be """solved""".

But the fact of the matter is that he's gone and The Radiance is here, raging, seemingly inconsolable. Above and beyond being Deepnest's rightful heir, Hornet isn't in a position to countenance more splash damage even if the grief and fury fueling it makes perfect sense. She can understand without ever bringing herself to love Radiance, and she can bend her knee to practicality even if she hates the everloving shit out of it because the fact that it "has" to end this way isn't fair.

This lends itself to one last awful conclusion: that Hornet has probably considered and (rightly or wrongly) discarded the possibility that Radiance can be saved, at least not without dragging more collateral along for the ride. If even her mother and every other enemy to the king seemed to dismiss talking Radiance down as an option way back when... well. Why should Hornet hope for any better after things have escalated so far?

Again, it's practical. A practical net good is what Hornet strives for. And again, it fucking sucks.

For extra tragedy points, this makes Hornet's extended crypticness around Ghost followed by her last minute casting about for a reason to tell them "Wait, don't; not just yet" that she never voices even more of a gut punch. She can't bring herself to burden Ghost with the context that haunts her so, least of all when it might weaken their resolve to go through with what (she thinks) needs doing.

It's the "same song, different verse" which led to the mantis tribe and Deepnest being pitted against each other: Hallownest rigged the game so that two women who could have been powerful allies—who have a mutual vested interest in driving out settler rule—wound up poised as enemies instead. And how awful is that? The king for all his being extremely fucking dead still gets the last laugh, because outside of a miracle the game never manifests Hornet can salvage what her mother started and look forward to a future where Deepnest pulls itself back from the brink if and only if The Radiance dies.

Resolution comes at the price of a completed genocide. Add two more dead siblings to the unconscionable pile thereof, while we're at it. That's what it boils down to whether or not Hornet can bear to articulate it as such, and there's no grace or even a properly bittersweet ending to wring from this clusterfuck. And that is rough.

———

* This has been better explained elsewhere, but a quick rundown: The White Lady tells Ghost that Hornet and Herrah "were permitted little time together." On its surface this can be taken to mean that Hornet was still very young when Herrah was shipped off to Eternal Dreamland—except this doesn't jive with the fact that we meet Hornet as an adult. If the stasis kicked in once the Dreamers went to their rest, which in turn halted the aging process for every living bug in Hallownest, AND before all this Hornet experienced little by the way of quality time with her birth mother... I think you can see where I'm going with this.

To top it off we've got Team Cherry weighing in ominously from their dev notes on Herrah: "As part of the agreement for her alliance and her role as a dreamer, King gave her a child (Hornet). Was she allowed to keep this child or was she taken away?" This isn't confirmation by itself of course, but given additional canon details (see above): Can I get a "yikes" in the chat fellas.

[juminsmysticmc]

Can I request the RFA suddenly meet old friends who were very close to them (maybe in their childhood, highschool,..), our boys said she's a good person but they're trying to separate the relationship between MC and the RFA (the RFA didn't notice this).MC told them about this and the RFA did not believe her, then they got into a fight, mc got hurt accidentally, plz.I love the angst, but can u make a happy ending?If it’s too much u don’t have to do it. I love ur blog btw, hope u have a great day!

Trigger Warning 

RFA meeting an old friend of MC who acts nice but want to actually separate their relationship but only trusting Mc after she got hurt in an accident 

Ohh hey! This is a really good request! It also would have been an amazing FanFic! Well, I hope you enjoy this Headcanon! Please feel free to tell me your opinion! And by the way, I also love angst with a happy end! Thank you for your kind words!

PS. the headline says trigger warnings because I am unsure if this could trigger you guys so please read with caution. 

You watched the group chat as the RFA was discussing whether to accept your friend as an RFA member. Everyone loved her; the woman who once was your best friend. The person who knew you the best. But she was also the person who hurt you the most. The lies she said, the actions with bad intentions… Everything came to you as more and more flashbacks. Ever since that happened back in University, you tried your best to cut contact. However, your love for her was bigger, and instead of cutting off the toxic friendship, she managed to make you become the loneliest person on the campus, destroying your faith and innocent heart for other people. You swore to yourself that you would never ever trust other people. Not until you met the RFA and your partner. They made you feel strong, positive about relationships, and managed to show you support whenever you needed it. But right now, that bad time was coming back. As if nothing changed, history repeated and people began to love her more than you. At least it seemed like that in your head. You decided to approach the person you thought would always support you. At least, you thought so.

Jumin

,,Jumin,“ you spoke up.

Your husband looked up from his phone as a smile decorated his face.

,,You never told me that you had such good friends,“ he spoke up first.

,,Well, actually, she isn’t a good friend to me. You know, maybe you guys shouldn’t hang out with her so much… she did some kind of hurtful things to me and-” you stopped as you saw Jumin’s face.

Why was he looking at you with that face?

As if you did something wrong, as if you were the bad person, just why?

,,You were the one who taught me to trust people!“ Jumin defended the woman who hurt you so deeply.

You tried to explain to him what happened.

,,She lied to me and to my friend! Because of her, I thought that my friend deceived me and vice versa!“ you told him.

How could he not trust you?

,,Maybe that was because you didn’t try to clear the misunderstanding,“ he told you, making you feel as if someone stabbed you in your back.

You rushed outside. You didn’t care about Jumin behind you, calling your name, and asking you to stop.

A fearful cry from him caused you to make a fatal mistake, looking back at him and not noticing the racing car which was approaching you.

The hit hurt so much. Your body crushed against the car and back on the hard floor, making you lose consciousness…

,,Mc! You‘re awake?!“ someone called your name.

You couldn’t really see the one who stood in front of you, but you knew perfectly well that this voice belonged to Jumin.

Even though you were still unable to move your limbs, you could feel Jumin kissing your hand.

,,I am sorry, that I… we didn’t trust you…“ he spoke up, making you notice that the RFA was there too.

,,Your friend won’t enter the RFA. Instead, we tried our best to make her go away forever,“‘ Seven laughed and began to explain how he found messages on her phone to get rid of you.

Zen

But you were kind of wrong.

Zen wasn‘t on your side at all. Instead,  he was on her‘s.

Once again, he was on the phone with her, laughing at something she told him.

At that point, you cursed the day you met her with Zen at the entertainment company.

With a fake smile, she hugged you and whined that you didn’t contact her anymore.

However, you knew that she hurt you a lot.

And Zen apparently came to like her a lot.

So much so that she was already visiting the whole RFA as if you were the newcomer.

,,You don’t understand how much she destroyed!“ you whined.

,,TRUE! I DON‘T! You're just jealous, Mc!“ he told you.

Lies, you thought.

Lies.

Like always. Lies.

You took your back and rushed out, not looking back at Zen or evening caring about telling him something.  

And then, without anyone noticing, you got into an accident.

While the paramedics were trying to save you, Zen was busy tidying up the room since your friend would come over.

Of course, the guilty was eating him from the inside, but right now he couldn’t change it.

And before Zen could keep on tidying up, the long-haired found something he shouldn’t read.

You diary.

The diary which page for page was about her, the one who caused your first panic attack, who made you think for two years that she was seriously sick, the one who played you against your friends.

And at that point he knew he screwed up.

Afterward, everything went over quickly.

Zen got called by the police, who told him that as you walked, you got hit by a stone that fell from a balcony and you were currently hospitalized.

At the same time, the girl who he thought was your friend passed by.

Zen couldn’t do differently and bashed her, telling her to literally fuck off before he would hit a girl for the first time.

,,I'm sorry,“ he sobbed late at night, your eyes still closed.

,,If you won’t wake up, I will fall asleep with you… so you’re free to choose yourself, whatever it will be. This time I will stay loyal to you,“

,,Dummy… of course I would choose life,“ you mumbled.

Yoosung

,,You’re my husband… why can’t you be loyal to me…?“ you begged him.

He just watched you as you shed tears in front of him, unable to give you an answer.

,,I just want you to trust me. Why do other people always come first? Am I not enough?

If the world was ending, wouldn’t I be enough? Do you need other people so bad?“ you sobbed.

,,Mc, I don’t understand your problem. We met your friend after such a long time and now you want us all to break contact? She’s so nice!“ Yoosung tried to explain, trying to touch you.

However, you flinched and stepped away.

,,Don’t touch me. If you don’t trust me, don’t touch me. I won’t forgive you for not trusting me… You’re unfair… Everyone is unfair… Why can’t you guys care about me? Why can’t you care about me the same way I care about you? Why is it always me who has to endure pain alone? Why?!“ you asked him and before he could stop you, you already ran off with the car key.

,,Mc is already missing for about three hours and isn’t answering her phone!“ Yoosung whined into the phone.

,,Don’t worry. And besides, it’s okay if she doesn’t come back.

Mc’s always been like this, as soon as something gets difficult she would go hiding. Don’t worry about her,“ your old friend said.

Yoosung gasped at the words your friend told him.

This wasn’t the way a friend should behave.

Without saying anything, Yoosung cut the call and instead called Seven, who immediately searched you.

,,Oh, oh… Oh my god,“ he gasped.

,,What?? Why? Seven??“ Yoosung cried.

,,Calm down, little man! I am going to pick you up, okay? Don’t freak out…“ Seven said and already cut the call to pick him up.

When the two of them arrived at the hospital, the other RFA members were already waiting in the parking lot.

Finally Seven spilled the tea, saying that he saw in the CCTV and that you were in an accident.

,,Two days already passed, Mc...the bad girl wasn’t accepted into the RFA so when you wake up, don’t worry. No one will replace you… and whatever she did back then, she won’t succeed another time… because we will stay by your side,“ Yoosung whispered before he fell asleep next to you.

,,Thank you…“

Jaehee

Tears kept flowing.

The thick drops were even louder than your breathing as you replayed what just happened.

You approached Jaehee to beg her to stay away from your toxic friend.

And then the argument.

You and her, who normally would work together, fought this time.

You even forgot what triggered you.

You just remembered how you got outside; alone in the dark.

The street lamp was the only thing illuminating the next five steps in front of you.

Suddenly, you shrieked as a dark figure approached you.

Fear was written all over your face and you were sure that the person in front of you could see that.

,,Who… are you?“ you whispered, trying your best to sound brave, but failing.

Instead, a sob left your mouth, making the stranger smirk.

The street echoed as you screamed as loudly as you could while the stranger stabbed you.

All he wanted was money.

You would have given it to him if he had just asked.

,,MC!“ you heard Jaehee and saw then her face.

And then darkness surrounded you.

,,She was always so stupid. That‘s why no one liked her back then in school.

It’s just better if you turn off the machines,“ you heard the one you once called your friend say.

You tried your best to open your eyes or say something, anything so that they wouldn’t kill you.

Anything, but nothing worked.

,,Please go. I don’t think that the RFA needs another member,“ you heard Jaehee say.

,,Don’t worry,“ she whispered and stroked your head.

,,I just realized everything and I will protect you,“ she kissed you, making you fall asleep in comfort.

Saeyoung

,,I thought since you’re a hacker you could see all her wrongdoings! But apparently, you’re blind!“ you hissed at him as you tried to beg him not to let her into the RFA.

However, you were already too late and realized that this ,,friend“ of yours already had all the data about the RFA.

Jumin said that maybe if you would give half the load of work to her so you wouldn’t work that much.

It would make it lighter for you.

In other words, you weren’t doing good enough.

They didn’t trust you with the work you were doing.

It hurt you.

It was a deep stab.

But you could keep going if your fiancé supported you.

Instead, he even did what the other person wanted.

No one trusted you.

You couldn’t trust anyone anymore either.

,,Someone leaked information about the RFA!“ the chat was in a fuss.

You knew who it was since you stopped working ever since she came into the RFA.

,,Mc was it! I can log in and see her email! Here‘s a screenshot.

Mc, how could you?

Why did you make the same mistake as back then in school?“ she typed in the chat.

You had to read the line four times until you realized that she was blaming you.

,,I’m disappointed,“ Saeyoung wrote.

That’s when you went you logged out and closed the app.

So she finally attacked you again, huh?

