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mggssocks · 3 years

Text

Followed

Not My Gif!

Pairing: Fem!Reader x Spencer Reid

Content Warnings: None just fluff :)

Summary: Spencer makes an Instagram and stumbles across reader’s page.

Word Count: 1,899 words

A/N: This is Season 10 Spencer with Season 13 looks. Also, instead of it being Kate on the team, i put Emily instead because who doesn’t love the season 3-7 team? Also I might make a part 2 depending on how much this blows up. Honestly i’d be happy if i got one like. Anyways.. hope you enjoy!!!

masterlist // part 2 // part 3

It was 8:00 in the morning. Spencer walked in the doors of the bullpen to the bau. He sat his satchel down and began to settle in for a long day of work. It was pretty early so the team wasn’t in yet. Except for Aaron Hotchner who had gotten in an hour prior to Spencer and been in his office ever since. Apparently others had the same ‘get to work early’ mindset as Spencer. Spencer opened a case file but his attention was quickly whipped away due to the sound of the door opening. He sees Penelope Garcia with all her attention focused on her phone. Spencer quirked his eyebrows when she bumped into a fellow coworker and her attention remained on her phone while quickly mumbling a quick “sorry”. As she passed his desk, Spencer decided it would be the great time to speak.

“Hey, Garcia.” Her feet came to a stop and her head snapped up at him.

“Boy wonder! I’m so glad you’re here. I really need someone to talk to because if I don’t I’m going to explode!” She sits in the chair across from his desk.

“Is everything alright?” He leaned back in his chair.

“No… no everything is not alright. If anything.. everything is all wrong. Very very wrong. I-“ she takes in a deep breath “I was stalking Kevin’s page because the other day I seen him at the mall with another girl. And while I was 56 weeks down in his page, I accidentally liked a picture.” She explained, in a huff.

“I’m afraid I don’t follow.” Spencer was even more confused now than before she started.

“I liked a picture that he posted 56 weeks ago!” Her eyes were wide.

“How is that a bad thing?” His lips pouted as he’d never understand social media.

“Ugh! Reid, you really need to get with the program and get you an Instagram. That means his picture was old and now he knows that I was looking at his page. You understand now?” She asked.

“Oh. Yeah I understand. It’s bad that he knows you were looking at his page.” He asked as Prentiss, JJ, and Morgan had walked in.

“Yes. And now I must go into the bat cave and wait for him to call or text me and ask what me lurking on his page was about.” She whined as she stomped her way to her office.

“What was that about?” Prentiss asked, setting her bags down on her desk.

“Uhh- rough morning” Spencer shrugged, still not really understanding the whole social media thing.

“Hey do you guys have an Instagram?” He asked the three.

“Yeah but I’m barely on it.” Prentiss answered.

“Same here” says Morgan as he takes a seat at his desk.

“Yeah but I only get on to post the boys and myself sometimes” answers JJ.

“What about Hotch and Rossi?” He asked.

“Yup! Rossi likes to post about his expensive wine and cigars. Hotch posts Jack every once in a while and a throwback Thursday.” JJ says.

Spencer’s eyebrows furrowed for what seems to be the 100th time that day.

“He doesn’t know what that is” Prentiss looks over to JJ.

“It’s something you post like an old picture of yourself every Thursday.” Morgan explains.

“Do you guys do that?” Spencer asked.

“I did last Thursday.” JJ pulls out her phone and opened the app. “This was right after Emily, Penelope, and I caught a guy who was trying to pick up Prentiss by pretending to be an FBI agent a few years ago.” She chuckled showing him a picture.

Spencer takes her phone in his hand and examines the post. 142 likes. 57 comments. He clicks on her name which takes it to her page. 302 followers. As he scrolls, he sees a picture the team took a while ago and sees a little person profile thing the corner and clicks on it causing other names tagged to each individual team member. Except him. After he examined all of their profiles, he gives JJ back her phone and gets to work like the rest of them. He felt a little left out but he knew it was because of his own decisions and not his team. He liked that they didn’t press him about having a social media because they new he was more old school than anything. And it was ironic because he wastage youngest member of the team with the more old school habits.

When Spencer got home he decided he wanted the social media app. The idea of being able to share with his friends and only his friends excited him. Being able to post about his favorite things for his friends to see without talking their ears off.

He opened his phone and went to the app store, typing “instagram” into the search bar. He followed the sites instructions as he made his account. Using a snapshot he took of his bookshelf as his profile picture. He sees the option to add the people in his contact list which was only his team, mom, and his mother’s caretaker. But everyone’s profile popped up and he quickly followed each and every one of them. Except for his mom and her caretaker of course.

