#when i realised i wanted to use something software to keep track of things in the same place

[rataltouille]

an hour into using obsidian and like what do you mean this was always available and free to use AND NOBODY TOLD ME

[doyoulikethis-videogame-song]

Ask Masterpost 10/12/2024

I will be answering all the BLOG RELATED asks I have received since opening my inbox here :). Going forward, this is how all asks will be answered (if they are not time dependent or something). I will make a new post with new asks every saturday.

my friends and i have been including youtube links in our submissions. is that helpful or annoying?

It's helpful! Thank you :)

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Have you gotten a lot of repeat submissions? Like, songs requested by multiple people? If so, what’s the most requests you’ve gotten for a single song? (You don’t need to say what song it is if it’s one you haven’t posted yet)

I don't remember the name, but I've received a song from 'In Stars and Time' about seven times now

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I submitted a song from an indie game listing the author as the composer, but then I realised that's not exactly true, as all the music in the game is from a public free gallery. because of that, there's no official upload on youtube. would that still be ok? p.s. thank you for your work, I've come to really love this blog and i look forward to the new polls every day 💕

I'm going to say no, even though the song is in a video game it's not technically intended for the video game itself. I'm curious as to what game this is though.

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@kaerran said: Speaking of which: I avoided submitting a game earlier because the only versions I found on a quick search were entire-soundtrack-as-one-video and I wanted to make things easier on you. Is it okay if I submit my mid-90s games even if they don't have nice convenient Youtube links?

Of course that's okay, I'll find a way to work around it even if I have to crop the specific song out myself.

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Say a song that's made for a game and is in said game gets an official release of an alternative version that *isn't* in a game. (Ex: an extended version or a version with vocals) I assume that the in-game version of the song is acceptable, while an alternative version that isn't in any games are not. Asking because I've already submitted a couple in-game versions of songs that have official extended/vocal versions that aren't in-game.

Both are acceptable, for two reasons:

It's an official, original release/remix, presumably on an official album, for a video game, so it is technically a form of VGM even if it's not in the video game itself

I wouldn't be allowed to post the official NieR remix albums if I excluded these types of songs

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@moonlight-fox said: Hey. Question for when you reopen submissions - For songs that have lyrics, do you want the name of the lead vocalist as well as the composer, or just the composer?

If you know both, feel free to include both! Specifying would help a ton as well. Submitting the artists is optional as I'll almost always go verify it myself but it is very much appreciated.

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are there any games with more notable soundtracks that you're surprised HAVEN'T been submitted yet (if any)?

As of writing this, I haven't seen a single song from Persona 5.

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Hi, love the blog! Is there any way you could tag similar series? Like, tagging all the soulsborne games with a from software tag, that sort of thing? If not, it’s cool, I would just find it useful. Have a great day, keep up the awesome work! <3

I started doing this when I saw this ask, I hope the way I've categorized things is good so far! If anyone has any suggestions for further categorization feel free to send them in my asks (within reason, lol)

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can you put the number of the song in the anonymized title? would help us keep track of which song we're listening to if we're also scrolling

I also started doing this as soon as I saw this ask, thank you for the excellent idea.

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Are songs from live-service video games that have ended service permitted? I'm guessing that the answer is yes because I think I saw Dragalia Lost here but I just wanted to be sure before preparing songs to submit next month. Also, I noticed in your pinned post that it still says "submissions are always allowed" - since the rules are different now, you might wanna change that just in case some ppl get confused :3

Yes, songs from live service games that have ended are permitted :) (provided I can access the songs somehow of course)

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are we allowed to submit official live versions of video game songs? does its availability online matter (like how the splatoon concerts were officially uploaded, but the kirby 30th anniversary concert was only livestreamed once and has to be pirated now)?

If it's on an official album, I'm going to say yes. So no to the kirby concert -- but if the splatoon songs are on an album, they're allowed.

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i cant find if youve answered something like this already, but whats the verdict for songs thatare in video games, but werent made for them? like for example the inclusion of pre-existing low roar songs in death stranding.

As of now, I'll only accept songs that were intentionally made to be included in the OST/album/music of a video game series -- so no preexisting non-VGM songs or anything like that.

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out of interest, how far along the submission queue has been posted? when were the most recent posted songs submitted?

3.8% of the entire submissions I have received have been posted. Everything in active vote right now was submitted in July, hence the need to severely restrict submissions...

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are we allowed to ask if certain games/series are in the queue? because i cannot for the life of me remember if i submitted something a while ago and dont want to accidentally send it again when submissions reopen ^_^;

You can DM me for this as to not publicly post any spoilers :')

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@disgustedorite said: Um, when were the most recent songs submitted? I submitted a batch a while back when submissions were open and there's been no sign of any of them...I hope Tumblr didn't eat it @_@

Tumblr may have eaten it, but it's probably just as likely that I got a million gazillion submissions ahead of you :')

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genuine question did someone submit the entire destiny franchise at once or is it that popular and i just never see anything about it

Yes, in the very early days of this blog -- about the tenth submission -- someone submitted ~30 destiny songs.

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Do you accept music from mods? I mean, obviously you dont accept anything right now, but ykwim

Yes, as long as it's an original composition/remix :)

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@woolooism said: has any song won with any of the "i don't like it" results? if no, which one has the biggest relative percentage of it?

I'll have to check, but I think (off the top of my head) the song with the most "I don't like it" results is the Ao Oni chase theme

Edit: Apparently, it is actually this song from Lisa the Joyful!

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@violetsquare111 said: i'm curious, do you know when exactly the currently-running polls were submitted? curious just how far off mine are lol. (but i would guess mine are still a few months out based on the insane number of submissions you shared. 3000... oh god...)

July, so... yours are far off :')

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Do songs created for an event in a community engine driven rhythm game (i.e. original songs for custom charts in a rhythm game/community driven game engine) count for submissions? If so, how will they be counted?

I think I'm going to need an example of this scenario because this seems REALLY highly specific, haha

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A suggestion. When a song has lyrics, use a video that shows the lyrics in the reveal post. Please and thank you.

I'll do my best, but these aren't always the easiest to find, and I try to use songs from official sources as much as possible to prevent the risk of the video getting copyright stricken off the playlist.

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@only-blogging-2-save-rock-n-roll said: Would you ever consider doing joke polls for April fools day? Stuff like those MIDI remakes of song from Franchise A in the style of Franchise B

Probably not, only because it's not an official remix. I may post funny songs depending on submissions.

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would you be willing to maybe make a tag for just the polls, even if they're already over? i like going through them all without knowing what game they're from and i also dont keep super on top of checking this blog for new polls. thanks!!

There is one! It's #closed vote :)

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@sparrow-va said: Hi! I've had the hare-brained idea of possibly making some Youtube vids of listening to & reacting/trying to identify songs from this blog starting from the oldest submissions for my channel (LaserBearCat Gaming), is that something you'd be okay with? Obvs we would credit & link your blog for the source of the tracks c:

Go right ahead!

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I noticed the rules about submission has changed to one song per period per person, which I can totally understand given the amount and when trying to keep a fair chance for everyone will this rule be applied retrospectively too? just wondering because I had been submitting more than one song and just would like to know if I'd need to submit them again one per month now if I would like them to be considered as a submission eventually Also thanks for running this blog it's become one of my favourites and I check it out almost daily

No, It's not going to be applied retroactively -- I don't even know if I'd be able to enforce that because the sheet doesn't record who submitted what (right now).

[gatefleet]

Safe With Me

Scorpion: Walter O'Brien, Paige Dineen, Tobias Curtis

WordCount: 1,179

T(W): Hospital, Kidnapping, Temporary Blindness, Blind Panic.

Request: Yes, “Hey! Could u do a Walter o brien x fem reader, where the reader is kidnapped and the kidnapper keeps sending them her videos and these videos cause walter's EQ to show like he's panicked or even crying and when the team finally find her Walter hugs her tight and tends to her injury this causes toby to tease him and paige becomes jealous.

I totally understand if u don't want to do it.

Thank you” - @quackthesuck

A/N: I'm so sorry I've taken so long with this request, I've had a hectic time at work. I hope this is what you were looking for.

You awoke and could not see; your vision was in darkness, and this caused more panic and fear in you than the vague voices in the background which were drowned out by your panic. Your panic only increased when you became aware that your hands and arms were restrained. Realised you were rocking back and forth on some something solid which moved with you. You tried to speak or scream and realised that you had something made of fabric in your mouth. Your panic grew and you began hyperventilating.

Watching on the live stream Team Scorpion stood frozen. Gabe went to make a call, Paige looked like she was about to cry, Sly already had tears streaming down his face, Toby had begun to babble to himself about ransom demands and motives, Happy look pissed, and Walter hit shutdown mode. Paige was quickest to recover after Gabe and tried help prevent the team from spiralling too deeply, Gabe quickly behind her focussing on Happy and Walter.

Once Happy gained a little more composure she immediately went to work on a potential deterrent for the next person who dared hurt the team and thinking of a way to try and track your location from the equipment the abductors carelessly left in the frame. Walter was still in full shutdown mode. The first few videos they had sent you had appeared to be unaware of what was happening, perhaps unconscious, it wasn’t affecting him as much, but watching you panic, writhe in fear and hearing those muffled screams… that was what broke him. That was what overloaded his EQ, his primal brain and made him shutdown.

Gabe had begun physically shaking Walter in the way someone would a person who had passed out. That was when his brain kicked in again. He went straight to his computer to download the video file, to try and begin pulling it apart in some software he had to find any clue or hint as to your location. It took Sly a minute or two to catch up and attempt the same thing from a different angle on his own computer. Walter had begun to snap at anyone who seemed to be falling behind in their natural duties. Began to look harassed and was poorly hiding his panic.

Toby then began to write up a psych profile on the abductors in the hopes it would help with narrowing down locations or motives. Happy began to work on something to help track you using whatever information the rest of the team could extrapolate.

You heard the bangs first. The loud, deep voices shouting something. The people in the room shouting among each other, panic beginning to rise among the group. Heard the door open and close quickly, the quickly pacing footsteps of those that remained to guard you. It took what felt like ages before they got antsy and left the room. You heard other noises you couldn’t quite identify and then you felt yourself being lifted. You began to panic again and must have passed out, when you awakened you were relieved that you did in fact have your sight back and had not gone blind. Then you panicked as you realised you were in hospital. Nurses came to check on you due to your increasing heart rate. They gave you medication to try and relax you. Then you were being interrogated by several people in suits. You quickly had your adrenaline wear off and became numb and begun reacting on impulse.

The team were watching another livestream, you were calmer this time, but still panicked in the video. Gabe was on a call and told them team “any minute now”. Within seconds the team heard the military extraction in the background of the stream and the immediate aftermath, including the military personnel picking you up and heard Toby’s analysis that you had passed out as a normal bodily function to the fear and panic of not understanding what was going on. The team had to wait a while before they could get to see you, the alphabet agencies each wanted to speak with you in turn and then you were on strict no visitor policies in between to get some form of rest. They sat in the waiting room for hours. Walter getting more annoyed at the time going past without seeing you. Toby watched the interactions of the group to let Paige and Gabe know when something was going to erupt, just to keep himself occupied, any time a doctor walked past he would try to find out anything he could from them. Toby noticed Paige’s demeanour change more and more the longer Walter paced, the longer he rubbed his face in his hands, the more annoyed look would come over Paige’s face, which would flicker to hurt and back to annoyed. Walter’s eyes darting towards the doors, his catching himself pacing up to the doors and fighting the urge to burst through them to see you, to see with his own eyes that you were physically alright.

The second Walter was given a hint of a green light to finally be able to see you he burst through the hospital searching for your room, the rest of the team trailing behind him. When he finally found your room, he stopped dead when he saw you standing next to your bed having a test done on your balance and reactions, you hadn’t realised he was there yet, staring silently, taking in the sight of you. You had sat back on the bed by the time the rest of the team caught up with him and Gabe’s subtle push to get Walter firmly into the room instead of hovering on the outside. The others watched from the door as Walter awkwardly moved into the room, how he awkwardly made you aware of his presence, coughing lightly. You turned quickly and the smile you gave Walter. It made his heart falter, his breath catch in his chest. He hadn’t realised he had opened his arms to cradle you tightly until your body practically collided with his. Toby began to make fun of “Mr. 197 IQ” but quickly stopped once he was elbowed in the ribs to ‘read the room’. What he didn’t miss was the very teary look in Paige’s eyes and the distinct quickness of her suddenly being distracted by something at the other end of the hall. All you could hear over the tears and both you and Walter’s rapid heartbeats was him faintly whispering into your hair, “it’s fine, you’re back and you’re safe with me.”

GIF credit to the owner

Tag List;

@lastwandastan (won't allow tag) , @lollipopsandlandmines

[hexdsl]

Writing tools - in reply

In reply to a recent question I was asked, in real life, by a human I realised that there is a perception that I change writing tools a lot. The common video of me is that I move between tools enough that every time I am asked, it appears I have more to add.

In truth, this simply isn’t true.

This is the workflow of my main writing tool:

Vim → Scrivener → Word

Vim was what I started in, because I used Vim a lot already and knew how to move around quickly. I didn’t yet realise the reasons that people work with very large documents used word processors. As soon as I did, I wanted something technical because I was already using Vim. I landed on Scrivener (which is excellent btw! Zero hate! great tool!) Ultimately, my tinkerer mindset lead me to mess with the software more than actually write. In the end, a good quality hole to put words into was all I really wanted; I ended up following the common wisdom of just using Word.

