#we secured our spot earlier on and that's where he got it right

[idkimnotreal]

opinion of an average brazilian (me) about cameroon’s victory: 

kinda uhh about it but i guess i’m happy for them? i like to see african and latin american teams win, and most asian teams. and i’d rather a thousand times more lose to them than to saudi arabia like argentina did. they deserve to be happy. their crowd were cheering until the end despite a victory meaning nothing for them. they were just happy to be there. i know they’d be cheering even if they lost. it’s the kind of folks you just can’t be sad about losing to.

especially considering it doesn’t change our standing in the group stage. we’re still getting the “easy” bracket (better one argentina than four englands frances spains and portugals. plus defeating them in the semifinals would be epic). and we lost with a mostly reserve team on field so it doesn’t mean much. it was wrong of our coach (tite) to underestimate a weaker team, because we’ve all seen at this point no team can be underestimated in world cups, but i guess he wasn’t too worried with this outcome even if he thought it was possible. better spare the important players if we want to have realistic expectations about the hexa. and brazilians are playing to win, not to go as far as we can.

[lucithekingofhell]

Hello! Me again! How are y'all doing? I'm doing wonderfully now that I am home! Well on to today’s news and Joke of the Day!

Your Highness, I have some very special guests for today!

This is Marvin he likes eating straight out of my hand. He doesn't really like eating off the ground lol.

The one on the left is Mama the four behind her are her babies I have yet to give them names but they have been coming by my house for a few weeks you’d be surprised how big they've gotten in such a short amount of time. The one on the right is… Mr. Wigglebottom. He's mean and nips at all the other ducks.

Sadly Mr. Quackers, who was the first out of all of my little crew, is not here. I haven't seen him in some time actually🤔 I wonder what happened to him. I know I haven't seen him because he has a messed-up wing that hangs low. Each one is different just enough that I can tell who's who.

Mr. Wigglebottom is always wagging his tail. Obviously, Mama and the babies are easy to spot. Marvin is the only one who gets close enough for me to pet him(that has yet to happen though). I already said how I know who's Mr. Quackers. And there are some guests every now and then that come by but they don't come by enough for me to name them.

Oh yeah. The reason Mr. Quackers has his name is because of my stuffed duck I still have. They have the same name!

Anyway here is today’s joke!

I got arrested today for walking out of a museum with a painting.

I was so confused though because earlier when I asked a security officer if I could take a picture, he said yes!

Hope you enjoy the rest of your day! And I am very excited to hear your reaction to Bambi and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Oh and please do tell us what you called our smiling deer man after watching those two movies! I'm sure they were very funny names!🤭

"hello! We are doing pretty good made a new duck, Zoe....ate it....but it's ok..."

//Zoe: LUCI IT WAS A FUCKING COOKIE I ALREADY SAID SORRY!

"it was still a duck...anyways I'm glad you're doing wonderful now that you're home! Would you mind telling me where you live so I can steal Mason, Mr.Wigglebottom, Mr.Quackers and Mama and her baby's, and if you say no, I will still find out! I will find Mr. Quackers. And of course you can tell who is who! Ducks are very majestic creatures, all beautiful and special in their own way! I will take all the ducks...also, adorable you have a stuffed duck! I love ducks!"

//Zoe: okay Luci breath

"don't tell me what do duck eater"

//Zoe: IT WAS A COOKIE

"I don't care what it was made of, it was still a duck. HAHAHA, Oh you always get me good with your jokes! Thank you my dear, I hope you enjoy the rest of your day as well! Don't worry I'll make sure to tell what I thought of the movies! And what I call the stupid dear after!"

[fragaria-imagines]

can we have first kiss with Hallritt and Tuxam plsss?? I really like Tuxam's "No way" voice line😭😭

Ahh thank you for the request! I liked Tuxam’s voice line as well :33!

“You missed a spot there Y/N! Lord Tuxedo Sam would be here any minute now and I don’t want to see a speck of dust in these chairs, when he arrives! This dining room needs to be spotless!” Tuxam chastised you, pointing at the rows of chairs that you just finished dusting off.

When Tuxam asked for your help to set up the dining room for the upcoming dinner with Lord Tuxedo Sam, you happily accepted, not thinking much of it, and was just happy to help a friend out.

What you didn’t expect was for you to do most of the work, whilst the Tuxam was monitoring and hovering all over you, all while critiquing your every move under the guise of giving you helpful advice. Suffice to say, annoyed couldn’t even begin to describe it what you felt.

“I already dusted those chairs! You saw me dust those chairs, and they’re fine! They are more than fine!” You snapped at the short blue haired knight, exasperatedly waving around your feather duster, to fully emphasize just how fine those chairs were.

Taken aback by your sudden outburst, Tuxam stepped back and didn’t say respond for a while. Though it may have not been very gentleman like to keep on questioning you, he couldn’t help but have his doubts if what you’re saying is true.

“I understand that but what about-”

“And the floor is clean if that’s what you’re asking! I mopped it like six times, which you would know because you made me mop it six times!”

“Well yes, but is it clean enough where you-”

“-Can see my own reflection? I promise you if every mirror in this castle were to be stolen, the floor would make a very good substitute.”

“What!? Someone stole all of our mirrors!” Tuxam exclaimed loudly, seemingly ignoring everything that was said after you said the word “stolen”.

“What? No! That was just an exaggeration to make a point! Nobody stole-”

“This is a serious matter, Y/N! We need to alert the security and the knights about this intruder! I’ll call Lord Tuxedo Sam and inform him about the sudden turn of events, unfortunately that means we’ll have to cancel our dinner, but for the sake of our kingdom and for ours and Lord Tuxedo Sam safety, we have no choice but to…”

As Tuxam droned on and on about a intruder that didn’t even exist, you knew that no amount of words would get through to him in this state. So without thinking, you marched towards him, putting your hands on his shoulders, and planted a light kiss on his lips to silence him once and for all.

His words immediately got caught in his throat as soon as your lips met his, all thoughts about chairs, intruders, Tuxedo Sam, all went out the window, as he melted in your kiss. Only once you pulled away and were met with Tuxam’s bright red face, did you realize what you have just done.

“I-im sorry…! I-I don’t know what came over me, you were just freaking out and I just thought…” The annoyed look you wore earlier, quickly got replaced with a bashful expression as you stumbled over your words. Too embarrassed to even say anything, much less look at his direction, the blush that was settling in your cheeks was definitely not helping your case.

“N-no it’s fine, really! You were right, I got way too over my head and w-well you know…!” Tuxam squeaked out, his overbearingness and strictness from earlier was no longer there, if the blush in his face was anything to go about.

For a while, you two stood there in awkward silence, too embarrassed to say anything. Eventually though, Tuxam broke the silence, when the initial embarrassment and shock settled down.

“So… about those chairs-”

“Oh my god-”

“Oh Y/N look at this! This is perfect for Lord Kitty, don’t you think?” Hallritt asked, holding up an apple shaped earring for you to inspect.

With Lord Kitty’s birthday just around the corner, Hallritt decided to take you shopping to look for her birthday gift, one month in advance.

You were more than happy to tag along, not only did you adore Lord Kitty, it also gave you the chance to spend more time with Hallritt. With Hallritt’s being a knight in training, you didn’t get to see him often as much you wanted, since he was so busy on most days.

“Oh those do look cute! But don’t you have enough apple related gifts in your cart? I really don’t think Lord Kitty needs an apple shaped earring, an apple shaped watch, an apple watch, an apple plushie, and a apple necklace” You tried to reason, pointing at the mountain of a shopping cart that carried more apple related gifts than you can count.

“Nonsense! There’s no such thing as too much apples when Lord Kitty is concerned!” Hallritt proclaimed, waving your concern off, as he put the apple shaped earrings in the shopping cart. You playfully rolled your eyes at him, knowing whenever he has his mind set on something, there is no one that could convince him otherwise.

That’s how the rest of the day followed, with Hallritt buying out every single store that crossed your paths, while you halfheartedly tried to convince him to cut back on the expenses. By the end of the day, you were positive if you put anymore items in your shopping cart, the cart would break down due to sheer physical and mental exhaustion from carrying so many gifts.

“I think we’ve done enough shopping for today, our shopping cart looks like it’s on its last leg, so how about we call it a day, sound good?” You suggested. Truth be told, as much as you were glad to spend the day with Hallritt, you were really using the shopping cart as an excuse to take a break as your feet were getting soar from walking around so much.

Hallritt didn’t respond to you, in fact it looked like he wasn’t even paying attention to you, but rather looking past you, as if there was something more interesting that was going on behind you. Turning your back to see what exactly was captivating Hallritt’s attention, you were met with a large red booth that carried a variety of plushies, one of them included a red apple plushie.

With a soft chuckle, you turned your body towards Hallritt, who was still paying attention to the booth, already knowing where this was headed.

“Would you like to go the booth, Hallritt?” You asked softly. Your question seemingly broke Hallritt out of his trance, as he stared at you sheepishly.

“If that’s alright with you! I know you’re tired from walking so much, so we don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

“Nonsense! It’s for Lord Kitty’s birthday, how can I say no to that” You replied earnestly, giving him a bright smile. He smiled back, happy to have your approval.

Once you made your way to the booth, the vendor explained the rules of the game. All you had to do was toss a ring and have it land around the bottle, it was pretty simple, and you had confidence that Hallritt could easily win the plushie in one round alone.

“Oh no! I lost again!” Hallritt dejected voice filled the room, as he lost another round of ring toss.

Well… you were confident that he could pull it off. But the sad truth is, Hallritt didn’t seem to have any luck winning the apple plushie, no matter how many rounds he played, no matter how many different ways he tossed the ring -left hand, right hand, from the side, from the back, from the front-, it didn’t matter, the ring refused to go around the bottle.

Seeing how upset Hallritt was getting, not to mention that time was quickly catching up to them, you wanted nothing more than to encourage him and to keep on going. But words didn’t seem like it was enough, and with how little time you two had left, there was only one solution that you could think of that would give him the encouragement he needs.

You slowly walked up to him, face red as an apple, fully aware of what you were going to do. Hallritt, who was fully concentrated trying to plan his next move, broke out of his train of thoughts, when he saw you walking towards him.

“Hm? Is there something wrong Y/N?” Hallritt asked curiously, a bit confused as to why your arms were around his neck.

Embarrassed by his oblivious nature, you were tempted to back off and not go through with it, but you already came so far and were committed to following it through, even if it did cost you your pride, at least it would satisfy your growing curiosity about it.

“I-I’m trying to give you encouragement…!” You lamely said, not even bothering trying to hide the deep blush that was forming in your face. Hallritt, still confused, titled his head to the side, not quite sure what you meant by that.

“Oh yeah? How so?” Hallritt asked, you blushed even harder, internally wondering if Hallritt was genuinely confused or was he just teasing you. Though you already knew the answer to that, as Hallritt didn’t have a mean bone in his body.

Taking the fact that he hasn’t pushed you off yet as an incentive to keep going, you pressed your lips against him, deciding to show him what you mean instead.

You heard Hallritt gasp in the kiss, but the shock quickly faded, as he returned your kiss, holding your waist tightly. You could feel him smiling in the kiss, which gave you a case of butterflies in your stomach, overjoyed that he seemed to be enjoying it as much as you are.

The kiss ended way too soon for your liking, though as he pulled away, you could see a faint blush on his blush. You gave him a small smile, knowing you probably looked worse than him in that regard.

With a sheepish nod, he stepped towards the booth, giving you a bright smile and a small wink, before turning around and tossing the ring onto the bottles, successfully winning a round of ring toss once and for all.

He ended up winning the red apple plushie, but to him, your kiss was the best reward he could ever ask for.

[britt-kageryuu]

Day 3/Last Day

First | Prev

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

Well with the start of the last day the Turtles and CJ got dressed grabbed some breakfast, and got to the Convention Center, while the girls and the Dragons headed out a bit earlier to do pre-prepare for breaking down everything to make the packing up easier... hopefully.

Mikey and CJ headed back to the Artist Alley, where Mikey set out a 'Last Day Discount' on the stuff that didn't sell alot over the event. The fewer things taken home the better, and the less Mikey would need to try to sell at a different event later.

Raph dressed in his apocalypse gear went to walk the floor, and check out if he missed anything interesting the day before, since he had to get to the booth before checking out one side of the Hall.

The Disaster Twins dressed as Dipper (Donnie) & Mabel (Leo) went around just looking at what was going on, up until they discovered a large area with multiple sets for taking themed photos. Then they spent a good our or so just messing with the sets and props.

The Purple Dragons had the Meet & Greet setup broken down, packed up, and taken back to the van in a short time, then headed to the hall were the Closing Ceremonies were being held. They were slightly annoyed with some of the tech people hired by the Con, that believed they know better.

~▪~▪~▪~▪~▪~▪~▪~

The Twins sped around looking at everything, and getting stopped for pictures before heading to the Dealers Hall to look around at some booths they hadn't seen yet.

Then they spotted Raph, and weaved through the crowd to get to him, and climbed onto his shoulders.

"Hey Raph-a-doodle! Find anything good?"

Raph barely reacted with startled people around them who were confused.

"There was a booth over there that have some cool figures that I think you might like. And there was some cool D&D stuff in the back on the J aisle." Raph relays this while holding his phone up to the Twins so they can see what he was talking about.

"While those figures are nice. I don't want to buy any of those right now. Need to save for some DLC that goes live in a couple days." Donnie says while messing with the phone screen, and scanning for details from the pictures.

"Oohh, we doing a Co-OP soon?!" Leo asked while leaning over to look closer.

"We shall see. I want to judge if it would be more worth it to start a fresh save, or continue a save with Co-OP activated." Donnie answers while pushing Raphs hand down, since they were done analyzing the pictures.

Raph puts his phone away, and just starts walking again while the two continue chatting on his shoulders. Just ignoring the people staring, and taking pictures in amazement.

The three ended up at their booth to see a bit of a crowd there for the slight sale on what was left of the stock.

They ask April and Cass if they could get the two anything. With a reply of 'No, It's okay' from April the three head out to wander the rest of the Convention. They were a bit surprised that neither the Staff nor Security bothered them about the Twins being on Raphs shoulders.

Though many people did want to get pictures of the three, or asked if they could get on Raphs shoulders aswell.

~▪~▪~▪~▪~▪~▪~

When the announcement went out around the building that the Convention would be closing soon Raph and Donnie went to the Dealers Hall to help the girls, and Leo subtly portals to the Artist Alley to help out Mikey and CJ.

Once all of the non vendors were out, the cleanup and packing up began.

The Artist Alley group got packed pretty quickly because most of Mikeys inventory was gone by the end of the day, so it was mostly packing up the table decorations, and making sure they didn't leave anything behind before going to see if the others needed help.

Well the Dealers Hall group didn't need as much help, because the Purple Dragons showed up to help once the Closing Ceremonies ended.

And with a good 80% of their stock sold they just had to break down empty boxes, consolidating things into fewer boxes and make sure they got the displays packed safely.

Then loading everything onto the wagon/dolly and getting everything into the tank, and van. Then double check that they didn't leave anything behind in the hotel before checking out.

There was a quick stop to pick up some food for the road, and a quick game of Rock Paper Scissors for who would be driving, and when they would stop to switch off drivers, or possibly just a break.

Many hours later they make it to one of Donnies Genius Built warehouses, not to far from home but not that close, to stop for the night, and sleep.

Plans to go over the equipment and what was left of their wares in the morning before getting back into their usual routine.

In all a great end to a pretty big event.

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

Masterpost

This took more out of me than I thought, but I think it's just because most of my personal experience with Conventions are 2 local events I attended almost yearly and videos on YouTube.

And since I only ever heard about this happening after the fact I ended up just having not alot happening with the guys.

I hope you enjoyed reading this series.

[poisonhemloc]

@awanderingmuse I hope that tags you right tumblr's being weird

anyway this is your fault (affectionate)

short note- if you haven't read the body horror fic i posted earlier today thats fine and you make better decisions than i do.

that said muse commented asking about the Nomai who set up the experiments/what was in the syringe and eventually the idea that four proto-hearthians were rescued from the only Nomai in Escall's clan who didn't have a robust morality system in regards to other life and that led to this ficlet

(Asclepius is the genus for milkweed, Plect is a shortened form for the genus for the Trailing Salamander plant)(which, by the way, is a coleus and I'm taking that as Headcanon Confirmed)

~

“Okay, just be gentle, Asclepius.” Asc stretched to look over the table. 