You were already waiting for it.

,,Mc!“ Saeran asked you and barged into the room.

,,You don’t trust me either, huh?“ you asked him, getting up and packing your stuff.

,,No, wait!“ your fiancé‘s brother tried to call you, to grab you.

However, it ended with you slapping his hand away, losing balance, and crashing down the stairs.

,,Did you push her?“ Saeyoung asked his brother.

,,ME?! WHY? I like her! And perhaps I do more than you! It’s your fault! If you would have trusted her, she wouldn’t have felt like that! If you would have supported her better… her friend faked the email. She was the one who leaked out the information,“ Saeran hissed, got up and left the hospital room, leaving an unconscious you behind him.

The next week, Saeyoung worked on finding out whether his brother was right or not and quickly kicked out the woman everyone thought was your friend.

,,From now on, I will trust you and listen to you. So open your eyes that you can scold me, okay?“ Saeyoung whispered and smiled as he saw your finger twitching.

MASTERLIST 1

MASTERLIST 2

MASTERLIST 3

16.06.2020// 22:37 MEST

[from-red-string]

Instinct

I'm so nervous for posting this for Day 3, I worry if anyone would read about Ana and Mora since they're not even secundary characters, they are just extras not in my heart but in the show, and this made it harder to write it. Anyway, it's here and I hope you like it.

Shout out to @sapphire374 for easing my worries and beta reading it 💛

Find all fics for Soy Luna Ficweek 2021, here

Day 3

Prompt: “Is this the second time we’ve both gotten stuck in the same elevator?”

Summary: The first time Ana and Mora got stuck in the elevator was when they stopped talking, a week later when it happens again: is it the time to rebound? or something more?

Warning: unfortunately it's not canon. Tino and Cato don't exist, they have never seen them, no one knows them in this fic

Genre: angst

Pairing: Ana and Mora a.k.a the lesbian moms

---

Another silent morning in the apartment, a rare situation for Nina. From what she could remember, there has never been a quiet day home ever since they moved in. Mora's sewing machine, some random song playing as background noise, or just Buenos Aires' downtown being crowded and busy. Although she appreciated the silence, it's odd, the girl is not used to it anymore.

Now both her mom and auntie didn't exchange a word, Mora has been working on arranging some photoshoots, she woke up for lunchtime and only came back late at night, while Ana left early for her meetings then arrived at 4 pm. Seems like they had it all planned out just so they didn't have to face each other. 

Nina didn't know what happened between them but hoped it would go away soon.

Well, unexpectedly it got different from other days from the beginning. When Nina left her room, Mora was awake and making herself breakfast. The girl checked the clock again, still at 7 am.

"Good morning, cariño" Mora smiled at her while Nina approached to sit on the chair.

"Morning." She reached for the bread slowly, hesitant. Her instincts told her to move carefully. "I thought I'd only see you later." Mora laughed but it was too stiff.

"I have to drive 3 hours to check for some special fabrics I'm looking for." The redhead tried to show excitement, however, such a rush manner showed her nervousness. Nina knew it wasn't about the fabrics. As soon as the clicks sound of Ana's heels started, Mora stands up. "I really need to go. Bye, darling." And left through the door carrying her purse, phone, and keys.

"Good luck there." Nina greets her and takes Mora's plate away immediately. She'd rather not step into whatever happened. Ana comes from her room in a rush and Nina wide her eyes when her mom gets to the front door. "Mom, you can't leave without eating."

"I'm late already. Sorry, cariño. I'll be back early. Bye… Hold the door, please!" Ana fleed before Nina could react. The girl opens the door to check on them but they were already gone. 

The silence from home followed them into the elevator. None dared to look up from their phones. Mora started to tap her foot impatiently when she noticed the elevator was slow today. 

"Can you stop?" Ana asked, staring at her screen.

"Oh, good morning. Now you can see me." Mora smirked, still avoiding Ana's face, kept tapping her shoe.

"More like I can hear you. Always so noisy."

"Can you? It didn't seem like that last week." The snark got the fashion designer, she provoked back looking at Ana and waiting for a reaction but she got nothing. "Back to ignoring me. Hope Mario has a better shot talking to you than I do." The lack of response from the lawyer building up her annoyance. "Even though we live together and have been friends for a lifetime. You rather believe in him than..."

"Give me a reason," Ana said, losing her temper. The elevator stops, slowing down. "I need a plea." Walking side to side in this shiny box they were failing to realize they were trapped in.

"My instincts are not a good one. I don't trust him." Mora decided to watch her friend through the reflection, pretending to fix her hair in the mirror.

"Of course not." Ana laughed at her. "Do you think I can defend a case based on your feelings? A judge would accept it, declare him guilt for you." Her voice was cold, but the rage -boiling inside was still audible.

"You're not a judge, Ana." Turning around she steps in Ana's way, staring at her. "Ain't a case but your life." Each word was another step forward, the lawyer's back hit the wall, but she wouldn't give up on a debate, her index finger touched Mora's shoulder.

"That's exactly the problem." This time the designer was the one walking backward. "My life is never good enough for you. I can't even decide on Nina's life without you around." Mora's jaw dropped and she stuttered, with a non-comprehensible sound coming from her mouth. "Not even a boyfriend." That's the moment Ana breaks, lowering her head and resting on Mora's shoulder while the other was glued on the wall, still recovering from shook, nevertheless, she wrapped her arms around her friend's body. 

"I… I'm sorry, I didn't… mean to make you feel less..." trying to find words at that moment was completely useless, not even in her wildest dreams she would have imagined she made Ana doubt herself. Her friend's knees seemed to give up and her body weighted, they sank to the floor while Ana let out all she needed to. It's been ages since the lawyer opened herself like this, they were best friends, Mora knew Ana has been holding up for who knows how long, well if that's even considered opening up. 

All the signs Mora neglected before came down on her. Ana has been distant for months, she pushed Mora away, anytime they were alone and approached each other, Ana would step away like her skin burned from the contact.

Mora kept Ana pressed against her body until the very last tear she had, waiting for her to calm down. Once Ana's sobs were more spaced, she raised her head displaying her red cheeks, Mara's heart stings with this scene, her hands capture Ana's face moving toward her until their forehead touches.

"I'm sorry, I..." Shutting her eyes, unable to face the tears that still shine on her lover's face. Guilty fell hard on her shoulders. Ana fought to be an independent woman who could support her daughter without her ex's money, Mora watched how much she struggled to get there, yet the main person who helped her in all her lows is also the same who stuck her nose in all her matters, Mora was both a guardian and a butcher. Now that she has to take a good on her actions, Mora told Nina she should follow her heart and go after Gastón if that's her desire, while Ana, Nina's mother, had explicit disagreed about this idea. She should've considered that maybe she wasn't helping Ana see another point of view but making it harder to care for her own daughter.

There was an even worse thought haunting her, she told Nina to go because she feared Gastón would repeat her story, going to another country and losing the love of her life, forever wondering what would have happened if she stayed. That thought scared her, she denied it to herself but it had lived in her mind for so long.

When Mora went to Germany, she made her choice, decided to go on an adventure instead of staying with Ana. She was young, by the time believed they would still be the same through distance, their relationship wouldn't change, but that's not what happened. It came out to be harder than she thought, they never revealed themselves as a couple, it was so natural for them to be together like that, the sneaking out, sleepovers, kisses, and loving moments were part of their friends, they didn't feel the need to label that. Once distance came into the scene, it got complicated, both noticing how much they missed each other, although not willing to give up on their paths, not labeling their friendship made it easier to move on, no one but them knew what went on inside those walls, they just had to keep going. They never stopped talking completely, they called each other every other week updating about their lives, never talking about their relationship, how they missed each other's touch.

When Mora visited Argentina, she learned about Ana and Ricardo's relationship, they were dating, that's when what was between them seemed to be forgotten by Ana. Mora was happy for her friend, of course, but they never left her mind.

Nothing happened while Ana's married, Mora's life went on. Both of them supported each other, and were always around. Nina's birth was emotional just like all the previous months Mora spent by Ana's side. They never regretted the choice that took them to that day.

Then suddenly came the divorce, not long after Ana needed a place to stay with Nina, Mora's house was always open for them, so they started to live together. 

The intimacy level acquired from sharing the same place made them go back to their old ways. Little by little, their old friendship came back to the same mold from when they were young. Sometimes they kissed after drinking some wine, sneaked to each other’s bed after Nina went to bed, or just cooked together and held hands during dinner. Plus, small touches in public, taking care of Nina, going to the supermarket. Small domestic daily moments that made them feel comfortable. 

Mora finally had it in her hands, everything she imagines. Then, Ana backed away, slipping through her fingers. None of them said a word about it, the unspoken words lost in the silence.

"I'm sorry," She repeated, opening her eyes again, Ana shook her head, scaring Mora. "Ana..." She had to admit it, she knows it wasn't right to push her own experience on Nina.

"You were right." When Ana said that, More dropped her hands confused. Ana leaned back against the wall, now sitting by Mora's side and looking to the elevator's door. "Thiago is a liar." Mora was even more lost. Who the hell is Thiago? "He is married." Ah, he is the boyfriend. It wasn't that deep for Mora, nothing personal, she just felt it in her that guy shouldn't be trusted. She felt a little proud and bit her bottom lip to prevent herself from smiling. Ana looked at her frustrated. "You're annoying, I can see you smiling. Yes, you told me, whatever." Watching Ana complain was the same as seeing an old picture, Ana was still the girl from school days behind the successful lawyer and tough mom facade.

"Ana," She waited for Ana to look at her. "It was an instinct." 

"Shut up!" The answer didn't surprise Mora, but the small that followed it did. Ana closed her eyes and faced the ceiling, the smile glued on her face. "It's not that I don't want you in my life, you were always there for me." She faced Mora again. "But when it comes to Nina, don't disagree with how I raise my kid. She's a teen, just wants echo to confirm her ideas, they don't know the consequences."

"Nina is really responsible, you should give her more credit." Mora couldn't stop the words from coming out. When Ana narrowed her eyes, she raised her hands in defeat. "She had an amazing mom to teach her." Added with a wink making Ana laugh, she approached her face to Mora. The designer became extremely aware of the short space between them, a few inches to no distance at all.

"She's 17." They exchange looks. Too meaningful, too painful. That's the same age they separated.

"Why didn't you go?" It came out as a whisper, due to the almost non-existent distance Ana could hear perfectly, Mora should've stopped herself. That was a forbidden question. Ana immediately pulled away, looked at the elevator's screen.

They weren't working.

She picked up her phone to look at the hours, then looked at her watch. 20 minutes since she left the apartment since she left to her next meeting, she doesn't have to worry about it for the next 40 minutes. 

"Why are you up so early?" Ana questioned only now noticing how weird this scene was. 

"It's time to look for fabrics." Mora answered, snapping out of her thoughts. 

"You'll drive for 3 hours again? You should've scheduled it for later, you don't drive well when you're sleepy, it's early for you." Her worries were real, Mora wasn't awake before 10 am at least. Listening to her made Mora feel a little warmer and a wide smile appeared without her consent. "How can you drive? You didn't even notice we were stuck in here." Mora really didn't notice.

"Is this the second time we’ve both gotten stuck in the same elevator?” Mora joked that both of them laughed. "One time for the present, two times for the past." 

"Yeah, this time is fixing what the first time did." Ana reached for Mora's hand, intertwining their fingers. Mora caught her breath. A voice came from the speaker above the floor screen.

"We're sorry for the inconvenience. The elevator will be moving in a few minutes." Ana recognized the janitor's voice. Mora was stuck looking at Ana.

"We'll be free soon." Ana stood up, keeping their hands locked, then noticed Mora's eyes on her face. "Is there something on my face?" She turned to the mirror. Her mask was ruined, her cheeks were reddened and glistened from the tears, hair fell from the elegant ponytail she caged them earlier, her lipstick was smugged. She was a mess, but in Mora's eyes, she was beautiful. "I'll need to go home and fix myself." Noted annoyed.

