#watched one (1) episode of south park and stopped breathing

[boysplanetrecaps]

Build Up Episode 1: Don’t Go

Hello and welcome back to my Build Up recaps! In the last one, we covered the first two “Pre-4” Mission performances -- If You and Every Moment of You. In this post, we’ll cover Don’t Go (Kajima) and wrap up episode 1, finally!

I found some decent links to watch the episodes. 

Episode 1

Episode 2

I’m deliberately hiding them behind a read more since I’m not sure if MNET knows about them and/or if they’ll be there forever, so watch while you can! 

Just a little note before we dive in -- I noticed after I had posted the previous one that Seunghun from CIX has braces! 

I’m just really surprised, because I would have guessed that his agency would have made him take them off for this show, or something. I’m glad he has them if he needs them, for sure -- it’s just a surprise. Knowing this helps explain why he smiles so strangely sometimes. 

Anyway! 

Don’t Go

The next performance is Kajima, Kajima (Don’t Go, Don’t Go). 

A little about the song before we get to the performance. It was originally performed by a singing duo called Brown Eyes, which, per Wikipedia, is “considered one of South Korea's most important R&B groups, given their immense commercial success.” The duo consists of Yoon Gun and Naul, both of whom have gone on to do other stuff. Naul recently did a duo with Sung Sikyung, the guy who first sang Every Moment of You (the previous song on this show). The song Kajima, Kajima won the Best Ballad/R&B Performance award at the 2008 MNET Asian Music awards.

Kajima, Kajima is the miserable wail of a deserted lover begging their partner to come back. Some of the lyrics, per a blog I found: “Stupidly / I still live for you / Where are you? / I need you so much / Oh baby, my only one / Please stop and come back now / Just tell me this is a joke / Simply return to me.” 

Mini Korean lesson: You might recognize the -jima ending from the GOT7 song Stop It, when they say “hajima, hajima” over and over (“hajima” means “don’t). And you heard the “ka” verb at the beginning of the Oneus song Lit, when they say, “Kaja!” (let’s go!) So ka is for go, and -jima is a negative command, so kajima is “don’t go”. Woot! 

Kajima, Kajima is known for a really high note -- a high G#5. I would have to warm up to hit that note at all -- and I’m not confident I could hit it with much resonance. And I’m a mezzo-soprano -- it would be insane to hit that note as a tenor!  Like the other ballads on this show, it’s known for being particularly emotional, but in this case it’s also tricky to sing. That’s why the other guys call it a “hell song.”

So, who would want to take this song on? Why, mister high notes himself, Park Jeup.

Park Jeup was second to choose and chose this song right off, but it took a while for anyone else to join him, to the point that he started to get nervous. But after a bit, 16th ranked Detective Donghun from A.C.E. chose it while there were still spots open in every song. It turns out that Donghun really wanted to sing Breath but chose this song so that he could work with Jeup. Aww! They were on I Can See Your Voice 4 together, so Donghun may have admired Jeup’s voice for a while. They’re “chingus” in the sense that they were born in the same year, 1993, and in Korean culture having someone around who is the same age as you is sort of meaningful, almost like when you meet someone from your home country when you’re abroad.

“Will I be able to sing this song well?” … “I’m sure you’ll do well.”

Also, Donghun proved he’s not scared to tackle tough material when he did an EXO song for his teaser performance. 

By the time Neon chose the song, Ditto, Tomboy, and Shall I Love You Again  were closed, but he seems to choose this song without hesitation. By the time 36th place Hyukjin choose it, the only songs open were this song, Every Moment Of You (the one we just saw), or Breath, but I think he might have really wanted this song anyway. Based on his teaser performance -- that wild metal performance -- he also likes to tackle tough material. (Hyukjin was also born in 1993, making him also a chingu to Jeup and Donghun. Neon is a little younger, about 28 years old.)

In my original assessment of Jeup, I noted that I loved his technique but wasn’t sure about his timbre, but that I’d give him a chance to grow on me. For Hyukjin, I recognized the ambition of what he tried to do and again decided to reserve judgment. About Neon, I said that he has nice, clean vocals, with good technique and a lot of power. And I said that Donghun has an appealing warm vocal color with good breath support, but strains his throat a bit. If I had to pick a favorite voice of the four based on their teaser song, I’d choose Neon, but Donghun wouldn’t be too far behind. This is a group of powerful vocalists, regardless of the category they chose, and I am hopeful that it will turn out well.

The group seems pretty happy to all be working together, and they view each other as talented colleagues, which might make it tricky to divvy up the parts. They’re all really good, so who should sing what? 

Look at how shiny Hyukjin’s suit is! Those gray lines are just lights reflecting off of creases in the material. 

They begin singing the song a bit to test out the waters, and Jeup’s strong clear tenor fills the studio. Over in team Beautiful, Lim Sang Hyun wonders out loud, “Is that the original song playing?” 

LTR: Lim Sanghyun, Taewoo, Jeong Yunseo, Kim Minseo 

They take turns singing a bit and they all sound fantastic. They’re not really sure what to do, because Jeup doesn’t want to take the verse, which he thinks is too low for him, and so he wants to do the chorus, which is a long part. Donghun also wants to do that long part, but decides that it suits Jeup more and decides to do a different part that is more emotional, even if it’s shorter. The rest of the part distribution goes well.

Then we go into a mini montage of Donghun’s struggles in his life. He’s always wanted to sing, and went on various shows to make that happen, but though he made top 10 of Superstar K5 that wasn’t quite good enough, and then he made the debut lineup of that shitshow that was MIXNINE but of course that group didn’t debut. He thought that debuting (in A.C.E.) would make it ok, but it didn’t. I beg to differ, sir! People really like A.C.E.! But I guess it’s not like A.C.E. have hit the highs of BTS and Seventeen, so I understand what he’s saying. “Actually the survival program itself was a bit of a trauma for me,” he adds, and I feel that. These shows seriously should gift each contestant at least 20 hours of a post-show mental health counseling. 

The guys are meeting in some sort of staff room, probably at one of their agencies. Looks like three of them were drinking something cool, but smart Jeup is drinking something hot. Cold stuff is bad for your throat, my friends. Jeup knows where it’s at.

Left to right: Hyukjin, Neon, Donghun, and Jeup

Also, I think Jeup looks so much nicer with his hair this way, sort of parted and brushed back, instead of down over his face like bangs.

Anyway, at this meeting, Donghun is saying, “I want us to decide what kind of thoughts we’ll have when we sing this song, so that we have a unified approach. The song title is Don’t Go, Don’t Go. We can make it about our dreams. I haven’t seen my dream lately, and I hope it comes to me now.”    

The editors play some sad piano music as Donghun’s words sink in. All four of them know what he’s talking about. Honestly, Hyukjin and Jeup know what he means even more than he does -- A.C.E. is about 100x more popular than Jeup’s group was, and about 100,000x more popular than Hyukjin’s current group. 

Hyukjin, partly quoting from the song, says, “Living like a fool is heartbreaking. But we keep living like fools.” Then he smiles incredulously, as if he almost can’t believe that he’s made that connection. Donghun has really hit a nerve here. 

Donghun agrees with Hyukjin, and says, “yes, we keep singing like fools.” He interviews that he wants to reclaim his dream and get it back. 

As the lights go down on performance day, Donghun voiceovers, I want to sing my heart out with no regrets. 

Here’s the full version, no reactions. 

My thoughts:

Damn, that was good. 

Let me nitpick for just a few seconds. Yes, Hyukjin’s voice is a little thin and he strained on the highest notes, and Jeup’s voice is a bit too high in timbre to be my favorite, and Donghun’s voice still sounds strained, like he must be hurting his throat. 

But it all ended up working. I don’t know, man, this was good. For one thing, all the voices are really good individually, and then they also are a great mix. You’ve got the slightly tart Jeup, like a strawberry. You’ve got the bright voice of Hyukjin, like a raspberry. You’ve got the slightly challenging voice of Donghun, a pineapple. And then the smoothest voice, Neon, as a slice of banana mixed in to smooth the whole thing down. It fucking works. I don’t even like this song and I liked listening to their performance. I mean, this is going on my playlist, you guys. This is good shit.

I particularly like Neon’s voice, even though I recognize that it’s not quite as powerful or well trained as the others’. To me, he sounds just a little like Do Kyungsoo and that’s just about the highest compliment I can give to a singer. 

Also, damn, I don’t normally talk about this kind of thing exactly but Park Jeup, in addition to being a real sweetheart, is a really good looking dude. I’m not made of steel, you guys. 

Those cheekbones! Those shoulders! Am I alone on this…? 

The MNET edit, like all the edits so far, is pretty restrained. I guess they told their editors to not do a whole bag of coke before they sat down to their editing control panel. There are a few instant replays of high notes, but they’re blended in to the background mix so it’s not so jarring to listen to. 

All the reaction shots are positive. We see the judges just loving all of them. Vocal Coach Guy even asks, “wait, is this live or playback?” The love seems slightly more focused on Jeup and Donghun, less so on Neon and even less so on Hyukjin, but all four of them get some love, which is nice. 

Solar likes it. I think. I guess? Not sure.

She’s excited Jeup hit that one high note! She tries to hit it too and kind of can’t! 

Backstage, the guys all kind of fall over hearing Jeup’s high note. They almost can’t believe it. Hwanhee kind of hits his own knees with his hands involuntarily. 

When they’re done, the judges give them a standing ovation!

They lavish praise on all of them, again focusing a little less on Hyukjin and a little more on Donghun. They think that the four of them could just debut as a group the way they are. Basically, the judges agree with me, so that’s good.

Vocal Coach Guy points out that Jeup doesn’t just hit high notes -- he sings with emotions. Then he adds that Jeup has nice shoulders, so that was funny. Wendy asks about Jeup’s range, and he says that he can sing any male song, that they’re all in his range. 

Dahee says that it was nothing but compliments, so the question is, who could win? Backstage, the boys aren’t sure either. No one floats Hyukjin’s name as top tier, but the other three get named, and the boys think that all four were excellent. 

So, who wins…?

Baekho, Solar, and Vocal Coach Guy all vote for Donghun from A.C.E. 

Eunkwang and Jaehwan vote for Neon, and Wendy votes for Park Jeup. 

So, Donghun wins! Vocal Coach Guy lavishes a bit more praise on him, saying that it was an easy choice to pick Donghun because his voice is so good. 

And then, oh guys, it’s so sad. Donghun starts to cry, saying it’s the first time he’s been recognized like this. 

The judges are a little uncomfortable because the “win” is kind of a minor one, and they’re surprised at his reaction. It’s like this is what Donghun has been waiting his whole life to hear. 

Donghun adds that he didn’t expect to win, that he was focusing on working well with his team.

Backstage, the guys are like, oof, wouldn’t want to have to follow that! 

So who is up next? Team Breath. The editors do that thing like they’re trying to trick you into thinking that the performance is starting, but the episode is almost over and this obviously just a teaser. Thanks, editors. Theditors. 

Since we’re at the end of the episode, I’ll end the post here. Woo! Finally to the end of the first episode! I'm only two full episodes behind... great! Anyway, I'll see you in the next one, and thanks as always for reading. <3

[thatsgay-writes]

Elle Greenaway x Reader

Summary: Elle makes a shocking discovery after they catch an unsub. (Follows along season 1 episode 7)

Warning: Criminal Mind stuff

The reader is given a name, for certain purposes and it is third person on purpose.

Word Count: 2.5k

Dr. Thomas Fuller wrote, “with foxes, we must play the fox.”

---

“Bad?” Agent Hotchner asks as Elle handed him a folder. “The worst.” Elle responds as they head to the round table room. Gideon stood in front of a board as he looked at all of the images. “Crawford family. Murdered 3 days ago.” He says just as Derek walked in, “Saw it on the news.” He says as he takes a quick look at the board as he walks by. “They were found in the basement of their house...” Gideon says, still staring at the images. “Bags packed for a vacation they never took.” JJ continues for him. “Report said it was a murder/suicide. The father stabbed the mom, then shot himself.” Derek says as he sits down, still not fully sure as to why they were taking it as a case. “That’s the conclusion the Maryland State police came to. The gun was next to the father, he had gunpower residue on his right hand.” JJ states as she states a few things listed on the report in front of her. “And now you must have some compelling reason to think that Chris Crawford didn’t off his family?” Derek asks, looking to JJ for a response. “Yeah. Another murdered family. The Millers-- found a month ago. The mother, Reese Miller, her two children and her new husband. Again, they were found in the basement and like the Crawford's, their suitcases were packed for a vacation.”

---

“Elle!” Bailey yelled as she ran towards her girlfriend. Elle Greenaway and Bailey Woods had been friends since Kindergarten, both managing to stay in the same school all the way through middle school and up to high school. In 8th grade, they both finally confessed the feelings they held for each other. “Bailey?” Elle asked in concern as she watched her girlfriend run up to her, tears visibly rolling down her face. “Bailey, baby, what’s wrong?” Elle asked as she scooped the younger girl, by a few months, into her arms. “Did someone do something? Tell me who and we can beat them up together.” Elle said, semi-seriously. You just shook your head as you held onto her shirt tightly. It was the week before Junior year ended, the only tears falling from your face should be happy ones. “What happened?” Elle asked concerned, you had never acted like this before. She knew it couldn’t have anything to do with your dad since he was home for the next few months.

Elle made a split second decision and led you out of the school before any of the teachers could notice. “C’mon, let’s go.” She said to you as she opened the passenger door to your car. She had taken the keys from your pocket, knowing you were in no condition to drive. As she drove to your secret spot, you managed to calm down some and were taking deep breaths to calm all the way down. Elle parked in one of the parking spots at the top of the abandoned parking garage and turned off the car. “Can you tell me what’s wrong now?” She asked as she reached over the middle section and grabbed your hand. You took a few more deep breaths before looking up at her, heartbreak shone through your eyes. “I’m moving.”

---

Elle stood outside the interrogation room as she watched Reid talk to Eric Miller. “Is that what this is about, hmm? You think I’m crazy, man? You think I suddenly snapped and slaughtered my own wife and kids?” Eric kept asking questions as he got more and more agitated. “You think I did this? Huh? Is that what you think!?” Eric yelled as he suddenly stood up. Elle looked to Hotch with wide eyes before they entered the room. “Sit down.” Hotch told Eric firmly. Reid was the youngest on the team and it was his first time doing an interrogation solo, so Elle and Hotch were a little protective over him. “Is this your daddy?”

--- South East Washington D.C

Elle sat quietly in her seat as she sat in the back seat of the car as they drove towards the address Hotch and Garcia had found while snooping through the Crawford’s financials. Reid and Hotch both shared a look at the unusually quiet Elle. Usually when in the car, she would be looking over a file or talking to others to understand more about the case but tis time she was just staring out a window. “Is... Um, is everything okay?” Reid asked, his voice going a little high at the end of his question. His question shook Elle out of whatever she was thinking about, “Yeah... Maryland just brings back some memories...” You’ve been here before?” Hotch asks, concerned about the other agent but also making sure that nothing would intervene with the case they were working on. Elle sat silently for a few seconds before answering right as they pulled up to their destination, “No.”

“Federal Agents!” “FBI” “Federal Agents!” “Clear!” Hotch, Elle, and Derek all yelled simultaneously as they busted through the front door of the home. Elle scrunched her nose in disgust at the sight of the home, “Cleanest thing in here...” She muttered as she kicked what looked like an empty dog bowl. She stayed at the front of the house with Gideon and Reid as Derek and Hotch went deeper into the home. She watched with a questioning gaze as Gideon walked over to the wall and picked up a single painting that was hanging. “What’s that?” She asked as Gideon looked down at the drawing. “It’s a child’s painting. It’s a colonial house. Mom, dad, 2 children out front holding hands.” Gideon listed what he saw. “And a big dog.” She states as she looks over his shoulder.

---

Bailey and Elle laid together in her bed, the end of summer coming faster than ever before. She and Elle had spent almost all their time together, going on dates, spending nights at each other’s houses, etc. Anywhere Elle went, Bailey were there, and anywhere Bailey went, Elle was there. Right now the two of them were laying in Bailey’s bed watching T.V. “Stop staring at me.” Elle mumbles as she stares at the television. Bailey lets out a breath of air and rolls her eyes with a groan, “Love meeee, I want attentionnnnn.” She draws out causing Elle to playfully roll her eyes in response. “Fine, come here.” Elle says as she opens her arms out for Bailey to lay in. Bailey plays with Elle’s hair as she laid her head on her girlfriends chest. “I want kisses...” “Bailey repeats over and over again, like a chant. “Geez, someone is clingy today.” Elle states as she sits up and leans back against the wall. Bailey shifted around so she was now straddling Elle. “I leave in 3 weeks... I just wanna kiss my girlfriend.” Bailey pouts as Elle finally gives in. “Okayyyy.” She says with fake annoyance.

Bailey and Elle were deep into a make out session when her door suddenly busted open. “Eww!” “Ezra!” Bailey yelled as her sister covered her eyes with her arms. “Eww! Not you too! Mommy and daddy were doing that too!” The 5 year old yelled causing Bailey to laugh. Bailey gets off of Elle’s lap and picks up her little sister. “Aww,” Bailey says with a fake pout, “Do you feel left out?” Bailey starts kissing all over Ezra’s face causing the little girl to giggle and try to get away. “No! Eww! Stop it!” Ezra yells as she gets out of Bailey’s hold and pretends to rub away the kiss in fake disgust. Bailey just rolls her eyes at her sisters action. “C’mon, let’s go see if Benson is awake. We’ll be right back Elle.” Bailey says over her shoulder as she and Ezra leave the room. Elle laid back on Bailey’s bed as she left the room, staring at the ceiling. All she could think about was how in love with the younger girl she was.

Her train of thought got cut off as a small body was laid on top of hers. Elle immediately moved her arms to hold him and make sure he didn’t fall off of her. “Hey buddy...” She said in a baby voice as Bailey laid down next to her and pulled her into her. Bailey let out a groan as Ezra jumped on top of her before snuggling up. “Alright... What do you want to watch?”

---

“Okay. No, I understand. Yeah, I figured as much. Thank you.” Derek says as he gets off the phone. “He’s been staring at those pictures all morning.” Elle states as she stares at Gideon who is staring at the drawings done by the murdered children. “well, I sure hope he sees a connection cause I’ve checked doctors, lawyers, travel agents, tutors, contract workers. I got nothing.” Derek says as Hotch walks by. “Why target those families?” Elle wonders still watching Gideon. “Well, to know that, we have to know how.” Hotch says as he sits down and continues looking at the file in his hands.

“ We know organized killers are often skilled workers with above-average intelligence. High birth status. And in most cases...male. In the workplace, he's socially confident. And with women...sexually confident. Every offense...is preplanned. Targeting the victim is almost as pleasurable as the actual kill. These guys, they're...they're meticulous. It's a compulsion. Everything has to have its proper place. They do exhaustive amounts of research on their victims. They watch their every move every last detail is observed. Everything has to be written ever so neatly in a book or possibly a journal. When the kids are comin' home from school. When daddy'll be home. Playtime. Suppertime. Bath time. Bedtime. Plan the work...work the plan. This is the way that he maintains control. It's also how he personalizes his target... So nothing's left to chance. Absolutely nothing... Is left out of place, ever. So he plans the work... And when he's good and ready, he works that plan. He takes great pride in his job. I think the workplace has to be the connection.” Derek says as they go over everything they have learned about the unsub.

Gideon walks out of the room he was in with two drawings in his hands. He holds both the pictures up side by side. “Both are by Emily, painted months apart.  This one...is full of color, life. The one I found at Emily's house has lines, dimensions. No color. I believe Emily was coerced to make this. It's a point of view. It is his point of view. This is where the killer stood, just watched the family.” Gideon says after having finally figured out the connection of the paintings to the case. Hotch drops a ring on the desk he was leaning on, letting it spins some before picking it up. “Each of the dead husbands was missing his wedding ring. This is the unsub’s trophy.”

---

Bailey and Elle sat on the edge of the cliff at their special place. Trying to soak up as much time as they could before Bailey had to leave in a few hours. “I can’t believe you’re leaving...” Elle state as she leans her head against Bailey’s shoulder. “We had everything planned out too...” She trails off, looking at the scenery in front of her. “Hey don’t speak like that...” Bailey says as she holds Elle’s face in her hands. “It’s just one school year apart and then we will go to college together like we planned.” Bailey states before she pauses. “Look, I’m going to make you a promise, okay?” Elle raised an eyebrow at Bailey skeptically, promises were a big thing for Bailey, she never broke them. Bailey lets go of Elle’s face and pulls a ring from her pocket. “No before you freak out, this is my dad’s ring.” Bailey says with a slight laugh as she watches Elle’s eyes get big before returning to normal. “Now, you know me and my dad are close... When I was 5 and he got sent on the first deployment I remember, I cried like a baby for weeks on end. It actually got so bad my mom had to take me out of school one time.” Bailey says with a smile as she stares down at the ring in her hand.

“When dad came back and heard about it, he got his ring modified.” Elle watches with slight confusion as Bailey slid the ring a certain way and it split in half. “And now, whenever he gets deployed, I get this half of the ring so I always have a piece of him with me.” Bailey continues her story as she puts the larger part of the ring on a chain. “It’s obviously too big to fit on my ringer so mom bought a chain to put it on.” Bailey says as she puts the chain around Elle’s neck and closes the clasp. “I asked my dad and he said it was okay for me to give my part to you so you know that I am always with you and thinking about you.” Bailey says as she gives Elle a goofy smile. Elle tries to cover her crying but lets a few tears slip. “Hey, it’s okay...” Bailey says as she pulls the girl she loves into a hug. “Senior year will be over before you know it and we’ll be back together again.”

---

The group all sits around the table in silence as Gideon stares into the box that Hotch had found in Karl Arnold’s office. Everyone’s heart dropping as Gideon lets the contents of the small box drop and 8 rings fall onto the table. Every sat in silence feeling remorse for whatever families had lost their life’s to Dr. Arnold. Elle takes a moment to look at each ring and feels herself get nauseous at the sight of one ring that looks a little different from the others. It can’t be... She thinks as she slowly reaches out, ignoring the looks from her friends, and grabs the ring that made her feel sick. She takes a minute to study the ring, her heart beating faster at how familiar it is. She can feel her friends and coworkers staring at her in confusion, wanting to know why she had picked up the ring.

Elle reach's into her shirt a little and pulls out a ring of her own. The group shares a confused look, wondering where the ring had came from and how long she had had it. Elle takes it off the chain and slides the two rings together like she had seen you do ten years ago. The clicking sound it made not only signifying the two rings becoming one but also her heart breaking into two. Elle looks up to see Hotch and Gideon looking at her with a worried face, it was obvious that Elle knew who that ring belonged to. Seeing her friends face’s filled with sorrow was enough for the dam to break and the tears to flow.

---

“Elle! Guess what!” Bailey yelled excitedly into the phone as Elle picked up. Elle laughed at her excitement. “What?” “I get to go on vacation tomorrow!”

[enigmainvestigations]

**The events of this mini-episode take place after the events in Season 1, episode 12. AO3 post: ???    Series link: ???

Season 1 Mini-Episode - The Most Dangerous Enemy

The bats above him screeched as he exited the Batmobile. The engine’s rumbling always agitated them, but by the time he’d climbed the steps up to the large computer tucked into one of the cave crevices, the bats had started to quiet down. Batman entered his personal code on the keyboard and pressed his hand into the handprint identification reader next to it. The computer turned on with a lazy hum, and the area was flooded with the red light emitting from the multiple screens as they flickered on.

After a few agonizing minutes, a message popped up on one of the screens. Batman leaned forward on the computer console and pressed the authorization key to download the file. Oracle had finished her search of the city records -- lightning fast, as usual. After a few more impatient moments, the files popped up on the screen and he typed in the code for the computer to begin analysing the information. He scowled as he saw the results of her investigation; with this amount of data, it was going to take a lengthy amount of time for the interface to complete the search. It seemed he was in for a long night, again.

In the distance he heard a motorcycle approaching, followed by the sound of the south entrance’s door rising out of the water. The bats stirred once more, and by the time the bike had pulled up to its platform, they were in full upset. The sound of footsteps filled the cave behind him, followed by a drawn-out yawn from his partner. Then Robin appeared beside him, and the teenager’s attention immediately fell on the screen before him, scanning the information.

“Wow. That was fast.” Robin said.

“She’s good at what she does.” Batman responded, continuing to watch the slow progress of the analysis.

“Good? I thought you said she’s the best?”

“She is.”

Robin smirked. “Any more information on Two-Face?”

“He went off the grid again.”

“We really need to figure out how he’s doing that.” Robin said, stretching.

“He’s avoiding any of his previous connections. It just makes it more difficult to follow him, but not impossible.”