Three eyes looked back at her, owner shaking a little. But not three how the Nomai had; this creature had eyes in a square, but one eye was shut. 

A creature native to timber hearth, her mother has said. How it arrived here… none of the adults were willing to explain, but, they would be staying. Little blue creatures, standing on four limbs with stout tails and permanently damp smooth skin. 

The little blue creature was picked up and placed in a large terrarium, joining three fellows in the water. 

“Why can’t all of them go back?”

“They are… possibly sick. We don’t know if they will get the rest of their kind sick if they return. It is safest to keep them here, we decided, for now.”

“Okay.” Asc settled somewhere to watch the four, and noticed one of them- the one her mother had been examining, with three eyes- was watching her back. 

~

Asc skipped into the main living quarters and watched, fidgeting from side to side, as her mother carefully placed a small array of insects and leaves and something pink into the terrarium. 

“What are they eating?”

“What our Timber Hearth biologists think they eat in the wild. Insects, plant matter, and fish.” She sighed. “But they’re not eating as much as our calculations or observations say they should be.”

Asc stretched up to see inside better. They weren’t moving around, the four were in different states of laying in one spot. 

One looked at her, pupils huge but gold irises visible. 

“I’ll go contact Plect, see if he has any suggestions.” Asc watched her leave, then turned back. 

“You look bored. Are you bored?” A blink. “Hm. I’m not supposed to play with my food, but, if you eat insects and fish they’re alive when you eat them, right?” 

Asc walked into the communal kitchen for this floor, dragged a chair over to a cabinet, and dug through it. 

And lugged the chair back over next to the terrarium, and climbed onto it, careful to brace herself so she wouldn’t fall into the terrarium and break it. 

And picked up one of the fish slices with the tongs she had found, moved it into the water, and wiggled it. 

Four heads and fifteen eyes were following the movement, rapt. They were shifting, sitting up or moving to other positions. 

She got a little close- one of the hearthians launched and grabbed the fish and swallowed most of it in an easy movement. 

Asc grinned in triumph and grabbed another slice. 

~

“-not sure what else- Asclepius please do not be that close to the terrarium!” 

“I got them to eat!” 

“How?” Her mother walked over, watching Asc wave a dead insect that was eaten by a waiting hearthian. 

“They’re probably used to catching food so just having it sit here is weird for them.”

“Hm.” Asc glanced up. 

“Am I in trouble?”

“No. I would like you to get me before you climb onto things, but, you did it to help them. I am proud of you.”

~

“This is the communal kitchen. We do not hunt our food like you do, we grow it and cook it here.” Asc checked the little body held securely in her hands. Still unpleasantly damp. “Out that way is the rest of the Sunless City, on Ember Twin. That is where we are, right now. It is one of the paired planets that orbit inside Timber Hearth’s orbit, where you are from.”

“Where- Asc, do you have one of the creatures.” 

“I was showing it where we are.” The creature in question looked around contentedly, legs dangling, three eyes blinking slowly. “It does not seem fair, they are here but contained only in the terrarium.”

“It does not, my flower, but they need to stay wet to stay healthy. Being out in Ember Twin’s air is not good for them.”

“I have not had this one out long, just enough to see the kitchen.” Asc walked back towards the terrarium as she protested, easily climbing the chairs she’d assembled as makeshift stairs.

She replaced the creature in its little home, watching as it took the time to lick her hand, as though it were an insect, before darting under the water.

~

“Asc, we’re going to take them home today.” Asc ran over, excited.

“You said they weren’t going back!”

“We have talked it over, and the risk of illness is low enough, and their quality of life here is not as high as it could be, so they will be going home.” Asc nodded, ecstatic. 

“I am very glad they’re going home. They have not looked happy here.”

“Do you want to come?”

“Can I?” 

“Yes. Since you have been instrumental to their wellbeing here.” 

~

Asc knelt, entranced despite the heavy, unusual suit. The geyser pool rippled as droplets splashed back down, and that was the only movement-

No, there they were. More of the blue, four eyed… hearthians. It felt overly optimistic, thinking of all the species on this planet this was the one that would last, but, she could hope. 

“Do you want to put this one back?” Her mother and Cycad, an apprentice who worked on Timber Hearth, had put the travel container down between them, and Cycad offered the three eyed hearthian.

“Yeah.” She reached out and took it carefully. “You must be good, alright? You need to remember how to catch fish and all without me.” She knelt next to the water, lowered it down, and released.

The hearthian darted a little ways away, turned back- she watched it cock its head, one way then the other- then it darted to the left to catch a small, unaware fish. 

“Oh good, that one at least will be fine.” Her mother released the second, and Cycad released the final two. 

“Goodbye!” Asc watched all four- they were watching the Nomai with some curiosity, but then, they darted off to different spots around the pool, and vanished.

[shoujoboy-restart]

By Mary Harrington, May 6 2024.

[...] Canadian Right-wing firebrand Lauren Southern, whose early video content regularly challenged liberal feminist orthodoxy, and promoted domesticity. Our stories are symmetrical in some respects: both of us embraced radical politics in our early twenties, me on the Left and Southern on the Right. Both of us embraced ideologies that felt inspiring in the free-floating world of the internet. And both of us, albeit in different ways, have course-corrected back toward reality in part via the fiercely practical experience of caring for a child.

Southern has attracted vitriolic criticism from the Right, for speaking openly about how “tradlife” went wrong for her. She, however, sees speaking out not as betrayal of her own “side”, but as continuous with her earlier willingness to challenge progressive consensus on topics such as immigration. “I’m not worried about saying the things I’m saying right now, that are getting me so attacked online. Because I’ve dealt with this, with South Africa. I’ve dealt with this with mass immigration, I’ve dealt with this with my critiques of feminism. And every single one turned out: oh, maybe she was onto something.”("sure I was wrong about trad life, but my racism is still right you will see")

For, she tells me, she’s not alone. She tells me she knows many other women still suffering in unhappy “tradlife” marriages. One of her WhatsApp groups, she says, “is like the Underground Railroad for women in the conservative movement”. Some of these are prominent media figures: “There are a lot of influencers who are not in good relationships, who are still portraying happy marriage publicly, and bashing people for not being married while being in horrendous relationships.” She hopes that in speaking out she can reassure “all of these women who are thinking in their heads: I’m uniquely terrible, and I’m uniquely making a mistake” that no: something is more generally amiss.

There were warning signs from early on. “If I ever disagreed with him in any capacity he’d just disappear, for days at a time. I remember there were nights where he’d call me worthless and pathetic, then get in this car and leave.” But she didn’t see them, thanks to the simplified anti-feminist ideology she’d absorbed and promoted: “I had this delusional view of relationships: that only women could be the ones that make or break them, and men can do no wrong.” So she didn’t spot the red flags, even as they grew more extreme. “He’d lock me out of the house. I remember having to knock on the neighbour’s door on rainy nights, because he’d get upset and drive off without unlocking the house. It was very strange, to go from being this public figure on stage with people clapping, to the girl crying, knocking on someone’s door with no home to get into, being abandoned with a baby.”

But as she tells it, the nightmare began in earnest when he was offered a work opportunity in his home country of Australia, a few weeks after the birth of their baby. She did not want to leave her support networks behind. But he used the political and religious importance she placed on lifelong marriage as a lever to force her to agree: “Whenever I wouldn’t do something, he would say: I’m going to divorce you.” So, feeling she had no other option, she assented.

He also insisted she should publicly quit work. His work required a high level of government security clearance; she was a Right-wing provocateur who had faced deplatforming, state investigations, and was even banned from entering the UK. In their early, giddy romance this had felt manageable. But ��when we moved back to Australia, he really wanted to get back into his old work”. And Southern was a “hardcore liability”, so the pressure was on: “It was like: Lauren, you gotta hire lawyers. You’ve got to disavow everything. You’ve got to never talk publicly again.”

So, in 2019, she announced that she was leaving media and activism altogether. As Southern tells it, she was trying sincerely to put into practice the ideology she’d promoted in her videos. “I believed I had a certain role in my relationship,” she told me. “And it was to be the more submissive one that supports my husband’s dreams.”("if I don't give up of my constitutional rights, which I keep claiming the left.wanta to take away, my husband will be so sad tho" like damn ma' you

“I was told daily that I was worthless, pathetic. Deadweight.”

Then, thousands of miles from friends and family, she reports becoming “the closest thing to a modern day, Western slave”. With no income of her own, she had to do everything: “The lawns, the house, the cooking, the baby care, his university homework. And I didn’t know anyone. I didn’t have any support. There was no help changing diapers, there was no help waking up in the night with the baby. I’d still have to get up, to make breakfast before work. I’d be shaking and nervous, for fear I’m gonna get yelled at.” Then he’d berate her for spending all her time on tasks other than earning money: “I was told daily that I was worthless, pathetic. Deadweight. All you do is sit around and take care of the baby and do chores.” When Covid shut down all real-world public life, her situation became “hell on earth”. It was, she said, “the only time in my life where I idealised dying.”

“He was so much kinder, sweeter and more pursuant of me when I was this ‘boss babe’ travelling the world working. It seemed like becoming a mother made him lose respect for me. It was shocking to me, again, because the traditional view preached the opposite — that men love you more when you stop working and become a wife and mother.” In her experience, though, this was “very much not the case”.

Talk about imperfect victim, right?

Lauren should be criticized and reprimanded for her racism, bigotry and general alt-right fuckery. But obviously no one deserves to suffer domestic violence and abuse from their partners, I hope she fully wakes up and realises part of the reason she even got herself in a lifestyle that is a catalyst for abuse is because part of her mindset was the need for a "strong (white) man to care for her and protect her (from them immigrants)" she was also sold while fear mongering immigration.

Again, she should be criticized and reprimanded for her divisive ideology, not mocked for thinking she would be a exception to the actual reality of trad life.

I'm hoping she never has to experience this sort of abuse ever again in her life no matter what, hoping she also becomes a better person and leaves behind these regressive bigoted ideals of her too.

[runningfrom2am]

the sea around us; pt.2 chapter seven

Snowy saw no choice but to run- wondering if Rafe will ever understand that the pogues mean everything to her. JJ gets it though. JJ will always get it.

(jj maybank x f!oc)

(rafe cameron x f!oc)

warnings/tags: violence, drug/alcohol use, smoking, sexual content (if you squint), slowburn, brother’s best friend, (these tags are obv not exhaustive but regardless it’s pretty PG13)

wc: 1.8k

my masterlist, series masterlist, requests

*:･ﾟ✧*:･

Sarah talked on the phone with Wheezie last night, I could tell she was just so happy to hear her sisters voice again. I thought about calling my sister too, but I didn't have as good of a reason as she did.

Wheezie told her that their dad was coming down to the Bahamas today, we assumed to move the gold- which Sarah already knew he would after the break in. She got Wheezie to text the phone she called with and give us details on when and how he was going to move it, and the security company that is going to help. It's our last chance to get it after our unsuccessful attempt to rob the empty house the previous night, which ended in all of us almost getting caught.

"We're on." Sarah nods, smiling a little as she sees the text from her sister and I watch over her shoulder, putting my arm around hers and squeezing her in excitement.

I look over at John B, who looks instantly hesitant. "Okay, I guess we're doing this." He says, nodding a little to himself. "Armed robbery, I mean I'm cool with it, but are you sure?" He asks her, glancing between the two of us.

Sarah steps away from me and shakes her head just slightly. "My entire life, Ward has always gotten what he wanted. Everyone jumps for him, and I thought it was respect; but now I realize that's fear."

She stares wide eyed at her boyfriend. "And, John B," she starts, walking over and sitting down across from him. "You know the one person who never jumped for him, was your dad. He wasn't like anyone I have ever met, because he wasn't scared of him. This is for him."

John B looks down at his lap for a moment, and I find myself reaching across my body to hold my other arm, rubbing the now very dirty skin up and down my forearm as I watch the two of them.

"And Sheriff Pete." Sarah continues. "And you, and me, and Snowy, and JJ, and our friends at home."

John B nods, agreement set deep in his brown eyes.

"Then let's do this!" JJ grins, walking up next to me and patting me on the back as he takes a bite out of an apple.

"Where did you get that?" I ask, laughing a little and looking up at him as he just gestures vaguely behind him.

"Over there, that tree." He grumbled through a mouthful of apple.

"Hopefully we don't have one man down with food poisoning, but I agree. Let's do this." I laugh, looking between the three of my friends.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･

"The gold is here. At my dad's house." Sarah says, pointing to the house on a map we had on a computer screen while we lay out our final plans. "He's going to transport the gold from our house to a private air freight company located here."

Terrance is sitting next to her, watching closely as Cleo and Stubbs stand by the window behind them. JJ, John B and I are just watching from behind the desk, and I giggle and nudge JJ as he leans over the computer to try and peek at where Sarah is pointing.

"We need to intercept that gold before it ever gets on that plane." Sarah finishes, looking over at the man next to her as he starts to speak.

"Right, there's only two roads that'll take you there. We want to get him in these cane fields right here south of the airport," He points to another spot on the screen I can't see. "That's where we spring the trap."

I recall us going over this plan a million times in my head as we stand on the edge of a deserted road next to tall grass, the cane fields Terrance mentioned earlier. I'm pulled out of my constant repeating of the plan when he speaks to us again.

"They're gonna come from that direction." I watch where he's pointing down the windy road, nodding my understanding as John B uses some binoculars to look out. "Once Cleo and I get daddy on the ground, you four can take the gold."

"Cakewalk." JJ nods, leaning his elbow on my shoulder and putting some of his weight on me. It's only fair after how much he's had to carry me around these last few days.

"Red, are you okay to run over there? You kids are going to have to act real quick." Terrance says to me, and I find myself looking briefly up at JJ.

"I think so." I nod, shifting my weight from foot to foot to test the strength in my injured ankle. I feel a slight burn in it, but other than that it's fine. I'm not sure how I'll be running, though.

"I'll carry you. Like I said, I give a mean piggy back." JJ insists, ruffling my hair in the way he knows I hate.

"Well, whatever you guys decide, don't waste any time when we get him down. Red can wait here in the bushes if she must and we'll get you later." Terrance says. I just nod again. No way I'm going to slow us down on this one, maybe I should wait.

"How you go from livin' in Paradise Island to livin' in the street dodgin' coppa's?" Cleo asks Sarah as the three of us walk down a local street. Our goal is to find and set up our distraction long before Ward moves the gold.

"Fell in love." Sarah shrugs as she answers, making me laugh.

"Big mistake." Cleo replies. "Only got yourself to blame for that one."

"Yeah." Sarah says, squinting at the sun in her eyes.

"What about you, Red?" Cleo asks, turning to me.

"Uh, you know, I've got friends in low places. Myself included." I joke. "My parents kicked me out, then her dad tried to kill me. Twice. Then he killed someone else and blamed me and John B."

"Oh shit, so we're not just jackin' this gold for the money, huh?" Cleo laughs a little bit and me and Sarah both shake our heads. "Vengeance- I like it."

"To be fair, the gold is a nice bonus but I don't care so much about the money." I shrug in response.

"Me neither." Sarah agrees. "It's tearing my family apart, you know? I don't even know my dad anymore, or Rafe."

"Who?" Cleo asks.

"My brother. Her boyfriend." Sarah gestures to me as she speaks and Cleo's eyes widen.

"The plot thickens. You still with him? I thought JJ was your boy."

"Well, I don't really know. I can't imagine Rafe still wants that and JJ is here so.." I reply.

Sarah laughs a little at that. "His problem for not coming." She shrugs. I can't tell her that he begged me to stay.

I look up again as Terrance walks off, and Cleo pats me on the shoulder. "We've got this, guys." She says, smiling at us as she walks down towards the truck behind the older man. "And remember what I told you, girls."

Me and Sarah nod and share a look, remembering what she told us about not trusting captain T. He stays two steps ahead, so she says, so we'll stay three. We hope. Well, we'll try.

JJ gives her a salute as they slam the truck doors and drive off down the road a little bit. "What? What did she tell you?" JJ asks as soon as they're gone.

"Don't trust the captain." I tell him, looking up at him where he stands just next to me.

"Well, alright then." He says, nodding as he contemplates my statement. "Here, sit." He adds, sliding his hoodie off his shoulders and placing it on the ground behind me.

I smile and ignore how my cheeks heat up as I sit down on my makeshift blanket, waiting now for the sun to rise.

"What are we gonna do with all this gold, anyway?" Sarah asks after a few minutes of silence.

"I dunno." John B responds, picking apart a leave he pulled off a nearby plant. "Maybe get a new boat, pay some bills, get a good lawyer for my murder trial. Who knows?"