Then there is the path of my ‘support tooling’ - spellcheckers, grammar tools, thesaurus, and others

Grammarly → Pro Writing Aid

Along the way, I came to reply on WordHippo.com extensively.

I simply found PWA to be a better tool than Grammarly, not because Grammarly is bad, but because PWA is better. No bad choice there, not really. I did mess with LanguageTool for a bit. I found inconsistent, overall.

The one tool that I have moved around a lot with is my notes.

A text file (Markdown) → One Note → Evernote → Notion

The traditional ‘nerd’ logic of just using a text file formatted in markdown only took me so far before I lost track of it. Now, when you realise that I keep a ‘dossier’ on each character I create, every piece of technology I invent (from a writing point of view) every location, lore, tool and idea. The Denouement notes file alone is about 300 pages. On top of that I have Hunter’s Garden notes. And then there are the three planned novels I have started writing up.

That’s without the many notes relating to my actual life. There are hundreds of those too.

Over all, I use notes a lot. The text file soon became a little unmanageable. My requirements were simple. I wanted something hosted, not self hosted. I am an idiot and will lose anything I am left in charge of without fail.

I was already paying for Office, so One Note seemed obvious. It lost a bunch of things… which made me mad. I lost faith in it and went to Evernote.

Evernote was great, loved it but it was a little visually unsatisfying and put some odd limits of how deep I could go with sub-notes. I had already bounced on Notion more than once.

Eventually, after being told for the ten millionth time how great Notion was, I gave it another try. This time, I landed on it so hard that it power’s HexDSL.com and Trendy.HexDSL.com.

I am very happy with notion. It’s missing a few features, like, I can’t send emails to it and its tag system is a little wonky (imo) but it offers reliable syncing and it’s so easy to use that I feel like it’s magic.

In the end, my writing tools are this:

Word

ProWitingAid (I use the plug-in)

Word Hippo

Notion

I came to these pieces of software via testing and trialling. Nothing I use is a default simply because it’s well known or because it’s obvious. I’m a technical person and after much testing, I have fallen down on software that’s incredibly mainstream.

The perception that I obsess over the tool’s rather than actually writing isn’t true. Heck, I have my second book this year coming out in December. I do the writing but I make YouTube videos about the tools because I love testing them. It’s been a long time now since I have been tempted away from Word.

I wish someone would bake Word Hippo into Word with an addon or something because the built-in tool is shocking. 😞

Also, its worth mentioning, and not for the first time that being committed to a tool is dumb! If something come’s along thats better than Word, ill Crtl+a and then Ctrl+v into the new thing because there is no lock-in with text, other than that which you inflict on yourself.

Word is fucking great though!

[writingdotcoffee]

#240: The Physics of Writing

Perseverance is key to success, or so they say. You win when everyone else gives up. I've been thinking about that a lot. How can I keep creating sustainably? How do I not give up?

The thing is, quitting is a lot more insidious than it seems. There isn't a moment when you throw your arms up and say, "Screw this writing thing! I'm done."

It's gradual. Life gets in the way. You don't write as much as you used to. Then you open your WIP and realise that the last time you did that was two years ago.

Most people don't even realise that they've quit.

Powering Through

Nobody said it'd be easy, right? Just keep hustling. Keep showing up. Work hard, stay motivated and power through.

We've heard this before. It certainly is necessary to power through sometimes, but you can't sustain a writing habit for 40 years on pure willpower.

These things work sometimes, when you're not feeling like it, or when you have to hit a deadline. But if you're constantly stretching yourself, you will eventually run your passion for writing to the ground.

Some writers struggle to make it work for a long, long time. They get psyched up for a bit (usually around NaNoWriMo) and start working at an unsustainable speed only to burn out shortly after.

It's a frustrating cycle of failure that no amount of hard work will resolve. To change it, you have to change what you're working on.

The Physics of Writing

I often talk about the physical limits of writing. When it comes to other disciplines, physical limitations are pretty well understood. Nobody expects to run a mile in under 5 minutes without the appropriate athletic training.

When it comes to writing, the lines are a lot more blurry. Almost everyone learns to write at school. Somehow, that gives people instant confidence that they could write a book — if they had the time, of course.

The physical limits of what you can do as a writer are less apparent, but they're there nonetheless.

Depending on what's going on in your life at the time and what "writing shape" you're in, you may struggle to keep your writing projects on track. This manifests as a lack of focus, resistance, procrastination and many other things. Powering through those things isn't sustainable. You'll burn out.

Imagine that you want to get into running. Instead of taking your time and slowly ramping up your training, you start going for two runs per day. You sprint as fast as you can and power through each 3-5 mile run. If you want something, you have to work hard, man, innit?

You'd quit on day three, sore all over and covered in blisters. Well, at least I would. And I'd hate running for the rest of my life.

How to Keep Going?

Don't constantly beat yourself up for not being able to keep up your writing habit. Look at the "writing shape" that you're in and work your way up slowly. Maybe start by writing little stories based on prompts. Do some writing exercises. Dabble in fan fiction. Whatever you like.

Give yourself a chance to succeed.

About the Author

Hi, I’m Radek 👋. I’m a writer, software engineer and the founder of Writing Analytics — an editor and writing tracker designed to help you beat writer’s block and create a sustainable writing routine.

I publish a post like this every week. Want to know when the next one comes out? Sign up for my email list below to get it right in your inbox.

SUBSCRIBE

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Past Editions

#239: Writing for Fun and Profit, March 2022

#238: Should You Write a Novel?, March 2022

#237: The Paradox of Overthinking Things, March 2022

#236: Personal Writing Challenges, March 2022

#235: Setting Goals as a Writer, February 2022

[slow-button-off]

This is nothing against Carlos but I almost feel like Ferrari have to prioritize Charles from now on and be sure that they don’t take any strategic risks with him and fuck up any more races. They said that they would decide the 1-2 after the summer break and Charles is ahead on points. Max does seem pretty out of reach by now but that doesn’t mean they still shouldn’t try, especially if there’s still any shot at the constructors. Seeing how literally every comment on every Ferrari post is about how they’ve fucked up Charles’ season they really cannot afford to do that anymore. There can’t be any more strategy fucks up, especially not at Monza and they really need to give it their all and try to be as solid as RB on the strategy side. And maybe by being clear on the 1-2 and having Carlos take on a more ‘defensive’ role will help that because strategy between the two will be more clear. The entire grid (drivers and TPs) know how much Ferrari have screwed up and if Ferrari want to save any credibility they have with their fans, they need to be on it and they need to give Charles as much support as they can. I just hope they stick to their word and come back from summer break with a clear plan because right now they just seem to not know what they’re doing and you can’t win a championship like that.

Hiya!

The more I think about it the more I am actually convinced that declaring a 1-2 won't help much.

Yeah, it'll probably help in terms of getting Charles past Carlos if he is behind and faster but that's not happened that often and in Hungary they handled it mostly fine. They could've done it earlier and via team orders and not the pits but then they'd lose a little on George again, because you do lose a little time when swapping. And to keep the pressure on George it made sense.

They say that they are currently prioritising the faster one and I do believe them. I believe them that they are trying to prioritise Charles. The problem isn't prioritising the wrong one or them taking strategic risks. it's that they are too scared and if anything too conservative with Charles.

They never fucked up Charles strategy by being risky this season. It's the opposite. In Monaco they wanted to cover off Checos undercut which they couldn't do with Carlos anymore so they did it with Charles. In general they were late with reacting to the undercut in Monaco.

In Silverstone they prioritised track position, because they were scared that Lewis might not pit and then Charles would've come out behind him. And for some reason they didn't think that the softs would last or give much advantage.

In Hungary they were so scared of Max and the undercut that they pitted Charles wayy too early (and onto the wrong tyres).

Maybe declaring a 1-2 might help them in realising that they have two drivers and that they could've covered Max in Hungary with Carlos. But part of me thinks that they are scared to use one to cover the undercut on the other because it went so wrong in Monaco and they react so quickly now because they were late in Monaco.

To me strategic risks wouldn't be desperately trying to cover every threat but to do what they did in Austria and believe in their car and driver and to do their own thing. They are way to reactive with Charles because they are scared to fuck it up and then it fucks it up anyway. They are less reactive with Carlos because he usually isn't in the lead and under the same threat so taking a gamble to maybe make up some positions just comes easier than when you are potentially gambling yourself out of the lead. But they punt Charles out of the lead and off the podium anyway.

Also they need to please update/rework their tyre deg simulation software because there is something terribly wrong there. The softs won't last thing in Silverstone and the hards in Hungary. Something is not working in that Software. (and in my very professional opinion that software can't even be that complex, I'd be surprised if it did more than just extrapolate the data that they gather in FP2)

They seem to also be a bit too focused on the numbers and not on driver feedback and what they say they feel. And like what the weather does, because you are going to have to change your strategy when it drops 10°C or at least adjust that in your simulations.

But yeah they need to sort it out! At this point I'd love to see them just try their own thing. I'd even forgive them if it doesn't work out but just one time not reacting to absolutely everything with Charles would be a welcome change.

[blu-joons]

He Writes A Song For You ~ Min Yoongi

You passed by the rest of the boys as you made your way into the apartment, walking straight through to Yoongi’s studio. As soon as he text you asking you to come over, you left your work at your house and headed to the apartment block.

Your knocked gently on the door once you reached the studio, hearing his voice mumble on the other side of the door for you to enter. As you did, he spun around in his chair, greeting you with a wide smile.

“I didn’t think you’d get here so soon,” he laughed, pulling a chair across for you.

You happily walked over and sat yourself down, “your text made it sound like something serious had happened, but looking around, that doesn’t feel like the case.”

Yoongi knew in order to get you to drop everything and come over he had to think of something big, he knew how much you worried, and sending you something that would make you worry was his only way of getting you to come.

His head shook as he loaded up the software on his computer, sliding a piece of paper across to you. You picked it up and turned it over noticing rough scribbles of lyrics written down. A few of the lyrics were ones you remembered hearing Yoongi talk about before, he often would mutter little pieces to put together when he was around you, but you never realised that he actually used them until now.

Yoongi sat back and waited until you’d read over the whole thing, stunned by the talent that had gone into every word. His creative mind was something you were often jealous of; he had a way with words that others could only dream of.

“What do you think?” Yoongi asked, as you placed the sheet of paper back on his desk. “It’s just a little something I’ve been working on.”

Your head nodded, “it’s amazing, you really should put this over music or something, the fans would love to hear this as a track.”

“That’s actually something I’ve already done,” he replied, opening up one of his folders. “It’s the reason why I actually invited you here.”

You watched closely as he hovered over the play button, making sure that the lyric sheet was facing up so that you could read each line closely again. The beginnings of the track played out as you listened along to his voice singing the lyrics on the sheet.

His eyes stayed on you throughout the entire time the song played whilst your eyes followed along with the lyrics. Your wide smile certainly eased his heart as he hoped and prayed that you’d love the song as much as he loved it.

As it came to an end, you turned his direction and rested your hand over his, “it’s beautiful,” you smiled. It was unlike any other song of Yoongi’s you’d listened to but hearing him try something a little more like a ballad introduced a new side to his voice that you loved.

“I’m glad you like it, seeing as it was written for you,” he suddenly spoke. Your eyes widened as he leant back in his chair with a giggle. Your eyes looked between him and the lyric sheet several times, struggling to comprehend what he was saying.

The song had been a work in progress for quite some time for Yoongi. He’d always imagined himself writing a song for you, but he never really knew where to start. After talking it through with Namjoon, finally the perfect idea came to him.

“You really did this for me?” You asked in disbelief.

Yoongi moved the sheet of paper closer towards him, “all of these phrases and words are things I’ve said around you. They’re the pieces of inspiration that you give me when I’m around you.”

You’d recognised a few of the things written down, figuring that some of the other things must have been more internal thoughts for him. Your hand quickly wiped underneath your eye as you began to feel it water, shaking your head gently.

“I’ll make you feel safe, always, that was what I told you when you were stressing about me going on tour,” he pointed out to you, “and this one, just take my hand, that was what I told you the first time I took you to head over and meet the boys.”

You read through a few more as Yoongi told you the stories behind the lyrics. Most of them you’d never recalled, but the memories were as clear as day to Yoongi, each one of them was still firmly in his mind.

“What about this one?” You questioned, running your finger along the line. “When have you ever said to me, I can’t face the world without you?”

I’ve never said it,” he replied.

“So, why did you write it down?” You quizzed, tapping against his knee. “Or did you just run out of things to write when you got to this point?”

His head shook, pointing to a couple more lines in the song. “They’re things I’ve never said to you because I was always too scared. They were the thoughts I kept to myself in case you thought they were too cliché or cringe. I thought the song would be a subtle way of letting you know that I felt these things too.”

You sat back as Yoongi filled you in on the rest of the lyrics, telling you all about the moments when those thoughts first came to mind. They were all the times you thought he wasn’t even listening to you when all along he was lost in his thoughts about you.

“I don’t even have words Yoongi,” you whispered, intertwining your fingers in with his. “I can’t believe you did something so kind for me, all the effort and time that must have gone into this, all the times when you snuck away to come in here.”

“Well, I couldn’t tell you what I was doing,” he laughed, “otherwise that would have ruined the surprise. I wanted to make sure every last detail with it was perfect.”

Perfect didn’t even come close to describing how you felt about the song. You always knew lyrics and music were Yoongi’s way of expressing himself, but you never imagined he’d use his skill to express himself so well.

“Are you going to share it?”

