#woke up late and need to speed run to school? is there a police station near you because yes they will go to your house and bring you

[thinkingnot]

went to the place the high school’s finals gonna be taken at and the examiner told us if our path were obstructed tmr morning ask for help from anyone on the streets (just thought its kind of wholesome yk) :]

[tatooedlaura-blog]

Maybe WE don’t believe in YOU!

It’s throwback Thursday time ... this is a goodie from 2009 (dragged kicking and screaming from Gossamer) ... oi, these things amuse me at times :)

any and all errors are from the original post and have not been changed to preserve giggles and chuckles :)

@today-in-fic​

&&&&&&&&&&

He saw her sitting halfway up the bleachers, amidst yelling parents and clapping children. He knew she'd gone outside a good 15 minutes ago but since she'd neglected to come back, he though he'd better go and collect her. He didn't move fast, more at his usual long-strided amble given there wasn't much to hurry about anymore. Since the police station was next to the elementary school fields, he didn't have far to walk; soon standing beside the rickety aluminum riser seats.

She didn’t notice him at first but when she did a general sweep of her surroundings, as was natural habit at this point, she lit on his face staring up at her and with a barely noticed head-tilt, she gave him a half smile.

Figuring this was an invite of the most discreet kind, he picked his way through the scattered crowd, settling next to her without a word. Silently, they sat together through the last minutes of the game as well as through the exodus of people, kids, strollers and family dogs.

It wasn't until the last person stepped off the field that Mulder turned to her, squinting against the late afternoon sun, "hi."

Pushing her hair back, only to have the light breeze ruffle it again, "hi."

"So, got a little tired of Sheriff Blowhard and his parade of blightless minions?"

"A little. There's only so much blowharding and blightlessness one can take. Besides,” nodding towards the now deserted field, "they looked like they needed another fan."

Knocking shoulders with her gently, "you know, if we get our paperwork done, we can get the hell out of Dodge."

Holding silent for a moment, "promise me our next case won't be like this. I don't think I can do this again anytime soon."

"Well, I'll try to order us up a nice, juicy monster but don't hold your breath."

"Just promise to try. That's all I ask."

One glance into her tired, dull eyes made him nod, "promise."

"All right then." Standing and holding her hand out to him, "let's, as you put it, get the hell out of Dodge."

"If only the place was actually called Dodge."

"Getting the hell out of Parson Village doesn't exactly have the same ring to it, does it?"

Finally down on the ground, they walked back across the parking lot, "not really."

&&&&&&&&&

Working through the last of the forms, they said good-bye and left, glad to be leaving the place behind them. The drive back to the hotel was quiet but a companionable quiet, one where Mulder left the radio off and Scully stared out the open window, enjoying the fresh air and the colors of the setting sun.

Back at the hotel, "do you still want to leave now or wait until the morning?"

He knew she would prefer to go than stay and since he wasn't tired, "now works for me." Checking out went by in a flash and once Mulder had made a not so secretive trip to the vending machines, they were off, "you sure you want to drive first? I'm awake."

Scully just turned the car on, "I'm good for now. I'll let you know when it's your turn."

"Fair enough." Putting his seat back to a decent incline, he settled in, "mind if we keep the windows open for awhile?"

She gave him a smile, "as long as you don't mind me having the wind blown look."

"Naw, you wear it well."

"Okay, now you're just buttering me up."

With a laugh, he rested one arm at his side, the other on the middle compartment, hand dangling by the shifter, "just say thanks, Scully."

"Thanks, Mulder."

He was feeling a bit mischievous but held off until they had been on the road for a few minutes. From his position, he could tell no one else was on the quiet country road and in a fairly nonchalant way, he made like he was turning on the radio but instead, pushed the shifter forward into neutral.

The engine revved, Scully looked around in panic, then saw Mulder's hand beside the stick, "what the hell?" Shoving it back in drive, she swung and hit him near full force in the chest, "are you insane?"

Now for the fun part.

Wincing, he curled his arms to his chest, pretending the blow had actually hurt him, "damn. I was just gonna turn the radio on. I bumped it on accident." Plastering an appropriate grimace on his face, "there's less painful ways to kill me, you know."

Her face scrunching in honest apology, "I'm so sorry. I thought you did it on purpose. I … I'm sorry."

Rubbing his chest for good measure, "remind me to ask before moving next time." The urge to laugh nearly won but he held it in, "I feel extremely sorry for any suspects on the receiving end of your fist."

Automatically reaching over, she wrapped her hand around his forearm, "I'm sorry."

"S'okay." Wondering how long she'd keep her hand there, "was kind of funny though, wasn't it?"

She shrugged, "maybe it will be later but right now, I just feel bad."

"No harm, no foul, right?"

Keeping her hand on him with no sign of letting go, "right."

&&&&&&&&&

They switched places a few hours later, Scully beginning to yawn and stretch to keep herself awake. Mulder, who'd managed a nap, readjusted the seat and mirrors before looking over at her, "all set?" Head already lolling on the seat and eyes closed, she only nodded.  As always amused by the swiftness she could fall asleep, he pulled the car out of the gas station and back on the freeway.She slept for about a half-hour, then woke again when he hit a bump in the road, "sorry."

Shaking the cobwebs from her brain, "no, it's okay." After re-positioning the seat back, she stared out the window for a minute before, "where are we, anyway?"

When he turned to look around, she swiftly reached over, flipping a small switch on the dash, "we're about 10 miles from the middle of nowhere."

"That's specific."

He gave her a lopsided grin before looking back through the windshield.

She wondered how long it would take for him to notice.

Not long, she soon discovered.

Taking a cursory glance at the speedometer, he slammed on the brakes, throwing them both forward slightly, "what the hell?" When he had looked, he saw in horror that he was doing 120. Still talking to himself, "there's no way in hell I was doing 120."

Playing along, "what?! You're going 120? I don't need to die tonight, Mulder."

"I didn't realize …"

"Just slow the hell down!!"

He shrank into the seat and heart pounding, he brought his speed back to 75 but when looking out the window, he would swear they were nearly crawling. She then watched him look from the speedometer to the road to the speedometer once again, then to the smile she couldn't contain, "why the hell are all the gauges in metrics now?"

Reaching over, she re-flipped the switch, turning everything back to normal, "did you really think I'd let the neutral thing go unanswered?"

Instead of being annoyed, he looked at her admirably, "nice."

&&&&&&&&&

She was sound asleep again an hour later when Mulder discovered he was contemplating how long he could shut his eyes before it got dangerous. Poking his finger into Scully's thigh, "hey, you awake?"

When she only mumbled, he knew they were both done for the night but with only an hour left to go, he debated pushing it.

Until he heard his tires running on the rumble strip.

Yeah, it was time to stop.

Especially when he saw it … a bright beacon of hope in the distance.

Wal-Mart.

24-hour, anyone can sleep in the damn parking lot, beautiful, shiny Wal-Mart.

He pulled off the exit ramp and soon, he stopped the car in the center of a vast expanse of parking lot. Cracking the windows so they wouldn’t suffocate, he put his seat back, stretched and promptly fell asleep.

A blissful sleep that lasted almost a full two hours, until, “what the hell?”

The sound of her voice jolted him upright and his hand caught the horn, beeping it obnoxiously as he blinked against the painfully bright light in his eyes, “huh?”

By now, she was rolling down the window and being the least polite he’d ever heard her, “what!?”

The flashlight lowered but all Mulder could see was the spot it had burned into his retinas. The spot spoke in a low, male voice, “evenin’ folks.”

Again, Scully rolled off with, “what!?!”

“Just wanted to make sure you were all right.”

He could feel Scully building rapidly towards some other, more improper phrases and heading her off with a hand on her arm, “we were tired and thought we’d take a nap instead of wrapping ourselves around a telephone pole.” As the spot began to fade, he could make out an older gentleman behind the lowered flashlight, “I thought people could park and sleep here for the night?”

“RVs can park but ya’ll aren’t in an RV so I thought maybe you were havin’ some trouble.”

Hearing Scully sigh resignedly through her nose, he spoke again, “no trouble, sir. Just tired.”

“Well, ya’ll be careful.”

As he turned and walked away, Mulder looked at her irate expression, “hi.”

“You’re coming with me.”

“Where?”

Unbuckling her belt, “I have to go to the bathroom and you’re coming with me.”

Opening his door, “why are you pissed at me? I didn’t scare the shit out of you with a flashlight.”

“Just come on.”

She stalked across the parking lot, Mulder trotting to catch up, then settling into an easy gait until they got to the store entrance, “are you gonna make me come in with you or do I get to wait outside the door?”

With eyes narrowed, she left him in the entryway and disappeared into the ladies room. Deciding to go himself, he still beat her back and was leaning on the wall when she came out drying her hands on her jeans. She seemed calmer and leaning next to him, “I’m hungry.”

Gesturing through the doors that led to the actual store, “I bet there’s something in there, if you’re willing to risk it.”

“Lead the way, partner.” Both were shocked by the amount of people in the store, “what time is it anyway?”

Finding her wrist with his hand, he twisted her watch around until he could read it, “um, 1:15.”

“Why are all these people here? Don’t they have homes and beds?”

“Insomniacs make the best shoppers.”

She let a small chuckle escape her nose, “just find me something to eat.”

Well, she should have known not to A) shop when she was hungry and 2) shop with Mulder. She should have also put her foot down when he suggested getting a cart.

An hour later, they were finally through the checkout.

Scully had found some sandwiches, drinks and chips for them both, then stupidly gave Mulder control of the cart. He immediately steered towards the entertainment section and was soon pawing through the $3.99 DVD bin.

That killed a half-hour right there. Damn those bins and their B-movie classics.

After he’d found several handfuls of movies, he veered through men’s clothing for socks, housewares for a new shower curtain (which Scully silently thanked God about), hardware to replace the two flashlights he’d left in their hotel rooms, back to menswear  for the underwear he’d forgot on the first trip (black boxer briefs, much to Scully’s amusement), then finally through women’s clothing, where he stopped in front of a rack of slogan t-shirts.

Standing for a moment, he studied them, then picked one up with an alien beside a spaceship who was pointing out and stating, “maybe WE don’t believe in you.” Holding it against her for a second, he tossed it in the cart and finally moved to the check-out.

She followed, dumbfounded by the last hour of her life, “Mulder … why …?”

“Shhhh, it’s too late to argue and too early to win.”

Whatever the hell that meant, she graciously allowed him to pay for their food, along with the industrial size Payday bar she tossed in at the last minute.

&&&&&&&&&&&

As they ate their makeshift dinner sitting in the car, “why did you buy me that t-shirt? Do you really think I’m gonna wear it?”

Grinning with a mouthful of half-chewed turkey, “you will. You’ll be getting dressed for something and you’ll just get the urge to put it on. So you will and you’ll realize you like it and that’ll be that.”

“Is this how you get your shopping done because I can see why your cupboards are bare.”

“Never ask about a man’s shopping habits.”

“Mulder?”

“Yeah?”

“Trade you sandwiches?”

He handed the rest of his sandwich to her immediately, taking her partially eaten roast beef in its place, “no dressing?”

“Nope.”

“So much to teach you, grasshopper.”

&&&&&&&&&

“I’ll drive if you want me to.”

Scully shook her head, “naw, I’m fine.”

“Well, I’m not tired now so I’ll keep you awake.”

With a grin in his direction, “God help me.”

“God’s probably asleep Scully. All you got is me.”

“Again, God help me.”

&&&&&&&&&&

They were finally navigating Washington’s outskirts by 3:30. He watched her staring ahead and fought the demon lurking inside him.

He really shouldn’t.

He really, really shouldn’t.

It would be evil and wrong and cruel and more than likely funny as all hell … if she didn’t kill him afterwards.

 …

He’d risk it.

Waiting another minute or so, he spied a light blinking in the distance and as they approached it, he braced his feet against the floor. Once they were about 10 feet away, he yelled, gripping the dashboard and the doorframe, “blinking yellow!!!”

She locked up the brakes, as expected, and bought the car to a screeching halt. The stop flung both forward, then back against their seats, with Scully screaming in his ear, “son of a bitch … it’s yellow Mulder! I don’t have to stop for a blinking yellow!”

Looking at her with as much seriousness as he could muster, “I didn’t tell you to stop.”

“Then why the hell did you yell ‘blinking yellow’ in my ear!?”

“I didn’t know if you saw it.”

He had never witnessed her nostrils flaring before and though he wouldn’t admit it out loud, she looked kind of cute doing it but … “are you trying to get us killed?”

He was now smiling despite the fact she had steam shooting out her ears, “there was no one behind us. I checked.”

Another nostril flare came his way before she turned the car off, still sitting in the middle of the intersection, got out and moving to his side of the car, pulled open the door, “drive.”

Still grinning, he scrambled over the gearshift, Scully sliding smoothly into his seat, putting her head back and closing her eyes.

Silence, he had not expected. Yelling, hitting, yes but not quiet. Quiet from Scully meant planning, concocting, calculating, organizing … quiet meant bad things … quiet meant very deep piles of shit with him underneath.

“Scully …”

“Home.”

Suddenly sober, he restarted the car, “I was just playing.”

“Home,” she repeated, then, instead of returning to sleep, she dug some gum from the glove compartment and proceeded to chew a wad of it, very loudly.

Now, he could take bullets, he could take slime, he could take beratement of the highest degree and, as demonstrated, he could even take bile but he absolutely despised the cud-chewing noises she was making. He withstood it for a long as humanly possible before, “could you please get rid of that? You sound like a damn cow.”

“You want me to get rid of the gum?”

“Yes!”

“Where do you want me to put it?”

His mistake was answering too quickly, “anywhere. I don’t care. Just stop chewing it.”

“Okay then.” Undoing her seatbelt, she twisted so she faced him, and in a gracefully disgusting move, she rolled the gum in her fingers, then proceeded to push it up his nose.

He knew something was coming and completely powerless to stop it, he just sat there as a thumb-size chunk of grape Hubba-Bubba was fitted into his right nostril.

She then calmly sat back down and re-buckled herself in.

He left the gum there as he turned to her, “Scully?”

“Yes, Mulder.”

“I believe we’re even now.”

Her belly laugh echoed off the windows and he began laughing as well, slipping the gum from his nose and putting it in his mouth.

Through her laughter, she grimaced, “eww, that’s disgusting.”

“But it’s grape.”

&&&&&&&&&

They finally made it to Mulder’s apartment and since her brain had drifted completely, she didn’t really notice where they were until he stopped the car, “why are we here?”

“Literally or existentially because I don’t think I can take a metaphysical discussion at the moment?”

“Literal.”

“You drove. You drop me off then drive yourself home.”

“Where’s your car, Mulder?”

Pointing to where he always parked, he saw an empty spot, “your house.” His head dropped to the steering wheel, “damn.” Looking at her out of the corner of his eye, “I’ll take you home.”

“No. I want out of the damn car and I want to go to sleep. Right now.”

“Then grab the bags from the store … I’ll get the suitcases.” They managed to make it in his door before dropping everything simultaneously. Mulder then re-picked up her bag and set it in his bedroom, “I’ll take the couch.”

“No, I will. I shoved gum up your nose.”

“And I yelled ‘blinking yellow’.”

Contemplating for a half second, “you’re right.”

He gave her a grin, “just help me change the sheets first.” Nodding, she had the bed stripped by the time he came back with a clean set. They finished in no time and he stepped back, nodding his head, “two people make that way faster.”

“Anytime Mulder but for now, I’m using your bathroom then going to bed.”

“Aye, aye captain.”

Meeting him in the hall on the way back from the bathroom, “g’night, Mulder.”

“’Morning, Scully.”

Before going to the bedroom, she grabbed one last thing, then changed, crawled under the clean sheets and was out before her head hit the pillow.

&&&&&&&&&&

He woke up leisurely. The phone hadn’t rung, no one had knocked on his door, obnoxious garbage men hadn’t rattled the dumpsters … he had woken up because he had finally caught up on his sleep. Marveling at the idea, he stood and moved silently towards his bedroom to check to see if she was awake yet.