"I'm gonna pay my restitution, then travel the world, follow the wind, surf in every ocean and on the best waves in the world." JJ sighs, laying back next to me and crossing his arms behind his head. "What about you, Snow?"

I think about that for a second. I really don't know. My gut tells me to buy my family a new home, a nice one, on the cut, but that doesn't feel right. Maybe I should be a little more selfish with it, get a new car and take off and drive back to BC just to see it again. Just because I can. "I think I'll buy a van, like the Twinkie, and drive back up to BC. Just for fun."

"Can I come?" JJ asks and I nod, glancing over at him.

"BC has some great surfing spots, that's what I've heard." I smile.

"What about Rafe?" Sarah asks, and I avoid eye contact with JJ.

"Uh-"

"Who gives a shit about him?" JJ cuts me off, shuffling beside me.

"J, come on..." I sigh a little, covering my face with my hands and letting out a sigh.

"What? You're not together anymore anyways. I doubt he'll be your biggest fan if he finds out you stole half a billion dollars from his dad."

"I'm not talking about him right now." I shake my head. Silence falls over the four of us at that. I feel sick about the whole thing. I feel sick because I miss him, because I hurt him and I know that. Part of me hopes he'll forgive me, but I'm afraid that will only be at the cost of my friendship with JJ.

We all jump when the phone rings after a what must be a few minutes. "Are we moving?" John B answers, putting it on speaker immediately as we all sit up to listen.

"They got a truck and two defenders." Stubbs says, and I look nervously over at JJ who still looks tense. We figured Ward would hire security, but now it's feeling very real.

"But just my dad in the truck with the gold, right?" Sarah asks.

"It's two in the truck." He responds.

"Two?" John B mumbles, looking around at us confused.

"Rafe." Sarah mumbles.

"Rafe?" I repeat, my heart dropping into my stomach suddenly. JJ pushes himself up quickly and tries to pace to vent his frustration in the small opening we've made in the cornfield.

"It's gonna be fine, Snow." John B whispers to me.

"Two defenders, front and back." Stubbs continues as we all internally panic.

"Are they armed?" John B asks.

"To the teeth."

John B loads the gun he was given, looking out to the road while I try and bargain with the dread building in my gut about seeing Rafe again.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･

taglist:@boo22sstuff, @madelynie, @username5786451, @peachprairie, @slut4drudy @sadfury, @mutual-mendes, @cecesrings, @winterrrnight,  @bookishbabyyy, @s-we-e-t-t-ea, @tahliac11, @obxdude, @maybankslover , @redhead1180 , @suzyheartsrafe , (i also tagged some mutuals so message me or reply if you want to be added (or removed!!))

[alterrune]

New Message Sender: Albert To ColorStreak Battalion, I have finished scanning Shadow Laurence's dungeon within the Midnight Channel. Loading Details, Standby.... loading finished. Shadow Laurence's Dungeon: Decaying Security Base A twisted recreation of the Zulu Security Base, the shadows inhabiting the base take the form of Zulu Security Members roaming and protecting the base from any potential threats. Shadow Laurence resides inside his office, you must make your way through the base to the office to confront him. There are multiple traps set up in the base such as turrets, shock traps, mines, spikes, and security doors that will activate if your presence is found. I will reload the details of the ColorStreak Battalions spirits if you need a refresher: https://www.tumblr.com/alterrune/670571707328823296/sir-we-just-finished-development-of-4-of-our?source=share GEOGRAM is doing whatever they can to handle Terence Suave and the Toppat Radicals, but Laurence and Lily must resolve their conflicts with their Shadows, otherwise the Shadows will continue to interfere with Operations Emperors Abyss. I will be the navigator for you all once you enter the dungeon. The Midnight Channel is open to Shadow Laurence's Dungeon, Good Luck. - Albert

Alright, everyone, on the count of 3.

(The 5 of us are ready to dive into the TV.)

One...two...THREE!

(On my signal, the 5 of us jump into the TV. Upon entering, we fall into an area that seems to be covered in fog.)

Kyle, we all can't see shit. What's going on?

Ah, crap, that's right! I forgot about the fog!

TEDDIE?! Dude, it's been ages! How've you been?

(Teddie hands me 4 pairs of glasses, one red, one purple, one blue, and one pink. I put each of them on the respective CSB members' heads, then put a black pair on my own face.)

Whoa! What are these?

Specialty glasses to help make the fog a non-issue. Courtesy of this little teddy bear over here.

GAH! Is that thing a shadow?

A FRIENDLY one. I met him shortly after getting Maggy-Izzy. Teddie, you think you can sniff out the location of two particular shadows for us? Names are Laurence Burnway and Lily Burnway.

Uh...Kyle? Quick question: Do you think we can trust Teddie's nose on this?

We don't exactly think he can actually sniff them out.

I agree with Teddie, guys.

Wait...didn't Albert say he'd be our navigator?

Why are we trusting Teddie, then?

Because I know where the dungeon is, but not the way there.

GAH! Wait, Albert?! How are you on my phone screen?

I am actually still in the GEOGRAM base. This is so I can keep watch on you all and make sure this mission goes according to plan.

Alright, fair. And Teddie is good in a fight, so it's good to have him.

Just try to ignore the constant slew of bear puns, though. Anyways, lead the way, Teddie!

(We all then follow Teddie to the dungeon. It's huge and just as imposing as Albert described.)

Teddie, Shadow Laurence is at the top floor, I presume?

Hey, one of two ain't bad, Teddie. You still did the job you were tasked to do.

Exactly. Now then, everyone? We have a shadow to beat.

(We all start to rush into the building before I suddenly remember what Albert said.)

WAIT! Albert, you said this place was trapped, correct?

Indeed. As I stated earlier, there are turrets, shock traps, mines, spikes, and security doors that will activate if your presense is found. While I believe being stealthy is not an option here, it would be wise to take care of any enemies if they spot you as to ensure they don't alarm the others.

Thought so. Let's not do our whole "storm in hard and loud" routine this time, guys. Let's just head into the area calmly.

You got it, Kyle.

Let's do this. You coming, Teddie?

(We all enter the building after hearing Teddie's words of encouragement. Get ready, Shadow Laurence, we're coming for you!)

[angelofrainfrogs]

Going Back: Ch. 4

~Coauthored by @zeitghest~

Fandom(s): Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach

Description: Things are looking up for Gregory. After putting the soul of a formerly-immortal killer to rest, he and his new family can finally begin their lives anew. Sure, Gregory might have been cursed with mysterious Remnant in exchange for being involved in this mess—not to mention his caretakers consist of sentient robots and ghosts… But there’s no doubt that the bond they share is unbreakable. They love him, and he in turn. 

All in all, life is finally starting to go right for once. 

…Unfortunately, true peace is a hard-won battle. There are other things to contend with besides William’s decrepit soul, and Gregory will learn that his role in the lives of the Aftons and Emilys is far greater than anyone could’ve imagined. 

Rating: T

Read on Ao3

The pair traveled back up to surface level, picking up the pace the closer they got to their friends. When they emerged into the beautiful overhead lights of the atrium, Michael called Sammy on his walkie and asked to meet in Monty's room. He assumed Freddy and Gregory were still hanging out there, as they hadn't heard anything to the contrary.

Sure enough, they caught sight of the gator through the window, talking animatedly with Freddy and Gregory who laughed at his latest anecdote. To Michael's great relief, Gregory seemed much more at ease with the oversized robot. Knocking on the glass to get their attention, Mike waved when the trio looked his way. “Hey, guys! Let us in? Sammy's on his way over, too.”

“What's the password?” Gregory called through the thick panel of glass that separated them. He rose from his crisscross position on the ground, excited to see other company after listening to the robots getting reacquainted for who knows how long.

“There is no password, you little ding-dong!” Charlie laughed, watching as Gregory giggled before throwing open the door.

“Was your mission a success?” Freddy asked, standing from the couch as Charlie and Michael funneled into the room.

“Sure was,” Mike said with a nod and a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. “We found two more 'friends' that were apparently hanging around since Charlie's initial call the other night... they're with the others now, so no worries.”

“Oh... I see.” Freddy looked to the ground, giving the lost souls a moment of somber silence before perking back up. “Well, as long as they are being taken care of, then I am sure they will be alright. Gregory and I have been having a wonderful time with Monty!” He patted the gator's arm, and Monty grinned down at the newcomers with claws on his hips.

“Heck yeah we have!” the gator agreed heartily, letting out a loud laugh. “Gregory's a plucky lil' squirt—I like 'im!”

“As I knew you would,” Freddy chuckled, gazing between the gator and his son with a fond smile.

Gregory seemed to thrive in the praise. Where there was once animosity between him and the nearly seven foot tall gator, he was beginning to feel a bit of a soft spot for the guy again. As far as the remaining animatronics went, Monty was a close second to his favorite. 

“Hold the door! I’m coming!” Behind the androids, the hurried shuffles of the CEO could be heard.

“Hey—” Samuel huffed, fixing his crooked glasses as he leaned into the doorway “—how’s everything going, guys?”

“Good—we've got one more piece sorted out, and one less thing for you to worry about,” Michael assured, grinning at his old friend. “We just came to pick you three up, actually—we're ready to show you the basement surprise Charlie mentioned earlier if you're ready to see it, Sam.”

Freddy visibly brightened at Michael's words, excited to see Henry and the other kids again. He peered up at Monty, offering him a fist to bump. “I believe that is our cue to leave. I will return as soon as I can; try to stay out of trouble, will you?”

“HA! No promises, Fredbear!” Monty cackled, returning the gesture. The comical difference in the sizes of their hands only made him laugh more, and Freddy shook his head affectionately. It was so nice to have his old friend back in action and returned to his proper self.

If Freddy felt this relieved from Monty being offline for only a few nights, he couldn't imagine what it must've felt like for Charlie and Michael to see each other again after so many years. It made his heart simultaneously warm and achy to think of.

Charlie seemed to empathetically cling to that same ideal. When she found out that Mike had been the one to save her from the ruins of the old pizzeria, her heart simultaneously broke and soared at the same time. Her one true friend had been the soul to help her, and in turn, she helped him. She could see that similar bond between Freddy and Monty. Though their parting was bittersweet, they’d all see each other again soon.

Gregory waited by Freddy, and in a sign of good faith, raised his hand to bump Monty’s fist. He couldn’t blame the gator for what that virus made him. Like the others, all he wanted at his core was to have fun.

“I gotta go visit my other friends but we’ll see you later, Alligator!” Gregory joked, giving the bassist a genuine smile.

“See ya around, squirt!” Monty replied, pressing Gregory’s knuckles against his own. His tail, previously laying still against the floor, slowly swished side to side in poorly-contained glee. Monty was over the moon that the kid was no longer terrified of him and hoped his loving—but comparatively stricter—dad would let Gregory out of his sight someday so they could have some real fun.

Once all partings were done, Freddy slipped his hand into Gregory’s as they followed the others. Charlie took the lead this time, with Michael and Sammy side-by-side behind her. As they walked, Mike nudged Sammy’s shoulder with a smirk.

“So we hear you’ve got a secret helper who brought up some animatronics for you,” he began, trying to keep his tone nonchalant. Same as Charlie, Michael was so curious to know what a note from Ennard was like, let alone how Sammy was faring with everything.

Sam brightened at this. The fact he had some competent worker who’d been willing to both locate and lug all of his heavy equipment up the freight elevator and into Parts & Service had sent him over the moon. Good help was hard to find… but then again, he couldn't afford to pay more than minimum wage until recently.

“Yes!” he answered, sighing in relief. “I couldn't really... Read the letter they wrote on my office desk, but I got the important parts.” He laughed off the oddity with a wave of his hand. “Thanks to them, I predict the Glamrocks will be up and running before the week's end! That, and the new additions I plan to add...”

After all, those robots were a part of his new business deal. Fresh characters always brought in bigger profit margins. If Sammy added them at the right times during the season, then they could get the second Pizzaplex built in the next decade.

The happy look on his face only faltered when Charlie asked Michael: “Are you going to tell him, or should I?”

“Um, yeah, so... that wasn't actually a new employee who brought the animatronics up,” Michael began, his smile slipping into a grimace. “It's... ugh, how do I explain this thing... Well, first off, their name is Ennard.”

When Michael paused again, Freddy decided to interject, quickly catching onto the situation. “Ennard is an allied animatronic that has been helping us most of the weekend. It sounds like they still wanted to assist where they can?” He tilted his head questioningly, to which Michael nodded.

“Yes—okay, so this is going to sound really weird, but they're actually four different bots melded together,” Michael tried to explain. His brow creased and he held up his hand, counting his fingers silently. “Er... maybe three? Depends on if you consider BonBon a separate entity.”

He huffed a sigh, realizing he'd spent far too long debating the finer details of the amalgamation. He looked back to Sam, feeling bad for confusing him even more.

"Do you remember that Funtime animatronic line William tried to start up a while ago? That's what Ennard is—all of them combined into one robot except Circus Baby. They're... probably going to pop out of the vents at some point; trust me, you'll know if you see them.”

That... didn't seem like it would work, realistically? Samuel had studied the Funtime blueprints a long time ago, and while many of their functions seemed vestigial, including an extending ice cream scoop that came from Circus Baby’s stomach, their programming would simply clash too much to form a functioning robot.

Sam rubbed his neck as he listened, then jumped high and bumped into his sister at the feeling of something wrapping around his leg.

“OH—Christ!” he yelped, shaking off the metal tendril that seemed to affectionately curl around his calf.

“IT WAS ME. HI,” stated the cacophony of four broken voice boxes speaking together in unison. “HELLO, PIZZARIA OWNER. HELLO, LITTLE MIKEY AND FREDDY... WE MISSED YOU GUYS...”

Charlie caught her brother as he clutched his chest with a tight fist, breathing hard as he got over the initial shock of being touched in the dim lighting.

“Ennard—” Gregory laughed, trying to make it seem less of a big deal than it really was. “—you scared Mr. Sam!”

“OUR BAD...,” they replied apologetically, receding back towards the vents with their many moving appendages.

“See?! You're freaky!” Michael exclaimed a big smugly, happy to prove his point from earlier. To Sam, he added: “I worked in their storage facility and they, um... got... attached to me. Charlie and I found them again in the basement a few nights ago, and now they won't leave me alone.”

He shot a glare into the dark corner, where a tendril was steadily inching its way back to Michael's foot. Instead of trying to kick it Mike simply kept walking, knowing it was pointless to waste energy on such a gesture.

“Hello, Ennard!” Freddy said with a bright wave, completely opposing to Michael's sullen pout. “Thank you for helping Sam with the animatronics. Have things been alright during our absence?”

“WE... MADE A... FRIEND,” they replied slowly, as if self-conscious. Still, they were proud of this feat. Despite Michael's warnings not to leave the vents, they had snuck out into the Daycare and found the friendliest robot—someone who rivaled Ennard in height and with a bubbly personality. “WE WANTED TO COME AND SEE... HOW YOU ARE ALL DO—DOING...”

After his initial fright, Samuel had found this animatronic fascinating from a scientific standpoint. “Oh, you have a short in your voice box. I could fix that for you... It's the least I could do for helping us out!”

Ennard shook their head, somewhat afraid of the attention.

“NO... WE WON'T NEED THIS BODY FOR LONG... THANK YO-U.” They spoke decisively, and in as polite of a tone they could muster through their intimidating static.

Michael whipped around, causing Charlie to run into him as his eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

“What?! What does that mean?!” he hissed. “Ennard, what the fuck does that mean?!”

“Michael...?” Freddy began hesitantly, and the man's gaze shifted to his.

“Ah, shit—I mean, crap. Ugh. Sorry, Freddy,” he apologized weakly, then ran a hand through his hair. “I don't like when they say things like that...”

Michael just had to remind himself that Ennard was smart enough not to try to that organ-removing tactic again in order to get a new body... At least, he hoped that was the case. Still, it didn't hurt to advise Sammy: “Hey, try to keep people away from the vents for a little longer, okay? For my sake.”

This raised alarm bells with Samuel, primarily because he couldn't have anyone else getting hurt. Not only were people’s lives at stake, but this could all come crashing down and ruin him financially.

“WE WILL NOT HURT ANYONE—IT'S A SURPRISE—Surprise!” Ennard rejoiced, voice seeming to fade away as they crawled backwards into the winding ventilation system.

After all, they couldn't have Michael finding out their plans! Being able to watch over and keep him safe to make up for all those years of torment they caused meant they’d have to be at liberty to leave the Pizzaplex. This couldn't be achieved given their current size and stature.

