#yesterday was oolong

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

A specific kind of pleasant morning:

Bach (heavy on the violins) on headphones, a hot breakfast you didn't have to work very hard to make, trying a new tea from your "advent" calendar, and adding your review of it to the spreadsheet your tea-sampling friends all share. Reading their reviews from yesterday. A glass of cold well water, warm socks.

[didionsvision]

in the train i tried to draw alexander the great instead of properly studying for my upcoming ancient greece history exam but it was pretty fun tbh 🚃❤️‍🩹☕️🌞

[gatheryepens]

I’m so stupid I accidentally bought green tea instead of oolong tea 😭😭

[kellystar321]

.

[orcelito]

& you may ask. "Fanny, you're just drinking beans in tea?"

To which I will say. "Ya lol"

[mindholes]

my kittens are freaks and screamed at me while i was trying to take a shower. i let them in and they both climbed onto the edge of the bathtub and watched me behind the see-through plastic curtain liner. anytime they felt even a hint of water, they went “Mmrp >:(” and I told them to leave!! but they just kept sitting behind the plastic liner

[ali-yona]

I put swiss miss in my coffee this morning for funzies and it's kinda good!!!!!

[ohdearlingwhathappened]

A Pair Made in The Pits

Falling Behind Pt. 3- TFP Megatron x Reader

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.5

A/n: Thank you all, once again for your patience and understanding on the time it took for this chapter's release. It was hard to find time to write between multiple ER visits and the passing of my dog, but I was finally able to finish it up! I hope you all enjoy, and I would love to hear your thoughts. WC: 7099

And thank you to @callsign-relic for allowing me to commission her beautiful work for my story's cover art! You always make amazing pieces!

Warnings: Torture, cursing, Starscream and Megatron being a dick, and deprecation. If I've missed anything, please let me know

Y/n wasn’t sure as to how one of the Autobots- probably Optimus- had returned her car to her driveway, but she wasn’t complaining. She did, however, inwardly groan over the fact she forgot to turn off her 6am alarm after all of yesterday’s excitement, especially after the awful sleep she had. Y/n’s mind kept her up all night, the voices of anxiety now practically screaming that something was wrong- that something wrong was done. And it wasn’t until she had finally gotten to sleep did it feel that seconds later her alarm was blaring in her ear. 

Getting up, against the wants of her body, Y/n slowly makes her way to her kitchen, debating whether or not she wants coffee or tea to start her morning. Looking in her fridge and seeing a lack of milk, the decision is easily made and she fills her kettle with water and begins preparing the steeper and getting the oolong out of the cabinet. However, before being able to take the first sip, the sound of the rumbling and then resounding hiss of a semi coming to a stop. Taking a look outside her living room window, there sits Optimus, waiting for Y/n to come outside, presumably to go back to the base.

“Shit.” Y/n groans, rubbing the bridge of her nose, wondering if the kids are also being ushered out of the house this early. 

Pouring her tea into a travel tumbler, Y/n scurries around her house to take a quick shower and get changed into a black blouse tucked into a midi, and finishing it off with a pair of booties. She applies some makeup and practically runs out the door, grabbing a random book on the way. 

“... Good morning, Optimus.” The passenger side door pops open and Y/n quickly climbs in and makes herself comfortable. The woman gives an airy laugh while fiddling with her hair, “I didn’t expect you so soon, I had to rush around to get ready.”

“Good morning, Y/n. I apologize- I did not mean to rush you, though it may be best to get back to the base sooner than later.” The cab hums with his response- even if Y/n hadn’t been inside, she was sure she would have felt the baritone vibrations nonetheless. 

The drive back was long and quiet, much like last night. Taking a sip of her tea, Y/n finally looks down at the book, and it takes all of her restraint not to spit it out onto his dashboard. What looks back up at Y/n is a sweaty, shirtless cowboy and the title ‘Ride into My Heart Like a Stallion’. A gag gift given to them by their friend half-way across the country, of which Y/n never intended to touch, let alone read. Y/n couldn’t help but truly consider the pros and cons on whether or not she could just chuck the book, but she knew it would drag up more questions if she just threw the book out the window, so she simply crossed her arms over it and hoped that no one would ask her about it throughout the day. 

“Y/n?”

Snapped out of her thoughts, Y/n looks over to the head unit of the dash, not entirely sure where to look before responding, “Sorry, it seems I was lost in my own thoughts.”

“I was asking if you needed to stop anywhere before heading back to base? We do not have much for humans at this moment.”

“Oh um, no, I’m alright. I have my tea and a book, and I’m sure the children will be able to keep themselves occupied as well. I’m not completely familiar with the boys, but Miko will most assuredly be fine; give that girl a pencil, paper, and something of interest, she’ll be kept busy for a while.” Y/n laughs to herself for a moment, though a worried expression passes over her face, “She’s a creative girl, but I worry about her being lonely. Her host parents aren’t used to her, and she doesn’t really have any friends at the school. I think, despite the rather strange circumstances, that perhaps being with you all may be good for her.”

“You seem to care for them well. Do you have sparklings of your own?’

“Sparkl- oh, Children? No no no. I don’t have any- um- sparklings. Closest thing I hope to get to that is Miko. I haven’t figured out my own grievances in this world, and it wouldn’t feel right to bring life into a world where your own quotemate may be a cruel joke.”

“A quotemate?”

Y/n takes a deep breath through her nose and casts her eyes to the ceiling of Optimus’ cab, trying to come up with a succinct explanation to the complex system that not even humanity has completely figured out, “Well, a quotemate is someone you are connected to. In the simplest of terms, your quotemate is the person who is supposed to protect, love, and stand beside you. And the way you find them is a quote that appears on one of your wrists- hence, ‘quotemate’. There’s a few more details, but that’s the gist of it.”

“We had a similar- but not very common- phenomenon on Cybertron, however, we call our fated ones ‘sparkmates’.”

“It’s a much prettier word than our species’. Why sparkmates?”

“Your kind call them hearts; we call it a Spark. It contains our life force and our memories. And in the case of the ones in which we are destined, they are our other half and thus hold the other half of our spark. Those of our kind who have a sparkmate were encouraged and expected to cherish and hold them dear.” Optimus’ cab is silent for a moment for a moment, “Though, after the start of the war, people began dreading hearing the words engraved on their frame, fearing their other half would be on the other side of the battlefield.”

“...Do you have a sparkmate, Optimus?” Another hum runs through the cab, before turning into the slightest chuckle.

“I do. He’s not the easiest mech to get along with, but I would never have made it as long as I have without him.” The bot’s facial feature may not be present, but Y/n can easily imagine the fond, endearing smile that would have otherwise found itself on the large mech’s lips. “I will be forever grateful for Ratchet’s undying support.”

“Ratchet?!” Once the statement sets in, Y/n’s head whips from the ceiling of the cab to the center dashboard at the revelation.

“You sound surprised.”

“Well, I haven’t spent much time around Ratchet, but he’s not the most- how do I put this- welcoming?”

“I will admit Ratchet is wary about the involvement of you and the children, but he will not cause you harm.”

“OH! Oh no- I- I didn’t mean to- to imply that he- I know Ratchet wouldn’t hurt the children! He just visibly doesn’t seem to like us.” Waving her hands in denial, Y/n scrambles to fix the miswording of her statement, but it doesn’t seem Optimus was too worried about the misunderstanding.