Finding her spread eagle on her stomach, covers twisted around her and bare leg sticking out, foot hanging off the side of the bed, he nearly laughed when he saw her wearing the neon green t-shirt he’d bought the night before.

Deciding to let her sleep, he went to the bathroom, then made himself a bowl of cereal. By the time he’d sat down with his second helping, he heard the creak of his bedroom door. Looking up, he saw her standing there, hair tousled, eyes partially open, wearing only the t-shirt, which fell to mid-thigh. Swallowing the frogs in her throat, “’morning.”

After a glance at the DVD player’s clock, “afternoon.” Without comment, she padded across the cool floor and dropped down next to him, curling her legs underneath her. Covering them with his blanket, she reached over, took the spoon and helped herself to a large spoonful of cereal. Shaking the milk off, she had it nearly to her mouth when he finally spoke, “I thought you said you’d never wear that shirt?”

As the cereal entered her mouth, her lips quivered in the slightest of smiles, “shut up, Mulder.”

[juju-on-that-yeet]

There Are Worse Things I Could Do, Chapter 8/10

Summary: After days of loneliness and frustration and sad, circular thoughts, Yancy finally hits rock bottom and does something he can’t take back. Warnings: Strangulation, murder, blood Characters: Yancy

Read on AO3

Enjoy - or not, this one’s rough ;w;

~

It’s on a totally normal night – normal at this point, anyway – that everything falls apart.

Yancy is, once again, woken by a cop when he tries to sleep on a park bench. Yancy is, once again, grumbling internally as he looks for somewhere secluded to sleep.

“The hell are they talkin’ about, tellin’ me I can’t sleep there. What if I was homeless, huh? Then what? Assholes.”

“True, but you aren’t homeless. You’re just being a stubborn idiot.”

“I’m not going back! I can’t fucking go back, don’t you get it!?”

Yancy is so frustrated he kicks a pebble in front of him on the sidewalk. It soars into the road and lands in a puddle, so small it hardly splashes. He’s not sure who he’s talking to. He’s never sure when he has conversations like this in his mind. He only ever talks to himself like this when he’s stressed, and he’s been stressed for days.

“This sucks. This can’t suck any worse than going home.”

“Can it, though? I still can’t stop thinking about Lio. The only good thing about this stupid fucking city outside Ego Inc. is that I don’t have to avoid Lio in the hall anymore.”

“You’re being selfish. There are other people at Ego Inc. who miss you. There are people looking for you. Don’t they matter to you?”

“Of course they do, but I just…I can’t.”

Yancy is a coward, that much is not news. He shrinks away from authority, pushes away parental figures. He gets angry and tries to swallow the problems his anger causes. For a man so hellbent on being safe, on staying enclosed and crowded and away from the world, he spends a lot of his time in captivity running from different parts of himself. Not all of them; he would never run from the part of him that sings, that dances, that listens to showtunes and taps his feet. He would never run from the goofy side, the fun-loving side, the side that loves his friends. But the anger, the equal hatred and fear of those above him, the depression and drama? He’d prefer to be free of those.

But there’s nowhere in LA he can run to get away from his own shitty personality.

Yancy keeps walking, actively shutting down the racing thoughts trying to admonish him further. But if he can’t yell at himself for the situation he’s gotten himself into, all he can think about is Lio.

Why the hell does he still love him?

He doesn’t know how long he’s been on the run, the days have blurred together. But it’s been many, in addition to the week after his confession he spent tiptoeing around Lio. Why doesn’t he hate Lio for everything? Why can’t he just get mad at Lio for ignoring and avoiding him, why can’t he curse Lio for breaking his heart? Why is Lio so impossible to get over? But it’s not like Yancy doesn’t know the answers. Lio never meant to hurt him. Lio is probably confused and uncertain, probably really worried about him right now. Lio’s not a bad person, he just didn’t know what to do. Yancy hid his love so well, too well, and Lio didn’t know how to respond to it. Yancy can’t blame him for that.

It means that everything Yancy fell in love with is still there, unmarred. Lio is still achingly handsome, unhindered by any secret cruelty. Lio is still supportive, still caring, still brave and adventurous, still too cool for school in the most endearing way, still secretly a huge dork who loves his friends and only ever makes enemies by being too flirtatious, too affectionate. It’s always genuine, nothing that Yancy can hate him for. There’s nothing sour in Lio, nothing bitter, nothing mean. It’s only Yancy’s own baggage, his own stupid crush, that makes the good in Lio hurt.

Yancy’s so lost in his sad, circular thoughts that it takes him a while to realize he’s being followed.

Once Yancy notices the man matching his speed about ten paces behind him, a rush of anger fills him.

“How the hell did I not notice this guy? What does he want with me, anyway??”

“He probably wants to mug you.”

“It’s not like I have any money!”

“But he doesn’t know that.”

“I’ve been wearing the same clothes for days, and I haven’t showered since I snuck into that twenty-four hour gym the other night. What about me makes me look like I have money!?”

“Maybe he’s just an idiot. But he’s an idiot who’s following you. What are you gonna do about it?”

Yancy’s more angry than worried. He can take a few punches, and he’s gotten less pathetic at fighting ever since Yandere took him under his wing. But what if this guy has a weapon? Yancy figures he will if he has any sense; it’s much harder to threaten people with your bare hands. It’s so late at night there’s no place busy enough to escape to, no crowds to get lost in. The man continues to follow Yancy down the street as he wonders to nowhere.

As Yancy presses forward, contemplating his shit luck, he decides to get this over with and ducks into an alley. He hears the footsteps behind him break into a run, and whirls around to meet them.

“I ain’t got any money, fuck off!!” Yancy yells at the man.

He doesn’t even pause as he runs at Yancy, with a look on his face like he doesn’t believe him.

The guy’s a bit bigger than Yancy, so he can’t avoid being tackled to the ground. He struggles, though, flailing out punches and trying to remember the training Yandere gave him. He must be doing something right, because the man is unable to hold Yancy down and pull out the weapon – a knife, it looks like – in a sheath at his side at the same time.

Yancy hasn’t been in a fight like this in a long time. Even when he went out with Yandere and Chrome he avoided the worst of the action, mostly due to Yandere protecting him. In prison he’d start fights with every newbie, and he did much of the same when he first joined Ego Inc. But he hasn’t had any reason to fight since, and his blood is boiling with it. Facing off against the mugger, punching, getting punched, watching the mugger’s hands as keenly as he positions his own, looking for the best moment to buck him off – all are sensations that Yancy’s body remembers and falls into as easy as breathing, fueled by anger.

Even when he finally gets the guy off him the guy doesn’t let up, and Yancy has to block the knife to keep from getting his face sliced open. The knife opens a line in his arm and Yancy’s vision goes red. The mugger must’ve expected him to stop and cower, but instead, Yancy tackles him twice as hard as the mugger tackled Yancy before, sending the knife sailing out of his hands, away from the fight. But Yancy doesn’t need it.

He’s beyond angry now, the gash in his arm doesn’t bleed rage, it bleeds inhibitions. Yancy’s frustration at everything boils over: His confession to Lio, the rejection, the heartache and tears, his journey away from Ego Inc., his bad night with Danielle, every night after, every night a cop woke him up and make him sleep elsewhere, the stupid squirrel that tried to get him to go home, the voice of reason in Yancy’s mind that keeps telling him the same, the thoughts of Lio that chase it away, evading the other egos, missing his friends, missing Lio, still wanting him, still loving him, still being too stupid to get over him.

Yancy doesn’t feel human. He feels like a devil, like something red-hot and full of hatred, rage, awful angry adrenaline meant to kill.

Wait, kill?

Yancy comes back to himself to find he’s straddling the mugger. His hands are so tight around the mugger’s neck that they ache from exertion. The mugger is motionless. He’s quiet. His eyes are open. There’s no pulse against Yancy’s hands.

Yancy throws himself back with a cry, scrambling away from the mugger.

“No no no no no, not again, not again, not again, not again–”

He curls into a ball and he’s a teenager again, he’s barely eighteen facing his mother in the worst fight they’ve ever had, she’s screaming at him to get a grip, he’s screaming at her to shut up, she’s suddenly not angry anymore, just scared, but Yancy stays angry, stays angry, and soon she isn’t screaming anymore, and Yancy’s hands hurt, they hurt, they shake, just like now, now he’s done it again, he’s still that horrible person who killed someone, he’s still a murderer, all that time in Happy Trails and he’s still the same awful person he always was.

Yancy is sobbing when he lifts his head to see someone near the mouth of the alley. A young woman, phone in hand, eyes wide and skin pale. She’s calling the police, or she’s done it already.

“Kill her. Quick. The knife’s over there. No witnesses.”

Yancy curls up again and wails, wails over the voice in the back of his head that’s no longer the voice of reason. He screams with terror at himself that the thought would even cross his mind, especially after it did once before, when his father came into the kitchen and Yancy couldn’t explain, but the knife on the counter made an explanation unnecessary, and it was so much messier than Yancy’s mother and the blood never came out, it never came out of Yancy’s hands, it’s still there now, it always will be.

Yancy will always be a killer.

When the police come, he doesn’t bother running. He doesn’t bother resisting. He puts his hands up when they ask, he stays still when they put on handcuffs, he allows himself to be pushed into the police car, he remains quiet on the drive to the station.

The anger leaving his system has left him cold, numb, leaking tears. He barely looks up the entire time he’s being processed, except for when they take his mugshot. The whole series of events is familiar, and though the initial shock is wearing off, a part of Yancy is still back at that time, still a frightened boy who just killed his parents. The EMT who wraps up his injured arm doesn’t meet his eyes. The holding cell they put him in is empty, lonely, as lonely as he’s been since he left Ego Inc.

“Fuck, what are the others gonna say? What are they gonna think? What’s gonna happen now?”

All Yancy knows is that he’s a long way from Happy Trails, and wherever he ends up next won’t be nearly so lenient.

Left alone, he spirals, he goes back to loud, ugly sobs and begging wails. How did it get so bad? How did he go so far? How did he end up here?

Yancy, for the first time in days, completely and unequivocally wants to go home.

Eventually, so late at night it’s better called morning, a guard tells him he’s allowed a phone call. By then, the crashing grief has only tapered a little, leaving Yancy shaky and scared and weepy. He jumps at the chance for a call, not even caring that he’s being observed. When they lead him to the phone, he doesn’t hesitate.

He can’t call Lio, like hell he’d call Lio about this. He can’t call Magnum either, the man doesn’t have a phone at all.

But Yandere has a phone. Yandere will know what to do.

After he dials the number and the phone begins to ring, it occurs to him that Yandere won’t recognize the jail’s number. He might not answer it. The thought sends him into such panic that his heart cracks with relief when Yandere picks up.

“Who are you and how did you get this number?” Yandere asks, voice hard and cautious.

“Y-Yan…” Yancy sobs, and for a long moment he can’t say anymore, only continue to cry. It’s been so long since he heard the voice of someone he knows.

“Yan-kun!?” Yandere cries, loud enough to hurt Yancy’s ears. “Yan-kun, where are you, are you okay, what–”

“I…” Yancy sobs again, trying to force out the words. “I d-did something a-awful. Yan, I-I killed him, I didn’t m-mean to–”

“Oh, Yancy,” Yandere gasps, voice colored with sympathy that Yancy knows he doesn’t deserve, “You’re calling me from jail, aren’t you?”

Yancy whimpers in response.

“Okay, don’t worry, just – just tell me where you are. What station are you in?”

Yancy didn’t pay enough attention as he was being processed to get the name, but he answers Yandere’s other questions about the place as best as he can, through tears.

“Yan-Yan, shhh, it’ll be okay,” Yandere murmurs, clearly wishing he could offer physical comfort. “I’ll tell Yami what’s going on, and the Googles will figure out where you are, and then Yami or Wil will come get you. Just hang in there, Yan-Yan, we’ll fix this. You’ll be home soon.”

He says it like it’s that easy. He says it like Dark expunging Yancy’s arrest and taking him home will solve this. But Yandere’s not like Yancy; there’s something in his mind that lets him kill without remorse, something that lets him kill for fun. Yancy can’t understand it, the same way Yandere, as caring to Yancy as he is, could never understand how murder weighs on Yancy’s heart.

Still, the thought of going home gives him strength. He’s a little surprised at himself for wanting to leave jail so soon after going back. Maybe he’s changed, grown a little since he left Happy Trails. Maybe he trusts himself to do better next time. And besides, going home and seeing Lio is preferable to staying in a newer, rougher prison, one where Yancy would have no friends and no hope of getting any. He can’t fool himself: He’d be eaten alive in any prison but Happy Trails.

“Is Ego Inc. just the default place to go, then? Is it the lesser of two evils now? I still deserve to pay for this.”

“Oh, you will. Dark’s going to be PISSED.”

Oh, right. Yancy hadn’t thought of that.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Yancy sits in holding until sunlight breaks. He does not sleep, and his hands do not stop shaking.

[husheduphistory]

Queen B of Miami: The Sensational Bessie Stringfield

Since blasting into existence in the late nineteenth century, motorcycles have captured every eye they have crossed. Freedom, mystery, fun, and rebellion are all tags people often adhere to those who dare to ride these machines, but when one certain person tore through towns they also provoked feeling of shock and, unfortunately, anger. Despite this, they never stopped riding. Their name was Bessie Stringfield. She was a woman. She was black. And regardless of the dangers facing her in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, she boldly rode for herself and her country declaring “What I did was fun, and I loved it.”

Bessie Stringfield image via MotorcycleMuseum.com.

Matching the mystique of her motorcycle is Bessie’s own life story. Although some accounts claim she was born in North Carolina, several other accounts and Bessie herself state that she was born on February 11th 1911 in Kingston, Jamaica to a Dutch domestic servant named Maria Ellis and her Jamaican employer James Ferguson. Before she was five years old Bessie found herself uprooted from home when her family relocated to Boston, but the more tragic shift was to come soon after their arrival. In one version of events, both her parents died from smallpox shortly after the move. In another, her mother died of the disease and her father, unable to cope with the loss, left young Bessie abandoned on a Boston street and vanished from her life. After living in an orphanage for a few years Bessie was finally adopted by a wealthy and devout Irish Catholic woman who took the girl into her family and treated her as an absolute equal. When her sixteenth birthday was on the horizon, Bessie had a very specific request, she had been trying out their neighbor’s motorcycle and she wanted one to call her very own. Her mother told her that nice girls didn’t go around riding motorcycles but when her birthday arrived Bessie’s wish was granted and her mother presented her with a 1928 Indian Scout motorcycle.

A young Bessie on her motorcycle. Image via MotorcycleMuseum.com.

Bessie had very little experience with motorcycles but once she began riding she proved to have a natural talent, one she attributed to her strong faith and “the man upstairs”, claiming she prayed to be able to ride and she woke up possessing the skills. Once she began riding Bessie was unstoppable and after graduating high school she took off on trips all over New England, but she wanted more. She began playing a game where she would toss a penny onto a map and traveling wherever it landed carrying only her leather jacket, a money belt, and extra clothes that could be rolled up into her bike’s saddlebags. In 1930 when Bessie was nineteen years old she completed her first solo cross country trip on her bike, the first ever by a black woman, and in the coming years she made seven more cross country trips and traveled through all lower forty-eight states. In order to finance her excursions she turned to her talents and began performing riding stunts in carnivals along the way including the infamous Wall of Death, a stunt that involved a large round cage where she would ride around the inside with enough speed to be suspended sideways on the walls.

Bessie Stringfield image via MotorcycleMuseum.com.

It might sound like a dream, riding around the country on your motorcycle, performing in carnivals, and answering to no one. But the horrible fact was that every time Bessie Stringfield rode on any of the twenty-seven Harley Davidson motorcycles that she owned throughout her life she was putting herself at risk. In the 1930s and 40s many parts of the country were deeply segregated and did not look kindly at any black woman, let alone one who rode a motorcycle and did exactly as she pleased. She used The Negro Motorist Green Book to find safe places to sleep across the country and when no one gave her a bed she slept on her motorcycle in the parking lots of gas stations using her jacket as a pillow and propping her feet up on the seat. In one horrific incident Stringfield was traveling through the deep south and in Georgia she was confronted by the Ku Klux Klan but she literally left them in the dust, jumping on her bike and riding away faster than any of them could follow. She was very aware of how dangerous her riding was but she did not worry, always saying that her faith made her believe she would always be safe and taken care of.