“I don’t blame him, but he’s not just avoiding his friends. He keeps vanishing. He’s figured out some way to disappear right under our noses.”

“As long as we get to his next target before he does he won’t have time to vanish.”

“If you say so.” Robin rested his staff against the side of the computer. “Has he let anything slip about why he’s targeting the locations?”

“No. But the computer will find the connection.”

“You still think he’s doing all of this because he was locked up during the attacks?”

Batman didn’t look at his partner, but the muscles in his neck clenched. “Yes.”

“All of this chaos, just because he feels emasculated,” Robin said in a huff.

“It’s more complicated than that, Robin.”

“Doesn’t sound like it is.”

At that, Batman decided to drop the conversation. Robin was right: it was a childish and emotional reaction, but those are some of the most dangerous ones. And with all the damage he was causing, it sounded wrong to trivialize Dent’s motives, and the subject had started to make him uncomfortable. Robin took the hint and wandered off for a time, eventually returning with a large glass of water -- which he downed half of right away.

Batman eyed him briefly, then resumed his impatient glare at the screens. “You’re back early again.” Robin grumbled in response and finished the rest of his water. Batman decided to continue with his assumptions. “Nigma kicked you out again, didn’t he.”

“Actually, no. I had a normal departure this evening.”

“Why did you call Batgirl to his apartment?”

Robin paused. “We’ll have to talk about that in a minute. I’m currently waiting for an update from her.”

“I thought you were calling for back-up.”

“No, no, it’s not that. Nigma hasn’t escalated to throwing fists or anything foolish like that. He was… actually pretty decent tonight. Bizarre, but decent.”

Batman watched as the computer began segmenting some of the data to one of the other screens, and he leaned forward to give it a brief read. “Bizarre?”

“Yeah. I’ll explain it all to you in a minute.” Noticing Batman’s brief look of impatience, Robin said, “I’m just testing a theory. I’d like to have that answered before I delve into all of this.”

“After what happened the last time, I’m surprised you went back.” Batman admitted.

Robin ruffled his wind-beaten hair. “Not going to lie, that thought did enter my mind. But, hopefully, a dramatic scene like that won’t happen again.”

“Why is that?” Batman asked, reading over more of the segments the computer found in the documents. It looked like his theory that Dent was targeting his previous associates was holding true, and if it was, it shouldn’t be too difficult to predict his next hit.

“I set up some boundaries with him.” Robin said in another yawn.

Batman paused. He pushed himself off of the computer console and stared directly at his partner. Robin looked startled by the attention, confusion clear on his face. “What?” he asked, but Batman just continued with his unnerving stare.

“What?” Robin asked again. “You're looking at me like I said something stupid.”

“You… set up boundaries, with Nigma?” Batman tried to clarify.

“Yes.”

Batman frowned. “What kind of boundaries? Personal boundaries?”

“Yes.” Robin drew out the word as he said it, and Batman returned to his silent stare. His partner let out a huff in confusion, “Why, what? Stop looking at me like that, you're freaking me out.”

“What were these boundaries?”

“Just -- normal human boundaries.” Robin could tell that answer just upset his partner more and elaborated. “I told him to stop taking out his frustrations on me. That I wasn’t going to put up with that anymore. I explained it in a way I think he understood, that it was stalling the investigation and it’s a complete waste of time. He seemed to understand.”

“And Nigma agreed to adhere to your boundaries?”

“Yeah.” Robin answered, and as Batman returned to staring, the boy hissed. “Stop looking at me like that, you're making me think I made some sort of mistake.”

“No, Robin. That's not it -- it's... continue.”

Robin gave an animated shrug. “There isn't much else to add.”

Batman’s frown deepened. “You're telling me, you set up an expectation to be treated fairly by Nigma and he agreed to your terms? And that was it?”

Robin made a slight grimace. “Well, that sounds nicer than what actually happened. He was still a huge jerk about it.”

“What did he say?”

“He made the insinuation that I was expecting him to cater to my every whim, y’know, instead of just treating me like a person. I asked him to stop being so dramatic about it, and -- he did look angry about that -- but, he agreed, and then he wanted to change the subject. That’s about it.”

Batman began the stare again, but his partner hurried to set down his empty glass as Batgirl’s voice came through on their earpieces saying: “B2 to R.”

“Go ahead, Steph.” Robin replied.

“Well, he didn’t stay inside.” Batgirl reported, triggering a grunt from Robin as she spoke. “But all he did was go down to the bar next door. Then he went back inside his office. But, now we have another problem.”

“Great, what now?” Robin asked.

“Harley showed up. She went up to his place, but they’re not screaming at each other like last time. And,” Batgirl stressed that word, “there’s a car parked across from his building now.”

Batman looked at Robin, who gritted his teeth. “Great. Are they just watching him? They’re probably looking out for you, so stay out of sight.”

“No worries there, Boy Wonder. They haven’t seen me, and they look kinda spooked. I think they’d be more scared to see me up here, think they’d just run off.”

“Don’t chance it.” Robin said, and Batgirl sighed.

“Stop pestering me, I’m not so green anymore.”

“Stay out of sight, Batgirl.” Batman cut in, and the two adolescents went quiet.

“Will do. I’ll keep you posted on any developments.” Batgirl responded, before the line went silent once more.

Batman turned to face Robin, now giving him his full attention, only barely registering the computer’s blips as it continued its analysis.

“Bizarre.” Batman said.

Robin blinked. “What?”

“You said he was acting bizarre.”

“Oh.” Robin gave a brief nod. “Yeah, but, like I said, I kind of get why.” His partner took a deep breath and leaned against the computer stand, signaling this was going to be a long discussion. “Remember how Nigma went nuts on me the last time?” Seeing Batman’s confirming nod, he continued. “Apparently I was right. He was scared, and really rattled. Echo and Query are back in town.”

“I heard.”

Robin frowned at that. “Well, did you know that they’re working for Penguin?”

Batman’s white eyes narrowed into thin slits upon hearing that information. “No.”

“Yeah. And, he’s posted them outside of Nigma’s place.” The two of them exchanged a serious look before Robin spoke again. “Nigma told me that Penguin has been threatening him. Not verbally, as far as I can tell, but he’s been showing signs of it. He’s had men following him around the city, watching his every move. So, I don’t know what the hell that meeting at the Iceberg Lounge was all about, but it’s starting to look like the others are turning on him, Batman. I think we might be wrong, I don’t think they’re working together.” Robin crossed his arms, giving Batman a firm look. “He was scared, Bruce. That night, he looked terrified. I’m starting to think that if all of this ‘private investigator’ stuff is some Riddler plan, the others aren’t in on it.”

Batman slowly let out a breath through his nose. “If Oswald is targeting him then that means he knows something Oswald doesn’t want spoken about.” Batman’s gaze wandered around the cave as he thought. “Has Penguin tried to take him out, or is he just threatening?”

“Well…” Robin began, but then he paused for a moment. “This is when things get bizarre.”

Batman gave his partner an expectant look. “Go on.”

“Nigma kinda had a meltdown, at least, that’s the best way I can describe it. He let some of that wall of his drop, and he told me a lot of things that I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have under any normal circumstances.” Seeing the immediate attention Batman gave him, Robin smirked. “He said that Penguin keeps tightening the grip, so to speak. That he keeps turning up the heat but not acting on the threats. Which Nigma determined means that he doesn’t actually want Nigma dead, he’s trying to intimidate him.”

“Why?”

“He said he doesn’t know why, and I think I believe him about that. He was -- Bruce, he was completely out of his mind trying to figure it out. You should’ve seen him, talking a thousand miles a hour, talking with his hands and rambling.”

Batman pondered that information for a moment. “I can see how you’d think he was being honest. Edward has always preferred to have all the answers, that’s most likely part of Oswald’s plan.”

“Exactly.” Robin went silent, thinking over what else he needed to say. When he spoke again, he himself sounded rather bemused. “There’s another thing, well, two other things. I’m sure you’re still wondering why I called Batgirl, the thing is… Nigma told Query and Echo he’s working with us -- screamed it at them, to be more specific.” Batman’s eyes widened at that information, and Robin could see the apprehension in his expression. “Yeah. So, now the Penguin knows about this little test of yours.”

“Why?” Batman wondered. “Why did he do that?”

“That goes into the other subject, the one that makes me think it's possible he’s being truthful. He told me that he had no idea why he told them, that it just came out and he didn’t have a reason. But, that he knew somewhere in his brain there was a reason.” Seeing the look on Batman’s face, Robin chuckled. “I know the feeling, trust me. That’s really when the meltdown happened. He said that he’s been having a really tough few months, he said something about his mind attacking him all the time. That his doctor told him to be more truthful, to be honest with other people.” Robin pushed himself off of the computer stand and uncrossed his arms. “He said that he’s tried it in the past and he does feel better, so that was the solution he jumped to when he was put in such a tough spot. At least, that’s what I got from all of that rambling.”

Batman remained silent for a time, finding it difficult to believe most of that information, but his partner was right, it made sense. “He’s listening to his doctor.”

“He’s talking to his doctor.”

Batman turned away from Robin, and his gaze wandered over the cave again. He watched the water drops from the stalactites above drip onto the platform before him, listened to the humming of the computer, as he processed this new information against his theories. “This doesn’t make sense,” he muttered.

“Unless he’s actually trying to get help with something. He didn’t explain it very well, but I think he’s having flashbacks. At least, that’s what it sounded like -- kind of.”

“Nigma would know what flashbacks are.”

“True, but it is Nigma. He thinks everything he experiences is unique and one of a kind. He might not be able to see it for what it is.”

“No. I’m not buying that.” Batman’s frown deepened again. “He said his mind is attacking him?”

“Yep.”

“He used those exact words?”

“He said: My brain is usually my best friend, but now it's attacking me non-stop.” Robin let out a heavy sigh. “I’m not saying I believe everything he said, but, if this was an attempt to manipulate me, it was a very poorly orchestrated one. Most of what he said didn’t make sense,” he paused for a moment, “but, it sounded like he wasn’t talking to me.”

“He was talking to himself, just through you.” Batman added, and Robin nodded.

“Which is exactly what you said he does to you all the time. That’s why I believe it, I don’t think he was trying to convince me, he was trying to figure it out for himself.”

Batman went silent again, his gaze wandering off to look at nothing in particular. “Or he could just want you to come to that conclusion. He’s got to be up to something.”

“Well, when you figure out what it is let me know, because I can’t figure it out.” Robin was about to walk away from him, but a swift look from his partner stalled him.

“You’ve seen nothing? Heard nothing out of the ordinary while in his apartment?”

“No. I’ve told you everything, every single thing from every time I’ve seen him.”

“He has to be hiding the evidence.” Batman said, and his gaze wandered off once again.

“If he is, he’s doing a damn good job of it. That office is so small and pretty bare, and I told you, I haven’t seen any evidence that he’s hiding things in the walls or the floor. He also doesn’t really go anywhere, so I find it hard to believe he’s concocting this whole plan of his at another location.”

Batman looked back at his partner, a scowl forming on his face. “Nigma is very good at making things look a certain way to throw you off the trail. He’s good at hiding in plain sight, at using your preconceptions against you.”

Robin stared at Batman, pressing his lips together as he thought. “I get that, I do. I’m not saying I don’t think he’s planning something. All I’m saying is that I think it’s a possibility that we were wrong. All that means is that we need to start looking at it differently, maybe from a perspective we haven’t before.” He paused, taking a few deep breaths through his nose. “Bruce, he can be trying to work through something with his doctor, and planning something at the same time. It’s possible. We have no idea what happened to him on that island. He might just need some help dealing with it.”

“The idea of Nigma going to anyone for help --” Batman stopped himself; the words he was about to say felt wrong, and he forced himself to rethink his position. “Nigma thinks he has all the answers. He doesn’t feel the need to go to anyone else because they couldn’t tell him anything he doesn’t already know. That’s how he sees the world.”

“I know, that’s what you’ve always said. But, again, maybe it’s possible things have changed for him, and he’s run out of options to work on them, at least on his own?” Robin pondered out loud.

Batman’s scowl intensified. Robin wasn’t understanding the full scope of this; he needed to explain the gravity of this troubling situation. “Him going to someone for help is potentially very dangerous.”

Robin blinked. “Uh, okay? Explain that one, please.”

Batman’s back straightened, his expression turning more serious as he chose his words carefully. “If Nigma has decided to turn to a professional for help, it could mean he’s become more self-aware. It means that he’s learning, and Nigma learning new information is never a safe prospect.” Batman glanced back at the computer screen; the search of the last few files were almost complete. “I might’ve been wrong. He might have changed his tactics.”

Robin stepped closer to his side, and Batman could feel the anxiousness seeping off of him. “Mind explaining that a bit better?”

Batman returned his attention to his partner -- the boy’s expression was one of concern, but mixed with a layer of distrust. He understood why. He must sound too pessimistic in his worries, but this was a situation he’d feared would occur for a long time now, and he needed Robin to understand his reasoning. Batman looked Robin in the eye, hoping for his partner to grasp the truth behind his words. “If Nigma is breaking down his own walls and learning what his weaknesses are, it’ll make him very difficult to stop. I’ve always used the same strategy with him: exploit his vulnerabilities. No matter how much he tried to adapt to my solutions, he could never fully match up with them -- because the issue wasn’t me, it was him. He was so self-centered, so convinced he was superior that he couldn’t see the obvious holes in his logic. If he’s realized that he does have weaknesses, that his own issues are what’s been holding him back all this time, and he’s actively trying to rid himself of them --”

“Then…” Robin interjected, his expression more concerned now. “Are you saying you don’t think you’d be able to stop him?”

“That’s what I’m worried about.”

The two crime-fighters stared at each other. Robin looked surprised by the admission, but his demeanor shifted after a few moments. Batman frowned, knowing that look all too well. The boy thought he was being too dramatic and he was skeptical of the rationale.

The computer blipped beside them. It had finished its analysis, and Batman turned his attention back to the screens. Three locations popped up, one of which was a clear possibility for Dent’s next attack. Robin picked his staff back up, giving Batman an expectant look, and Batman gave him a confirming nod in agreement. As the two began to descend the stairs to the Batmobile, Batman felt an anxiousness seep into his bones. The fear of what Nigma was up to gripped him, and he hoped he would be able to rid it to focus on the current case at hand.

Robin hopped into the passenger seat, the skepticism still clear on his face. He turned on some of the trackers on the car’s console and said, “I don’t know. I know you know him better than I do, but, all of that seems way too calculated for what he’s currently doing.”

Batman climbed into the car, a low growl of disagreement escaping his lips.

“I’m serious, Batman. If he was using his doctor to make him into some unbeatable super-criminal, I doubt he’d be starving and killing his brain with alcohol.”

Batman frowned as the car’s engine revved and the bats began to shriek. “I’ll admit, I can't explain the drinking.”

Robin looked at him, his brow rising. “Really. In all your years working with criminals you've never seen someone deal with problems by hiding at the bottom of a bottle? And it'd make sense, actually, if what he's saying about the flashbacks is true…”

But Batman really didn’t want to hear anymore of Robin’s theories about the evidence. He closed the hood of the Batmobile, revved the engine to signify the end of the discussion, and as his partner readied himself in his seat, he sped off toward the cave exit. As they neared the hidden passage door, Batman decided he was more than willing to see whatever distractions Two-Face could provide for the evening. Hopefully it would be enough to get his mind off of that disturbing hint of a notion that maybe, just maybe, Robin was actually onto something.

[loominggaia]

“Okay New York Anon here. I’m really sorry about this chapter and regret writing it, the way i did. Thinking about it post production I’m realizing I made it come off as transphobic and tasteless. Angry guy was supposed to be a parody of the stereotypical sjw you’d see in a cringe comp violently going off on people for accidentally being mis gendered. Sorry if this train wreak of a chapter offends anyone.”

Anon, I’m so honored that you would spend the time to write fanfiction about my series. Not everyone is a perfect writer (I’m sure not), and personally I don’t believe that every piece of writing has to “set a good example” when it comes to politics and morality. The Looming Gaia series is for ages 18+, not preschoolers. I think adults have the mental capacity to differentiate between right and wrong and form their own opinions when they’re reading something (at least I hope they do), so I’m going to go ahead and post your story.

But I also care about my followers’ well-beings, so I’m going to compromise and: 1) Put this chapter under a cut so they don’t have to see it if they don’t want to. 2) Put a content warning ahead of it so they can decide if it’s worth the risk.

If anyone proceeds from here and gets offended, that’s 100% their own fault. I care a lot about writing an inclusive series that doesn’t alienate anyone based on race, gender, sexuality, and so on. At the same time, I’m hugely against censorship, so I always welcome fan content even if it’s off-color or I don’t personally agree with what it’s trying to say (barring anything illegal or blatantly hateful towards any group; i.e. glorification of pedophilia or abuse, calls to real-world violence, supporting real-world hate groups, etc. I will never accept that kind of content. If anyone comes in here praising nazi ideaologies or calling for action against LGBT folks, they can fuck right off.)

Readers, you’ve been thoroughly warned.

You can read the other parts here.

CONTENT WARNINGS: This fan content contains scenes of captivity, mental hospitals, depictions of violence, off-color depiction of a transgender individual, and (censored) racial slurs. While reading this, I personally didn’t get the impression that Anon meant any harm. It comes off as goofy, edgy, over-the-top satire to me, like something you’d see in an episode of South Park. Use your best judgement and proceed at your own risk.

(content under cut)

The crew had squatted in an abandoned building on the outskirts of the city that night. They already knew that only humans existed in this world and the reaction that lady had to seeing Elska only compounded the need for stealth. Their only plan right now being find Evan and get back to Gaia. That morning the crew split up, Alaine and Lukus where to continue searching for Evan, Issac and Jeimos where to go shopping, Elska would search the outskirts out of sight and Zeffer would search at night.

Evan was not mad at doctors for keeping him hear. He knew they where just doing their jobs and where concerned for him, since magic, elves and werewolves where fictional to them he understood he looked like a crazy person to them. That didn’t take away from how annoying it was to be trapped here in this stupid hospital. Knowing his crew was out their somewhere he knew he needed to leave and contact them somehow, he needed a escape plan.

He had two plans so far, plan A was to butter up the therapist into letting him go. Behave himself, take his meds, admit Gaia’s not real and say he’s feeling better. Hoping that upon seeing this drastic improvement the therapist will approve his release and he can finally go out and find his friends. Plan B was in case plan A failed. He would bust himself out of here and go on the run. He really didn’t want to hurt anybody, just slip out unnoticed, but he had a feeling it wouldn’t be that easy.

Issac and Jeimos wandered around the city streets aimlessly in absolute awe of the sights and sounds all around them. Jeimos was getting more unnerved by not being capable of feeling any magic in their surroundings and was starting to wonder if it was just all the iron nearby or something more? Not being able to read any of the signs around them made trying to find a store to stock up on supplies difficult. Finding a food place with golden arch’s they go their as their first stop.

The pair enter this strange restaurant, the place smelling of grease and fry oil. Theirs quite the line so they just wait, taking a look around and absorbing the experience. They see a lot of interesting people and things from pictures of a clown holding a burger, groups of people on strange devices and messy families eating, an extremely obese man the two mistook for a troll horking down a massive pile of greasy food. Kids running in and out of a indoor jungle gym. This place had it all.

They waited their turn almost at the register, waiting behind a mother and her kids who kept changing her order every three seconds and trying to corral her kids. The cashier, a young man around issacs age but with a tired, dead look in his eyes that made him look as if he’s seen a war zone rang the lady up and ushers our pair to the register, asking in a flat, apathetic voice what they would like to order. Neither of them can read the electronic menu so using the numbers and pictures they order

The disgruntled cashier rang them up, totaling their order up to over $55! Him not being pleased by Jeimos’s constant questions and issac playfully asking for a kids toy. They try to pay, placing some gold coins on the counter. The cashier just looks at the coins then back to them, and, in an even more annoyed voice, told them they only take usd, not foreign currency. Telling them they can either pay in cash or card or just leave, the line was building up behind them and getting restless.

Jeimos trying to salvage this, nervously ask if theirs anything they can work out. Not wanting to have wasted their time. The cashier breaths deeply, saying he’ll get the manager, leaving the counter behind. The people in line are angrily starting at the two, Issac having a ball and Jeimos being highly uncomfortable with all the staring and swearing from them. The cashier returns with a fat, sleezy looking middle age man, presumably the manager. Him asking what’s going on here?

The cashier explains the situation in his most annoyed, apathetic tone with the manager glancing over the two. He repeats what the cashier told them, they only take usd and if they can’t pay then just leave, their clogging up the line. Jeimos try’s to explain this is all they have and is about to give up when Issac speaks up and tells them the coins are solid gold. That catch’s the managers attention, who in a greedy smile picks up the coins to check, seeing yes, their real gold!!!

His greedy smile grows wider and he tells them they can understand work something out! Snatching up the gold coins and apologizing for the inconvenience, talking about his no good employees and starts berating the cashier right in front of them for being “rude and unhelpful” to such fine paying customers! The cashier takes one look at his boss, takes off his hat and apron shoving them into his bosses hands and just says, completely monotone “I quit” and walks out without a second glance.

Meanwhile, Lukus and Alaine where walking down the streets through the massive crowds looking for any sign of Evan. Despite trying to keep a low profile they where gathering a lot of attention, walking through down town in medieval armor and brandishing weapons tends to do that. While walking outside a storefront Alaines eyes are caught by a beautiful blue dress, he being mesmerized by. “Nice cosplay” she hears suddenly from behind, Turing around to see a short, well dressed women behind her.

Alaine jut awkwardly thanks her for the compliment. The women also compliments Alaines scales, believing them to be a make up design for whatever cosplay she’s doing. The women introduces herself as Kimi and ask if she was looking at that dress in the window. Alaine answers yes and now both are both gawking at and gushing over the dresses beauty. Kimi complaining about the ludicrously high price tag but before their conversation can continue Lukus calls back to her, wondering where she is?

Alaine snaps back on into mission mode as Lukus returns. She apologizes to Kimi for leaving and tells her their looking for someone, asking if she’s seen a large blonde man with a metal leg. She says no but wishes them luck on trying to find their friend. The two head off once again search the city streets for Evan and once again have no luck, it didn’t help that a lot of people where stopping them, asking for photos of their “costumes” and asking what characters their dressed as?

After hours of searching and coming up empty handed both where rather hungry. Stopping at a cafe looking place to grab a quick bite. The place smelled of coffee and a sign outside had a picture of a twin tailed mermaid on a green background. As they where waiting in line observing all the weird people around them they saw a familiar face ahead of them, Kimi. She had a coffee in her hands and was thanking the barista but didn’t see them. Neither did she see the weird guy she bumped into.

The guy she bumped into looked ridiculous to Alaine and Lukus, having fluorescent pink cloths, big goofy glasses and a oversized beanie I’ve this colorful hair. The guy yelled at her to watch where she’s going, she apologized but then she said sir. The pair could already sense this guy would be trouble as the moment kimi said “sir” it looked as if the weird guys was about to explode. SIR!!! He screamed, grabbing everyone’s attention, his face beat red and eyes bulging in rage!

To say he exploded on Kimi would be an understatement, he started loudly screaming at her “ did you just misgender me”!!! The screaming got even louder as he started listing off a bunch of gibberish and loudly insulting her, calling her sexist, anti-lgbt, telling to kill herself and die in a hole. His screaming getting more incoherent and seemed to be literally frothing at the mouth. Kimi was just backing away, scared and trying to apologize but the guy just kept screaming over her plea’s.

(Feel like I need to put a trigger warning for this one so here it is. Trigger warning for Lukus and Alaine getting in a fight with ‘that kind’ of trans guy, the kind responsible for all the negative stereotypes about the trans community. And Issac being called a racial slur. You have been warned.)

Alaine and Lukus stepped in to stop this dude from hurting Kimi. He seriously looked like he was about ready to punch her. They stepped in and tried to diffuse the situation, putting themselves between kimi and the angry man. They try to explain to him that how could she have known he wasn’t cis, that’s it’s an honest mistake and to let it slide. That only seemed to pissed him off more as he threw a drink in Alaines face and shoved Lukus in anger, wrong move.

Just as Lukus was winding up a punch Alaine beat him to it, knocking the asshole clean to the floor in a single strike. He went down like a sack of potato’s and was laying out cold. The three just left, taking Kimi and leaving. Alaine was fuming but if she where calmer she would have noticed it was water he threw at her, and would have also noticed she didn’t flop to the floor in her aquatic form, she was too pissed off the notices.