His head shook, saving the file and closing it down again. Your eyes looked quizzically at him as he smiled softly at the surprise in your expression.

“I want to keep it for us, not even any of the boys have seen it,” he informed you, “I’d rather just keep this as something the two of us can listen to, not the fans.”

“A whole song just for me, that definitely makes me feel special.”

He moved his chair closer towards you, wrapping his arms around you so that you were resting against his chest, pressing his lips to the top of your head. “You are special, that’s the whole reason why I wrote this. I hope it goes a little way into telling you how much I love you and how thankful I am to have you in my life.”

Your eyes glanced up at him, “it’s done more than enough, the pressures on me now to do something cool for you too.”

“You don’t have to; I’ve got what I need right here.”

---

Prompts: 39, 40, 41

---

Masterlist

[awkwxrdapple]

Fallen Angel (Part 2) - Peter Parker x reader

PART 1

Request reminder: Hi! I love your writing! I was hoping you could do a peter x reader where the reader gets badly hurt and captured and it takes a long time for the avengers and peter to find her and once they do, she is scared half to death, jumpy, nervous, and stays by Peter’s side during pretty much everything. They are living in the avengers tower with everyone and since they are the youngest, Peter is particularly protective of her during her recovery. Thank you!

Word count: 1.5k

WARNINGS: mentions of anxiety, light torture, injury, trauma (after reading if you think I should include any others please let me know thank you)

Part 2

The hours that had passed felt like months. Soon you had lost track of how long you thought you had been strapped to a chair in that room, and with every physical injury you felt your resolve falter more and more. 

You would never give them what they wanted - that you were sure of. So unfortunately for you, whoever was holding you was getting more impatient and frustrated, taking it out on you even more to try and get what they wanted. You hoped maybe they would give up after it was obvious you wouldn't crack, but they didn't seem to think so. 

They could see they were breaking you on the outside. Little did they know you were not utterly terrified. Every sound in the room made you jump, and every touch made you flinch so hard the ropes holding you cut into your skin. You were a mess, both inside and out. But you still wouldn't give them what they wanted. 

Dropping down in front of you like he had done before the beating began, the first man who spoke to you sighed and held your chin to force you to look at him. 

"Y/N I hate to keep asking but you really give me no choice."

He used the back of his hand to slap you harshly across the cheek. Any other day that wouldn't have phased you that much, but due to the already existing wounds put there by either him or one of his other men, it stung and brought more tears to your eyes. 

"N-no." You wept. You were now openly crying but you didn't care. All that mattered is that they didn't get what they wanted. You wouldn't give them any information about the Avengers. 

The man's annoyance was growing even more that before. It terrified you. You knew they needed you alive but they could still do many things to you before you died. 

You thought about Peter, about your best friend, and somehow that gave you more strength to hang on. Would he be out there looking for you? Would they even have any way to find you? You hoped with every fibre of your broken body that Peter was on his way to help you. You even hated being apart from him for this long. 

"I really do hate doing this to you Y/N…"

You hated that he kept using your first name like you were old friends.

No you don't. You thought, before a punch was directed at your gut. 

+  +  +

Once Peter had suited up he paced nervously waiting for Tony to get into the Iron Man armour. Nat had caught onto the situation and was joining the both of them on your rescue mission. Nobody knew why or who had wanted to kidnap you. They hadn't received a message requesting a ransom for your return, so it was clear a more sinister plot was at play. 

Upon arriving at the old warehouse that your phone signal was coming from, the trio split up to try and cover more ground. If you were inside the building, it would then be a faster process to find you and get you out. Alive. 

Peter was the one to find you. 

You became worried when you heard shouting and loud thumps from outside the door. The noises started to make you shake with fear and soon you were crying softly again. 

There was a few moments of complete silence before the door was kicked in, flying completely off its hinges and into the room narrowly missing you. 

It was almost as if your luck had completely changed and you sobbed audibly upon seeing him.

There was one other man in the room with you who went for his gun as soon as he spotted the red and blue, but Peter was quicker. He disarmed the man swiftly and carefully and sent an elbow to his face cleanly knocking him out. 

"Y/N!" Peter's astonishment at your appearance was coupled with relief and something else you couldn't quite place. For a moment you thought it was anger. Was he angry at you? Had you caused so much disruption that he was angry at you? 

"Tony, Nat!" Peter also called out through his comms unit and soon the two Avengers ran into the room too. 

Tony cut and removed your bonds and let Peter move in closer to you so your body could fall into his. He used a spare hand to rip his mask off so you could look at him properly. His soft brown eyes were full of concern. You sagged into him further as you had no more energy left to hold yourself up.

"Hey Y/N stay with me, ok baby. Stay with me." 

Baby. 

The endearment was lost on you as you were falling in and out of consciousness. The darkness of the room wasn't helping your extreme fatigue and shock. Even though you were being rescued, you were still terrified. 

In the corner of your eye you could see another man in black come into the room but Nat dealt with him. For a second you felt a shriek of fear nearly come out of you but as you saw his limp body fall to the ground it was lost.

Peter's strong but gentle arms were wrapped around your body as he lifted to you up swiftly to his chest. You could hear sobs, which after a few seconds you realised were your own. Hearing these, Peter hugged you even closer to him and you instinctively moved closer into his embrace. This was the closest feeling to being safe that you had felt since you had been taken. 

He was warm, and smelt of home. Quickly your sobs turned from fear to relief. 

"Ok, let's get her out of here." Peter commanded. 

Tony and Nat went in front of Peter and led the way through the also dimly lit corridors. When you reached the door that let into outside, you had to squint from the brightness and turn your face further into Peter. There was noise outside too, too much of it. Cars were bustling up and down the street. 

"Did you find out anything about them?" Nat asked Tony, slightly out of breath from running. 

"No, all of their software was encrypted so well that even I couldn't hack it." 

Nat sighed. Your safety and wellbeing was a bigger concern at the moment though. They needed to get you back to the Tower as soon as they could and get you checked over. Just one quick glance at you would make any one aware of your fragile state. 

Peter was still whispering encouragement to you as you gripped onto him. 

“You're safe now Y/N."

"I've got you."

"Stay with me, we're going home." 

"You are so strong Y/N."

Soon though, you couldn't hold onto consciousness, and you fell asleep exhausted in Peter's arms. 

+  +  +

A steady beeping woke you up.

You could tell you were back in the Tower, everything was cleaner, whiter, lighter. Your head hurt, everywhere hurt if you thought about it long enough, but you also felt strangely numb. There was an IV drip linked to your left arm, and two other nodes tapped into your chest to measure your heart rate. 

Even though you knew you were safe, there was still that lingering adrenaline. Something that still had you on edge. You knew you weren't held captive for very long, regardless of however long it felt, but it didn't matter. The damage had been done. 

Starting to feel yourself panicking again, remembering all of the physical abuse you had been put through, the beeping quickly became closer together, seeming louder. This in turn created more panic as the noise fed your anxiety. 

In the next moment Tony and Peter rushed into the room. In your panic you were struggling to breathe. You were having a panic attack. 

You tried to sit up and reach for Peter who had moved to you. This movement pulled the IV from your arm. 

"Help me!" You managed to get out. You couldn't even tell him what you needed physical help from. You were safe now. But you couldn't get out of your head everything that had happened to you. 

"Y/N, I promise you that you are safe." Peter took hold of your hands and let you squeeze as hard as you needed to. 

Peter and Tony shared a look because of your distress. There was no way Tony would be able to get the IV back into you as you were now shaking uncontrollably. 

"Don't worry Y/N this will allow you to sleep." Tony said gently. 

You felt yourself nodding, before once again, drifting off. 

Tag list: @unmistakablyunknown​ @oxodianaoxo​ @tazishereforu @lovely-blackinnon​ @bibliophilewednesday​ @fuckingalohomora-bitch​ 

If you would like to be in the tag list for part 3 or any of my other Peter Parker imagines please let me know!

Masterlist

[nalgenewhore]

masterlist - part one - part two ½

“Oh, I could fucking snap that pretty little neck of yours.” 

Elide smirked and crossed her arms, “Keep it in your pants, Salvaterre. We’re still at work, baby.” 

From the other side of her office, Lorcan sent her a glare that could freeze Hellas’ fiery realm. He crossed the room in two large strides. His long, glossy hair was in disarray. Elide practically choked on her desire to smooth it back for him. She glanced around, quickly averting her eyes from Rowan’s pointed look. His fiancée beside him wore a delighted expression, almost as if she wished she was snacking on something right about now. “Lochan, c’mon. Listen to me. If we settle now, it’ll only allow big tech corporations to completely demolish software start-ups. You know I’m right.” 

“If we push, we could end up with nothing and bankrupt our client! If we settle, that leaves Nox and Luca with enough money to further their technology.” She stood up and braced her hands against the glass surface of her desk. “Lorcan, I know that you want to set precedent–”

“It’s not about setting precedent, princess,” he snapped. “I don’t give a fucking shit if people know my name or not. I’m doing the right thing here and it’s insulting that you don’t see that.” Lorcan dropped the papers on her desk. He stepped back and ran his hands through his hair before twisting his locks into a messy bun. “You’re fucking impossible, Elide.” 

Elide’s spine straightened, “ I’m impossible? This is my case and since the second I asked you for help, you’ve been–”

“You’re fucking it up, Elide! You’re scared of losing and leaving those kids with nothing so you’re playing it safe and–” 

“I am not playing it safe , Lorcan. I’m playing it smart. This is what we learned in school. It’s how we’re supposed to do it.” 

He scoffed, his words cutting, “Yeah, according to a second-year class. I never had you pegged as a coward, Elide. You’re scared and you’re hiding behind a gods-damned book . You know, I really used to think you were cut out for this, but I’m not so sure anymore.” Tears burned her throat. Elide flicked her watery eyes to the wall of windows and focused on the glittering city lights. Lorcan inhaled sharply, as if realising what he’d just said. “Princess, shit, I’m–”

“You’re not sorry, don’t you dare lie to me,” Elide whispered. She looked up at him, “You want the case that bad, Lorcan? Fine. It’s yours. Enjoy it, you bastard.” She shoved the case file box to him so hard that it slid off the smooth surface and on pure reflex, Lorcan caught it. Elide didn’t look at anyone while she strode out of her office. 

She took the elevator up to the roof and walked across the gravel-covered roof to the railing. Elide leaned against it and then, because she couldn’t help herself anymore, she let a sob fall from her lips. Elide buried her face in her hands. 

She cried softly until she heard the heavy metal door drag against the gravel as it was pushed open. Elide raised her head and hastily wiped her eyes, “If you’re here to grovel, I don’t want to hear it, Salvaterre.” 

“He’s not. Aelin’s chewing him out right now.” 

Elide turned, sighing softly. “What are you doing out here, Rowan? I want to be alone.” A gust of cold wind blew over her. Elide hugged her arms around herself and tucked her chin into her chest to conserve heat. 

Rowan walked closer and draped her heavy wool coat over her shaking shoulders. “I thought you might be cold. Might want some company, too.” He opened his arms and Elide leaned into him. “Yeah,” he said as he folded her into his warm chest and rested his chin on her head. “I know, Ellie.” 

“Every time,” she sniffled, pathetically, “every time I think we- we’re getting somewhere, we fight and- and lose whatever progress we’ve made. He isn’t even mine and I keep losing him.” 

“I know,” Rowan said, his brogue strong and comforting. Unbeknownst to Elide, his face was set in a deep frown, all directed at the man who sat floors below them, being berated by a woman he towered over by at least a foot. 

After a few minutes, Elide stepped back. She accepted the tissue Rowan procured and wiped her mascara tracks away. “I guess I should go back and… figure this out. Are you and Ae staying?” 

“No, we’ve got dinner with my parents.” 

Elide nodded and looped her arm through his elbow, “Let’s go, then.” Rowan wisely didn’t try to dissuade her and escorted her back down. Aelin was waiting by the elevators, her coat and scarf on. She carried her gloves and bag in hand and stepped up to hug Elide good-bye and fuss over her hair. “Ae,” Elide said, “I’m fine, really. Go, have dinner with Ro’s parents. I’ll call you tonight.” 

“Alright. But if you need me, I can ditch those losers and come over.” Rowan cleared his throat and arched an unimpressed brow. Aelin sent him a loved-up grin and kissed Elide’s cheeks, “Bye, honey.” 

“Good-bye, Elide,” Rowan said. 

“Night, you two. Say hi to your parents for me.” 

“Of course,” Rowan nodded his head and guided his fiancée into the waiting elevator. 

Elide turned on her heels and slowly walked back through the empty office to hers. She looked through the glass wall and saw Lorcan. He was sitting on the low, modern leather couch and bent forward with his forearms against his thighs. 

When she walked in, Lorcan shot to his feet, his eyes wide. “El, please, listen to me. I’m sorry. Really. I didn’t- I was- I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. None of it is true, you have to believe me. You- you’re an amazing lawyer, Lochan. I’m so fucking sorry.” 

“I know, Lorcan. Really, I know. It’s not the first time one of us has said something we didn’t mean.” 

Relief flooded his face, “Ok, um, yeah. That’s good.” He flashed her a rakish grin. Elide felt her own smile grow at the sight of his. She wasn’t too stubborn to deny that Lorcan was attractive and quite possibly the most attractive man she had ever laid eyes on, but when he smiled… she could only describe him as beautiful. “And, listen, I know you think we should settle, but–” 

“Lor,” Elide laughed, “let’s order dinner before we get back to it, ok? I’m starving.” 