“Give Ratchet time, he will adjust. I have no doubt you both will get along with time.”

“You’re right- after all, we all will be spending much more time with each other. I look forward to getting to know all of you.” She smiles, glad to know Optimus, and likely the rest of them will take good care of the kids and herself. Maybe she would be able to pick Ratchet’s mind at some point for information about the anatomy or history of the Cybertron people.

*       *       *       *       *       *

“WHAT WAS THAT?!” This is not what the young woman had hoped would be, quite literally, crawling around the base, but she couldn’t peel her eyes away from the thing that Ratchet had just squashed, “I hope to hell and back that is not what you people consider some kind of bug!”

“No, Y/n. I’m afraid this may be the effects of dark energon.” Though Optimus’ voice is normally quite dark, Y/n could easily pick up on the deep worry that whatever this ‘dark energon’ brings, means nothing good will come of its arrival in the base. “ Seeing as it has some of the residue Arcee found on Cliffjumper, it would stand to reason that it was what brought both your equipment to life and Cliffjumper back from the dead.”

“It would answer the question as to why Cliffjumper’s life signal came back online, but dark energon, Optimus? It’s such a scarce material- it’s virtually nonexistent. Why would it be on this rubbish planet?”

“May I interject?” Both bots turn their attention to the woman they had evidently forgotten was there- one much more open to the interruption than the other. “Um- may I ask what energon is? I thought you said your people’s Allspark was made of it, so why would it attack Ratchet? ”

At the question, Ratchet scoffs and begins running diagnostics on the squished piece of equipment that previously housed some of this energon stuff. His blatant display of annoyance was no less irritating than it was yesterday, but not only did Y/n not want to start some sort of argument with Optimus’ sparkmate, it also wouldn’t get them anywhere, so she would refrain from mouthing off to the condescending mech. At some point, she was going to have to have a one on one conversation with Ratchet about speech behavior and ways to go about explaining things without making the rest of the room feel as if they’re a massive inconvenience, but now was not the time- no matter how tempting it was to tell him to shove his opinions up his tailpipe. 

“Energon is the lifesource of our people. Dark energon is something that can give life-” Optimus gestures towards the mangled metal, “- but the cost is great. Not much is known about it, as Ratchet stated- dark energon is a rare commodity, but it is not something to underestimate, hence why I believe Megatron is the reason why it has found its way to this planet’s surface.”

Both Y/n and Ratchet look at Optimus, almost in synch, “But why?”

“To conquer this planet by raising an army of the undead.”

“Where would he find that many Cybertronian dead, Optimus? It’s not like Megatron is going to just stumble on a burial ground on this planet.” At least the sass Ratchet displays isn’t always just directed at any human- his leader isn’t even exempt from the proverbial lashings of the team’s medic, though Y/n supposes that may have something to do with them being connected.

Before Optimus could answer, his thoughts are interrupted by the sounds of the rest of the Autobots’ alt-modes. Upon stopping, each kid hops out of their respective guardian, having obviously come from some kind of fun. Looking at her phone, Y/n realizes that it's still a little early in the day, so she is a tad surprised they woke up this early on a Saturday, but she’s glad to see all of them having fun and maybe even bonding with their new companions. Seeing Bulkhead awkwardly handing Miko her electric guitar, she already has a feeling the girl will be putting on at least one show while they are at the base, knowing the acoustics are much too tempting for the girl to not play at least one song. 

“Autobots, remain here. Ratchet and I will be outside of communications range for some time, so I’m putting you in charge.” Optimus give his orders 

“Optimus, with all due respect, playing bodyguard is one thing, babysitting is another.” The sight of Jack scoffing and rolling his eyes at her wording is easy to see- any kid his age wouldn’t like the idea of being babysat, even if it was by an alien robot. The femme crosses her arms before gesturing towards the medic, “Besides, Ratchet hasn’t been in the field since the war.”

“My pistons may be rusty, but my hearing is as sharp as ever!” Ratchet’s call from his computer forces a laugh barely covered by a cough from Y/n, which she quickly mouths a ‘sorry’ when he shoots her a look. 

“For the moment, it is only reconnaissance.” Optimus tries to assure the smaller bot, but both Arcee and Y/n could smell the bullshit from a mile away.

“Then why do I hear an edge in your voice?” 

At her continued questioning, Optimus pauses and furrows his brows, “Arcee, much has changed in the past 24 hours. We must all learn to adapt.” Before she could get another word out, he turns to Ratchet, “Ratchet, bridge us out.”

And with just a few steps, they were gone.

“Okay chief, so, uh, what’s on the activity list?” Jack looks up to his mechanical guardian only to be met with a scowl.

“If I’m not mistaken, Jack, you should have some schoolwork to do. Why don’t we give them a break from whatever activities they treated you to this morning?” Y/n smiles at the kids, trying to give the Autobots a needed time off from their newly appointed roles as guardians. “Miko, you can practice some of your guitar and then start on some of your work, and Raf, I’m not sure of your schoolwork load, but I suggest you start on any work you may have.”

“Yes ma’am.” All three kids say, some more begrudgingly than others, all while setting up for whatever they are to get done.

“Good, I’m going on Patrol. Bee, you’re with me.” Arcee makes her way to the tunnel, ready to go out.

“But Optimus told us to stay here.” Bulkhead brought up the leader’s orders before almost immediately being shot down. 

“When Optimus puts you in charge, you can call the shots.” With that, both Arcee and Bee transform and are down in the tunnel in seconds, leaving the kids, Y/n, and Bulkhead left.

“So, uh, what’s on the activities list?” Bulk turns, seeing Miko plugging in her guitar to the amp, the feedback forcing everyone to cover their ears.

“Band practice, anyone?” After a moment of silence, she turns to the younger boy, “Come on, Raf. You play anything?”

“Um… Keyboard?”

“Laptop and samples-”

Y/n smiles and shakes her head, glad to see the kids are getting along before opening her book and tea thermos, taking a seat near Ratchet’s computer stand so as to not get in the kids’ way. She never planned on reading this kookie book her friend sent her, but it was either the book or be subjected to joining Miko’s makeshift band after an already hectic week.

“Y/n, are you joining?”

“Nah, I’m good with just listening, Miko. You know I prefer listening to you play.” Shooting the girl a smile and thumbs up, she returns to the downright awful writing of this cowboy love story. Y/n has to go to the bookstore at some point to send an equally bad book. Maybe a silly alien romance book- forbidden love. They’ll be rolling on the floor at the concept. 

As the woman chuckles to herself, the familiar green lights from yesterday start blaring, letting them know Agent Fowler had returned. Bulkhead rushed the kids to hide behind his pedes and Y/n didn’t want to risk being seen running over, so she kept her spot under Ratchet’s computer and motioned to the kids to stay quiet just as the elevator door opened.

“Prime? Prime!” Y/n couldn’t see the man, but she could tell that he must still be on the platform, since she could no longer hear his footsteps. Just like yesterday, he did not sound happy.

“Agent Fowler, uh, he’s not here. Nobody’s here! … except me, of course.” The green bot chuckles awkwardly, and Y/n silently groans- this mech is going to get them all caught if his nerves take over. 