“You better be good, Ennard, got it?” Charlie remarked in an attempt to lightly threaten, though the intent was all but lost to Ennard who only saw Charlie as the harmless, plucky friend of Michael's. She let out a sigh, gripping Mike’s shoulder in to ground him to the present. “Why don't you go hang out with your new friend? We'll catch up with you later.”

At the dismissal, the group watched as Ennard's spaghetti-like limbs retracted back into the darker recesses of the air duct.

“Oh... That's... Neat...,” Samuel murmured, concern rife in his face and high-pitched voice. “Note to self: We'll hire outside contractors for air duct maintenance...”

And maybe add an NDA to the hiring process.

Michael sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand while patting Charlie's reassuring grip on his shoulder with the other. If Ennard said they wouldn't hurt anyone, Michael had to believe them. It wasn't like he had much choice in the matter, anyway...

“...Perhaps we should continue on,” Freddy suggested after a moment of silence, to which the others heartily agreed and began making their way deeper into the basement.

***

Henry heard an approaching commotion in the hallway and had been frantically tidying up his workshop. He'd managed to convince all the kids but Evan and Liz to go play in another room, effectively keeping them out of the way for what was sure to be an interesting visit. The younger Aftons were still nearby in his workshop, yet again playing with the charging pod that served as the place of their father's demise—it seemed like they'd grown attached to the thing in a dark sort of way. As footsteps approached the door, Henry moved to open it. He was initially greeted by Michael's now-smiling face, then Charlie next to him, and just behind them—

“Hi, Sammy,” Henry breathed, his voice mildly choked with emotion at the sight of his son looking quite a bit older than when they'd last met.

Michael turned to place a hand on Sammy's back, still smiling as he proclaimed: “Surprise!”

Samuel's mouth hung open. Him, too? His father's soul must’ve been trapped here since the fire—

It was Sam's wishes that they completely buried the old Diner below the Pizzaplex. A fitting gesture, Sammy thought, as the firemen told him on that fateful night that they never could definitively say they retrieved the remains of Henry's body.

After adjusting his glasses, Samuel would see it wasn't a trick of the light, and that his father was here, tangible—but almost shrouded by a dream-like haze that made Sam squint as he petered forward. Moving towards the old ghost, Sammy wordlessly left Michael's hand to touch the air before falling forward against his father.

“Hey, Dad...,” Sam muttered into Henry's shoulder as he tried his best to keep from shaking.

“Hey,” Henry breathed into Sammy's hair, holding him close. He could feel his son trying hard to keep his emotions in check and was thankful that he could interact with him enough to offer comfort. “I'm sorry I left you without saying goodbye; I'll explain everything when you're ready to hear it, I just... I couldn't bear it if you tried to stop me and got caught up in all of this, too.”

Out of all the Afton and Emily children, Sammy was the only one to make it unscathed past his twenties—physically, at least. Yes, Michael was still around for quite a while after the scooping incident, but it was debatable to call that living... It was a marvel, a blessing, and a curse that Sammy had come out of their traumatic past with his body and mind more or less intact, and Henry knew he couldn't chance that by telling Sam his plan to end William once and for all.

It'd worked out for the better in the end, since William did not disappear as planned from the fire. If Sammy hadn't been around to create the Pizzaplex, William's software would have simply found its way into a different establishment far away from the only ones who could send him to permanent hell. Really, Sammy's decision to make this a “gravesite” for his father was fate at its best.

Sam was content to rest in the strong hold of his dad. It was funny—hugging him always made him feel like a kid, finding the times he’d been hugged the most was when he was young. Henry's embrace was kind and nostalgic; it made him happy. The first time in a long time Sam felt like things were going to be alright, and that he wasn't simply a bobbing head struggling above endless crashing waves.

Sam felt Charlie squeezing in, murmuring, “Hey, scoot over guys...,” as she quietly inserted herself alongside her twin. As Sammy tucked her against him, years of survivor’s guilt and pain were slowly left to be forgotten among William's ashes scattered around the basement.

While Sam and Henry caught up, Freddy noticed the Afton kids and decided to take Gregory over and say hello, giving the newly-reunited family a few seconds of privacy. Gregory was alright with leaving the Emily's to rekindle. After all, his friends were waiting for him! Gregory had a feeling he knew where they were, too. Silver eyes pierced the darkness, scanning watchfully for movement.

“Hey!” he shouted, wondering if they were playing a game as he wandered into the shadows by the charging pod. “Are you guys hiding? Helloooo?”

A set of deep brown eyes peered out of the porthole, watching Gregory stalk closer. Evan sat on Lizzie's shoulders, needing the height boost so they could lay in wait for their prey. They'd hoped to prank Michael first, but Gregory would do just fine. When the boy was close enough, Evan gave the signal by tapping Lizzie's shoulder, prompting her to throw open the charging pod door and burst out with a shriek.

“BOO!” Evan shouted, arms outstretched as the pair landed directly in Gregory's path, Lizzie clutching her brother’s legs so he didn't fall off.

“AHHH!” Gregory let out a short shriek, arms outstretched as he jumped and made this odd, pseudo-karate movement that ended with him lightly ‘chopping’ Liz in the shoulder.

“You guys!” Gregory breathed out, laughing. “You don’t have to scare me every time I come down here!” Though Evan stacked neatly on top of Elizabeth’s shoulders had given him an idea. “…Can I get in on this totem pole?”

With a bright, happy gaze, Elizabeth beamed at him.

“Totally! Climb on up!” she laughed, bracing herself as Gregory attempted to climb both their shoulders.

“Boy did I miss you two,” Henry admitted over by the workbench, then pressed a firm kiss to the tops of his children's heads before finally letting them go. He flashed Charlie a smile before focusing on Sammy, looking him up and down with a hearty chuckle. “Well, well... you're a chip off the old block, huh?”

It was crazy how Sammy mirrored his father more so in the way he held himself than by looks alone. Yes, there was definitely a resemblance between the men, Henry's body now frozen in time a bit closer to Sammy's current age. But Sam also had a bit of Charlie in him, which in turn meant their mother's features showed through as well. Yet to anyone that saw the family together, there would be no mistaking that Henry was indeed Sammy's dad through and through.

“M-Me?” Samuel sounded genuinely surprised at this, sounding nervous and prideful at the same time. “You really think so…?”

Charlie gave her brother a sideways glance, laughing as she asked him: “Sammy, you own a mirror at home, right? Especially with the reading glasses and robotics hobby, man; you're like a mini-Dad.”

“I guess I sort of forgot—it’s been awhile since I’ve had anyone older than me pinching my cheeks and telling me ‘Oh, you look just like your father!’” Sam gave a well-meaning chuckle, fixing the rim of his glasses to adjust from where he'd pressed his face into Henry’s shoulder.

“But you do!” Michael insisted, reenacting Sammy’s words and stepping closer to pinch his cheek with a wicked cackle. “Look at this face!”

“Michael, leave him be!” Henry laughed, playfully smacking the android’s hand away so he couldn’t harass Sammy any further. A far cry from when Mike was young, it was clear that his bothersome actions were only meant in jest.

Sammy’s embarrassment was minimal, though his face grew a wide smirk when Michael pinched his cheeks. He affectionately raised his arm and locked it around the back of Mike’s neck in a playful gesture. There, Samuel would go on to converse and question with his father and completely ignoring the indignant cries of protest from his old friend.

It was odd, reacquainting yourself with people you swore you knew your whole life. For instance, Charlie had been trapped in a puppet for decades—which would’ve been nice to know before Samuel went to make fun of said robot for years after Charlie’s death, cursing its oddly terrifying mask for not saving his sister that fateful day…

While this wholesome emotional bonding was taking place, a more physical display was happening on the other side of the room as Gregory clambered up the Afton kids to complete their totem pole. Using Lizzie’s body as a stable base, Evan helped Gregory get situated on his shoulders, holding his legs just as Lizzie grasped his. Freddy, who’d been watching the trio intently after Gregory’s initial scare, finally stepped in to add his two cents to the situation.

“Please be careful, you three…,” he advised, eyebrows creased in worry as he looked up at Gregory, now towering a few inches above him. Evan had been so focused on scaring and then subsequently helping Gregory, he hadn’t realized the red-headed android was even standing nearby until he spoke up.

“Whoa—Freddy, you look so cool!” Evan exclaimed, instantly recognizing Freddy’s voice despite its lack of mechanical feedback. Evan then flashed Gregory an upside down grin. “So did you guys actually get to leave and hang out somewhere else for a while?”

He figured they must’ve if it took them this long to visit, although the concept of stepping foot outside a Fazbear Entertainment establishment was still foreign to the boy trapped there the longest. As her brother mused on life outside, Liz carefully walked to show off the stack they had going. The android body left Liz with more stability than ever before.

“Dude! We live in a hotel and they have a POOL!” Gregory answered, like it was the coolest thing ever. “And an arcade. Just ask Mike; I kicked his butt at Mortal Kombat!”

He held a sense of pride at this. Michael would need a lot more practice if he wanted to get better than Gregory at fighting games.

Liz would laugh with a snarky, “Oh, I believe it,” as she paraded them slowly towards Freddy’s side. She got a better look at him, and decided his new form suited the robot’s kind and demure attitude.

To Gregory’s credit, Evan did think living in a hotel with those sorts of amenities sounded pretty cool.

“That’s awesome!” he exclaimed, trying to remember what it was like to swim in a pool. Their parents would always take them to the local community one when they could, although summertime with kids out of school also meant a welcome uptick in business for the restaurants.

William had been ecstatic when Michael got old enough to take Liz and Evan by himself, shoving a few extra dollars in the eldest Afton’s pocket to make up for him being appointed babysitter. Smiling at the good memories of hot summer days and ice-cold popsicles, Evan looked over towards his brother. He instantly tensed upon seeing an unfamiliar face, though as he squinted to get a better look he let out a little gasp.

“Is that Sammy?!” he asked incredulously, taking in the similarities between this man and his Uncle Henry. Even before receiving an answer, Evan knew his guess was correct simply based on the equivalent tones of the men’s laughter as they reminisced.

“It is!” Freddy confirmed with a soft smile. He glanced to the group, making sure they’d calmed from their initial meeting before adding: “You should go and say hello. I know he would love to see you both, too.”

“Yeah! Onwards!” Evan commanded, kicking his feet to start Lizzie moving again. Unfortunately this counterbalanced Gregory on his shoulders, but with quick action from Freddy their tower stayed upright and intact. Evan laughed an apology, and then they started the careful walk towards the Emily’s and Michael.

“Woah—” Lizzie gasped, giggling at how old their friend was now. With Freddy’s help, the totem pole made their way to Samuel. The kids called to him, and Gregory waved to garner his attention.

“Sammy Emily!” Elizabeth shouted, making their friend jump.

When he saw the Afton kids stuck in time, it gave Sammy a feeling he couldn’t describe. There was an intense happiness, followed immediately after by a pitting and hollow depression.

Look at how young they were, tortured for years from what he heard of Charlie’s account...

But Sam resigned himself to serenity, as their pain had seemingly ended and the smiles he loved so long ago had returned to their faces.

“Guys—” he replied instinctively, unaware of the tears falling from the corners of his eyes. “—you’re both here!”

And Liz was a lot stronger than he remembered! Though it was owed to the animatronic body she paraded around, he surmised.

“I just can’t seem to get rid of them,” Michael chimed in with a dramatic roll of his eyes, though there was nothing but affection behind his words. He moved forward to disassemble the totem pole when he saw the telltale wobbling of Evan’s bottom lip. Honestly, Mike was amazed his brother hadn’t cried even more during their last few encounters, though he reasoned Evan was probably still getting over the shock of the whole situation just like everyone else. However, now there were all-too-familiar tears running down his face, although this time they were from happiness.

"Sorry, Sammy,” Evan apologized, wiping ectoplasmic snot from his nose and giving Sam a little grin as Mike set him on solid ground. “I-It’s good to see you; Lizzie and I missed you a whole lot!”

Samuel was wiping his cheeks, trying to remove his own evidence of how much he truly missed this little group.

“No! Really, don’t be sorry guys!” he began to say, and when he felt Elizabeth hug his side, he was sure that he was going to burst into his own tears again.

Sam was relieved that despite everything, they weren’t mad he'd survived. He wanted so badly to grow old with those around him, imagining often what they could’ve been if given a chance at life… That was too painful, so instead he focused on the now.

“The only thing you all need to be sorry for is not finding me earlier!” he said, sniffling heavily. “I… I really missed all of you so much. Thank you…”

“No, thank you!” Liz replied, gaining Sam’s full attention. “You built this place; it's like a whole amusement park! Now all the ghosts can actually have fun!”

Liz promised not to mention it, but Cassidy may have been breaking the rules. She was hanging out in the attractions upstairs with the three new kids, but Elizabeth swore she wouldn’t speak a word if no one asked. Still, she assumed Samuel would be fine allowing them to mingle with the regulars upstairs from time to time. After all, they seemed normal enough when you didn’t pay close attention to the wavering outlines of their spectral forms.

“Yeah, this place seems so cool!” Evan agreed, knowing this to be true from the stories both Gregory and Cassidy regaled him with. He also knew Cassidy and the other ghosts probably weren’t supposed to leave the basement… But though Evan might be a scaredy-cat, he wasn’t a snitch.

“Well, maybe one night soon we can take you guys up top,” Michael suggested, looking to Henry and Sam with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m sure we can make something work—if it’s alright with Sammy, of course,” Henry deferred, patting his son’s shoulder. “We'll figure out the details later."

Samuel beamed at this. He could definitely make it work. "All of you are welcome above ground! Please, help yourselves to the attractions and toys.” 

No one could complain about that arrangement. Satisfied at the prospect of exploring another time, Evan turned his attention go Gregory. He slipped his hands around Gregory's arm and shook it lightly. “Hey, are you staying for a while? You wanna play together?”

The adults shared a look, before Freddy responded: “Go ahead; we will call you when it is time to leave.”

When they’d collectively given Gregory the permission to hang around, he laced his arm through Evan's. “Let's go!”

Who knew when they were going to cut their meeting short and take Gregory away from his new friends? Lizzie followed where the two boys ran, speeding into the darkness with the energy that only excitable kids like them had.

“And BE CAREFUL, DARN IT!” Charlie called, hoping the voices she heard call back where that of their acknowledgement. The kids must’ve really been itching to hang out together. “That was fast—sorry they didn't stay longer, Sammy!”

Charlie apologized for them, but Sam waved his hand dismissively.

“I'm sure it won't be the last time I see them. Besides, I'm just glad I have you guys to hang out with. Plus—Dad.” Samuel pointed to Freddy and his android form. “I just want to say, this engineering is nearly flawless. How on earth did you achieve all this?!”

Henry gave a hearty laugh and clapped Freddy amiably on the back. The redhead gazed serenely down at the group, looking utterly content now that both families were together again.

“The androids?” Henry began, crossing his arms over his chest. “Those took a lot of time—I still don’t think they’re perfect, but as long as you’re all happy then I suppose I can be as well.” There was a murmuring of acknowledgment from the three robots, to which Henry grinned. “As for Freddy’s personality… that was all you and Mike.”

He hadn’t even fathomed the idea of a throwback 80s Glamrock line of animatronics, but Henry had to admit it was brilliant. Even more so amazing were the robotic AIs themselves; the old mechanic was so curious to see what the others were like without the influence of a human soul. From what he’d heard about them, his awe would likely be on par with how Sam felt about Freddy right now.

“Okay, but seriously, Uncle Henry—these bodies are astounding,” Michael said, his excitement palpable as he was finally able to talk about this topic in depth. “I’m not a huge fan of the bleeding, but I get why you made us that way—it’s to keep all the mechanisms lubricated, right? Less manual oiling of the joints?”

“Correct.” Henry grimaced, remembering the matted crimson state of Michael’s hair the other night. “I wanted to avoid you needing regular touch-ups as much as possible, so I developed the fake ‘blood’. Plus, it adds to the lifelike quality of the skin.”

It was strange for Michael to hear his current body spoken of like a machine, but that’s all it was in the end. Which begged another question that’d been on his mind since the other day: “So… how did you make it so we can eat?”

There was a moment of silence where Henry’s face fell into a confused, slightly mortified expression. As reckless as Michael could be, he thought the eldest Afton would at least have enough sense not to put human food into a robotic body—he’d seen firsthand the damage it’d caused Chica over the years.