Soon enough, he got a follow back from Garcia, Hotch, Rossi, and JJ in that order. Morgan and Prentiss weren’t lying when they said they weren’t on often.

After two weeks, Spencer hasn’t posted anything yet, not knowing what should go on his profile. Morgan and Prentiss ended up following him back and the app ended up adjusting to his interests. Nothing but accounts about interesting facts, books, and doctor who.

It was Friday night and the team had just got back from a case in Chicago. Spencer opened the door to his apartment and set his satchel down on the couch, exhausted. His mind wonders to get something to eat being that he wonders to get something to eat being that he hasn’t ate since before they caught the unsub. Which was about 5 hours and 7 minutes ago but he still needed to get something into his system. Spencer opened his fridge and sees 3 day old Chinese takeout. He shrugs and pops it into the microwave while looking for a book of his to reread while he eats. After he finishes dinner, he gets on his phone and subconsciously pulls up the app. He clicks onto his explore page to discover something else he likes. While scrolling, he sees a picture of someone reading and clicks on it.

765 likes

Yourfriend’sig whenever people ask me what to give you for your birthday or Christmas, I always tell them to get you a book or something green and it works every single time. Happy Birthday to my best buddy, @yourinstagram !

View all 84 comments

Spencer smiles and clicks the heart button and bookmarks it to look at later. He liked the picture. Both the picture and caption reminded him a lot of his own love for books and the color green (hence his apartment).

Once he got out of the shower, he brushed his teeth. He found himself subconsciously scrolling through his instagram bookmarks to find her post. He doesn’t know what it was but something about the picture brought comfort to him. As he brushed his teeth, he clicked on the post once again.This time, he actually clicked on your account. It was a private account with 186 followers. The bio read:

Y/N... bookworm.

Her profile picture consisted of a black cat surrounded by either a bunch of well taken care of plants or artificial ones. His finger hovered over the blue “follow” button. As he bent down to spit his toothpaste out, his thumb accidentally clicked the follow button. But he didn't realize so until he looked down again to see the “follow” button replaced with “requested”. His heart basically drops out of his ass. He quickly clicks the button again, taking back his follow.

It was now one in the morning, Spencer laid in bed awake staring at his ceiling. Once again, he clicks onto the app. He scrolled down his timeline and saw a picture Penelope posted of one of her new desk animals with the caption “Got her at a thrift shop! Isn’t she cute??”. He saw that Hotch and JJ liked 45 other people. JJ also commented with two red hearts. Spencer likes the post and keeps scrolling. His thoughts wander to the post about the girl again. He’s never thought about a social media post this much since he’s created an account. He wonders what sparked his interest so much about this one. As he makes his way to the post, clicking on her account. Debating if he should follow her. She’s a total stranger. Do the others follow strangers? There’s no way JJ knows 302 people in real life. He mentally shrugs and presses the follow button. Requested. Again.

He swipes out of her account back onto the post now seeing that she commented on it.

yourinstagram thank you, bubs! ily to the moon n back <3333

It was commented thirty six seconds ago. Meaning she’s currently active. Again, Spencer’s heart sinks and he immediately regrets his decision. Going back and unfollowing her. He doesn’t know what to do with himself. He’s a mess. Over a stranger. But he feels like an idiot. Reacting the way that he did just because he saw that she was online. So he goes and follows her.... again.

After clearing out all of his apps, he turns off his phone and lays down trying to get some sleep before work in a few hours. His thoughts wander to her. What she was like. if she was nice or mean. If she was socially awkward or very outgoing. Before his thoughts could get too far into what she was like, he receives a notification from instagram. He opens his phone and clicks on the notification. His heart began to pound when he saw it.

yourinstagram would like to send you a message!

He clicks on it.

yourinstagram You’ve followed and unfollowed me about 5 times in the past 3 hours. Is there something I can help you with?

Spencer completely forgot that other people got notifications and now he felt like some kind of creep.

spencerreid I’m sorry. I came across your friend’s Instagram post wishing you a happy birthday and i guess i got curious and wanted to follow you if that makes any sense.

He felt so dumb.

yourinstagram and following me once wasn’t enough for some reason???

spencerreid Sorry about that. I’m new to this whole social media thing and don’t follow any strangers. You are the first person I’m following that I don’t know in real life. Again, my apologies for the disturbance. I’ll unfollow you’re account If you’re uncomfortable with me.

yourinstagram i just hope that you’re not one of my raging exes, someone trying to catfish me, or a psychopath lol.