“Well, where is he? Wait, let me guess-” as Fowler rants and raves he must have started to move because Bulkhead begins taking steps to keep the kids out of sight. However, his movements and the cable to Miko’s guitar don’t seem to be mixing well, from the way Y/n sees Miko nearly fall, only for the boys to catch her. But the slight fall was enough for the guitar to send sound through the amp, she just hopes that it wasn’t enough to break the man from his tirade.

“Since when are you bots electric?” Fowler questions and Y/n is pleading for whatever deity that may be listening to grant Bulkhead the ability to come up with some kind of lie, but the kids beat him to it.

“Hi. We’re… interns! Earning extra credit in auto shop.” Jack awkwardly smiles, hoping his lie is bought.

“Alright. Let’s move. I’m taking all three of you into federal custody.” Hearing his footfalls on the metal stairs, Y/n makes her way over, picking up a piece of the squashed robot from earlier that Ratchet must have missed. 

“Over my dead body.” She holds up the metal piece like a makeshift bat, more than ready to take a swing.

“Woah there. By the stripes of Uncle Sam’s shorts, ma’am, put the weapon down. I’m just going to take you and these kids to-” Taking a step back, Agent Fowler puts his hands up to show he didn’t mean any harm, only to be cut off by the woman again.

“Nowhere. You are taking these kids nowhere. Optimus has promised protection for these kids and like hell will I allow some random ass man, trusted government agent or not, to touch a hair on these kids’ heads, let alone take them anywhere.” Y/n takes a look behind her, and in seeing the kids looking between Y/n and Fowler apprehensively, she drops the metal to her side, not letting go in case something goes awry, “… I will go with you, if it will get you to leave.”

“What?!” Miko shrieks, coming to hold onto the sleeve of Y/n’s blouse, making her briefly glance back before bringing her attention back to Agent Fowler, ”You can’t go with him! He-”

“Bulkhead, get Miko.”

“Uh I don’t-”

“Get her now, Bulkhead. She is your ward, act like it.” She shoots the metal giant a glare, watching as he finally picks the girl up, not that she went peacefully.

“No! Put me down, Bulk!” Miko thrashes in his hold as Y/n walks towards Fowler.

“Let’s go have a conversation with whomever your boss is, shall we? I’m sure I can convince them that leaving these children in Optimus’ care is the best course of action.” She grins at the man as she passes him on the way to the elevator, a grin that holds a level of malice that makes Fowler nearly let the woman just stay instead of getting in the confined space of his helicopter.

But only nearly.

“And I know that my superiors will have all of you in custody.” He grabs her elbow and finishes leading her up the steps and into the elevator. Both adults could hear Miko screeching in Bulk’s grasp, threats and complaints that turned to pleading the closer Y/n got to that elevator. Y/n didn’t say anything. She didn’t look back. But with every step she took, her heart squeezed with each scream from the girl. It isn’t until they get onto the elevator and the doors close that the tension from her shoulders ease and the breath escapes her. 

“Is that so? I’d say if your superiors are as weak-willed as you, I’ll be back before it’s time for the kids to be back home.” She doesn’t bother looking over at the man, not even as he mumbles something about respect and ‘women and alien robots being the problem with his blood pressure’. 

Before long, the elevator comes to a creaky stop and the doors open to reveal the orange hue of the rock the base is hidden under and a view that, under different circumstances, would be quite gorgeous, especially with the breeze taking away from the baking early fall sun. A few feet away lies the helicopter Agent Fowler presumably arrived in earlier. The reality of the past ten minutes was setting in with each step they took towards the vehicle and while Y/n absolutely would have stood up for those kids again in a heartbeat, maybe she wouldn’t have given herself as collateral quite as quickly. 

“Get comfortable, it’s gonna be a long 5 hour flight.” Tired of his hold on her arm, Y/n pulls herself away before scrambling up into the body of the helicopter, grimacing at her lack of grace. 

“I don’t suppose you’ll be providing in-flight snacks. After all, you seem to have such star spangled hosting skills.” She adjusts herself in the passenger seat, and never in her wildest days would she ever thought she would hope and pray for a vehicle to turn into a giant robot and prevent her from being sent to a government facility, but here she sits- hoping for just that.

“Are you going to be pushing my buttons this entire flight, or will I have an ounce of peace on the way to the Pentagon?” Fowler pulls himself up, lacking his own grace and nearly falling face first into his seat, forcing a snort to come from Y/n.

“Well, you’re more than welcome to send me back to the base.” The suggestion brings out a laugh of Fowler’s own, no other answer needed nor given. Starting up the chopper, he glances over to ensure the straps were done properly before handing a set of headphones to Y/n, before the sound of the blades becomes too loud.

Finally, the vehicle lifts off the ground and the flight to Washington D.C. begins, making Y/n wonder if she could properly time being over one of the larger ‘islands’ of sandstone littering the Nevada desert to jump out of the copter, but deigns it too risky to attempt. While she’s turning over possible solutions in her head, Fowler rings his boss, “Sir, Agent Fowler. We have a situation. I’m en route from the autobot base. I’ll brief you in person.”

Choosing to save her breath, Y/n continues looking out the window of her side of the vehicle, noting the sun ebbing its way closer to being at its highest point. That was one thing she hated about this area, while she found the landscape to be gorgeous, it quickly became boring seeing the exact same hues of orange, yellow, brown, and the occasional reds. It couldn’t have been more than fifteen minutes after Fowler informed his boss of his location that the sonar built into the dashboard started beeping with an icon flashing on the screen, getting closer to the center of the sonar’s radius. 

“I am begging you to tell me that is either a big bird or a friend.”

“What in Uncle Sam’s beard-” Looking up from the dashboard, Y/n sees some kind of drone flying right at them and lets out a shout, pushing the steering gear to the side with her foot before the thing coming their way. Luckily, Fowler snaps out of his shock quickly enough to grab the steering before the both of you could go crashing into the canyon side. 

“Watch it!” 

“You watch the fucking drone!” And as if her luck wasn't bad enough, in the next moment, the helicopter jostles, claws of whatever had attacked them now sinking into the roof of the helicopter's cab. Moving in her seat, Y/n looks up to the ceiling and shrieks upon seeing the sharp talons that easily make up the length of her face stuck in the metal above her, forcing the agent to cover his ears. 

With a harsh yank from above, the copter jerks in response and the last thing Y/n remembers is the feeling of the cold, hard glass making a sharp impact with the back of her head, before everything went dark.

*       *       *       *       *       *

The feeling of weightlessness while simultaneously feeling as if something is pulling you down by your ankles is something Y/n can confidently say she's never felt before. That sensation accompanied by the frigid air around her and the pain of having her arms being held twisted uncomfortably in the air made her transition back to consciousness that much more unpleasant. Tension and pain racks her body every step closer she gets to being awake, drawing out a strained hiss from the woman.

“Ooh? Look who's finally decided to join the party.” A scratchy voice drawls from a few feet to her left. Opening her eyes, Y/n is met with two bright, red eyes made all the more piercing with the bot's white dots that must act as pupils. Despite the strain on her throat and body, she lets out an ear-shattering scream and kicks the new mech.

“Ach! Why you little-”

“Where am I?! Who the fuck are you?! Let me down!” Paying little mind to the irritated figure before her, she struggles in her chains, squirming and shaking.

“Awwww the little human wants to be let go?” A sharp talon pricks Y/n's chin and lifts it to bring her eyes back to his, the grin on his face a celebration of his premature victory.

“Yes! Please!”