“Are... Are you telling me you’ve been eating actual food? As in, the stuff that Sammy needs to live?!” Henry eventually asked, looking to Charlie for clarity.

Charlie shared a look between her friends before slowly glancing back towards her dad.

“Y... Yes?” she answered, unsure if that was a bad thing or not. “We had hot wings yesterday—are we not supposed to be eating?”

Well, now Charlie was somewhat worried about the quality and conditions of their new bodies. Should they mess them up somehow, Charlie would hate to have to put Michael or herself back into the character vessels or free-floating ether; not when they only had a touch of freedom and happiness. And last thing she wanted is to walk around and smell of rotting food or breakdown in front of someone... Surely that would be traumatizing for anyone to witness.

“I mean—why else would you give us taste buds?” she continued, looking to Freddy and Michael, wanting to make sure it wasn't just her who was able to savor the deliciousness of their food from the other day.

Henry opened his mouth to protest that he did no such thing, but the looks on Charlie and Michael’s faces gave him pause. He glanced at Freddy, noting the same expression of confusion creasing his brows.

“Freddy… did you eat something, too?” Henry asked incredulously.

“Yes; I had a cheeseburger with all the fixin’s,” the former animatronic replied honestly. “But if it is any consolation, I do not feel any distress from consuming physical matter as I did in my old body.”

There had been only one time Freddy was persuaded to try a slice of pizza when in his original form. In a rare moment of everyone ganging up against their band leader, Roxy, Chica, and Monty wouldn’t give Freddy a second of peace until they’d all taken at least one bite of the greasy pie. Freddy had regretted it instantly, feeling the heavy wrongness of a foreign object trying to work its way through his inner mechanics. However, he hadn’t felt anything like that when consuming the burger—in fact, he’d felt unexpectedly satisfied.

“…Huh.” Henry took off his glasses and wiped the lenses on his shirt, trying to fathom what the hell was happening. “I think, as per usual, there are things going on here far out of my control… I’d prefer to check one of you out to make sure nothing’s messing with your systems, but if everything looks good after that I suppose you can indulge every once in a while…”

“I volunteer to be examined,” Freddy offered, raising a hand and flashing the group a reassuring smile. “I am used to having technicians working around my internal mechanisms.”

He certainly wasn’t about to subject Michael and Charlie to being opened up so Henry could root around in their stomachs—they’d been through enough traumatic events already.

“Thanks, Freddy; can you hang back for a little bit whenever you all decide to go upstairs again?” Henry asked, patting Freddy’s shoulder appreciatively. The redhead nodded, trusting Michael and Charlie to watch over Gregory while they were apart.

Now more than ever did Henry resemble a doctor as opposed to a mechanic. Maybe it just seemed that way to Charlie due to their recent re-personification. Whatever the reason, Charlie smiled despite the worry that something may be wrong with their inner cogs and mechanisms. She absently laid a hand over her stomach, thoroughly investigating the robot's idle hard drive for errors. With nothing out of the ordinary popping out at her, she hoped if something was wrong, it was just a minor issue.

Samuel, who’d been intently listening to their experiences, had perked up at the chance to witness the inner workings of these robots.

“Would you mind if I stay behind, too?” Samuel wondered curiously. He didn't know how secretive Henry was about his creations nowadays, but Samuel was hoping to create more realistic human characters in the future.

“I do not have an issue with that,” Freddy readily agreed. Since the day he was powered on he’d been subjected to hundreds of tests and safety checks of varying levels of invasiveness, both planned and at random. Freddy was used to this sort of attention from multiple people at a time, so having Sammy tag along was nothing he hadn’t experienced before. Besides, Freddy would never deny his creators the opportunity to work with him if they thought it best—though it was certainly nice of Henry and Sammy to ask first.

“I don’t either,” Henry assured, wrapping an arm around Sammy’s shoulders. He beamed with paternal pride, excited to see how his son would respond to such an advanced machine. Hell, he’d even be willing to let Sammy fiddle with anything that needed adjustment, if he was up for it.

And Freddy, too—Henry had to remind himself that the former bear was basically a human now, and though he was blessed with an amenable personality, he still deserved the right to his own free will.

“I… think I’ll sit this one out, if that’s cool,” Michael said quietly, his face a mixture of tentative intrigue. Yes, he definitely wanted to see how these bodies worked, just… not right now. Thinking of what else they could do while Freddy was incapacitated, he recalled Sammy mentioning there was one more animatronic up and running besides Monty. “Maybe Charlie and I can take Gregory to visit the Daycare? If he’s willing to go without his dad, of course.”

Michael gave a soft laugh, glancing to where the kids had long-since disappeared into the darkness to play.

Charlie smiled at this. She’d almost forgot they still needed to visit the sunny Daycare attendant. She felt bad for leaving the freshly-made friend in there to the proverbial wolves and wanted check up on them. With Moon certainly having calmed down with the removal of that nasty glitch, Charlie could finally get his perspective on the situation, too. 

“Great idea! Gregory—time to go!” Charlie turned towards the diner, cupping her hands around her mouth. “Gregory! Where are you, buddy?”

After a moment of no response, she bit her lip and began worrying the faux skin around her nailbeds. “Uh—Mike, I think that's our cue to start looking for him.”

While the threat of Gregory dying was severely lessened, he could still get hurt. So Charlie would always worry about her little brother to some extent.

“I’m telling you—those two are double trouble! And don't get me started on Lizzie…,” Michael muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets as he moved towards the darkness. “Gregory, where’d you guys run off to?”

“We’ll hang tight until you find them,” Henry said, shifting his weight to slouch casually to one side. He wasn’t very concerned with Gregory getting hurt, for he knew as long as the kids stayed in the designated area he’d told them to stay in, they shouldn’t come across anything that could potentially cause harm. Whether they would actually listen to Henry’s instructions was another story entirely, though… So he thought it best to stick around just in case.

Freddy remained by Henry’s side, though he did call out for his son in hopes that his voice might prompt Gregory to respond more than his older brother’s did. “Alright, superstar, it is time to go!”

Little did they know that Gregory and the others had taken to exploring the very site of Henry and Michael's last business venture: the burned down diner that managed against all odds to stay standing after nearly seven years of disrepair. Liz had shown them the way back inside, and together they’d been going through old photos hanging on the wall, vintage posters whose images all but faded from heat exposure.

Liz wanted to show Gregory where Puppet—the real Puppet—had been staying. She was right where they expected, hanging off the lip of the opened top of the scorched, oversized gift box. From there, Puppet watched the kids play inside the grody old dining area, content to let them explore to their hearts' content under her observant eye.

“Did you guys hear something?” Gregory asked when Freddy’s baritone voice just barely penetrated the old walls. Before he knew it the Puppet was behind him, scooping him up and gently carrying him towards the back entrance.

“Awh,” Liz fretted, throwing a rubber ball in a rebellious manner against an already cracked photo. “You have to leave already?”

Puppet offered her a shrug; she didn't make the rules. Carting Gregory off, she simply motioned for Liz and Evan to follow her out of the diner. 

“There you are!” Michael exclaimed as the kids appeared back in the workshop. He snickered at the grumpy pout on Gregory's face from being unceremoniously carried away from his exploring. When he was finally set down, the android ruffled Gregory's hair. “Sorry to spoil the fun, kid. Your dad and Sammy are hanging out with Henry for a little bit, so Charlie and I are taking you to visit the Daycare—that cool with you?”

“I wanna go, too...,” Evan muttered.

“Soon—I promise!” he reassured with a grin, which seemed to satisfy Evan well enough.

“See you around, Gregory!” Evan wrapped his arms around his doppelgänger in the briefest bear hug, squeezing him tight before moving to embrace Michael's legs.

Mike smiled at the affection, and when Evan moved onto Charlie the eldest Afton quickly pulled Elizabeth into a side-hug as well. Before she could protest, he raised a fist and rubbed his knuckles against her head with a cackle, causing her already-curly hair to frizz every which way. “I've been waiting so long to do that again! HA!”

“Mike, you're a terror—let her go,” Henry chided with a roll of his eyes, feeling like no time had passed at all from when the Aftons were kids. Honestly, their whole interaction was kind of endearing. 

Liz gritted her teeth and groaned at the sensation of knuckles being harshly dragged across her scalp. These robot bodies felt like an extension of her soul—the odd feeling had not escaped her. Though she smiled as soon as it was done. As much as Michael's torture hadn't been exactly missed, it was his charm that Liz felt like she had gone without for so many years.

“Oh, you're so going to get it later...,” Elizabeth warned, and fairly so. The next time Mike came for his siblings, there’d be a prank most foul waiting for him.

It wasn't long before the Puppet found Charlie, climbing up her leg and arm to hang around her shoulders. Charlie closed her eyes and hugged the musty old robot, feeling like she was embracing both her childhood doll and house at the same time.

“Hey—it’s okay, I’m here,” she soothed, sensing Puppet had been missing her by the strain of those noodle-like arms around her. So focused on comforting, Charlie hardly even noticed the little green bangle Puppet slipped over her wrist once more. Clearly, Henry had removed it from its cherished place around the endoskeleton spine when patching up the old bot. 

When his little siblings' attention had been diverted to another round of stretched-out goodbyes, Mike stepped close to Charlie and the now tightly-wrapped Puppet. He offered the animatronic a smile, shoving his hands in his pockets. It was weird to see the robot and Charlie separated—even after being with Charlie's android for days on end, Michael still associated her soul with the creation designed to protect her.

“Don't worry,” he began, watching the stoic mask turn to him. The Puppet's eyes were nothing but hollow black holes, the pinprick light that marked Charlie's soul well and truly gone. Perhaps a bit more perceptive than before, she was just a robot once again—but a damn good one, that's for sure. “We're taking care of Charlie. She's got so many people to look after her now—she'll be lucky to get out of our sight for a few minutes.”

His laugh was a bit subdued, unsure if the Puppet would appreciate such humor; he couldn't even remember her original personality except for her tendency to follow Charlie around incessantly and occasionally hand out presents to excitable kids.

As Michael spoke, Puppet sought no comfort. In fact, she was comforting Charlie like a crying child, gently stroking her dark hair with a plush, spindly hand.

However, the Marionette remembered Michael well. She recalled everything he’d done—and the things she and Charlie had done to him.

After nuzzling Charlie's cheek with a matronly sort of affection, Puppet reached out, now transferring onto Michael's shoulders in greeting him. She raked her fingers through his hair, examining his face and committing it to memory.

Michael, she remembered, not William.

After patting his cheek softly, she climbed down and silently crawled to Henry, Sam, and the Afton kids, arms silently raised for one of them to pick her up. Puppet was a simple AI that’d been exposed for far too long to a human’s soul. Her feelings were just as indistinguishably real as Freddy's now, though she had no means to articulate it well without a real voice of her own. Though she had a voice box, she hadn't actually been given speech to go along with; the only sound it could emit was the melody from her turnkey music box. It was Charlie's voice that came through, never more evident than now as she slunk silently across the floor. Funny enough, she ignored Freddy completely—though Puppet saw the bear as a friend now, her facial recognition software hadn't registered who the redhead was yet.

“Wow, Charlie,” Gregory said, realizing where she'd gotten her nervous habit of needing to know where he was all the time. “You said that's your animatronic?”

“Yep!” Charlie answered with a sense of glee and pride. “I designed her when I was very young.”

Samuel felt a twinge of pain at the sight of the Marionette—how she recognized him and immediately scampered for the Emilys’ affection. However, he wasn't one to pull the attention to himself for such menial discomfort. He remembered particularly how bad he felt for telling Charlie when they were young how creepy her robot was.

Why did he have to be such a cruel kid?

“Hey there,” Henry murmured, lifting Puppet into his arms and allowing her to cling just as she had to Charlie and Michael. He gently patted her back, feeling the tension in Puppet's wires from moving around instantly relax as she registered him as both her creator and Charlie's father. “I told you she'd come back for you, didn't I? Stop worrying.”

Repairing the Puppet had been Henry's top priority after William's defeat. He'd been itching to get the robot fixed up ever since Charlie transferred bodies, but he'd had other things to focus on at the time—besides, he didn't want to risk her getting more damaged when she inevitably jumped in the crossfire to try and save Charlie like she'd failed to do that rainy night so long ago. It hadn't taken much to get the Puppet back in commission, being one of the more simplistic models. As soon as she rebooted and started to look around, Henry realized she was in a similar state to Freddy: much too aware of her surroundings for a simple robot.

It made total sense, though. If Freddy had gained sentience from Michael's comparatively short influence, surely the Puppet was alive after being bonded to Charlie for so long. The one thing Henry regretted was not programming her with a voice of her own, but they'd managed to figure out how to communicate just fine and she'd been content to rest in her oversized gift box until Charlie's return.

After a moment, Henry felt a small presence next to him. Looking down, he saw Evan smiling up at him, gently tapping the Puppet's spindly leg as he told her: “I'm super glad you're back online; you and Charlie helped us so much...”

He'd already expressed his gratitude when Henry reintroduced them, but Evan felt the need to remind Puppet that he recognized that it hadn't just been Charlie watching over him and the other kids all this time.

Charlie felt some semblance of pride in the work she'd done with the Marionette. As the Puppet clung to Henry, she reached down and excitably mussed up Evan's hair, softly tussling it between her hands. Lizzie got the same treatment upon her standing next to them.

By her own, the Puppet seemed to be just as friendly and affectionate as Charlie, likely picking up her affinity for the Afton siblings as a result of Charlie's love for them. After clocking Samuel’s vague reluctance to acknowledge her, Puppet gave him a brief pat to the shoulder before slipping down from Henry's hands.

“What do you think, Sammy?” Charlie asked, beaming at the well-deserved attention her old friend was receiving. “I was thinking Puppet would fit right in at the Daycare, or even the game counter in the arcade! She does need a good home and all...”

“O-oh!” Samuel registered the fact that Charlie would want the animatronic well taken care of. Though every time he looked at the thing it gave him flashbacks to finding his sister blue faced and long dead in an alleyway— “Maybe! Maybe I-I could... I could see what space I can work out for her! Yeah...”

“If I may put in my two cents,” Freddy spoke up, slightly raising a hand to get the group's attention. “I believe the Puppet would be a perfect addition to the Daycare. She and Sun would get along wonderfully, and I am sure he would appreciate an extra set of hands.”

Henry and Michael nodded in agreement. If there was anyone in the Pizzaplex that knew how animatronic personalities would mesh together, it was certainly Freddy Fazbear. He got the most exposure to everyone, and as a natural leader always made sure to pay attention to how his fellow robots got along—favorably or otherwise. Though no one outright disliked each other, there were clear lines between personalities that made it so some characters simply wouldn't do as well with others for an extended period of time. Sun, with his bright, bubbly demeanor, got along with everyone to an extent... but he could certainly be a lot. If the Puppet by her lonesome was anything like Charlie, Freddy could already tell that she and Sun would become fast friends—and Moon as well, by extension.

“Speaking of the Daycare...,” Michael prompted, raising an eyebrow to Charlie. “We should get moving so these three can have a chat.” Out of the corner of his eye caught Evan gearing up to ask something, and before the boy uttered a syllable Michael added: “It's boring work stuff—trust me, you don't want to stay with them. How about you and Liz go find the other kids and play with them for a while? I promise we'll stop by again before we leave!”

“Yeah! Come on, Evan! Leave the boring work stuff to the boring adults!” Lizzie snagged her younger brother’s hand, sticking out her tongue at Mike and Charlie. Feigning offense, Charlie touched a hand to her chest.

“—Liz I am hurt. So hurt I'm going to go play video games upstairs,” she said with a faux-snobby tone, as if said to one-up her friend. Liz blew a raspberry at her before imparting a hug to her, pulling a laugh from Charlie. “We'll be back tomorrow!”

Puppet immediately went back to hanging onto Charlie, having silently and almost undetectably snuck over her shoulders again. Looking to the newest addition to their crew, Charlie told the young boy: “Say goodbye to Freddy, Gregory! He's gonna get a little checkup from Doc Emily.” 

Bouncing back to Freddy, Gregory would give him a quick hug, unsure how long this apparent checkup would take. “Later, Dad! Love you.”

“I love you, superstar; have fun!” Freddy replied, squeezing Gregory back with a smile. After a few more goodbyes were exchanged and it was agreed Sammy would call when he and Freddy were done, Mike slipped his hand into Gregory's and led the way out of the basement.