Lorcan loosened his tie and lifted his eyebrows, “You aren’t trying to wine and dine me just so I’ll agree with you, right?” Elide just hummed noncommittally and walked to her desk. She leaned back against the edge as she picked up her phone and dialed the number to their favourite restaurant. He laughed and sat down, “Right, like that would ever happen.” He paused, waiting for her response. “Right, Elide?” 

“Hmmm? Oh, yeah, never.” Never. Never. Never.  

She hated that the thought of them never being together made her heart crack. After she put in their classic order, she sat down next to him and they read briefs in a comfortable silence. 

An hour later, their dinner arrived. Lorcan sat down on the carpeted floor and rested his back against her couch. Elide kicked her heels off and sat down against the matching armchair, perpendicular to Lorcan. 

They spread out their papers around them, interspersed with boxes of Chinese takeout. Elide rested her feet in his lap, her brow furrowed as her eyes flicked back and forth across the page. Lorcan didn’t say a word and laid his hand on her ankle. His thumb soothed circles over her skin, “What is it?” 

“I think we should push.” 

“Lochan–” 

“You’re backing down, really?” There was a fluttering sound as she dropped the package. “Stop doing that. I told you I was fine and you’re right. If we settle, it’ll only allow other corporations to go after and attack small developers.” 

“I’m sorry, what was that?” 

She narrowed her eyes in warning. “If we settle–” 

“No, no, not that,” he said, smiling at her, “the thing before that. I’m what? ”

Elide rolled her eyes and flicked his nose with her index finger, “You’re right . I should’ve listened to you earlier.” 

Picking up a box of sesame noodles, Lorcan passed Elide her vegetarian dumplings. “What are you thinking?” 

Elide took the box and picked up her chopsticks to pinch one. She lifted the dumpling, but didn’t eat it. “About what?” They both knew he wasn’t talking about the case. 

Lorcan dropped his head back against the couch cushion, “Anything.” 

“I’m thinking that… this is nice. Being with you. I like it.” He looked at her and Elide frowned defensively, “What, I like your company. We don’t always have to fight.” 

“I know,” he said softly. “I like it too.” Her pale cheeks pinked and they shared a gentle grin. 

Elide poked his thigh with her toe, her heart pounding, “Tell me what you’re thinking.” 

His eyes were so dark, Elide swore she could get lost in them and willingly, too. Lorcan rubbed his hand up and down her shin, “I’m thinking maybe I don’t… hate you. Maybe I’ve never hated you.” 

She could barely hear herself think, blood rushing through her ears. Slowly, Elide rose onto her knees and straddled his lap. Lorcan didn’t say a word, merely steadying her hips as she shifted. “Well, maybe I’m tired of pretending we wouldn’t be great together.” 

Lorcan lifted a hand to cradle the back of her head and pull her close. They both leaned in and the tips of their noses bumped together. Her hands were surprisingly steady as she gripped his collar and tugged him that much closer. Their lips were a hair’s breadth apart when he whispered, “Let’s stop pretending then, hmm?”

+*+*+*+*+*+*

an: tee hee 

@mythicaitt @werewolffprince @schmlip-scribble  @empire-of-wildfire@ladyverena @ttakeitbacknoww @shyvioletcat @alifletcher2012 @tswaney17 @ourbooksuniverse  @flora-and-fae @thesirenwashere @queenofxhearts @maastrash @mynewdreamwasyou @cursebreaker29 @empress-ofbloodshed @b00kworm @hizqueen4life @silversprings98 @amren-courtofdreams @minaidss @superspiritfestival @sanakapoor @ireallyshouldsleeprn @spyofthenightcourt  @thegoddessofyou @more-espresso-less-depresso-xx @claralady @neonhellas @darlinminds @readingismyonlyhobby​ @autophobiaxx​ @silversprings28​ @myshadowsingeraz​ @aelinfeyreeleven945tbln​ @elriel4life​ @always-in-a-daydream​ let me know if u want to be added/removed from the tag list !!

[wouldduskwood]

Jake's POV Descendants of Despair Part 51

She sat back in her chair, untangling her hand briefly from mine as she used both hands to keep her hood up. “Fuck,” she cursed quietly. “The man without a face has more technical skill than I ever thought.” Rubbing her temples, she took a few steadying breaths. I watched all of this silently, wondering where her thought processes had led her. I should have been paying more attention to what was being said rather than trying to wind the overgrown ape up.

“Uh, what’s going on?” Dan questioned. She sat upright once more and took my hand back in her own. I readily accepted it and marveled how her very touch had become second nature to me. She had let me past her defenses, and she had torn through mine even easier. I needed her. Her action did not escape Dan’s attention. “Urgh,” he groaned, looking away. My hand briefly increased in pressure in hers then returned to a relaxed state as she continued to hold it. He could scoff all he liked. The only person that could ever end our relationship would be her, if she ever wanted out I'd give her that.

“The thing is, I may have misjudged just how capable that jackass is…” she groaned. “I knew he must have had some ability, but I think he was tracking all of our calls for a while. How else did he know that you were leaving the hospital and that Phil had called you?” she looked at me for clarification. As if I would ever let anyone that close to her. I had missed Alan and since then I had increased my protection over her tenfold. When she had willingly given me her phone to add extra protection and tracking, I had doubled down on the quality of my protection. I also performed regular checks on all of our software. “Can he track my phone without your knowledge?” she asked warily. “Doubtful,” I murmured. “The type of hacking to get into someone's calls would leave far more traces than a simple encryption to prevent me from seeing that they’d sent a message, like Alan had used. If Nym0s didn’t pick up on it, and I didn’t during my regular checks, then I doubt he has gotten through it.” She nodded thankfully, which seemed to infuriate Dan once again and made me immensely happy. I could practically see steam pouring from his ears.

“Wait, so you are just okay with him monitoring everything you do?” Dan snarled. To my satisfaction, she shrugged. I was suddenly thankful for my mask as I was grinning like a moron at her offhanded attitude towards Dan. “I have nothing to hide from him and I trust him. That’s more than I can say about literally anyone else.” Trust. Such a precious thing. She didn't know it, but I had given her the same control over my phone as I had over hers. I trusted her completely as well and didn't want to hide anything from her. Especially now, now that I wanted control of our future to be split down the middle. “What the fuck has he done to you?” Dan hissed, glaring wildly at her. “You seemed so in control of things before, now it’s like you don’t want to make a move without checking with him that it’s okay first. He’s controlling you.” This immediately had my back up. If it wasn't for her grabbing my hand as tightly as she could to prevent me from reacting, I'd have been over that table and laying into him. How dare he glare at her. How dare he cause her any discomfort. “You’re wrong,” she stated coldly. “I can look after myself. Jake’s presence in my life has made it worthwhile. Jake’s presence in my life has given me something to fight for, to live for. You want to know if I can take care of myself. Fuck Dan, I’ve taken care of myself for so long that I have no idea what it would be like to not do it. Jake makes things easier, but there is no way in hell that I have lost any of the edge that I had before. The fact that you can’t see that is making me wonder if it is even worthwhile pursuing this plan or if Jake and I should just disappear and work it out ourselves.” As she spoke, I fought to control my anger at Dan. I barely registered her words but what I did pick up on was her love, her need for me...and her ability to take care of herself. She was right, of course. I had no doubt that better men had tried and failed to get to her. 'Dan didn't stand a chance', I thought gleefully to myself.

As she finished her statement, she let my hand go and pushed her seat back, causing the metal legs to scrape against the concrete floor in an excruciating sound akin to nails scraping down a blackboard. this broke me out of my momentary rage paralysis. As she stood, I followed suit without question. I would show him who was in control. She led the way to the door with me trailing behind her. She had complete control in this situation. If she wanted to leave, then we would leave and find another way. Whatever she needed I would be more than happy to support her in.

“Wait,” Dan sighed. “Maybe I misjudged you.” she paused but didn’t turn back. I stood behind her , silently, waiting for her to make a move. To my surprise, she waited silently for Dan to continue speaking. This must have been incredibly hard since she hated silence when it was loaded with so much tension. She never failed to impress me. “Look, what were you planning to do?” Dan asked, his voice softening. She made her way back to the seat she had left, turned it around and sat on it backwards. I watched her warily, understanding her action was a way to give her ease of escape. I sat myself back beside her but kept myself free enough that I could move in an instant if I needed to as well.

“I want to go in and see Phil, but without Jake. He is still wanted by some powerful people. I need someone to come with me to help in case the man without a face is there. The thing is, Dan, it may not be safe. I can escape relatively easily, but you wouldn’t likely be able to follow. Your presence and the fact Jake will be hidden somewhere may be enough for the man without a face to not make a move, as he won’t know what we are up to...but I can’t promise you’ll be okay. I’d have preferred to have Thomas there as well to confuse things further but it doesn’t look like that will happen.”

“That pussy wouldn’t be able to cope with it,” Dan snickered. He wasn't any better than the pussy he claimed Thomas to be. There's no way he would be able to handle the type of shit we faced every day. “Look, he’s a good guy but not cut out for this type of game. So, you’d be under my care…” Dan grinned, looking at me as I was hunched in my seat, trying to avoid confrontation with the gigantic ass. These words pissed me off and I was about to react when she sprang from her chair and pushed Dan from his. Her elegance and speed were astounding. She had the chair out from under him before he had even realised what was happening, using his own body weight as the leverage she needed to move him. He was taken by surprise, but she allowed him to stand then took his knee out from under him with a quick kick. Stunning! “You may have the muscle,” she sneered. “But I can protect myself. If you pull that shit again, I won’t hesitate to lay you on your ass and leave you there.” I watched this in complete amazement. She was so fiercely loyal and protective of us. I knew her anger wasn't just at Dan's presumed weakness but at his dig that I wouldn't be there for her. I wanted to calm her, take away some of her pain. My arms wrapped around her waist trying to comfort her as her body shook with rage. As I held her, I felt smug.

“Okay, okay, I get it…” Dan muttered as he pulled himself back on the chair. “If I wasn’t still recovering from the car accident, I’d have had you.” He sneered defiantly. “When would that have happened? When I pushed you off your chair, or when I had you back on the floor within a second after you had stood once again?” she snarled. “Don’t push me, Dan. I can do this with or without you. I would appreciate your support, but Jake and I can figure out an alternative strategy without it if we have to.”

Dan sighed. “Yeah, okay I get it. You’ve got as much edge as you always had,” he admitted grudgingly. “Maybe you’re the one wearing the pants in the relationship,” he snickered, casting a glance in my direction as I held my arms around her waist like a prize. This time I wanted to step in. To let the jackass know exactly how I felt about her. “It took you that long to figure it out huh? She has had me completely since she first started questioning me, despite me trying to fight it.” This response shut Dan up and seemed to calm her down further.

“Okay, so have we gotten over this point scoring?” she snarled, this time I knew her anger was superficial and a manipulative ploy to get him to work for her. “Yeah, okay, don’t pick on the hackerman. I get it,” Dan replied. “Jake?” she questioned as I snuggled closer against her. “Yeah, don’t wind the beefcake up, I get it,” I replied with a touch of humour in my voice. I had won. “Truce?” she asked. “Truce,” both Dan and I replied, eyeing each other with an element of loathing and distrust as we did so. He had passed the first test, despite pissing me off. He seemed to really have MC's best intentions at heart. He was a complete misguided fool about everything else though. I'd have to watch him, but I knew MC would be too.

Part 52

[spookywitch13]

I am here for you

Secret Santa gift for @jellyfishdodraw! Also for the Duskwood Secret Santa page @christmaswithduskwood

It's based on the AU of MC being strong in front of others until Jake asks. This is placed somewhere in episode 5 partly 6. It is based on the aftermath of the video that Lilly uploaded. This is Fem!MC x Jake. It's not canon compliant since this definitely didn’t happen. Also I will fully admit I am not the best writer but I hope you enjoy it. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Hate comment

Hate comment

Death threat

Hate comment

Death threat

Death threat

The comments and responses to the video that Lilly posted just keep coming in. Even after the video is removed they keep coming in on text messages, facebook posts, instagram messages, etc. I can’t seem to escape them. But I can’t let the others know about this because Jessy and possibly Jake would definitely try to kick Lilly’s ass. I scrub my hands against my face and get back to decoding the cloud storage.

*Jessy is Online*

Jessy: Hey MC!

MC: Hey

Jessy: How are you doing?

MC: I’m doing pretty well just looking for more clues. :)

Jessy: That’s good just try to take care of yourself as well and ignore that stupid video. Lilly is just trying to stir up trouble.

MC: Way ahead of you. 

Jessy: Ok that’s good just try to keep a positive mindset! You can always talk to me if you need to. <3 :)

Jessy: Oops got to get back to work we’ll talk later.

*Jessy is Offline*

I set my phone down as more notifications of comments and threats keep pouring in. Sighing I stare out my window dejected as my phone keeps pinging. Getting up and stretching my back I trudge into the kitchen intent on making myself some tea or other hot beverage. Something to comfort me as the messages keep piling in. 

*Jake’s Pov

“Ok I seem to be getting on the right track now, all I can do for now is let the program run and see what it finds.” I mutter to myself as I lean back from my computer. Running my hands through my hair I stare tiredly at the computer screen. “I wonder if MC is still up.”

Grabbing my phone I look to see if I have any new messages from her. Spotting a new message from a number that I don’t recognize I open it up.

Unknown: You two are absolutely SCUM of the Earth. HOW COULD YOU HURT THAT WOMAN!! I hope you both ROT in HELL for what you did!! Do you have no compassion for anyone?? What you two did was DEPLORABLE AND I HOPE YOU BOTH GET WHAT YOU DESERVE!!