“How polite. Such a rarity in humans.” He chuckles to himself, obviously thinking his little stab to be funny. “All you have to tell me, dear, is where the Autobot base is. Can you do that for me?”

“Don't tell him anything!” Finally, Fowler speaks up from Y/n's left, shocking her into whipping her head to face him, not having even noticed his presence prior to him yelling.

A silence fills the cold, dark room and Y/n looks back to the mech before her, a desperate look in her eyes, “I'm sorry, what's an autobot?”

The mech wrenches back, his grin twisting into an infuriated scowl. Standing to his full height, he wraps the chains that hold her around his hand and pulls them up and towards him, further twisting her arms until a sickening pop echoes in the room, forcing a scream to rip from her throat. Any kindness, faux or no, had vanished as the bot before her snarls, “What do you mean, you don’t know?!”

Y/n’s breathing is shallow and panicked, the burning sensation surging down her arm and through her shoulder causing her to squeeze shut her eyes. Luckily, it was only her right arm, but there was no time to appreciate that. After a moment, she opens her eyes to see the now-blurry mech leaned down in front of her through the tears building and streaming down her face, she hiccups, “I’m sorry! I don’t know what you’re talking about, I swear!”

“Fine. If you’re going to play like this, I have no choice but to escalate matters.” He brings himself back up to his full height and turns to another bot who presumably is standing guard at the door. “Bring the prod.”

Prod?! If struggling in her chains wouldn’t exasperate her dislocated shoulder, Y/n would be moving every which way in order to find some way to get out of this nightmarish shitshow.

“Please, sir. I don’t know anything about any Auto people! I was picked up by this man after getting lost in the desert.” Tears beginning to subside, Y/n glances at Fowler and then back to Starscream, “I’m sure you’re a reasonable… robot-”

“I am not one of your feeble human machines, I am Starscream! Current second-in-command and future leader of the Decepticons!” The door opens, letting more cold, stale air into the room, and the bot from earlier reenters the room, holding what can only be described as some futuristic bident. Starscream snatches the device from the other Decepticon, “Finally, what took you so long?!”

“I’ll be nice and give you one more opportunity, humans- where is the Autobot base?” Switching his tactics to address Fowler, he leans down to the man and holds the prod up to his chin.

“Sure thing,buddy, right after you eat my star-spangled shorts.” Fowler laughs but is quickly cut short as Starscream activates his prod, a pink electrical current running between the two prongs. Upon pressing it to Agent Fowler’s ribs, the man screams in pain, clutching his own chains in an attempt to ground himself.

“No!”

“As I imagined, energon and human nervous systems don’t mix.” As he keeps the energon-infused prod pressed to Fowler’s skin, his grin only grows. With each press of the instrument, the clothes begin to sear away, allowing the energon access to his bare skin, no doubt doing further damage, if the smell of burning skin is anything to go by.

“Starscream, leave him alone! Please!” Voices in her head plead with her to keep her mouth shut, to no avail. The man is suffering, and while Y/n wasn’t exactly Fowler’s biggest fan for taking her away from the Autobot base, she didn’t want to see the poor man suffer.

And he stops, but only for a moment. The humming of the torture device and the heavy gulps of air Fowler sucks into his lungs at the brief interlude fill the otherwise silent room. Starscream’s eyes flick back and forth, not really focusing on anything. After another moment, he gives a thoughtful hum of his own, “Perhaps you’re right. I may have been going about this all along.”

“Yes! I’m glad you-”

“If what you say is true, that means you’re an innocent human. And what a shame it would be if a, what do you humans call them- “protector of the people” was to allow a civilian to face such methods of… interrogation.” And without another moment’s pause, knives felt as if they were entering Y/n’s bloodstream from where Starscream jabs her, ripping yet another agonizing scream from her throat. 

“Stop it, con! She has nothing to do with any of this.” Fowler barks, jostling his chain to attempt to wriggle out of his constraints.

“Precisely. The faster you tell me where the Autobots are hiding, the sooner I stop hurting our friend here.” Driving the point home he jams the prod back into Y/n’s ribcage, releasing another scream from the woman. Similar to when Fowler was receiving the same “Decepticon hospitality” Y/n’s clothes began to singe away. Fighting the desire to keep her eyes closed, she struggles to look at Fowler and give him the briefest of shaking her head, before letting it hang down, the weight of her own head too much to keep up.

I am not doing this just for you to give it away, Fowler. Don’t fuck this up.

She knew she couldn’t say anything that may give her away, so the hope is that her fellow prisoner could understand to keep his mouth shut, even if she is to suffer for it. The next jolt was to her right arm, as if that arm hadn’t already been pulled from its socket, just at the crook of her elbow. To drive home the fact that he didn’t plan on letting up, Starscream dug the prod in harder against her skin, drawing blood to the surface. He finally retracts the weapon and holds Y/n’s head up with a dagger-like finger on each cheek, turning her to fully face Fowler, not that she could see him very clearly, “Come now, Agent Fowler. I don’t think our friend has much more in her. Haven’t you realized the Autobots have abandoned you? I am the only one you can rely upon now. So, tell me what I want to know, or we’ll see how many more she can take.”

“Please… no more. I’ll tell you,” Fowler breaks eye contact with Y/n, ashamed to give up after she’s done so much to keep quiet. He couldn’t keep sitting back, letting her take the brunt of Starscream’s sadism anymore. It takes so much strength for him to muster the words, “They’re in… secret government base.”

“Fowler… no.”

“Go on.”

Shots being fired were audible from beyond the door across the room. And unless Decepticons practiced their aim in the empty hallways Y/n briefly saw, that means the opposition was aboard. 

That means the Autobots had come to save them. 

“You were saying?” Having also heard the commotion outside, Starscream becomes more antsy, and it shows.

“In the old steel mill… or was it under that carnival funhouse?”

Finally fed up with the disrespect and sass, Starscream frustratedly yells and stabs the prod back into Y/n, the intensity of the voltage much higher than it had been earlier. The shots were louder now, being heard even over Y/n’s screeches. If Fowler wasn’t halfway into unconsciousness, he would have tried to distract the mech as much as he could, but he couldn’t think past staying awake and alive. 

“I’ve had enough of this.” Starscream begins unraveling Y/n from her chains, not trusting the others to keep the Autobots at bay, let alone defeating them. He may not leave this moment the victor, but like hell is he going to lose both hostages. Y/n doesn’t have the strength to fight back after all that had been done, barely even registering that not only is she free from her chains, but she’s also haphazardly being shoved into a cockpit and losing consciousness for the second time that day.

The door to the room opens a moment later, a silent Vehicon just stands in the entryway.

“Well?” He asks, patience draining with every passing second, quickly turning to shock when the Vehicon’s frame drops and both Bulkhead and Bumblebee are poised for blasting whatever stands in the room, immediately shooting the other Vehicon with Starscream. Aiming his arm towards Fowler, Starscream glowers at the interrupting bots, “Not so fast-”

“I wouldn’t.” Arcee taps him from above, having snuck her way in through the ventilation shaft. 

“Oh, but I might.” 

“Where’s Y/n?” Bulkhead keeps his blaster aimed towards Starscream, but with a brief glance around it’s easy to see there is no other organic life, other than Fowler- only chains that now hang empty.

“The other human? She said she didn’t know you, so we… parted ways.”