“I guess you're coming with us for a bit, huh?” he asked, glancing side-long at the Puppet were she hung off Charlie. The animatronic slowly turned to face him and gave a short nod, causing Michael to chuckle. “That's fine! We can introduce you to Sun right now, then—or, reintroduce, I guess.”

***

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Battle of the Fear Bands B3R1: The Flesh

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Lyrics below the line!

The Lost Teeth Song:

I was making my rounds at Splashy Town You know, the indoor water park Shutting down the endless wave Dead of night, pitch dark Just to clarify I'm a security guard Not a lifeguard who stayed too late My weapon is a pool noodle A glint of light pierced the night I saw some popcorn bro Scooped it up and tossed it back It was teeth I don't kno It was teeth I don't know It was teeth I don't know Stop -Just to clarify I did know they were teeth I just didn't know who's teeth they were Who left these teeth Who needs them now Who's sittin' on the couch Gummin' on some crunchy chow Ooooohhhhhh Me, I'm eating peanut brittle And I'm fed up You see I lost my teeth earlier today In a fight at a waterpark called Splashy Town I'm gonna break into Splashy Town Tonight Right now I'm breaching the slide That runs outside I'm gummin' an entrance hole Reaching the spot where my teeth got knocked To get the teeth that I know The teeth that he knows The teeth that he know (Arpeggio): Am What was that? It felt like a pool noodle It was a pool noodle I'm the security guard And that's my weapon Well I was just looking for my teeth man You're looking for teeth? Yeah I lost them in a battle with a man earlier today In this vicinity That's an amazing coincidence I recently found some teeth That I did not know Let me see em' Oh, yup, they're mine He left his teeth He's got them now No more sittin' on the couch Gummin' on some crunchy chow Oooooohhhhh By the way, you know anything about a hole over in the slide Stop Yeah, I gummed my way in that way I'll also be leaving that way you might wanna patch it up afterward.

God of Bones:

Your bones are always dissolving But they're always reforming too Osteoclasts flash past osteoblasts One breaking you down and one making you new And your teeth are bones filled with blood A shell of hard mineral, made to bite So they can crack through a deers tibia Your apatites feed your appetite And we have names for the stones we grow Inside of this flesh we call our home Hydroxyapatite keep me whole Oh sing your praise to the god of bones Of bones,   of bones, the god of bones Inside of them all is soft marrow That makes the blood in your veins It flows through the honeycomb osteons Then Havers along its way And your fingers have never had muscles Just bones and the sinew between The tender edge of this homunculus Is a puppeteers sticks and strings And if you should shatter your leg in two Your bones will never give up on you Living rock stitching together anew Oh see what the god of bones can do! Of bones! Of bones! The god of bones When you die your bones stay behind Or at least some of them will The dense apatite of the cortical shell Endures while the rest melts into the soil And they remember the long story That they've helped you tell Your fractures, your sickness, the length of your days Until they dissolve and forgot it as well So reach up to your skull and feel for the seams At the front and the back and the ridge in between Hard plates stitched round a waking dream Scripture writ into the sutures, so read The God of Bones' synarthrosian creed That reads, "Go fly while you still have wings "For the world is hard and cold indeed But your bones are made of sterner things." Your bones, your bones belong to the God of Bones

[red-hemlock]

"What if they kissed?" @question-marked

Send “What if they kissed?” and I’ll write a scene where our muses kiss, even if they aren’t shipped together. it is it’s own thing and doesn’t have to lead to an official ship. a “what if scenario” @question-marked

"Why the curious countenance? Don't say that you were beginning to doubt me, my dear."

River smirks at that. He looks like the cat that caught the canary clear, and why wouldn't he? Whatever 'magic' Eddie concocted in that room, whatever he nabbed, he did it smooth as butter was soft; It was always such a treat to witness, even when assigned the task of 'door duty' on these little ventures they shared. But fate is one fickle fiend of a creature, and there's no time to bask in the glow of a job well done on this night. Not when the sound of hurried strides and harsh mutterings rise high above distant music, from the gala they'd absconded from earlier.

It's the worst kind of hand to be dealt. Room's at a dead-end hall, and they're dressed for dinner and dancing; not the kind requiring the limberness needed should alarm be raised. But there's a resolve to River, even as she turns and presses a bewildered him against the now-closed door, eyes flashing with silent plea to listen for once.

"...I'm sorry." The apology is hushed, hesitance in red-nailed fingers that curl into a fine silk shirt, "I-... Need you to trust me on this, alright? Just follow my lead and improvise, it'll be fine."

Closer now, enough to see the sparkle of her eyeshadow. She can see that Eddie understands, feel it in building hum-drum buzz, and the way he relaxes. "Close your eyes, and think of someone else if you have to. But whatever you do, we have to make it look good."

Such was last thing said, before their lips finally met. Tentative tasting, awkwardness that bleeds into instinct, into something resembling hunger before long. Somewhere along the way his hands managed to find that space where waistline meets hip, access to fist sequined fabric and tear a hitched sound between kisses as he drags her closer still. A deepness River's all-too eager to meet, with arms that rise to slip around his neck.

They make it look good, and as they do, lines quickly begin to blur.

"Hey-... Hey, lovebirds!" Came the indignant cry, "Don't you know this area's off-limits to guests? Go do that crap somewhere else!"

Blinding light from a flashlight is what finally ends their heated embrace. This guard sounds exasperated, maybe they weren't the first pair caught getting lascivious in a dark corner; but it sure sounded like he wanted them to be the last. Good. River was betting on that. A bit of hotheaded anger makes for pliable putty, so long as one presses the right spots.

"Goodness, I'm sorry, sir!" River purrs, flashing her prettiest smile, "We were on our way out, honest... It's just when those drinks start to flow the hands start to wander, you know? Couldn't help ourselves."

Two individuals, breathless and disheveled, and looking so very smug. Oh, it's a sight that annoys, she can tell; and that beat between felt so nail-bitingly long.

"...Five minutes." Mr. Security says at last, with a sneer that screams they should appreciate this, "You have five. Minutes. Both of you better be out of this hall by the time I come back around, got it?"

Crystal. River would've answered as much too, but the grouch's back was already a wall, presented as he turned-tail. Off to terrorize some other hapless party-goers no doubt, but that's fine... That's fine.

"...Come-on darling, the coast is clear." Gaze lowers, a thumb reaches high to brush a stray bit of red still smudged along his lower lip. Heat remains to be sure, but River flees from it with a gesture of the head.

"I think we need to steal an actual drink or two, before we vamoose."

[parisian-nicole]

A GarVez Ficlet: I'm Drowning In You

“Did you all get the alert? The Deputy Director has just issued a mandatory PTO. This hurricane is creating record-breaking rainfall and flooding across three states and D.C.,” Prentiss announced as she made her way down the stairs that lead up to hers and Rossi’s offices. “So, let’s get the hell out of here, find a safe place to hunker down, and stay inside,”

“Yeah, we got it, and thank God,” Tara spoke out as she stood and started packing up her bag, with JJ doing the same at her desk. “I don’t know why the hell we even had to come in with the weather as bad as it is. I mean, we’ve known for a week that this hurricane was going to hit and it was going to be bad,” She grumbled as JJ and Emily both nodded in agreement.

“And Dave was the smart one to call out,” JJ stated.

“Yeah, and he was right when he said not even serial killers would be out in this kind of weather,” Luke added as he tugged one strap of his backpack over his right shoulder. “Well, you ladies stay safe. I’m gonna head down to Garcia’s office and walk her to her car. She had to park on the back side of one of the parking lots across the street since our underground parking is flooded.”

“Damn it!” Tara cursed in irritation. “I totally forgot I had to park on the backside of the building this morning.”

“Well, at least you got here early enough to get a parking spot on the grounds. I had to park across the street and a block over,” Prentiss announced as she, JJ, and Tara all walked behind Luke to the exit. He held the glass door open for them to walk out before him.

“So did I,” JJ stated.

“Well, let’s all head to my car and I’ll give you ladies a lift to yours,” Tara offered as she pressed the button to the elevator.

“Thanks,” Prentiss replied.

“Yes, thank you,” JJ tacked on. “Goodnight Luke, and tell Penelope we said goodnight,” She tossed out to his retreating back as she, Prentiss, and Tara entered the elevators. He turned and gave a quick salute before heading on his way. When he reached Garcia’s office door he swiped his ID, punched the 4-digit code she had designated him, and opened the door.

“You all packed up and ready to go?” He questioned as he entered the space and found her bent over her desk, reaching behind her monitors. He instinctively tilted his head a little and swept his eyes appreciatively over her frame, starting at the wedge heels she wore and then along the black seams stitched in the back of her stockings, on up to just where they disappeared under the hem of the pretty, pink, short dress she wore.

“Yep, just as soon as I unplug my babies,” She mumbled out as she stretched to reach the last plug. “All done,” She announced as she righted herself and turned to shoot him her big bubbly smile that always brought a smile to his own face as well as a flutter in his stomach whenever he saw it. “Thank you for honoring your word to give me a piggyback ride to my car. And I might have to hold you to that because I checked outside earlier and it's thigh-deep out there,” She joked to him both knowing she would never expect him to nor would she ask him to actually give her a piggyback ride, and he chuckled at her because he fully intended to even though he knew she was going to protest.

“Wow, you packed light today,” Luke stated as he watched her grasp just her purse and not her usual extra laptops.

“Yeah, I didn’t want to risk any of my babies getting wet out in that monsoon,” She replied as she grasped her small umbrella that was covered in colorful polka dots. She then walked to the exit where Luke stood holding the door for her. Once they were outside of her office, she locked it up by swiping her badge and punching in her security pin. They then made their way down to the elevators. They stood in a comfortable silence as they watched the numbers light up until the elevator got to their floor and the doors pinged open. After they had entered the elevator and the doors closed Luke spoke again as Penelope pressed the button.

“So, did you need to make any pit stops before we head to your place to grab Sergio and the Black Queen?”

“Nope, just my furbabies and then we can head straight to your place. I really appreciate you letting us hang with you and Roxy during this storm. Big storms like this one really terrify me … And oh my God, Luke!” She suddenly exclaimed with wide eyes as he scowled and stared at her in concern. “I totally forgot we didn’t park in our usual spots today and I hit the button to take us down to the underground parking garage.”

“It’s all right,” Luke replied with a small chuckle at her dramatics as he stepped closer and pressed the button to the lobby.

“It’s not all right,” She countered as her voice came out an octave higher. “The underground garage is completely flooded right now.”

“I know, so they would have blocked it so the elevators can’t go down that far,” He replied as they both stood a moment and watched the numbers light up.

“So, why is it still going down?” Penelope questioned in a panicked tone as she clutched her left hand to her chest, while Luke vigorously pressed the lobby button. As the elevator continued down past the lobby which was now just two floors above the flooded parking garage, Luke snatched up the emergency phone in the elevator and pressed zero. He inwardly sighed in relief when he was immediately connected with someone.

“This is SSA Luke Alvez, myself, and Technical Analysis Penelope Garcia are stuck in an elevator coming from the 4th floor and it’s heading down to the underground parking lot,” He paused a second and rolled his eyes before he spoke again through clenched teeth. “Yes, I know the underground parking lot is flooded. That’s why I’m calling you to get help. We tried to press the button to the lobby but the elevator just kept going.”

“Oh my God, Luke,” Penelope mournfully cried out to him as she reached out and grasped his shirt. It instantly whipped his head around and snapped his concerned eyes onto her. “There’s water,” She answered his unasked question and then he shot wide eyes to the doors and noticed the water that was seeping in.

“Okay, we need to get help down here right now, we have water coming in through the doors and the elevator is still moving downward,” He barked out in a harsher tone than before and then the elevator suddenly jerked to a stop. “It just stopped. Did you do that? If so, can you make it go back up?” Luke said to the person on the other line. “How long is that gonna take because there’s still water seeping in here,” He stood listening to the lady speak as he turned to check in on Garcia. He could see she was in full panic mode by the way her chest heaved up and down with every inhale and exhale of her breath as her eyes stayed locked to the water pooling in. She stood right next to him now still gripping the dark blue button shirt he wore over a dark gray tee. Luke turned a little and wrapped his left arm around Penelope’s shoulders and she eagerly melted into his welcoming embrace as she leaned her head against his chest. He kissed the top of her head. “It’s gonna be okay, we’re gonna be okay,” He mumbled into her hair and then focused back on the call. “No, no ma’am. I don’t think we have an hour,” Penelope turned her frightened gaze onto him at hearing his words. “I understand that everyone has left but we’re still here and we need help before we-” He abruptly ended his words when he saw the terror on Penelope’s face. “Thank you, we’ll be here,” With that Luke hung up the phone and then fully enveloped Penelope inside of his embrace.

“What did they say? Are they coming to get us out of here?” Penelope asked as she pressed herself closer to him enjoying his warmth. The water was now covering their shoes and it was ice cold.

“Yeah, she said she was calling the fire department, local police, and all of the maintenance crew that work in the building, but that storm is really bad outside so it might take a little time for them to get here.”

“How long do you think we have before we drown in here?” She questioned further and her trembling words made Luke release her, grasp her around her shoulders so he could hold her away a bit to stare directly into her eyes.

“Hey, we are not going to drown in here,” He tried to reassure her. “There’s no water pouring in from above, but it’s seeping in from the very top of the doors. That likely means we’re not fully at the very bottom yet, where it’s completely flooded, and that’ll probably buy us some time.”

“But Luke, the water is already at our ankles and it’s freezing cold. Boy, I think I really need to reconsider showing off my gams so much and start wearing pants to work.”

“Please don’t, seeing your gams is the best part of my work day,” Luke stated and though his words were very sincere he knew she would take them as a joke and laugh, and she did reward him with a small smile and a giggle. “Why don’t you hop on my back so you’re out of the water,” He offered and she vigorously shook her head no to the idea.

“No, you can’t exert your energy trying to hold up both of our weights. This water is freezing and hypothermia is probably going to be a problem,” She replied and he had already come to the same conclusion.

“All right, then we should huddle close together and keep as much body heat as we can to stay warm,” He said as he wrapped his arms back around her, and she reciprocated as she wrapped her arms around his waist while she pressed her right cheek against his muscular chest.

“Good idea … whew, it’s really, really cold,” Penelope pushed out in a shaky voice as the freezing water hit her calves.

“Shit, I wish the hatch up there wasn’t so small,” Luke spoke out mostly to himself as he tilted his head to stare up at the small vent in the top of the elevator. “If it were larger, we could climb out and back up the shaft.

“Is it a bad way to die ... drowning?” Penelope’s meek voice asked as she tightened her embrace.

“Penelope, we’re not-”

“Luke, please just tell me,” She cut him off as they both stood shivering uncontrollably. The water was rising quickly and was already nearly at their waist.

“Yeah, there’s pain when you drown. Drowning is a type of asphyxia. There’ll be pain and a burning sensation when the water gets into your lungs. Your instinct will be to hold your breath for as long as you can, but that will just make it worse. When the water gets high enough, we’ll start to float. It’ll buy us some time. We’ll keep our heads above the water for as long as we can and hopefully, the calvary will get here in time. But if the time comes, don’t fight it just take a deep breath in, let the water fill your lungs quickly and it’ll be over faster,” She nodded her head to his instructions as she clamped her eyes tightly closed and released more of her tears.

“I don’t want to die,” She sobbed out and softly cried in anguish. Luke held her closer, clamped his eyes shut, and kissed her forehead before he spoke again.

“Baby, I don’t want you to die either. Not you, not ever. And I’m sorry, Penelope,” His voice crumbled a little under the weight of his despair and feeling of helplessness, and she lifted her head to look up at him. “I’m so sorry that there’s nothing I can do to get us out of here.”

“Hey, this isn’t your fault, Luke. I was the idiot who pressed the wrong button. So, I’m sorry that I got you into this mess, that you’re stuck in here with me.”

“If I’m gonna die, then dying in ‘your’ arms is a good way to go out,” He said and then winked at her and she smiled kindly at him as she shook her head a little and coyly dropped her head and averted her eyes.

“I cannot believe you’re actually flirting with me right now,” She giggled.

“Chica, I have been flirting with you for years but you always either walk away from me or hang up on me,” He stated as she bowed her head in embarrassment at his true words and then she swallowed the lump that was now in her throat as she realized that he was and had always been serious with his flirting. “It’s okay, I respect what you told me on our date. I get that you don’t see me in a romantic way and that I’m not ‘your’ someone, but you’re mine. And I think you’ve been my someone ever since I first heard you call me Newbie,” He chuckled in remembrance. “If we’re gonna die today then you should know the truth and the truth is I love you. I am crazy, stupid in love with you Penelope Garcia,” Luke finally confessed to her what had been weighing heavily on his heart for a long time as his tears spilled freely from his eyes.