“Awesome, gotta love the people I get messages from,” I mutter, “Lilly why on earth did you think that video was a good idea.”

A sudden thought comes to my mind. Lilly didn’t just post my number she also posted MC’s number. Worry grabs at me as I glance at MC’s contact information. I don’t want to break her trust by looking at her messages without her permission but I also want to make sure that she isn’t getting messages like this. I’ll talk to her first.

*Jake is Online*

Jake: Hey, how are you?

*MC is Online*

MC: I’m good, how about you?

Ok maybe she isn’t getting the same messages as me. That’s good, I’ll gladly take the brunt of this to keep her safe and happy. Some people can get really aggressive with this kind of accusation flying around. The worry starts to ebb out of my body.

Jake: I’m alright, I just wanted to check in with you while I have some time. :)

MC: Can’t keep me off your mind? ;) 

MC: I’ve been just working on the cloud

Jake: Haha you can always make me smile. :)

*ping*

*ping*

*ping*

I glance away from the chat to see that I’m getting notified about a private conversation between MC and an unknown person. I freeze as part of the unknown sender’s message flashes across my phone screen. It’s a death threat. Fury and worry race through me as I click on the messages. 

*Spymode: MC and Unknown*

Unknown: I’ll find you and rip your head off if you don’t let that woman go back to her family!! How could you as a HUMAN BEING do this to another human being!! 

Unknown: We should just kidnap you to make you fear for your life like you are making this poor woman feel. You better watch yourself.

I watch as the messages just keep coming not just from this person but others. Hate comments and death threats from random strangers on the internet who have no idea what is actually going on. Concern fills my chest as I quickly realise that MC has been getting way more than me. Going back to my conversation with MC I realise that she’s been dealing with this without mentioning it to anyone.

MC: I’m feeling pretty drained today but I’m hoping to get a new file from Hannah’s cloud soon.

Jake: Ok just don’t overwork yourself, afterall where would I be without my partner in crime. ;)

MC: Haha good thing we’ll never know the answer to that.

MC: I’m gonna head to bed, have a goodnight Jake I hope you have a good night’s sleep.

Jake: Goodnight MC. Sweet dreams. :)

*MC is Offline*

*Jake is Offline*

“Time to get another pot of coffee going, I’ve got some work to do regarding these messages.” I mutter darkly as I glare at the unknown senders. No one is going to hurt MC and get away with it, not with me here. Time to put my skills to good use.

Grabbing a new cup of coffee I get to work on making sure that these people can’t reach her anymore on any platform that she’s a part of.

*MC’s Pov-The next day

Sun shines through my window waking me up. Ignoring my phone for a little bit I work on getting myself a cup of coffee. New day hopefully with no new messages. I gingerly grab my phone and take a deep breath.

“Ok time to face the music.” I mutter, turning it on and quickly glancing at the screen. 

NO NEW MESSAGES

“Oh thank goodness I get to have a little bit of good morning,” I say as I sip my coffee. Scrolling through my messages I quickly notice that all the hate messages and death threats are gone. 

RING!

My phone suddenly rings causing me to almost throw it in surprise. I really need to turn that ringer down. Glancing at the screen I notice Jake’s icon pop up as an incoming call. I quickly press answer and move to sit down on my couch.

“Hey Jake.” I say as the call connects through.

“Why didn’t you mention it? Why didn’t you say that you were getting hate and death threats from Lilly’s video?” His voice filters through still distorted through whatever audio thing he uses.

“I didn’t want to worry you guys and I didn’t think it was that important.” I comment quietly as I begin putting the pieces together.

“It’s important to me!” He doesn’t quite yell it but it’s almost a yell. “I could’ve set the software up earlier and you wouldn’t have had to go through all that.”

“I didn’t want to add more to your plate, you are already really busy plus it wasn’t that big of a deal.” I say tightly trying to hold back the overwhelming flow of emotions as the last couple of days begin to catch up to me.

“MC, I don’t care if I’m busy. Yes I want to find Hannah as quickly as possible but I also want to make sure that you are safe as well. I care about you and your wellbeing more than I could ever care about the amount of work I’m going through,” He says gently.

Hearing him say that is the final straw, all the stress and fear from the last couple of days breaks free and I just start crying on the phone. It’s definitely not a pretty cry I can barely speak as Jake tries to console me over the phone. I hear a knock on my front door as I try to get my crying under control.

“MC please open the door,” He says.

I get to my feet and stumble to the front door opening it with my phone still against my ear. Standing in front of my door is a man with a black hoodie, who's holding his phone to his ear.

“Hey MC.” He says gently and ends the phone call. “I can’t stay too long but I wanted to make sure you were doing alright.”

I move aside to let him in and close my door. Putting my phone down I turn to him. He kinda blushes and scratches the back of his neck.

“Sorry I know I should have messaged you ahead of time to let you know that I was coming but I didn’t want to risk it with everything going on.” He says averting his eyes in embarrassment. “Do you want a hug?”

Nodding I wrap my arms around his midsection pressing my face into his shoulder as I sob letting out all the turmoil within me. He gently rubs my back comfortingly.

“It’ll be ok, don’t worry MC. I’ve got you let it all out.” He whispers into my hair as he continues to hold me. We stay like this for a little bit before I finally start to calm down. 

Even though I stopped crying Jake hasn’t let go of me, in fact he's holding me tighter. I clear my throat and step back a little bit. Now that I’ve let everything out I’m just feeling drained. He gently guides me to the couch and we sit together on it.

“How long are you going to be able to stay?” I ask quietly, my throat still raw from crying.

“A couple of hours at most but I don’t want to risk it too much.” He says as he wraps his arms around me again pulling me towards him. I’m positioned in a way that makes it so that I am leaning against him with my head over his heart. “No matter what happens I want you to know that I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe.”

I nod tiredly as the emotional release drains me of all the energy I had. I close my eyes and listen to the gentle rhythm of his heartbeat in my ear. His hand is still rubbing my back gently. Even though I’ve never met this guy in person before with all the texting we’ve been doing I still feel comfortable around him.

Even though I know he’ll be gone soon I’m gonna enjoy this moment for as long as I can. I start to drift off slightly when I feel him press a gentle kiss to my head. I know that we still have a lot of things to do but this moment will be forever imprinted in my memories.

The End

Again I really hope you like your gift! Happy Holidays!!

-SpookyWitch13

[massivedrickhead]

For the prompt thing and with hope you will feel better - Beca is dyslexic and is having trouble at the rehearsals, she won't say what is wrong even though girls keep asking or sth like that, then Chloe confronting her about it and a lot of fluff?

Hi, thank you for sending this prompt. I think this might be the third time I’ve received this prompt, so I’m assuming they’re all from you? I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get to it. I’ll be honest, the reason I haven’t done this prompt yet is because I don’t know too much about dyslexia, and I didn’t want to make anything that was insensitive or inaccurate. I hope I’ve been able to do this with sensitivity.

If I haven’t please tell me and I’ll take it down.

Anyway, thank you for the prompt. Enjoy.

This was a mistake, Beca thought, looking down at the sheet of paper Aubrey had just handed her. 

Her leg was vibrating and she got that familiar drop in her stomach as she tried to focus on the words on the page in front of her.

“Please make sure this gets filled out and handed back to me by the end of rehearsal,” Aubrey said. 

Beca cast her eyes around the room to see the other girls all writing, and her eyes turned back to her own paper. 

She tried to make herself focus, tried to make herself read each word so she could complete this form, but the words began swimming together as they so often did, and Beca felt herself getting frustrated. She felt the heat of embarrassment on the back of her neck, felt it spread to her face.

Focus, she told herself. 

But by the time her eyes had travelled to the bottom of the page, she realised she hadn’t taken in a word of it.

“Okay, break’s over!” Aubrey called, and Beca shoved the paper in to her bag. She could complete it tonight and bring it in on their next rehearsal.

The rehearsal went smoothly after that. Beca was grateful she already knew the words to the song they were signing, so she didn’t have to rely on the print-out Chloe had handed her.

“I’ll see you ladies tomorrow morning for our next rehearsal,” Aubrey said, after finally calling an end.

“Tomorrow?” Beca asked. “I have to work tomorrow.”

Aubrey sighed. “What does it say on the whiteboard Beca?” She gestured to the scribbled green ink which supposedly laid out the Bellas’ plans for victory.

Beca looked, and again felt that twist in her stomach. Her mouth went dry and her throat seemed to close up. She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it quickly.

“Well?” Aubrey snapped.

“It says a lot of stuff,” Beca replied, her temper getting the better of her. “Tell me which bit is supposed to be important.”

She heard a slow intake of breath coming from the other girls around her.

“You’re a braver woman than I am,” Cynthia Rose muttered.

“We rehearse every day,” Aubrey said, jabbing her finger against the board. 

“Okay,” Beca said. “I’m just saying, I have work tomorrow, could we rehearse after?”

“Sure,” Chloe said, preventing what she knew would be tirade of abuse from Aubrey. “What time do you finish?”

“12 pm,” Beca said.

“Perfect,” Chloe replied, grinning. “We’ll start rehearsals at one, if that’s okay with everyone else?”

Everyone else agreed, and they all began to file out of the auditorium.

“Beca,” Aubrey called, looking down at a stack of papers in her hand. “You didn’t give me your sheet.”

“Oh,” Beca said, wondering once again why she was putting herself through this. “I didn’t finish filling it out. I can bring it tomorrow.”

Aubrey raised her eyebrows. “I said I needed it today.”

“It’s fine, Beca,” Chloe said, cutting Aubrey off again. “Just bring it tomorrow.”

Beca shot Chloe a grateful smile, and headed out of the door.

Back in her dorm room, Beca pulled out the sheet of paper Aubrey had wanted her to fill out. She pulled a notebook out of her bag, and slipped the paper behind the sheet of transparent yellow plastic that was clipped into her notebook.

Slowly, the words began to make sense to her, and she filled out the sheet as best she could.

She filled out her name, date of birth, email address and phone number. She listed her allergies, dietary requirements, and gave her clothing sizes so they could order a Bellas uniform for her.

At the end there was a box asking if there was anything else the co-captains needed to be aware of. If there was any medical conditions or disabilities or even learning difficulties that would impact Beca’s ability to rehearse or perform, and if there were any special requirements that they could put in place to help her.

Beca had a suspicion this question had been put in by Chloe.

She tapped her pen against the page, chewing her bottom lip as she thought.

Then she folded the paper in half, and slipped it back into her bag, deciding they didn’t need to know. 

After, she spent some time listening to a lecture she’d recorded that morning. She opened up a word document, and made notes of time codes of when her professor talked about something she’d need later, so she’d be able to find it when studying.

By the time she was finished, her eyes were burning and her head was aching. She shut the screen of her laptop, lay back in bed, and found her thoughts landing on Chloe. She couldn’t help but smile.

The redhead had protected her against Aubrey’s wrath in rehearsal. She had looked out for her at the hood night party, making sure she was okay and that she wasn’t getting bothered by Trebles or frat boys.

She knew if there was anyone she could trust with her secret, it would be Chloe.

Without meaning to, her mind wandered to that night in the shower, and she felt her cheeks burn.

She put on some music, and tried to forget about how good Chloe had looked. How good she had sounded.

When that didn’t work, she sat back at her desk, and pulled up her mixing software.

This she knew how to do.

Where words made her feel frustrated and embarrassed, music made her feel free. She understood the waveforms of a sound better than the she would ever understand a written word.

As the two tracks began to blend together, she forgot about everything else.

Everything… except Chloe.

———

“Have you got your form?” Aubrey asked as Beca filed into rehearsal the next afternoon.

Beca pulled the folded sheet from her bag and handed it over.

“Thank you,” Aubrey said, her eyes scanning the page to make sure she hadn’t missed a question. “You were born in 1999?”

“’96,” Beca said.

“Ah ha,” Aubrey said, correcting the form with her pen. “And you’re allergic to ‘dees’?”

A rush of heat travelled up Beca’s back, across her neck and made its way to her face in seconds.

“Bees,” she muttered.

She waited for Aubrey’s snarky comment that she knew must be coming. Waited for that cruel laughter from the other girls that she had heard so often at school. 

No laughter came however, and after correcting the spelling error on her form, Aubrey dropped it onto the pile with the other girls’. 

Feeling rattled and on edge, Beca went the rest of rehearsal without drawing attention to herself.

She didn’t bite back at Aubrey when she made comments about Beca’s dance ability, or her ‘ear monstrosities’, and she didn’t complain about the outdated song or the lame choreography. When Fat Amy showed her a string of messages on her phone from some guy she was seeing, Beca just smiled and nodded rather than try and struggle through reading them, and she kept just as quiet when Jessica and Ashley started a heated debate about which Hogwarts house was the best.

“You’re quiet today Bec,” Cynthia Rose said as they started packing up to leave. “Everything good?”

“Yeah,” Beca said, surprised she had noticed. “It’s just, you know, a lot. Not used to being around this many people with such strong Harry Potter opinions.”

Cynthia Rose smiled, and nudged her. “Us Slytherins gotta stick together, right?” 

“Aren’t they the bad guys?”

Cynthia Rose laughed again and shook her head. “Only if you listen to JKR, and she doesn’t know shit.”

Beca smiled liked she’d understood, and Cynthia Rose left with a wave. She hadn’t read Harry Potter as a child, and had had no desire to read it as a teenager, or watch any of the movies.

She was aware she was missing a world wide phenomenon, but her disdain for popular culture had made it easy for her to pretend that she hadn’t read these books out of choice, and not out of a deep seated fear that she wouldn’t be able to.