During a ride In the 1940s  Stringfield stopped inside a movie theater to rest and she saw a newsreel about women helping in the war effort. Inspired by the reel, Stringfield went on to enlist as the only woman in a black motorcycle dispatch unit of the United States army. It was not as simple as just signing up, in order to join the unit she had to pass a battery of tests including riding up sandy hills and being able to weave a bridge made of rope and tree limbs by hand. Once again Stringfield defied the naysayers, passed her tests, and ran classified documents in between domestic bases on her bike from 1941 to 1945, all with an U.S. Army emblem proudly affixed to the front of her bike. Unbelievably, she still encountered racism while making her government deliveries with one encounter resulting in her being run off of the road by a man driving a pickup truck. Nothing phased  Stringfield though, she simply brushed off the incidents and continued on her way.  

Bessie Stringfield image via MotorcycleMuseum.com.

By the 1950s Stringfield decided she needed some sort of home base and she settled near Miami, Florida and looked for a new direction. In her years on the road she had married and divorced six men (all but one were twenty years her junior), had three children who all died as infants, and officially adopted her third husband’s last name Stringfield at his request because he felt she made the name famous. She bought a house and initially pursued a career in cooking but she switched gears again becoming a licensed practical nurse. 

A rare image of Bessie Stringfield without her bike. Image via MotorcycleMuseum.com.

She may have made some changes but she never stopped riding and defying those who tried to hold her down. After run-ins with Florida law enforcement who tried to tell her she was not allowed to ride her motorcycle she met with the chief of police personally asking him to meet her in a park so she could prove her riding ability. He agreed, and after their meeting she was never bothered by the Miami police again. Stringfield went on and founded the Iron Horse Motorcycle Club, used her house as a place for riders to socialize, led motorcycle brigades in parades and celebrations (sometimes with two of her beloved poodles riding along on her knees), rode her motorcycle to mass every Sunday, and was dubbed “The Motorcycle Queen of Miami”. Her local fame never affected her though and she remained humble, becoming friends with the families she worked with, and creating stories wherever she went. One account from the child of a family friend recalls a day when their mother was unable to pick them up from school so Stringfield picked them up and brought them back on her bike, “We found Bessie out there on her Harley and in her leather jacket…I was just a little kid so I was only wrapped around half of her..I could feel the heat from the exhaust on my leg…All the kids were going crazy”.

Later in life Stringfield continued to defy anything that tried to keep her from the road. In the 1980s her motorcycle was vandalized and she considered selling her house in order to replace it, refusing to ever own a used motorcycle. Instead, she rented or borrowed bikes when she wanted to ride. As she grew older and he health began to decline her doctors urged her to stop riding, but she refused, saying that if she stopped riding she would die so she would just never stop.  

True to her word, Stringfield did not stop but her ride finally came to an end on February 16th 1993 after suffering complications from an enlarged heart. She was adamant that when she died she did not want a service, but those who knew her had other ideas and people from as far away from Texas congregated in Florida to remember the Motorcycle Queen of Miami.

When Ohio’s Motorcycle Heritage Museum opened in 1990 they included Stringfield in their opening exhibits and the honors continued after her death. In 2000 the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) created the Bessie Stringfield Award to be given annually to distinguished women bringing emerging markets to the motorcycling world. In 2002 Bessie Stringfield was inducted into the  American Motorcyclist Association Hall of Fame and she continues to be honored yearly in the Bessie Stringfield’s All Female Ride, a long distance riding event including pep rallies, speaking engagements, and educational events on long distance biking in honor of the motorcycle pioneer. 

In 2016 the ride ended in Stringfield’s last residence of Opa-Locka, Florida and the mayor of Miami Gardens officially proclaimed June 24th as Bessie Stringfield Day.

Bessie Stringfield image via MotorcycleMuseum.com.

**********************************************************

To read more about the incredible life of Bessie Stringfield please visit https://bessiestringfieldbook.com/ and keep an eye out for the exclusive authorized biography by Ann Ferrar.

[therainroguefanfiction]

🔥 ℝise Ⱥbove I̾t ◈ Chapter 005 [A Deal is Made]

📑 Table of Contents | ◂ Backward

Word Count: 2,216 ☁

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

〈“If I reach out, Can I trust you? Will you help me see the light of one more day?” We As Human, “Take the Bullets Away”〉

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

I stifled a yawn as I flipped through the channels on the TV. I was still lying on the couch, the blanket covering the lower half of my body. Blondie’s apartment was a one-bedroom and was originally made for one person, since he didn’t expect me to, quite literally, fall into his life. This meant that I got the pleasure of sleeping on the couch. He did offer me his room several times, but his weakened state made me believe that he needed it more, so I refused every time.

Today I was determined to get answers, but he was gone by the time I woke up. I paused on the news station when I saw his picture, turning up the volume.

“Just moments ago, a villain appeared at the Tokyo theater, threatening to destroy the building if his demands were not met. All of the pro heroes were occupied with a fire on the other side of the city, but the symbol of peace arrived just in time, delivering a powerful smash! The villain’s current identity and condition are unknown.”

I changed the channel, settling on morning cartoons before getting up and stretching my body. I made my way to the bathroom, doing my business and brushing my teeth. I glanced in the mirror, running my hand through my black hair, currently standing up in all directions. I’d need to get it cut within the next week, I can’t stand when it grows beyond my neck. It’s too much of a pain when it’s long. You gotta brush it all the time and it’s ten times hotter in the summer. Not worth it.

I headed back into the living room, finding Blondie sitting on the end of the couch. His angled face looked tired. It was obvious, to me at least, that he couldn’t maintain his hero form for long periods of time, but why? And why does he keep fighting in spite of that? “You want a soda?”

“Water, please.”

I stepped into the kitchen, pulling out a can of Dr. Pepper and a bottle of water. I almost threw it at him but reconsidered at the last moment, handing it over instead. I sat on the coffee table in front of him, folding my leg beneath me. “Today is answer day, Blondie.”

He sighed, tiredly, and took a large gulp of water. “What do you want to know first?”

“What’s your story?”

His eyes widened as they met mine. I guess he was expecting me to ask about myself instead. His hand grasped the hem of his t-shirt and he hesitated before sliding it up.

“Mother of fuck,” My eyes scanned his left side. The skin was badly warped and scarred. A large circle of scar tissue had formed under his breast, the skin purple and black.

He lowered his shirt, clearly self-conscious of the wound. “This is the aftermath of a fight five years ago. I lost my whole stomach and my respiratory system was destroyed. I’ve had various surgeries, but it can’t be fixed. I can only maintain my hero form for about three hours a day.”

I hummed, resting my chin in the palm of my hand. “Why keep fighting, then? It obviously fucks you up.”

“My work is not yet done,” he closed his eyes and leaned his head back. “Enough about me. You wanted to know what I meant when I said you were from this world, yes?”

I nodded, sitting up straight. “That’s right,”

“You were born in this world, young Jen, but your mother had a lot of enemies.”

“You knew my mother?” I could feel my heart picking up speed at the thought.

He nodded. “I met her nineteen years ago. I was facing off against a villain that was stronger than me at the time, and then your mother appeared. She was so strong and fearless…” he smiled sadly as he recalled the memory.

“She was… a hero?”

“Yes… yes, she was. She was also one of my best friends. Like I said, she had a lot of enemies, some she just couldn’t escape from even after retiring. Her biggest fear was for her child to suffer because of her mistakes. When she fell pregnant with you, she tracked down a man with a World Gate quirk. She paid him well and in return, he promised to open a gate to another world, a world without quirks. She wanted you to live a normal, happy life. One where you didn’t have to constantly look over your shoulder.”

What the fuck. My hands fisted around my shorts. I wasn’t even born yet and she was planning my fucking life out? I get that she wanted to protect me, but it makes me angry. And if she went that far to ‘protect’ me, then… “She’s the one that had my quirk sealed.”

“Yes…”

I stood up, pacing back and forth across the small living room. “She had no right to fucking do that!”

“She was trying to -”

“‘Protect me’, yeah I fucking got that. Sorry, but I don’t consider ripping away your child’s identity and abandoning them to be the best way to protect them!”

“She had no intention of abandoning you, Jen.” He stood up, gently grabbing my shoulders so I would stop pacing. I glared at him, but his soft expression didn’t waver. “She planned to go to this new world with you.”

“Then why didn’t she?” I demanded. “Why did she abandon me? Do you have any idea how hard it was growing up without parents? Poor Gramps had to break his damn back to provide for me! He had to play the rule of mother and father AND grandpa!”

“I don’t know what you went through or how you felt, but I can promise you that Alissa did not want to abandon you. She…” he hesitated, swallowing hard. “I was too late to save her life. When I finally found her, she was taking her last breaths. She died in my arms…”

My glare softened at the pained look on his face, bony fingers digging into my shoulders. I… I can’t imagine someone you care so much about dying in your arms. When I found Gramps… he was already… I lowered my head, tears blurring my vision. I bit down hard on my lips to try and keep them at bay. The reality of the situation was hitting me like a fucking freight train and I fell to my knees.

“Jen…”

“Gramps is… dead. He’s really… really dead… I…” Tears overflowed, falling to the wooden floor as I choked back a sob. It felt like my heart was being pulled apart in my ribcage. “Gramps, I… I’m so sorry!”

He pulled me into his arms, fingers running through my hair. I clutched onto his shirt, my body shaking as I sobbed. He felt so warm and, for a moment, I felt like Gramps was here with me again.

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

After I had finally calmed down, Blondie said that the rat wanted to speak to us. I honestly wasn’t in the mood – I just wanted to sleep -, but he promised to buy me tacos on the way home. I’ve only known this man for a week and he already knows my biggest weakness. Fuck me.

The taxi pulled up in front of the tall school building and we stepped out after he paid, approaching a large metal arch. “Here,” he handed me a thick plastic card with my name and picture on it. At the bottom in bold was U.A. Visitor’s Pass with a barcode printed on the back. “If you try to pass through the gate without a school-issued pass, the security system will activate.”

“Bit excessive for a school of super freaks, don’t cha think?” I tucked it into my front pocket, eyeing the metal as he passed through it. It felt like those detectors back home that beeped loudly if you tried to walk out of the store without paying for something. Even if you weren’t stealing, there was still that anxiety in the back of your mind that it would go off anyway.

“U.A. High is the top-rated hero school in Japan. This is where our future heroes grow and blossom, it must be protected at all costs.”

I hummed as I followed him into the school and up to the rat’s office. He knocked on the door, waiting for a cheerful ‘come in’ before pushing the door open. Once inside, he closed the door and steered me toward one of two chairs that sat in front of the desk. I glanced at the tall man leaning against the left wall. His black hair was messy, falling in waves to his shoulders. His eyes were closed and he had dark bags under them, along with some scruffy stubble.

“I’m so glad you could make it!” The rat said cheerfully from behind the desk. “We have much to discuss.”

I wasn’t really given much of a choice here. I scoffed, earning a look from Blondie. He had been adamant on the way over that I be on my best behavior and be respectful toward the rat.

“Are you settling in well, Jen?” He asked, his beady eyes on me. “Are the two of you getting along?”

I could see Blondie shift nervously from my peripheral vision and I considered trolling him, but as requested, I decided to try and be at least a little bit civil. “It’s, uh, a lot to take in but Blond, er Yagi-san, has been very kind and helpful.” I glanced at him, sweatdropping at his watery eyes and proud smile. God, that’s such a dad face.

“That’s good to hear! Now, as for the reason I asked you here today. As it stands currently, you have no control over your quirk.”

I scowled at the comment, sliding down in my chair a bit. It was true, but he didn’t have to be so damn blunt about it.

“It’s understandable, all things considered, but it’s quite dangerous. We can’t just ignore this issue. So, I have asked Aizawa to train you!” The rat motioned toward the man, who was now looking at us with a bored expression. His eyes were bloodshot.

“W-Wait a minute,” Blondie stood up, looking concerned. “With all due respect, sir, I thought I was going to be training young Jen.”

“Yes, that was the plan, at first. However, a video surfaced of the day Jen appeared before you and Endeavor, and I got to see first hand her quirk in action.”

My body stiffened at the mention of that day. I hadn’t told Blondie about it, but I had found a forum thread on that very subject. Most of the posts were talking about the two pro heroes, but several people were discussing me and my quirk. They had used words like ‘cold-blooded murder’, ‘monster’, and ‘villain’. Now there’s a video of it happening? If people know my face, will I be attacked on the street? Arrested by the police?

“You needn’t worry,” The rat said softly, giving me a smile when I looked up. “We’ve taken care of the original video and any copies. There’s no record of who you are in this world. The police were quite adamant about taking you into custody, but I was able to make a deal with the commissioner.”

“Deal?” I don’t like where this is going.

“That’s correct. First, you are to remain under U.A.’s constant supervision, which is why you’re living with All Might!”

I raised a brow, leaning over toward Blondie. “You actually work here?”

He nodded. “It hasn’t been announced yet, but I start as a teacher next term.”

“What about your uhh…” I made a motion with my hand and he smiled warmly.

“You don’t need to worry about me, young Jen.”

“I wasn’t worried, you idiot.”

The rat cleared his throat before continuing. “The next condition is that you enroll at U.A. next term. As a seventeen-year-old, you should be in your second year, but I can not allow that. All of the information you lack will be provided as a first-year student, but we will withhold your age from the other students. It’ll be up to your discretion if you should choose to trust your classmates, but I would advise against this, though.”

A first-year as a super-powered high school… this should be fun.

“The final condition is that your quirk be trained and monitored. I was content giving this job to All Might, but after seeing the raw, untamed power of your quirk, I have decided it is best to go with Aizawa, who can erase your quirk if you lose control.”

“Erase it? Like, permanently?” I glanced at the man, who was rubbing the back of his head, eyes closed.

“No, it’s only temporary.” He assured me but didn’t elaborate farther on it. “From this point on, you are a member of U.A. High. What you do from here on out will reflect on this school, as well as on All Might. Please keep this in mind going forward.”

Yeah, no pressure though, right? I nodded, feeling my shoulders grow heavy as I glanced over at Blondie. He gave me a reassuring smile and patting my shoulder.

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

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[pyrewriter]

Reveal

Chat picked up his bags then the kitten and put him on his shoulder telling him "Hold on little guy this might get rough". He launched himself onto the nearest roof and started his usual patrol route but took it slower than he normally did to make sure his new friend could still hang on. He made sure to finish up near the Police station so he could go pick up Wild Willy for their day out. Chat entered the Police station and again almost no one was there, only the receptionist was there this time.

"Chat Noir, what are you doing here?" she asked

"Came to pick someone up" he answered spinning the keys that the officer had given him on a finger for her to see.

Her eyes widened with understanding, "Ah well that explains the Cowboy” she muttered to herself, in a clearer voice she told him “You seem to know where you're going, please go on in". As Chat passed her she asked "And uh how long will you be out? for the record".

"I'll bring him back at lunch and before sunset which will probably be a normal thing until we can de-evilize him" Chat explained. He started for the cell block but stopped, turning around he asked with a smile "Do you guys ,by any chance, have someone who could take care of a kitten while I'm gone?".

The receptionist scratched her head for a moment thinking "Not at the moment but I can ask around and see if there's anyone who can help".

"Thank you, looking after this little guy and Willy would be difficult" he said leaning to show her the kitten that was purring his shoulder.

She nodded "Of course Mister Noir, it's the least I can do".

"Well I should go get Willy, has he had breakfast yet by the way? Chat asked.

The receptionist responded quickly "Yes breakfast was served about a few minutes ago".

"Ok, thanks again miss" with his final thanks he walked down toward the cell block where Wild Willy West was bedding down. As he walked to the cell he thought to himself "I think I should come up with a nickname for him since we'll be spending some time together hmm '3-W' works well". Once he was at the cell door he called out "Hey 3-W you finished breakfast yet?".