“I love you too, Luke,” Penelope replied easily and quickly much to Luke’s surprise. He looked at her with wide eyes and a stunned expression as his mouth gaped open a little. “And I wanted you to be my someone so badly, but I didn’t think I could ever really be yours. Yeah, I can pique guys' interest with my bubbly disposition and they think they want a relationship with me, but then when a very petite, leggy woman walks by, they always follow her and leave me behind. That’s why I just shot down the idea of ‘us’, I was so afraid that you’d realize that I wasn’t what you thought you wanted and you’d leave, shattering my heart into pieces,” She stated as she huffed out in a shivery voice now that the water was at her bosom. “And I’m sorry because I now know you are not like that. I know you would never hurt me like that. And I’m so, so sorry that we’ll never get the chance to start over and try again,” Her face crumbled as she sobbed. Luke reached up both of his wet hands from beneath the water and grasped the side of her head. He then pulled her into an intense, succulent kiss that left them both moaning in satisfying elation. They had to pull from the kiss as the water had now risen to their chins, and they had to tilt their heads back a bit to keep the water out of their mouths. “Luke,” She cried out to him as near-crippling fear gripped her.

“Just float, baby, float,” he instructed her as he did the same and they both rose along with the water. In under a minute, they had already risen to the top of the elevator until there was just a tiny pocket of air. They held onto each other tightly while their heads tilted back and an awkward and uncomfortable angle that allowed them to keep their mouths, noses, and eyes inside the pocket of air.

“Just take a deep breath and let the water fill my lungs quickly, right?” Penelope sputtered out water along with the words that Luke told her earlier.

“That’s right a big deep breath,” Luke said as he tightened the grip he had around her waist.

“I really do love you, Luke Alvez, and I am so sorry I didn’t tell you that before now,” She proclaimed as her lips and nose brushed the roof of the elevator.

I love you too, Penelope. So, so much,” Luke replied as he tugged her body closer to his, knowing they only had mere seconds of air left. Just as he was preparing to suck in a deep breath of water and do as he had instructed her to do the elevator jerked and caused the water to slosh around them. “Hey, I think we’re moving,” He said excitedly as they both clung to one another while they stared wide-eyed at the other. Then they noticed their small pocket of air was expanding as the water level began to go down. “Yeah, we’re definitely moving upward.”

“Oh, thank you, God!” She half laughed and half sobbed.

***

“God, please let them be okay,” Prentiss spoke her prayer aloud.

“I just don’t understand how this could have happened,” Tara chimed in as she paced a little in front of the elevator doors as they waited for them to open. They had just gotten to Tara’s car when Prentiss got the call about what was happening. As the Section Chief she was always alerted to any dangerous situations that occurred in the building, along with the other higher-ranking staff. When she heard what had happened, she, Tara, and JJ all rushed back into the building. Once inside they were told that all of the elevators were now restricted and were steered to the stairs to head back up to their floor because that would be where the flooded elevator would go, back to where it had come from. The ladies raced up the stairwell until they reached their floor and found the corridor by the elevator already somewhat crowded with four firemen and two paramedics as they all waited anxiously for the elevator to come back up. It took less than two minutes but for the three ladies, it felt like hours as they worried about the well-being of their friends and co-workers. As the sound of the ping filled the space, they all held their breaths as they anticipated a dire scene. When the doors finally opened, they were all surprised and quite relieved to see the soaking-wet couple in a tight embrace and passionate kiss.

“Are you two, okay?” Prentiss spoke out and at hearing the familiar voice Luke and Penelope pulled apart and they both turned to look out at the amused faces looking in on them.

“Yeah,” Luke replied as he released Penelope from his embrace but kept his left arm around her shoulder as he led them out of the elevator. “Just wet.”

“And very cold,” Penelope tacked on as one of the paramedics held out a couple of mylar blankets to them. Luke reluctantly moved from Penelope long enough the grasp one of the blankets and wrap it around her. He then took the other offered blanket and draped it over his shoulders.

“I think we need to transport you to the hospital,” The petite blonde female paramedic said as she used her stethoscope to listen to Penelope’s heart.

“No, I just need a hot bath, dry clothes, and a roaring fire,” Garcia protested as Luke nodded in agreement with her assessment.

“Sweetie, the way you’re shivering and the fact that your lips and nails are both blue is a sure indication that hypothermia might be setting in,” The lady paramedic countered and caused Luke, Prentiss, JJ, and Tara to all lock concerned eyes onto Penelope.

“All right, first a trip to the hospital so they can make sure you’re okay, and then I’ll take you back to my place where I will run you a hot bath and build a big roaring fire for you, okay?” Luke said as he wrapped his arm back around her shoulders and ushered them towards the stairs.

“Okay,” Penelope agreed with a sweet smile. “I think I am going to love having you as my boyfriend,” She casually threw out and caused a big smile to spread across his face at hearing her declaration and how she had referenced him.

“Not as much as I am going to love being your boyfriend,” He countered. “Or as much as I love you,” Luke added as he wrapped his arm more snuggly around her shoulder as they walked and then leaned in and captured her lips in a brief, soft kiss. From behind them Prentiss, JJ, and Tara looked at the new lovebirds, as they smiled and cast each other knowing glances.

“So, that is finally happening,” JJ said lowly making sure only Prentiss and Tara could hear her.

“It’s about damn time too,” Prentiss concurred.

“And it only took them nearly dying before they grew a pair and told each other what had been so obvious to the rest of us since Luke joined the BAU,” Tara chimed in as they entered the stairwell and made their way down behind the others.

“How bad will all the red tape and paperwork be for you, Emily?” JJ questioned the woman right at her back. “Isn’t there some rule about agents in the same unit dating?”

“The only rule prohibiting dating within a unit is for me,” Prentiss replied. “I can’t date any of you.”

“Awww,” Tara pushed out with a playful pout that made the other two chuckle at her antics.

“With those two, it won’t be hard because one, Penelope isn’t an agent, and two, I drew up the paperwork with HR for them the first month that Luke joined us. Because like you said it was so obvious it was gonna happen. I just didn’t think it would take this damn long."

***

The End

[arcplaysgames]

Breakin' the hearts of middle-aged cruise-loving housewives, Sojiro? I'm willing to walk but I guess you wanna linger around and remind me what a bad dude I am.

Reverie, we might need to speedrun the transformation from Quiet, Chill Dude to Absolute Fucking Menace out of spite. Fuck being a law-abiding citizen, i want to get a can of gasoline and set this dude's desk on fire.

squints

That's my student ID and what. She seemed kind of verklempt about it so I assume something risque.

Man, that'd just be the way of it, right? Everyone here giving Reverie shit for his trumped up charges and my teacher is doing something illicit on the side.

Bruh, this is less cold shoulder and more shoving my head into the arctic ocean. In my last life, I met a girl and within three minutes she'd kicked one of my classmates in the balls, and I feel like that'd be a warmer welcome than y'all been givin'.

One: I like actually seeing a portrait of our guy, it actually helps me feel like I know this sad sack.

Two: Why does every single thing I hear about this feel like Reverie is being set up for even more fall-guy-ification? Who the fuck asked you, Sojiro, and who the fuck paid you, and was it a guy with an enormous nose and voice like thunder echoing in a canyon?

Plot shit is happening. There are a lot of weird accidents around the city. Violent ones. It feels like something goopy is comin' out of the victims. Is that shadow goop or other goop? Time will tell.

Hey its our Seeker of Andraste, Sae, watching the news of the derailment. Apparently she thinks the weird incidents are connected. Which already means she Knows To Much and I bet her superiors will try to betray her later.

Also, THAT'S Akechi right? He looks like a beige origami towel decided to go to school, but Sae talks to him like he's knowledgeable. Naoto 2.0, This Time Not Hot?

Sojiro calls up the cafe to tell Reverie to lock up and turn the sign, and has this gemstone.

Dojima, hey, I'm sorry for comparing you to this guy earlier. Yeah, sorry about that, you didn't deserve it.

It's like trying to uninstall bloatware and it getting re-added every time you do a fucking security update, Motorola.

Sojiro does make us curry for breakfast, which would be thoughtful if I wasn't convinced he'd put us out on the street for vaping.

Also I love curry but curry for breakfast? I'm good, thanks.

YOUR PAL ARCHIE IS OFF TO A GREAT START. god this game doesn't give me a fast travel menu, I am Fucked.

Out in the rain, we spot a future party member. Her hair is incredible, look at that volume. Reverie stares for a while and I think he's just Super Awkward. Like, I've glimpsed Reverie The Cool Thief Guy in the opening sequence. It's like there's a Clark Kent thing going on here, where normal Reverie is such a Awkward Turtle you cannot imagine him as Sly Cooper.

... wait is she Moot? hey, girl, are you Moot?

fucking Evil Patrick Warburton drives by and offers Moot a ride in the rain. He also offers Reverie, and Reverie gives

THE MOST AWKWARD LITTLE WAVE

like oh honey. I'm trying to nail down his personality and so far I think it's I Got Audio Processing Issues And Rather Than Asking Everyone To Repeat Themselves I Just Make Affirming Noises And Wave. Boy howdy.

Oh and Moot looks about as thrilled to be in that car as I would be thrilled to sit on a knife. So this Kamoshida guy is not a safe dude I presume. Sorry, Moot, next time I'll come up with an excuse to get you outta there.

Already met another party member! Also, WOW your bleach job is AMAZING? Look at that texture you have, look at the fullness of the color. What are you using, bro, is that Ion Sensitive Scalp, I find that one is great for aggressive lightening without making shit feel like straw. What's your conditioner?

Also, king of the castle, huh. Given what's about to happen, that's an interesting 'coincidence.'

Then the story jumps back to the Framing Device all of a sudden.

"Psychotic breakdown incidents" wow, could you guys not come up with something that rolls off the tongue, like Apathy Syndrome?

Was Reverie ordinary, idk man, what do you think happens when you hear "hey you fucking suck and will be homeless if you so much as smoke a single solitary weed" 7 times a day?

I bet Reverie could use a weed tbh.

[holly-louisexox]

Ribcage X Andy Biersack- Part 2

*Masterlist*

"There's one thing you should know about me Delia Vincent, I don't date. Got no heart to break and emptiness is safe, keep it that way."

He was adamant in his choices...

...But then things changed.

Not my Gif

"Okay so I'm just going to run one final ear piece test, and it'll simply be a a small series of sounds, let me know if there's any issues in volume, balance or if it's all good to go." Delia explains whilst flicking through the IPad she held in her hands that contained a few master control links.

"I think we know how an ear piece works by now." Andy scoffs making sure his was in his ear and securely fitted.

"Okay, playing sounds in 3, 2, 1." Delia continues whilst ignoring Andy's rude comment. "Any issues with that?"

"Nope, spot on. Thanks Delia." CC comments which makes the others nod in agreement- besides Andy who was back to his death glare- well if he wasn't going to fully cooperate that wasn't down for Delia's error.

"Perfect. Well good luck guys. Any issues just let me know via speaking into your mics or sending some sort of signal my way and I'll look into sorting it for you." Delia smiles before walking towards where her sound desk for the venue was set up.

---------

it had reached the half way point of the performance for Black Veil Brides and thankfully there had not been any issues raised by any of the members on stage; this definitely brought some ease to the nerves Delia was feeling about the tour. From her end the balance sounded perfect with all the instruments blending in such a way that each could still be appreciated individually without one overpowering the others, even with the crowd screaming and singing along. The crowd volume was an anxiety Delia didn't even realise she had until the first song started if she was being totally honest. It was one thing to do a sound check with just the band playing, it was a whole other thing to be checking sound balance whilst also trying to make sure everything could be heard over screaming fans. This was a massive step up from doing smaller artist performances or even theatre production work that was for sure, regardless, Delia was feeling confident about her work right now and the fact that the band (excluding the dickhead that was Andy) had complete faith in her was also a helping boost.

"You look like a snack!" a fan suddenly screams as the song finished which instantly caught the attention of Andy.

"I look like a snack?" Andy asks only to be met by screams and laughter from the crowd "I assume that is a good thing?" More screams.

As much as Delia hated to admit it, this particular scene did cause a laugh from her. It just amazed her how this lead singer laughing and being confused when interacting with his fans was the same guy who had been nothing but rude to her for the whole first day that they had met.

"Believe it or not he's a decent guy deep down."

The voice of CC from earlier then echoed in Delia's head. Seeing him on stage was definitely a different side of him from what she had met earlier in the day, he clearly cared about the fans and the band.  The sudden guilt of wanting to know what had happened to him to make him such a way suddenly hit her. Surely it would be weird to go digging on the internet about him, after all, he was technically one of her employers in a way. Maybe one of the guys would spill something to her eventually? she highly doubted he would say anything about it to her, but then did she really want to know what happened?

"Uh oh, I think our new sound technician has fallen asleep on the job. Hey Delia, Jinxx's mic has stopped working, could you fix this for us please?" Andy's voice is then snapping her out of her thoughts causing her to scramble to her main controls to find the issue.

"Hey, there we go! Everyone give it up for Delia!" Jinxx then shouts into his mic causing the fans to scream- all the while Delia can see that Andy is staring at the sound booth slightly emotionless whilst passing a quick thumbs up. No doubt this will cause a massive reaction from him after the show, oh how Delia looked forward to that conversation later. So much for her first show with them running super smoothly.

-----------

"Right, okay. That is slightly inconvenient but it should be fine. Thank you so much for letting me know in advance, I know a few solutions to the issue so when we're there tomorrow I'll look into it to find the better option." Delia speaks into her phone.

The show had ended and despite the one microphone mishap that had happened to Jinxx, Delia was feeling beyond pleased with herself. About half an hour after the show had finished she had the venue for the next show contact her regarding a tech issue they had run into that night for the performer they had, which would result in some of the tech stuff she had planned not be able to run the way originally planned. It was times like this Delia was glad she had spent the extra 2 years at university to do a masters degree, if she did a Bachelor's degree alone she likely would be panicking by now. Despite this, it was still a weird concept to her of just how professional this new job of hers was. She remembers when she had to give all of the venues her number when she signed to the tour for the very reasons like this implication she was now faced with.

"Shit." Delia then mutters under her breath as she looks down at her phone after ending the call from the venue. Jinxx had explained what time they were all heading out for after show drinks and she was already running 5 minutes late. Well, a job as a sound technician sadly didn't end straight after a performance, surely they will understand her late coming.

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

"There she is! we were worried you were going to bail on us!" CC laughs as Delia walks onto the band's tour bus. At the mention of Delia's name, Andy's head instantly snaps to look at her; death glare in motion towards her.

"Here I am." Delia laughs back awkwardly, aware of Andy's disapproval. "Sorry, I had tomorrow night's  venue phone me just to brief over a slight issue they've had with their sound controls. But it'll be fine, I'll figure something out."

"Oh brilliant, another way for Delia to fuck up our set." Andy rolls his eyes before placing a kiss on the cheek of the girl who was sitting next to him silently with his arm around her shoulders. "Right, well I think it's time you leave, we'll have to start travelling soon. I'll walk you out." Andy then explains to this girl before the pair of them up and leave.

"So... what do you want to drink?" Jake breaks the tension after Andy leaves.

"What you guys got?"

[skyfireflight-writes]

Letters from the Forest

XIV

Dear Anna,

I am now certain that we are seeing the same cat, and it is definitely stalking us. As I was keeping watch last night, I heard an extremely quiet rustle in the foliage a few yards from our camp. I doubt I would have heard it at all if it had not been for how still that part of the forest was at the time. In the direction of the rustle, I saw two gleaming eyes gazing right at me. It was unsettling, to say the least. A large blue cat had lay down in the brush and appeared to be just watching us, not making any move to come closer.

The moonlight was bright enough that I could make out some of the cat’s features, and I saw the same ones that I noticed before and relayed to you in my previous letter: a long scar across its side, the exact same pattern of spots in its fur; it also appeared to be the same size. And one feature I had seen repeatedly but did not mention to you: it has a strange, distinctive fold near the point of its right ear.

I dared not move as it kept its eyes on me, and I debated whether or not to wake Adiel and alert him, or let him sleep until it was time for his watch. But it didn’t move either, just lay its head down on one of its forelegs and watched us. It dozed for a time, though even then I dared not take my eyes off it. In the end, I did wake Adiel a bit earlier than originally planned, but he was understanding and agreed that I was right to do so. I stayed up with him for a time, but the cat still did not move, though it never seemed to fall asleep.