Kimi thanks them for saving her from that crazy guy and try’s frantically to explains to them she’s pro-lgbt, always try’s to respect peoples pronouns and is actually a lesbian herself. They cut her off, she didn’t need to explain herself to them. On the flip side Jeimos and Issac are carrying back their huge bags of fast food back to the groups hideout waiting to hear any news. Issac see’s a downed old man and the street and rushed to help him.

Just as Issac was reaching out to help him the old man swats him away, screaming at him. “Keep your hands off me you filthy N@$$#r”! Heads turn and people stop dead in their tracks in pure shock at what they just heard. Issac and Jeimos had no idea what that weird word meant but it guessing by the crowds reaction, it was really bad. The old man gets himself up and goes off on a racist rant, accusing Issac of trying to steal from him, calling all his “kind” low-life scum and just screams at him.

*

First of all Anon, your depiction of working at a fast food place is a whole-ass mood and I felt it lol. I’m interested to see what role this character Kimi plays! Maybe she has ties to the hospital? Seeing the crew clash with real-world culture is very interesting. I’m enjoying their adventure so far. TO BE CONTINUED…?

[sugarcookiesandsins]

Charmed [Episode 1]

➰ ot7 x reader, poly!bts x reader, mafia!bts ➰ they wouldn't notice her until she was standing above them, a smoking gun in her hand a bullet in their heart 🌡 M   🛑 heavy violence 🕛  6.1k+

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Tags: Since this is a revamping of the series, I am using a new tag list. If you were on it before, please message me so I can add you back. To those on the list, thank you for taking the time to read this. 

@omgsuperstarg​ @missseoulite​ 

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Reflected in your eyes were the lights of the boat as you stood next to the railing, air fogging as you breathed out courtesy of the temperature difference between you and your surroundings. The ripples had long disappeared beneath you as the body sank farther into the depths of international waters. Twenty miles or so from the nearest land, surrounded by the inky depths of the sea, you felt oddly at peace with yourself than most would be. Before you, the sea extended with multitudes of opportunities, yet you held on to the metal pole, refusing to let go and fling yourself into its cold embrace. Overhead, past the tips of the sails with their heavy canvas, the sky extended in the same way; punctuated with lighthouses that never ceased to guide traveler to the shore.

This far out, much like the senses, even the jurisdiction became convoluted. It was the age-old argument of territory and even the final frontier, be it space that extend pat your reach or the depths that you could feel splashing against with every wave that the barge broke, could be subject to a baseless human need that no one seemed to be able to justify past material greed. 

The body would not pop back out of the water for a at least 2 weeks and add on the time lags that always happen when multiple governments tried to make an important decision, you had more than enough time to hole up somewhere else on the planet as the buzz died down.

Without tearing your eyes away from the blurred horizon, your silently raised a hand towards the bow. The muffled yelling and the vibrations of the engine under your feet gave you the only answer you needed as the barge turned, headed in the direction of the nearest port. And yet you faced forward, watching the waters as they tried to fight against the metallic interruption only to succumb to the power of modern technology. Your figure remained still, clothed in black like a specter charged with guarding the ship. The waters closer to the coast were calmer, only breaking on the wooden stakes of the ports as they teased onlookers with millions of secrets buried under the cloak of time.

Your face remained impassive, even if no one could see it. The crew members had simply been instructed to ferry you out and ferry you back, a clean operation that would get them access to a very lucrative fishing spot. Environmental concerns had forced the government into restricting the fishing, but as a major export, it could not stop it all together with the amount of people employed in the business. So, they started dealing permits for who can fish where and for how much; it’s amazing to think that the government had indirectly created a new black-market sector when they were supposed to be the paragons of peace and leadership.

Your face was a mystery to these workers, and not one person there would be able to swear that they weren’t curious as to who you were. They had simply been told by their boss that they were scheduled for a late-night trip out into the ocean. There would be only one person boarding and only one person leaving. They were not to disturb their guest for any reason, nor were they supposed to inquire about the guest and his actions.

You trusted them to not risk their job for mere curiosity, but what you didn’t trust were the people with enough money to make their curiosity worth the risk. People are fickle like that and everyone can be influenced, if promised the right thing.

The mistake that most amateurs make is that they believe that if money is not strong enough to break a man, then their moral fortress is impregnable. Only the select few, which included you, realize that there is more to offer in life than just financial backing. To some, success is only thing worth anything in life, and that may be something not controlled by the number in your checkbook. It’s surprising how much support you receive when a political candidate finds themselves short one particularly threatening opponent.

Letting out a wry smile, you think about the past that brought you here to this moment. Not the millions of coincidental events of the universe - though that certainly plays a part in it all. It was a single night that became the catalyst for everything you are today. It was the night that BigHit targeted your family, all because of some idiot who didn’t have the balls to face the consequences of his mistake. Surprising how a member of the biggest sect of organized crime in all of South Korea still is chicken enough to pin the blame on someone who was considerably lower on the food chain than they were.

BigHit had been in part of your life since the start, having always employed your father as the legal head for the group. The front was a real estate firm, but it was one of those elephant-in-the-room types of situations; common knowledge, but ignored to maintain some semblance of normality. Heck, you were sure the entire city knew the truth that hid behind the white, blocky letters, but it was an unspoken rule that no one said anything. BigHit was untouchable, until 7 years ago and the paranoia that spread through the company cost your family greatly.

It had all started when some lower-level lackey noticed an inconsistency in the finances. There were conflicting spending reports between company-sponsored business trips and the withdrawal amounts. On multiple instances, one exceeded the other and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what was happening. This was coincidence number one. The man wasn’t even supposed to be checking the finances, he was just filing something away for his boss when he knocked over the files. It was impossible to stop his roaming eyes as they scanned the information while cleaning it all up.

Immediately he made a beeline for the higher ups, who, after looking over it to make sure the worker’s suspicions were correct, passed it along the chain of command. Then the investigation began. Almost immediately, your father’s team came under suspicion. They had been involved in a financial report for a case, which had required multiple trips to the prosecutor’s office - an overseas prosecutor accusing BigHit of international grand theft. The case was more trouble than it was worth; everyone knew that BigHit wasn’t the type to commit petty theft. They had too much leverage to work as snakes under the cloak of darkness.

A full search tore the building off its foundation, until the money was found in your father’s private office. They didn’t bother to look for evidence any longer.

1.      The doorknob was scratched.

2.     There was dust on the surface.

3.     There was coffee on the table.

4.     The money was in plain sight.

5.     They came in the night.

6.     There was a girl in the closet.

7.     She survived.

8.    They didn’t.

Ticking off each point after the next, you calmed your racing heart. It was the same feeling that accompanied the flashbacks of blood. From within the closet, you watched from under the door, mouth clenched around the soft baby fat of your arm, the only thing that kept you from screaming into the open air. Using your calloused palm, you rubbed at the scars, now slightly faded with treatment from time.

You would pay them back for every injustice. You felt closer than ever to feeling their blood running down your blade, swimming in the dents of your skin, and molding with it as you showed them the same mercy they showed your parents. You could still hear their voices, sloppy words mixed with tears as they begged for mercy. Still they tried, with their last breath they still held onto the belief that the guns would be put away.

The last thing you heard before the gun shots were two words. They were filled with such malice, as you had never heard in a voice before.

You knew who said them too. After all, it was hard not to recognize BTS; BigHit’s personal dirty-work squad.

And with that, their fate was sealed. You were closer than ever to feeling their blood running down the blade of your dagger, swimming in the dents of your bones, and molding with your skin as you showed them the same mercy that they showed your parents.

Waiting until the boat was tied to the docks, and all crew members had left - another insurance policy for your identity - you alighted from the boat. Running the pad of your finger along your right wrist you stopped, feeling a gap in the silver chain that enclosed the joint. The last gap of the last bracelet - on it would go a small replica of the flag of Burma. With it, all the spaces were filled.

As it reflected the yellow light of the streetlamp, each charm shimmered with beauty. Looking at each on in turn you remembered. You saw the tears in the eyes of the woman as she choked on the same poison she had used on her sister. You heard the screams of the rich man who had abused his family as karma came back for him tenfold. You smelled the pungent stench of sex as the rapist lived through the pain he had given little girls. You tasted the salt in the air as an avid sailor met his end at the hands of sharks, forever a corrupt official. Under the lamplight, you reminisced. With the completion of another set came the inevitable question.

What now?

If it was in your hands, you would be headed to Seoul on the next flight out, far too ready to leave this life behind, but unwilling to do so until your goal was fulfilled. Sadly, it wasn’t up to you.

It was in the hands of your boss, your self-appointed instructor and ringleader. It was he who had found you in the park living off of stolen pastries and money. It was he who had developed your natural affinity for crime and theft and who controlled who you would find at the end of your gun on any given day.

A cool breeze blew in from over the ocean, sending chills down your spine like someone was playing a sonata on your nerve strings. Far too ready to leave the country, you move out from under the lamplight, letting the black of your jacket hide you from the ignorant world around you.

Within the surrounding houses there were people, innocent people, unaware of what goes on beyond their sphere of influence, unaware that you had them all in yours. It was a macabre thing to be thinking about, but even the most painful truths cannot be denied. There was nothing stopping you from scaling into their bedroom like a phantom, a conjuring of their worst dreams. Just as there was nothing stopping you from following the body into the ocean’s cold embrace. With nothing holding you back, you wondered why you never took the plunge before.

Walking for the better part of the hour brought you to the last place any respectable wanted to be seen. Having long since been abandoned by the previous owners, the building seemed ready to collapse at any moment. Deep cracks in the cement foundation would scare even the most confident from stepping inside.

Still, you ignored all that and strolled in, much more concerned with getting into the comfort of your bed. Crawling through the small window - the door had been blocked by a pile of rubble -, the sight of your things brought some relief to you. Nothing had been disturbed; everything you were was still a secret to the rest of the world.

Up the steps, ignoring the soft dust that flowed up around your boots, you made a beeline for your bed. Barely, just barely, noticing the dark-haired man who was making himself quite at home on the tattered grey couch.

Sending a small nod his way, you took off the face mask and prosthetics that helped protect your identity. It was an extra lesson that you had taught yourself and perfected with time. Within 15 minutes, it was possible for you to look like a completely different person with a fabricated personality

The greatest of your tricks were the ones when you introduced targets to your masks independently of each other and played them for the better part of the month. They would treat each differently, a good tell as to a target’s preferences. Then the prank would collapse because as much as you loved the amusement, there was the proverbial counting down until it came time for you to finish the job.

After cleaning your face of the prosthetic glue, you walked towards your teacher, delicately wiping down you face and neck of any stray water droplets. He remained impassive throughout the entire process, having grown used to your one-sided mindset. Letting your legs collapse, you maneuvered your body into a half-sitting and half-lounging position on the couch. Grunting, you told him to speak, feeling you brain already beginning to shut down from exhaustion. The work and the walk home had tired you out, especially considering it was in the early hours of the morning.

“Done?” It was a simple question, but it carried heavy weight behind it. ‘Done’ was not just the referring to the firing gun, it included everything from prep to disposal and aftercare for your supplies, all of which you had painstakingly accomplished before you set out to the docks with the black garbage bag, weighed down with both a human body and stones.

“What does it look like?” Your temper was running short at 2 in the morning and there was no force strong enough that could make you behave when you were this sleep deprived.

“Hmm.” See, the thing about your boss was that holding a conversation with him was mostly about reading between the lines. He was never blunt with his words, instead foregoing lengthy exposition for psychic communication - messages delivered between tone and tongue.

Unclasping the hook, you tossed the silver bracelet towards him as proof. “How many more do I have to do before I’m ready?” He had said nearly 6 month ago when you got this chain that this would be the last one, but there was no knowing if he was telling the truth. After all, you were close to beheading him if he had told you something you didn’t want to hear.

Your master may have once been young and able, but time had taken its payment from his life as it would do to many others; he was now well into the older years and lacked his former ability. There was no doubting that fact that if the both of you went head to head, that you would win, yet you never did try to challenge him. Mostly out of respect, but also out of the knowledge that losing him would be like losing your parents again.

“If I said you’re not ready, what would you do?”

You glared at him. You were tired of hearing those words. It seemed that throughout your life you were never ready. You weren't ready when those men came and took away your family. You weren’t ready when you found yourself in the cold, only getting by with scraps and pity for random passersby. You were never ready it would seem.

But at this point you were too tired to argue, and much too accepting of the supernatural ability your teacher had for telling the future; if he said you weren’t ready then you weren’t.  Even then, there was something about the question that seemed more examinatory than before. Perhaps it was the level-headed stare he pinned you with, eyebrow bent with curiosity at your answer that clued you in to his intentions.

“I would accept the next assignment.”

“Hmm.” You swore you saw through his eyes and witnessed the cogs turning in his brain. “And if I said that you were ready?”

“I would start preparing. There is a lot to be trained for and many details to sift through.”

“Hmm.” That ‘hmm’ was the most infuriating thing of all.

“Well,” I asked.

“You’re ready.”

The following morning went by in a blur of motion. You were still tired from the lack of sleep you had suffered, but you didn’t need to really pay attention to this part anymore. The packing sequence so deeply engraved in your nerves that you never paused to doubt yourself when you stepped out the door 2 hours later.

In way, it was a morbid testament to how much this life has become part of who you are. It was difficult to imagine what your life would have been like had BigHit not betrayed your father’s trust that night. If they had just stopped being impulsive and took the time to think; say what you want about organized crime, it was built on the laws of the jungle and a seed of doubt grows and festers. Your father never stood a chance; he was dead the moment the man from his team decided to earn a little extra on the side.

You know this now. You know a lot of things now that you didn’t before.

And what you did know came from the one man who rarely spoke. After your master had approved the target at BigHit, he disappeared with the morning fog; never really knowing where he had been or where he went to with the sun peeking over the horizon. Still, you deduced that he must still be nearby, having discovered the manila packet filled with your travel details. First and foremost, was the passport declaring you to be of Korean nationality. It was easy enough to play off if you claimed you were born in said country. It also had inside the telltale colors of a Burmese visa. Running a finger over the perforated stamp, you wondered at the craftsmanship.

Forgery was a skill that you defined in very broad terms. It was an art form at its core; the most perverse kind, but still qualified enough to fit under the same category as the greats. The ability to mimic someone else, especially with the professed claim of the uniqueness of each person is a great feat; even if that ability was used for less than ideal means.

Your cover was simple enough. According to the information, you were a freelance photographer returning from an assignment in Burma. There were some pages depicting your ‘travel itinerary’, conveniently including the same port that last night’s ship had departed from. It also included some printed photographs of historic sites and monuments that you had supposedly visited and photographed.

After the passports and identification details, he had clipped together your golden key; plane tickets. They were for a flight at noon out of the nearest airport and one-way to Seoul. Averting your eyes from the rest of the content, you noted the time on the wall. Thankfully he had allowed you a little grace period before you had to leave for the airport.

Then finally at the end, were the documents that you were most interested in. Printed on crisp white paper were the profiles of the top team in BigHit. BTS was a paradox in many ways. Many people knew them, yet at the same time they were clueless. They seemed to be a small group but did the work of dozens. They were young but played games with the mind of a seasoned professional. They were like you.

The profiles were limited in how much they could provide in terms of personal biographies and most of what was contained in the test was collected from local sources and eyewitnesses that saw the youth before they were dragged behind closed doors to be trained by their fathers. The strength of this group lay in hereditary lineage. For multiple generations, the task had passed from father to son. This ensured that secrets of the trade remained just that - secrets.

You were sorely tempted to forget the flight and experimentally began thumbing the files, relishing the feeling of the way your revenge seemed closer than ever. But you needed to get to the airport and make your way through security. Thankfully most of your stuff would be checked in, and your backpack only contained the few necessities you carried from mission to mission. Steeling yourself for the weeks to come, you let out a silent wish to the heavens. You would see this through to the end; whether it ended with your corpse or theirs.

Casting a last glance around the room, you closed the door on the remaining supplies in the room. There was nothing much left, mostly wrappings from packagings but the biggest blow to your heart was the makeup you had to leave on the counters. The master always had professionals come and clean after you left. They were in charge of removing all your DNA from the place, this also included the makeup that you used for that mission.

Thankfully, he always arranged for new materials to be on site in the next place that you lived, but it pained you to have to recreate you three most iconic personalities from scratch each time.

Since dabbling in FX makeup for missions, you had probably portrayed no less than 50 personas, but there were a select three that you found yourself coming back to. The beauty was that they were so different, yet so generic that they became obsolete after a while in the memories of anyone who had come into contact with them.

The first, and your personal favorite, was Eli. He was a roughed up street rat with a penchant for making trouble and the aptitude to flirt with anyone he met, be it a man or a woman. He always got along well with the older women with his youthful, boyish charm. There was an art to his Casanova speech and his laid-back demeanor that seemed to draw eyes away from wallets and purses.

The second was an older woman of around the age of 28. Levi was a successful business woman with the kind of gait that made it seem as it she was on a mission. With her tight mini-skirts and heal the length of a dagger, everyone noticed when she walked in and when she walked out. Never a hair out of place, she was the weapon against older men or young aspiring businessmen attracted to a powerful woman. It also helped that she walked in and when she walked out.  It also helped that she knew exactly how to move to gain an advantage.

The last, and simplest of them all, was a timid kitten. Adding a little fat to all areas of your body, you transformed into a girl who jumped at the sound of a book hitting the floor. Never looking men in the eye, Eve shuffled forward with the kind of steps that made you think she was 5 seconds from bolting in the other direction. She was the easiest to play - after all, she rarely spoke and was mostly there as the kind of character that would pass by unnoticed in a crowd.

With these three personas, as well as your own, you were set to take on whatever, or whoever came in your way. The decision of who to use at BigHit first was still up in the air, but you were pretty sure the decision would end up being Eli. Levi would get you too much unwanted attention and Eva just didn't match the image that BigHit wanted. Further still, Eli would be able to run through the underground circles with relative ease considering his aesthetic. Even without the arguments, you would still have chosen Eli. He was the favorite after all.

Continuing to make your way towards your gate, you only paused for a moment to buy a simple meal to tide you over until you landed in Korea. It was already too late in the day for breakfast, so you settled on some noodles at a corner shop in the airport. The stall was small and well hidden from prying eyes in the far corner of the terminal. Casting a small glance around, it also seemed to be in the blind spot of the small cameras dotting the ceiling of the building. Still, you had learned to never risk anything.

Thus you sat for the next half hour, slowly making your way through a bowl of noodle soup, payed for in cash, with your hood pulled as low as it could go. All in all, it wasn’t the best you’d ever had – Levi had been treated to many expensive restaurants – but it was enough for what was required of it. Resting your body at the table, your eyes couldn’t keep themselves from wandering to the other people in the airport. Each with the different façade. There were serious businessmen on phones, arguing about something or another as they raced towards  sole destination – as there were in any airport. Yet, conversely there were also families on vacations, children leashed in one hand and bags held in the other, getting side-traced by the smallest trinket in the shops lining the walkways.

From between the murmurs around you, you could almost see a little girl running through legs towards the candy store. The naivety in her eyes shining bright as she continued on ceaselessly chattering about something in the way that only other children were able to understand. It was hurried and pitched, the prospect of a sweet more exciting than grammar. Following behind her came a man and woman, the women had your face while the man shared your eye and hair color. Hand linked, they laughed together at the little girl in the cotton dress, and you know that they would give into their daughter like they always did.

Yet before you could continue to watch them, they disappeared behind another stranger. Pushing the empty plate away, you held your head in your hands. The cool metal of the bracelet let refreshing wherever it contacted your warm skin. The need to catch up on sleep was real – the 5 hours you got after your master left not really working to fill the deficit your mission had caused – it was moment like this when you hated him for drilling a 7 am wake-up call into your circadian rhythm.

With a sharp ding, the screen announced that your flight had started boarding. Deciding that there was no putting it off, you made your way towards the glowing sign of your gate and followed the crowd of people until you made it to your seat. As always, it was an economy, nothing surprising about that.

Since entering the vicinity, you had mostly kept to yourself, which people tended to notice. You cut an imposing figure among the rest of the people scaring away those that might have initiated a conversation with you. Some took small glances at your figure, but non screamed that they were coming for your life, so you tended towards ignoring them. Even your row mates decided to keep to themselves, immediately losing themselves in the inflight entertainment that the airline provided. The only downside to your seat was that it would be even more difficult to read the files that your master had presented you with. Wandering eyes were common enough on airplanes and you were always in fear that it would be the wrong person catching a word or two of what you were reading.

Sinking back into the cushioned seats, you debated whether taking a short nap would prove beneficial in comparison to reading the profiles. In the end, your training kicked in and procrastination became a foreign word. Submitting to your conscience, you ordered a cup of black coffee and pulled out the files.

There really wasn’t anything new that you hadn’t already discovered in your independent investigation of the bangtan members. Since the moment that you could, you had been keeping tabs on the boys. After all, killing them would be the only way to take revenge. The BTS lineage would end with them, just as yours would end with you. The only thing of interest to you were their positions and newfound specialties. Eli was a very moldable character. There of course was a base aloofness that manages to charm even the most hardheaded folk, but specifics were the variables that you played with. In order to take down Bangtan, you would have to create the perfect character.

Mostly, he would remain the same as always, pickpocketing anything worth filching and maintaining that cherubic smile that one couldn’t tell if he really was absent-minded or he truly was too adept at acting. Skimming the profiles of the younger members, you noticed that one of them had a similar talent. Kim Taehyung, you had heard of him. He was one of the more public members and from what you had heard of him, he was very good with his hands. That’s not a problem. Eli would just have to be better than he was. It would be worth it to test Eli out on the streets for a couple days before starting the mission. The other holes would be carved out after an initial interaction; there should always be some room left for mistakes.

Last known sightings included a mall. That seemed odd, but then again, you supposed that even mafia needed new wardrobes occasionally. You wondered if your luck would be good enough to collide with them at the mall, but that would be secondary. First, you had to establish Eli in the underground society.

There were two way to go about it. The first option was just to commit one big heist and make a scene. Or you could just rise slowly, committing small pickpocketing jobs and become famous from the sheer number that you were able to accomplish.

Details would be hashed out later, but you were only two hours into the flight and the caffeine was wearing off. Deciding that your mental health mattered more now, you packed up the files and locked your backpack. Pulling out the provided blankets, you curled up to get some well-deserved shut eye.

Your dreams were mostly empty promises. Nothing but the vast darkness stretching before you, once filled with fantastical ideas but now painted in muted colors like even you subconscious was restricting you from true happiness. You knew what that happiness was; the end of the Bangtan lineage. Yet, it still sat poorly in your stomach. With soft mumbles, you fell deeper into the void, unable to fully comprehend exactly where you were going.

 A couple hours of blissful sleep passed before the flight attendant with her manicured nails gently woke you up in order to inform you of your arrival in Seoul. In accordance with their regulation, you put away the provided sleeping materials and put your seat back into that position that was somehow perfect yet irritating for your spine.

Popping the piece of gum in your mouth, you closed your eyes in an attempt to withstand the pressure change as the airplane landed. You may be a trained operative, but your body never really cooperated with planes. Personally, you preferred the steady oscillation of a train or car, both of which were equally dangerous considering your tendency to fall asleep in them. Still, personal partially aside, planes were faster so the only thing you could do was grit your teeth and live through it. You chanted your mantra in your head, it was a constant reaffirmation of your goal and served to calm down with the familiar weight of the words in your mind.

1.      The doorknob was scratched.

2.     There was dust on the surface.

3.     There was coffee on the table.

4.     The money was in plain sight.

5.     They came in the night.

6.     There was a girl in the closet.

7.     She survived.

8.    They didn’t.

By the time you finished, the plane had touched down as was slowly making its way to a gate and you were a step closer to your final goal.

The feeling of being in Seoul was electric. The very air seemed to caress your hair, teasing and taunting you to speed up the timeline of your plan. It was a sore temptation to just throw your carefully constructed plan to the wind and waltz through the front door with machine guns and just extinguish the magazines, but that would be letting them off too easy. They deserved nothing less than the ultimate suffering, watching on as you pulled apart BigHit from under them, bit by bit, limb from limb.

Waving over a taxi, you climbed into the back and rattled off the address of the apartment that your master had bought for you. It was nothing crazy expensive, simplistic enough for a person receiving the pay that a college student would have. Small and compact with a single bedroom sectioned off from the main space, it rent was pretty low and it suited your need. Basic furnishings were missing, but that was expected for a person who had just moved into the area.

Deciding that it would be smarter to explore the area, you threw on more casual clothes after washing the stink of the airport off your body. Making your way into the sunlight you took a moment to absorb the feel of warmth the sun on your skin. This was your favorite moment - the post-mission bliss where the stress of the past was only a distant memory, at least for a while. Shoving your hands into your pockets you randomly choose a direction and began walking. Neither path seemed to hold anything special, so it really didn’t matter.