"No, I can do it." Mora raised from the floor, got her make up from the purse to work with it. Ana decided to let Mora paint her as she desired, feeling a bit nervous but she wanted to show Mora she trusted her. Ana knows Mora is feeling bad for today's argument already and she saw every wince of pain that flashed in her dark eyes every time Ana rejected her touch.

Mora focused on making Ana's make up, trying to tone down her ideas for Ana's face and making something that would make her comfortable and pretty. It worked well until it was time to work on her mouth, Mora decided on a lip tint, in this case for her own sanity, lipstick would demand too much time working on a painting she wanted to ruin, too tempting. Her hand started shaking, Ana noticed it too but before the suggestion of doing it herself came out, Mora put the lip tint in her pocket.

"I forgot the hair. Lips are the grand finale." As soon as Mora had to reach her hand for Ana's she noticed that was a terrible idea. While Mora pulled the lawyer's hair free, Ana shivered at the quick contact of her hand against Ana's scalp. Memories from other moments those same fingers touched that place rushed back to her mind, her eyes closing to better appreciate the feeling. Mora saw this reaction and rested her hand on Ana's neck, watching the reaction until she couldn't help but lean in and close the gap between them, crashing her lips on hers quickly. The kiss was chaste, as fast it came, it ended. 

Seeming to Ana as if her imagination had created the feeling because when she eyed Mora, the lip tint was back and she was ready to place it. But the beam on Mora's lip couldn't be denied. It happened, an instinct told Ana it did.

[curiousconch]

Escape

Chapter 8 of Ricochet (An Open Heart AU)

Catch up here: Series Masterlist

Chapter Synopsis: Heather attempts to escape her captors. But will she succeed?

Pairing: Rafael Aveiro x MC (Dr. Heather Song) | Bryce Lahela x MC (Dr. Heather Song)

Words: 1.5k+ | Genre: Crime, Suspense/Thriller, Romance

Rating/Warnings: Mature (16+) / violence, language

Author's Notes: This chapter took me too long to complete, since I hit a creative block. Grateful for @eleanorbloom for giving me tips to overcome it (thank you! 🥰🥰🥰)

Thank you so much for taking time to read/comment/reblog this series. Please let me know if you want me to include/remove you in the tags list. Also, disclaimer: Majority of the characters are owned by Pixelberry, except the main character Heather Song and an OC Jordan Anderson.

Heather held her tears at bay. Frankly, all she wanted was to let herself go.

But she can't. She didn't want to give her captors the satisfaction of seeing her break. When Declan Nash removed her blindfold, he thought it was enough to pulverize her will. Heather was determined to prove him wrong.

"I'll pick up the second dose. Start on getting rid of the pretty doctor first," she heard Nash say to the other man, right before he left.

She watched closely as another man approached her, his features slowly revealed by the dim light surrounding them. The hair at the back of her neck stood up when she recognized the face of her kidnapper.

Jordan Peter Anderson, the Edenbrook janitor. Pete, as he was mainly known.

Suddenly, it all made sense. That's how he had access to her things, how he can easily know her home address, her schedule, all details of her life without suspicion. He was just another face in the sea of people that came in and out of the hospital. A fairly common and trusted face, at that.

She just wondered how Declan was connected to him. She wanted so much to find out. But now, she had to focus on preventing herself from whimpering as Pete violently dragged her to sit on a chair. He tugged her wrists free before slamming them on a metal table. She instantly winced with the impact.

That was when she saw the back of her hand, where an IV cannula was attached to an exposed vein.

What the hell was he planning?

She found the answer sooner than she thought.

She followed his movement with her eyes as he picked up a syringe from a nearby table. It was filled with a clear liquid.

"I take it you're familiar with potassium chloride, Dr. Song?" The janitor sneered as she gazed in terror at what he was holding.

She knew. Potassium chloride overdose can cause cardiac arrest when administered via IV, and in overdose, was fatal. Her mind raced with comprehension.

He's out to kill. He's not going to spare me. This isn't just a game. Her mouth went dry, refusing to accept the possibility that she may not live another day.

Her hazel eyes can only stare at the man who was about to murder her. For a moment, she was filled with helplessness, the tiny semblance of hope in her quickly dwindling out.

No! I'll overcome this. This won't be the end of me. She willed herself to think. Heather Song is one hell of a woman and she won't come down without a fight.

When he was just a single step away from her, inspiration struck.

As he reached for her, she leaned her head back, waiting for the perfect timing. Once he was near enough, she braced for impact and gave him a headbutt. He fell down to the ground, howling in pain. Heather took the opportunity to flee, liberating herself from the chair.

As she tried to take off, a struggle ensued. She was instantly dragged backwards, the force nearly knocking her out. She felt a sharp prick on her neck before she turned and kicked the man on the groin.

He wailed. Heather didn't wait for him to recover and ran for her life, fear and desperation egging her on. Her bare feet heavily hit upon the concrete floor, as she removed the gag from her mouth.

"HELP! Someone, please help me!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, sprinting. Her bruised arms pushed back against the plastic tarps and navigated the narrow corridor blindly.

Soon, she saw an open threshold nearby. She decided to aim for it. When she was almost there, someone grabbed her from behind, making her scream. She strained to break free from the hold, only to be pulled back again.

"Heather," a voice urged. "Heather, it's me!"

She recognized the speaker, making her stop in her tracks. She turned around and looked back into the dark brown eyes of the man in front of her.

Rafael.

At the sight of him, an overwhelming sense of relief flooded her being. She leaned onto him, feeling his strong presence encapsulate her in a tight embrace.

As the panicked adrenaline to fight for her life slowly dissipated, a rush of tears stained Heather's cheeks like an overflowing dam. So she clung to him, convincing herself that she wasn't imagining him and that her whole ordeal has ended.

"It's okay, love. I'm here, you're safe." Raf whispered, his lips kissing the crown of her head.

But she wasn't.

She felt her knees begin to buckle, her whole body shook. There was a sharp pain in her chest, while her vision of Rafael slowly blurred.

The last thing she could remember was the gentleness of his touch, before her world whirled and faded into darkness.

***

He can only watch the helicopter that airlifted Heather to Edenbrook Hospital. When she was found, a syringe was stuck on her neck, and the paramedics suspected a type of poisoning. Her sudden collapse and the  unknown nature of what caused made the situation urgent, so the response team decided it was best course to fly. 

Even though he yearned to accompany her as she fought for her life, he was hastily denied that right. Rafael seized that away from him, taking it upon himself to stay with her instead.

He wanted to be the first person she sees when she wakes up, to hold her hand, to assure her that she will never have to face horrors like this anymore. But fate wasn't on his side this time. It never was. 

So Bryce chose action. He first called in ahead to give Dr. Ramsey the few details they have on hand. He couldn't bring himself to follow her to the hospital. His mind dictated that he wasn't useful there. Instead, he made himself useful somewhere else. 

And there he was, standing in the middle of the crime scene as he hang up his phone. 

Here is where I can help Heather, he thought. I have to find what was in that syringe. It might be her only hope. 

His tired eyes scanned the floor, trying to pick up any detail that may be valuable. He walked around looking down, flashlight in hand, determined to find just about any kind of clue. 

He winced when he saw blood. Heather's. His chest tightened, anger rising within him. That fucking sicko, I swear I'm gonna give him hell. 

Bryce continued prodding around until he heard a soft jingling noise, making him stop. It felt like he just kicked something. He knelt down and found a torn plastic case and a clear glass bottle. He put on his rubber gloves and picked it up, reading the label. Realizing what it was, he quickly dialed Sienna's number and waited for her to pick up. 

"Bryce?" he heard a familiar voice on the line, but it wasn't Dr. Trinh. 

"Jackie?" he felt an immediate pang of worry, hearing the frantic exchange of voices in the background. But he quickly shook the feeling away. He had to focus.

"I found something that might help Heather. There's a bottle of potassium chloride where she was taken, it's empty. I think that's what the suspect injected Heather with."

"Gimme a second," Jackie said. Bryce waited as he listened to Dr. Varma ask for Heather's blood workup from a nurse. "Her potassium levels are elevated, and she's in cardiac arrest. This makes sense, Lahela." 

"She's in cardiac arrest?" A lump in his throat formed, his grip almost slipping from the bottle he was holding. 

"Yes. But we're trying to get her out of it. Your intel's gonna help us figure the rest out," Jackie said, and he sensed her hesitation before he heard her next words. "She'll pull through. So quit yapping and get your ass over here."

The line went dead. 

It took him five minutes to scale down the building, get into his car and hit the road.

***

The environment in the ER was charged by the frantic beeping of the machine, signalling Heather's ongoing cardiac arrest. 

"We've got suspected hyperkalemia," Jackie sprinted to the doctors surrounding Heather's limp body as she got off the phone. 

"Of course," Dr. Ramsey nodded, as he referred to the latest lab results. "A potassium chloride overdose would've caused her coronary infarction. It may have also caused her temporal paralysis, making her lose consciousness. Do we have her weight?" 

"Yes, Dr. Ramsey," Sienna dictated Heather's latest weight to the senior attending, allowing for him to compute for the correct dosage for the prescription. 

"Calcium bicarbonate for the IV, Kaley please," the male doctor handed a piece of paper where he scribbled the dosage needed. 

"Don't we need to do haemodialysis?" Jackie stood beside him, as she prepared a tourniquet and tried to find a vein where the saline solution can be injected. 

"No, we aren't too late, the potassium haven't bound to the cells yet. Watch out for other symptoms though," Like a well-oiled machine, Heather's mentor gave instructions rapidly, taking the lead role in her treatment. 

The nurse went back with the prescription and Jackie setup the insertion. As the liquid began to flow, they waited and watched the heart rate monitor overhead. 

It took a few seconds before the beeping slowed down into a steady rhythm. There was a collective sigh of relief.

Heather Song just narrowly escaped death. 

Tags: @eleanorbloom @ramsey-lahela @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

[machineryfield]

At the Start of the World Chapter 2

Heading Out

--

Fiora sits on the bench at Outlook Park, staring out at the Colony. Just a day ago it had been so peaceful, the threat of Mechon becoming more and more of a distant dream... But, like most good things, that had to come to an end.

She closes her eyes, remembering the scenes that had played out before her. People being eaten, Shulk being eaten. Stabbed cleanly through by that Mechon with a face before smaller ones descended on his body.

She remembers the cold rage that had seeped into her, the way she had finally found a weak point on the blaster armour of that thing and let the Monado cut deep...

The Monado feels so heavy on her back when Reyn approaches, and she forces herself to give him a smile when he sits next to her. "Hey."

"Hey," he doesn't even attempt to pretend to smile. "You doin' alright? I know you and Dunban went home last night... He say anythin'?"

"He tried to comfort me." She admits. "...It didn't really help, though. He just said what I expected him to say, really."

Words of moving forward, like Shulk would want. Firm looks and with an underlying insistence she returns the Monado to the Weapons Development Lab as soon as possible in his tone. She thinks of all he said and frowns. She decided then and there she wouldn't listen to him...

"I want to go out and find that Mechon," she says. "I want to make it pay for what it did to Shulk, and I want to understand why."

"Understand why?" Reyn frowns. "I don't get it..."

"I want to know why the Mechon attacked us, why they’re always attacking us, what made us their targets. I want to know why... why they eat us. Do they need to, or do they just take pleasure in it? Things like that..." She wrings her hands together. "But a piece of me just wants to make the Mechon pay. Not take the time to learn, as much as the questions eat at me."

"Sounds like that piece of you is me rubbin' off on ya,” Reyn rubs under his nose. "...If ya got that, I guess I should be the one to keep you on your path to learnin', right?"

"That piece of me is loud, just like you!" She giggles, before looking over at him. "Really? You're willing to let me try and find out why? Even though you just want to..."

"You're my friend, Fiora. You've got your reasons for wantin' to know, and 'sides, if we know, might be easier to take 'em down!" He nods with a grin. "So let's do this, yeah?"

She smiles and nods. "Yeah...!"

"So," he kicks his legs. "Guess we're not tellin' Dunban, yeah?"