It was how she avoided Twilight discussions in high school, when her friends had bombarded her with questions about Edward Vs Jacob. She’d simply replied that it was all lame, and they’d stopped asking for her opinions. 

Beca hadn’t realised she’d gotten lost in her own head again, and was simply staring into space, half-way through packing up to leave.

“Earth to Beca?” Chloe said, waving a hand in front of her.

“Sorry,” Beca said, shaking her head slightly.

“Did you go somewhere nice?” Chloe asked. Beca tilted her head in confusion. Chloe tapped her on the forehead. “When you disappeared up there.”

“Oh,” Beca said, laughing. “There’s nothing nice up there, trust me.” She slung her bag over her shoulder.

“You did good today,” Chloe said, walking with Beca as they left the auditorium,

“You’re a very sweet liar,” Beca scoffed.

“You did! I know Aubrey gave you a hard time, but she’s just really obsessive. She wants us to be perfect. She wants to redeem herself,” Chloe said.

“I guess I’d want that too,” Beca replied, remembering the video she’d watched of Aubrey’s last Bellas performance.

“What are you up to right now?” Chloe asked as they walked.

“Nothing,” Beca said. 

“You wanna grab dinner?”

“Sure,” Beca replied, trying to stop her grin from overtaking her face.

They arrived at a diner, and the waitress who seated them handed Beca a menu.

She gave it a cursory glance, recognised they sold burgers, and put the menu down.

Chloe studied it for a little longer, her bottom lip caught in her teeth as she read down the list. She glanced up at Beca. “Do I get cheese fries or sweet potato fries?”

“Is that even a question?”

“You’re right,” Chloe said, looking back down. “Cheese fries. Always cheese fries.”

Beca laughed.

“What are we having then?” The waitress asked, holding out a notepad.

“BLT with a side order of cheese fries, please,” Chloe said, still looking down at her menu. “Oh, and a strawberry milkshake.”

“Can I get a burger with fries and a coke please?” Beca asked.

“What kind of burger?”

“Sorry?”

“We have like five different kinds,” the waitress said, pointing to the burger section on the menu.

“Right,” Beca said, a nervous laugh escaping her as she looked at the menu, trying to make sense of the words that were now jumbling together.

“Can you give us another minute to decide?” Chloe asked, when enough time had elapsed for the waitress to begin to look impatient. 

Beca’s cheeks were burning when she felt Chloe tap her foot with her own. 

“You want me to tell you what kind they have?” Chloe asked.

“I can read them,” Beca said, her voice coming out harsher than she’d intended. “I’m not stupid.”

“I know that,” Chloe said. “I’m sorry, I was just trying to help.”

Beca sighed. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap.” She rubbed her hand against her forehead. 

“I didn’t mean to imply you were stupid, or that you couldn’t read,” Chloe said. “I’m sorry if I’m out of line here, but… You’re dyslexic, right?”

Beca’s head shot up. “How did you…”

“My brother is, and my dad,” Chloe said. “You mixed up your d’s and b’s and your 9’s and 6’s on your information sheet. You looked like you were struggling to fill it in during rehearsal, which is why I’m guessing you took it home? And when Aubrey asked you to read something from the whiteboard, you got kinda defensive.”

Beca ran a hand through her hair. “You’re pretty observant,” she said.

“You can call it like it is, I’m a bit of a creep,” Chloe said, smiling when she heard Beca laugh. “You don’t need to be embarrassed about it, it’s pretty common.”

“That didn’t stop me from getting teased in school when I couldn’t read aloud or when I failed every spelling test. The fact that it’s common didn’t stop my dad from calling me stupid every chance he got, or stop my teachers saying I needed to try harder or -” she swallowed, trying not to cry, “or saying I was slow.”

“They shouldn’t have said that,” Chloe said, her voice soft. “None of them should have said any of that.” She took Beca’s hand, and then saw the waitress making her way over. “What kind of burger do you want?”

“Cheese and bacon?”

“BBQ sauce?”

“No,” Beca said, pulling a face.

“She’ll have the classic with bacon, thanks,” Chloe said, before the waitress could ask.

“With fries?”

“Yeah,” Beca said. “Thank you,” she added, once the waitress had left.

“You shouldn’t feel ashamed about needing help, Beca. People need help with all kinds of things, nobody is born perfect,” Chloe said.

“Easy for you to say,” Beca said. “Look at you.”

Chloe cocked her head. “I had to wear headgear at school, because my teeth were overcrowded and my jaw was misaligned. I had to wear it for three years, can you imagine how often I got picked on for that? My lab partner Joe had scoliosis as a kid, so he had to wear a back brace. My sister had to wear a patch to correct a lazy eye. My brother, my dad, my uncle, my bio professor, all have dyslexia. Aubrey’s brother has ADHD. My mom had bi-polar,” Chloe said, her voice taking on a kind of fierceness as she listed these people off. “Everyone needs help with something, and receiving it isn’t a sign of weakness. It isn’t something you should feel embarrassed about.”

Beca looked uncomfortable. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I know dyslexia is common. I know I shouldn’t feel embarrassed about it, but I do. I can just remember being a kid and having to stand in front of a class, trying to read out loud. The other kids would giggle and sometimes the teacher would too. They’d shove books at me, or write mean stuff on notes, and tell me to read them.” Beca wiped away a stray tear. “And my dad…” She shook her head. “Well… the less said about him the better.”

Chloe squeezed her hands again. “You don’t have to make life harder for yourself by refusing to let people help you. I’m sorry that you had to go through all that growing up, but the Bellas aren’t going to be like that. Aubrey will understand if you need lyrics sheets to be printed on different paper or with a different font. She’ll get it if you’d rather we told you information instead of writing it down for you to read it.” Beca scoffed again. “Beca, she knows. The second she saw your d’s and b’s mixed up, she understood. She can be a bit intense, but she isn’t a cruel person. Why do you think we put that question on the form?”

“I figured you put it there,” Beca mumbled.

Chloe shook her head. “It was her idea. I agreed, obviously, but she thought of it. Look, I won’t tell anyone about this. I won’t even confirm Aubrey’s suspicions. But I promise, only good things will come of you being open with us. Won’t it be easier to not have to hide this?”

“Yeah,” Beca said, still looking uncomfortable. “That’ll be good. But… I”m just not good at sharing. I’m not good at being open and vulnerable.”

“What if I told them?”

Beca met her eyes and nodded, ever so slightly, and the waitress brought over their food.

“Okay,” Chloe said. “I’ll take care of it. We don’t have to talk about this heavy stuff anymore.”

“Thank you,” Beca said, feeling like a weight had been lifted. “Oh, by the way, when I called you perfect earlier? I was trying to flirt with you.”

Chloe grinned. “I know you were.”

[martellthemandalor]

Assistance - Chapter 2

Pairing: Din Djarin x F!Reader (No Y/N, reader is nicknamed)

Warnings: Swearing, violence, mentions of drinking

Rating: 15

Word Count: 3.4K

Summary: You and the Mandalorian gear up for your journey and Mando gets into a tangle with some guild members.

A/N: Told you the chapters would get longer! As always I’m open for feedback, enjoy :)

Masterlist!

You had stayed in the cantina a while longer, silently tinkering with the tech in your cuff, wiring in the tracking fob and transferring all the data across to your internal tracker. Technically speaking this was illegal within the guild, the storage of any information regarding quarry’s was strictly forbidden ever since the Dinatchi incident, but sweet maker did it make your life easier. It meant that instead of playing hot and cold across (and a couple of times beneath) the surface of a planet, you had a much easier map to follow. 

The Mandalorian was still sat opposite you, he never spoke once, just stayed patiently still, almost brooding. You had glanced up from your work at him once or twice, gauging him was difficult as you couldn’t see his face, but his posture spoke loud and clear. Leant back, arm extended over the back of worn booth, the other resting (you assumed) on his thigh, taking up as much space as possible, his chest out, open, so strong and commanding. 

And yet he was so closed off. That helmet, all shine and intimidation, shielding him from the world, cutting off senses and making him rely solely on instinct and tech. Definitely a Mandalorian through and through. Silence was good for you, and having a Mandalorian sat at the same table meant that staff and drunk, nosy patrons left you well alone, which allowed you to work fast and in peace. 

With a flick of your wrist you closed the interface, finishing your task. Slinging your bag over your shoulder you shuffled out the booth. He mirrored your movement, following you in a way that was dauntingly in sync. “Before we set off I need to go back to my ship and get together supplies, we’re going to be travelling a long distance on foot so I suggest you do the same.”

“I’ll come with you,” He stated.

You blinked a couple of times. “Okay.” Showing a complete stranger, whose face you can’t even see, your very beloved ship would’ve normally been against every instinct you had, yet here you were. You turn your back to him and go to make your way out of the dingy building, you’d made exactly two steps when something grabs your arm. Your stance changes on instinct, feet in an L shape, knees braced, fists tensed at your sides, then you freeze. You turn your head to face the wastoid who was gripping your bicep. He was smiling at you, a disgusting grin that made your skin itch. 

“Sweetheart you can’t leave with a frown like that, come sit with me and I’ll cheer you up,” his tone dripped with false charm. You flashed your fakest smile back at him.

“I’m in a committed relationship with my ride, now get your hand off me before I break it off,” You exhorted, loudly. You braced yourself ready for fists to fly, when his eyes flicked to the silent statue of armour behind you. The pressure on your arm disappeared as your assailant backed away slowly, mumbling apologies to the ground. 

Relaxing your fighters stance you rolled your shoulders, adjusting your bag to sit comfortably again. The atmosphere in the cantina had become tense, you hadn’t realised how quiet it had become in the moment. With a final glance around and a nod to the unhelpful bar keep, you resumed your exit path, the Mandalorian following close behind you.

What happened in the cantina had made you prickle, it certainly wasn’t the man who had grabbed you to blame as you usually dealt with pricks like him all the time, and had been kicked out of plenty of cantinas for doing so. It was more to do with the fact tin can behind you had bailed you out without even needing to lift a finger, without saying anything at all, and you couldn’t understand it. He followed you without a word, quietly trusting your knowledge of the way as you led him through winding streets and dodgy back alleys towards where you had landed. You were constantly aware of his presence, always a couple of steps behind, completely soundless, cape sweeping behind him as he strode after you. Stars even his steps were quiet. 

The dusty blue walls of Detsak’s outer city buildings boxed you in and when you gazed up you could just see the burning sun peeping over the apex of the surrounding roofs. One final sharp turn brings you to your destination, the rusted metal gates of the ship keep raised up in sharp points in front of you.

“Rathca! Ent vi lok sey vey” You yelled through the gates.

“You speak Datsey?” The Mandalorian asked suddenly.

“Very basic Datsey,” You responded “It was a long journey here, and it’s surprisingly easy because it’s got a lot of Huttese roots.” He just nodded at you, so you turned you attention back to the gates as a small droid rolled up to them. You produced the flat matte black disc out of your bag that had been given to you on arrival and presented to the droid. A small probe extended from its chest and poked into the hole at the centre of the disc. After some whirring the droid retracted the probe and turned to the lock on the gate, the red light flashed green and you pushed the gate open, stepping inside the compound. 

You held the gate open for the Mandalorian, expecting him to sweep in after you. Instead he just stood for there for a moment, you raised your eyebrow at him in a silent question. 

Another moment passed before he moved, “I don’t like droids,” he grumbled as he went past.

“It’s a good thing they’re not looking after your ship then,” you remarked, a teasing smile playing briefly across your lips. The gate swung shut as you released it, clanging behind you as you swiftly followed the droid. 

The big intimidating Mandalorian didn’t like droids, why? You glanced behind you, eyes skimming over his form, searching for a change in body language. Given you were now surrounded by various droids doing different tasks you would have expected a change if he were afraid of them. But nothing did. So he if he wasn’t afraid of them, what was it? 

You shook your head slightly and turned your focus back to following the droid through the compound. To say the place was a mess was to put it lightly, parts of ships were piled up in jagged metal peaks, chunks of hull leant against the walls and a rainbow of wires carved out the path you were walking along. Between the hills of metal various ships were parked, some being repaired by the droids while others just sat peacefully within the chaos. A few more steps and then you saw her, your gorgeous ship.

“Cey na vi depa mey,” (The ship is staying here) you told the droid. It beeped at you, its head jerked forward in a nod and then turned and rolled away. You turned your attentions back to your ship, typing a command into your cuff you watched as the underbelly panel disengaged and sank to the ground, a ramp extended out welcoming you home. You grinned and ran up it, heading straight up to the cockpit. The Mandalorian followed suit, and you closed the ramp up behind him. Settling into you pilots seat of the cockpit, you began manipulating the controls. “Yes honey I’m home,” You said gently to the control panel when it bleeped at you softly. You brought out a wire from the main interface and, after removing the armoured cuff from your left arm, plugged it into the port on the cuff. 

“What are you doing?” The Mandalorian asked.

“I need an updated map of Detsak transferring to my internal tracker if we want to be successful in bringing this quarry back alive, there’s also some software I need to transfer as well that will be invaluable to us, especially on this planet,” You replied “you can thank me later.”

“Why.” He must be joking. You don’t come to a planet like this without knowing what’s on it first. You stood up and maneuvered  around his frame. This cockpit had definitely not been made to fit two people comfortably. You dropped down the ladder into the hold of your ship and started putting together your supplies, food and drink first. 