Your stroll was relaxing to say the least, the only tangent being when you stopped in a cafe to grab a snack and a cooling drink. Juice in hand, you continued to walk. The sky was just starting to show hints of the approaching night when you found yourself staring at the catalyst of your mission, Coex Mall. The building itself far surpassed any malls you had visited before and it seemed as if nothing was lacking as you entered and walk past clothing and cigarette stores.

As you walked, you wondered what BTS would come here for. They were known for being a secretive group so why they ever would step in such a crowded place in the middle of broad daylight was a mystery to all. They were a dangerous group, so it could not have been anything good, yet that still didn’t seem to stop stories circulating among women about their so-called ‘talents’.

Well, your feet had brought you here, so might as well get a headstart on making a mental layout of the mall. Sure, online maps worked to a degree, but there was no better cartographer than the one who walked every inch of the territory. Besides, it would also give you a chance to look at furniture shops. Your apartment was barren of even a mattress.

Stopping every so often, you finally made you way to the area of the store reserved for those lucky bastards who had more money than they knew what to do with. Many name brands showcased their wares proudly in diamond-proofed glass cases and behind burly security guards who glared openly at shoppers who looked as if they belonged anywhere but here.

You were one of the unfortunate victims with worn blue jeans and a comfortable sweater. Nothing about you screamed rich, but that didn’t matter to you. You knew what your bank account held, stocked with payments from jobs taken over the span of 4 years. Passing the first couple was easy, but the more guards that watched you with wary eyes, to more annoyed you became, but those thoughts all disappeared when you heard the whispers. They were hushed at first, singular words slipping past lips to make their way into your ears.

They were here.

No wait, not all of them. Only two.

But that was enough for you. Yes, you had previously discarded the thought of speeding up your plans, but since you were already scoping out the mall, why not scope out the targets while you were at it. Besides, you were never going to meet them with this face after today. The only person they would see would be the devilish smile of Eli, corners turned upwards with the knowledge that he knew more than anyone else in that room.

[sharperthewriter]

Chapter 16 of SFV

Chapter 16 - Day 2: The Hailstorm

(still Nov. 19, 10:45pm)

The Stoppable-mobile pulled back to the hotel as the gravy-soaked Kim parked it in the parking spot and putting it in gear.

"Ron, we are going to leave early tomorrow." Kim said, hiding her frustrations on how Day 1 of the vacation went.

"How early are we talking about, KS?" Ron asked.

"We are talking super early, like, at 8am. So I want everyone to be up by 5:30am." Kim instructed her family. "Is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am!" came the unison reply from the other three Stoppable family members. Rufus also nodded his head.

"What about Mary and Canna?" Ron asked, pointing to the camper.

"I will have to keep a close eye on them, especially Canna." Kim said as she unbuckled her seat belt. She got out of the van, followed by Ron, Rufus, and the kids.

As they closed the doors to the Stoppable-mobile. Ron was then reminded of something.

"Oh, Kim! I forgot that I dropped my set of keys in the car." he said while walking back to the van.

Kim then remembered that the driver's door lock was rendered useless due to the fact that she used her GJ-issue laser lipstick on the vehicle earlier to rescue Justin.

Turning behind, Kim exclaimed, "Ron! Don't open the car! You might activate the..."

And as Ron opened the door, loud noises emitted from the Stoppable-mobile.

"...car alarm!" Kim groaned at Ron's forgetfulness. He had activated the worst part of the vehicle.

The alarm was so loud that it even awoke some of the other hotel guests who were sleeping.

"Can you shut the damn thing up?" one female guest asked. "It's annoying!"

"I'm trying to sleep here!" exclaimed a male guest from the second floor.

Kim replied to the guests while covering her ears. The other Stoppables, plus Mary and Canna, also did the same. Canna was also chewing on tobacco and spitting it out in her empty water bottle.

"Don't worry! I'll get to it!"

She took a baseball bat that they packed for Justin to play with at the Lipskys and started to beat on the hood, for that was where the alarm was it. This motion caused the right strap of her leather overalls to slip from her shoulder again

"Shut the hell up, you stupid damn alarm!" Kim shouted, hammering at least five dents in the hood and in the quarter fender before it finally stopped. A distant thunder was heard.

"Thank you!" the redhead exclaimed, taking a deep breath. Seeing that the right strap has slipped off again, Kim decided not to fight it and unhooked the overalls strap instead.

"Now...if you don't mind, I'm going to get the lemon squares that Ron made for the Thanksgiving dinner for the Lipskys into the suite's fridge." Kim replied, getting Nana's most important, and treasured, heirloom from the van and into her hotel room. There were 16 lemon squares total that she had brought in.

"I got the keys, KS!" Ron exclaimed while grabbing his keys and closed the door to the van.

"Now...let's all get back to sleep and have a peaceful sleepy night!" she then insisted to the guests. They all turned out their lights.

Thunder also began to rumble , closer to their area.

(11:30pm)

After taking a shower, Kim was now finally out of her gravy-colored overalls and shirt and now in her husband's Middleton High football jersey that barely covered her breasts and Club Banana boxers. She only had panties underneath the boxers and was wearing her glasses. This was considered her usual night wear.

The kids, in the meantime, were asleep on the pullout couch as was Rufus.

She was also playing on her tablet while watching an old episode of the Dr. Zone Files on the TV. It was the episode where Time Ape was captured by the Statues of Windsor, where one looked at them, they would become frozen forever.

This was when she got out her KP Kimmunicator Pendant to get with Wade. The now 22-year old tech whiz of Team Delta at Global Justice appeared in a hologram form.

"Hey, Kim!" he said with a smile, "It's getting kinda late here."

"Hey, Wade! I know." Kim said with a smile, "How's Ken holding down the fort?" She was speaking of one of her fellow team-mates on the Team Delta squad, Ken Trepid.

"Him? He's doing fine! Stopped a few robberies with the help of Slam." Wade replied with a smile. How's the first day of the Stoppable vacation?"

Kim groaned, "Ugh...here's my verdict on this sitch!" She then gave a thumbs down.

"Stoppable Vacation Curse got in the way?" she asked.

"So far, Ron almost accidentally locked Justin in the van...again..., we had bird poop on the van, plus the quote-en-quote fun times with the Bumblebees thing of me ripping my overalls, and us getting banned from the local Smarty-mart here due to crazy vegans that we have as relatives!" Kim explained all of the incidents they've had on Day 1 of the trip.

"Not a very good start, huh?" Wade replied with compassion, "Hopefully, things'll get better! I'll catch you up in a couple of days."

"Okay, Wade, get some rest now." Kim suggested.

"Oh, and one other thing and don't tell anyone this but...I got a special surprise for Joss when we get to the Lipskys." Wade said with a whisper, "But don't let her know about it!"

"Lips are so zipped!" Kim said while zipping her lips with her fingers.

"Night, Kim!" Wade said as the hologram of him disappeared.

Ron, in his pajamas and bunny slippers, looked out the window.

"This doesn't look good, KS." he said.

"What is it this time, Ron?" Kim asked, rolling her eyes.

"The storm's on the horizon!" Ron replied, "You might wanna check the NWS."

Kim checked the NWS on her tablet. There was a lot of orange and red headed towards North Platte.

"Ewwww..." she remarked, "...you're right on that front."

"Should we warn the kids?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, I think we should if a Severe Thuderstorm Warning or, God forbid, a Tornado Warning is issued!" Kim said,. "Alexa is much more scared of even regular thunderstorms than Justin is. So I'd hate to see how she fares with this sitch of a storm."

"I understand, KS." Ron replied before switching to the other important thing. "What are we going to do for breakfast though?"

Kim simply pulled out the hotel info and said, "The hotel has a restaurant on the premises that opens up at 6. We can eat the buffet there and then check out at 8. Simple!"

"You make everything sound so easy!" Ron replied, cracking a smile.

"I do, Ron!" Kim giggled. She also got out her planner and stylus pen. "Now...how should I wear my overalls for tomorrow?"

"Which ones are you going to wear?" Ron questioned Kim's denim fashion sense.

"The Club Banana flare ones." Kim replied.

"What is the difference between those and the baggy ones you packed?" Ron asked.

"Two reasons, Ron." Kim said. "The first is that they have the zippers on the side instead of the side buttons and the second is that, if I do wear them with the bib down, which I certainly will, they won't fall down on me as long as the zippers stay up unlike the baggy ones which require a belt."

"I'd say to go with the one-strap up approach." Ron replied.

"And then..." he smirked, playfully lowering his wife's boxers, "...go for both!"

"And I have the perfect way to style a button-down shirt to go along with it!" Kim replied with a grin.

"What about the Oh Boyz Concert?" Ron asked.

"Oh that? I'm definitely going with a belt for that one!" Kim said. "That's the one I planned to wear the manipulated buckles one."

"Good thing that I didn't get the lowest score in the Oh-Boyz challenge!" Ron chortled.

"Jason is gonna be the unlucky one who has to stare at Tara's bare ass for that moment once they get on the stage." Kim grinned.

"The poor, poor sap!" Ron snorted at the fate of his ex-Mad Dog football team-mate.

Kim looked at the alarm clock and it read 11:50pm.

"We gotta get to bed now, Ron." she said, resting her head on the pillow. "We got a long drive ahead of us tomorrow."

"Way ahaead of ya, Kim!" Ron replied, doing the same.

Kim turned out the lights and both the hero duo...and husband and wife...closed their eyes and went to sleep.

(12:45am)

A sudden thud was heard from the ceiling above. And then another...and another...and another! The thunder was booming loudly and lightning flashed from their window.

This woke Ron up from his sleep. Kim, however, was still deeply asleep.

"Huh...what's going on here?" he asked half-groggily. Ron's eyes were half-asleep. "Has Mr. Barkin been turned into a gill monster?"

Rufus was also stirred awake by the storm. At the time, he was the only one that was fully alert and awake. He was chittering loudly in fear to his owner.

"Rufus...the Bueno Nacho dining room is closed at this time." Ron muttered, "Can't you go back to sleep?"

Rufus grunted and pointed to a blaring message on his smart phone. He pointed to the obvious red glaring message on it.

Ron grabbed his smartphone and, all of a sudden, his eyes were wide awake.

"KS! KS! Wake up now!" he exclaimed, rushing to his wife's side of the hotel bed.

"Ron...why are you up?" Kim uttered, "It's almost 1 in the morning...go to bed?"

"How can I go to bed when we got a TORNADO WARNING!" Ron screamed the last two words.

Kim was jolted awake by what her husband said and exclaimed, "Oh my God! Ron! We have to The kids!

The thunder and hail was getting to be louder and louder. Justin and Alexa rushed into their parents room.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Alexa exclaimed in tears, "The thunder monster is out there!"

"I'm totally scared!" Justin whimpered.

"Everyone! To the bathroom!" Kim exclaimed, pointing at the bathroom, the only interior area of their hotel room without any windows.

Ron grabbed his smartphone and he, his wife, Rufus, and the Stoppable kids all scurried into the hotel bathroom.

He tapped his phone on the Tornado Warning issued for the NWS.

"The NWS has issued a Tornado Warning for the counties of Lincoln and Perkins counties until 1:45am. At 12:29am, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was spotted about 10 miles south of North Platte moving northeast at 40 mph. This storm is also capable of producing baseball-sized hail..."

"Wait..." Kim gasped. "...baseball-sized hail?!"

"That's what the report said, KS." Ron said while pointing to the report.

"Oh great..." Kim muttered, "We're going to have to check on the damage of the Stoppable-mobile once all this stuff passes."

All the Stoppables could do was to sigh in despair as the sheets of rain and hail continued to pound against the hotel, and against their poor 20-year plus old minivan.

It wasn't until around 2:30am that the storm finally subsided and the Stoppable family can finally return to their beds.

[friendlyfaceseverywhere-sp-blog]

Chapter 1: Party At Cartman’s

          The last week of August and the end of summer had finally came to South Park. Stan’s Marsh phone alarm played a nice, peaceful and relaxing tune, which was the opposite of what his mornings looked like, but the volume was high enough to wake him up. Stan opened his eyes and was about to press the snooze button, thinking five more minutes of sleep wouldnt disturb his routine, but stopped when He saw there was a message from his best friend Kyle Broflovski. He opened the chat and read “Ready for another year of torture?”

           Stan laugh. “And do we have a choice?” was his reply, knowing Kyle would probably chuckle like He did on the other side. He gave up sleeping five more minutes longer and stood up, walking towards the bathroom to wash his face, but was abruptly pushed before He could enter by the stupid She-Ogre He knew as his older sister. Shelly would just return to the college campus for classes in september and Stan couldnt avoid thinking if it was about time for her to go away. Have her home some weekends was bad... But everyday was almost too much to bear.

- God dammit Shelly! Do you have to do this everyday? – Stan shouted from outside the bathroom, knocking on the locked door. His sister had grew a lot. She didnt used braces anymore and had gave a update to her looks, at least the possible, but her bad attitude had stayed the same. Shelly opened the door, almost hitting Stan’s face with it, to respond.

- Shut up Turd! I’m going out! – and she closed it again almost breaking it. The noise made Stan’s mom, Sharon, soon appear to ask what was going on, but the boy Just sighed and went back to his room. He packed his school stuff and changed his clothes while waited for Shelly to come out of the bathroom.

           He placed his jacket, a The Who shirt, clean jeans and his red converse Chuckies above his bed. He opened the drawer e there it was, carefully stored, his trade Mark: The red poof Ball hat. He throw the little thing with the others at the same moment He saw Shelly passing irritated through the hallway while his mother followed her screaming. Finally He could use the bathroom.

             About twenty minutes later, Stan got to the bus stop, not the same one He and his friends used to hang when they were kids, despite being practically the same thing. All sights in South Park looked alike. When He got there, Kenny and Cartman were laughing, while Kyle had his arms crossed glaring at the other two. – Hey guys. – Stan Said smiling to Kyle, who Just sigh and got closer to his Best friend.

- Hey dude... – Kyle seemed frustrated and Stan knew the reason. He knew why his other two friends were laughing their guts out and it was the same reson that placed that expression on Kyle’s face.

           A week ago, to celebrate summer’s ending, Cartman threw a huge party for everyone in class on his basement. Eric Cartman’s basement had always been the Best place for such stuff... It was big, had an extra bathroom and Liane, his mom, never seemed bothered with all the shit they’ve done down there. The whole sophomore class appeared, Kenny had got the booze and the pot with his contacts and everything was going as planned.

           Stan and Kyle were sitting in the staircase that lead to the basement waiting for Wendy Testaburguer, Stan’s girlfriend, arrive. The Black-haired boy was anxious, since she had spent most of her Summer travelling with her parents. Kenny, Cartman and the others that had arrived already, were downstairs having fun. Watching this, Kyle seemed nervous about something.

- Youre gonna try tonight Kyle? – Stanley asked with a smirk on his face as Kyle turned to him widening his eyes for a second.

- Uh? I dont know what youre talking about...

- The pot dude... I’m asking if youre gonna try it. You Said your parents would be out tonight. – Stan gave a brief look towards Ike, playing with his phone in a couch. Since the Broflovskis were out, Kyle had to bring him to the party.

- I dont know dude... My mom would kill me if she discovered i’ve smoked. – He took a deep breath before continuing. – I know Ike wont say a Word, but i dont know... You know how she gets when she’s angry.

           Stan opened his mouth to say something to his Best friend, but they both turn their heads at the same time hearing the door above the stairs opening. Wendy and Bebe passed through it and the Black-haired girl froze as soon as she saw her boyfriend waiting. Stan smiled and patted Kyle’s shoulder friendly. – You know i support whatever your decision is, right? – and before the red-haired could reply, Stan stood up and went up to where Wendy was.

- Hey babe! How was your trip? – He asked already pulling her into a hug. Wendy seemed nervous about something, and her fake smile showed that.

           Kyle, who could see Wendy’s expression, watched the scene confused, standing up as well. Bebe passed through him shooking her head. – This ain’t gonna be cool... – she sighed already knowing the kinda talk her bestie would have with her boyfriend next. Kyle turned to her listening this, getting even more perplexed now since according to Stan, the two of them seemed to be ok until the previous Day, at least He Said Wendy seemed to miss him in their messages.

- Bebe... What...

- Have you seen Clyde, Ky? – Bebe asked and the jewboy only pointed to where the football team captain and the blonde’s boyfriend was. Soon He also went down there leaving Stan and Wendy alone.

 - Everything was fine Stan... I had lots of fun. – Wendy replied stepping away from his hug. She was acting weird.

- Is everything ok? Something happened? – Stan asked noticing this. He hoped his girl would be anxious to see him again, just like He was. He hoped that she would be happy and willing to tell him the news about her trip and that they would spend na amazing night together at the party. But the words that came out from Wendy’s mouth next made Stan’s heart stop beating for a second.

- Can we... Talk? – she said in a uncertain and not a bit thrilling tone. – I mean... Alone?

 - Whats wrong with your face Kyle? – Kenny asked when He saw the jew coming downstairs with some worry on his eyes. He looked up towards Stan and Wendy while going down, and bit his lip nervously when He saw Stan’s smile vanishing, before He agreed with his head and followed Wendy out of the basement.

- It’s just... I think Wendy is going to break up with Stan. – He said grabbing a pop for himself while Kenny raised na eyebrown. He understood why Kyle seemed worried about this since Stan always ended up devastated everytime He had a fight with his girlfriend and them splitted apart for a while. None of them could forget the goth kids episode. Kenny got a bottle of vodka and added some to Kyle’s cup.

- Guess we’re gonna need more of this to comfort him later then, huh? – He said with a little sigh. Kyle looked at his cup and scratched his neck.

- I dont know if i should Kenny... Ike’s here and... – He thought for an instant. Why not? He wanted to be able to help his Best friend upstairs, but theres nothing He could do at the moment. Maybe when He came back, if what He was thiking truly happened, Kyle could cheer him up a little bit. – Alright... But let’s get slow... You know Stan has a problem with alcoohol.

- I have some weed here too... – Kenny said patting his parka’s pocket where probably the joints were. The smirk on his face showed the other the exact words that were about to come out of his mouth. – You said you were gonna try tonight, Kyle.

             Wendy guided Stan to Cartman’s backyward. Usually, there was the parties Make out spot. Of course, couples used to kiss and fool around down the basement as well, but true action happened there, under the stars. Stan and Wendy had kissed in Cartman’s backyward before but they never reached the ultimate goal, He respected her too much to try doing anything without her giving a sign first. In reality, He didnt fell secure enough to go more ahead than what they had done by that point.

           A girl placed her hands in her coat’s pockets. Despite still being Summer, South Park managed to be to coldest town in all Colorado. She sighed without facing him, just looking at the starry sky, nervous with something Stan couldnt identify. – Wendy... What do you wanna talk about? – she suddenly firm her feet and turn her head to him.

- Stan... We need to take a break.

           Complete silence. Stan tilted his head to the side confused for a few seconds staring at his girlfriend not knowing how to react. E then He chuckled. It was a quick one tho, since Wendy’s expression didnt change. – Wait... You’re being serious? B-But why?!

- I’ve been thinking during this trip... You know? I need a break to think, thats all. – she replied shyly looking to the ground. She hated having to do that. But at the same time, it was needed, doubts came on her head during vacation and she needed to find a solution to it without Stan interfering, even without meaning it. – Please... You need to understand.

- You’ve met someone on the trip, don’t you? Thats what happened? Thats why you’re acting weird? – He asked leaning onto her and gently taking her hands, which made him stare at his eyes one more time. – Wendy... Please don’t do this to me again... I... I love you...

           She stopped and her eyebrows curved in a sad way. She slightly and carefully touched his face. – And i love you too. Thats why i have to do this, because i don’t wanna hurt you more than necessary. I need a break Stanley... – her voice was firm and decisive. – And no... I didnt met anyone on the trip. I just... Need you to respect what i’m asking you.

           She took a deep sigh gazing deeply inside his eyes, before releasing his hands and pass through him, returning back into the house. Stan’s shoulders dropped while he stared at nothing ahead of him with wide eyes, shocked, without understanding how in a matter of minutes he went from “Cute messages of missing you” to “We need to take a break”. He had no Idea how longer he stayed there staring at nothing in particular, but he discovered later that it was for awhile, cause Kenny opened the glass door that gave access to the backyard, holding himself to not have a laughter attack.

- HAHA! STAN! – he couldnt stop laughing. – You have to come see the shit Kyle’s doing! S-Stan... – Kenny stopped in front of his friend, finally seeing his desolate expression. – Uh... Stan? What happened?

- Wendy... She... She... – Stan tried to speak, but the words simply didnt came out. He felt his body being pulled into a hug all of sudden. Kenny sighed releasing him a few seconds later.

- I’m so sorry dude...

           Stan felt terrible. If at least he knew why Wendy did this to him, maybe he could stand the fact better. Kenny was a good friend and for sure, at least as far as possible, his hug had helped. Perhaps if he went to hang with his friends... Wait a minute. Stan’s sad face changed to confused in just one second. – What did you said about Kyle?

 - ALRIGHT, MOTHERFUCKERS! WHEN I SAY CARTMAN, YOU SAY FATASS! – Kyle was standing above the junk food table, wearing only his underwear and hat. His voice sounded drunk and a little bit higher than usual. Kyle already had the most high pitched voice among all his male friends, but that was too much.

           Kenny returned with Stan to the basement and just when he saw Kyle, he couldnt contain his laugh. Stan’s eyes got wide seeing his Best friend completely high and screaming almost naked in front of everybody. That wasnt Kyle, or at least, it wasnt how Kyle acted. All the others had similiar reactions to what was going on: Or they were laughing or they were shocked. Cartman didnt seemed to care that mosto of the shit coming out of the jew’s mouth were poorly directed to him. At the moment, the fat kid hold onto Heidi, his girlfriend, while filming Kyle making a fool of himself with his Iphone. – That’s totally going to my Twitter. – Eric laugh evil.

- My god Kenny... What the fuck did you gave him? – Stan asked, a mix of worry and giggle on his voice. Kenny laughed out loud in return, showing the other joint he had.

- Looks like our friend Kyle kept his promise, huh Stan?

           Wendy was one of the people looking at Kyle without knowing how to react. For a second, she glanced at Stan, but quickly the boy looked away and went to the table where Kyle danced ridiculously. – Kyle, you have to get down from there dude. – Stan said reaching his arms towards his Best friend so he could come down without falling or getting hurt.

- Hey Stan! Hey everybody! This is my Best friend Stan! – Kyle said almost tripping and falling from the table, but Stan managed to hold him and put him down safely before that could happen. – Ah... Dude... Your eyes are puffy... – Kyle stopped smiling and touched Stan’s face dizzily. – She broke up with you, didnt she? I’m so sorry Stan! – and then he hugged him.

Stanley wanted to talk with Kyle about it. During his whole life, that boy was always there to help him, but he knew the red haired didnt had conditions at the moment. He sighed and asked someone next to the scene to pass him Kyle’s clothes that were on the floor. – C’mon man... Lets get you home. Lets go Ike!

Stan went away without saying bye to most people. In the end, Kyle’s little show had gave him an excuse to leave... After what happened, the last thing he wanted was partying. When they got to Kyle’s house, on the other side of the street, Stan carefully placed him on his bed with Ike’s help. He thanked Jesus for their parents being out.

- God dammit... Hey Ike, i think i’m spending the night. Just in case Kyle doesnt feel good... And he has no conditions of... – Stan stopped talking when he heard voices that sounded much alike the ones he heard at the party coming from Ike’s phone. – Ike?

- Uh? Oh, sure, no problem. – Ike replied laughing and showing his phone screen. It was a vídeo of Kyle’s show at the party, posted three minutes ago on Eric Cartman’s Twitter Page. – Its online already.

           Stan took a deep breath, rolling his eyes thinking how Cartman could be such an asshole. He looked at Kyle knowing how ashamed he would be in the morning, despite him looking so peaceful sleeping now. – Alright Ike... You should go rest. We’ll figure this out tomorrow ok? The sleeping bag is still in the closet?

           Stan layed on the floor next to Kyle’s bed, curling himself at the thick Terrance & Phillip sleeping bag. He smiled a bit remembering how happy they both were when got that gift. Soon he frowned tho, thinking about Wendy and what happened at the party. Why did she had to do that with him? Why didnt she gave him a reason? He heard Kyle moving on his bed and then released a groan.

- You better be ok in the morning to hear me mourn Kyle...

- Stan? Are you listening to me? – Kyle asked waving his hand in front of his Best friend’s face, that looked completely lost in thoughts.

- Uh? What? – he asked snapping out of it. He was inside the bus already heading to school with Kyle sitting by his side.