“NO!” Bulkhead shouts and immediately begins shooting, prompting the other to take fire as well. Starscream can only jump from side to side in order to avoid their gunfire. 

“Apologies, Autobots, but I’m sure you can find her body down below somewhere.” He cackles as he transforms into his alt-mode, and races out of the room, knocking Arcee from the vent and Bulk and Bee into the ground. 

* * * * * *

Y/n wakes up in another dark space- only this time it’s much smaller and warmer; there’s a sway to the room, if you can call it that, but she isn’t sure if the sway is from the nausea overcoming her or if wherever she is is actually moving. The last thing she remembers is a final shock to her body before passing out. Eyes adjusting to the light, it’s easy to determine the surrounding space is the inside of some kind of jet, but instead of the cockpit being parallel to the ground, it’s upturned, like the aircraft would be facing the sky. She was in a Cybertronian- likely Starscream, if the color scheme is anything to go by.

Pressing her hands to the ground, Y/n is quickly reminded of the fact that Starscream had ripped her right arm out of its socket. Looking down, she notices her clothes are burnt and ripped beyond repair- her blouse now adorned with asymmetrical, distressed sleeves that barely go past her elbows and the skirt being a shredded mess, likely from rough handling of Starscream’s razor sharp talons; Taking her foot and stepping on the pathetic scraps of fabric of her skirt, Y/n uses her functional hand and rips a handful of the fabric strips away. Y/n balls the cloths up and puts it in between her teeth as a makeshift mouth guard. The limb now felt numb, but she knows that popping it back in is going to burn; her left hand grasps the right arm’s bicep.

Deep breaths. Deep Breaths, Y/n.

And with an upwards jerk, she feels a brief click in her shoulder, but the limb doesn’t doesn’t stay in place, forcing a deep inhale through her gag.

Relax. You’re not going to be able to reset it if you don’t fucking relax. You just survive until Optimus gets you.

After another few deep breaths, Y/n tries it again and feels a more solid click as she screams, muffled by the burnt fabric in her mouth; letting go, her arm stays in place, though a reignited burn returns to the site of the wound. With her arm taken care of, getting out of this wretched place is next on the to do list. Banging a hand on the glass enclosing her in this dreadful mech’s cockpit, the needles in her throat become even more pronounced as she groans, ”Let me out.”

Nothing changes. His steps are still steady.

“Let me out!”

Again, nothing.

“STAR-”

“STARSCREAM, YOU INCOMPETENT FOOL! I ORDERED YOU TO AWAIT MY COMMAND!”

Upon hearing such a loud fury, Y/n immediately seeks out the most stable part of Starscream’s cockpit and hunkers down. If she has learned anything, it’s that these Decepticons generally deal with disputes through violence, and she doesn’t believe that stops within their own ranks.

“Please, Lord Megatron, I meant no- AGH!” and just like that, Starscream, and Y/n transitively, fly across the room at Megatron’s hand. And though Y/n can’t see him, it did not sound like it took much physical exertion for him to do so. 

“Instead, your mindless agenda resulted in the disabling of my ship and the delay of MY PLANS!” Megatron raises his hand again, more than ready to strike Starscream again.

“My intentions were pure, master. I only wanted you to be rid of Optimus.” Y/n’s world tilts as Megatron brings his foot against Starscream’s head, smashing it into the ground and allowing sparks to fly; she grunts at being thrown from her “safe space” and rolls onto the glass under her that begins cracking under the pressure of Megatron’s foot. She hates crying, but after the third time death threatens to barrel down your door, the stress begins to cap off, and so the weeping begins.

“NO ONE RIDS ME OF OPTIMUS PRIME BUT ME! DO YOU UNDERSTAND? DO-” The sound of Y/n’s wailing, though faint to Megatron’s audials, catches his attention. Lifting Starscream above himself by his throat and turning him enough to get a glimpse into his cockpit, making perfect eye contact with Y/n. Slowly turning Starscream back to face him, Megatron tightens his grasp around his throat and hisses, “Starscream… explain yourself.”

“My lord, She is a friend of the Autobots! I took her as a hostage so we can extract information!” His voice comes out staticy, a sign Megatron may be doing more damage than he should as he continues constricting his grip. 

“You are as stupid as you are a disgrace to the Decepticons. Bring the human out.” Megatron growls his command and releases his throat, sending his second-in-command scrambling to retrieve Y/n, who in turn dodges each grab at her body, thanking the fates for making his cockpit on his back while bi-pedal.

“Stop moving, you-”

“Keep the fuck away from me! I already told you, I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, you walking scrapyard, and me speaking to your troglodyte of a boss isn’t going to change that!” Unfortunately, there’s only so many places for Y/n to run to, and her Yakety sax impression comes to a close when he manages to snag a part of her skirt. Bringing her out on the palm of his hand whilst using his thumb to press her to lie flat on her stomach, he presents her to his master while scowling down at her.

“Why you insolent little-”

“You are wasting my time, Starscream! Is she telling the truth- have you really learned nothing from your own hostage?! Not only have you wasted our resources with your stunt, but you have given the Autobots a reason to storm this ship!”

“No, my liege! They won’t come here to find her- they believe her to be dead.” Starscream allows a shaky smile to creep its way onto his lips, hoping to at least somewhat appease the brute in front of him. Processing what he’s just said, Y/n stops trying to move her way from under the mech’s thumb.

They think I’m dead.

“And what does that leave us with? A soft, useless human who can’t even escape the confines of your servos, let alone provide any kind of productivity for our cause.

No one is coming to save me.

The image of Megatron’s face moving to be right in front of her entire body snaps Y/n out of her spiraling thoughts of lost hope, the heat and humidity coming from his mouth breezes against her, forcing goosebumps to crawl along her arms. The mechanical giant looks her person up and down, then scoffs,

“Worthless scrap.”

The woman bristles as he begins to make his way towards one of the room’s doors. Having noticed Starscream loosening his hold on her back, Y/n stands and snarls at the back of Megatron, “I’m sure you know all about being worthless, wouldn’t you.”

His heavy foot slams to the floor midstep, once relaxed stature stiffened as he slowly turns back towards Y/n and Starscream, in which the latter panickedly looks between the girl in his hand and the mech who has killed other Cybertronians for less. Megatron turns his attention to another mech Y/n had not previously noticed who is practically hidden in the lack of light on this ship- of whom looks back to Megatron. The two stare at one another, as if speaking with each other telepathically.

“Starscream, take that… thing to Knockout for examination.”

Taglist: @the-unhinged-raccoon @hystericalanarchy @mythicallystupid @darkfangx399 @nixblizzard16 @crowleysthings @delectableworm

Let me know if you would like to be added to the list!

[cheesedtoteawithyou]

Yesterday I tried "Duck Shit oolong" for the first time ever! I've been wanting to try it for a very long time and it was hella good!

[cirrus-grey]

Hands down the best part of the stream yesterday was finding out that Jonny originally wrote Martin disliking lapsang souchong, for the sole reason that Sasha dislikes it, and then Alex changed it to oolong because it was easier to pronounce

[wisteria-cherry]

forty days and forty nights (day five!)

(hello my lil cherry blossoms <3 we’re almost at a week! i have many things planned for the future, whether good or bad. happy reading :)

(read them all here!)

“medium black coffee for dynamight.”

“are you at least gonna let me say my own damn order?” dynamight scoffed.

“are you ever gonna change it?” you counter.