Willy was sitting on his bed with a mostly empty tray on his lap, he swallowed his mouthful "Almost, and '3-W' is that my new name?" he asked bringing another bite to his mouth.

"It's your nickname, what do you think rolls off the tongue nicely doesn't it? Now hurry up I wanna introduce you to a new friend" Chat replied.

"Oh yeah and who would that be?" Willy asked

"A kitten"

Willy scarfed down what was left on his tray then rushed over to the bars with his mouth full "WHERE!?" he demanded. All the commotion got the kitten to meow "aaaahhh he's so cute, where'd you find him?" he asked.

"He found me actually, I woke up this morning and there he was" Chat had unlocked the door while he explained. "Now come on you can adore him all you want while we're out and about" he said opening the door and walking back the way he came. As they passed the receptionist and left Chat gave the receptionist a wave stating "We'll be back at lunch".

"Hey I thought we would be gone most of the day" Willy said as they walked down the street.

"We will be but I need to recharge, you need to eat, and I'm broke so lunch works for everyone" Chat told him.

"Oh, well in that case where to first then, I don't have any ideas"

"Well we can't do anything crazy since we have this guy with us" Chat pointed to the kitten "-so let's go shopping for some camping gear and we go nuts later when it's just you and me".

Willy was confused "Camping gear, why?"

"I can't go home ,remember, so I plan on living on rooftops or in the tunnels where we fought" Chat explained, shrugging he added "haven’t decided yet".

"Oh...right" Willy said sounding regretful again.

"Hey don't sweat it, I was probably going to ditch my life in the next year or so anyway" Chat lightly punched his cowboy companion in the arm "if anything you just moved up my timetable".

"Well when you put it that way..." Willy returned the playful punch.

Chat and Willy spent the first half of the day shopping for camp gear returning to an empty Police station at lunch just as promised. The receptionist couldn't find anybody to take care of the kitten but said she would keep looking, Chat thanked her again before leaving to wander the streets. The two of them continued to shop as they planned what to do when they could find someone to take care of their fluffy third member. It didn't take long for them to find everything for Chat to start a small camp but Willy was puzzled by the lack of a tent.

"Why didn't we get a tent again?" Willy asked "-don't you wanna stay dry"

"A little rain never hurt anybody and I prefer being able to see the stars anyway" Chat said plainly, Willy shrugged accepting his answer. "We need to stash this stuff, follow me we can leave it on a roof" after a few minutes of tying down the gear they leaped from the roof back down to the street. Looking into the window of a nearby clock shop it was very apparent that it was almost 19:00 "Oh shit, 3-W we need to get you back". Willy followed Chats gaze and quickly agreed when he saw the time. As they ran Chat thought about the real reason he needed to get Willy back to the station before the clock struck 20:00. 

All the while Alya and the class had been scouring Paris for their friend and once more it was all in vain but they were far from giving up. After another fruitless day of searching however they called it a day and headed home before it got dark.

"Hey Nino do you wanna come over to my place for a movie, Miranette's gonna video call later" Alya asked placing a hand on his shoulder. 

"Sorry Alya but I've already got some plans with a friend of mine, we're meeting up in-" he pulled out his phone to check the time "in about a half hour".

Alya raised an eyebrow "And why haven't I heard of this 'friend' of yours before and why are you meeting them so late at night?" 

"W-well he gets really bad anxiety in crowds and, and he has strict parents so he doesn't get out much" Nino was thinking on his toes but Alya seemed to accept his answer.

"Alright...you just be safe ok" Alya said turning to head home.

Nino let out a sigh of relief "I will don't worry" he replied smiling, when she was out of sight and he was certain the coast was clear he casually walked into the alley behind the school. He was early and Adrien wasn't exactly known for being on time so he figured he had some time and went to go get some snacks from treats from down the street.  

Meanwhile Chat had just gotten Willy back and in his room with ten minutes till his meeting with Nino as Adrien. "Alright so when we get someone to look after this guy we hit up cafes and then the backstreets agreed" Chat asked Willy confirming the planning they did throughout the day.

"Sounds about right to me, but don't forget we also need to name him tomorrow too" Willy pointed to the kitten comfortably resting in Chats high collar.  

"Heh yeah" Chat chuckled nuzzling the little fluff ball.

Willy cleared his throat "Ehem don't you have a meeting to get to?" 

"Oh sh-" Chat turned running full speed down the hall yelling "Sleep well 3-W" he thought he heard something in response but he was already out of the building. He was running late for his meeting and running out of time as Chat Noir but the streets were practically empty so a nearby phone booth would do just fine. With a flash he was Adrien again and Plagg was already asleep but that was fine, he put his tired partner in his shirt pocket with a piece of cheese and headed for the school. After a few minutes of running he was back at the school he fought so hard to go to and was now forced to leave.

"Only three minutes late that's a new record for you bro" Nino joked putting his phone away as Adrien approached.

"Well I might as well try to be on time for something right?" Adrien joked back "good to see you man, you bring anything to eat I'm starving".

"Yeah, let's see here" Nino rummaged through the plastic bag he had with him "-you want some crisps or cookies?".

"I'll have some crisps but do you have anything soft for my friend here?" Adrien asked 

"I thought it was just you and me?" Nino said confused.

Adrien chuckled "Technically it still is" he pointed to the kitten that was sleeping on his shoulder who opened his eyes.

"Oh I did not see him...is that a cat?" Nino was squinting to see in the dim light.

"Yes he is, woke up with him this morning and I couldn't just leave him" he started to pet it "he's been with me ever since".

"Ok then" Nino handed his friend a bag of crisps and a bagel "here, for the two of you". 

Nino and Adrien talked for a while, Adrien was less than excited to hear about his class's determination to find him and that they had no plans to stop anytime soon. Nino asked if they could meet sometime during the day but Adrien declined claiming he had to "get camp set" before he could go out again. After an hour or so of talking Nino addressed the elephant in the alley.

"You can take that mask off when we talk you know" 

Adrien was a little surprised at his words but after a short pause he chuckled "Guess there isn't much of a point in hiding from you I suppose" slowly he removed his mask.  

"So it really was as bad as I thought huh" Nino said taking a long look at the bare teeth and scar tissue.  

"You say that like you didn't get a good look the first time" Adrien joked. 

"Yeah well last time I saw it the thing was covered in blood ,speaking of, lift your shirt" Ninos voice was serious.                

"I'm sorry what?" Adrien was again surprised by his friend's words.

"You don't cough up blood unless you're bleeding internally, which means you've got more than just a facial scar now lift your shirt" Nino tried to lift it himself but Adrien stopped him.

"OK-ok just, here hold him" he handed the kitten to Nino before taking his shirt off to show Nino all his scars and there were a lot .

Ninos eyes widened so much they hurt "Oh my god dude what have you been doing and for how long?".

"Well only the facial and bullet scars are recent, the rest of these are from before Paris which is a long story for another time" Adrien explained pointing out where each bullet went in. He intentionally neglected to mention the scars left from all the grazing shots but those could be passed off as slashes. "For now though I think you should go home before your folks get worried, and I need to find somewhere to sleep". 

Nino was annoyed not at his friend ,he was right after all, but that he didn't have the time "Fine but you have some major explaining to do bro, here take the bag and your kitten too".

Adrien smiled and quickly put his shirt back on "Thank you Nino I'll tell you whatever you want to know when we have the time I swear".       

Nino hung his head shaking it "I'm gonna hold you to that dude".

"I wouldn't have it any other way bro" Adrien did his best to smile before grabbing the back and picking up the kitten before giving Nino a hug telling him "You're a lifesaver man". Before Nino could respond he had already left the alley and was looking for a place to transform or sleep. His rooftop 'camp' had some assembly required but he didn't plan on making it his home, his plan was to use it more as a place to cook and relax and maybe cat naps. For now he would have to keep an eye out for places to get his actual sleep away from his would-be camp.  

An outcrop on the roof of his favorite bakery looked rather comfy at the moment but he would have to get up to it if he wanted to sleep and that wasn't going to be easy. Looking around he didn't see any lights coming from any windows, there was no one on the street and Nino lived in the opposite direction. He didn't want to wake up Plagg or the kitten so transforming was out the question but climbing wasn't. Fortunately he had left most of his belongings with his camp supplies, unfortunately Nino had just given him a bag of snacks. Deciding it was worth a shot he planned his path to the roof and got a stupid idea that if it worked would be fine but if it failed, he would be limping for a week.

Putting the bag in his mouth he started climbing the nearby lamp post, once at the top he jumped reaching for the ledge just across from him. He caught it and after taking a moment to catch his breath he pulled himself up and started to climb. Both from the climb and the day had exhausted him but the view of the sky was worth it. Adrien had always thought of his room as more of a prison cell than a room and that big glass wall didn't help. Those cross bars only reminded him of iron bars, he never truly liked his house despite all he had and where he came from.  

But now there was nothing between Adrien and the outside, no bars to hold him and nobody to smother him with schedules and restrictions. He wanted to enjoy this feeling of freedom while he could but then a thought occurred to him "Is 3-W really ok with sleeping in a cell?". The thought kept him up for much of the night but eventually he passed out from fatigue and he fell into a thankfully dreamless sleep. It wasn't until the next morning that he realized he had skipped patrol that night but he was up at his usual time again and again went on his usual patrol as Chat Noir. Once at the police station he could hear voices coming from the break room and the receptionist had some good news.  

"A couple of Officers have decided to take time off to take care of your kitten Mister Noir, guys he's here!" the receptionist yelled. At her words three officers came scrambling out of the break room.

All together they asked "Where is he?!".

"Hehe calm down guys he's right here" Chat laughed at their enthusiasm for taking care of a kitten as he grabbed him from in his collar and put him on the desk. "He's kind of a little snot sometimes but I'll leave you guys with him while I take 3-W out".

Again they let out a collective "aaawww".

"He's all yours for today boys" Chat said walking past them and into the cell block to greet Willy and inform him that they were free to go nuts later. Willy had a mixed reaction of excitement for being free to do whatever but sad for not being accompanied by the kitten. His reaction reminded Chat of the thought from last night "Are you ok with being in here?" he asked in a level but questioning tone.  

Willy looked Chat in the eyes "Well yeah, I have a roof over my head and three square meals and besides it's only been a few days" his voice was honest but still cheery.

Chat silently nodded his head "That’s good to hear, come on we've got cafes to lounge at and bars to hit up" he unlocked the door and walked down the hall. Willy followed and their day began, nothing really happened throughout the first half of the day other than setting up his camp and visiting most of the cafes in Paris. They talked about the Akuma attacks from before, what they would name the kitten, and what Chat would do after Willy was de-evilized. They returned to the station but were confused as to why only one of the officers from that morning was there. 

When they asked he explained "The others went out with the kitten to the vet so they could get him a check up, they should be back in a few hours'' Chat thanked him and asked the officer to give the others his thanks as well before excusing himself to the bathroom to recharge. Adrien chatted with Plagg while Willy had lunch, when he was done Willy shared the leftovers with Chat and they went out once more.  

While out on the town for the second half of the day Alya had spotted them during her search and decided to tail the two of them leaving Nino and Juleka to finish their search. She wasn't trying to hide the fact she was following them but neither of them seemed to notice her or they just didn't care. As 20:00 approached, Alya had been following them for hours and she was confused and angry that Chat was just hanging around after he refused to help search for Adrien. She had been recording for a while, her plan was to post the video on the Ladyblog with a voice over and caption to slam Chat Noir's reputation. Figuring she had enough to do the job but then she saw an opportunity she just could not pass up.  

Willy and Chat wandered into a small tavern in some back alley and after drinking perhaps a tad bit more than they should have with the other patrons everyone was feeling musical. Alya and the owner of the tavern ,who was working the bar, were the only people in the building that weren't drunk. Everybody else was moving tables and chairs to make a makeshift stage for karaoke, they asked if they could use the speaker system and the owner agreed.

Alya was recording everything but kept her attention and camera focused on Chat and Willy. After a number of performances ranging from god awful to not half bad renditions of older rock classics it was time for Chat to take the stage. The small crowd was cheering and Chat was red in the face from booze, when the music started he sang high energy very western rock but everyone loved it. He sang a spot on performance of "Metal Health-Quiet Riot" but the crowd wanted more and Chat wasn't one to disappoint, he went on to sing "Kickstart My Heart-Motley Crue” and ��Rock You Like A Hurricane-Scorpions".  

Before he could start another song the owner shouted over the rowdy drunkards "Last call!".

At the announcement Chat silenced the crowd "Alright guys, I'll do one more then I gotta leave but this-this one is for the family we lost to pointless conflict". The room fell cold with sorrow and understanding as the song started and Chat began to sing with his voice matching the music almost too well "Maybe in another life, I could find you there-". As Chat sang he began to cry and he really screamed in sorrow and rage causing his mask fell to the floor, revealing his scar. Only Alya noticed however, everybody else was too busy drunkenly crying and Chat was too involved singing “Gone Away-Five finger death punch” to notice while the owner had gone into the backroom.

It wasn't until the song ended that Chat noticed his mask was missing from his face, looking down he saw it laying at his feet. In one quick motion he picked it up and put it on then ,wiping his tears, he grabbed Willy and left to take him back. They stumbled his way down the streets toward the station, as they walked Chat slowly sobered enough to at least act normal. Alya had been recording everything that happened in the tavern and she was stunned at what she saw. After a moment she realized she was the only one left and quickly left calling Nino, asking him to meet at her place.   

Willy had cried himself into a drunken sleep so Chat had to carry him the whole way. When he finally got there the three officers were waiting for them at the reception desk talking.

"There you guys are, we were just about to go out and find ourselves" one of them said jokingly.

Chat gave a smile before asking "Thanks for the concern guys but do you mind helping me carry 3-W back to his room?"     

"Yeah we'll carry him you go open the door" two of them went to grab Willy off Chats shoulders, they followed him to the cell block laying Willy on his bed to sleep.  

"Thanks for the help guys, with Willy and the kitten" Chat said shaking each of their hands "Speaking of where is he?".

A third officer came in with the kitten standing on his head "He's right here and you were right he's a little liar, he pretended to be cold, hungry, hurt, you name it". 

Chat Laughed "Then I know what to call him" he said smiling "Belial, the Black Cat of Lies".  

All three officers gasped "It's perfect" 

*Beep Beep* Chat looked at his ring "Damn it out of time, I'll take him off your hands now" the officers deflated "Don't worry He'll be back tomorrow". They all seemed to sparkle after hearing they'd be seeing Belial again. Chat thanked the officers and the receptionist as he rushed out of the station with Belial resting in his collar draped over his shoulder. "Plagg, Claws In" he was in the alley again and Plagg was once again too tired to talk "Guess it's just you and me, fluffy buddy". Adrien was tired and still tipsy so thought it best to call it a night and sleep off the booze and prepare for the impending hangover. After all it was his first time drinking actual booze and despite still limiting himself he drank more than his share that night.

Alya was in her living room tapping her foot frantically as she waited for Nino to arrive, when he finally did she rushed him into the room. He was tired from searching all day and confused as to why his girlfriend asked for him to come to her place.  

"So why did we have to meet right now, couldn't this have waited until tomorrow?" Nino asked.

"No I-I just need to show this to someone because now I don't know what to do" Alya looked panicked and flustered ,which wasn't normal.  

Nino started to ask "What are yo-" but Alya cut him off.

"I was following Chat Noir around and that Cowboy around all day so I could show everyone what Chat was doing while we were out looking for Adrien" she sounded angry. "Then they went into this bar or tavern or whatever so I thought 'Now's my chance to really get some dirt on this cat' but then he started singing and, and-". She was speaking faster and faster and was almost hyperventilating. 

"Alya, hey take a breathe" Nino said grabbing both her arms "slow down and speak clearly".

She nodded and took a few deep breaths "I think it's best if I just show you what I mean" Alya pulled out her laptop and plugged her phone into it. She transferred the video file and played it skipping to the last few minutes of Chat singing the last song of the night. As the video played he was confused as to why Alya was showing him this but before he could voice confusion Chats mask fell from his face in the video. Alya paused the video on a freeze frame of Chats face, looking to Nino who was left speechless as multiple revelations ran through his head each on the heels of the last.  