- You didnt heard a single Word i said, right? – the red haired kid asked with a bored look. Stan stuttered to reply, which made Kyle sit straight in his seat with his arms crossed. – Nevermind...

           Stan felt bad for a second. He’d been thinking about Wendy and what happened for the last minutes, not realizing his surroundings. In fact, he and the girl havent spoken to each other in a week, ever since the talk in Cartman’s yard. The boy relaxed in his seat sighing sadly gazing at the view from his window. – I know you were problably cursing Cartman for being an ass and posting that vídeo. He’s really a jerk... I’m sorry about it and i’ll help you solve this shit. Is just...

- The thing with Wendy, right? – Kyle said suddenly. The two boys knew each other time enough to know exactly what the other was thinking without much effort. Stan looked back to his friend. – I know dude... It sucks. But you told me she just wanted a time. Didnt she said she loved you?

- Well... Yeah, she said. But i dont know... She seemed so... – the bus stopped in front of South Park High and the doors opened so the students could come out. But Stan couldnt stand. He saw something outside the bus the simply freeze his movements. Wendy was sitting at the stairs in front of the building with a big book in one of her hands... Because the other side of the book was being held by a blonde kid around their age that was extremely familiar. -...Distant...

           Kyle looked from the window seeing the same scene. The boy was close to Wendy. Too close. The two of them seemed to be talking about the book and she seemed happy with this kid’s company. Kyle lifted an eyebrown, having the same sensation of familiarity. The blonde curly hair thrown back, fancy outfits and that smart air he exibited over Wendy... It reminded them a lot about this kid they’ve met years ago, when they were just eight, and that had went study with them. Kyle’s eyes widen when his mind reproducted the words “La Resistance” and he could, finally, identify who this guy was.

- Gregory... – he said making Stan turn to him abruptly.

- Hey, you two have to come down! – the bus driver yelled making them realize they were the only ones left inside. The boys quickly took their stuff and did as the man said. Kyle tried to pull Stan as far as possible from where Wendy was with Gregory, maybe head to their lockers and get over with that, but Stan couldnt avoid giving his girlfriend, or ex, a look with all the sadness from his body.

           For a moment, Wendy faced him back, and the joy vanished from her face. She looked embarassed to the ground while Kyle kept trying to pull him away. But he knew there was no sense in spare him since his heart was probably already broken.

             Eric Cartman was walking towards his locker with his usual egocentric air. He wasnt among the youngest in school anymore, actually, he was practically a veteran if you think well. It was like he owned this territory by now. He spotted Heidi Turner, his longdate gilfriend, searching for something inside her locker, and, even tho he wasnt seeing her face, he knew she was excited to see him. They were more attached than ever, since a week ago, after the incredible party in his house that he liked to call “High Kyle’s show” they went it on inside his room. Probably the best day of his whole life, not only for seeing Kyle humiliating himself, but because he lost his virginity, all in one night. It was too good to be true.

           When he reached her, Cartman hugged her from behind, gripping her waist and lifting her up softly. Heidi gasped startled, tooking a fright when he lifted her, but when she looked back and saw her boyfriend, her face turned angry. She shook her legs and kicked him lightly to be released. – Let me go Eric!

           Cartman released her, getting confused. He chuckled sarcastically. – Wow... Looks like someone is on a bad mood today. Are you on your period or something?

           Heidi shut her locker madly, which made Cartman shut his mouth. He had seem her pissed before, despite being rare, and he didnt liked at all. He kept perplexed while she faced him almost like she was about to attack him. – I dont wanna talk to you! – she yelled suddenly and started to walk away. Cartman ran and grip on her arm.

- Hey! Wait a second, what have i done? – he asked not understanding. Heidi’s face got even angrier, burning bright red. After a few seconds she opened up.

- You want to explain to me why everybody knows what we’ve done last week? – she screamed pulling her arm away from his touch. Cartman’s eyes widen, as he placed his hands on his pockets.

- I... I dont know what youre talking about, Heidi...

- Dammit Eric! I asked you to not tell anyone! – she stamp her feet on the floor with tears on her eyes.  

- And i didnt! – he screamed back, some people were staring at them both, before turning their faces and leave. Heidi crossed her arms, not buying not even a bit of that. – Well... Maybe i’ve told the guys... And Butters... And Clyde. I mean, i had to tell Clyde, right? Oh yeah... I told Jimmy too...

           He stopped when she suddenly pushed him and his fat body hit the floor. – Youre an idiot! Now everybody looks at me knowing what happened! Dont you ever speak to me! Its over Eric! – and then she returned to march nervously away from him.

- Fuck you Heidi! Thats right, go away and leave me here, laying on the floor! – Cartman yelled seeing her move away. Noticing she didnt hesitate a single step and just disappeared by the end of the hallway, ignoring him completely, he sighed heavily, still with an irritated expression, laying the rest of his body on the floor too. – Crap...

OH MY GOD I’M SOOO HAPPY HAHA! So yeah, this was the first chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed. Feel free to comment, share and talk to me or Mary about it cause it really makes us want post more and more about this!!  

*THIS AU BELONGS ENTIRELY TO ME (@maryramos) AND MY FRIEND (@m-tonks). If repost, please give credit to us and make sure to follow our page for more content of it!*

[shalegas34]

ROAD TRIP - Part 1

Macquarie ascended the spotted oak staircase in his fully owned northern suburbs home, smearing trust fund kid privilege all over the rail along which he dragged his left hand. His right hand was grasping a wad of paper which was barely being held together by two overstretched staples in the corner.

“This Chinese woman has been caught with 10,000 undeclared US dollars,” a voice intoned from somewhere upstairs. Macquarie raised his head, but it wasn’t anything interesting. His partner Sydney was watching Border Security in their bedroom.

…Or not. Macquarie shrieked as he crashed into Sydney and almost fell back down the stairs. They had been lurking on the landing.

“Macquarie,” said Sydney. “Let’s go on a road trip.”

“No,” Macquarie whined. “Just because you don’t have anything to do doesn’t mean everybody has to give up on themselves. I have a debt contract to write for Westpac’s bond issue.”

Sydney folded their arms. “You’ll have to write me a debt contract if you spend any less time with me.” They waited until their stern glance finally made Macquarie’s lip tremble. The edge of their mouth twitched.

“Does that count as insider info? What you just told me?”

“What, the bond issue?” Macquarie laughed obnoxiously. “Trying to make money from bonds is like trying to currency-hedge a position in foreign equity.”

Sydney stared at him blankly, which was just the outcome he had been aiming for. Feeling masculine after the display of obscure knowledge, Macquarie sauntered into his own bedroom and set the contract down on his expensive warped oak desk.

Sydney sighed and returned to Border Security. They were supposed to be practising on a simulation as part of their air traffic controller training, but Border Security was always too mesmerising, like the weak and unexciting, but still addictive, soft drug of sub-prime-time TV. They already knew the Chinese woman would be fined for her undeclared currency, and the carpet from Afghanistan would contain heroin, and the old Vietnamese couple’s fried chicken wings would be seized and destroyed. Still they remained on the bed, eyes fixed to the screen.

“Yo.” Oops, three episodes had passed. Macquarie was at the door.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Sydney replied.

“Can you Ubereats some Chinese?”

“Fucks sake,” said Sydney. “You do it. You’re not the one living in someone else’s house because you couldn’t afford your mortgage.”

“I can’t decide what to get.”

“Get two serves of the plum sauce beef, seasonal veg, and fried rice.”

“Oh, yeah, I knew that. I love the plum sauce beef.” Macquarie whipped out his phone and went to leave. He shrieked and almost threw it into the air when All Star by Smash Mouth started blasting from its speakers.

“-BODY once told me, the world was going to roll me,” Sydney joined in. “Since when was that your ringtone?”

“It’s only for John,” Macquarie grumbled. “It gets everyone around me to shut up so I can leave whatever conversation I’m having.”

Macquarie answered the call and rearranged his face into a smiling professional’s customer service visage. Sydney rolled their eyes. John was Macquarie’s division director, and whatever words he uttered always took precedence in Macquarie’s ass-licking life. Sydney had no doubt he would have John’s job one day, but until then he had to avoid being demoted.

“What?” Macquarie yelled. Oh dear, it was bad news. Maybe the contracts had to be re-negotiated.

“What do you mean Westpac’s pulling out?!” Sydney raised an eyebrow: even worse.

“How else are they going to roll over their fucking debt? They’ve already left it stupidly late,” Macquarie snapped down the line.

“They’re not.” John’s voice was way too calm.

Macquarie began to laugh hysterically. “You mean a bank is actually going to pay its debt back? Woo hoo hoo. That’s a good one, John.”

“Something’s going on. They’re trying to deleverage.”

“You’re shitting me, right?”

“No, Macquarie, I am not ‘shitting’ you,” the old man replied. “I’m meeting with the board next week. You take the next few days off.”

“Hey,” said Macquarie. “I’ve got truckloads of friends at Westpac. Let me do a bit of digging.”

“I said, take the next few days off.”

“I’ll have the contract ready and signed before you even get in the doors of that boardroom.”

“If I see you at the office before next Monday, I’ll fax your real conveyance documents directly to the head of the ATO.”

Macquarie sighed and glanced at Sydney, the one he had moved house for, in order to be closer to the airport. He gave a sour farewell and hung up on John, at which point he realised he had hit the speakerphone button with his treacherous cheek.

Sydney cocked their head. “Road trip?”

---

“Now that was insider information, wasn’t it,” Sydney said, hunched over the steering wheel of their shitty car, flooring the accelerator. The ancient Holden Barina continued to wince up the ramp to the Hume Highway at 40kph.

“What?” Macquarie asked, his feet up on the dashboard, expensive sunglasses glinting in the sunlight, as some jackass in a 4WD overtook them in the left lane, horn blaring.

Sydney slammed the car into second gear and wound down the window. “Fuck you too,” they yelled. “That deleveraging thing about Westpac,” they then said to Macquarie without missing a beat.

“Yeah,” Macquarie said, combing his thick auburn hair and examining it in the sunshade mirror. The car had reached the highway and was now picking up speed on the flat. Their luggage slammed against the back of the boot as the Barina accelerated as hard as its tiny engine was capable of.

“Still think we should’ve put the stuff in the back seat,” Macquarie said.

“Yeah, and move it all again when we pick Aristocrat up in Melbourne. Are you going to short some Westpac shares?”

“Wow,” Macquarie said. “How do you know what shorting is?”

“I read your diary.”

A flash of fear creased Macquarie’s perfectly groomed face. Sydney snickered. “What kind of shit do you write in there? I don’t even know where you keep it. Come on, I’m not a total idiot.”

They were on their way to South Australia. This was chosen as it was one of the only states which Sydney had never visited. Both Aristocrat and Libby had jumped at the chance to tour the famous wine regions around Adelaide, an activity suggested by Macquarie.

“Please,” Sydney had said when he brought it up. “We live together. Don’t pretend you don’t just drink straight vodka and cry.”

After an uneventful journey to Melbourne (not counting the many renditions of Toto’s Africa by Macquarie, which had contributed to Sydney acquiring a migraine), they pulled up in the underground car park of Aristocrat’s fancy hotel. Sydney took in the soothing shade of cream painted on the walls, and the marble panelling around the lifts.

“This is nice,” they said, yawning.

“You should see the car park at the office,” Macquarie said pretentiously.

“How would you know what it looks like?” Sydney snapped, referencing his lack of a driver’s licence. Macquarie pretended this attack on his fragile masculinity hadn’t just taken place, and marched ahead to stab the call button for the lift.

“Oh my god!” Aristocrat yelled with a flamboyant wave from the front counter as they emerged on the restaurant floor.

“Stop sulking,” Sydney said, poking Macquarie in the ribs. “There’s only space for one drama queen on this trip.” They straightened up as Aristocrat came to a screeching halt before them, grabbing Macquarie and lifting him off his feet. Macquarie tried to protest, but Aristocrat’s whack on the back had left him winded.

Sydney shook Aristocrat’s hand next. “Please tell me you drive,” they said.

“Drive? Like, a car?” Aristocrat giggled. “I live in Brunswick, right off the tram line. Why pollute the earth unnecessarily?”

Sydney fell to their knees. “REEEEEEE,” they screamed.

Aristocrat’s brow furrowed in concern. “Did you just say ‘ree’ out loud?”

Sydney stood back up and smiled. “I’m good. Just needed to let it out.”

Aristocrat laughed nervously and looked to Macquarie for help. Macquarie was bent over his knees, regaining his breath.

“So, it’s been a long trip,” Sydney continued.

Aristocrat’s face lit up in a genuine smile. “I know just what you need to relax.”

“A room,” Sydney said, but unfortunately Aristocrat spoke at the same time and his voice was louder.

“Pokies.”

Macquarie looked up from his recovery position. Sydney rolled their eyes. “Please, he’s already addicted to his work and alcohol.”

“Hey, speaking of gambling,” Aristocrat said, winking to Macquarie. “Remember those credit default swaps I bought off you on Sydney’s mortgage?”

Macquarie groaned so hard the marble counter was almost crushed under the pressure wave. “How much do I owe you?”

Sydney stared at the two men in disbelief. “Hello? I am right here?”

They had lost interest in Sydney and were busy organising an electronic funds transfer. Sydney threw their arms up into the air and stormed off towards the gaming room. “Hey, come on, I went short on those CDS,” Macquarie yelled as a last-ditch attempt to salvage the situation.

Sydney sat themselves down at the pokies and inserted the obligatory one dollar. Even though they were basically de facto with Macquarie now, and consequently had millions of dollars at their disposal, Sydney was still a scrimping bogan-slash-student at heart.

Macquarie entered with two glasses of apology cider right as Sydney managed to win five bucks with a five cent bet.

“Wrong choice of reconciliation gift,” Sydney said, accepting the drink and downing about half the glass in one go. “You noobs are making me drive another eight hours tomorrow.”

“Five dollars?” Macquarie whined, looking at the screen. “That’s not fun.” He threw a fifty at the girl behind the counter, who proceeded to count out a stack of change.

“What are you doing?” Sydney hissed.

Macquarie drained his glass and giggled hysterically, shoving the whole fifty dollars into the machine. “Fuck off,” Sydney yelled, but it was no use. Macquarie proceeded to bet the entire balance, plus Sydney’s hard-earned five dollars.

“Oops,” he said, when he won nothing. Sydney mimed glassing him.

“Oh, there you are, good,” Aristocrat said jovially, waving a set of keys as he trotted over. “I got your room ready. Hey Jackie,” he greeted the girl behind the counter.

“Hey boss,” Jackie replied.

Macquarie was staring up at Sydney with puppy eyes. Sydney always found it ironic how the colour of his eyes exactly matched that of a hundred dollar note. They grabbed the keys off Aristocrat.

“Don’t want to finish your drink?” Aristocrat said, pointing. “I mean, enjoy it while you can. They have tiny glasses in South Australia.”

Sydney glared and walked off. Macquarie shrugged and finished the drink for them. “Should’ve got your driver’s licence, mate. We wouldn’t be in this situation if you had.”

---

“Ooh, it’s a manual,” Aristocrat said from the back seat, nodding in appreciation as Sydney threw the gears, swearing as yet another coffee-carrying hipster ran into the narrow city street in front of the car.

“Aye,” said Sydney. “And don’t talk to me again until we get out of the city, unless you have meth.”

“Hey, you were the one who wanted to do this road trip,” Macquarie whined. “Why are you complaining?”

Sydney turned to face Macquarie, dark bags under their eyes accentuated by the diminished light which snaked its way past the forest of buildings and through the grimy windscreen. “Don’t tell me you’ve never done shit which you regret.”

Macquarie pursed his lips in thought. “Well…”

“How about that ten million dollars you lost on the CDS?” Aristocrat piped up in the back, grinning.

“TEN MILLION?!” Sydney shrieked, slamming their foot on the accelerator and almost totalling a group of office workers.

“Don’t worry, we decided to divide by a thousand,” Macquarie grumbled. “Token of goodwill. We’re not animals, Sydney.”

The rest of the journey to Adelaide went quietly in comparison, with one minor incident during the lunch stop in Horsham. Macquarie and Aristocrat were drawing on the café placemats when Macquarie noticed a scribbled message by the edge of the table: “Call me! xx 042-517-350”.

“Sexy,” Macquarie said. “Imma do it.”

“You really are an asshole around your friends,” Sydney snapped irritably.

“No, he’s just an asshole in general,” Aristocrat corrected good-naturedly.

Sydney almost left them to fester there, but then Macquarie had very seriously offered to drive for a couple of hours down the highway, if Sydney quickly taught him how to change the gears in the backstreets of Horsham. Such a self-sacrificing proposition, unusual for Macquarie, had touched Sydney’s heart.

They crossed into SA around 1.30pm, which immediately became 1 o’clock. Aristocrat gasped loudly as they passed a lit-up petrol station outside Bordertown.

“What?” Sydney scowled. “It’s a petrol station, and it’s the same price as Melbourne.”

“They have electricity,” Aristocrat whispered, and he and Macquarie erupted into raucous laughter.

“You guys better tone that down once we pick Libby up,” Sydney warned. “You think I’ve been tough? Libby will punt you into orbit.”

“Who is Libby again?” Aristocrat asked.

Macquarie sighed. “She’s a steelworker from Whyalla. You know, that place with the Arrium plant, or Onesteel, or Liberty, whatever you want to call it.”

“Into orbit,” Sydney said again, and Macquarie shut his mouth.

“How do you guys know all these people?” Aristocrat filled the silence, raising a manicured eyebrow.

“He’s a banker, he knows everybody,” Sydney said with a roll of the eyes.

“Especially the bankrupt ones,” Macquarie couldn’t restrain himself from saying.

“I hope you have funeral insurance,” Sydney snapped.

Thankfully, they arrived at the long steep descent into Adelaide just before Sydney reached the edge of the long steep descent into madness.

“Aristocrat, you’re flying back, and we’re taking the Sturt Highway,” Sydney decided as they slammed on the brakes behind a bus.

“I think this lane is just for buses,” Aristocrat replied gently.

“Thank you,” Sydney screamed, making a dangerous lane change.

Less than thirty minutes later, Sydney had collapsed into a comatose state in their room at the Hilton. This left Macquarie and Aristocrat to brave the CBD and go meet Libby at the Malls Balls.

“Wow, there’s literally nothing here,” Macquarie said, as they passed at least four ‘For Lease’ signs on King William St.

“At least they don’t have lockout,” Aristocrat snickered.

“Is that the tallest building, the Westpac one? Lame,” Macquarie said, changing the subject. Even as he mentioned the name, Macquarie was stroking his chin in contemplation.

“What’s on your mind?” Aristocrat asked.

“Nothing.”

“Oh, so it involves insider information. Cool, I’ll back off. I know you’d get murdered in jail.”

Eventually, after consulting several passers by, they managed to locate the Malls Balls. Libby was leaning against said Balls, arms crossed in front of her chest.

“Damn,” Aristocrat hissed. “She could murder you.”

“Don’t worry, I deal with all kinds of people in my job,” Macquarie said confidently. He strode up to Libby, his hand outstretched.

“Hey Libby!” he said cheerfully. “How’s it going?”

“Where’s Sydney?” Libby replied.

“Sleeping,” Macquarie said.

Libby looked between the two men. “Did you boys make them drive the whole way here?”

“Um…” Macquarie looked shiftily at Aristocrat.

“Assholes,” said Libby, hoisting up her massive bag and forcing her way past, back towards King William St, leaving them to bitch in solitude as they hurried to keep up with her.

Sydney had awoken for a snack by the time the group got back to the hotel. “Rest up,” Libby said, throwing her bag into the adjacent room. “I’ll drive tomorrow.”

“Oh hey,” Sydney acknowledged. “Thanks.”

Libby had driven down from Whyalla earlier that day. Being somewhat familiar with Adelaide, she had intended to shout the group dinner somewhere on North Terrace. However, she couldn’t stand Macquarie and his pretentious behaviour, and was not about to fork out money just for him and his rich buddy.

That night, Macquarie tiptoed around the room so as not to wake Sydney, and they both woke up fresh the next morning, ready for a full itinerary of day drinking.

[ajoraverse]

Well. I had the bulk of this written before ASPR and the more recent episodes and added the details of the alcove later (in this kind of sandstone, alcoves are everywhere because that’s just how sandstone erodes; it’s porous and weakly-cemented grains get washed out a lot faster and allows gravity to let the sandstone fall away in chunks), after I’d actually been inside one. Then ASPR happened and I stepped away from this for, well, up to now because posting it right now feels like it’s reactionary. 

Buut, I gotta post something to make up for my post-ASPR malaise. So here we go. Mist/e1!Peri because people like them for some reason. All photos are my own, taken a few weeks ago on a wild and expensive adventure, and the mention of the compulsion was added shortly after ASPR. This is rough and unbeta’d and I’m still not sure if I should post it on AO3 because I don’t want to look like I’m bitter or anything. 

It was getting to be that time of year again. Clouds collected, low and heavy in the sky. They were of that dark grey-blue color of unpolished injector alloy that contrasted so well against the red sandstone formations that seemed to proliferate around Facet Nine. The air was dense and humid in that way that was almost stifling. Somewhere in the distance was the rumble of thunder.

Mist loved this time of year. Sure, they had to move the injectors lest they be swept away in the ensuing flash floods, but it was always worth the work because it was something else to do with Peridot. They set the injectors to climb to the tops of the cliffs and waited in the shuttle until the rains were over. She liked to listen to the drumming of hard rains against the hull and breathe in the smell of wet sandstone wafting in from the vents Peridot left open for her. It smelled like absolution.

Perhaps that was a side-effect of Peridot's little ritual cleaning of her gem. Once Mist had gotten comfortable with it, it felt a little like the layers of her life being washed away and replaced with something a little more clean and pure. Like little bits of her previous owners being washed out of her gem.

Peridot wanted to do something different this year. They programmed the injectors to climb earlier than usual and left the Beta Kindergarten area to follow the river. Peridot could have shifted the altitude higher and zipped straight to their destination, but she seemed to enjoy weaving along the cliffs and towers that marked the sides of the great red river that wound its way through miles of ancient seabeds and deserts compressed into sandstone by the weight of eons.

At some point past the parts where the river wound into tight bundles like serpents, Peridot left the water-carved path and went south to another valley of monumental sandstone spires and buttes reaching to the sky. She rounded the shuttle around a mesa and parked before a couple of alcoves set into cliffs.

The clouds were denser and heavier out here and threatened to break into rain at any time, and still Peridot disembarked from the shuttle and offered Mist her hand to help her down. It was one of those old-fashioned gestures Peridot retained long after most gems forgot about such things, and Mist found it hopelessly charming. Mist slipped her hand in Peridot's and couldn't quite suppress the smile that threatened to split her face.

"I found this place in one of the probe records," Peridot began. Mist's hand settled in the crook of her elbow in that way that had quickly become a comfortable habit. Peridot's other hand patted hers as she led the way past the flood zone and into the alcove. It was a nearly perfect bowl carved into the rock by countless years of floods, and the alcove wasn't quite as dark as it should have been.

Then Peridot stopped on a patch of sand and rock that was brighter than the rest and gave her that light, hesitant little half-smile. Curious, Mist looked up. And up. And gasped as she realized that a round skylight had been shaped right in the very middle of the alcove. The rim was just a little too ragged to be gem-made and resembled a waxing moon more than a true circle, and the dark stains of desert varnish were too uneven to be intentional.

"Oh," she finally managed. The rippling underbelly of those dark clouds was framed by the shadowed rim of the skylight. It must be spectacular in the daylight.

Peridot's nervous little smile expanded into a more confident grin. "I thought you might like to watch your monsoons in a different setting this time around."

Mist turned to view the entrance. While the entrance was cradled by sandstone walls, she could still see a bit into the distance. Enough to enjoy the show, anyway. Peridot's shuttle was hidden behind one of those walls and impossible to see from her vantage point. She turned and settled into Peridot's side, and she was sure her eyes were sparkling. "It's lovely! But there's more, isn't there?" There was always more when Peridot decided to drop everything and take her somewhere nice without an explanation beforehand.

Peridot led her to a particularly even, level lip of stone and gestured for Mist to sit next to her. Mist never minded the gestures, not when they came from Peridot. She settled next to her Peridot and waited, curious.

"I talked to a couple of older moonstones who had been in service since the, ah, advent of pearl production. There's no guarantee that it will work because you were made after the change in pearl production, but. Well. I thought it was worth a try." Peridot looked a little uncomfortable, as she always did when the subject of pearls and their role in society came up. Mist didn't know how to reassure her, or even if she should. "There's a form I need to file, but I'll have to go to the first colony to do so. They didn't think I should risk doing it myself from here. Not while there's a war on and every missive and network access is monitored. And, ehm. Words. *That* I thought should be done formally."