“why would i?” dynamight frowned.

“variety is the spice of life, isn’t it?”

“variety is stupid. just give me the black coffee.”

“right away, dynamight.”

dynamight sat down at his seat, scoffing as you made his coffee with a grin that may or may not have been totally smug.

“quit looking at me like that.” he said when you presented him with the mug.

“like what?” you blinked. you weren’t looking at him in any particular way— at least, not to your knowledge.

“quit looking at me with those eyes of yours.” he scowled.

“okay..?” you answered hesitantly, before leaving to go take the order of another customer who’d come in.

with those eyes of mine? you thought with a frown. what’s that mean? was i glaring?

you quickly snap out of it, smiling at the customer as you tell them their total. you study the computer screen as they swipe their credit card before turning back to make their drink (iced latte, one pump of vanilla syrup, caramel drizzle).

“there you are. have a good one,” you smile as you hand the customer their drink. they smile back at you before exiting the cafe, leaving you to your own thoughts.

you wanted to go back to dynamight, but it felt slightly awkward when he seemed so irritated with you. maybe he wasn’t really irritated. maybe he was faux irritated, like he was those times where he’d playfully tell you to shut up. but what if he wasn’t?

better safe than sorry.

you come out from behind the counter and approach mrs. hatsugawa.

mrs. hatsugawa… you mused. you always found it interesting that she chose to be addressed by mrs., despite her husband having passed away. it was romantic, in a bittersweet sort of way.

“would you like more tea, mrs. hatsugawa?” you ask politely, making sure to speak loud enough that she could hear you. the white-haired woman looked up at you and smiled.

“that would be wonderful. and do talk to your boyfriend. he looks lonely.” she replied.

“he’s only a customer, mrs. hatsugawa,” you correct gently. you recall your conversation from yesterday. she seemed dead set on her conclusion.

“give it time.” mrs. hatsugawa chuckled, looking at dynamight from across the room fondly. dynamight noticed immediately, and for a moment, looked totally baffled, glancing around as though to think, is this old hag looking at me? before scowling and looking back at his coffee.

“i’ll go get your tea.” you interject, carefully taking her teacup. “do you want a new cup, or do you want me to use this one?”

“the same cup is alright, dear. less dishes for you.” mrs. hatsugawa replied thoughtfully.

“thank you.” you smile. “i’ll do that now, then.” you return to the counter, making a beeline for the tea where, either fortunately or unfortunately, was right by dynamight’s seat. you open a brand new box of oolong tea, glancing at dynamight briefly.

“the hell was that old crone looking at me for?” he asked suddenly.

“no reason.” you answer, seeing no reason yourself to tell him that she thinks you’re in love with him. “she was just curious about you is all.”

“hah? the hell’s she curious about?” dynamight glared at mrs. hatsugawa before returning his attention to you.

“just who you are.” you lie quickly as you set a teabag in the cup. “i think she knows you’re a hero.”

“duh. everyone knows i’m the number one hero. except you, apparently.” dynamight scoffed. you laugh. so he wasn’t mad at you after all.

“i do now.” you remind him, pouring the hot water over the teabag.

“only because i had to tell your dumbass.”

“yeah, yeah.” you reply playfully. “i’ll be right back, i’m gonna bring this to mrs. hatsugawa.”

“that’s the old crone?”

“she’s a lady, not a crone.”

“fine, old lady, whatever.” somehow, the term “lady” was just as derogatory coming from dynamight. you simply smile, silently reminding yourself that you’re on the job as you return to mrs. hatsugawa, presenting her with her tea as she thanks you.

“tell him he’s a great hero for me.” mrs. hatsugawa smiles.

“of course, mrs. hatsugawa,” you nod. “anything else for you?”

“that will be all, dear.” she smiled, and you return to the counter.

“she says she thinks you’re a great hero.” you relay her message.

“‘course i am. i’m number one.” he huffs.

“that you are.”

“quit looking at me with those eyes of yours.”

<- previous next->

(feel free to comment + leave ur thoughts :)

[rannadylin]

Today's tea: Peach Oolong. So good! So sweet and mellow! I think oolong teas in general are my favorite, and peach flavor makes it even better.

Today's knit: I finished the Beverly Mitts while catching up on Crit Role on Friday and they spent yesterday blocking. Not that the blocking makes much difference in a non-wool yarn (Lindy Chain is linen/cotton for a nice breathable pair of summer mitts), but I think it did help even out the stitches a bit. And what a pretty stitch pattern it is!

[the-himawari]

A3! Hyodo Kumon - Translation [SSR] Afterschool Time for Two (3/3)

*Please read disclaimer on blog

---

Waiter: Here’s your French fries.

Kumon: I’m digging in! *Munch, munch*… mm, that hits the spot! Fresh off the fryer is the best!

Azami: All you need is salt when it’s hot.

Kumon: Ketchup and mayo are still musts though!

Azami: Oi, don’t mix them with the fries.

Kumon: Aurore sauce is tasty though. By the way, Tenma-san was in the drama that aired yesterday.

Azami: Ah. Is that why everyone in Summer troupe all got together last night?

Kumon: Yep! Tenma-san wore a school uniform for his role that looked hella cool! He kinda had an aura about him! But it sounded like he had some mixed feelings… about wearing a school uniform even though he’s in university now.

Azami: But he was just wearing one a short while ago. Is that what it feels like when you become a university student? Is it available to stream?

Kumon: He said it was. I think you can still watch it!

Azami: I’ll check it out.

Kumon: Anyways, the homework I got today killed my braincells. I don’t get anything. Do you understand this, Azami?

Azami: There’s no way I’d get what someone two grades above me is studyin’.

Kumon: Ooh, good point. I guess I have no choice but to rely on Tsumugi-sensei. But I think he’s busy today…

Azami: What’s the subject?

Kumon: English.

Azami: Then you can also ask Chikage-san, can’t you?

Kumon: Ah, right! So true!

Azami: So even students who are preppin’ for their entrance exams get homework, huh?

Kumon: Well, it’s only for English and Japanese history. I ask nii-chan about my Japanese history homework.

Azami: Right. Juza-san’s only good at history.

Kumon: What do you mean by “only”!

*hits*

Azami: Dude, that hurts, y’know?

Kumon: Oh yeah! Say, Azami. I wanna go to karaoke tomorrow~.

Azami: Karaoke?

Kumon: Yeah. Also, I wanna go to the batting cage the day after tomorrow, and then the arcade next Monday~.

Azami: All you’re doin’ is goofin’ off.

Kumon: It’s fine, isn’t it! There’s not much time left in my high school life, so I wanna do everything I wanna do.

Azami: You can do all those things you said anytime. You can go to karaoke or the battin' cage even if you're not a high school student. Actually, when I see Juza-san and Taichi-san, it looks like it’s even easier for uni students to go since they have the time.

Kumon: That’s not the point, Azami! It’s like what Tenma-san said—the meaning of wearing a school uniform changes when you become a uni student. The homework will be way different, I’ll have to work a part-time job, and the cats I play with at lunch won’t be there. The only time we’re both high school students is right now. And there’s tons of stuff I wanna do with you while we’re in still high school together.

Azami: …

Kumon: Ah, I finished my drink. I’m gonna go to the drink fountain. Do you want anything, Azami? I’ll bring it back with me.

Azami: Oolong tea. Thanks.

Kumon: Okay!