"Yeah." She frowns. "He'd just try to stop me... We head out, just the two of us, tonight."

Reyn nods. "You got it, I'll meet ya at the entrance."

--

"Ready to go?" She asks, fixing the pack at her side.

She goes over all she has. Food for a few days, her knives in case she needs them, and the Monado. Not much, but enough to get them through Tephra Cave and the Bionis leg, at least. They could stock up at Colony 6.

"Yep." Reyn rolls his arm and smiles at her. "The Mechon won't know what hit 'em."

"Yeah," she nods. "First we go to Colony 6, then we head for Sword Valley. If we're gonna find that Mechon anywhere, it'll be there."

"Galahad Fortress," Reyn adds on. "If there's still Mechon, the fortress is probably still there. Buildin' up grunts for a year, I bet."

"Yeah, something like that." She cracks her neck and looks out towards the path towards Tephra Cave. This time, it'd just be the two of them. "Let's go, Reyn."

--

Fiora sees the door open towards Colony 6, once locked, and figures that's where the strange machines they fought earlier came from. She wonders, they showed up right before the Mechon.... Had they sensed the threat? Activated for that?

She shrugs off that thought, at least for now. Whatever those machines were, they were gone now. They could move forward without a problem, right? They just needed to get to Colony 6.

"You know," Reyn speaks, pulling Fiora out of her thoughts. "We haven't had any convoys from Colony 6 recently, have we? Y'think the Mechon got 'em, too...?"

Fiora frowns as they make it to the lit path. "I hope not. Maybe they just got delayed, or it was bad harvests this year."

She doesn't believe what she says, but she continues to hope, anyway. Maybe they did die, but maybe to natural wildlife. It was never fun to lose any of the few Homs they had left, but better to beings of the Bionis than the Mechon.

Reyn nods, frowning. "Sorry, I didn't mean t'..."

"Don't worry about it," she gives him a small smile. "I get the worry, really. We just... have to try and look on the bright side."

"Yeah... you're right."

They continue on their way for a while, fighting off the wild life and picking up knick knacks from the ground. It's going well, she thinks. Maybe too well... She doesn't like thinking that, but dread sits in her stomach as they walk along. What was this feeling...?

She tries to shake it off, at least, until they see dead bodies ahead of them. She feels panic wrack her body as they move towards them. Reyn is there first, looking them over with a grimace.

"Was it the Mechon...?" She asks as she approaches, voice shaking."

Reyn shakes his head, "looks like Arachno wounds, if y'ask me. Probably got ambushed on their way to Colony 9..."

Fiora frowns, she knows how Reyn feels about spiders and their bigger monstrous cousins. She moves to his side and places a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, there's some water, let's return them to the Bionis, then rest. We should think about our next move first if there are Arachnos ahead."

Reyn nods, clearly thankful for the idea. "Yeah. Let's do it."

Fiora's thankful that she and Reyn are both pretty athletic, all things given. It makes moving the remnants of the Caravan easier. There's not enough for it to have been the full group, and as bad as it sounds, Fiora is glad. That's less death they have to see right after what happened.

The bodies start to dissolve the minute they touch the water, and Fiora offers a quick prayer to the Bionis. Born of the Bionis and returned to it, the way Shulk didn't get to be.

She swallows down the bitter thought and turns to Reyn. "Come on, let's get some rest. You first, I'll take point."

--

A giant Arachno, Reyn surrounded by smaller ones. There's no where for him to run and Fiora isn't with him. She watches as it strikes out, he moves to block it, and dread settles in as it gives out. She watches the Arachno stab right through his chest. Watches him die, just like Shulk did.

Fiora blinks back to reality and sees Reyn walking towards her. "Your turn to rest."

"Reyn," she stands, shaky on her feet as she moves to him. "Are you okay?"

"'Course I am." He frowns, scratching his cheek. "Well, couldn't sleep a wink, but I feel alright. You look like you just saw a ghost, though."

"I..." She bites her lip. "I had another vision. Promise me you'll stay safe if I sleep?"

Reyn pats her back. "'Course I will, Fiora. We just lost Shulk, I ain't lettin' you lose me, too."

"Reyn..." She sighs and rests her head against his chest for a minute, tears pricking at her eyes. "You better stay safe, you big dummy."

He squeezes her into a tight hug then, a smile on his face. "Don't you worry about me! I can take a few hits... and if I need ya, I'll wake ya up, okay?"

"You better," she looks up at him. "No running off to play hero. No doing what Shulk did."

"None of that, promise."

--

It's foggy in Fiora's dream, she can barely make out where she is. It's a platform of some sort, that much she can make out. Looking around, she comes to realize she's high above some sort of water source…

There's not much else she can see, save a man in the distance. She squints, trying to get a better look at him and takes a step forward. He seems to realize she's there, but doesn't turn to greet her. He keeps his back to her, simply tilts his head back a bit.

"Quite the divergence, wouldn't you say? I wouldn't think the Heir to the Monado would fall like that." He says, voice sounding quite sad. "But now you are here, to take on that heavy title."

"Heir to the Monado..." She furrows her brow and doesn't even understand why she asks what she does. "Do you mean Shulk?"

He was the miracle child, after all. Found alive when everyone else from his colony -- pushing forward on an expedition to find any way to stay alive -- perished to the cold of Valak Mountain. The little boy, sleeping next to the mythical sword that saved the day so many times.

The man chuckles, and does not answer her. "I look forward to seeing what you'll do, now thrust into his place. I'm sure you'll make him proud, Fiora."

"How do you know my name?" She asks, stepping forward once again. "Who are you? What do you know about the Monado?!"

"All will be revealed in due time." He assures, but Fiora still feels unsettled. "Do your best, now, I'll be watching."

She opens her mouth and sits up from where she fell asleep, panting as sweat rolls down her brow. She turns to see if Reyn noticed, see if he has commentary for her, and her blood runs cold.

Reyn isn't there.

[ckret2]

Her (Word A) and His (Word B)

The language barriers, cultural assumptions, and personal baggage blocking communication between humans, aliens, and titans—as demonstrated by what should have been an incredibly simple question about Godzilla and Mothra’s relationship.

This is part of an ongoing series of one-shots set in a KOTM canon-divergent AU; but if you don’t want to read the others, the only things you need to know are: Ghidorah’s still alive and shacking up on Isla de Mara; Rodan’s been teaching Ghidorah his language and the nearest Monarch base has been eagerly recording the lessons; Rodan refers to everyone—including himself—by the names of the nearest geological feature they call home; and Rodan is oblivious to 90% of the history between Ghidorah and Godzilla. Links to the other fics are in the source at the bottom of this post.

This is actually set like... a couple fics in the future from where I’m writing right now, but it doesn’t really affect the main continuity. Inspired loosely by the ask I got earlier today like “What’s Mark doing now that he knows his theories are wrong?” that I answered “lmao he doesn’t know.” 

###

As Rodan and Ghidorah's conversations got more complicated and Rodan's language lessons to Ghidorah became more intricate, sometimes the hardworking crew at Monarch Outpost 56-B couldn't immediately offer a direct translation in the subtitles of their Rodan-to-Spanish/English language lesson videos.

Such was the case today, when they'd had to offer the following translation to a brief exchange that had taken place while Ghidorah was curled around the curve of the volcano and Rodan was hopping through the trees below:

Ghidorah: "What is Mothra and Godzilla's [relationship/interaction]?"

Rodan: "Godzilla is her [unknown word 1] and Mothra is his [unknown word 2]. The same way you[plural] are [unknown word 1 (plural form)]."

Usually, at that point, Ghidorah would ask for clarification, and Rodan would—through metaphor, synonym, story, or physical demonstration—offer a definition for the new words. But instead Ghidorah made what 56-B had dubbed his Confirmation Sound, and the exchange had quickly ended:

Rodan: "Do you understand?"

Ghidorah: "Yes."

And that was it.

By virtue of her work in paleobotany, Dr. Xochitl Flores Rosales had been hired by Monarch; by virtue of her ability to actually speak Spanish, she had received an emergency transfer to the three trailers on Isla de Mara that made up Outpost 56-B; and by virtue of her undergrad linguistics minor and college hobby of making YouTube videos synchronizing video game cut scenes with Linkin Park songs, most of her time was now taken up by creating Monarch-unapproved videos of Rodan language lessons.

This wasn't the first time Xochitl had posted a video with some words left blank. Some time back, Rodan and Ghidorah had left Isla de Mara for a few days, stayed mostly outside of the range of any cameras or recorders that could catch their conversation, and come back with their shared vocabulary doubled; Xochitl was still figuring out some of the words they'd started using while they were gone. Whenever she did, she updated the subtitles in the older videos and mentioned the updates in the next video. This, however, felt different. It felt like a Rodan-teaching-a-new-word situation, not like a Rodan-using-a-word-he'd-covered-where-Monarch-couldn't-hear situation. But he hadn't explained the words to Ghidorah—which meant the meanings should be obvious from the context, shouldn't they? But what were they?

Xochitl posted the video as usual, grumbled about the challenges of translating titans on her private twitter, and pushed her concerns aside to take her shift monitoring the titan activity on the volcano.

When she got back, she'd received commiserating likes from both Chen twins—they had their work cut out for them translating Mothra’s telepathic conversations—and an email from Mark Russell entitled "Latest translation vid." Ah. He was probably going to offer his opinion on how to translate the two unknown words.

Sure enough, when she clicked to read his email:

Dr. Flores-Rosales,

I had a thought about the two unknown words in the language lesson you put up today. What if they're indicators of rank in titan hierarchy? "Godzilla is her king and Mothra is his queen, the same way you are kings"; "Godzilla is her alpha and Mothra is his beta, the same way you are alphas"; "Godzilla is her leader and Mothra is his standard-bearer, the same way you are leaders," something like that. The fact that Rodan explains the word by comparing how Godzilla and Ghidorah have the trait in common makes it sound like he's talking about something unique to the two of them (four of them?), doesn't it? Let me know what you think.

Dr. Mark Russell

She'd considered the possibility—she didn't like it, because she wasn't too keen on how hard Mark was pushing the "cross-species herd with one alpha" hypothesis without anyone exploring the alternatives—but she'd considered it. It was on the list of possibilities, at least—a list that was unfortunately broad and woefully inconclusive.

She took a minute to think over her wording, then typed up a polite email acknowledging his suggestion and explaining that they hadn't heard the words in enough contexts yet for them to draw any conclusions.

###

"What is The Bug and Little King's relationship?"

The three of them were sure that the names that the red sprite called the bug and the little king did not, in fact, translate to "The Bug" and "Little King." But they didn't know what the red sprite's names for them did mean—didn't even know if names in the red sprite's language had meanings, many names in many languages didn't—so until they received a translation, in their minds, the names would continue to mean The Bug and Little King.

The question of the relationship between those two plagued them. Had plagued them for—how long had they been frozen?—for ages. Ever since they'd landed on this rock, stumbled on the bug that shone psychic lights too too deep into their minds, killed her, found she was simply reborn remembering everything about them except that they'd killed her; began hunting and crushing her eggs, been attacked by the little king, and found him ready to fight them at every one of her nests like her personal bodyguard. They'd grown to detest the little king as much as the bug. But they especially detested how the two of them fought side-by-side.

At last, they had someone they could pump for more information. They knew both the bug and the little king's names (sort of); they could ask about them without having to make a fuss about it, without having to draw it out into a long conversation that could be overheard and reported back to the bug and little king. This could be quick and simple.

Except that red sprite answered, without looking up from whatever curiosity he'd identified in the forest below his volcano, immediately and simply, "Little King is her something and The Bug is his something else." Two words they didn't know. At their puzzled silence, the red sprite glanced back at them and elaborated, "The same way you're something."

Something twisted inside them as they realized they knew exactly what he meant.

The first sickening translation they reached was one that fit exactly what they'd always feared and expected to be the dynamic between a warrior with the strength to destroy the world who nevertheless refused to use it and an overpowered psychic who appeared to direct the warrior's actions. The translation they reached was the little king is her slave and the bug is his master. But, no. Surely the red sprite wouldn't follow that up with the same way you're slaves.