"Alya, has anybody else seen this?" Nino asked speaking slowly and deliberately.

"That's why I called you, I don't know what to do" she grabbed Nino’s hand "I wanted to slam his name but now it just seems wrong".

Nino held her hand with both if his "Don't show this to anyone, in fact delete it because if someone saw this who ever has that scar will be hunted" 

"Thank you Nino" Alya lunged to embrace him.

Nino returned her embrace "Yeah of course, I'm just glad you showed me first" he said sounding distracted. He was still staring at the image on the screen as pieces of a puzzle fell into place in his head and he realized what had been going on ever since Chat Noir had appeared.

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[jiminthestreets-bonesinthesheets]

In My Dreams : Chapter 2

HeeeeeY!! So I have decided to let the kpop loving side of me free and unleash one of my (many) kpop fanifcs! This one has been well liked on AFF so I hope you guys like it too!! ^^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Description: Junhong lead a hard life. Taken in by his abusive acoholic Aunt and Uncle after a tragic accident that lead to his parents death was only just the beginning of his pain. He never fit in at school, bullying had become a daily routine, and being openly gay in a closed minded town didn’t exactly help his current social situation. Junhong lived most of his life with his head down praying that invisibility be his friend. But in the flash of a moment everything changed. Finding himself somehow transported to a foreign land he’s given a second chance at life. A chance to make new friends, new relationships, a brand new beginning he thought he would never have. But it will not be without its ups and downs, the biggest hardship being the handsome face in his new group of friends. In the end Junhong will have to make the biggest decision of his life, does he return to everything he knows to be with his family like he’s expected, or will he stay in this strange new land and give up everything for love?

Pairings: Banglo, Daejong, Himjae

Rating: M (SMUT INVOLVED!!!)

Characters: Yongguk, Zelo, Himchan, Daehyun, Jongup, Youngjae, Oc’s

Master List

Hop you all enjoy!! ^^

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Chapter 2: More Then a Dream

    School so far had proven to be a typical day for Junhong. A lonely quiet day with his head stuck far into his books, ignoring the ugly words and constant stares of his classmates. It was easier that way, it made the day go by a little faster if he spent most of his time in his mind, in a land all his own, one full of wonder and happiness. That is, until last period, gym class.

    Gym was always the worst part of the day, the part that Junhong looked forward to the least. Being a gay teen in an all boys gym class was not easy but he tried to make it go as smoothly as he could. He always waited to change for gym until everyone was out of the locker room and running warm up laps. That way no one could complain about being uncomfortable around him in the change rooms. But this was not the worst part about gym, the worst was that his three favourite people were in this class, Chun Hee, Kyubok, and Jae-Hwa, and they made sure to take full advantage of the fact. They would torture the hell out of poor Junhong, tripping him as he ran by, pushing him at just the right moment so he would land on top of other boys in the class, an occasional ball to the face landing Junhong a bloody nose. Whatever they could do to poke at Junhong, they would.

    When finally the class was over Junhong let out a huge sigh of relief. Today wasn’t as bad as it usually was. Jae-Hwa had only tripped him once and no balls had been violently thrown his way. In Junhong's mind it was a pretty successful day.

    After 15 minutes of sitting on the bleachers he got up and knocked on the change room door. When no one answered he went in, removed his clothes throwing them in his locker, and jumped in for a quick shower. The hot water felt therapeutic on Junhong's sore muscles as he closed his eyes and sunk into its warmth.

    Ten minutes went by too fast, he wanted to stay in the shower forever but if he didn’t leave now he would be late for his shift at the diner. Turning off the shower he wrapped himself in his towel and padded back to his locker. When he opened it he wasn’t even shocked or mad at what he found there instead of his clothes. He knew exactly who had done this and he knew that he had no choice but to play along with their dumb little game.

    When he was ready he slung his bag over his shoulder and exited the change room into the main hallway, head high with as much confidence as he could muster. Usually the halls would be quite empty at this time with everyone heading home but he was not surprised to find them jam packed with students. Chun Hee, Kyubok, and Jae-Hwa came striding out of the crowd, smirking at their work. Junhong stood before them in a tight, pink, knee high strapless dress, black six inch pumps, and black tights trying his hardest not to give them any satisfaction.

    Chun-Hee stepped forwards first, the devil in his eyes as he spoke, “Junnie, I'm glad you decided to take my advice and dress the part. I told you all you needed was a dress and some high heels, but I feel like something’s missing…oh! I know.”

    Chun-Hee snapped his fingers and Kyubok stepped up this time, placing a blonde wig on Junhong's head then returning to his place beside Jae-Hwa.

    Chun-Hee took a strand of the wig and twirled it in his fingers, “Perfect,” he spat.

    Junhong had just about had enough. He could feel his insides boiling but he knew he could not let them see it. In a calm tone, as emotionless as he could manage he said, “If it’s all the same to you, Chun-Hee, I'm going to be late for my shift.”

    “By all means,” he stepped aside and gestured for Junhong to leave.

    Chin up, Junhong walked past Cun-Hee and towards the crowd where he was stopped by Kyubok and Jae-Hwa. He muttered a small, “Excuse me,” to which they just laughed.

    “Gentleman,” Chun-Hee’s voice came from behind, “let the lady through.”

    With that the whole crowd parted and Junhong continued down the hallway towards the door, doing his best to ignore the hoots and whistles sent in his direction. He walked through the doors, past the line of busses waiting outside, and down the sidewalk until he turned the first corner. He sat on the bus bench throwing his head into his hands. Of all the torture he had endured over the last nine years of school with them, this was the worst thing they had ever done, the first time they had ever brought Junhong to tears, he was just glad he was able to hold it in until he was alone.

    Rain started to pound the roof of the bus shelter he was under and didn’t seem like it was letting up anytime soon. Wiping his eyes he took the heels off, carrying them in his hands and began walking to the dinner in the rain bare foot.

    He wasn’t even halfway there yet and was soaked completely through. The rain was sticking to his lashes, blurring his already clouded vision from crying, and making the dress even more skin tight then it already was. He was standing at the light just about to cross the road when he heard his name called, “Junhong.”

    He turned in the direction but found himself alone, not a soul in the streets. The light changed and he stepped out into the road when his name was called again, this time louder, “Junhong!”

    He stopped dead, frozen in the middle of the crosswalk. He knew that voice, he recognized it instantly that time, it was the same voice from his dream. He knew it was impossible, he definitely was not dreaming, but he was so sure he had heard it.

    The light changed again and he still stood frozen in the road, trying to decide what to do, chase it down or continue towards the diner. The horn of an impatient driver woke Junhong from his daze and he took off in the direction of the voice, deciding to chase. “Junhong, he needs your help.” It spoke again.

    He began running at full speed through the wet streets trying to call back to it, “Where are you?! Who needs help?!”

    “He’s running out of time and you're the only one who can save him!” It spoke with more desperation.

    Almost in hysterics now he screamed through the pounding rain, “I can’t help him if I don’t know who he is!”

    “Junhong…” the voice faded again just like it had in his dream and it was gone. He stopped running, giving up, and found that he had run all the way to his work. Confused and completely exhausted after everything that had happened today he ignored the fact that he might be going insane and entered the diner.

***********

    Inside the diner Mee-Yon threw on her boots and jacket, doing up the hood as she ran out from behind the counter yelling, “I'm going to look for Junhong!”

    Won Ho nodded to her and another waitress came over to say with worry, “Please hurry and find him!

    Mee-Yon ran towards the door only turning back to say to the staff, “If I don’t find him soon I’ll call you and we will shut this place down so everyone can look.”

    “Keep us posted!” Won Ho yelled.

    Just as she was about to reach for the handle the door opened and a dripping wet Junhong shuffled inside. Before the door closed behind him he was pulled into a squishing hug as Mee-Yon kissed his head multiple times. “Where have you been, Junhong! I was so worried! You have been missing for almost two hours. I’ve been calling your cell phone the whole time, why haven’t you answered?”

    Junhong squeezed her back just as tight, welcoming her affection. He didn’t know what to tell her so all he said was, “I uh…I got held up at school.”

    The rest of the staff came running over as Won Ho pointed out, “Junhong, your soaking wet! Don’t you have the umbrella Mee-Yon bought for you?”

    “Yes, where is that?” she wondered as she looked him over, “And why are you dressed like a girl?!”

    Unable to meet anyone’s gaze he looked to the floor as he answered, “The umbrella I left in my locker and the dress is because some guys at school thought it would be a funny joke. It’s no big deal.

    Mee-Yon caught Junhong by the arm as he tried to escape and forced him to look her in the eyes. “Junhong, this is not ok. Bullying you for who you are is not a funny joke, it’s harassment and I will not tolerate it.”

    “Where are we going?” he asked as he found himself being pulled back towards the door.

    “Back to your school.” She replied forcefully, “If your principal is still there I want to have a few words with him and find out why this has gone on for so long. Then after that we are going to the police station. I want to report these boys and find out what I can do to get them charged or better yet, behind bars!”

    “Noona no!” he protested pulling back on her, “It will only make things worse.”

    “Junhong, something has to be done before it does, in fact, get worse.”

    “Noona,” he said as he took her hand off of his arm, “just do what I do and let it go.”

    The whole group watched with broken hearts as Junhong walked back behind the counter, sopping wet and completely defeated. Won Ho was the first to break the silence taking Mee-Yon’s hand, “Just let him cool off, Mee-Yon. Once he’s had time to think about it maybe he’ll come around to the idea of finally getting some help.”

    She patted his hand atop hers, “I just hope that time comes before the emotional torture turns into something worse.”

***********

    The bell on the door rang again and Junhong readied himself to take their order. When he looked up and saw who was sitting at booth three his heart sank and he could not move.

    “What’s wrong, Junhong?” Mee-Yon followed his gaze, “That’s them right?! The boys who put you in that dress! Well if you wont go to the police then I'm sure as hell going to go over there and give them a piece of my mind!”

    Junhong watched in horror as she moved swiftly past him and towards the table with purpose. Snapping from his daze he followed right behind her trying desperately to get her to come back.

    She reached the table before Junhong could get to her, slapping her dishtowel on the table scaring all three boys, “I need to have a word with you boys. See, I know you have been bullying my Junhong but let me tell you, that ends here!”

    Before any one of the boys had a chance to react Junhong took her by the arm and pulled trying to get her away. “Noona, please, please, don’t do this.”

    She looked to his pleading eyes and was almost drawn in but decided enough was enough, “Junhong, I will not have these boys treat you like they have been. You have been through too much in your life already and you don’t need more piled on your plate…”

    Before he knew what was happening everything around him started to spin. Mee-Yon’s voice turned into a violent ringing in his ears and the whole diner turned into one big blur of colours. He felt sick, like his stomach had twisted into a thousand knots and he could feel himself stumbling backwards, slowly falling.

    “Its time now,” there was that voice again, “save him.”

    Junhong could feel his heart racing about to jump out of his chest, he had completely lost all control over his body as the ground got closer and closer. He could hear chaos over the ringing, he could see the blurred figure of Mee-Yon coming towards him. Junhong felt her hands on his back catching him before he hit the ground, but just as fast as they were there they vanished and he landed hard on his back.

    It took a few minutes for Junhong to get up, before the ringing went away and his vision went back to normal, and when he opened his eyes he was horrified to find that he was not in the diner anymore. He was on his butt, waist deep in mud in the middle of a forest. Nothing looked familiar to him, not the plants, not the trees, even the air smelled different. He had no idea where he was or how he got from the diner to here and that scared the crap out of him.

    Before he could even gather himself together and get off the ground and out of the mud, the ground started shaking and the trees before him started swaying. He could hear loud noises coming closer and closer and as much as he wanted to get up and run his legs wouldn’t move. With every second he sat there the shaking got worse, not knowing what else to do he turned over and buried his head in his arms praying that what ever it was that came out of those trees would leave him alone. He could tell that it was almost right on top of him and in that moment, for the first time ever in his life Junhong had never wanted to go home as much as he did now.

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And there is chapter 2!! starting to get into the good stuff now :D Let me know what you think!! In My Dreams tags: @jeonwuu (i tagged you in this because you seemed to show some interest in the last chapter, but let me know if you dont want to be tagged :D )

[thoughtsthatstray]

Stray thoughts: 7/9/2017

I had another one of those strange cinematic dreams last night. Thankfully, I feel like I’ve got enough to sit down and bang away on this keyboard for a bit.

It started out, I was in my parents’ house, in the living room right as you walk in the door. I was in a big comfy crushed velvet chair that didn’t exist in the house when it was ours. Given, there was a dark brown crushed velvet sectional and couch in that room way back when, but the chair that came with it was given to my grandparents for some strange reason. This wasn’t that chair, this chair had huge arms that you sunk down into. It was comfortable.  I was sitting there with a book (unknown) watch a huge flat screen on the wall (that also didn’t exist back then). I heard someone coming down the steps.

It was Sarah Hyland, from the show “Modern Family” she walking down the steps. She’s wearing a pair of mesh basketball shorts and an old “shimmel shirt” (the half cut off shirts worn under shoulder pads in football). She wore it far better than I did. She walked over and lifted the shirt, showing off her perky little breasts and all I could do was smile not fully knowing what was going on. 

I went back to the book and drifted. I woke up and it was the middle of the afternoon. I opened the door and Sarah was nowhere to be seen. I get in the car, one my dad’s old ones(it was if every car my family ever owned dating from an early 70′s Toyota Corona to my ‘84 CRX to my current car was in the drive/side of the yard) and leave. I’m driving down the road, and it’s like the road is towel or a sheet and two people are shaking it, fluffing it like it’s fresh out of the dryer. With each wave, the car flies forward. I pull into the high school gymnasium and I’m instantly playing a I a 3 on 3 basketball game.

One of my high school friends is on my team and so is the science teacher from the movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”. I scan the bleachers looking for Phoebe Cates, she’s not there. Neither is Sarah.  We are playing against Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola and some guy I didn’t know. On the other end of the court, Roy Williams was overseeing Tyler Hansbrough and two other guys wearing Tar Heel gear going off on 3 guys that went to a rival high school.

I was enjoying giving Edelman a few hip checks. Nobody was guarding Mr. Vargas so I gave him a bounce pass that he reacted to about 8 seconds too late and I remember yelling at him and he looked confused, why he was wearing his lab coat over his tank/shorts, I have no clue.  Each time I got close to Edelman I’d foul him. Foul him hard.  He was starting to do that Patriot whine. He finally quit and walked off the court cursing at me when he took a final elbow to the grill that knocked out two teeth.

I blink and I’m back in the old Turbo Diesel heading home, back riding those melting waves of roads. I pull in, park, go inside. I hear the shower running upstairs and I’m still sweaty from the game so I go up, Open the bathroom and Sarah is showering, I step in and she vanishes.  It wasn’t the shower from the house but like a smaller high school shower with 3-4 shower heads instead of the normal 8-12, but I was alone. So, I went over and the cut the other three shower heads on as hot as they would go and let the bathroom steam up. I shower, feel refreshed and cut the water off, dry off get dressed and the house is still empty.

I go out looking for a bite to eat and I run into two more Hollywood stars arguing in the parking lot at the local hang out. Julie Bowen (also from Modern Family) and Jim O’Heir (Jerry/Garry from Parks and Recreation) are yelling at each other about whose car hit the other as they were both backing out.  I shook my head like a confused puppy and walked in and ordered the Double Chef, large fries and a banana milk shake.

I go back home and Julie Bowen is sitting at the bar in our kitchen. She’s talking to one of my friend’s mothers. She asked me “did you see the wreck?” and I said “no, you were both fussing when I pulled in”.  Then she says “That damned Jerry”, like she was on the set of “Parks and Rec” as opposed to calling him Jim.  I laughed at the comment but the friend’s mom looked dumbfounded. It went right over her head.

I get back in the car and the roads are still floating a bit, but a little bit more mellow. I come up to an intersection and it’s as if my car just vanished. One of my old football coaches was standing there, the one with the long hair that became more of a friend than an old football coach. He was standing there with two of my friends and I was like “what’s going on?”.  We walk out of the road and immediately into the auditorium at the high school. It’s dark, but the stage is lit up. Just the four of us standing there but there is a news crew down at the bottom below the stage. The coach said, “they want to talk to us about what we saw on the boat”. I was like “okay whatever.”  Then I’m like what boat?  