*runs off*

Azami: …

*runs back*

Kumon: Thanks for waiting!

Azami: That was fast.

Kumon: Huh, really?

Azami: …Y’know, Kumon.

Kumon: Yeah?

Azami: I’ll go with you to all those things you mentioned earlier.

Kumon: Eh, REALLY!? YAY!!

*jumps up*

Azami: Shut up, dummy. Don’t stand up.

Kumon: Ahaha. Oopsies, sorry.

Azami: I doubt anythin’ will change between us once next year comes. But, we’re only high school students right now, right?

Kumon: Exactly! Ehehe, I’m so happy.

Azami: I mean, it just feels like we’re hangin’ out afterschool though.

Kumon: That’s fine! Everyone says we should do what we wanna do while we’re in high school.

Azami: Hearin’ that’s like a broken record at this point.

Kumon: Ah, I know! Adding to the list of things to do! I wanna eat a burger from “Burger Royale”!

Azami: What?

Kumon: Also, Kazu-san told me about a store that just opened last month—.

Azami: Can we go to that many places? Well, we’ll do as much as we can.

Kumon: For sure!

---

previous |

[carelessflower]

sunday recap 🤭⭐️

going thrift and eating with my friend today, literally just plan this with her yesterday and didn't even know what we gonna eat till we arrive at the mall (longer thread here)

look at my fit (my friend said it giving local mafia) but I feel like that tough foul mouthed best friend in asian drama

korean bbq. not buffet but two person combo (beef, pork belly and chest), which still good, also got some early birthday gift hehe

first try on this demure ass sweater. crazily expensive and doesn't even fit me or my style

two different leather jackets at h&m, my friend said the black one fit me better but I love the red one more lmaoo been obsessed with this color. didn't get it tho I'm a broke hoe and also it literally so hot in my country

so funny story the thrift store we intend to go was in some sorta like old looking apartment complex (kinda their aesthetic vintage outside modern and chic inside) but my friend actually mistook it for the nearest building, which more like basement for stores anyway. i found some cool sunglasses, not really a thrift but it so affordable

this taylor swift tease (store selling super trendy with like a ludicrous amount of money cause tell me why that satan is my sugar baby shirt that I'm pretty sure is copied down from the internet to the color cost like 2 meat buffets)

we finally realized and went to the right! building this time. which is like so many stairs and they charge the elevator because of course they would. after entering and trying several local stores in there I must say....shopping there can really be giving you body image issues like there some really cute pieces but gosh they all have limited size in tinie I'm talking xxs, s and m and literally nothing fit us. and it all the one with the more feminine and trendy designs too

anyway...after all that shenanigans we like walk to third floor for the thrift store my friends found on instagram, ill call this bougey store cause the clothes look very bougey, not really cheap tho and again with the tinie sizes. i did find some real leather jacket and vest (the long jacket smell REALLY weird) for like 10-12 dollars, 12-20$ vintage watches (they have the type that stretches, clip in like it a bracelet also some old fashioned metal clip in the back which is nice) and sunglasses but didn't take any of them cause well the prizes way out my budget also my friend said the sunglasses didn't suit at all

we were kinda disappointed and my friend said let go upstairs cause she saw some poster about this vintage-y place and wanna check it out for a long time. it really did like vintage like the vibe were absolutely vibing, mid pricing, some were kinda basic but like still cute. literally there like three ranges of vest and I know my type's come. narrow down and finally pick the more interesting one, also a win with the loose fit!!!

try on other. that checkered would look really pretty on sb thinner idk tho I really regret not buying that strap one it so perfect pairing with some t-shirt. also check their totes like it so adorable

the last store we went through kinda like it girl store. like it very telling influencers will absolutely race the shit through these. also exp asf. and explain to me why some pieces of them are my taste and I'm broke lol

also went to like a stall when we can make our own perfume and I tried on combination of peony and oolong and white tea and it smell so nice. like really need to look into this in the future

also we had milk tea:D

[mentallyshattered]

This is part 8 of the "What if Yuu didn't want to go back?" Series!

(I, the author of this work, do not consent to this work being crossposted/translated without my knowledge or used to train an AI, ever.)

Masterlist

Vil stares for a moment, just a moment, and then smiles. Grim is still looking at me weird, but says nothing.

We leave to eat. Grim's strange looks halt when he sees breakfast: poppyseed bagels with cream cheese and lox. We eat instead of talking, and I take the time to admire just how clean this place is.

Everything is so shiny. There aren't any paintings or pictures, noticeably, but there is a mirror hanging over there. It was probably put there to allow people to look at the oven without having to turn around, given the location and angle.

Looking in the mirror... Hey, it's Korrak and Mandible! And...Rook? Looks like he's intercepting them, too. At least he's giving them food first. Korrak walks toward the stairs with half a poppyseed bagel in hand.

Oh, well. That's none of my business. I'm done with my bagel, though, so it's off to the Backstage Room!

Grim finishes his breakfast on the way, and I brush him until his coat is soft and even. He doesn't complain about me stopping this time, but he does set off on a quest of magically dressing himself.

When I finish my routine, we head off to put my new phone up, and then it's off to History of Magic.

Trappola isn't here yet, surprisingly. I figured he'd've learned his lesson after yesterday, but I guess not. Oh, well. His problem! We'll snitch again if he starts today with a repeat of yesterday.

By the time we sit down and start talking to Deuce, Trappola walks into the room- with a collar on?

"I see your stares. Don't ask."

With that, he sits. Deuce stares right at him for a solid 20 seconds before speaking.

"We don't even have oolong."

"Not what happened."

I sit there, contemplating why this kid is wearing a heart-shaped collar with a lock on it to class. Very much a "Heartslabyul" look, though. Half is black, half is red, and the outlines are gold.

The bells rings, and Trein starts the lesson. I take notes and help Grim do the same with his levitation magic. He picks up on it pretty fast, and his writing is easily legible within 5 minutes.

Crewel gives Trappola a funny look when he walks in, but says nothing and the way he teaches seems normal. This is only the second time I've had him, though.

More note-taking commences. I'm rather tempted to question Trappola where he got that and why he's wearing it, but class is ongoing, so I refrain from asking and make sure Grim does the same. He shoots me dirty looks whenever I close his mouth for him, but he stays quiet.

Grim and I actually manage to stay conscious all through P.E.! That's a win for us.

"What, you think you're special just 'cause you didn't take a nap when you fell?"

"Nope! We think we're special cause we aren't the ones wearing a collar, and one of us is a cat."

Trappola turns bright red. "What the hell?!"

"Mya-ha, that's what you get!"

"He has a point, Ace. How did you get that, anyway?"

"Shut up, Deuce."

"Hey, Trappola, remember that one time you were snarky with Deuce and wound up cleaning all the chairs in Trein's room? I do."

Trappola shuts his mouth, forgets his lesson, and speaks again. "Hey, you can call me 'Ace.' I don't mind. Why do you only ever call me by my last name?"

"That's what the headmage called you during the entrance ceremony. Besides, we also call you 'entrance ceremony claustrophobe.'"

"Behind my back?"

"To your face, entrance ceremony claustrophobe."

"Okay, guys, that's enough."

"Shut it, Deuce."

"Dude, what is your problem?" Evidently, Deuce has finally had enough.

"It probably has something to do with the collar." Okay, being a dick here won't help, but I'm bored and hungry, so I'll care after lunch.