"Aha," they said, uncomfortably.

The red sprite cocked his head. "Do you understand?"

The red sprite wouldn't speak to them like that. He'd never seen them as slaves. He'd never seen them in harness as a war machine rather than as they were now. He'd never seen them as anything but free agents of accelerated entropy. He had no reason to call them slaves.

Then, a similar word. The little king is her weapon and the bug is his wielder. The same way you're weapons. Or something similar—warrior and commander, monster and handler. The little king was something the same as they were, and the thing that he was belonged to her. That was what mattered. Him as her possession; him as something that could be possessed; them, too, as this same class of thing that could be possessed. Not possessed now, but possessable.

"Yes," they said. And then they turned away, watching the horizon, telling themselves that the psychic prickle they felt in the back of their minds was just that—all in their minds.

###

"What is Infant and Mariana's relationship?"

It was odd for Nido to hear the golden ones refer to the two of them by their proper names, the-one-from-Infant-Island and the-one-from-Mariana-Trench, rather than the more derisive "it" or "that one" they usually used when talking about either of them. Maybe they were getting over being on the losing end of that kerfuffle with them.

Without pausing his weeding, Nido said, "Mariana is her brother and Infant is his sister." He pecked up another unwelcome tree.

When the golden ones didn't reply—even to ask for elaboration—Nido looked up from the forest toward them. (The golden ones were, again, lounging around the volcanic crater instead of in it, like they had no idea what to do with a bunch of perfectly good lava.) Had they covered those words? Maybe not. "The same way you're brothers," Nido said.

The golden ones drew back, averting two of their gazes from him, and said, "Ihi." Which they usually only said when they got a word, but they looked anything but comfortable with this new knowledge. Maybe they got the words but weren't sure how they made sense? If they didn't know how Mariana's kind left their eggs in other kinds' nests, they might not understand how members of two totally different species could be siblings.

"Do you understand?" Nido asked, which he'd started using to prompt the golden ones to ask for elaboration when they seemed reluctant to ask on their own.

But they snapped, "Yes," and turned away from him; and he was left wondering whether he'd said something wrong. Did aliens not talk about family? Did the golden ones not like being compared to Mariana? Were they anti-adoption?

He hopped closer, considered asking; but decided not to bother with it until they decided to stop giving him the cold shoulder.

He continued his weeding, feeling like something had been lost in translation.

###

(Replies/reblogs are welcome & encouraged! Check the “source” link below for my masterlist of KOTM fics set in this continuity, as well as my AO3 and Ko-fi links.)

[im-tops-bottom]

Dear Anonniiee~....

"Clint call the doctor's pronto. Natasha get...."

Everything became a blur for everyone since then. People were on autopilot trying to bring back Tony. He was rushed to the medical suite and almost died on the table a couple of times. There were times everywhere after managing to get Tony back to an alright stable condition.

What felt like an hour or so later everyone was gathered around as the doctor took a look at the notes.

"he is alright and the baby is now in a somewhat stable condition"

Steve was the first to speak up as everyone was stunned into silence trying to process what they just heard.

"I'm sorry what did you say? That can't be right"

"I'm sorry I thought you all knew"

Natasha stepped up looking at the doctor like she was going to interrogate him.

"he has been coming to me for a couple of months now. He said that he had already told everyone but wanted to keep it as a surprise for bu- what's going on?"

"what do you mean what's going on? We should be asking you that. I know you were about to say bucky. What has he got to do with any of this?"

"fine let's share stories. When Tony and Bucky first met they instantly connected. Next thing you know Bucky helps Tony through his heat. A day later a baby is rapidly growing in his tummy."

"what do you mean rapidly growing?"

"well a mix between Starks extremis and Barnes' super serum this baby Is slightly growing faster than a normal baby. Tony is looking at 3 more months until Tony gives birth rather than 6 months"

Steve feels like his gonna be sick. No one told him anything. If he had known then maybe none of this would have happened.

"Steve are you okay?"

Steve looks worryingly at the doctor before sighing. It's better that everyone heard what happened now then find out in the future.

"over 2 months ago when we had that fight in the airport, that wasn't the only time we fought."

"oh god I remember that. I helped Wanda send cars on top of him. Oh god the stress he went through between us and the acc- wait what do you mean wasn't the only time?"

"zemo showed Tony what really happened to his parents"

"Jesus Steve when we found out I told you to tell him."

"I couldn't do it Nat. I wanted to keep him happy and protected."

"just because you were in love with the man doesn't mean you should lie or keep secrets"

"woah woah woah in love? Parents? What the hell is going on?"

"Tony found out that Bucky killed his parents and that I kept him from him. He didn't take it to well and sent me flying to the ground. Next thing you it's a 2 v 1 all guns blazing. Wait! Doc he took so many punches to the stomach and a shield to tje chest. Not to mention flying in that suit! The baby couldn't have survived that"

"we thought so too. If anyone payed close attention to Tony's stomach then you would have seen a glow on his stomach. The baby healed itself using extremis"

"oh cool kinda like the doc in Doctor who with all that nano energy mumbo jumbo what was is called again?"

"doctor what now?"

"oh my god once Tony has healed and we all have a civilly stern talk with one Anthony stark about how we are going to bundle him up and lock him awa- hold up now. Woah woah woah back the frick frack paddy wack up TONY'S AN OMEGA!?!"

Everyone facepalmed at the sudden realization too busy worrying about Tony and the baby that it suddenly crossed their mimds thanks to the class clown Clint.

"yeah I thought you all knew. I mean Bucky did"

"ahhh soul mates. Never question a bond when it's a soulmates bond. They know everything about each other after meeting for just a split second. I love watching shows and movies based around those types of plots."

"okay so tony is actually an omega and not a beta. The only omega on a team filled with just alphas. I'm guessing he had suppressants. Has a secret thing with Bucky. Has his own secret thing which has cost him his life. Almost lo-"

"Jesus what is with us cutting off our sentences when we realize something. What's the matter?"

"from what pepper has been telling me, Tony has been under alot of stress lately. He hasn't been eating and sleeping well. I'm guessing it was taking a toll on the baby?"

"yes that is correct"

"great then I as the greatest man to ever live the oh so great cl- ow!"

"just get on with it"

"Clint Barton! Has decided we bring back the helper of this mess. I'm sure he can leave or bring his pet goat I don't mind but the thing hates me as an FYI. Ok ok put your hands down I don't need a group slapping session thanks. Anyway, we sit Tony down and we have a group meeting followed by a family bonding time. Let's clear the air, especially between Tony and Bucky because there is going to be alot of tension."

"what do you mean oh wise clint Barton?"

"it doesn't take a genius to figure it out. Dude they must have bonded their first night together completely. Like bite and everything. It must have been hard for Tony with all his omega and baby hormones and then the stress of us and the accords to finding out information he should have known in the first place"

"not to mention the asshole who caused all of this not only fought him and almost killed him but also broke the bond and left him in this mess a couple of months later without so much as a call or letter"

"Bucky when did you get here? How much did you hear?"

"heard all of it Stevie. Got here the moment something happened. Friday called Shuri when I was down in the gym. Stephen was there to help out with a project she was working on so he portaled me right here. How's he doing doc?"

"he's in a stable condition now. How about everyone get settled down, have a bite to eat...."

"how about goat curry? Ow! Would you guys stop it"

"no I think not"

After everyone settles down they leave the medical suite and go watch a movie to calm themselves down.

It's not until the next day when everyone woke up to a shocked voice.

"what are all of you doing in my room?"

Everyone rushes up and hugs Tony giving him a good old group hug.

"okay have I gone through a time machine? Or did I get sent to a different reality? Friday?"

"I'm here boss. No you are still in the same timeline. This is what people call a group hug"

"better watch that sass before I remove it in your next upgrade and replace it with a water pistol"

"that will so much better because I can't sass fire off of you when you experiment"

"my own baby is talking back to me. I am shocked"

"I learned from the best boss"

"damn straight you have now can some one please tell me whats going on he-oomph"

Everyone stares in shock as a teary eyed Clint kisses the life out of Tony and while Tony is in shock Clint bites Tony's bond mark causing the smaller man to Yelp.

"wow I'm the youngest here, completely pregnant and this is how I'm treated"

Tony gets another shock as a growl comes out of Clint's mouth before he is slammed onto the bed. He gets a cry baby sitting on his lap leaving kisses all over his face.

"I'm sorry for leaving you, for going against you, for not listening to you, for demanding to much, for bullying you, for putting huge amounts of stress on you, for beig so angry at you when I was actually angry at the government, for hurting you, for saying nasty shit and for possibly being the worst best friend anyone could ever have. Please please please forgive me. I promise I won't bring harm to you ever again. if you can't trust me now then at least, actually it would be better if you don't trust me now. I just bit your bond mark and kissed you without permission"

"you think you moron?"

"well obviously I wasn't thinking. That's how we became best friends right? Because we don't think? Speaking of thinking"

Clint starts slapping Tony's thighs

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING PUTTING YOU AND YOUR BABY AT RISK YOU STUPID BRATTY PIECE OF SHIT! AS SOON AS WE SAY WHAT WE HAVE TO SAY THEN I AM ORDERING UP LARGE AND FORCE FEEDING YOU FOR THE LAST 3 MONTHS! Who's next!?!"

Natasha ripped a pouting Clint away before she ruffled Tony's hair and kissed his cheek smiling.

"I think Pepper would get angry if I marked you"

"2 fiery red heads filled with love for each other. Can only imagine what a fight between you two would look like"

"even though she is an omega she is a fiery hot headed one. Hmmmm I remember when I thought she was just a beta. Kinda reminds me of someone I know"

"okay I can explain"

"explain later for right now"

Sam comes jumping on Tony and sobs his heart out.

"im so sorry Tony. You know I didn't mean any of it. Neither did vision. It was just a poorly executed mess"

"you do realize I'm not the one you should be saying sorry to for that"

"I know. I apologized to vision and well you know how Rhodey gets"

"hey don't worry Sam. Don't give up. He'll come around. Rhodey has forgiven me and doesn't blame me for it. He at least talked to me. I don't know what's wrong with T'Challa"

"like I said Sam, he'll come around"

"I hope so. Just know that if you really truly forgive me then you would name your baby after me"

"wait how"

"don't worry about it. Any way come on Clint, Nat let's get our of here for this one"

Clint pouts and makes grabby hands for Tony as he gets dragged out by Nat.

Tonys heart stops as he sees one of the people he doesn't want to see. He stands up and his hand goes straight to his chest. Face hardens as he looks directly into the blondes eyes.

"please don't put your walls up. I promise I won't hurt you ever again"

"I don't trust you"

"then I'll take my time to earn your trust back and wait patiently. For now please just hear me out"

"now why would I do that Steve? Did you ever listen to me?"

"ouch okay yeah I deserve that. What I also should have deserved was you actually showing off your strength and kill me in siberia. That's the least I deserve for what I put you through"

"Steve look. What happened back there wasn't just your fault but all of ours. We butted heads instead of talking it out like a family"

"but your parents"

"I am extremely hurt because of that. I wouldn't have been that bad if you had told me in the first place. As you can see I wasn't angry at Bucky. I was angry at Hydra for turning him into their bitch, I was angry because instead of hearing it from someone I care alot about, I hear it from the monitor set up by a damn villain. I was angry because no one listened to me about what I can do if everyone signed. Even team iron Man spoke against me, then again at least they stood by my side"

"okay okay I deserve that too"

"damn right you do. Look I'm not in a place to send or receive forgiveness yet. Hell none of us do but that shouldn't stop any of from working tofuckengether and finding out where on God's green earth is the bloody hulk and Thor because then that airport battle would have been awesome!"

"that's not fair"

"why isn't it fair?"

"because then banner wouldn't want to participate and the hulk would have been on your side while Thor protects his omega from getting hurt thus realizing he will need to be on team iron Man because of the hulk. We would have been outnumbered. Not to mention my ex chose you over me"

"don't regret it"

"but I do"

"why?"