The sky rumbled ominously in the middle of the final word. Faintly she was aware that there were soft pats of rain against the sand. They fell in heavy, erratic drops, one after another. Then two after one, then quadruple that and so on until she couldn't count the gap between drops anymore.

"I don't understand."

Peridot reached behind her neck to rub at the gem set at its base; it was an old, self-comforting habit that she was hardly ever aware of. "Well, ah. I know we had that talk a while back about you being free and agreeing that I can't really *give* you your freedom. This is simply a formality."

Mist blinked, not quite able to parse what she was hearing. "Formality?"

"Yes. Um." Peridot stood and wrung her hands for a moment before straightening like she always did when she lectured. She waved at a recording device set nearby to activate it. Mist hadn't noticed before now. "I, Peridot Facet-1F Cut-2AA, Blue Diamond colony 1, surrender ownership of Trapiche Emerald Facet-4B7 Cut-6BR Pearl 2. This is retroactive up to Homeworld date 10.3.19.18.3.0.0.1, the date in which I was given ownership of this pearl. With the completion and filing of the Voluntary Surrender of Personal Property Form P.O. 87S after this war is over with, you are a free gem."

The sky cracked so loudly that she could feel the sandstone vibrate underneath her. Rain fell through the skylight in a great torrent, pooled a few feet in front of her, and drained out of the alcove.

Every word made sense individually. She could sort of string them together, but it felt so unbelievable that they didn't quite make sense. None of the other pearls had ever mentioned anything like this. It seemed too good to be true. Surely it didn't really *mean* anything.

"Give me an order," she said at last, faintly. The compulsion had always been faint with Peridot, during the few times Peridot needed her to do something. Most of the time she simply did what Peridot asked because it was something to do, or because Peridot was working and needed a tool or an extra hand, and nothing Peridot had ever asked of her was intended to hurt.

Peridot watched her consideringly, and her hands drifted together in that way that showed her discomfort with the subject. They wrung once, twice, and finally Peridot replied; "Ple--, er. Bring me some of that rainwater."

The sky cracked again, breaking the long silence that followed. There was no twinge of compulsion, nothing that might have urged her to stand and obey. The rain still fell uninterrupted.

Thankfully she was already sitting, or she would have been floored. "Could you try again?"

Peridot's hands tightened together, but the order came quicker this time. "Step outside, collect some rainwater in your hands and bring it to me."

There was still no twinge. The clouds moved and the rain fell and nothing catastrophic had happened to remind her of her place. A relief she couldn't possibly describe swept through her, and she still couldn't quite believe it. So she tried something else. Something she never would have considered a thousand years ago. "No." The word felt so alien that she froze and waited for some sort of reaction. Trapiche Emerald coming back somehow to slap her, the ceiling falling on her, *something*.

Nothing happened but the easing of Peridot's posture and the tick of a suppressed smile tugging at a corner of her lips. "Well, it seems to have worked."

The tension seemed to break inside her, making her feel almost giddy. The laugh that followed had the edge of hysterical relief, but it was short-lived and vented off the weight of all those emotions she couldn't quite name. "Oh! I should tell Lavender and Mint when we get back." They were the other two pearls among the Crystal Gems with permissive owners. Maybe those owners would follow Peridot's example.

"I'll write up the task list if it's something they want to pursue," Peridot replied. She waved at the recording device to turn it off and settled back next to Mist, her posture so much more relaxed than it had been when this started.

Mist shifted close enough to press against Peridot's side and rest her cheek on the shoulder. She could feel the tears coming and did nothing to stop them. Peridot shifted and leaned back against the sandstone with her other hand curled back to protect her gem from its surface, and there was an unspoken invitation in the way she relaxed against the stone. Mist took it and curled up next to her, her head cradled comfortably in Peridot's shoulder.

The rains finally eased by the time Mist felt like speaking again and breaking the comfortable silence between them.

"Thank you. I know you didn't have to do it."

The arm around her shoulders squeezed lightly, reassuringly. "It's the least I could do."

Mist snuggled closer and closed her eyes to listen to the receding thunder, the patter of rain, and the water as it drained away from the pool under the skylight and seemed to sweep away every awful thing in her past.

--

Notes: This is Big Hogan Arch in Monument Valley. You can only get there by Navajo guide. There’s a second arch right next to it on the mesa, known as Moccasin Arch. Big Hogan is bigger than it looks in the photos, and it’s kinda hard to see the shelf. 

The date Peridot gives is 986,978 Homeworld-solar years after the creation of gemkind. This will surely change once we have a better understanding of their origins as a species and how long they’ve been around. If we do at all. The date reckoning is broken down from a galactic year and then in chunks divisible by 20 and is based on the Maya calendar. I am 100% sure I got the math wrong, but oh well. 

Peridot’s gesture, while a very nice and considerate thought, ultimately doesn’t mean much on the grander scale. Mist might be delisted as an owned pearl once that form is filed, but that doesn’t mean someone can’t kidnap her and register her as new property again. Homeworld is awful and doesn’t really have places for off-colors and gems who don’t want to be in their niches anymore. But, at least it was an attempt to redress a grievous wrong, and that means a lot more than just feeling bad about it. 

[chailatterambles]

Rightful Heir to the Serpent Throne // Sweet Pea Imagine // Ch. 1

Okay here is my first fic. I hope you all like it. This will be an on-going series and i’m sorry if the first part seems long. The first chapter takes place before the first episode of Riverdale.

Warnings: Swearing, Mentions of Abuse, Mentions of Alcohol. Mentions of Death, Slight Mentions of mourning and depression.(I believe that’s it.)

Word Count: 2.1k 

Synopsis: Serena is 16 years old and daughter to Rascal Jones, FP’s deceased older brother and fellow Serpent. She grew up on the Southside until her father died in a motorcycle accident. Her mother remarried a doctor and Serena was moved to the Northside at just 11 years old. 5 years and a messy divorce have passed and she is back on the Southside with her mom and younger sister. Can Serena pick up where her life left off? Will she be accepted back by her friends? And how will a certain tall dark and handsome serpent change her life?

His hand brushed my bangs from my forehead, leaving a gentle kiss in their place. He ruffled my hair and gave me one of his classic smirks.

“Don’t worry, I will be home in an hour chickadee” he said, allowing my hair to fall back into messy waves around my shoulders. I watched Dad mount his motorcycle and throw his helmet over his short dark curls. My uncle gave me a reassuring smile from the bike beside him. Their bikes roared to life and took off down the dark gravely driveway leading away from the house. I could still just make out the snake on the back of their jackets. My mom’s hand clasped my shoulder, while her other rubbed her slightly swollen belly.

“He just has to help your uncle with one last thing before our big family weekend. Then the three of us can head out to the lake for the weekend”, my mom said. I smiled up at her and put a hand on her belly.

“Mom, do you think daddy will let me name the baby?” I asked hopeful. My mom smiled down at me,

“Do you have a name in mind Serena?” I gave her a wicked smile,

“Sawyer. It works for a boy and a girl.” I said proudly. Mom laughed at my enthusiasm.

“I love it honey. You can tell your dad as soon as he gets home.” Mom said kissing the top of my head. She led me inside and I jumped up onto the sofa. I leaned my face in my hands and gazed out the window into the night. I watched the driveway for Dad’s bike lights. Instead, a few hours later police lights filled our front yard. There was a distant sound coming from-

My eyes shot open and I felt Sawyer’s small body stir beside me. Quickly, I pressed the button on the alarm to shut it off. The clock read 6:30am. I glanced down at the small lump beside me. Her pale face was covered in her thick dark curls and she had her tiny arms draped over Rascal, her favorite teddy bear. I gently pushed myself off the bed and onto the cold wooden floor. I glanced back to make sure I had not disturbed her. Luckily, she was still softly snoring. I made sure to step carefully onto the parts of the floor I knew would not creek underneath me. The last thing I needed was a grumpy five-year-old this early in the morning. Sliding through the gap between my door and the door way, I made my way to the living room. Mom was not asleep on the couch. I peeked into her room, her bed was still unslept in. For the third night in a row she was not home. I was not surprised since today was the 5th anniversary of my dad’s death. She probably would not be home for at least two more days.

I made my way to the bathroom and grimaced at my appearance in the mirror. My long black waves were pointing every which way and my dark brown eyes had old mascara smudged around them. Hot. I thought to myself. I cleaned myself up, brushed my mane and grabbed some of my clothes from my bedroom where sawyer still lay dead to the world. I slipped on my black skinny jeans and a grey sequined tank. I threw on my favourite leather jacket and pushed my feet into my black chained booties. I shrugged at myself in the mirror, it will do I thought. Stealing a glance at the clock I realized it was already seven-thirty.

“Shit.” I mumbled. I jogged to my room and gently shook Sawyer awake.

“Hey, Little Sparrow time to get up.” I said using her nickname since birth. My dad always referred to me as chickadee and my mom as birdie. I made sure even after he was gone to keep the tradition going with Sawyer. She dragged her body upwards and blinked sleepily at me a few times.

“It is too early DeeDee” she whined in protest. She always preferred the sounds chickadee’s make rather then the name its self. I smiled at her,

“It is never to early to go see Uncle FP” I grinned at her. Her face instantly lit up and she threw herself out of bed. She dragged Rascal with her as she bolted down the hall to the bathroom. I laughed at her excitement and quickly picked out an outfit for her to wear for the day.

“No black!” she called form the bathroom. I rolled my eyes. I really do not know how she fit into this family when she never wore black. I grabbed her pink jacket, matching pink shorts, paired it with her white tights and white lacey top. I heard the bathroom door open and she came charging into the room.

“DeeDee where are my shoes?” She asked looking at the outfit on the bed. She shrugged her shoulders and threw off her toy story pajamas. I stood up from my place on the floor and went to find her shoes. Another glance at the clock and I soon realized I was going to be late for my first day at Southside High.

“Hurry up Sawyer!” I yelled from the kitchen. I heard her footsteps coming down the hallway and turned to hand her the shoes I found sprawled under the table. I tilted my head and laughed at her appearance.

“Sawyer, your shirt is on backwards.” She glanced down at herself and threw her hands up in the air with an exasperated sigh.

“DeeDee it is called fashion.” I did my best to hide my growing smile, but failed. I was met with her famous “you are such a stupid teenager” scowl. Shaking my head, I reached for my house keys on the counter. Sawyer finished tying her shoes and grabbed Rascal from his place on the floor. She grabbed my hand and we were finally out the door.

We reached FP’s house quickly and I knocked on the door. There was a faint “come in” so I opened the trailer door and let it fall shut behind us. Glancing into the room I could see FP sitting on the couch looking over some papers. He glanced in our direction and his face lit up.

“There’s my two favourite girls!” he said rising from the couch and opening his arms for Sawyer to launch herself into. She practically strangled FP with her arms and squealed with delights as he relentlessly tickled her stomach.

“Uncle FP stop!” she cried in between giggles. I smiled at the scene in front of me, but my smile soon faded. I truly loved my Uncle, but looking at him sometimes just reminded me that my dad was not here. Their resemblance was amazing, they could have passed for twins. My dad had only been two years older then FP. FP placed Sawyer on the ground and she skipped over to the couch and plopped Rascal down. FP turned to me and instantly noticed the expression on my face.

“Hey kiddo, how are you feeling today?” I shrugged my shoulders and tried to brush it off.

“I’m fine FP. It has been five years. The anniversary is just always hard. I’ll be fine by the end of school today.” He studied me and sighed. He leaned against the wall and glanced down avoiding my gaze.

“You know kid, you could just go to school tomorrow. You don’t have to go the minute you move back to the southside.” He lifted his eyes to my face but still did not meet my gaze.

“I’m fine FP. I want to go and scope out the school.” I smiled to myself,

“Besides I get to see Toni. I haven’t seen her in months.” Toni had been my best friend growing up. We were practically inseparable as kids. When my dad died, my mom remarried a rich doctor from the North side. Due to the move, I only saw Toni every few months. We moved there before Sawyer was even a year old. When my dad died my mom had just shut down. She was even hospitalised for a time because the doctors were worried she would lose the baby due to distress. That is how she met Derrick Shivian. I refused to take his last name when my mom married him. I promised myself I would always be Serena Jones. Derrick became abusive towards my mom over the years. However, one night he pushed me and I crashed through our glass coffee table. My mom was so horrified that she finally left him after years of torment. She managed to move us back into our old house on the southside just over a month ago. Sadly, my mom never let up on her drinking. It was something she picked up soon after Sawyer was born and she had stopped breast feeding. When we lived on the northside Derrick did his best to keep her drinking a secret, but on the southside it didn’t matter anymore. She would disappear for days at a time and then come home. Since she was gone most of the time, I pretty much raised Sawyer. Not that I minded, she was practically my best friend.

“You going to be okay watching her for a few hours?” I asked. FP gave me a genuine smile and finally looked me in the eyes.

“Yeah, she is a great kid. It will be no problem.” He said. I nodded my head and blew a kiss to Sawyer. She pretended to catch it and smiled at me as I walked out of the trailer. I trudged through the mud and dragged my feet to Southside high. That’s when I heard an all to familiar voice call my name,

“Serena!” the voice carried from across the school parking lot and I followed it to the source, Toni. She jogged up to me and engulfed me in a hug. I eagerly hugged her back and felt relief wash over me. It felt so good to breathe in my best friend’s familiar scent. She moved back a step and beamed at me.

“Are you excited for your first day at south side high?” she said with fake enthusiasm. I laughed and nodded.

“I am dying with anticipation.” I threw my hand over my face in an attempt to fake feint. She rolled her eyes at my dramatics and grabbed my hand.

“Come on. You must meet my friends. I have been telling them about you all week.” I squeezed her hand and followed her to a row of bikes. She let go of my hand and stood beside a boy with dark hair.

“Serena, this is Fangs.” She introduced. Fangs stood up straight and adjusted his leather jacket attempting to look buff. Toni rolled her eyes and whacked him on the back of the head.

“Do not show off doofus.” She said. Fangs portrayed a look of fake shock,

“I would never do such a thing.” He said to her.

“It is a pleasure to meet you Serena. I have heard so much about you and how much of a badass you are.” He said smiling widely at me. I laughed and gave Toni a look of Really? She shrugged and started to introduce me to the next person, but my ears tuned her out as soon as I saw him.

He was leaning against his bike and slightly slouching. He had on all black, besides his dark blue plaid shirt that clung to his chest just enough to see his muscles underneath. He had dark hair that fell slightly into his brown eyes. His skin was tanned, and a serpent tattoo dawned his neck. His fingers were covered with rings and he wore a lazy smirk that said, “I do not give a shit about anything.” He was quite tall for his age, but he wore the height well. His gazed was fixated on my face and I could feel my own face heating up. This guy was the definition of tall, dark and handsome and his gaze was currently piercing into my very soul. Fuck, he was sexy. I was brought out of my trance by my best friend,

“Serena, did you hear what I said?” she asked slightly annoyed. I glanced over at her and then back at the boy. I heard Toni sigh.

“Anyways, this is Sweet Pea.” She announced. Sweet Pea. I thought. This new school just got a hell of a lot more interesting.

[my-sweet-pea]

Do you take requests? If so could you write something with sp? Something similiar to the brooke/julian scene in one tree hill. Reader is dancing around in a store because her favourite song comes on and Sweet Pea walks in and he's totally fascinated by her despite her being a northsider and it's all cute and all?

First request!! Thanks so much for sending this in. I hope that a dancing scene in Pop’s isn’t too lame after the Josie/Chuck scene in the last episode, but I couldn’t think of other stores this could take place in.

Dance Like No One Is Watching

The hardest thing about working the night shift was preventing the rush of boredom that usually comes rolling in after 1:00 AM. Fewer and fewer customers arrive, and there’s always less to do with every passing minute.

It was a Wednesday night in Riverdale, and most of the usual late night cl had already stopped by. I had made it to 2:17 AM, and I was counting down the minutes until freedom. Sammy started her shift at 3:00 AM, so I didn’t have to scrub the same spot on the counter for much longer.

I loved working at Pop Tate’s. I’d worked there for two years now, and it was an easy enough gig with good enough pay. Since it was open 24 hours, I was able to work around my school hours fairly easily. The 7:00 PM to 3:00 AM shift worked well with my homework and sleep schedule, allowing me to just barely get four hours of sleep during the school week. I was always tired, but at least I made good money.

The silence of the shop could be eerie at times, especially at night when it was impossible to see what lay past the parking lot in the dark. When there were no customers, I liked to blast my favourite songs and dance while I cleaned and re-cleaned every surface.

Tonight was no different. My music blared through the audio system. I had a lot of different music in this playlist, but suddenly I heard the iconic opening notes of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)“ by Eurythmic. 

I gave a shriek of delight, leaping down from the stool I had been slouching in. I grabbed my spray bottle of cleaning solution and began to dance like an idiot down the length of the bar counter, scrubbing and dancing at the same time. I kicked my leg high into the air, bobbing my head in different directions. I never cared what my dancing looked like when I was having a blast.

Little did I know at the time that someone stood outside, watching me dance in awe to the muffled music which could be heard all the way in the parking lot.

I danced to the entire song, infusing each second with high energy kicks, arm movements, and leaps through the shop. As the final note sounded, I was on the floor, breathing heavily. Over my panting, I heard clapping. My head jerked up at the sound, eyes wide in horror. Was Sammy early?

No, it was so much worse than that.

A very tall boy with tanned skin, dark brown eyes, and black hair was clapping sardonically in the entrance. He wore a black leather jacket over a blue plaid flannel and a white tee, accompanied by jeans that were faded and worn in all the right places. His silky hair curled around the collar of the jacket and fell across his forehead. He was the most gorgeous human being I had ever seen.

I couldn’t manage to get off of the floor. I stared from my kneeling position, still breathing heavily, trying to understand why this glorious man was standing in Pop’s at almost 2:30 AM. He strolled towards me, sticking his hands in his pockets. 

“That was amazing,” he said in a very sincere sounding voice. “I’ve never seen anyone dance like that. You really take that whole ‘dance like no one is watching thing’ to heart, huh?” He smirked at me, a sparkle in his dark eyes.

He reached out a hand towards me. I stared at the proffered hand for a moment before grasping it and allowing him to help me upright. His hand was large and warm in my grip, and it felt like I held his hand forever as I stood. I tried to quickly drop his hand once I was safely on my own two feet, but he held on.

“Thanks, I think,” I said, my voice cracking slightly. I was staring at our conjoined hands, waiting for him to drop my hand.

He shook the hand still clasped in his. “You are quite welcome. My name is Sweet Pea.”

I blinked once, trying hard not to react visibly and insult his name. I smiled up at him, offering my name in response.

Sweet Pea dropped my hand and looked me over from head to toe. I knew I didn’t look my best in my end-of-the-night uniform, especially after my incredibly embarrassing dance session. I shifted uncomfortably.

He grinned, seeming pleased that his gaze had rattled me.

“So tell me, where did a beautiful girl like you learn to dance?”

“Umm well I’ve never taken lessons, but I’m sure you could tell that depending on how long you were watching,” I responded dryly.

“I think I saw from the very beginning until the very end,” he said slowly, “but if you want to start the last song over again and show me the whole routine from start to finish, I’ll know for sure.”

Oh no… I wanted to sink into the floor and stay there permanently. I could feel the blood rushing to my face as I blushed. My hands moved to cover my cheeks.

“Wow, I don’t think I can hate myself more than I do right now.”

The twisted smirk on his face dropped immediately, followed by a look of concern. He reached out and put a hand on my shoulder.

“Hey, no, please. I genuinely thought it was amazing. You looked so adorable and full of life. You don’t need to be embarrassed.”

I peeked through my fingers up at him. He looked sincere. I laughed slightly.

“I don’t know if I can agree with your taste in dancing, but I do appreciate it.” Both of us dropped our hands down to our sides again.

We had talked through an entire song, the next song starting at a louder volume and startling both of us. He looked around the empty diner, his eyes coming back to rest on me.

“Wanna dance some more?” he asked with a boyish grin.

I considered his offer. He had already seen me at my absolute worst. I might as well just have fun with it now.

“Why not?”

We danced through the next 3 songs before I collapsed into a booth, panting heavily. I was too out of shape for this.

Sweet Pea collapsed onto the bench across from me, panting and laughing at my reddened face. He shook his head thoughtfully, chest still heaving.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had this much fun before. Especially not at this time in the morning and in a completely legal way.”

I leaned on the table, still trying to catch my breath. “I know for a fact that I haven’t.” I smiled at him, thankful and happy and just having fun.

He just stared at me for a moment, looking a little lost. 

“What’s wrong?” I was concerned that he was going to pass out on me after that crazy dance party. There was no way in hell I could keep him from crashing to the floor if that was the case.

He shook his head to clear it and smirked. “Nothing’s wrong.”

We sat there, smiling at each other like idiots for what must have been a couple of minutes. My heart rate was coming down but I found myself feeling just as flushed as before as he gazed at me, our faces a foot away from each other across the table.

He cleared his throat finally. “So, how long have you worked here?”

“Around two years. It’s fun.”

Surprise flitted across his face. “Years?” he repeated.

I frowned in confusion. “Yeah, years. Why?”

He shrugged. “Just surprised I never met you before is all. I don’t come here that often but if I do, it’s usually at night when there are fewer Nor-people to stare at me.”

I blinked, realizing what he meant. I had spotted the serpent tattoo on his neck almost right away and I was trying my hardest not to stare at it or acknowledge to myself what it inevitably meant. As we had whirled around Pop’s, dancing together, I had managed to almost forget that this boy was a South Side Serpent.

I had heard a lot about the Serpents growing up. I had always lived on the North side of Riverdale, and while I was always reminded of the many privileges which came with it, I had never really understood the actual struggle that the Southside residents experienced until the whole mess with Jason Blossom. That event showed me a lot about the Serpents and the south side’s dynamics. I had read Jughead and Betty’s articles about the topic as they were published, learning more about how the Serpents were and were not involved. I had met many different Serpents before, including FP Jones. The Serpents would occasionally come to Pop’s, though what Sweet Pea said about Northsiders staring was very true, and most Serpents didn’t want to deal with the animosity when it would inevitably end with them getting in trouble for something.

I found myself nodding sympathetically. Of all the people who could have found me dancing like an idiot, I was glad that it had been Sweet Pea. He made me feel fun and exciting instead of embarrassing me.

“Well, I just started this particular shift when school started back up. I was working days before that. And I can understand why you wouldn’t want to come during the day. Some people in this town seem convinced that human decency and logic are horrifying things.” I smiled at Sweet Pea, leaning further across the table to tentatively reach for his hand.

His hand jumped back, away from mine. I froze, feeling unsure and awkward before trying to beat a hasty retreat back to my side of the table. I could feel my cheeks filling with blood in embarrassment. 

Of course he isn’t going to let you hold his hand, idiot. He’s a badass Serpent and you’re…a waitress at Pop’s who hops around like an idiot when you think you’re alone, I berated myself, twisting my fingers together awkwardly.

“Sorry, I just-you just startled me,” he said after a second. “If someone is reaching towards me, it is very rarely a positive thing.”

I blinked like an idiot. “Oh. Right. I didn’t mean-”

“No, I know. I’m just an idiot. Surprised me is all.”

He reached out for my hand, smiling at me in a very gentle way. I tentatively reached out again, letting his warm, calloused fingers envelope mine.

We sat there for a couple minutes without saying anything. The silence was comfortable between us. We were both watching the other’s face closely as we held onto each other.

Surprisingly, I felt extremely drawn to the Serpent. I don’t think any of my friends would have ever expected me to meet and actually connect with a Serpent. My friends and I weren’t exactly close-minded, but we didn’t go out of our way to meet people from different backgrounds. We were all pretty comfortable just sticking to what we knew, especially since we had all met each other in kindergarten and had just kind of stuck together throughout the rest of our schooling. Proximity and social circles were the definite predictors for whether someone would become our friend.

Sweet Pea broke the silence with a chuckle. “If my friends say we might now, I have no idea what they would say.”

“I was just thinking the same thing! They would probably be so confused how we even connected, especially if I told them that it was because you saw me dancing.”

Sweet Pea raised his eyebrow quizzically.

“They all hate my dancing,” I admitted, laughing.

“Well, I certainly enjoyed it. A lot. You’re not half bad for a Northsider.”

I rolled my eyes in an extremely exaggerated manner. “Says the guy who broke down and danced with me. Your reputation as a badass may be called into question if anyone hears about that.” I grinned mischievously.

“You wouldn’t dare!” Sweet Pea hollered, dropping my hand in fake outrage.

“Don’t mess with me or I just might!” I said, snootily raising my nose and crossing my arms before breaking into a huge grin.