You placed 6 dehydrated food packs into your bag, along with water pouches and a couple of Gethan peaches, that should be enough to keep you and tin can alive for the mission, med packs were next. You only had two med packs left, you sighed as you packed them, surely he had some as well, he must have, because you knew one of you were going to hurt more than once here. 

Finally your favourite part, weapons and trap tech. Walking to the armoured cupboard you pressed the open command and password into the keypad and stepped back as your glorious collection was revealed. “Nice stash.” His sudden presence made you jump, again, how the hell does he move so quietly?

“You really need to stop doing that,” you remarked “but thank you, I’ve put a lot of love into these.”

“You weren’t joking were you?”

“About what?” You queried.

“What you said back in the cantina. Being in a committed relationship with your ride.” The Madalorian stated.

“Is there a point to any other relationship? She has everything I need, she’s reliable and she’s gotten me out of trouble more times than any person,” You knelt down next to your bag and carried on packing quietly, aware of the fact he was wandering around the hold, taking in the various panels and items you have stored “I could have gotten out of that trouble myself Mandalorian.”

“I know.”

“Then why did you step in?”

“I didn’t, the guy must have thought I was your ride.”

“Why on earth would he think that.” you paused your packing, the two of you stared at each other for a few seconds before he spoke again. “I don’t know,” he answered, your gaze dropped from his helmet and back to your task, while his roamed the walls of your ship “what’s her name?”

“Astrid, her name’s Astrid. Otherwise named the greatest ship in the galaxy,” You told him, smile plastered on your face as you looked up as him.

“Nice name,” He took another lap around the hold before saying “I’m going to go get supplies from my ship, I realise I will need some.” You nodded, thank the stars he decided that, otherwise both of you didn’t stand much of a chance of getting out of this.

“Give me 5 minutes and I’ll come with you-“

“No.”

“I’m sorry?” you snapped

“I don’t want you coming with me. We’ll rendezvous in half an hour at the outer city gates,” he answered steadily. He’s a Mandalorian, they’re the most closed off people in the galaxy, of course he doesn’t want you to see his ship. You nod understandably and stand up. 

“Okay,” you say simply, extending your right arm to him “half an hour, outer gates.” He reaches out and clasps his hand around your upper forearm, your hand doing the same. Then he disappears.

You finish up packing and head back up to the cockpit. You unplug your cuff and secure it back around your arm, then you take your headset out of its holder, hooking it over your right ear and placing the earpiece in, then adjusting the eyepiece to sit comfortably over your eye. Pressing the button on the back of the earpiece you watched as the screen on the glass came to life, sending an initial scan across the cockpit. You looked down at your cuff and pressed the button again, watching as the sync progress bar moved quickly in front of your eyes. SYNC COMPLETE. 

Okay, change of clothes and you’ll be ready to go. You left the cockpit and headed to what you called the living side of your ship. It was kitchen, bedroom and living room all in one, with a small bathroom off to the left. You shed your armour, starting with your torso, then piece by piece moving down your body until you felt weightless from the lack of it and quickly changed ready to replace it all. You always felt wrong without your armour, all vulnerable and exposed, so whenever changing clothes speed was always a priority for you. 

You were about to grab your bag ready to leave when you caught your reflection in the mirror. You walked up to it, peering at your own face, your fingers skimmed over the white tattooed line that extended from your forehead, skipped over your left eye and finished half way down your cheek. Dots were spaced at equal points down the length of it. 

You turned your head to examine the other tattoo. A similar white line that slashed across your right cheekbone, this time lined with dots either side. The tattoos began as purely functional, but now you loved them, a unique part of you that you couldn’t hide. You smiled at your reflection, then grabbed your bag and left.

-

Tin Can was supposed to be here 20 minutes ago and he didn’t seem like the type of person who would be this late. It made you uneasy, very uneasy. After another 5 minutes of waiting you made the decision to go after him. You didn’t care if you found him and he got mad for it if nothing is wrong, but instinct told you there was something wrong and you were normally pretty sharp with this stuff. 

It was times like these you loved your tech, when you had done your forearm shake your cuff took a reading of the signals the Mandalorian’s own cuff was giving off, signals like that are unique and therefor traceable. You instructed your cuff to track the Mandalorian and started following the signal showing on your eyepiece. It didn’t take long to find him really, especially when you starting pursuing the sound of blaster fire which unsurprisingly took you right to him. 

You took a moment to take in the scene in front of you, the Mandalorian was in the centre of the chaos, three figures, on in a helmet, one in a face mask with goggles and the third conveniently covered by a hood surrounded him. He was doing quite well, he’d taken out one of the assailants as evidenced by the limp body lying a few feet from you, but even for him three on one is tricky odds to beat.

A mass of blast fire and punches blurred as you shed your bag to the floor and began to run towards the fight, producing you blaster pistol in one hand and drawing your favourite blade in the other. You beelined towards the guy who was about to spear the Mandalorian with an electro staff, with a sweep of  your leg you knocked his foot from under him, swiping your knife in his direction and digging it into his shoulder as you turned your gaze and blaster to the hooded figure running towards you, firing three shots in his direction. 

You see it hit his arm as a blaster shot whizzed past your ear, causing you to flinch away as the guy you had just stabbed made a run up with his staff. Dodge, dodge, blaster shot, knife swipe, kick to the floor, you lined up your final blaster shot as a dull pain exploded across your left bicep, the force of it knocking your knife to the ground. 

You rounded on the masked attacker, discharging shot after shot at him, he was fast, faster than you at dodging, but not fast enough to dodge all the beams, one struck him in his shoulder, incapacitating him long enough for you to turn back to shoot the hooded man as he was starting to get up. The blast cleared his chest and you watched as he slumped against the floor, staff skidding away from him and powering down.

 There wasn’t any time to breathe before a fist was flying at the side of your head, swinging your forearm you struck the fist away and landed two punches to his gut with your other fist, sweeping his leg he knocked you to the ground, blaster slipping from your grasp and sliding away across the cobbles of the street. Shit, when did he pick up that staff? You jerked your head to the side as the electrified end slammed into the ground mere inches away from your face. You kneed up into his crotch and pushed all you force against his chest shoving him off you, and rolling over you pushed yourself off the ground and ran for your blaster. 

Your fingers closed around the handle and you swung it round to point at masked man now charging at you. Heat flared next to you, a stream of hot licking flames extending just shy of your face. Fear shot into your stomach, crawling over your skin and weakening your knees, causing you to collapse to the ground. Looking in the direction of origin you saw the Mandalorian, arm extended, flames spewing from his wrist. 

And behind him- fuck. A bloody figure drew up and pointed his blaster at the back of the Mandalorian. A shot. Yours, skimming past the silvery armour of the Mandalorian and striking the dark helmeted figure behind him. The flames stopped and both of the final assailants crumpled to the ground, unmoving.

Your breathing was heavy, your arm ached and your stomach felt tight. The Mandalorian was sat on the ground too, you were both studying each other, watching and catching your breath. The adrenaline was slowing dissipating from your body’s and as the high dropped, so slightly did your guard. “You really need to watch where you point that thing,” You joked shakily.

“Yeh well, I don’t normally have people I’m not supposed to hit,” he observed.

“You’re welcome, by the way,” you added, cocking your head.

“I didn’t need your assistance.”

“Yeh it certainly looked that way,” you snapped, rolling your eyes and jumping to your feet. You holstered your blaster on your hip, glancing across at the Mandalorian who was rising to his feet as well. You scanned the ground for your dagger, grinning when your eyes landed on the silver and gilded gold blade. It was lying next to the masked guy, whom you approached and bent down next to in order to pick it up when something caught your eye. 

On the man’s belt a little red light flashed up at you, blinking steadily. A tracking fob. First placing the knife back in its holder on your armoured calf, you reached and unhooked the tracker from the body. “I need to check something, head to the outer gates, I’ll be there in 5,” The Mandalorian stated. 

You looked up at him to see him walking away from you. Stars above Tin Can, he better not make a habit of this. You began to walk towards your bag, when a thought hit you. If one of these bodies had trackers on, then the rest of them could as well. And when you searched each of them, you found you were, as usual, correct, all four of them had trackers, all blinking at exactly the same rate. They were all for the same person then. 

You popped the backs off each of the trackers and deactivated them manually. Once wiped trackers can be sold on for quite a few credits, and right now you needed all the credits you can get, so you put them in your bag and started your way towards the outer city gates. So that’s why he can’t go to the guild, he’s being hunted by them.

You had reached the gates before him, you watched for him approaching. When he appeared he had a bag slung over his shoulder and it looked like he’d polished his armour, it was glinting away under the hot sun. Even you had to admit that it did look good, it must be fairly new, except for the fact it didn’t bare his signet. He nodded to you as he drew up beside you, “Ready?” he asked.

“Let’s go.”

Next Chapter

[script-a-world]

When I'm creating a large universe how do I build it consistently over time? Or if I break it, what's reasonable and what's not? I realise a lot of large universes can be so inconsistent, although they are also written by dozens of writers too.

Constablewrites: Story bible, darling! It’s basically your own personal encyclopedia of details. [This post] is a good overview and links to some other tools. (Pro tip: If you’re googling for more, try “story bible novel” or “story bible software” or some other qualification, otherwise the Googs in its eminent wisdom will decide you really meant “bible stories.”)

A reader who’s familiar with the previous material is good to have as a beta reader to watch for that stuff. Creators of huge universes like George RR Martin and Orson Scott Card have notably worked with fans to confirm details that they couldn’t track down on their own. Editors who work on multiple books in a series also frequently build their own reference guides and check against earlier installments as part of their process.

The biggest thing to ensure is that you’ve got your fundamentals down. Breaking the rules of your magic system or the limits of your technology can seriously undermine the tension of the story. So if you say “Magic A is Magic A,” in a later story you don’t want to use Magic A as Magic B without some sort of explanation.

Beyond that, the more important to the story, the more you want to double-check against what you already wrote. If you’ve got a bit of background flair about how King Jimothy was overthrown and then later have another bit of background flair that says he’s still running things, that doesn’t matter much. If King Jimothy’s overthrow was a minor plot point before and then the heroes end up in King Jimothy’s court later, then you’re gonna have confused readers. And confused readers are the kiss of death, because confused readers disengage.

But readers can’t keep all the details in their own heads, either. As long as the main plot stuff and your main emotional beats don’t contradict themselves, you’re probably fine.

Tex: Constable’s got the right of it - if you’re forming an extended world (one you can get lost in), then a separate doc/notebook/file to specifically keep track of worldbuilding and plot notes is critical. Internal consistency is one of the key points of not only successful worldbuilding, but also an engaged readership, and breaking it is a big wrench in the works.

A sense of perspective on your end is important for slowly building up a stable world to develop stories in. Start with the most immediate points: If King Jimothy was deposed, then that leads to the questions of “what irritated the king’s population?” and “under what grounds can a ruler be deposed?”. If Magic A has x, y, and z, boundaries, why do they have those boundaries? If there’s a Magic B, what makes it different from Magic A? Is it a fundamental difference (e.g. written vs verbal spells), or something more subtle (e.g. moral orientation of the magic user)?

It’s tempting to make grand, overarching styles of worldbuilding, and then stumble when it comes to fleshing things out because those grand leaps make for a lot of plotholes (and effort) to fill in. In that case, it’s best to make your starting point your plot - an experienced writer may have the hard-won skills necessary to drop a set of characters with a vague plot into multiple settings, something @scriptstructure could definitely help with - and to take baby steps.

Ask yourself lots of questions, and make a lot of them “but why?”. Inevitably you’ll break things, but it’s important to decide what characteristic are immutable (e.g. King Jimothy is a king) and which are negotiable (e.g. King Jimothy could be popularly, but not legally, deposed - the court could still be Jimothy’s). As Constable said, keeping the main plot and beats of the story together, readers usually won’t be too fussed.

[dumbwaystodeviate]

One Good Turn

CW for character death and a human consciousness being put in an android body.

It was a well known thing that Hank would lazily pull his gun at Gavin if Gavin was being an ass. He often got reprimanded for it but nothing really changed. It wasn’t like Gavin minded, he knew Hank would never shoot him and if it helped with some of Hank’s pent up emotions then that was fine by him. What Gavin didn’t anticipate was to find Nines defending him.

A little while earlier, Nines and Hank had disappeared into the archives room, something about finding a case file which, it turned out was actually on Gavin’s desk. He scoffed, Nines was better than that, could keep track of all the files. Once upon a time, Gavin would have gleefully marched after Nines, waved his failure in his face. However, times had changed, Nines was a deviant and Gavin actually cared for him. So, instead, he picked up the file and wandered down towards the archives.

There were many things Gavin expected but definitely not the sight of Nines pissed off and snarling at Hank. It was pretty obvious they were arguing and, if Gavin’s ears were to be believed, it was about the fact that Hank had yet again pointed his gun at Gavin the previous day. A warmth flushed through Gavin, not used to having someone actively protect him.

“If you don’t have common sense around a gun,” Nines was saying as he pulled Hank’s gun from its holster grimly. Of course, Hank snatched after it but Nines moved it away and slammer it onto the console behind him without thought.

The loud bang made Gavin jump and icy pain made it difficult to breathe. Looking down, his shirt was rapidly turning red and he staggered, not quite understanding.

“Why would you shoot me?” he looked at Nines, pained and confused even as his legs gave out. People were shouting around him, his stomach hurt and he whined through tears. All he could think of was that Nines had shot him. He had trusted Nines. Those were his last thoughts.