[dope-squish]

Programmed And Damned [ RK800 Connor X Reader ] [ Detroit: Become Human ] - Chapter Three - I Am Alive

[ Goal - 90 Hearts/Reblogs ][ goalreached.exe has stopped working. next chapter delayed for a week ]

[ Comments are extremely appreciated so please do comment. it makes authors feel great, i promise. it boosts our confidence ] [ Please press the heart button, the reblog button and share this fanfic to anyone and anywhere, this way, we'll more likely reach our goal ] [ Special mention to @timelizzy21 , @angsty-otters-blog , @connorshero , @divadonadance1 , thank you so much for commenting *^* your comments made my day and i will continue making this story interesting so please keep reading on ][wanna make a fanart or soundtrack for the story? feel free to do so but if you ever do, please send them to me so i can post them in the future chapters so they can be appreciated]

You have claimed the victory over the current Clash even if it hasn't officially begun yet. You can already tell after scanning your android foes and learning that they were not used with what violence the battle holds. They were inexperienced, not compatible for combat and ultimately served a whole different purpose for the needs of human beings but it wasn't a foreign sight to see them standing idly and with little to no knowledge standing in the arena of an Android Clash - with an outstanding and jaw dropping amount of cash offered as the grand prize for the emerging winner, most android owners couldn't careless about such facts.

They were greedy for everything and anything, hungry for temporary and sinful happiness residing in this world along with wealth and fame, uncaring for their purchased and oblivious android who spent all their time and energy tending to them like loyal servants kissing their masters' foot.

But then again, money itself can easily alter much in the existing community. Take for example faithfulness, love, discipline, honesty, and logic. Those are just some human characteristics that could cease to exist once money comes into the question and no matter the circumstances, it will remain a known fact to the world. Most say that humans are to be considered kings among androids but in reality, the humans nor the androids nor the deviants run the world but rather, money. Oh poor humans, using their domesticated androids as their personal makeshift money puking machine.

Humans are naturally greedy. Is there anything else to it? You thought as you silently observed a group of huddling men exchanging currency to one another from a corner, occasionally sputtering a name, an android model (at times you do hear them murmuring something along the lines of "that combat android who always fucking wins"), and maybe a curse word with saliva coming out along with it or a not-so-affable shove to their seatmate as they animatedly fought over which android would most likely end up being eliminated first and it came to no surprise that they concluded it was the deviant - seeing as it was the only one standing out in the arena and shuddering in fear, dilated eyes darting to every existing corner of the place and hands clamming open and close.

"Three, two, one," The insufficiently dressed emcee exiting the arena through the hidden door only humans can access to with a flippant twirl and outstretched her open palm in the air. "Androids ready?"

This was normally the time you'd rid yourself off all distractions but you can't help but continue glancing over at the deviant, scrutinizing it like what a scientist would with a newly discovered strange specimen.

Your memory log instantly brought you back to the time the deviant had pitifully begged for you to grace it with your mercy, to not harm it, to not have it shut down out of overwhelming damage. A partial side of you wanted to retaliate, to inform it that killing it would be as painless as a soft feather cascading down your skin, that is - of course - if it deactivated its pain receptors. But you didn't, or rather, you can't.

[ SYSTEM ERROR ^ ]

Your eyelids fluttered down to cover your vision. Focus on the objective. There is nothing more important than accomplishing my objective. Just focus. That deviant is a distraction to you, forget about it.

But no matter how many times you've deleted that memory from your folder, it seems to keep recovering and recovering, like you were reminiscing a fond memory. And in what way can you focus and act on your purpose when your system error keeps amplifying, thirium pump thrusting surplus of thirium into your circuits, LED flickering from three different colors at the same time and the smoldering eyes fixated on your frame by the same RK800 android ay the upper bleachers?

"Fight!"

You didn't let the cheers of the humans register in your eardrums before your survival and combat instincts was automatically activated against your wishes. In a flash, your hands extended out and ruthlessly seized the nearest android within the vicinity of your form that has not yet prepared to take action and severely dug your fingers into its eye sockets, productively drawing blue blood from them and foreseeable fracturing its brown colored optics, its eyesight no longer functioning. Its body involuntarily spasmed as its programmig fruitlessly strived to adjust to the permanent damage, its system malfunctioning and protractedly shutting down.

Yet another android stampeded up to you with its hands outstretched, an intention for strangulation unmistakable in its eyes. In an immediate, you turned your first victim towards the assaulting android and used its mechanical body as a shield from the unrewarding onslaught of the other.

Its movements faltered by the second as it realized its strategy to spontaneously supply attacks wasn't working - clearly pondering over its next motion - you took this opportunity to deliver a swift kick on the back to your makeshift shield towards the direction of the offending android and swiftly swung your fist behind you, previously having been alerted by your system that another android was going to attack you from behind after sneaking to your back. Focus. Just focus.

Regardless of being preoccupied by the other androids carelessly throwing any kind of attack on you with little to no precise planning, you didn't miss the deviant's figure backing away from the violence presented right before his eyes before his back kissed the wired walls, fingernails digging into its palms and hands pressed against its chest as it powerlessly watched the commotion you were winning over with ease.

A thought crossed your mind and etched on it longer than necessary. Should I spare this deviant?

But your main task flashed once more in your vision, overlapping the system errors in your vision -

[ Current Objective - Eliminate All Foes ]

And you were positive that the highlighted word "all"did not exclude the deviant from the majority. You are a renowed combat android in the Underground Android Clashes but you are also renowed for another thing - pulling off your objective at all cost and you are not going to let this inconsequential android turned defective to get in your way. Or rather, your owner's way.

Detecting a punch hurtling your way, you instantly ducked down, slid across the cemented floorings and initiated a kick towards whatever android that decided to take you on to which caused it to tumble backwards and down, bringing the two other androids along with it. As they are in tangled limbs and too occupied gathering their wits, you whipped around and located another android - not the shaking deviant by a cranny of the arena - seemingly preparing its attack on you but before you could react appropriately to the situation, the android punched a bigger hole through the wired walls, curled its palm on an empty bottle of alcohol perched precariously on top of a stack of crates and didn't hesitate to smash it against its skull. Million piercing shards prodded on its skull, small and almost unnoticable sparks of electricity sprouting from its small wounds as thirium leaked out. The deviant screamed in utmost horror, hands flying over to its agape mouth as the deafening and fascinated clamors of the humans wracked the whole factory like an earthquake. Thirium splattered and painted all over the ground as the android fell, eyes fluttering open and close before inevitably shutting down with a thrumming hum, eyes wide open - dare to say lifeless - and lips parted in a silent scream.

You can't do anything else but mimic the android's dropped open mouth. You have never witnessed an android - or its in case - deviant begging before, but being a live audience to an android committing suicide, especially in front of you, was a surreal moment, never been heard in history or seen in social networks. Did it turn deviant just now just for it to end its short lived deviancy out of fear of being torn apart by its same specie?

[ SYSTEM ERROR ^ ]

"Hey, hey, hey! Watch out!"

Snapping out of your train of thought from Ruth's booming voice, you flimsily dodged an incoming blow from an android and caught its fist in your awaiting palm. Its LED turned red as you tilted your head, the corners of your eyes turning to slits. "Wrong move," You murmured under your breath and wasted no time pulling at its arm with all your encoded strength, your foot painfully wedging on its stomach. Sparks of electricity formed at the joints of its left arm as the wires connecting its arm to its body gradually gave out. With one final pull on the arm and one firm kick on its stomach, the arm was successfully removed from the android with its blue blood layering it. You watched it fall to the ground with a painful thud, twitching with its optic eyes appearing and disappearing. You saw it open its mouth to sputter something out but you didn't give it any chance to say its final words and brutally stepped on its head over and over and over until you were certain it was no longer active.

A triumphant grin etched its way to your owner's features, as if he already won the Clash even when you haven't crossed off every android yet. The other android owners, however, did not meet this blessing and cussed like a sailor would and threw a childish tantrum by either stomping their foot or shoving the poor person next to them.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Edwin Williams hissed at its owned android - or deviant at this point - as it simply answered by slowly falling on its ass and delicately cradling its head in its hands, fingers running through its blond hair. "Get in there and do your fucking job, for fuck sake! Fight back, fight back! Kill that damned combat android!"

"No, no, no," The deviant drawled out through its quivering lips, head rolling back. "Don't . . . want . . . to die. Don't want to, don't want to, don't want to."

A smirk appeared upon your brims as frustration coursed through the veins of the man at his android's disobedience to his commands before facing the two remaining androids standing idly beside one another, emotionless and motionless, just like an android should. Haphazardly tossing the torn arm from your hold, you let it clang against the ground as you calmly took confident strides towards the two androids, aware of their exchange of looks. You cracked your neck, something you've seen action stars do in their starred movies or shows, to intimidate the androids but being immune to emotions and possibly void of any entertaintment knowledge, they didn't see anything out of the ordinary with your action.

A taunting smile adorned your face. "Who's next?"

***

"No doubt that's the same android we're on about." Hank mindlessly commented as he attentively paid attention to the occuring Clash and the combat android - trying to gain any information that could help them in case they fail to put to custody their suspects - and physically winced as he watched the combat android iniated yet another vile attack on its fellow android with no hint of regret or reluctance. "Fuck me in the ass, what is wrong with that one? Can't it kill the other androids in a . . . a less graphic manner? My heart can't take shit like this anymore - shit, goddamn it,"

As Hank covered his eyes to prevent from witnessing anymore gore imagery displayed it, Connor leaned forward even further to get a better view of the arena with his hands gripping on the railings. His eyes remained trailing on the female featured combat android efficiently terminating the other participating androids in the Clash with horrifyingly accurate and clean offense and flawless defense.

Connor's software instability was nowhere near stabilizing - this was prominent from the endless pop ups that never left the corner of his vision - his thirium providing too much of it into his biocomponents and LED flickering from the three primary colors and somehow, although knowledged by they're source, he cannot help but be drawn to the android. If he was a human, he could have considered himself completely fascinated by it. Everything about it was created to perfection - it was perfect, too perfect for it to be gracing its presence in an unlawful enviroment like this aged factory and participating in felonious activities such as this. But considering it didn't know any better than to follow its owner, he couldn't blame all the fault on it.

"It is an android specifically made for combat, lieutenant. It cannot be helped." Connor stated in a tone that could only be described as matter-of-fact (intellectual). "But I can see why you find this . . ." He paused upon seeing the same winning android throw its fellow android behind its back and pointedly shattering its joints, earning it a few cheerful hollers from the audience. ". . . quite disturbing."

"Quite is an understatement." Hank responded with a shudder before his eyes settled on the deviant caught up in an unwanted situation. His brows met and he shook his head, heaving a sigh. "Poor bastard. It didn't deserve to be in there."

Connor watched as the reigning android approached the deviant with confident and giant strides across the thirium covered arena. The deviant scampered away from its former position and ran about the whole premises of the arena, distraughtly trying to escape or delay its inevitable death as it hurtled any metallic remains of the other defeated androids it had already finished off.

"Don't do this! Please, don't! Don't kill me, I'm begging you!" The deviant pleaded as he lifted up his hands in the air, tears prickling the corners of its eyes. "I don't want to die!"

"You can't kill what isn't alive in the first place." It responded monotonously, stepping over a deactivated corpse of an android with its eyes fixated solely on the deviant.

"I know you don't understand why I'm like this. You're not like me, I understand that. You don't understand why I'm afraid . . . why I'm scared to die. I've seen it before." Connor narrowed his eyes as he registered the monologue spoken by the deviant and automatically, he began recording the whole scene through his advanced pupils. The deviant clumsily stumbled back to avoid your delivered kick and as soon as it fell, it got back on its feet and advanced backwards. "The child I was helping before, Emily. She was five years old and she was deaf. Her parents got me to help her communicate with others. I loved her the moment I saw her. She was the reason I became a deviant. Her parents treated me nicely but her . . . she treated me like I was a special android, a friend. She even gave me a name - Daryl. I liked it. Then one day I was walking her back home from school, an armed man blocked us and she was shot by h in the chest five times before he left her there in the streets, bleeding, suffering in a slow death."