"Yeah, it does!"

"Myeh... I'd just take it off."

"I. Can't."

"Why not?"

"You say that like you don't know."

"They're first years from a different dorm, Ace. Of course they don't know. You have to tell them."

Trappola says nothing. Apparently, that thought didn't occur to him. I'm guessing most of them don't, though.

Trappola sighs, but still doesn't say anything. Deuce, clearly fed up, turns to us. "Our housewarden's signature spell is called 'Off With Your Head,' and he uses it on Heartslabyuls who break the rules. The spell places a collar around the target's neck," Deuce motions to Trappola, "and seals away their magic. I'm not sure what Ace did to get collared, but only Riddle can remove it."

I remember one of the Pomefiore sophomores explained all of the housewardens and dorms to the freshmen, me and Grim included. That's how I know Riddle Rosehearts is the Heartslabyul housewarden, a sophomore in the dorm based on strictness. No wonder, huh?

"Myaah... hey, Redhead, did you complain about yesterday in front of Rosehearts?"

Trappola looks stunned. "Yeah... How'd you know?"

"You swear when you're mad. That's probably banned."

"...You're right."

Grim appears prideful of his accomplishment, chest out and everything. Trappola looks lost. Deuce looks hungry.

"Let's go to lunch. Come on, Ace."

Grim and I wave. "Bye, Deuce! Bye, Trappola!"

The walk back to the dorm is tiring, but it's nice knowing we're just a little step closer to whatever it is we're reaching for.

[turtlethebean]

BenJacob Week Day 2: Loss

(Sorry for not uploading anything for day 1, I was sick, and it kind of snuck up on me)

Read it on AO3: All That's Dead and Gone - Turtle_The_Bean - Criminal Case (Video Game) [Archive of Our Own]

If you're wondering why there was no content for this week yesterday, it's not because it was art on Tumblr this time. I was sick over the past week so it just kinda creeped up on me. Anyways, enjoy!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Ben always enjoyed the nighttime. When he was working for the military, it was the only time he would get away from others, but now, it was a time for him to relax with some chamomile tea while looking at the stars. It was peaceful, being alone with his own thoughts and a cup of tea beneath the stars. A nice way to unwind after a busy day.

However, tonight was not going to be as peaceful and relaxing as it was supposed to be.

It started off normal enough. He made his tea and was just about to take it outside when he heard knocking at the door. He wasn’t expecting any visitors, especially this late at night, so he peeked through the peephole. His best friend, Jacob Arrow, was standing outside, covered in blood. Frightened by this sudden interruption of his usual routine, he put his tea down on a nearby table and helped his friend into his house.

“Jake, Jesus, what happened to you?” Ben asked as his friend almost collapsed in his arms.

“I…I haven’t a clue.” Jacob panted, clutching his head with one hand and his chest with the other. Between the whole ordeal that he just escaped from and running all the way to Ben’s house, he felt dizzy, more than likely due to the hyperventilation.

“Well, before you explain, let me sit you down and fix you a cup of tea. I’ll tend to your wounds as well.”

Jacob sat himself down on the couch while Ben returned to the kitchen to make some tea for his friend. He made oolong tea, seeing as times like this would typically call for one’s favourite tea, and grabbed the first aid kit from a drawer before heading into the living room.

He first got Jacob to remove his hand from his face, revealing a deep wound underneath. It looked like it would scar, but the military made both of them used to scars. He stitched up the wound before putting a bandage on it. He then moved on to the other wounds, which were scattered around his body.

“Thanks for this.” Jacob sighed solemnly, taking a sip of his oolong tea to distract himself from the mental and physical pain.

“No problem. I mean, what are friends for?” Ben chuckled, fixing a wound on his waist, “Anyways, you mind explaining to me what happened to you?”

“I’m trying to figure that out myself. Some deranged lunatic attacked me and Lily. It…it was a weird experience.”

“Is…is Lily okay?” Ben realised Jacob’s wife wasn’t with them. But she survived, right?

“I…I think she died. After I killed the guy who was attacking us, I went to make sure she was okay and…she was cold. She lost so much blood, and I didn’t get to her in time.”

Ben stopped himself in the midst of tending to Jacob’s wounds. He saw that his friend was crying and immediately put his first aid kit away to comfort him. Both of them wished it wasn’t real, but the tears rolling down Jacob’s face confirmed it. Lily was dead, and it was all because of some random person who had broken into their house.

While Jacob had killed the perpetrator, Ben still wanted to know who it was. After all, there were plenty of people who hated the military.

“Are you able to describe the guy who did this? Anything might help.” He restarted tending to his friend’s injuries. His new plan was to finish with these injuries and let Jacob sleep while he looked up the person who attacked him.

“Call me crazy, and trust me, I feel like it, but…I think it was a vampire.”  Jacob answered, voice hoarse from crying.

Ben chuckled awkwardly before realising Jacob was being completely serious. He was joking, though, right? Maybe he was hallucinating from sleep deprivation? Something was definitely up here.

“What do you mean?” Ben finished the last of his friend’s injuries so that he could look him in the eyes.

“When he attacked Lily, he bit her in the neck. Now, I’ve seen people bleed out on the battlefield, but she bled out much faster than normal. That alone wouldn’t be enough to prove it, but then there was when I tried to kill him that confirmed it. He seemed…untouchable when I shot at him like the bullets were just going through him. It wasn’t until I cut his head off with an axe that I was able to stop him.”

He wasn’t joking. That definitely sounded like the vampires you would hear about in fiction. Watching your wife die to one was probably the worst way to find out they’re real, making Ben feel even worse for Jacob.

He wasn’t sure how else to react. Hell, he hadn’t even really seen Jacob cry before. The closest he got to that was his wedding day, but that was a completely different circumstance. Marrying your wife is different to watching her die right in front of you, and nobody should experience it, especially with how recent their wedding was.

“I feel like I need something stronger than tea. Do you want a beer?” Ben got up off the couch and walked over to his fridge to get himself a drink.

“No, right now, I think I just want to sleep.”

“Do you at least want another cup of tea to get you to sleep?”

“Nah, I haven’t even drunk half of this cup. Besides, I…I think I have an idea of what I’m going to do.”

“Really? You already killed the guy. What else can you do besides defend yourself in court when they realise you killed him in self-defence?”

“You remember that guy from the army who was always a bit…cuckoo? He wasn’t that much older than us, if I remember right.”

“Falcon? What about- Oh yeah, he used to say things like werewolves were real, didn’t he? Yeah, I think I see where you’re going with this.”

“He said he was going to hunt them down after he was discharged. I’m going to find him and see if he can teach me how to defend myself and others against these people. I don’t want anyone to end up like Lily…or me.”

Ben always admired Jacob’s bravery and determination to protect everyone around him, especially those he loved and cared about. Seeing this still shining through despite what happened that night gave him hope for his friend’s future. Sure, he had some learning to do, but Ben was certain he’d get there.

“Hey,” Ben took Jacob’s hands in his, “Jake, I’m not much of a fighter, but remember, if you ever need someone to help you with your wounds, especially in battle, then you can just call me. I’ll always be there for you, no matter what.”

“Thanks, you have no clue how much that means to me, especially right now.” Jacob rested his head on Ben’s chest, falling asleep there. Ben prayed his racing heart wouldn’t wake him up but soon drifted off into a slumber of his own.