We debated – quietly, of course – on whether to leave and sleep elsewhere, or stay where we were until morning. Given how the trees themselves had once again woven themselves to secure a place for us, the possibility that we may not find a safer place tonight and run into danger in the dark, and the near certain futility of truly evading the cat if it kept stalking us, we decided to stay put. Though it took me some time, I finally did get to sleep during Adiel’s watch – with his assurance that he would be fine and would wake me if necessary, of course! Don’t think I’m a bad friend and just left him alone with a predator.

Thankfully, when he awoke me in the morning, the cat had not made any move to attack us, and we both greeted the morning in one piece. That said, the cat is still following us – it is staring at me as I speak. Adiel and I both think it is trying to assess if we might be suitable prey for it. We doubt it is simply curiosity for a new being in its environment. I do hope it decides in the negative.

One more thing – we encountered a tree with large, round, soft-looking red fruits. It looked similar to the nectarines we have back home, but still distinct. The tree seemed to want us to eat its fruit, as when we got close, it lowered one of its branches in front of us and waved it slightly, as if to encourage us to take it. However, we remembered the poisonous and carnivorous tree we saw before, so Adiel and I quickly decided against eating the fruit. We still have enough of our own food left, and we did not want to risk being poisoned.

My hand is cramping, and I should get a move on and pay more attention to my surroundings. Until my next letter.

Signed -----

[First] [Previous] [Next]

[perplexedflower]

Laws Of Love - Chapter 5: A Band-Aid For Your Heart

Fandom: Jericho.

Category: F/M.

Relationship: Bill Koehler x Female Reader.

Type: 5-chapter fanfiction.

Summary: Having to deal with the end of the world is not easy. But it gets even worse when you also have to start dealing with your own feelings. Bill Koehler’s life takes a changing turn when a newcomer arrives in Jericho, and he soon comes to realize the day she walked into his home also marked the day the bomb in his heart went off.

Chronology: Season 1.

~~~~~~~~~~

Alone in the living room, I sat down on the couch with my mug in hand. With a sigh, I bitterly stared down at the coffee flowing inside my cup; I had woken up to the sight of an empty house, Bill having left early without waiting for me, or even bothering to wake me up. This went against the routine we had set in place and had been sharing for weeks, a routine that had become so dear to my heart. It upset me deeply to see him behaving in such a way, although I could understand the reasoning behind his actions: after what had happened the day before, and the cold mood that had set between the two of us ever since, we had left each other on bad terms.

He probably hasn't forgiven me for our argument at City Hall, and he must have felt forced when I asked him to give up the explosives for us to blow up the bridge. I know he wasn't fully on board with our idea...

I rubbed my eyes and took a sip of my coffee before shaking my head slowly.

I was finally starting to feel like the two of us really had something... But of course, it had to fall apart.

I lost myself deeper into my thoughts, remaining on the couch for a few more minutes, after which I got ready for the day, the sounds of my lone footsteps echoing through the house. I took my own car to drive to City Hall, but felt a knot in my stomach during all of the ride as I kept on asking myself what I could say to Bill once I would see him down at the police station. But before I could come up with anything to tell him, I had already arrived in town and the knot in my stomach tightened as I saw his car missing from his usual parking spot, which was right next to mine. I quickly made my way into the building and immediately went up to see Jimmy, chatting about reports with other law enforcers.

"Jimmy, have you seen Bill? Do you know where he is?"

"Oh, good morning, [Y/N]." He smiled as he turned to me. "Bill came by here earlier than usual this morning to let me know that he'd spend the day patrolling one of the border checkpoints."

I was instantly taken by surprise.

The border checkpoints have been established by Gray to control who wishes to enter Jericho... I've not once seen Bill take that job up... Why would he—

I stopped myself dead in my thoughts and my expression changed as I came to a dawning realization.

He must have decided to go to the border to get away from me...

"Oh, God..." I whispered to myself.

I felt even more upset than before and felt my thoughts swirl around my mind.

I never would've imagined he'd go to such lengths... Is this really how bad our situation has become?

"Do you want to join him at the border checkpoint?" Jimmy suddenly asked me.

I looked up at him before shaking my head.

"No... Someone needs to stay behind the front desk." I answered in a slightly bitter tone.

And so, I spent the entire morning at the police station, doing my usual work. But I could never get Bill out of my mind, no matter how much I tried to chase my thoughts about him away. But luckily for me, City Hall was not bustling with activity as much as it usually did: this was partially thanks to Jake, who had come up with the idea of trying and putting in place a group of Rangers for the town to have a real security force to protect life and property. He had thus decided to train some of the town citizens, and although the training had only just started, it already occupied a part of town, leading the police force to be slightly less busy than usual.

Near midday, as things were somewhat quiet at the station, I unexpectedly heard the sound of the front door suddenly opening.

"[Y/N]!" I heard a deep voice call out to me before I could even turn my head to see who had stepped in.

I looked in its direction and saw Gray, looking somewhat uneasy. I quickly understood something important had occurred, so I left my post and followed him outside. Before I could ask Gray what the matter was, I had arrived next to his car and was shown Bill, lying in the backseat, seemingly unconscious.

"Oh my—"

My expression instantly changed and I was filled with nothing but extreme worry as a myriad of questions came flying through my mind.

"I came to see you right away since I know you're familiar with where he lives." Gray said, a hint of unease in his voice.

I looked up at him, slightly puzzled.

"Well, he's unconscious and has been injured." He followed. "But it's not important enough to bring him down to the hospital, so home care should suffice."

He marked a short break, after which he took a step closer to me.

"Look, [Y/N], I found him—"

"You'll tell me on the way." I cut him off. "Let's go."

We both climbed into his car, Gray behind the wheel, and me in the passenger's seat.

"I'll need you to give me directions." He said as he turned on the engine.

"Yeah, you got it."

With a swift turn, we drove off and started to make our way out of town; I told Gray which route to take, then I turned around and as I looked at Bill, I felt my heart ache.

"So what happened?" I asked Gray while still looking behind me.

"Well... Since the border checkpoints were my idea and I was the one to have put them in place, I regularly go check on them, to make sure everything is running smoothly. Earlier today, as I was pulling up to the checkpoint Bill was guarding, I saw two suspicious-looking guys, running through the border to try to get into Jericho. I arrived on time to fend them off and make them leave, but..."

As I was listening to him closely, Gray marked a pause before sighing.

"Bill had already been injured by them. When I found him, he was lying on the floor, unconscious, with a few bruises and a large cut on his right arm, although it doesn't seem too deep. I picked him up in my car and drove to City Hall to look for you."

He briefly turned his head to me before looking back on the road.

"I don't know the whole story, but that's as much as I can tell you."

After Gray had finished his story, I gulped while nodding my head very slightly, and gave Bill one more worried look from behind me. After having successfully guided Gray, we finally pulled up to the house and parked up front. We both got out and opened the backseat doors, before steadily grabbing hold of Bill; we carried him to the front door, which I unlocked, then got him inside.

"Set him down on the couch in the living room." I told Gray with a sign of the head.

Following my lead, he helped me lie him down very carefully, after which I set a pillow or two under his head. With Bill now set, Gray started making his way out of the house.

"I'm counting on you to take good care of him." He told me in a gentle voice I had rarely heard from him. "I'll be heading back to town to let the others at City Hall know you'll both be absent for the rest of the day due to what happened to Bill."

"Alright." I nodded. "Thank you very much, Gray."

Nodding back at me, he stepped through the front door and I was left alone with Bill. I sat down on the couch next to him and looked at him with heartbroken eyes. My eyes fell upon his hands, resting on his chest, and I confidently yet gently grabbed one of them, feeling the warmth of his palm against mine.

"Gray doesn't have to worry, I'll take care of you." I whispered in a softly-spoken voice.

I held his hand tighter as I shook my head slowly.

"All of this is my fault... I'm so sorry..."

Finding comfort in his touch, I began rubbing my thumb against his fingers.

"I care so much for you... And you don't even have a clue..."

I looked into his closed eyes and tilted my head just a little.

"Bill, I—"

But before I could speak any further, his body twitched and he started to wake up. I immediately stopped talking and stared at him with worried eyes.

"Bill. Bill, you're awake. How are you feeling?"

Without giving me an answer, he tried to sit up straight, but I could see it was more effort than his body could handle.

"Hey, don't try to move too much." I told him while holding him gently.

I helped him readjust his position, my hands on both of his arms, and felt a pain in my soul as I saw the state he was in.

"Thanks..." He lowly said while looking down at his lap.

I smiled tenderly before resting a hand on one of his shoulders.

"It's okay... Don't move from the couch, I'm going to go grab you a glass of water from the kitchen."

I stood up and quickly walked to the kitchen: finding a clean glass lying around, I filled it up with water and proceeded back to Bill. Sitting back down next to him, I gave him the glass, from which he immediately started drinking. Watching him empty half of his cup, I stared into his eyes which were slowly regaining their spark.

"How are you feeling?" I asked him again gently.

"Much better now that I've had something to drink." He answered while switching his glance from his glass to me.

I let out a sigh of relief as I smiled at him.

"That's good to hear. But you'll be feeling even better after I'll have taken care of your wounds."

Bill stared at me silently for a few seconds, and I could read a deep note of affection in them; still without talking, he finally nodded and swallowed down the rest of his drink. I grabbed the glass from his hands after he had finished drinking it and put it down on the living room table. Turning back to him, I set a delicate hand on his arm.

"Get comfortable while I go grab you some band-aids, cotton pads, and antiseptic from the bathroom, alright?"

Once more, I got up from the couch and this time headed upstairs. I quickly gathered everything I needed then went back down into the living room. I again sat next to him and set everything on my lap, but kept silent at first, before awkwardly looking at Bill.

"Hum... you're gonna need to remove your jacket and your shirt for me to clean the wound on your arm." I gulped slightly as my eyes left his face. "... Besides, your clothes have been stained with blood, so you'll have to get changed afterward."

"Sure." He accepted, not without feeling a little awkward himself.

With me watching him, he began undressing but soon winced in pain from his arm.

"Agh— Son of a bitch—"

I quickly set aside the health supplies I had gathered and leaned closer to him.

"Here, let me help you."

I sat nearer to him and started to help him undress, grabbing hold of his jacket and unbuttoning it. I felt my cheeks start to flush as my fingers went over each button, and I could not bring myself to look at him. Neither of us spoke as I opened his jacket and helped him take it off, letting sexual tension fill up the air around us. With the jacket removed, my hands advanced to the bottom of Bill's shirt and grabbed it; I could now feel my cheeks burn as I helped him lift it up above his head, the tip of my fingers gently brushing against his skin, until it was removed completely. Once both clothes had been taken off, I put them in a pile and set them on the living room table, next to his glass. While setting them down, I closed my eyes and took a breath in; after having managed to cool down my body temperature by a little, I then turned back around and went to sit back down next to him. Grabbing a cotton pad and dabbing some antiseptic onto it, I began taking care of his arm. Bill lightly groaned at the contact of the ointment against his opened-up wound and I looked at him with sorry eyes.

"What happened...?" I asked myself aloud while staring at his cut.

"Right, I guess I owe you an explanation."

I looked up into his eyes as my hand still brushed over his arm.

"So, I was at the southeast border checkpoint, and two men came up to me and told me they wanted to get into Jericho. I found them suspicious, so I asked them some questions and realized they were from Jonah's gang. Before I could start asking them to leave, they started attacking me, and during the fight, one of them drew out a pocket knife and cut my arm."

Tightly hanging on his words, I felt a deep sense of anger within myself, but tried chasing it away for the time being.

Taking care of Bill is what's important right now.

"What did these guys want?" I asked. "Why did they try to get inside Jericho?"

"... Stealing from us, spying on us, reporting our activity to Jonah...?" He replied with a shrug.

I gave him a slightly worried look and he sent it back to me, until his expression changed, replaced by one of confusion.

"But, wait..." Bill asked, an eyebrow raised. "I passed out, right?"

I answered him with a simple and silent nod.

"So, how did I even make it back here?"

"Oh, that's thanks to Gray." I scoffed. "Fortunately for you, he was just on his way to check up on how you were doing when he saw the whole thing happen. Well, it technically had already happened, since you were already unconscious when he found you. But he did manage to stop Jonah's men from entering the town, and he brought you to me while I was at City Hall."

"Huh, Gray, who would've thought?" He said as he slowly nodded his head. "I'll have to thank him the next time I come across him."

I chuckled lowly as I finished tending to his arm, after which I applied a large band-aid on his wound.

"Alright, your arm's all done." I told him with a loving smile. "Now I'll move on to your face."

For me to clean his face properly, I had to get yet even closer to him; as I stared into his champagne-colored eyes, I could feel my cheeks were sprinkled with blush, as much as his were with bruises. Sexual tension kept rising between the two of us as the room got quiet and the atmosphere heavy, making us understand we both were a little bashful. Letting a few drops of antiseptic fall on a cotton pad, I approached a hand to his temple and dabbed gently on it, all while avoiding his gaze. After a moment of intense silence, I gathered up the courage to speak about what the both of us had been thinking about this whole time.

"Bill, I have to know..." I started, slightly anxious. "Why were you avoiding me this morning? And why haven't you talked to me since yesterday?"

He looked down at his lap and silence followed for a few seconds.

"... I was afraid you were still upset at me from yesterday, so I thought giving you some space away from me would help you." He confessed. "I didn't want to see you angry at me, and if what it took for you to feel better was for me to leave for some time, then I was willing to do it."

I furrowed my eyebrows as my heart began to ache, feeling sad hearing him say such things.

"Bill, I..." I started while shaking my head slowly, my eyes closed. "I'm no longer mad at you, I-I never really was..."

And me who thought he was the one to feel resentment... This whole time, our reasonings were actually the opposite of each other.

"If that's true, then why didn't you tell me you were going back home, last night?" He asked, sounding somewhat disappointed. "I know I decided to stick around City Hall a little longer, but I saw no sign of you when I left."

I scoffed lightly while looking down.

"I couldn't stick around much longer, all this talk between Gray and Mayor Green... I just didn't feel like registering all that last night."

I shyly rose my head to look into his eyes while feeling embarrassment flow through me.

"And... I thought you were the one who was mad at me... I thought you wouldn't want to hear from me, so I left without telling you."

Silence ensued, leaving the both of us to our respective thoughts.

"You know, I still don't know why you changed your mind in the end yesterday." I let out as I looked down at my hands pulling the cotton out of the pad I was holding. "Why you decided to give me and the rest of our group the explosives, despite arguing against it in front of me at first."

"It was because of Jake." He answered without an ounce of hesitation.

I was taken aback by his answer.

"Jake?"

Bill marked another pause before sighing.

"I was afraid that if I didn't give up the explosives for you, you'd find comfort in Jake and that this would drag you away from me, and closer to him."

I opened my mouth slightly but did not speak a word, too moved to talk.

"... I know the two of you have known each other for some time, longer than we have..."

I gently bit my bottom lip as I furrowed my eyebrows in desolation.

"I acted out of jealousy and fear." He lastly admitted as he stared deep into my eyes.

"How..." I started in a whisper.

I slowly approached a hand to his skin as I leaned closer to him, and delicately rested it in-between his shoulder and his neck.

"... How can you be thinking such things?" I shook my head slowly.

Ever so gracefully, Bill rested a hand over mine, pressing it gently against his skin but just hard enough for his heartbeat to be felt through my palm.

"Because I'm in love with you, [Y/N]." He softly spoke. "I have been since the first time I laid my eyes on you. And since that day, it hasn't changed one bit."

I felt my own racing heartbeat mix with his as we silently stared into each other's eyes, for what felt like a thousand years. His hand left mine and found its way to my left cheek, cupping it gently; bringing me closer to him, I closed my eyes as his lips kissed mine tenderly. It felt like a miracle, like the world had stopped, like I had forgotten everything else occupying my mind, and I was amazed by how incredibly warm and soft his lips were. The hand I had rested on him moved down to his chest, and he grabbed my waist as we pulled our bodies closer to each other. As the kiss got comfortable and we fastened up a bit, my body started to melt. Feeling his hands hold me tight, I sensed he wanted it to last, and I circled his neck with my arms to make him understand I agreed. I craved for making it last longer, but we were forced to pull away after both of us had run out of breath. I gently pressed my forehead against his as I felt his panting breath bounce off mine.

"I love you too, Bill." I whispered as I caressed his face. "And no end of the world will ever take that away from me."