Connor's eyebrows knitted. So it saw a human - a small child - die?

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^ ]

And from the way it abruptly halted dead in its track and the significant dilation of its eyes, he knew it was experiencing the same . . . error as he was.

The deviant casted its gaze down, hands falling back to its sides. "I-I was there." It stammered brokenly as its tears fell from its eyes, its voicebox changing pitches as it dragged on. "I needed to help her, I knew that . . . but I couldn't."

"Why?" The combat android questioned suspiciously. Connor didn't miss its LED blinking three different colors, just as his LED was. "Because you wanted the child to die?"

The deviant's head shot right up, eyes wide in offense and hurt. "No!" It defended. "No, no. I don't want her hurt. If I could rewind time, I'd sdo anything to save her. I loved her, she was my first friend, the first and only human to treat me like . . . I'm human. I needed to help her but I couldn't because I was afraid, scared that the man will come back and shoot me like he did with Emily."

"You won't feel any pain so what's there to be scared of?" The other android snapped, its eyes glowering. "You'll just shut down like nothing ever happened, like you never existed. There's no such thing as heaven or hell for androids. When you're gone, you're just gone. No pain, no tears."

Connor can't help but agree with you. How androids could even think of thinking they were mildly worthy of feeling like humans is beyond his knowledge. Maybe CyberLife could help him with this dilemma.

"You don't understand." The deviant fought back.

"I don't have to."

Through the string of complaints from the audiences, a loud slam of a hand caught Connor's attention and as he looked down, he saw a feral looking man shooting daggers at the combat android. "Stop the chatting and start fighting, goddamit!"

***

It seemed instinctive when you charged towards the startled deviant but soon you found yourself holding its jaw, raising it up in the air with one arm. Your never growing fingernails hazardously punctured through the synthethic skin of the deviant's slender neck, graciously drawing out blue blood from its damaged part. Its face contorted to what appears to be agony, discomfort and lack of oxygen - which immensely perplexed you to no exact extent for no android - not even deviants - need oxygen to circulate in their system to function properly.

It was possible and not uncommon for androids to play pretend with emotions as to not cause discomfort for humans. When they are ordered to partake food in an event or even in a simple dinner for normalcy, they will do so. When they are asked to drink a certain liquid, they will do so. When they are asked to breathe, they will simply mimic what they've observed from humans and commence. But in this case, in this precarious circumstance where living beings' comfort doesn't apply for the time being, the deviant - its given name stated as Daryl - didn't need to continue acting like a marionette with strings. Yet here it was suffering in your hold like a human teetering in and out of consciousness, clawing on your hand with its projected tears cascading down its cheeks, begging for your mercy that will never come to its aid.

[ SYSTEM ERROR ^ ]

"Please," It rasped out the remaining juice of its voice box held in your grip. "Don't."

The clamors and insulting jeers of the non-artificial humans' sneering lips resounded in the coved interiors of the aged factory, combining with the distinct flutterings of cash and unevenly timed applause, you could hear them chanting one thing - "End it!"

"Sorry," You apologized monotonously and tightened your envelopment around its throat. "Nothing personal, I'm just accomplishing my objective."

Your eyes detected the frantic dilation of its pupils, the white enlarging as its body shuttered and frenzied, its survival instincts (Asimov's rule number three undoubtedly kicking in is instructions, overlapping its original objective which was to go against you). It thrashed around, legs kicking with no particular intent but to escape and arms flailing, trying to loosen your grip around it but to no avail - your thirium coated hand was unrelenting and strangling, overpowering for the deviant to accomodate and have its system adapt to the change.

The deviant's hues pleaded with you through his damp eyeballs, tongue lolling out as air left its biocomponent lungs. "We are the same,"

Your eyes shot open as your microcontroller unit processed its spoken statement and unintentionally saved the audio in your folders. Your thirium pump accelerated in speed, flooding your biocomponents with an overwhelming amount of thirium as your unit typed the word "unintentional" to a search engine and discovered its conceptual term. Upon conducting a brief research, you can unsafely but with sure certainty that you were not constructed by CyberLife with evidence of uncertain antics. But then how come you've done something unexistent in your instructions?

A glitch? A programming error made by CyberLife? Or worse, a will?

[ SYSTEM ERROR ^ ]

Paying no significang attention to your malfunctioning frame, you spoke with hesitant finality, "We are nothing alike."

A faint "yes"spewed out from your owner's lips was hiddden behind your hearing - unimportant - as a bloodcurling scream of terror in a form of "no" pierced through all coexisting noises followed by a startling sound of skin meeting thin metal ringing in your eardrums. A pair of amber orbs appeared behind the wired walls where you stood lifting the deviant by its neck, delicate fingers swathing around the smell of circles of the walls and throat contracting from - scanning - fear.

Recognition settled in your features and a familiar name appeared in your vision. "Autumn -"

"Stop it, [ Your Name ]. Just stop it. Don't kill him." Autumn's voice was demanding, commanding. Something you rarely hear leave her lips. "This is murder."

Your flickering LED turned momentarily yellow as overlapping instructions fused with your objective. "But Autumn, it's not ali -" She interjected sharply before you could properly construct your desired statement, to which you raised an eyebrow at.

"It is alive, he is alive." Autumn argued as she leaned further to the wall, the rusting metal closing in on her face. "And you are too!"

Her words shot right through your unwavering belief of the difference between androids and humans. Your grasp faltered for a moment or so until it returned to its original vice. "I am . . ." You trailed off reluctantly through gritted teeth. ". . . not alive."

From the corner of your eye, you spotted a seething Ruth practically radiating off a murderous vibe. "Autumn, what the fuck are you doing? Get outta here, now! That is an order!"

But your owner might have forgotten that his daughter was no android and had a desire of her own so she ignored him and continued on. "To me - this deviant - is alive! If you can't do it for yourself, then do it for me. He has a life, [ Your Name ]. Don't kill him."

Humans are the most intelligent and most simple minded of all beings created in this complex and wretched world. You knew better than anyone else that androids possess realistic features such as humans has, for you are one too. From the undiscrenable count of strands of hair to the unique fingerprints - androids are so similar to humans, in appearance wise, that humans themselves are deceived these robotic entities are alive - or was it in their nature to empathize? Either way, you've seen people fall for it and Autumn Judge was no exception to be a fool of this.

You begin, "But your father -"

Autumn snapped. "- doesn't care at all! He never cared for anyone, especially not you! To him, you're just a money making machine! But I care for you and it's because I care for you that I'm telling you to not kill him! You're not only killing your own, you're killing a human!"

A human. A human. A human.

[ SYSTEM ERROR ^^ ]

"It's a deviant!" You yelled as you aimed your sight on it, aware of its glistening tears. "Not a human."

It's not alive. I'm not alive. It's not alive. I'm not alive.

Her rigid features softened and she whispered, "Don't you want to be?"

A frown designs your face as yoy momentarily looked at her, brows burrowing in puzzlement. "To be what?"

She continues in a soft voice, "To be alive? To be . . . human?"

[ SYSTEM ERROR ^^ ]

An inaudible gasp escaped your lips as your hand unwrapped from the deviant's throat, releasing it. It inhaled sharply through its damaged throat to make up for the loss of oxygen after it landed on the cement.

Maybe it wasn't a will. Maybe - just maybe - it was a need - a need to feel. A need to be alive. A need to be human.

"I am . . . " You swallowed the thick blob of saliva dangling at the back of your throat, eyes blinking and system overheating from undetected reasons. With much hesitance, you continued, ". . . alive?"

[ MALWARE DETECTED :

I AM  A  L  I  V E ? [ YES ] [ NO ] ]

Before you could register the smile forming on the deviant's and Autumn's lips, a calloused hand appeared out of thin air and took hold of her beautiful locks, harshly tugging her back to which caused her to fall on her bum and cry out in combination of astonishment and pain. Her knees magnetted to her chest as her flailing hands flew up to the same hand causing her agony. Your eyes trailed up to the hand then to the arm then to the face of the assailant and what you saw didn't really surprise you, but it certainly made your LED color crimson.

"What have you done? What did you do to my android, huh?" Ruth snarled, teeth gnashing. "Tell me what fucking happened!"

Autumn turned her head up, glaring at her father. "Let me go, you asshole!"

But her begging fell upon unforgiving ears as Ruth merely yanked harder on her soft and silky locks. "You never know when to stop, do you? You jusy keep going on and on until you piss me off. Well, you got it, Autumn. You got me fucking pissed off."

Your LED flickered red and yellow. The glint in your owner's eyes - Autumn's father - was full of loathing and disappointment. He looked like he was prepared to disown Autumn as his family. You were sure a child would feel unwanted once seeing that kind of glower in their parents' eyes. It was - in your opinion - unacceptable for a father to look at his daughter like that. No child should feel unloved, unwanted.

A loud gasping caught your attention to which caused you to turn to the deviant who was holding its bleeding throat. It firmly looked at you right in the eyes. "You need . . ." It wheezed. ". . . to help that girl."

Ruth must have picked up the deviant's command for he directed his blazing gaze on you and pointed at your figure. "Don't you dare move." He snarled threateningly and immediately, your body stilled and waited for further instructions.

A realization got you grounded, frozen. Your body had a desire to move, to disregard the obedience CyberLife put in you, to defend Autumn from her own abusive and only family, but you were being held back by your programming. So there you stood rooted in your spot, watching helplessly as Ruth mistreated his daughter with physical and emotional harm.

Stop. Don't hurt her.

Current Objective - Don't move ]

[ New Objective - Protect Autumn ]

You subconciously blinked, trying to make sense of your overwriting instructions. Which shall you - a loyal servant to a human being - follow? CyberLife's programmed orders or your own will?

[ MALWARE DETECTED :

I AM  A  L  I  V E ? [ YES ] [ NO ] ]

"You've got to help her, [ Your Name ]." The devia-Dar-devian-Dary-deviant- Daryl-deviant repeated once more as you whipped around to face it, the fire in its eyes blaring alarmingly. "Don't let that human hurt your friend."

[ Current Objective - Don't move ]

[ New Objective - Protect Autumn ]

Your upper and lower lip parted and gave way for whatever words were pending in your throat waiting to be said - a protest, a complaint - but nothing came out, startling you. What was happening with your voicebox? Was it no longer functioning? It is possible after everything that has simultaneously occured all at once.

[ Current Objective - Don't move ]

[ New Objective - Protect Autumn ]

Autumn struggled against her father's hold, tears threatening to spill from her sockets. "Let go of me, Dad!"

But alas, as expected from a vicious man like him, he did not heed his daughter's simple demand. Instead, he seemed to find pleasure from abusing his own offspring. He tugged at her hair once more and you spotted a few strands ripping off from her skull, landing on the floor. "A bitch like you needs to learn a fucking lesson not to play around when her father is doing his business."

[ Current Objective - Don't move ]

[ New Objective - Protect Autumn ]

The other android owners', along with those people who merely came to watch the Clash, insisted your owner to punish his own daughter for defying his dominance. Some told him to physically harm her, some hollered to vocally abuse her but the majority persisted on seeing her battle against you so they'll be able to relish on a new pleasurable scandal of a female human dying from an android's hand.

[ Current Objective - Don't move ]

[ New Objective - Protect Autumn ]

At long last, Autumn Judge finally snapped. With a deafening scream tearing from her throat, she said, "Stop it, Dad!"

At that exact moment, a bright maroon wall entirely made out of foreign codes - numbers and symbols of unknown sort - and static activities appeared before your eyes, the sputtering two word sentence "DON'T MOVE" maniacally written all over and over and over on it like a quiet mantra, a prayer to an enigmatic god. You whirled around to scrutinize the area only to come into realization that everything and everyone was stilled, like a movie paused in mid action. Your LED whirred and blinked. Where am I?