Suddenly the bell over the door rang out. Sammy walked in, already chattering about to me about how awful her day had been and how she just needed a milkshake to make the world right again. I watched her in loving amusement. She always arrives like a whirlwind, leaving traces of her perfume and the echo of her boisterous voice behind her wherever she goes. I loved her like she was a member of my family. The age difference made her more like an oddball older aunt to me. She was a single mother in her mid-thirties with two adorable kids.

I turned to see how Sweet Pea was taking Sammy’s entrance. He was smirking at her slightly, not I could tell he wasn’t judging her.

Sammy finally looked up from trying to unsuccessfully unbutton her coat. “This DAMN coat al-” she froze, noticing the additional presence in the room. “Why, hello there, my lovely Serpent friend. You’re early tonight!”

I looked between them, slightly surprised. Based on the small number of people who came in after 1 AM, I had assumed Sweet Pea just hadn’t been in since school started. I guess he usually comes in after 3 AM instead.

“Hey, Sammy. How are the kids?” Sweet Pea asked, lounging back in his booth.

“Those little ankle-biters are pure perfection and evil in one beautiful package, and don’t pretend like you don’t know it!”

Sammy managed to finally get her coat unbuttoned and she fell into the booth beside me with a sigh.

“Now I suppose I have to pull out the protective momma speech and warn you that this boy here is just looking for trouble, right?” she said in her fake stern voice, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.

I bit my lip to keep from laughing out loud. “I don’t think Sweet Pea knows what trouble is. Look at that face.”

I was joking around with Sammy, but I also knew that Sweet Pea was watching us closely. I didn’t want Sammy’s attitude to scare him off.

Sammy snorted derisively. “And my left butt cheek is made of diamond encrusted gold.”

She stood in a whirl and rushed to the back of the kitchen to prepare for her shift. I stood reluctantly. I didn’t want to stop talking to Sweet Pea.

“I have to finish up here so Sammy can get started.”

Sweet Pea looked up at me from his spot in the booth. “Wanna ride home, Northsider?”

I felt my stomach leap at his words. I swallowed and tried not to look as excited as I felt.

“That would be really great if you don’t mind?”

“Not at all. I wouldn’t want you walking home alone at this time of day, especially with the Black Hood roaming the Northside of town.”

I gulped. I always tried not to think about the danger I put myself in every night. I knew the Black Hood was targeting Northsiders, and I bet he knew tons of details about all of our lives. With a quick nod of thanks, I turned and rushed after Sammy.

—————

When I came back from the kitchen 5 minutes later, Sweet Pea was in the same spot, staring out the window. I watched him for a moment, studying his profile. He looked tired more than anything else.

“You ready to go?” he asked, turning towards me with a knowing grin.

Embarrassed at being caught watching him, I bit my lip. “Yeah, of course. Thanks again.”

He stood and held out a hand for my bag. I gave it to him and shyly followed him out the door.

Sammy’s words to me when we were in the privacy of the kitchen ran through my head. I had asked her what her opinion of Sweet Pea was and she had responded with a warning.

“Sweetie, he’s a good boy. He’s a Serpent and he would die for them, but I know he would die for anyone he loves. Just be careful. I don’t want either of you to get hurt.”

I watched the back of Sweet Pea’s neck as he walked down the step before me. I could see the muscles in his neck working as he turned to look at the sleek black motorcycle resting in the corner of the parking lot.

I almost walked into his chest when he suddenly stopped and turned to me. 

“Are you good on a motorcycle?”

I shrugged. “Won’t know unless I try!”

He eyed me as a small smile twisted his lips. “Good to know. Let’s get you home.”

I buckled the helmet and held on tightly to Sweet Pea’s waist, heart in my throat. I couldn’t stop now; I had to know him. And if I found a guy who actually liked my dancing as much as Sweet Pea, I needed to hang on to him.

Let me know what you think! First time trying to write a one-shot, and I didn’t get to go back and really edit.

[watchingovernuest]

【INTERVIEW 】 ☆ JISIN x NU’ESTs individual interviews: 5 princes’ real personality? ~ARON~

Lovely prince, handsome prince, naughty prince…Each 5 NU’EST members have their own charms. From here on every Tuesday and Friday, we'll share one by one the close ups! The 3rd one is the oldest, Aron.

Aron

Birthday: 1993/5/21

Height: 176 cm

Born in America · LA. Is the oldest. Fluent in English. I feel as if he’s watching his young brothers calmly, it has a cute and magical aspect as well.

Q. What were you like during your childhood ?

I was a very active boy. From a young age I was a healthy boy who likes sports and to meet friends rather than playing at home.

Q. Why did you decide to become a singer?

To be honest, I didn’t expect to become a singer. Just casted, I thought that I wanted to try to do it once. But now it's fun! It was a good choice.

Q. Is there a singer you admire?

R&B singer Anthony Hamilton . I listen to his music from a young age and I still like it.

Q. Which member left the strongest impression, when you first met?

Aron: Minhyun. When I first met each of the members, I thought "Ah! Cool!" "Oh, this person is also good!" ... except for Minhyun (haha). Minhyun was truly a buzz.

Minhyun: I think so too (laughs) My face has changed a little as I grew up, now it’s the case that I got cool.

Aron: But, everyone feels pretty strange. Perhaps, the person whose face has not changed the most is JR . JR is really the same as when he was a trainee. I wonder if I became a little ugly ... (tears)

Q. The struggle about the dorm life?

It’s good to live with them all, but I want my own space too. Because we spend 24 hours together, I can not say that there are no inconveniences.

Q. Have you ever thought about giving up the dream of being a singer?

Aron: I think that, to be honest, I am the one who want to stop (want to quit) the most.

Minhyun: Because Aron is coming from the United States (to Korea) he will be alone when we others go home during New Year. Even if we get a vacation, we have like 3 days and 2 nights only.

Aron: Even if I try to go back home , I will end up only being on an airplane .

Minhyun: He seems to be lonely because he will always be alone.

Aron: All my friends are in America, and in Korea I don’t have much acquaintance . Besides , I’m active in Korea, but I was born and grew up in the United States, so there is still a different way of thinking . There are times when I have had difficulties at such places.

Q. What is your favorite fashion style?

I like the simple style. I often wear fashion like American college students . You need to try to match your clothes your age.

Q. What type of girls do you like?

Pure, hard-working and self-sustaining in everything.

Q. What are you addicted to now ?

I was more interested in studying than being hooked with something. Actually, I was accepted to a pretty good university in the US but I gave up and came to Korea . However, I want to continue singing while studying at an university again. The university can be Korea or the United States. Also, when I was a high school student, I was a golf player. I have been absent for about 3 or 4 years now but I am very nervous to go golfing together with my manager at the weekend. For that reason, I've only been watching golfing videos recently (laughs). I have to practice before the weekend is coming!

Q. What was the most memorable episode since your debut in 2012?

Aron: That we stood on the stage at Tokyo Dome during 2012 K-DREAM LIVE ! Although it was not a solo live performance, we co-stared with many KPOP artists. At that time, nearby 40.000 ? people came, it was very surprising. It was about 6 months after our debut.

Minhyun : Oh yeah, we were the opening act.

Aron : It was a lot of fun and I felt honored .

Q. How did you feel when you were about to debut in Japan?

I was very happy. Because we’ve had many activities in Japan, such as holding concerts , tours and even fan events . I wanted to debut forever and I think that not only myself but all the members feel the same. I will keep trying my best!

Q. What was your impression of being in Japan for the 1st time ?

My relatives’ aunt lives in Japan, and I came once here when I was a child, but I don’t remember much of it (laughs) . When I came here, after I became a member of NU’EST, I’ve got like a completely new feeling? from it. It was quite different from South Korea, and also a different place from America, so it was a really surprise. But it was nice. I like learning about the culture of a different country and I enjoy it very much.

Q. Where do you often go to in Japan?

Because all members love sukiyaki, we will definitely go eating out at the end of a concert . Also, I would like to go to the Snow Festival in Sapporo with my love one day ! I’m freezing easily, but I can endure it if she can be pleased by this! (laughs)

Q. Working in Japan is a great opportunity for the group, what do you think is the most meaningful?

As a K-POP artist, we came to Japan to inform you about K-pop and NU'EST and I am very happy that the number of fans keep on increasing. If there is a chance in Japan, I would like to try to get a solo live at Tokyo Dome.

Q. What kind of artist would you like to be in the future?

I want to become a free artist. The images of idols that people have in their mind is an image of having breath-taking dances and being obedience to every word from the heads in the office, but I want to get out of it. I am an idol but I want to become an idol with my own ideas. Then I would like to do personal activities including working on music. From korean artists, Park Jae Bum’s free style is good. I still don’t have much experience in acting... so I want to challenge variety as well. I am a DJ of a radio show for now, and I am interested in various entertainment activities.

Q. What kind of things do you target as NU'EST ?

Win 1st place! In Korea, and in Japan too. After that, becoming a singer which is known to many people. No matter where I go, I'd like to be as close as to get told "I know NU’EST!” It will take time, but I definitely want to archive that.

Source: jisin.jp (1), (2)

Translated by WatchingOverNuest

Take out with credits only

[chunsoftie]

personal worst-to-best episode ranking: south park s21

This list is mostly a subjective viewing that I wanted for myself, but I figured I would post this and see if you guys agreed or disagreed with some points that I’ve made.

Overall this season was a mixed bag and even though I felt it did far better than its last season, there were still plenty of flaws that should be looked upon so that the next season could be working for improvement. Plenty of episodes this season were not funny, and the correlation between plots really didn’t really hold up, except for a few episodes on this list. For a satirical show that’s primarily focused on the comedy, I want next season to work more on implementing jokes that focus on the actual plot rather than just thrown in for the sake of relevancy. 

Relevancy is a huge factor into South Park, I understand this, but when I’m watching an episode and not laughing at a single joke, jokes that can be made for general audiences, there are faults in that execution.

Let’s get right into this.

10.) White People Renovating Houses.

I’m not really sure if this choice surprises anyone. The premiere for the season left me bored and confused. The premise was interesting enough, and the Cartman/Heidi interaction could have been funny, but overall there were plenty of missed opportunities. (I think that’s going to be something you’ll see me say a lot throughout this list). I was glad that the next episode did substantially better, but considering this season is deemed as an episodic one (even with the ongoing narratives intertwined, it’s still an episodic season), it’s not going to be an episode I’ll flip on Hulu when I’m bored. Next.

9.) Franchise Prequel

Putting this episode so low on the list, mostly because of how disappointed I was at the end. One of the reasons why 2 and 3-parter episodes do so well with South Park’s narrative structure is because of how much room there is to breathe. Characters have more development and the pre-game tension is heightened due to a great episode, or series of episodes. This however felt just like I was watching a 20-minute trailer. The comedy in this was better than some episodes, but the fact that I was watching an episode that would have benefited from tighter writing took that away from me. Overall, a boring episode that had superheroes elements that could have been done so much better.

8.) Splatty Tomato

I appreciate the fact I came away enjoying this episode, generally, more than the S20 finale. However, the flaws are still there, and it primarily comes down to the ending. The last five minutes of the episode were extremely rushed and felt out of nowhere. I understand Heidi’s confrontation with her relationship with Cartman, and how that was foreshadowed plenty, but even with a great scene it doesn’t excuse the timing of said scene compared to the rest of the season, along with the cliffhanger at the end. I wished that they replaced Super Hard PCNess with this episode and made the finale something else. But we’ll get to former episode in just a little while…

7.) Sons a Witches

The one thing about this episode I appreciate is making a Halloween-themed episode that has a better title than another episode on this list. I felt the first plot was relatively satisfactory, but the Cartman/Heidi plot could have been worked on. It would have been funnier to see the boys take Cartman’s plan out of miscommunication just to realize what Cartman was actually going to do – would that have been too predictable? Maybe. But it would have been funnier than what we actually got. There were plenty of scenes that were good on their own, and the animation peaked in this episode, but overall I won’t go back to rewatch it.

6.) Super Hard PCness

A good Kyle characterization episode, one of the things I came away with watching this one was how they managed to shape Kyle as a character with his flaws out in the open (for the first time in a long time). It made me appreciate when the crew takes chances with certain characters, and this is no exception. The references to Bigger, Longer, and Uncut were appreciated, a movie that I have been meaning to rewatch for some time and now I more motivated to do just that. I appreciated what they did with Kyle in this episode, and how they started to shift things for the finale, but still, felt it could have benefited from better writing.

5.) Doubling Down

Even though I believe this episode was entirely avoidable due to the fact they hardly reference it in upcoming episodes, I felt there were some good things out of this episode. The animation sequence that referenced Dumbo and Cats Don’t Dance was something enjoyable to see as it aired. I really loved the difference in dynamic between Cartman and Kyle in this episode, even though I feel Kyle’s actions in this episode really go against his character in some regards. The jokes stuck more here, with Beyond KFC and the final part with Heidi going against Kyle. Not one of my favorites, but the pros are there.

4.) Put it Down

I feel like I should put this episode so high on the list for the plot regarding driving and texting alone. They were able to pull off a good political point with that plot in a great way, and the incorporation of that sideplot into the main Craig/Tweek plot was appreciated. The final musical number was one of the highlights of this season, and I genuinely could not stop smiling after the episode was over. It was a great step away from the premiere, and it was a great look into the Craig/Tweek relationship, said by someone that feels indifferent to the ship. Well done, South Park.

3.) Hummels and Heroin

This was one of the only episodes this season that felt funny throughout the entirety of its run. I loved the fact that this episode revolved around the boys, and how it felt like something to come out of earlier seasons. Seeing other characters such as Stan’s grandfather and more of Stan, honestly, is always a good thing and the plot came with clever twists that kept the comedy intact. This will be one of the only episodes from this season that I’ll go back to rewatch when bored.

2.) Moss Piglets

The reason this episode is so high up on this list is because, besides it being really funny and interesting, it never felt sloppy in execution. The pacing felt very efficient in this episode, nothing felt out of place and the plots mixed together splendidly. I think seeing fat!Heidi for the first time wasn’t entirely unpredictable, but the way that they paralleled the girl group to the main four was hilarious. Out of the fat!Heidi centric episodes, this was by far my favorite. What a great episode.

1.) Holiday Special

Holiday Special, despite it having a crappy title, was my favorite episode this season. There are so many things that should be said about it, but to keep it to the point, the pacing was the best this season. The humor was great, the characterizations were great, and the stance that Trey and Matt took when discussing the politics in this episode was something I came away loving immensely. I’ve already rewatched this episode several times – it’s my personal favorite, and one of which I wasn’t expecting to love so much, but I will continue to rewatch this episode as it was done so well.

[jae-bummer]

My Idol: Part Twenty

My Idol From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My Idol is a South Korean competitive reality dating game show. It currently airs on Wednesday nights on Jae-bummer’s blog. First broadcast in 2016, the show offers the opportunity for a lucky fan to go on seven blind dates with seven idols. The idol plans the date with the show throwing in specific missions to complete during the day. At the end of the initial dates, the show opens up an audience vote to decide what three idols will move on to the second date.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20 - Part 21 - Part 22

Around every corner was a new and welcomed surprise. Well, at least Jaebum had been half right. As you turned down a new street corner, hand in hand, you heard the voice before you were able to see who it belonged to. Barreling along the pavement was a girl not much older than sixteen, school books in hand. You looked her up and down as she halted in front of you, stopping your forward progress toward your much anticipated date location. You looked over your shoulder slowly, making eye contact with Armpit and Sweaty to gauge if this was somehow a situation production had set up, but they looked just as surprised as you were. 

You turned your attention back to the girl and felt Jaebum’s hand tense under your touch. One of her adidas sported untied laces, caked in dirt. Socks uneven and plaid skirt hanging limply from her body, she pushed her hair back nervously as she attempted to regain her breath. She wheezed and adjusted thick glasses before looking at the two of you nervously. 

“Wait...Is this an actual date?”

Jaebum laughed bitterly beside you and retracted his hands from yours. He crossed his arms and allowed a stern smile to find his face. “We are currently filming, yes.”

You furrowed your brows, caught off guard by his sentiment. A simple yes would have been pertinent. 

“I’m so sorry to bother you!” the girl gasped, her cheeks growing more flush with the words she spoke. “But you don’t understand. I’m a My Idol super fan. I’ve never loved a show so much in my life. I’ve watched every episode at least twice and I run a blog all about it. You can follow me -”

“We appreciate that,” you nodded, trying to plaster on a smile as well. You looked over to Jaebum who’s smile more closely resembled a snarl and elbowed him lightly. He immediately straightened up and nodded as well. 

“Yes, yes, of course. Without fans, there would be no show,” he muttered quickly. 

“I was wondering...if um...if um you’d take a photo with me?” the girl asked carefully, pushing up her lenses again. “You don’t have to if you’re in a hurry, but you don’t know how much I’d appreciate it.” 

“Of course,” Jaebum nodded, immediately relaxing into idol mode. He instinctively stood beside the girl who began to giggle nervously. 

“I was...actually wondering if I could get a photo with both of you?” the girl stuttered, pulling out her phone. 

You lifted your brows as you attempted to understand her request. “You want me in the picture?”

“You’re the lead!” the girl gasped. “I could only hope to grow up and be on a show like this sometime! You’re a role model!” 

You winced as she spoke the words. Yet another facet of the My Idol experience you had never considered, your effect on South Korea’s youth. You felt conflicted. You had never wanted them to aspire to be in your position. If they valued their mental health, surely they wouldn’t wish for it either, but that wasn’t something you could mention aloud. You nodded shortly, shaking yourself out of your daze and stepped toward Jaebum. 

“I appreciate that,” you said quietly, easing in to the already queued camera screen on the girls phone. 

“Alright, on three, My Idol!” the girl squeaked. She clicked repeatedly on the capture button, taken at least a dozen photos of your faces. 

“Thanks for stopping to say hello,” JB hummed with a short bow. 

“What is it like?” the girl continued, completely ignoring Jaebum’s words as she stared directly at you. Her eyes were wide as she analyzed you, looking as if she were at a museum. “Dating all of these idols? Were you happy with who the audience selected? What made you pick Jay Park over Top? Does production influence your decisions? I would’ve picked Top, even if production told me not to. Doesn’t it seem like Jay Park seems too concerned with winning the competition and not your hear-”

“Time to go,” Armpit grumbled, giving both you and JB a quick shove in the shoulder. You both stumbled past the girl, in mild amazement at the amount of questions she had gotten out in such a short amount of time. It felt as if you had whiplash from her words as you continued down the sidewalk, void of conversation. 

Jay Park seems too concerned with winning the competition and not your heart...The words echoed eerily in your mind as you struggled beside Jaebum. 

“Fans are weird,” JB sighed, shaking his head. He wrapped his arm tenderly around your waist and squeezed reassuringly at your hip. The motion brought you back down to an intense reality fairly quickly as you glanced down at his narrow fingers. 

“Yeah,” you breathed, unsure of what to say. 

“Well, looks like we’re here!” JB nodded, a smile finding it’s way back onto his face. “Cat’s Attic”

“I can feel the excitement radiating off of you,” you chuckled. “Should we go i-”

JB breezed past you and toward the front door of the cat cafe. He tugged open the heavy glass, barely holding it open for you as he sauntered inside. You were caught off guard by the action, but couldn’t help but laugh. You had never seen a grown man so excited by something so simple before. 

You entered the cafe behind Jaebum and shifted to survey the man before you. While the surroundings and happenings of the cafe seemed to thrive in color for Jaebum, they faded into the background for you. He was what was thriving before your eyes. The excitement on his face was reminiscent of a child as his attention darted back and forth, uncertain of where it should be dedicated to. His mouth was caught somewhere between a smile and a gasp. His fists opened and closed, ready to pick up a cat as soon as one strode by his peripherals. 

“I just love them all so much,” he whispered, his voice barely above a breath. 

“I get that,” you chuckled, crossing your arms. “Do you want a drink?”

“Look at that one,” he gasped, bringing his balled fists to his face. The emotions were too much for him to handle as he began to stumble toward the cat play area. 

“Well alright,” you giggled. You approached the counter of the cafe, ordering something for yourself and guessing at what JB would want. You threw in some cat treats as well, more as a surprise for Jaebum than the cats. 

You retrieved your drinks from the counter with impressive speed and tucked the cat treats beneath your arm. You adjusted your stance in your cat-friendly slippers and began to search for Jaebum. It didn’t take long to find the grown man, laying on his back, in the middle of the cat playroom, completely covered in around six or seven cats. 

“Jaebum,” you hissed, your eyes wide. You looked around slowly at all of the other patrons who had been staring at your date for who knows how long. 

“Ooo, heaven is a place on earth,” he sang quietly in accented English. You closed your eyes tightly and took a deep breath, only to open them again. There was a strange mix of adoration and secondhand embaressment coursing through you, but you finally sighed and plopped to the floor. If you can’t beat them, might as well join them. 

“I got you an Americano,” you nodded, placing the cup near Jaebum’s shoulder. He sat up slowly, allowing two cats to tumble off of him and onto the floor. Two more continued to share space in his lap as he picked up his drink. 

“I’m supposed to pay for the drinks, Y/N,” he smiled, sipping casually. With his free hand he pet at the cats around him. 

“You were preoccupied,” you grinned. “I got snacks for your friends.”

Jaebum stopped mid sip as he took the small bag of cat treats from you and cradled them in his hands. He looked up to your face again and smirked. “You get me.”

“We’ve gone on two dates,” you laughed. “I get nothing. I’m so out of my element, it’s comical.”

“Why do you say that?” JB asked, opening the bag of treats and laying them on his knee. He smiled as a Siamese cat wandered over and began to nibble from his jeans. 

“You live such a different life than mine,” you sighed. “I’m not sure how I could get it or relate.”

“Just because I chose such a publicized career, doesn’t mean I’m different than you,” JB continued calmly. He stroked the cat that had appeared while leaning over to pet another with his opposite hand. “We’re still the same species, right? We have similar thoughts and feel the same array of feelings. You have a better route to get to know me than most to be honest.”

You nodded slowly, biting your lip as you continued to watch him. He was methodical in his movements, calm and careful. He was very conscious in making the small creatures around him comfortable, including yourself. He reached over slowly, taking your wrist between his fingers and flipping it so your hand faced palm side up. He dumped a few of the cat treats into your upturned palm. 

“Stay still, you can usually get them to eat from your hand,” he whispered, giving you an encouraging nod. 

After a few moments, a small. grey tabby cat wandered up to you, uncertainty apparent on it’s small and furry face. 

“It’s alright,” JB cooed, reaching out and petting it carefully behind the ears. “Y/N won’t hurt you.”

You felt as if you had stopped breathing as the tiny cat seemed to heed JB’s words and stick it’s tongue out cautiously to your hand. It bit at one of the crunchy treats and chewed slowly above your outstretched fingers. You smiled at the funny feeling of the cat’s sandpaper like tongue making contact with your skin. 

“JB?” you whispered, your eyes not able to leave the cat. “Why do you like cats so much?”

Out of your peripherals, you saw Jaebum tilt his head and lift his brows. He pursed his lips in thought before he began to speak. “A cat can let you know how it feels without saying a word. It communicates solely through body language. They are curious and self serving. The confidence in which they own a space that doesn’t necessary belong to them, but they believe it does. Like now for instance...that cat eating out of your hand. He thinks those are his treats, and your hand is his bowl. And this cafe is his cafe. And Seoul is his. He is the king of Seoul.”

“I guess it’s all about perspective...and in a cat’s perspective...they rule the world?” you questioned. 

“And how thrilling must a life like that be?” Jaebum smiled. 

“I suppose that’s as good of a reason as any,” you nodded. 

“I think so,” JB nodded as well. 

“And why do you like me so much?” you joked, shamelessly winking at your date. 

Jaebum’s jaw slowly slid open, his eyes wide with surprise. With his personality, you loved to catch him off guard. You knew you were completely joking, but he never quite knew how he should handle your words. 

“I...well...uh,” he trailed, looking at the cats surrounding him for any type of help. 

“Don’t feel compelled to answer that,” you laughed. “I was only teasing.”

“When your date asks a question, you answer it,” he confirmed, his eyes smiling. “I like you because you’re like a cat.”

“I’m...I’m like a cat?” you stuttered. “I think I’m the King of Seoul?”

Jaebum hiccuped out an unexpectedly loud laugh as he collapsed onto the floor again. After a few moments of giggles, he sat up and took your hand in his. “Y/N,” he hummed, lifting your knuckles to his lips. He kissed your hand gently and smiled. “You are the King of Seoul.” 

Your thoughts were heavy as JB tugged you along the sidewalk and back toward your apartment. You were hesitant to let the day end and had decided in the midst of your date that you could watch Jaebum play with cats forever. 