My coach then says you don’t remember going on a boat with Julie Bowen, the Hollywood actress?   I said, “no, I remember getting into a shower with Sarah Hyland, her Hollywood daughter and she vanished”. One of my friends said, “sure you did, that’s a good one.” I gave him, “I can break you in half stare” and said “what about this boat?”

The four of us sat in the back row of the auditorium, then, a waitress brought us four beers. The coach stared to explain the story and I started to remember. I said “no, I wasn’t on the boat with her, I saw her dragging this big bag on to a boat and while it took her quite some time to accomplish, she was determined, and she sped off. I said, “outside of seeing them argue in the Chef’s parking lot and her asking if I saw it, I have no clue about it”.

The newscaster waves us down and she asks, “Can I interview you about the two missing Hollywood stars?” I said, “No” and she looked disappointed. It was like I knew her. Maybe a younger sister of someone I once knew, but I couldn’t place her. We turned to leave walking up the aisle and back out the door stepping into the road.  The Turbo Diesel was pulled off to the side as were their cars.   We exchanged goodbyes, and I got in the car and headed up 21, to take a drive in the mountains. As the road was about to shift from 4 lanes to 2 I noticed a town Police car closing in on me.

Two lanes and blue lights are in my rear view. I’m thinking, “I’m hoping this is Pete with another joke”.  It wasn’t. It was this young hot head jerk of a cop that though he was the shit way back when.  He had aged some progressed up the ranks. He asked me for my license and registration, and I handed them to him. “Long time no see”, he says and then “I need you to get out of the car”. As I was getting out, I asked, “Officer what is this about?” and he’s like “First of all it's Sargent and you know damned well what this is about.” You might be a witness to a crime or you might have committed a crime, our detectives want to talk to you. I didn’t like the guy so I felt it was appropriate to be a bit of a smart ass. I said, “you forget ‘secondly’”. He was like “What the fuck are you talking about?”, I said, “You said ‘First of all it's Sargent’”, you then should have said, “Secondly, you know damned well what this is about”, he said, “you always were a smart ass.”  

He calls in on his radio, in some Rosco P. Coltrane jive talk to let them know I was stopped and that they were sending back up. I asked him, “Can I drive to the station and you follow me?” and he said, yeah but let’s wait for an escort.” A few minutes later Ole Pete pulls up. He gets out and shakes my hand and says “Have you heard the one about the….. it trails off all of his corny jokes were the same….  I swear he used to pull us over to tell us a joke, or likely to keep a good eye on us. One of the small world stories, before my parents moved to what became my hometown, their next door neighbor an hour or  away was Pete’s brother.

Sgt. Dickhead is leading the way, and Pete is following me. We get to the station and I see the Chief, father of an old teammate, but he wasn’t a fan of mine, since I used to like to speed and they never could quite catch me. We go in and sit down and they ask, “How do you know Julie Bowen”?  I say, “she’s Claire from “Modern Family”, I think she was on “Boston Legal”, but I don’t recall her name on it”. “Cut the shit”, Sgt Dickhead said, we are well aware of her filmography.  “I said, look you asked a question, I answered. I don’t know her. I know who she is, but I don’t know her and filmography is a big word for you, good job.”  They asked about the bump up. I explained what I saw. They asked why she was at my house and I said that “Bertha (the friend’s mom) was at the Chef and was talking to her and told her she knew where I lived, and they were there when I got home”. I explained to her that I didn’t see the actual accident, and that she was dragging this big bag onto a boat, but I haven’t seen her since. 

I asked if I can leave and the Chief said “no, you are being held on outstanding speeding tickets”. I got loud in saying, “what bullshit speeding tickets”, he opened his desk drawer, pulled out a folder and handed me 5-6 speeding tickets that were still in-tact, all the copies were there. I flipped through them. ’88, ’88, ’89, ’89, ‘89 ’90. I said “these are bullshit and you know it”. “We will let the DA decide that”.   “Do I get to make a call?”, I asked and he said sure we will let you make a call. So, I called home.  The answering machine came on and I left a message, knowing it was a waste of time.  I sit there thinking, I should just rip these fake ass tickets up, but then I knew they’d try to charge me with “Destroying evidence”, so I sat and waited.  Then ole Woody came back and said “you are free to go”.

I walk out and Sarah Hyland is standing there, dressed in jeans, a faded light blue UCLA t-shirt a pair of Wayfarers and a Dodgers hat tucked down on her head.  We stopped at her rental in the parking lot, grabbed three bags from the trunk and threw them in the back of the Turbo Diesel and was driving out of town. I saw Edelman at the gas station, hit the horn and waved good bye with a one finger salute. I was pulling on the interstate, turned to my right and I was alone and that is when I started to wake up.

Stray thoughts from a warped mind.

[musicalmadness22]

The Truth will Unfold

Legacies!Au

Chapter 1-The Meet

Running, it's all she could do.

Using her speed and her brother on her back, she ran to the nearest place she could. They shouldn't have to deal with this. Just last week, they were a family, they were enjoying life, then her neighbor found out about their mom.

Mom, She didn't deserve what happened to her. Her neighbor found out about them and put a curse on her, their mom is in a coma now, with the way to bring her back to conscious unknown. After that, their dad broke, his anger went through the roof. He turned into a werewolf, red eyes glaring, and ran into the woods.

Amir and Amira were just left there, now they are on the run, following the few directions her brother could get. His visions giving them some help briefly. They ran to a closed gas station thinking they were alone, oh how they were wrong.

They opened the door and gathered some supplies, when they were about to leave a truck driver got out of the truck. They froze when he saw them. He walked towards them and said "Well, what are two kids doing in the middle of the night outside of a 7/11?" "Um, we were just getting some snacks for a movie we're gonna go see." Amir said, coming up with the first excuse he could think of.  "Really, did you buy those or did you steal them?" the truck driver asks with a sleazy smirk. The twins already having an uneasy feeling about him. "Ok, how about I don't call the police and you come with me to the movies, we'll help both out." the truck driver smirks and grabs Amira's arm.

The second he grabs her arm, her nerves get the best of her. She bites his arm and then attacks his neck. She blacks out.

Amir just freezes.

Amira comes back to her senses after it's too late. Her worst nightmare just happened, her dad got to her. I had to for safety,  she tries to tell herself to calm herself down. For safety

It takes her awhile for her to realize that Amir is shaking her arm, " your eyes are glowing red."

"We need to go" she states with blank face.

"Are you oka-" "We need to go"

They walk all night to an empty mattress store that Amir had a vision about and they walk in. She goes to the bathroom in it and washes off. When she walks out she immediately senses somethings coming. "Are you sure this is safe" she asks her twin. "Idk, I've been having a vision of this place since we started running." he states "Something will happen, but you need to be honest with me, are you okay?"

"What do you think? I'm ending up like dad quicker than I thought I would." she said.

"He was going to attack, you did it for help" Amir stated. "You are going to be okay, just don't hold back any emotions"

"Fine" she said, after that they ate some snacks and tried to sleep. No one could sleep after what they had been through. Amira was close to closing her eyes, yet she sensed something coming again. "Amir" Amira whispered. No answer. "AMIR" she whispered louder. "What?" he said. "Something or someone's coming" she stated. He woke up fully after that.

They started packing up their things and found the ladder to the roof, but as soon as they started climbing up the doors busted open. A middle aged man and a girl not older than 17 walked in. Amira's eyes glowed after sensing their power. "Amir watch out!" Amira yelled as she noticed what was in the man's hand.

She was too late

He went down unconscious and she immediately got flashbacks to her mom. All she could see was red, she lunged at the girl throwing her against the window and breaking it. Next, she went to the man and kicked the gun out of his hand. He backed up, saying something but she couldn't hear anything. She scratched him and turned to the girl. As soon as she turned back, the girl was saying a spell to her. Before Amira could say a counter spell, she was hit.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The twins woke up at the same time, confusion filling their heads. When they opened their eyes, they looked around to see a dorm like room. The girl from the mattress store in between the beds they were in. Amira and Amir didn't say anything, they just stared. "I know you guys are confused and mad and a lot more emotions, but I'm here to tell you, we did it for your safety." The twins looked at each other Really?  they thought not believing for a second. "My name is Hope Mikaelson and the man who was with me is named Alaric Saltzman. This is the Salvator school for the supernatural. It's the safest place for people like you and me."

"So the way you make it safe for people is you kidnap the students?" Amira asks. "maybe if you told us before shooting, I wouldn't have attacked."

"Though that may be true, it was the quickest option and we knew based on the evidence, a new werewolf wouldn't listen" Hope states.

Amira stays quiet after that

"So after Alaric is done in the nurses office thanks to you, He's gonna wanna talk to you guys. You guys can stay in here and unpack."

After that Hope leaves

"So I guess, once again. your vision was right. I just wish that it could've told us about the knock out darts."

"You already know that the visions I get are the visions I get, nothing more and nothing less." Amir states clearly annoyed.

"So are we staying?" Amira asks

"For now, I guess we do" Amir states

~~~~~

*flash forward to Hope giving the tour*

~~~~~

"So Amira, you're a werewolf so I'll take you to meet your alpha." Hope says

They don't know Amira thought "My what?

"Every pack has an alpha. It's gonna be fine, his name is Jed and you just have to get used to him." Hope assures. "Thanks but I don't need an alpha to tell me what to do, especially a guy."  Amira states Of course the alpha is a freaking J name she thought

Amira and Hope walk into the gym to see a bunch of students playing dodgeball. Amir went with someone named Josie to the witches. Entering the gym, Amira already knew who was her so-called "alpha". She saw a tall, Asian guy yelling at someone to go faster. Yup, J name energy already. Walking up to the net, the guy smirked and asked if Amira was a newbie. "Yup" answered Hope, "so teach her the ropes, I gotta go to her brother now." Thanks thought Amira So helpful. "So newbie, what's your name? "

"Amira"

"A mirror?"

"Cute, no Ah-meer-ah"

"Whatever, well join us for a game of dodgeball."

"Sounds fun, but I gotta go to my brother"

"Why, scared you would lose?"

"No, it's my first day and I wanna make sure he's okay?

"Whatever, sure"

Some of the other classmates snickered when he said this. Amira just rolled her eyes and turned around to leave. She heard the whispers with her heighted senses, weak, probably not even a true werewolf, hey watch this. The second she heard the last one, she turned around and caught the weighted ball that was thrown at her by a blonde girl. "Nice catch" the girl said "nice throw"

She threw the ball back, accidentally (of course) towards the girls head, and left to meet up with her brother.

Why am I here

[rehnro]

Distance covered: 480km | Total: 977km

My last morning in Hungary was a sunny one after small showers overnight. Still it took me a while to leave Baja, as i was busy writing up part one of the journey to Istanbul to make use of the still free roaming (in Serbia my mobile provider charges 5GBP/mb!?!).

Into Serbia

I forgot to havea breakfast and was dead hungry having fallen alseep uber tired and without dinner the previous night. It took me to the next village, the last one before the border, to locate a bistro. That one didn’t have food though other than potato chips. Well, better than nothing. I also had an early beer to fit into the landscape – the place was full with drunk old men. But they were nice and my food/drink was on the house! Off to Serbia…

My first border crossing was smooth (other than locating my so far not required passport in my panniers). Just a curious question from the Serbian border guard as to where i am headed and that was it. I was in Serbia and miles were flying past me. I stuck to the road all the way into the small town Sombor where i finally enjoyed a decent meal.

From there it was a mix of small roads and dirt tracks along corn fields that were being harvested. Quite amazing scenery be it dusty as hell at times.

J just continued to Sivac that day (80km in total) and arrived by nightfall. There were no camping or booking.com options so it was wild camping that night. I did some shopping and picked a spot using google maps satellite.

Situated near a canal a bit off the main road, it turned out more busy than expected. It was dark so i dont know for sure, but i think a harvester broke down and the repair work was pretty noisy. I was tired enough though to fall asleep anyway after munching away my sausage and cheese sandwiches.

Cycling in the rain

I woke up to rain drumming on my tent. I wasn’t in a rush and decided to wait for a dry window and did some planning for my Jan/Feb trip in South East Asia. At least some warm thoughts. By mid day the rain stopped long enough to pack up. Once packed, it rained again. So i rode in full wet gear. It was fine. Not wet. Not cold. Loved the waterproof gloves and trousers Laura and I bought after a pretty wet day up in Aberfeldy, Scotland.

My target for today was Novi Sad. Some 80km to go. I made good progress on the wet roads. That was until i stopped for a coffee and met Miro. He is 70 years old and used to be a Gastarbeiter for 10y in Bonn. We chatted for two hours about his life and mine until we had to say goodbye. Owe him a postcard and thanks for the beer Miro!

Off to Novi Sad

The clouds had vanished by the time i continued and the sun peeked through. Nice. A wet morning makes you appreciate warmer weather even more. Riding was smooth on little roads all the way into Novi Sad, which i reached 75km into my short day. The landscape of endless fields was magnificent and the drivers actually quite respectful towards me cyclist.

In Novi Sad it took me a while to locate my hostel. Either battery dead or no wifi around. Eventually i arrived and got myself sorted. I ended up going for a few drinks with Alexander from Gdansk. He (a lawyer) and his girlfriend (a sound engineer) were on their way back home from a hitchhiking trip through the Balkan’s.

After a beer in the more upmarket Petrus bar we went to another local place for the famous last beer. Well, that was until we met a Bosnian guy with his Serbian friend and another Serbian couple. After some lively concersation in the said bar they dragged us into another Serbian restaurant with traditional local music. It was monday night yet it felt like prime time saturday. It was mainly young people there. Very enjoyable.

Alexander checked out after another beer while i stayed out. We ended up in the appartment of the serbian fellow, a fitness instructor, and continued chatting away. The serbs take hospitality very serious and wanted to make sure i took away some good memories – well, job well done! Thanks guys.

Uphill with sleep deficit

The first people left the hostel already around 8am. Not so my polish friends who also decided to sleep in against their objective of an early start to catch a ride towards poland.

I was slow and still pretty tired when i hit the road after 10am. Worst of all, right after Novi Sad a seemingly endless climb into a smaller mountain range made me sweat. The last thing i needed that morning! Well, at least it was sunny.

After the first 25km and a well deserved downhill stretch i found a nice restaurant in the middle of nowhere. The souo with veal was excellent, but i was dead tired. I cycled a little further and decided to take a nap in one of the fields. Now that felt great.

I must have slept two hours until traktor noise woke me up. I sat up and looked. The farmer was wondering over. Trouble ahead? Quite the opposite. He asked me if i was hungarian or german. I said the latter. He also enquired as to my route in bloody good german and asked me if i eat apples. I said yes and had to follow him to hia trailer full with boxes of fresh apples. I took five and thanked him.

With fresh vitamins in my stomach and sleep caught up the journey to Belgrade continued. Another 50km and it was already after 3pm. Thankfully no more hills, some breaks to rest and overall good speed so that i got to belgrade center before 7pm.

When my 2,500km feel suddenly so little

Once in the center, the routine kicks in. Wifi, hostel, shower… Just this time someone asked if i needed help while looking at my phone. Her name was anne (well, short version) and she is from Belgrade. She was also on her touring bike though not fully equipped. Turns out that she has been riding around europe and asia since 2011 and writes travel novels to make money.

As you can imagine, we had a great conversation. She even invited me for a serbian hamburger (Pljeskavica) before we said goodbye. You can find her travel stories http://www.snezanaradojicic.com. Very impressive. Good luck for your panamerican journey. Am sure we’ll meet again.

A day in the white city – hello Belgrade

The first time i got excited about Belgrade was in a British airline magazine. Their is always a travel colomn which argued that Belgrade is a great destination with fantastic nightlife. Sounds just right! Years later i was finally here. Technically my schedule only had one night here, but intrinsically i had already decided to stay a biy longer and catch up one day by train. No stress.