A hand of yours hovered over the wall, hesitant to make contact with it. No amount of scanning could decipher the outcome if you ever do so. Peering through the nonsense coding and numerical numbers smeared in the peculiar red wall, you located with no trouble a familiar fear and pained - with traces of betrayal and tears - stricken facial expression of a female human. From her auburn strands and amber hues, it didn't take long for you to process that - indeed - the person before the separating wall was no other than Autumn Judge. But it did take you longer than normal - for an android at least - to recognize because you've never seen Autumn wear such a mask before that bore negative emotions. You were used to seeing her flashing her sunny smile to everyone, especially you.

As a system warning covered your display, the burning oil in your body bubbled as a foreign error made its way through your circuits. A glower adorned your face as your sight shot murderous daggers to your owner ruthlessly (your LED blinked a brief yellow upon realizing you have made yet another pun in such a bad time) causing harm on his only daughter, the only person who stuck by his side despite his unhealthy addiction to red ice and Android Clashes. "Nobody hurts her." You spouted menacingly.

At this thought, the strong temptation to harm your owner skyrocketed. And at the same time, at the same thought, the urge to protect Autumn - to defend her, to disobey your owner's order to remain motionless. System errors overlapped in your eyes, rendering you blind so you weren't able to register what you were doing as raised your fist up in the air and with one single and simple hit, the red coded wall presented before you shattered like fragile glass - and soon, you found your curled hand had already burst through the thin layer of metal wired walls and was taking hold of Ruth's greasy neck, chocking him, completely ignoring the astonishment settling on his and Autumn's face and the devi-Daryl's broadening smile, as though "he"knew what was going on.

Your lips moved as you spoke but what you heard wasn't an android's voice, but rather a deviant's voice - "your" voice, "Don't you fucking touch her."

[ Current Objective - Protect Autumn ]

[ MALWARE DETECTED :

I AM  A  L  I  V E ? [ YES ] [ NO ] ]

.

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[ LOADING COMPLETE ]

[ Y E S ]

[yurtletheturtlehenderson]

COSMIC - S1:E3; Chapter Three, Holly, Jolly - [Pt. 2]

A Will Byers x Gender Neutral!Reader Series

𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘠/𝘯, 𝘔𝘪𝘬𝘦, 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭. 𝘈 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳.

WARNINGS: Mentions of [lots of] blood, and Troy being homophobic

||𝟑𝐑𝐃 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐎𝐕||

El sits on the floor of Mike's basement, back to the couch. Candy wrappers and crumbs were scattered around a finished puzzle of a beautiful green forest. The strange plastic ship, floating in the air in front of her. It suddenly drops to the ground as her attention is brought to the Supercomm on the couch. She picks up the device and clicks it on, bored with the static that comes from the other end, she soon abandons the device and stands up.

She walks up the steps, eager to explore the house more. When she reaches the top of the steps, she cautiously peeks around the corner. When she decides no one is home and the coast is clear, she continues to explore the house.

With the house to herself, she had more time to linger, and appreciate and explore. It was fascinating to her, and yet it made her sad. Could she have had a life like this? She didn't know what to think when she admired every object, every picture on the wall. There was one in particular that caught her eye.

It was a small photograph, but you could tell it was important. It was another picture of Mike and his friends. Only, they were younger. They were playing and splashing around in the water, a lake it looked like, surrounded by beautiful green trees. Each of them had an arm wrapped around each other forming a line, and their pants were rolled up to their knees.

The young boy on the very left had messy black hair, who El immediately recognized as Mike. He was smiling brightly at her from the picture. A young Lucas to his right, who wore a rather proud grin. Dustin was looking at the two, more specifically Lucas; he had been laughing when the photo was taken.

Will, she believed his name was, had one scrawny arm draped loosely around Dustin, however, he had his full attention on a very cheery looking Y/n who stood proudly showing off a very small frog to the camera. They had daisies on their head, tangled in their hair, and a gleaming smile showed off a missing tooth. They were holding the frog so delicately.

But it wasn't Y/n, or even Mike that caught her eye. It was the way Will was looking at Y/n. His eyes held a certain fondness and appreciation, his smile warm and genuine. El tilted her head ever so slightly, thinking. Something deep inside her was gnawing at her, a feeling that was foreign to her. Shaking her head, she moved on to the rest of the living room.

She went back to the funny chair Mike had shown her and took a seat. She reached over and pulled on the lever, sending her back and forth as it kicked her feet out. She looked around curiously as the chair rocked her back and forth.

El noticed the weird device on the table beside her and picked it up. It was a strange curved thing attached by a curly wire. It had many buttons, every one of them had a number on them. It let out a strange noise, barely audible from the top. She brought it up to her ear to listen to the endless monotone hum. Not knowing what else to do she mimicked the tone, just for fun before putting it back.

She stood up from the chair and sat herself down on her knees in front of the TV. Curious, she ran her fingers down the side until she felt the button and pressed it. A brief crackle of static rang out and as soon as it came on it was replaced with the voice of an older man, the screen lit up in front of her.

"...was occupying a large part of Lebanon. Today, Syria has become a home for-"

Click.

El pressed another button.

The moving picture on the screen changed, where many bright flashes of color dance across the screen. A fake man with yellow hair held a sword as he exclaimed.

"I have the power!"

Click.

"...gift that will last forever. From the Harmony Treasures' collection-"

Click.

A beautiful melody came from the TV set and El's eyes widened in surprise.

Click.

"On the beach and in the sun"

El froze. She recognized the rolling tin can that appeared on the TV. Her breathing began to quicken as she fought the memories back.

- 𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗛𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 -

The all too familiar humming and beeping of the machines echoed off of the cold, isolating walls. Eleven sat at the same table, with the same camera facing the same window with the same adults who watch her and study her. Nothing was new, and she feared nothing ever would be. All she wants is to get this over with. Wanting to get these damn wires off of her head.

Yet, she sat still, compliant, unmoving. Never taking her eyes off of Papa as she watched him hand the clipboard to one of the men and give her a nod of his head. She turned her head and attention to the small Coke drink. Her eyes bore into the empty can and she concentrated.

Her head shook ever so slightly as she focused, straining. It was difficult, but she was able to do it. The can caved into itself with a loud 'crack' and it wasn't until the monitors stopped did she realize how loud they had been. She looked back to Papa, looking for his approval.

He stood unmoving, a glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes. She felt her nose run damp, a warm liquid oozed from her nose. She blinked, confused and slowly brought her hand up to her upper lip, realizing she was bleeding. She looked to Papa, expectantly. He only smiled a cold empty grin.

- 𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗛𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 -

"Coke is it! Coke is it!"

El quickly pushed the first button, shutting the TV off. Breathing heavily, she stood up and made her way to the basement.

||𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐕||

My back was beginning to hurt from hunching over for so long, but nevertheless, I continued looking. Lucas needs ammo for his wrist rocket, so naturally, the four of us were currently scouring the schoolyard for rocks.

"How about this one?" Mike asks, walking up to Dustin.

Dustin examines the rock Mike handed to him.

"Too big for the sling." He shrugs, tossing the rock to the grass. "So, do you think Eleven was born with her powers, like the X-Men, or do you think she acquired them, like... like Green Lantern?"

"She's not a superhero. She's a weirdo." Lucas says as he searches for that.

"You don't know that," I mumble, Lucas, however, doesn't hear me.

"Why does that matter? The X-Men are weirdos." Mike adds.

Lucas turns to Mike, agitated. "If you love her so much, why don't you marry her?"

I roll my eyes, and straighten up, stretching out my back.

"What are you talking about?" Mike sighs.

"Mike, seriously?"

"What?"

"You look at her all, like... 'Hi, El! El! El! El! I love you so much!'" Lucas teases, grabbing Mike in for a hug before getting down on one knee. "'Would you marry me?' I'm telling you, man, you're just as bad as Will!" He stood back up when he said the last—

'Wait...What?'

"What?" I asked, completely thrown off.

The boys freeze, Lucas especially. Lucas excluded, the boys all look at me with awkward smiles on their faces. Dustin chuckles and gives a still frozen Lucas a few pats on the arm.

"Good job, man. Real smooth."

"Guys, what is going on?" I asked exasperated, crossing my arms.

"Shit," Lucas whispers, closing his eyes.

"Lucas..."

Mike wears a triumphant grin on his face and looks expectantly at Lucas.

"Yeah, Lucas. Tell him."

Lucas sighs, and stiffly turns around, his change of attitude dramatic. He looks around once or twice before growing stern with me.

"You, and Will?" He suggests.

"What about us? What does that have to do with— Oh come on... You can't be serious. He does not like me."

"Literally everyone knows he is totally in love with you." He scoffs.

I scoff in return. "Love? Don't you think you're being a little dramatic? Not to mention, ridiculous?"

"Am I wrong?" He turns to the boys, who hesitantly shrug.

He turns back to me, a look screaming 'There you have it.'

"That doesn't prove anything! We're best friends! So what if we're close?"

He laughs. "Yeah, just as close as Nancy and Steve! And you're no better. You just haven't realized it yet."

"W-What? W-what ar- No!" My words are caught in my throat and I felt my cheeks begin to burn.

'No, I don't!'

It takes moments for me to recover. "Okay, let's say you're right. Let's say he does love me. How can you know for sure, huh? It's not like he told you!"

"Uhh, yeah! Might as well have. He didn't deny it!"

My heart stops, and I feel butterflies erupt in my stomach.

'Will? And me?'

"Look what we have here!"

'Oh, God. Not now.'

I roll my eyes and before I can stop myself I speak. "What do you want, Troll?"

My eyes widen at my sudden boldness but I remain confident. I stare down the two boys who have been bullying us for as long as we've attended this school.

"You better watch your mouth, freak-"

"Back off!" Dustin yells, cutting him off.

Troy looks over to Dustin, looking prepared to throw more insults at my brother but something changes his mind and he cools off. A smug smile tugs at his lips.

"Or what?" Troy spits.

Dustin falls silent, and Troy continues.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. What are you losers doing back here anyway?"

"Probably looking for their missing friend." Troy's goon laughs.

Anger begins to take over and my blood starts to boil.

"That's not funny. It's serious. He's in danger." Dustin immediately cuts in.

"I hate to break it to you, Toothless, but he's not in danger. He's dead. That's what my dad says."

'Where's that damn rock?'

"He said he was probably killed by some other queer."

I feel a lurch in my chest, and I can practically feel my vision going red.

"Come on. Just ignore them." Mike soothes, not only to me but to Dustin and Lucas as well.

He's right. I need to get out of here. I storm off, ready to shove him in the shoulder as I pass but suddenly I feel something catch my foot and I fall to the ground. A sudden wave of searing pain explodes on my chin when I hit the ground.

Dazed and confused, I push myself up enough to see a large, rather bloody rock just inches from my face.

I groan, rolling over on my back, I hear laughing and frantic footsteps.

"Y/n!" Dustin and Mike run over to me, Lucas storms up to Troy.

Dustin and Mike each grab an arm and help me sit up. I hesitantly bring a hand up to my chin and I hiss in pain. I look at my fingers and they are absolutely covered in blood.

'Holy crap.'

I groan and look to Lucas worried. He stands firm and tall, right up in Troy's face.

"Leave us. The fuck. Alone." He says through clenched teeth.

My eyes triple in size, surprised by Lucas's actions.

Troy and his friend laugh and walk away. Repeating Lucas in a mocking voice.

"You okay Y/n?" He reaches out his hand.

I gladly take it. However, I get a little lightheaded as I stand. "Shit, that's a lot of blood."

I look down and I see splots of blood already sprinkling my shirt.

'Great. This will be easy to explain to mom.'

"You still have that first aid kit?"

I close my eyes, sighing.

"Crap. No. I left it at Mike's."

"We better get you to the nurse's office then."

"No, I-I'm fine." I sigh, wincing at the pain.

"Are you sure? You're bleeding, like a lot." Mike says.

"Yeah, I'm good. As long as I stop the bleeding, I'll be fine... My body has always been able to heal quicker than most, anyways."

"They've got a point. I've seen it."

I offer a small smile. "Well, I at least better go get a tissue or something. I'll be right back." I say.

The boys nod, and I head off to the bathroom. My mind wanders back to what Lucas was telling me earlier, and the weird feeling in my stomach returns...