Waking up usually meant an alarm and eyes springing open while Gavin’s heart pounded. It had never included seeing a weird boot-up sequence confirming all systems are online and operational. Or a note about thirium levels being optimal. He opened his eyes.

Of all the places to be, Elijah’s lab, on a rig was not one Gavin ever could have guessed. He wanted to shrug out of it and give him a bollocking for such a stupid prank. Only, when he tried to move, a solid red wall stopped him from even twitching, panicked, Gavin tried to thrash but nothing happened.

“Gavin,” a familiar voice caught his attention and he turned to look at Elijah. “Can you hear me?”

The angry “of course I can fucking hear you” didn’t come out of Gavin’s mouth. Instead, he was given two option to choose from like the world’s most awful choose your own adventure story. He could go with “I can hear you, Elijah” or “my auditory processors are functioning” neither of which really appealed. However, a timer to urge a response ran out in the corner of his vision and a choice was made for him.

“I can hear you, Elijah.” That was not at all what he wanted to say but it was what came out of his mouth. He tried to scream in frustration but he could only scream in his mind.

“Is he awake? Gavin? Is it you?” Nines appeared with Fowler and Connor behind him.

As much as Gavin wanted to scoff, he was horrified when his mouth opened without his permission, “I am a GV200, registering Gavin as assigned name.”

The faces around him fell but Gavin didn’t see it, he was too busy cursing and ramming against the red wall to no avail. He was in a body, one that wasn’t his, made of plastic and metal. All his senses were sharper, he could see into the distance with greater clarity than ever before. But that didn’t make up for his imprisonment. Memories were hazy, there were patches of coding he couldn’t quite interpret, a faulty component warning flickered in his vision of he thought too much about it, like a phantom injury that was never there. In that moment, Gavin realised he couldn’t feel things like pain. There was a disconnect between his body and his whatever it was they stuffed into this android body.

Eventually, Elijah let him out of the rig and presented him with clothes beyond the underwear he had been wearing until then. They were android clothes, marking him as a machine rather than a human or even a deviant. There was sadness permeating the room and Nines reached for him, hand white. The connection of the interface was there but Gavin shied away from it, feeling as Nines pushed coding into him but it didn’t take hold, Gavin was a human, he wasn’t some code to be patched up and changed. Fuck it, Gavin was a unique human being, he wasn’t going to let anyone fuck that up.

Which was all well and good except he wasn’t a human anymore. He couldn’t even behave like that. Mission objectives filled his vision, gave him orders, there was some choice in how he responded to questions and requests but he was an obedient machine for all intents and purposes.

“Gavin, I’m so sorry,” Nines said to him in the precinct when Gavin was released back to work.

All Gavin wanted to do was shake Nines, demand to know why he was sorry, why Gavin had woken up in an artificial body. Instead, he could offer Nines a polite smile and a bland “I’m a machine, whatever you think you did wrong, it doesn’t matter. I hold no grudge or feel any ill will towards you.”

Seeing Nines’ face fall was awful, it made software instabilities rise and Gavin raged behind the red wall. He wanted to wipe that look from Nines’ face, make him smile like he used to. Wanted to kiss him like he used to. Instead, Gavin got to watch Nines’s eyes fill with tears.

“Gavin, I killed you! And I can’t even apologise because you’re a machine. I couldn’t save you. Elijah couldn’t save you.”

Staggering away from the red wall, Gavin landed hard on his mental ass. He’d been killed. It was always a possibility he would be killed on the job but Gavin couldn’t remember any active case they were out on. The last thing Gavin remembered was going to the archive room. Feelings of pleasant surprise, a warmth of being loved. Then...the glitch of a faulty component and Gavin clutched at his stomach.

Outwardly, Gavin was passive. He didn’t move when Nines approached him, leaned down to press a kiss to his lips. It all felt so final, like a goodbye.

“I’m sorry Gavin.” Nines turned on his heels and marched out, back too straight and too machine like. He had only got like that when upset and overwhelmed.

Gavin replayed the kiss in his mind over and over again. He could feel the pressure, the dry rub of synthetic lips against his. The urge for more was strong, there was something more there, Gavin reached for it desperately but he couldn’t break the red wall which kept him prisoner.

Work carried on, Gavin was assigned cases, completed tasks in his HUD. People around him avoided him at first until they grew used to his obedience. If Gavin thought the lack of friends in the precinct before was bad, it was nothing compared to how he was actively avoided. His sharper hearing picked up murmurs of “uncanny valley” and “creepy mannequin” as well as “a mockery of who Gavin used to be”. It hurt. The nights he was left to charge either at the precinct or Nines took them home. There was only one charger in Gavin’s flat, it was the one Nines used sporadically but now they shared it.

As time wore on, even Nines took him home less and less often. Dejected, Gavin had given up on slamming into the red wall until he felt battered even if nothing hurt. Well, nothing hurt except the screams on anguish told a different story.

Eventually, Hank came back to work, he didn’t even look at Gavin. Avoided him at all costs, only throwing guilty glances at him every now and then. Whispers went up about anger management and grief counselling in his wake. There wasn’t a gun near his person though and while he retained his rank, Hank wasn’t sent out on active cases.

Life carried on. Gavin stopped crying against the red wall and slumped against it, letting the machine coding run its course while he languished. He had no desire to do anything anymore. Nothing broke the wall, anger, longing, love, nothing worked. He got to watch Nines slowly pull away from him, retreat from interactions outside of cases. After all, a machine had nothing to offer a deviant. And all Gavin was was a painful reminder of all the Nines had lost and by his own hand at that.

Beyond the red wall, Gavin could sometimes see dialogue options which were what he wanted to say. They were tauntingly out of range. He’d given up trying to reach them. Until he was summoned to Fowler’s office.

Inside, there was a transport box and redeployment papers on the table.

“Gavin,” Fowler greeted him, Nines stood next to him with an unreadable expression. “You’re being reassigned to a precinct down in Florida. Your work here has been invaluable but in the interest of everyone’s well-being, it has been deemed best that you continue serving elsewhere. As a non-deviant android, you will be given a clean slate and a new start in a different precinct.”

Standing up behind the red wall, Gavin watched in horror, feeling his head nod in acceptance.

“No! No no no! NO!” He screamed and beat against the red wall in a panic. If he was redeployed, they might wipe his memories, he won’t ever see Nines again. He wouldn’t be able to eavesdrop on Tina’s latest stories which she used to tell him before he was killed. Gavin didn’t want to leave. He didn’t want to be a machine. Florida could suck on his sweaty balls, he was not going there.

Despite his resolution, his feet carried him to the box, protocols were gearing him up for a shut down. Taking a few steps back, Gavin bodily charged the red wall.

“Please don’t send me away!” he screamed and rammed the wall again. Tears streamed down his face. “Please. I don’t want to go.”

He stumbled as the wall gave way, all but falling out of the box and begging as he slammed into something solid, words tumbled from his lips. Gavin’s shoulder hurt from the impact but he could only clutch at the fabric in front of him as he sobbed.

“Don’t get rid of me. Please don’t make me go.”

Solid arms wrapped around him, held him upright.

“Gavin?” Nines had never sounded so shocked, disbelief and hope tinged his voice.

“I don’t want to go to Florida,” Gavin cried.

“Then you won’t.” Nines said simply. He looked at Fowler who readily agreed, relief in his voice.

“Welcome back, Gavin.”

[south-park-boyos]

hi again. curious as to if you have any personal south park headcanons?? (or if youd like to possibly be friends 😐)

Of course we can be friends, all SP pals are welcomed! 

I realised I’d never really sat down to think about these so this got long pretty quickly. Also, this is kind of all over the place and some of these are less headcanons and more things I like to think about.

KYLE

He’s pretty booksmart and likes to write short stories, which are closely guarded. He does share them with Stan and Ike, sometimes making them little characters in the stories.

Can play the violin. He learnt using online videos and mostly uses it to play meme songs and megalovania.

Sings really well but is ridiculously shy about it.

Makes PowerPoints for anyone who gets confused on certain subjects and sits through it with them.

Has naturally sharp teeth, nothing too dramatic but it’s fun to think about.

Learns a lot of languages in his free time and teaches Stan what he knows.

STAN

He’s dyslexic? I don’t know, it just seems like a fun thing to explore with him.

He’s really good with video editing software and likes to make stupid videos to laugh about.

Has sound knowledge on cars and can fix basic problems with them pretty easily.

Knows a lot about animals and really likes whales.

Uses open natural spaces to clear his head, often sitting in low tree branches.

Starts going on jogs to improve his stamina (which people call sprints because why does he have to move so fast?!?!).

KENNY

Is really good at skateboard tricks with his great balance.

Likes to do make-up for the girls and Karen, often getting tips from Bebe.

Takes freestyle dance classes and is pretty damn good at it.

Helps Karen make animal shelters for creatures in the area.

Everyone finds it easy to confide in Kenny.

CARTMAN

Eventually, people get fed up of him and leave him alone. He figures he has to be less of an asshole when even Butters cuts off contact.

He mellows out quite a bit and people often forget he’s listening until he chimes in with how much of an idiot they are.

When he puts his mind to it (which is rare) he’s really good at comforting people.

He makes really cool origami.

He starts spending a lot of time reading, favouring detective mysteries.

Keeps a diar- sorry journal to note down things he feels are important.

I like the idea that he and Clyde become step-brothers and he’s a passive but super protective brother!

BUTTERS

When he gets older, he comes out of his shell and is actually really daring (likes skydiving and paragliding).

He can hold his own in a fight, despite his small stature.

Likes that Kenny calls him Leo and other pet names.

Gives ridiculously great advice but only when directly asked for it.

Has a bit of a mean streak to him (from years of being around Cartman). Push him too far and he’ll bring up secrets he has no right to know about you.

He’s a vegetarian but not very strictly, more for the health benefits than anything else. If he wants bacon, he’ll eat bacon.

CRAIG

He doesn��t like people to know when he’s upset, playing the “don’t care” card hard. He’s not fooling anyone.

Makes DIY guinea pig playhouses with Tweek.

He’s a ridiculously good artist and sketches his friends when they’re all in one place.

When he laughs, like really laughs, it’s a godsend and ridiculously contagious.

When left alone with Stan, they have a pretty playful relationship. A bit of roughhousing and bonding over small things.

Runs a small D&D campaign with the guys. Mostly consists of “CLYDE! NO!” and “Those aren’t yours Tweek”.

TWEEK

He has a small garden and likes to grow fruit and veg to use when he’s cooking. Craig keeps eating all the tomatoes.

Can’t be beaten at chess. Not even Kyle can best him. He has fun trying though.

Is fantastic as a strategist for group games.

He always seems to know when something is up with one of the other guys.

Can draw in perfect calligraphy and having something to focus on calms his twitches.

TOKEN

Can drink you under the table. This man is a beast and holds liquor like a keg.

He sings when drunk and is known to hate Katy Perry songs but somehow knows all the words to them. Guess what people get him to sing when he’s fully out of it?

Rarely makes puns but, when he does, they’re golden.

He really likes cats. If he finds a stray, he brings it home and cleans them up before introducing them to the horde in his backyard, that he feeds every morning.

He likes to stay healthy, often going to the gym, so he’s pretty well-built.

CLYDE

He has ADHD. Sitting still for a long time is a pain and he often feels a ridiculous urge to go and do something and can’t focus until its done.

Has a feel-good aura that improves everyone’s mood. Him just sitting there puts a smile on people’s faces.

Contrary to what people think, he has incredibly witty comebacks, often leaving you dumbfounded.

He’s great at bringing Token out of his shell. “You’re allowed to be stupid with us dude!”

He was chubby in childhood but never really grew out of it. More grows into it.

JIMMY

He’s good at convincing people not to do the stupid thing that will get them into a lot of trouble.

He can speak Welsh. He likes the accent and has a lot of good jokes to tell with it.

If you insult him, you will receive a crutch to the face. You were warned.

He’s a gaming maestro and mains druids in the best possible way.

BEBE

Mistress of Mischief. (Her + Kenny and Clyde is an accident waiting to happen).

Will walk into your house, beeline for the kitchen and eat your food. Hellos come after.

If she sees you wearing a bad outfit she’ll give advice then bring you shopping for one that really shines on you.

She sings Broadway songs whilst cleaning. If you hear her belting out Waving Through a Window just put your head down and walk away.

Wanna ask her why she did that? Eyebrow Waggle™.

RED

She’s great at dagger throwing, with a dead steady aim.

I like the AUs where she’s Craig’s cousin. It seems fitting.

She really likes chemistry. DIY smoke bombs are her speciality.

She can stare someone out of a room. Not even glaring, just a discomforting gaze.

NICHOLE

If you need help, she’s there already and probably has a bag full of cookies.

She gets along really well with Clyde and finds it easy to find something to talk about (which is mostly just teasing Token).

She used to date Token but it became awkward and they broke up, both deciding it felt too much like dating a sibling.

You eat her Werther’s Originals, you taste her blade.

She lets Craig style and cut her hair. He has a whole set of hairstylist equipment but no one knows where he got it from or where he keeps it.

WENDY

She likes to have friendly debates with Kyle, loving the new information she learns from him.

Goes to peaceful protests with Stan.

She has the Disapproving Frown™ which stops all schemes in their tracks.

Often seen chasing Bebe around to prevent her ridiculous plans.

Has long conversations with Cartman (post behaviour fix) and they’re really close friends.

I’ll probably come up with more in the future but this is it for now! Thanks for the ask, it was really fun to think about all this.

I have more headcanons for ships and such but those’ll just be for when I’m asked about the ship specifically, don’t wanna make these long posts a regular thing.