“What are you thinking about?” JB’s voice whispered, his breath hot in your ear. You jumped at the appearance of his words, tilting your head to hide your ear in your shoulder. 

“Why must I be thinking about something?” you countered, a sly grin on your face. 

“Because you haven’t spoken,” he sighed. 

“JB, neither of us really speak when -”

“But you also aren’t checking me out,” he chuckled with a wink. You froze and turned to him slowly. 

“What?”

“When we don’t talk, we at least exchange eyes with each other,” he hummed. “You act as if you don’t notice.”

“That’s hardly something I would deem as checking you out,” you grumbled, continuing your steps back toward your apartment. 

“Really? Because I thought what you were doing was the textbook definition of the word,” he chuckled. 

“Words,” you muttered. “’Checking you out’ is three words.”

“Glad to hear you acknowledge it at least,” he continued, a wry smile bright on his face. You groaned as you finally reached your building and shuffled down the hallway to your front door. 

You narrowed your eyes as you travelled down your dimly lit hallway. It was an open air corridor, but the shadows of the floors above caused little sunlight to filter through. As you grew closer to your door, you attempted to focus even more, noticing a small white rectangle placed over the number on your entryway. 

“What’s that?” JB asked, verbalizing the thought before you had the chance to. 

“No idea,” you muttered, reaching out toward what appeared to be an envelope. A deep feeling of nausea radiated through your stomach as you thought of the possibilities of what could be hidden within. You were under the impression that you had left missions during dates far behind in the last round, so you couldn’t imagine what this could be. Your fingers trembled as they found their way beneath the envelope’s edge and began to lift up. You slid out a thin piece of parchment paper, full of small and closely knit handwriting. Your eyes traced the page without giving any of the paragraph context, searching for a signature. 

You swallowed hard as your attention lingered on the bottom of the page, your heart nearly stopping from the small inscription left there. 

“What is it?” JB asked, attempting to peer over your shoulder. 

“Nothing,” you lied, closing the paper immediately and sliding it back into the envelope. “Just a letter from my landlord.”

“Oh, poor timing,” he chuckle. He smiled kindly as he stepped forward, allowing his arms to wrap around your waist and pull you in close. “I hope you had fun today.” 

“I did,” you confirmed, your mind and heart still racing from the small bit of paper tucked between your fingers. You tried to ignore your compulsion to run inside and pour over the letter, so instead you chose to snake your arms around JB’s neck and rested your forehead near his chin. “Thank you.” 

“Anytime,” he hummed, nestling his head in your hair and peppering your hairline with light kisses. “I’ll take the King of Seoul for cats and coffee any day.”

PART 1 - PART 2 - PART 3 - PART 4 - PART 5 - PART 6 - PART 7 - PART 8 - PART 9 - PART 10 - PART 11 - PART 12 - PART 13 - PART 14 - PART 15 - PART 16 - PART 17 - PART 18 - PART 19 - PART 20 - PART 21 - PART 22

[wasilly1]

2/7/2019

 On the 7th of February, 2019 I was admitted into the hospital for severe dehydration and diarrhea. It's a long story. Let's talk about it. It all began on Wednesday 6th Feb 2019. It was a normal day when I came back from school in the evening my stomach started acting weird. I had a few episodes of diarrhea, I didn't think much about it. At around 9 pm I got a fever and I took an Advil for it. I honestly didn't feel too bad, I just felt a bit sick. 1:30 am 2/7/19 It was a restless night and I woke up at 1:30 am. I went to the bathroom and that's when it all went south. You know when you feel like something is really bad is about to happen. Yeah, that's basically what happened. When I got into the bathroom I collapsed on the counter. I was too tired and I had no idea why. I looked at myself in the mirror. I knew there was something horribly wrong with my body. My breathing was fast paced and my heart rate was spiking. I was too exhausted to stand up. I truly felt too tired to do anything. I felt like giving up and staying there, but I knew if I stayed there the situation would get much worse. I would pass out. My dad came to check if I was ok and I was only able to muster out a few words. I told him I am feeling too tired. As I was walking out of the bathroom I passed out on my parents. They pretty much got the message and they immediately called 911.  My feet were turning numb and my head was spinning. I had a huge headache. It felt like the world was spinning. All that was running through my mind was, "What is wrong with me." The paramedics came and they helped me down the stairs. I could see my unfinished homework laying on the table and my computer still on. It was like a moment frozen in time. I was carried onto the driveway where they put me on a stretcher and then loaded me on the ambulance. When you're going through something like this, everything feels so foreign. Walking down the stairs of my own home felt so different. Looking outside of my house seeing my whole neighborhood felt foreign to me. Everything was moving so fast. Within a few minutes I had been fine and now I could barely walk and I was getting in an ambulance. I was thinking about friends and family and what was next for me. Everything that had been on my mind earlier had been replaced with this reckoning fear of what was occurring. The next thing I knew the ambulance was driving towards the hospital. I have always been intrigued by what it feels like to ride in an ambulance because the last time I was in an ambulance was when I was really young. It's not exactly fun when you are in pain and you are having a horrible headache. I watched as familiar streets zoomed past me.  The paramedics monitored my heart rate and blood pressure. My mom was right there in the ambulance watching it all unfold while my dad was following us in his car. 2:00 am 2/7/19 I reached the hospital at 2:00 am. I was taken into the ER where they took my blood and they ran some tests. They asked my parents a bunch of questions on what had happened.  They asked me how I was feeling. I had no idea what was happening to me.  All I could tell them was that I was too tired to do anything. It was the best response I could give them.  They decided to insert an IV and put me on fluids. Everything was happening so fast. Not long after that, I got a fever and I had to take more pills. I went to sleep. Over the years I have faced many fears. From watching horror movies to being pranked from my friends. All of these have given me a jolt, but do you know what scares me the most. Probably what scares a lot of people the most. It's the fear of not knowing what is wrong with you. That is the worst feeling. When you are down on the ground and you have no idea what's wrong with you. It was that fear that was taking me over at the moment. I woke up sometime later I thought I was feeling better, but apparently, my body didn't think the same way. A lady came into the room where I was being kept. She was the head of the observation unit and she wanted to admit me into their care. An observation unit is where the doctors keep you in the hospital for 24 hours (the longest they can hold you without you being officially admitted) and they basically, you guessed it, observe you. Me thinking that this would be a quick and easy thing was a big mistake. The reason they said they need to observe me was that my blood pressure was very low. My heart rate was also dangerously spiking. It hit 130 BPM at points. They had no explanation for this. All they could say was that it was probably because I was severely dehydrated. Several things clicked in my mind when they said that. I had heard, in books, about all of these things happening when you are severely dehydrated. Extreme fatigue, heart rate spikes, BP drops. They said that this stomach virus had turned my body into a war zone within a few hours. It had already caused me to get several fevers. I stayed in the ER for a really long time. In the time I spent there I met a really nice child-life specialist. Child life specialists are incredible people whose main mission is to make you happy and play games with you. She brought a pack of Uno cards, a book, and some coloring pages. We played a game of Uno while we chatted about our favorite movies. I enjoyed that. 4:00 pm 2/7/19 A few hours later they put me on a wheelchair and they moved me to the observation unit. There they continued to monitor me and check my vitals. I stayed there for multiple hours. There were multiple times when my blood pressure dropped and when my heart rate spiked. As more and more fluids were being pumped my condition was slowly improving. I was beginning to be able to walk, and I thought I would be out pretty soon. It was quite a boring wait. I didn't do much. They had a TV and I watched some Friends on it. Talking about friends, I also got in touch with some of my school friends to tell them about what I was going through. Everything was going pretty good until I started to get fevers again. 7:30 pm 2/7/19 While I was able to walk and stuff, my BP and heart rate were not normal yet. Whenever I woke up my heart rate would abnormally spike and my BP would be really low. They were unsure why and looking at my history of cancer, they didn't want to let something like that just fly by their radar. The same lady who had visited me in the ER came to my room again to talk to my parents. She said that I would need to be admitted into the hospital and that I would need to spend the night. There were many other doctors who stopped by to talk to me and my family. There also ran a few EKGs to find out what was up with my heart. 11:00 pm 2/7/19 I WAS MOVING. I was sleeping and I woke with a startle. They were moving my bed up to the seventh floor. They rolled me down a bunch of hallways and corridors. Not going to lie, I kinda enjoyed that ride. I got to my room and they checked my weight and ran a few more tests and they just went over some details about what would happen while I was admitted. The room was huge. There was a section for two beds and there was a large bathroom. There were also two nice TVs so that meant more Friends. 5:00 am 2/8/19 I was again woken up. There was a nurse checking on my vitals to see how I was doing. 7:00 am 2/8/19 Did you know that you can't sleep in a hospital? I was again awoken by a nurse monitoring my vitals. I decided to stay up from that point. I was feeling much better because I had been hooked to the IV for the entire night so I had received quite a lot of fluids. My dad brought me some breakfast from the hospital's cafe and I had a chance to take a shower. Here's a fun fact. - Taking a shower with an IV is not very easy. 10:00 am 2/8/19 I saw many different faces that day. All of the doctors were there to help me. At one point they had the entire team come to check on me. They do that with each admitted patient. There was a group of around 15 students, interns, and doctors who discussed what was next for me. They talked about how I was doing better and how they may discharge me later that day. I also heard a helicopter landing on the hospital's helipad. That was cool. 1:30 pm 2/8/19 It was a miracle! I had been given my discharge papers. They had given me the clear to leave the hospital. My heart rate and BP was much better and I wasn't severely dehydrated anymore. As I was walking out of the hospital into the parking garage I could see patient passes stuck onto the walls of the garage. There were hundreds of them. Each one was different. A different person. A different patient. A different room. In a sense, it was a celebration of each person's discharge. A celebration that signified the strength of each and every person in that hospital. Conclusion This entire experience had been so crazy. Starting on Wednesday and ending on Friday, my entire system had been flipped on its head. It was a scary experience. There is still some time until I fully recover and return to a hundred percent, but I am glad that I am feeling much better. I want to thank all the doctors/nurses who helped me, and every single person who made me feel better and who made my recovery possible. These people work so hard and spend long hours helping others and I believe they deserve a lot of credit for that. I also want to thank my family and my friends who were there for me when I was at my lowest and who wished me well. I guess a major takeaway from this is to drink a lot of water. Read the full article

[percheronprowess]

Supernatural 12x19 Spark

Okay so I get what I call sparks from Episodes/movies/etc. This is an idea I got from The Future. Sparks have a lot of holes, they are mostly plot with a few scenes.

1. Cas and Kelly find a way to stay hidden and deliver the baby. Baby imprints and bonds with Cas. Cas is his Dad. Cas and Baby are somehow driven back in with Winchesters. baby has also grown at an accelerated rate, even though it hasn’t been that long the Baby is now a child. 

             Scene: Cas and Dean made eye contact and it felt like it did every other time. The sense of longing and wonder. Happy to see each other but heart broken they’d been apart for so long. Then there were the awkward feelings about how they parted. 

       “Well Holy Shit he lives!” Dean barked first. Cas glanced back at the convenience store he had just left and to the truck parked at the pump. 

        “I’m right here Cas, say something damnit!” Dean snapped and grabbed Cas’ coat. 

        “Dean, don’t-” Cas warned him. 

        “Daddy?” A small voice called from behind them. 

        “Let go of him!” The same voice demanded. Dean raised an eyebrow, leaned his head to the side to look around Cas, and saw a small dark haired boy. 

        “Is that-Is that the kid?” Dean asked. Cas looked back at the child and nodded. 

        “Yes,”

        “It hasn’t even been a year Cas,” Dean said and let go of the angel.

       “Not here, no, we’ve spent time in other places and he’s been growing at an accelerated rate,” Cas answered him. 

        “Other places?”

        “Other worlds, dimensions were time passes differently, we came back...we came back because Josiah has seen things, predicted things,” Cas said. 

        “Josiah?” Dean asked. 

        “That is his name, when he was still in the womb he asked for an angelic name, I named every angel in heaven and that was the name Kelly picked before...she died,” Cas answered. 

        “Well, get in the car, you can explain all this to me at the bunker, we’ll get your truck later,” Dean growled and grabbed Cas’ arm. he turned the angel away from the pump but Josiah raised his hand to him. Dean stopped in his tracks when he couldn’t breathe. He felt like he was being choked. Cas looked at Dean when he stopped. He immediately looked to Josiah. 

         “Release him Josiah, he means no harm, he’s simply angry with me because he was worried about me, scared for me. Like I was when I lost you on that purple planet,” Cas knelt down to Josiahs level. Josiah looked at Castiel. 

         “Listen to his heart Josiah, what are his thoughts?” Cas told him. Josiah looked to Dean and his eyes began to glow yellow. 

         “His heart is hurt because you left, he’s angry now, but...still loves you...Is that forgiveness?” Josiah asked. 

         “It can be,” Cas said with a glance to Dean. Cas also noticed people were starting to stare and Dean was turning purple. 

        “Eyes, Josiah,” Cas whispered. Josiah immediately released Dean and Cas stood up. He held Dean as he gasped for air. Josiahs eyes glowed again and everyone around them paused. . Dean watched him him and burst into a fit of coughs. He choked and Cas held him steady. 

         “He full on Darth Vadered me!” Dean gasped. 

         “Yes, his powers grow every day,” Cas said and began to lead Dean towards the Impala. 

          “We can’t take that car, Daddy,” Josiah spoke. Cas and Dean stopped. 

          “Why the hell not? What is he doing?” Dean asked still struggling for air. 

           “He’s altering everyone's memories of this moment, They will believe you began to have a heart attack instead of-”

            “Instead of Anakin using the force on me?” Dean asked. Cas gave him an apologetic look. Everyone suddenly went back to what they were doing and Josiah’s eyes returned normal. 

            “Baby is not safe, people are listening to you, eyes are tracking you. You have them in your bunker too,” josiah said.

            “What?” Dean asked. Josiah ran over to the Impala and crawled underneath. 

            “What is he doing now!?” Dean asked and walked towards the car. Josiah came out from under the car with something in his hand. he handed it to Dean. Dean turned it over in his hand. 

            “This is a radio transmitter...for a blasting cap.” Dean said. 

            “It was on the gas tank, I got rid of the other stuff attached to it. There’s little ones that just listen inside the car and in your home. I saw the men all dressed in black with guns putting them everywhere, i know that it’s the past I saw, but I don’t know why I saw it,” Josiah said and took the device back from Dean. 

           “All in black?” Dean asked. 

           “Yes, they are listening from far away and they talk funny,” Josiah said. Held it flat on his palm. The device lifted up and then took itself apart. The pieces fell and Josiah went to pick them up and play with them. 

            “I guess that means you’re driving and we’re going to South Dakota” Dean said. 

            “To see Jody, and call Claire,tell her to come home, it’s not safe. Then Call Mom...Mary, call Mary tell her to lay low too but Mary won’t answer,” Josiah said as they all started for the truck. Dean just starred at him. 

            “You were thinking those things?” Cas asked to Dean. Dean nodded. 

            “All except that last bit,”

            “Sometime his train of thought becomes what the people around him are thinking, I don’t think he can control that yet,” Cas said and opened the door of the truck to let Josiah in. Cas then got in the drivers seat as Dean walked around to get in the passenger side of the truck.

            “Why won’t she answer?” Dean asked. Josiahs eyes lit up gold. 

            “The killer man has her, he’s been ordered to kill her but he can’t, it’s making him angry he doesn’t understand why he can’t follow the order,” Josiah said. 

          “Where are they?” Dean asked.

          “I’m not sure...I don’t know this place very well,” Josiah said. 

          “Thanks Kid,” Dean got his phone out. 

          “Use code,” Josiah told him as Cas started the truck up. Dean paused and glanced at the kid again. He finished dialing Sam 

          “Hey Sammy, I need you to meet me at Bobbys, drive through Poughkeepsie- it’s quicker, and stick to the highways this time. Also what the hell did you get into last night? You have something stuck to your shoe that tracked all through the bunker, It’s even in my car man! C’mon on!” Dean said. Sam on the other end of the line looked around the bunker nervously. 

          “I’ll see you there, gotta pick up a few things first,Do I need boots and a shovel?”

          “Yeah, you know how Frank likes things done,”

           “Alright see yah,”

         End Scene:

   Then a little bit later down the road, while waiting for Sam at Bobby’s old house. 

         Scene: Cas carried a sleeping Josiah against his chest. 

      “Is he really asleep?” Dean asked, Opening doors fro Cas. 

      “Yes, he will have bouts of endless energy and then days in a comatose state. I understand children in general do this, perhaps not on the same scale though,” Cas said as he sank down onto the old dust covered couch in Bobby’s study. 

      “Days? Mom may not have days, we have no idea where she she is!”

      “Are you really uncertain as to who has her?” Cas asked. Dean gave him an amused, obvious look. 

      “The killer man, with them men who talk funny. Sounds like the British men of Letters, whom amongst them has any experience...’getting their hands dirty’?” Cas asked. Dean hung his head. 

     “Ketch,” 

     “I imagine the Men of Letters has given up on corralling you as I had, I imagine they’ve given up on American hunters in general,”

      “And what? Declared open season on Winchesters?” Dean asked. Cas shrugged best he could with Josiah laying against him. Dean sank into an empty chair at the end of the couch. 

      “Why’d you take off again man?” Dean asked after a long silence. 

      “Same reason I always do, because I think it’s the right thing. When Josiah first make contact with me through Kelly I...it was overwhelming. He’d been hearing everyone around him planning out his evil future without consulting him. The last he wishes to do is destroy. He is truly a curious spirit that enjoys creation more than anything. Violence...he hates it. A few demons found us and cornered us. I began to fight, Josiah was terrified but something primal took him over and he turned the demons to dust.” Cas told him. 

      “Yeah, and what if that something primal decides you’re a problem?”

      “At least I won’t see it coming,” Cas offered with a smirk. Dean shook his head.

      “Dean, part of the reason I left and mostly the reason I came back was because of the things Josiah has seen, things from the future...I though distancing myself would change a few things, put you and Sam in less danger but that only changed his visions so much,” Cas explained. Dean looked at him. 

     “What’s coming Cas?”

     “Lucifer, he’s going to be freed and he’s going to come looking for Josiah and no matter where Josiah is he’s going to start that search through you and Sam,” Cas said. Dean hung his head and took a breath. 

      “How does he get out of the cage?”

      “He was never in the cage,” Cas answered. Dean lifted his head to look back at Cas. A moment passed and they both spoke. 

       “Crowley,” 

      End Scene:

Mission to save Mom and what not, don’t have all that in my head yet but there’s a moment between Cas and Josiah.

    Scene: Josiah snuggled up next to Cas. 

        “You sure you’re okay?” The child asked. 

        “Yes, Josiah, a broken nose is an easy fix even for an angel as weak as I am,” Cas smirked. Josiah looked up at him. 

       “I didn’t mean it like that,”

       “I am talking about my lack grace,”

       “Oh,” 

       They sat quietly together in the old house. Everyone was sleeping. 

        “Daddy?”

        ‘Yes?”

        “Please...don’t trust Dean...I want to leave,” He said. Cas gave him a concerned look. 

         “What have you seen?”

         “He’s going to kill you,” Josiah began to cry and grabbed Cas’ hand. Cas was shown a split moment where He was standing before Dean, an angel blade embedded into his chest., and Dean speaks ‘I guess we’ve come full circle haven’t we?’. 

          Cas took a breath to steady himself as he came out of the vision. Josiah was clinging to him and shaking. 

          “Josiah...You’ve had visions before that changed or never happened. No prophecy can make me loose my trust or faith in Dean. It’s going to be okay and besides...you’ve shown me that before,” Cas said. Josiah looked up at him. 

          “I did?”

          “Yes, before you were born,”

          End Scene:

Then it jumps way way ahead past getting mary back and Lucy being freed.

          Scene: Dean put his hand on Cas’ shoulder. 

       “So let’s go tell the little pimp squeek the good news,” Dean smiled and walked with Cas. Josiah and Sam came around the building to meet up with them. Josiah froze and pure terror crossed his face. 

       “Daddy! That’s not Dean!” He yelled. Cas felt deja vu wash over him as he turned to ‘Dean’. 

        “Cat’s out,” He said with an awkward grin. He pulled out an angel blade and stabbed him into his chest before he could defend himself. 

        “I guess we’ve come full circle haven’t we? You know, you getting punked with this old trick instead of Curly and Moe?” Lucifer laughed. 

        “What did you do with Dean? He would have never said yes,” 

        “You’re right, I even tried making him think i was you and needed a vessel to survive but he was leaving me out in the cold. Are you two okay? I hate it when Daddy and Daddy fight!” Lucifer pouted. He snapped his fingers and the facade of Dean faded away into his old vessel.

         “Here I thought you were supposed to be trapped in that meat suit,” Cas said. 

         “More or less, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve, technicalities and such, now Castiel do me a favor and die slowly,” He said and wrenched the blade back and forth in his chest. Cas gasped and collapsed to the ground. He felt back and looked up at Lucifer. He turned his head towards Sam and Josiah. 

        “Time to me my son, I’ve got butterflies, thanks for baby sitting,” Lucifer replied and put his foot on the blade, driving it completely through Castiel’s chest. 

        Sam reached out and grabbed Josiah, slinging him around to face him as there was a flash of light. Sam wrapped his arms around the child and looked up to see the scorch marks of Castiel’s wings burn into the ground.  

       “No!” Josiah fought against Sam and threw him to the side. Josiah ran for Castiel. 

       “Daddy!” Josiah cried out. Lucifer grabbed him as he came by. 

       “Howdy, Junior, it’s Papa!” He said. Josiah glared at him. 

        “You killed my Dad!” 

        “Oh no, that’s going to be lesson number one you understand!? He’s lied to you he’s not your father, I am, he’s lied to you your entire life!” Lucifer growled. Josiah shook his head and glared through his tears. 

       “No, I know exactly who you are!” He said and his eyes ignite with a bright golden light. 

            End Scene-ish:

Insert battle where Lucifer gets his ass handed to him by a child, Chuck steps in and jibes Lucifer about Kids not growing up to being what you wanted, Chuck then takes all of Lucifers grace and makes him mortal.

 ‘You keep trying to destroy the world I built, you keep trying to kill my creations, now you can spend some time amongst them and see how far it gets you. Rules are no magic, no grace, you’ll get that back when you prove you’ve actually learned something!’ Chuck snaps. 

Chuck then turns to Josiah and tells him to stay true to what he is, that he will let him live in peace if he continues to be a protector. Josiah asks him to show him how to resurrect an angel. Chuck smiles and resurrects Cas. They find Dean being held in a hell cell, crowley finds him and gets him loose. . Get to the wrap up scene.

    Scene:

    “Daddy what world should we see next?” Josiah asked. Cas smiled and shook his head as he looked over to Sam and Dean. 

    “You can go ahead if you like, I think I’m going to stay here for a while,”

    “I really want to go exploring,”

    “I understand that but I need to stay home for a while, I need my family I’ve been without them for too long,”

     “Am I your family?”

     “Yes, you are, You’re my son but you know how to find me from any world, So if you need me for any reason you can come home. You stood up to your father and won, So I no longer worry about your safety. You’re aging quicker now, not much longer until you’re mature. the infinity of the universe is yours!” Cas tried to explain. 

      “I’ll miss you,”

      “And I’ll miss you but you imagine the friends you will meet, the family you will make, then come by time to time and tell us about it, bring us souvenirs from across the cosmos,” Cas smiled. Josiah looked over at Sam and Dean, whom were now waiting for Cas by the Impala. 

      “They’re mortal, they’ll die,”

      “I know,”

      “What then?”

      “I’ll find you and tell you about it,” Cas said. Josiah nodded. He hugged Cas and Cas hugged him back. 

      “See you later,”

      “Bye,” 

       Josiah disappeared and Cas got to his feet. He walked to the Impala. Marry leaned out the backseat window. 

         “You tell my grandchild he better be home for Thanksgiving and Christmas?” She asked, giving him a stern look. Cas looked completely flabbergasted. He looked back to where Josiah had disappeared from and then back to Mary. Sam and Dean burst out laughing. 

          “Oh you’re in trouble now” Sam replied and stood up off the car. He walked around it and got in. Dean opened the back seat for Cas cas got close and Dean pulled him into a hug. 

          “He’ll be fine Cas,” Dean said to him and rubbed his back to reassure him before letting go. Cas smiled. 

          “Thank you, Dean,” Cas said and got in. Dean shut the door and got in himself. He started the engine and drove his family home. 

End Scene:

And that was a spark, not a lot to it but if anyone wants to collaborate on a fic message me. Anything could be changed, I rarely keep all the scenes from a spark but these were a series of scenes that came together and forms the skeleton of a story arc, hope you enjoyed, sorry not sorry for the long post :D

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