The first night was quiet after i checked into Yolohostel – central but certainly not one of the nicer ones i been to. Well, a bed is a bed. I enjoyed breakfast on a sunny morning next day and went for a city tour as I usually do. The politics of the region, present and past, are dazzling and the city raised to the ground many a time (one other tourist mentioned 40 times). Definitely a lot of work to do to restore buildings and streets. Maybe joining europe will one day help, but there is the question of kosovo to be solved.

My last morning came quick and I headed for the train station after another breakfast to catch up with my schedule and make it to Niš.

Over to Niš

Serbian trains run very slow and so the two hundred odd kilometres were scheduled to take more than 5 hours. I got round to reading 100 years of solitude meanwhile. Close to Niš, the train crashed into a car that was a bit late on the rail wail crossing. By the time all was sorted with police we had lost two hours more. Should have gone by bike!

The day ‘n night hostel I checked into the evening was very pleasant and well thought out. I met a Turkish guy and we ended up grabbing some food, drinks and chatted away until midnight in the hostel. Great evening and an invitation to Ismir.

Next morning I managed a little sightseeing (yet another fortress) after agreeing to leave my bike in the hostel garage. Probably the safest option in town. I will find out in a week. First back home via Bratislava for a school reunion, time in London and a wedding.

Sultan’s trail (part 2): Crossing Serbia Distance covered: 480km | Total: 977km My last morning in Hungary was a sunny one after small showers overnight.

[iamthenewqueenofgames]

A Crush Caught In Cuffs - Human!Mage!Underswap X Reader

Human!Mage!Underswap X Reader ~January 2nd~ You pushed open the door of the station and signed in on the clipboard on the front desk. The woman behind it looked up from her computer, took out her earphones and smiled. "Good morning, (Y/N)! You're early, how are you doing?" She said. You smiled and sat in one of the six plastic chairs grouped evenly around two small circle tables. "I woke up at five, watched a movie and couldn't be bothered sitting around. Thought I might be early for once." "I'll bet you'll sleep in tomorrow and be two hours late instead of two hours early." Said the sectary. You faked offense at her remark, putting a hand over your heart and gasping dramatically. "Barbara Thompson why thou doubt me so?" You said, striking a horrified expression.  Barbara laughed and you joined her. "Here," Said Barbara, throwing the remote for the small wall TV at you. Youi just barely caught it, or rather, it landed in your lap and you stopped it from sliding on to the floor. "Put something on the TV for us. I'm tired of watching GTA fails." You smirked and did a subtle air punch, then turned to the small TV screen attached to the roof in the corner above the front desk. You flicked over to some cartoon reruns. There was a specific channel run by a friend of yours from high school, it aired the original cartons, like Steamboat Willie, Betty Boop, Out Of The Inkwell, Danger Mouse, ect. It was retro/vintage heaven. You and Barbara laughed yourself silly for a while at poor Koko's shenanigans, until the Chief Of Police, Jeremy Smith, came in with a sheaf of papers and a black briefcase. You immediately flicked over to the news as he turned to the Promotion Progress board. The Promotion Progress board was a cork board with a picture of all the officers, how close they are to getting a promotion or demotion, and their horoscopes, which Chief Smith liked to add at the beginning of the month. "Morning sir!" You said. "It's extremely rare to see you here this early, (L/N)." He said, raising an eyebrow and pinning up this months horoscopes. "Especially since it's post New Years." "Ah well. Nobody I knew was hosting any parties, so I just stayed home and had pizza and a movie marathon with my brother." "I suspected as much. Also, you don't have a boyfriend do you?" Asked Smith. You immediately turned pink at this sudden question. "Wha-!? N-No! No I don't, why?" You asked, flustered while Barbara smirked. Smith then handed you a sheet of paper for your star sign, (Y/Z/S). For (Y/Z/S), This will be an important month for you! Someone special is waiting for you somewhere very unexpected. Keep your eyes peeled! Your mouth hung open as you read it. The chief took it from you hands and put it under your picture on the corkboard, then Barbara sped over to have a look. She giggled evilly and looked over at you, a teasingly evil look on her round face. "This can't be how my month goes." You said quietly to yourself. "But it is, (Y/N). The chief is never wrong." Said Barbara evilly. You got up from your chair, walked over to the wall, and started banging your head on it, repeatedly. The door opened again, and Detective Nathaniel Sinclair walked in, along with a few of his friends, who were all sergeants. Nathaniel stopped dead as he noticed you. "What did you do to her?" He asked, turning to Barbara, who smirked and gestured to the corkboard. "Read her horoscope." She said. You instantly stopped as he quickly read it. "NO!" You yelled, making to run at Nathaniel, but tripping over your feet and falling face first onto the floor as Nathaniel and the sergeants started laughing. "I'm glad you all find my embarrassment and pain so hilarious." You said sarcastically, your voice muffled from your face squished against the floor. Barbara, holding back her laughter, took pity on you and helped you to your feet. "After all, I might end up falling for you, huh?" You said, smirking. Nathaniel instantly stopped laughing. "Nope. No way. I'm outtie." He said, moonwalking away to his office. You and Barbara started laughing again, with the chief cracking a smile as well. ~A Few Hours Later~ Most of the officers were at the station now, as well as someone reporting a missing child from the orphanage. You were all either chatting, working but getting dragged into conversation anyway (Barbara), or watching the news. Then the phone started ringing. Barbara, being the sectary, answered it. You noticed her eye brow raise, as if it was just a prank call. Then her face paled. She put the phone down and it started ringing again. "Someone get the chief! We have a problem! Someone else chuck me the TV remote! NOW!" You saw Nathaniel speed down the hall towards the chief's office, and a remote flew through air for Barbara to catch. She did and she immediately turned the TV onto a different news channel, where a Breaking News report was blaring. "-APPEARS THE LEGENDS WE WERE ALL TOLD AS CHILDREN WERE TRUE, AS THOUSANDS OF MAGES ARE BEING LED OUT OF MT EBBOT BY A YOUNG CHILD! GOING OVER TO THOMAS WHO IS CURRENTLY AT THE SCENE. THE POLICE HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED AND SHOULD BE ARRIVING SOON. DO THE MAGES COME WITH GOOD INTENTIONS, OR BAD ONES?" You almost fell out of your chair in surprise. The legends, true? No, not possible. This had to be a hoax, you thought. But nope. The live camera feed was coming straight from Ebbot. And there were indeed people coming from out of the cave mouth. You looked at Barbara who was taking another call. Her eyes were wide and she nodded to you, as though to confirm that this was indeed happening. The chief now charged into the room, Nathaniel on his heels. "All to attention! Everyone grab your partner and head to the mountain, asap! (L/N), you're with Detective Grove! Mac'Adams, you're with me! Barbara, stay here and take the calls and tell any late comers what's happening! TO THE VEHICLES MEN!" Barked the chief, then there was a mad rush for the door. You saw Deputy Chief Mac'Adams follow the chief out first, and you felt a hand on your shoulder. You looked up to find Detective Groves. Groves was a stone faced silent type, and preferred you to sit in on interrogations with him rather than Nathaniel. You liked to think you'd gotten him to talk more than anyone else at the station. Groves led you through the sudden crowd, cutting an easy path through. You then followed him over to his sleek black car. Groves got in the drivers seat and you got in the passengers side, and you two were the first out of the carpark and onto the streets. Much as you admired the guy, Groves was a very reckless driver, even if he didn't break the rules. You held onto the door handle for dear life as Groves zoomed through traffic, somehow always slipping through the gaps. After a few quick death defying minutes you arrived at Mt Ebbot. You could see the kid talking to the camera crew, with two of the mages behind them. One wore gold armour and a purple cloak, and the other wore purple robes. "Franklin, what do we do?" You said, panicking slightly. You didn't know what to think, they acted peaceful enough, but some of the others looked freaky as hell. "I'll deal with the reporters. You deal with the crowd." "W-What!? B-But I can't control a crowd!" You said. "You can't control the reporters either. You're too nice, and their looking for answers." You sighed. You knew he was right. You were too nice for an officer. "Okay..." You said. "But what am I supposed to do!?" "Just take out your badge, tell them you're an officer and that you're not there to harm them." Said Groves. You nodded and got out of the car, shaking slightly. Franklin got out too and walked over to the reporters, making shooing movements to you behind his back. The national gesture that mean, 'Get your ass up that mountain before I make you.' That's correct, right? Just you? Okay. You slowly made your way towards the crowd of monsters, noticing individual kinds as you got closer. Your knees a knocking, you stepped up to the crowd, and pulled out your badge. "H-Hi, I-I'm a police o-officer-" You began, but a strong voice from the crowd cut you off. "If you're a police officer then are you tell us when we're gonna have our queen back?" Then a short women came out of the crowd. She had blonde hair and her face and arms were decorated with gold scales, she wore baggy pants, a black tank top and her right eye had a large scar on it. You took a step back and tried to speak again but all that came out were jumbled noises. "So? Can't you speak?" She said. "STOP IT ALPHYS, YOU'RE SCARING HER!" Said one of the mages quietly, a short one. He had platinum blonde hair, bright blue eyes and wore what looked like grey armour with blue detailing, blue pants and boots, and a light blue scarf. He had stars in his eye sockets and a cheery smile. "AHEM, GREETINGS HUMAN! I AM THE MAGNIFICENT SANS! WHAT'S YOUR NAME?" He asked. You stood still for a second, surprised to see a friendly face. "(Y-(Y/N). Officer (Y/N)." You said, smiling back a little. Then your walkie talkie crackled and Franklin's voice came through. "(Y/N), everyone has arrived. You may return to my side. I have need of your assistance."  You unhooked your walkie talkie from your belt, pushed a button on it and spoke into it. "Roger that Franklin. Be there in a sec." You looked back at Sans. "Bye, it was nice meeting you!" You turned away and was about to start running back. "WAIT! ARE WE GONNA SEE YOU AGAIN?" Asked Sans. You looked back and smiled. "I don't see why not!" You started running again, waving back as you went. It was much easier going downhill than uphill, but stopping was the problem. You saw Franklin a little ways away from where the camera crew was, so you aimed for just beside him and skidded to a stop. "What'cha need me for sir?" You asked. "The queen and king of the mages appear to hold a slight grudge against our kind. I can not convince them to do anything without them asking for a right to live amongst us in return. I have a feeling you would be better suited to handling this than I. And you need the experience." Said Franklin quickly. He didn't like talking for long, so negotiations were a problem for him. "Okay, I can try. But where is everyone? You said they were here." "I did. They're ten to fifteen seconds away so hurry." Said Franklin. You made a noise of acknowledgement and walked over to the mages and the child. You were again quite intimidated. The mage in the armour wore a small crown and had softer features, so you assumed she was the queen, while the other wore robes and had a blonde beard and kindly eyes, the king. "U-Um. Hi, I-I'm Officer (Y/N)." You said, trying to stop stuttering. The king chuckled quietly. "There's no need to be nervous, dear girl. But as we've already tried to explain to that charming Detective Groves, we will not be letting you send Chara away." Your eyebrows shot up and you looked over your shoulder to glare at Franklin before speaking. "Frankli- I mean Detective Groves failed to tell me that, but I'm sure I can convince him to pull a few strings so it won't have to come to that. " You said with a smile. The queen sighed in relief, and smiled back. "Thank you. I'm Queen Toriel." "And I'm Asgore." Said the king. You smiled brightly. "Pleased to meet ya! Now, you guys wanna live in town, right?" ~A Few Hours Later~ You lounged in a plastic chair in the station, warm air from the AC blowing on your face. You had convinced Franklin to pull a few strings to help get a few rights in place for the mages. It wasn't much, but at this point in time, it was most that could be done and it would get things for the mages started. If court went well they could take up residence in town, buy things, the usual stuff that should already be fucking available to them. But until things settled down, they'd still have to live underground for a few more days at most. Hopefully. You kicked back in the chair, putting your feet on the plastic table. Barbara was getting a snack at a cafe across the road, so it was just you right then. Until Nathaniel came in. He was unusually sulky and irritable looking. You raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "What's up, Nat? Something ticking you off?" You asked. He scowled and sat down in the chair opposite you as you took your feet off the table. "Well the chief's little prediction was right. 'Trouble with family members will befall you.' My dumb ass, spoiled rotten, rich ass step mom heard about the monsters and she wants us to leave town." Said Nathaniel. You chuckled sarcastically. "I bet that conversation was just brilliant." "Damn straight." A few seconds of awkward silence past, and your walkie talkie crackled into life. It was Franklin. "(Y/N), we need you and anyone you can grab to get to the courthouse asap. There's a bunch of rioters outside and Sergeant Bakersfield and I can't hold all of them off on our own." You unhooked the walkie talkie from your belt, and pushed the button to talk into it. "Roger that Franklin. Be right over." You got up and walked over to the door. "You comin' or not?" You asked, turning back to Nathaniel. He groaned and got to his feet reluctantly. "Fine. Better than sitting around doing nothing." Well I'm not gonna twist your leg over it, you thought. "We'll take my patrol car. Your puny little push bike's far too slow." He said walking to one of the Police Cars. "I'll have you know that's a halfway range mountain bike thank you very much!" You said quietly, getting into the passenger's seat while Nathaniel got in the driver's side. After a few minutes you arrived at the court house and there was indeed a large crowd out front. You saw Franklin and Sergeant Bakersfield trying to hold the crowd back, but their efforts were fruitless. You and Nathaniel got out of the car, and while Nathaniel rushed over to the crowd you hung back a little, unsure of what to do. Then, one of the rioters broke free of the crowd and started gunning it for the courthouse. Then you heard Bakersfield yell something. "Say Colorado!" You instinctively ran for the rioter, and yelled a battle cry as you leapt into a flying kick aimed at his chest. "I'M A GIRAFFE!" You knocked him to the ground, and with a metallic clatter a gun fell from his hand. You picked it up, shoved it into your holster, pulled out a pair of hand cuffs and cuffed him to a pole. "Sorry about that. But you're staying put till we can press charges." You said with a smile. The rioter spat at you, and Bakersfield speed walked over and slapped him. "Don't you dare do that again!" He said. Sergeant Daniel Bakersfield was a friend of yours since you started the job. He had brown hair, and peaceful green eyes that had ironically seen and solved a lot of murder cases. He was Nathaniel's partner, but they didn't like each other much, so they really just let each other do their own thing. "Hey Danny." You said. "Hey (N/N)." "Long day?" "Very." 

And that's the end of Chapter 1 folks! If you liked it and wanna read more add the story to your libraby and comment down below what was your favourite part so far! Until next time, laters guildmates!

                                 (All stories are avalible on Quotev)

                               My own Undertale AU, Undercomic!                thenewqueenofgames.deviantart.com/art/Undercomic-THE-NOVEL-    Chapter-1-RESET-717011232

                           Another X Reader, a Mafiatale based one!             thenewqueenofgames.deviantart.com/art/Mafiatale-X-Reader-Locksmart-Part-1-738625804    

                                             "Say Colorado!"                                            "I'M A GIRAFFE!!"

[seriouslysoulsearching-blog]

I’ve been so, so busy

The whole month of January has practically gone by and I haven’t posted anything! Day shift at work is VERY consuming. The pace is SO different from nights. The first week or two of working days I felt like my head was spinning from trying to keep up with all the buzz of day shift and trying to learn new stuff. Not to mention waking up at 5 in the morning--ugh! I feel like crap every morning I wake up. I just zombie through the first hour and a half until I get onto the floor. However, once the day starts, I hit the ground running. I don’t feel tired during the day because there’s literally any time to sit. When I come home, I’m WIPED. Days has a whole different pace because there’s more daily meds to be given,  discharges/admissions happen more frequently, report to the NPs, talking to the patient’s and their families. It’s A LOT but I’m still liking it. I feel so incredibly grateful to be working on the unit that I do. The floor itself is interesting because it’s trauma. It’s not boring as shit like a general med-surg floor would be. It’s a smaller unit and the patients still share 2 to a room and the floor is sectioned off in pods so all my patients are in the same area (i.e: I’m not running all over the place) And most importantly, the staff are WONDERFUL people. So open to giving help and teaching me when I ask questions/ask for assistance. They are so friendly and so nice. Even though I enjoyed nights, I’m going to officially work for days. My manager approached me two or so weeks ago and told me that I would have the option to choose what shift I would work once orientation ends (which is Feb 4th--two weeks away!!???!?!) since there are people leaving on both shifts. I was a little undecided for a few days, but I was sold working for days when I was able to actually be productive on my days off--such as: running errands, seeing friends, or simply having time to myself. I’ve even gone out after work a few times to meet up with friends.

Which brings me to my next point I wanted to mention, I’ve been feeling more up to socializing than I have in a really long time. And most importantly, I finally feel like I’m beginning to be more like myself again. I feel lighter in the sense that my mind is less heavy. Don’t get me wrong, my anxiety is prevalent on the regular, but I’m laughing more sincerely--I mean like good belly laughs, almost crying. I’m getting along SO much better with my mom--I’m able to practice more patience with her. I don’t know if that’s because it’s a good week for me or that’s how it’ll hopefully move forward with my mom. I think now that she see’s me working and making a living, she’s giving me more space/ given me more respect. Which is nice but I should have been getting that regardless. I DIGRESS. Back to my point. I’ve been socializing more as of late. My old friend Jack texted me earlier this week inviting me to see his band play at a place in Philly. He said Cate, Zayna, Jess were going and that after his gig they were just gonna drink afterwards at that bar. I had work that night but I told him I’d come afterwards. I figured I hadn’t seen my old high school friends in quite some time and it would be a great setting to meet up with them--and I was exactly right, I had a ton of fun with them. I felt like I always say I want to hang out with that group when they’re hanging/ say I want to see Jack play, but never follow through. But on Thursday night, I followed through and had a good time. I brought a change of clothes with me to work, got changed and cleaned up in the staff locker room, and pushed through the sleepiness. I’m glad I did! Cate is my true connection left to that group. Well, actually, Zayna will always be my bud too, we’ve always been so comfortable with each other and every time we see each other we leave off right were we left it. Anyway, I’m just proud I followed through this time. THEN, Friday night (yesterday), I met up with Lindsay. I texted her last weekend out of the blue and asked if she wanted to get drinks in the city. I wanted to see her new apartment and catch up. I feel like now that I’m single and working, when I do have time off, I want to be more proactive. I had a GREAT time with her as well. Our conversation was so fun. Considering we’ve known each other since we were three, we’ve had a natural connection, so that too felt really natural. I wasn’t feeling anxious leading up to it or during, which was a concern of mine. Anyway, we walked to a pub called Dandelion a few blocks away from her apartment in rittenhouse. I loved the atmosphere of the place it was so cozy, so packed, and really reminded me of pubs in Ireland. I love that Lindsay is at a point in her life where she’s just so free in terms of like, interacting with guys. Like when were signing the check at the pub, she put her phone number down on the receipt of our cute waiter! Like that is bold! I’d wuss out of doing that. I definitely want to keep going out with her because she’s single like me and just down to have a good time. And I really need that right now. We were joking our goal of the night was for each of us to make out with a guy that night (it didn’t happen, but the night was still great) Then after the pub, we stopped by her apartment to put my leftovers in the fridge. We were sitting and talking on her couch, and I was getting all comfy thinking I’d be ready for bed and even mentioned possibly just taking the patco back home, and Lindsay was like “it’s not even midnight yet. c’mon kait you said we had to find guys that we were gonna make out with. lets go to this bar right down the block for a drink” and I was like welllll I kinda wanna sleep and she didn’t take no for an answer she replied with something along the lines of “cmon lets just go to this bar and we could order water and go home after that” And I couldn’t say no to that! I grabbed my coat and off we went. When we first got to the bar, it was kind of empty. We grabbed a seat at the bar and got chatting with these two super attractive bartenders (we later figure out the one is engaged--sigh--but he was really cool to talk with regardless) We ended up staying there until 3 in the morning hahaha. When we got back to her apartment, we munched on my cold leftover fries and fell asleep in her bed. It was SUCH a good night. She’s such a good balance for me. Lindsay has always been the bossy type and in this situation, it was beneficial! I’m glad she pushed me to get my coat on.

Another major thing: I BOUGHT A CAR TODAY!!! Actually, funny story leading up to that, I woke up at 7:30 this morning (that’s right, I only slept for like, 3 1/2 hours) to make sure everything was lined up so I could get my car today. It was before nine when I got on the Patco. 15th/16th station wasn’t all that busy so I didn’t really think much that when I went underground and got onto the train (which I watched come in, btw) it was empty. The train doors close and the lights turn off. I’m like “hm okay, they’ll come back on in a second, I know sometimes they flicker” well, THEY DIDN’T. And then I noticed it didn’t stop at 12/13th st, or 9th/10th, the train would just blow through them. By 8th and market stop I came to the full realization that I’m on an empty, out of service train! I was underground and had no phone service. My next though was, well WHO am I going to call?? Would I just end up going all the way to lindenwold to the service station and have to bang on the heavy metal train doors until someone saw me?? To be fair, I stayed REALLY calm through this. I realized how comical it was from the getco. So because I stayed calmed, I was able to think about finding a number to called based on remembering there was a sing on train I read every time I take it which says something along the lines of “if you see suspicious behavio , call this number” And it turned out being helpful! The patco police number was on that sig! Once the bridge was crossing over the river, I was able to get service again, and I knew once I’d get back on the jersey side my service would drop for the first few stops since they’re also under ground. So as soon as I saw that 4G icon pop up on my phone, I called the patco police and was like “um hi hello I’m a passenger on a train and I don’t think they know I’m on it because the lights are out and they haven’t stopped at any of the stops yet” hahah sucha funny phone call to make. And they were like, well what train are you on/which direction/what stop do you need to get off on/we’ll contact them/we’ll call you back (in gist) Welp, turns out, it was an express train that was running today for the women’s march that was goin exclusively to and from 15th street stop to collingswood. WHOOPS. Hahaha. Makes for a great story and I got plenty of laughs out of it today. And I managed to make other people laugh while telling it. It was a fun mini adventure to have while mildly hungover.

I’m going have to finish talking about my day today tomorrow. I have work in the morning and it’s almost 10:30. I NEED SLEEEEEP so tired. Especially from today. So exhausting! I did so much running around. As soon as I got off the patco, I was calling the car dealership about faxing stuff over to my credit union in order to secure the loan. The loan office was only open til 1 today so I had a time crunch. By the time the dealership sent over the proof of purcahse papers to the credit union, it was 11. And I called twice in the morning and couldn’t reach anyone. So I decided to drive over there myself to hopefully speed up the process of getting that check from the credit union. I get to the office building around 11:45 and the woman was like “well, I may not be able to process it today because there’s another person who I was gonna do the car loan paperwork and I may not be able to do yours before 1 today” blah blah blah. But I was like “welp, I’m just gonna sit here” and sure enough, I got helped on. While waiting for the loan person to get all my paper work ready for me to sign, I had to call the insurance company and open up my own policy. And I had no idea what the fuck I was doing. Honestly this whole process of buying a car, I’ve basically followed my mom’s suggestions (she’s more informed) but I have like barely a fucking clue about the interest rate, car insurance, and loan shit. My brain was FRIED. Not to mention, I was moderately hung over, and hadn’t gone home yet. So it’s like 1 PM by the time I sign my loan paperwork and get the check, and I’m STILL wearing my outfit from last night, with the make up I didn’t wash off my face from the night before, smelling like B.O. So I quickly race home, shower off my hang over, and shove my face with food because I hadn’t eaten at all at that point. Then around 2:30, I headed down to the car dealer with my mom to pick up my car. That shit took almost two or so hours to get done as well. I was so eager just to get the fuck out of there. Doing this whole adult thing is fucking exhausting. I was running around ALL day today for this fucking car purchase. It was damn worth it though because I absolutely love my new car. I love love love it. Every thing about it. I feel so comfortable driving in it. I enjoy being higher up off the ground--I can see so much more. 

Okay so I said I was gonna go to bed but ended up writing all that so now I REALLY need to stop typing and get some sleep because it’s almost 10:45 and I’ve gotta be up sooner than I’d like. It’s kinda funny that everything I wrote is basically from this past week. It goes to show how much goes on on the day-to-day. I still have to talk about that date I had with a guy named Dan and my current feelings about looking for guys. But for now...zzzzzzz

[cooltyrantface]

THE MATATUS IN MY AREA

I live in a…well…

It is quite hard to describe my place. The diaspora of Thika. The Flame Trees of Thika. The birthplace of the greatest statesman in the country, Thomas Joseph Mboya. The Happy Valley (not aptly named because we technically live in a plain).

I live in a pretty quiet neighborhood. Streets are named after countries, African countries with the exception of some that are named after animals? And another called Blessings? Several shops, super-markets, several minutes to twilight the streets burst to life with commercial life – vendors set up base to sell foodstuff and clothing, several churches – luckily they are far from noisy, rich kids on their bikes, love-struck couples walking holding hands, a lot of traffic from SUVs rushing to and from home, idlers (every place on earth has those).

It is busy, but pretty quiet. No hawking, no haranguing – business is casually-professional. For these chains of businesses to hold up it means there has to be a huge population, yes? You guessed right.

There are thousands of residents in my neighborhood. Maybe even tens of thousands. Inching closer to hundreds. I imagine if each and every person had a personal vehicle the roads leading to Happy Valley would be akin to Rongai’s. And we would bid good-bye to rich kids on bikes and love-struck couples walking holding hands. And idlers, and street enterprises. And it would be a great risk walking out of your home because you might be run over by a maniac using the pedestrian walk in a bid to escape the jam. The hooting, the idiots who think they must shout out of their car windows. The noise. The accidents.

I would wish well on my neighbors, to be rich and have cars – but as it stands I hold that wish. Moreover, I hold that wish because who needs cars when we have such great matatus? I am just kidding, the matatus in my place are sort of shitty; but that’s better than 365 days on a jam.

The matatus in my place are more-or-less similar to the ones that you will find somewhere else. Except the touts give back change. Also, that they don’t hike fares when the rain starts pouring. Otherwise, everything else stands. The packing of passengers like sardines, touts fighting over passengers, touts showing passengers to their vehicles rather forcefully, all that.

Sometime last year I was teaching at a local primary school and had to report to school early to mark books and write lesson plans. It so happened that I woke up a little late. I boarded the matatu that had more passengers among several that were on queue. Sure enough it was the first to leave the stage. But no sooner had we departed than we found ourselves in a ditch. The driver was under influence – that’s why we found ourselves in a ditch. At that point I was both tensed that I was running late, glad that I was unharmed and very pissed at the driver. How could he come to work drunk! There were several women screaming at their top of their voices, and the one that was seated next to me seemed to have an extra set of lungs. Her voice sounded like someone was playing the upper sharps on a piccolo. She was totally outdoing herself; her voice left reverberations in this plain called Happy Valley. I was pretty shaken too, but also disappointed that I didn’t have any injuries to validate my story at school (no one cared if I was late, but it’d have made a great story anyways). After we got out of the matatu, we had to walk all the way back to the stage and board again. The journey was long, especially for a particular man that had screamed so loudly: apparently he had screamed his dignity away and brave-souls kept laughing at him the whole way. Then there was the usual squad that keeps complaining, and those rumor-mongers. Did you see his eyes! That was not alcohol. No way would it’ve been. That was fangi. I am telling you, FANGI! They sounded so absolute I suspected they had a stint in NACADA.

I was late to school. And someone collaborated my ‘cock-and-bull’ story.

There have been several cases of police arrests. You are on your way and this police stops you and the driver gets out and maybe he doesn’t have a bribe, or has done something so damn nasty the police’s dirty hands cannot be greased, and you have to alight and flag another vehicle as the driver’s ass is being driven to jail.

Or those stupid drivers that fail to fuel their vehicles, and mid-journey the matatu starts producing these choke sounds, you press your butt-cheeks together so tight and cross fingers and whisper a short prayer but eventually the inevitable happens. The matatu stops in the middle of the road. You push the seat in front of you with all the energy and the faith you have hoping that some miracle might just happen and this piece of metal moves you to your destination. But that’s how it is. You and other confused passengers have to take your refunds and sort yourselves out.

It is rare to find a matatu line that has my taste in music. If there are I should think they are going to close down soon. Have you ever been inside a matatu that is playing rhumba from the ‘60s? And you will still find someone singing alongside the song and you look at them and wonder what the fuck you are doing in a matatu with a Viking. It’s always old-school reggae, loud silence, vernacular stations…that boring shebang. They make me feel unappreciated as a young person. I have chuckled twice or thrice after finding out the matatu has no radio. How gangster has someone got to be to vandalize a car radio!

Even if I get all the money in the world I do not think I will ever get over those precious moments when you step out of the matatu without paying fare. Given that it is an unwritten rule for touts to ‘forget change’ – which my instincts tell me has accrued to thousands of shillings – it is also fair that I also forget paying fare. I understand what a pilferer this makes me sound like, but can I remind you about our dying economy. I always picture scenarios like these as Karma giving me justice. To think that this avaricious touts would forget to ask for fare, that’s a miracle right there.

Hey. There are good points on matatus too. Like the wonderful people you meet in matatus. I met my ex-girlfriend in a matatu. I am sitted next to her. We are not talking. Then she grabs the window to open it and I see a window of opportunity. I rush to her rescue. She really needs me because she is making futile efforts at countering a pane that’s stiffened with age with frail effort. She was heaving after the process. I opened the window with a little push and as it let in fresh air, her mind was letting in a realization that there was someone else stronger than Chuck Norris. She looked at me like wow. That was the genesis of our zeniths and the nadirs.

Wonderful people. Like someone else who paid my fare. I was pulling out a thousand-note from my wallet and he looks at me and asks if I have a smaller denomination? I say, no. A total stranger he is, he pays my fare from a bag of coins he has. So many coins, I wonder out loud. Yes, my customers pay me in coins, comes the quick reply. Huh, what do you do? I am a pastor, he replies. Our conversation ends. I feel sorry for him.

There have been days I have been paranoid. Like when the driver decides to use another route, and you have to pass through slums, marram roads and endure bumpy, dusty rides. I always see a kidnap plot in the making. I am so paranoid I imagine the maltreatment I see kidnappers dish out on TV play out in my real life. I become at ease when we are finally on familiar ground, and yell at my imagination, Look I almost shit on my pants! I am so paranoid when the driver starts trying out Vin Diesel stunts, swerving everywhere at neck break speed. The idea of death is so unbearable especially given I don’t have any children, no one to inherit my name, and I regret all those chances at being a dad that I have wasted.

Weirdly enough, when the matatu is being sped until it starts to levitate, I am always like: “good.” It is always a great feeling. When people start complaining due to paranoia you are there looking at them: “Would you stop being pussies.” You feel a thousand times brave.

The paranoia that strikes you when you sleep and midway the journey you wake up with the feeling that you just passed your destination. Shit. You wake up a confused idiot looking around for a landmark sweating like crazy and your mind is working overtime. What if I just passed my stage? What if I don’t find matatus on my way back? How much are they going to cost? What a shame?

I have always wondered about something… it has happened to me twice or thrice. You are in a matatu and it’s been playing sad boring songs the whole way. But just when you are about to reach your destination this really great song comes on. And you really wish the matatu gets a puncture. Or something to stop the matatu for the few minutes the song is playing. Sometimes you want to listen to the song and alight whenever and wherever it ends. But then you convince yourself that’s stupid you will go download it at home and then forget. Then for a whole week the song is stuck in your head. Try as you may you cannot remember the song.

The matatus in my area are great. You meet wonderful people and fall in love with them. There are drunk people who act foolish and it’s so hilarious you laugh all the way. There are people you want to talk to but can’t, because they have earphones plugged or are so beautifully intimidating or boring or you think you are boring. There are all sorts of people in the matatu.

And while the experiences in a matatu might not be all that memorable, we can at least cherish a few that make and break our days. And most importantly, appreciate the fact that they keep the rich kids riding bikes on the streets, love-struck couples walking holding hands and street enterprise going on in Happy Valley – especially that place where I buy my samosas after such a bumpy ride.

                                                                              @elKKofficial

                                                                             ©2017