Spencer smiled.

spencerreid Nope. Just me.

She leaves him one read. Spencer’s smile fades when he doesn’t see any three loading dots. She wasn’t texting him back. As he’s about to exit the app, he sees two notifications.

yourinstagram has accepted your follow request!

yourinstagram has requested to follow you.

********

I hoped you like this!!! If this blows up,i will do another chapter!

#spencer reid #dr reid #criminal minds #aaron hotchner #derek morgan #matt simmons #david rossi #cm #emily prentiss #jennifer jereau #penelope gracia #luke alvez #tara lewis #elle greenaway #spencer reid x you #cat adams

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just-some-random-blogger · 3 years

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One Million In One Day | 9

GOT7 SugarDaddy!Jackson Wang x Reader + Park Jinyoung x Reader | Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Characters: GOT7 Summary: His mother’s final wish is to see him be happy in a relationship, knowing that Jackson would be fine when she left him. But, damn, he didn’t have time for relationships, especially not since he was busy running his father’s billion dollar empire, thus the compromise: you. Word Count: <2k Warnings: Stalking, fighting, cursing, mentioning of illness, TYPOS, etc.

A/N: HI IT”S BEEN SO LONG BUT HERE IT IS HKASHFKAFA

I’m tagging @tia-m94 because, well, she wanted to be HAHA, and I was looking for all the other messages I got about updating this but I can’t seem to find them, so yeah, if you wanna be tagged in the last chapter just ell me cos I’m actually planning on posting that soon as well.

It’s been two weeks since Jinyoung stopped talking to us, and I’ve had enough of it. He’s neither replied to my or Mark’s texts while clearly holding his phone in class, so obviously he wants us to know that he’s ignoring us.

Once Mr. Choi says class dismissed, I grabbed my things and jogged over to the other side of the room for him. He was still fixing up his things when I arrived and the blank expression he had somehow fell.

I move over to him once his row is cleared and call out to him, “Jinyoung.”

Much unlike him, he takes all his things and shoves it into his bag, out of spite. But it was too unlike his nature. He sighs and begins to fix it inside, not paying attention to me.

“I’m sorry that I upset you.”

Jinyoung glares at me, “you’re sorry? For what?”

I bite my lower lip and huff, “Jinyoung... please don’t be like this.”

Jinyoung scoffs, “you still don’t get it, do you.”

“Could you please just tell me? I don’t like becoming your enemy.”

“Do you? From what I can tell you don’t care at all for me.”

I pull back from his tight remark and frown, “how could you say that...”

Jinyong's eyes are on fire as he watches my expression in disgust, “You can’t play with me, just because we’re friends.”

“I’m not playing with you," I manage weakly.

Jinyoung rolls his eyes and finally fixes all his things and storms past me. I let him have a head start and run after him right after.

The moment I caught up with him, I grab onto his arm and blurt, “there’s only one thing I can think of... but I have no idea how you’d know.”

Jinyoung finally stops and turns to me.

I feel my feel tears well up in my eyes and I pull him to the side. Jinyoung looks down at me as I fiddle my fingers. I scratch my eyes and turn to him, finding he dawned a different expression on his face.

“Do you know about..." I suck in a breath and whisper, "my sugar daddy?"

Jinyoung clenches his jaw for a moment, then lets out a breath, “... yes. I saw him take you out in his sports car when I was supposed to come over. I was already outside your door when I called.”

I bite my lower lip.

Jinyoung clenched jaw, "you lied to me that day. You said you were going to sleep in all day. You even had the audacity to say you had fun with me the day before."

I turn to him, hot tears streaming down my face. I desperately reason out, "but I did Jinyoung. I love hanging out with you no matter where or when."

Jinyoung turns away from me and I begin to feel like the world was staring at me at this point. I turn to my feet in shame and embarrassment.

"Then why did you lie?" Jinyoung starts again, not caring if the world could hear, "between your teeth, in front of my face? And you told Mark though, so it infuriates me even more."

I suck in a breath for courage and grab his hand, "can we talk at my apartment, please. Give me a chance to explain."

I dread that he will rip him hand away from me and spit at my face. But instead, he grips my wrist and sighs, leading me off.

When we get there, Jinyoung's keen eye notices all the differences in the place. He doesn't miss to note on it bitterly, "wah, you bought an oven too. How cute."

I frown and turn to him, "ya... I did it for you okay."

Jinyoung looks at me, bewildered, caught off guard.

I whine and wipe my face. I drop my bag to the floor and push the thought of missing class today away, "I bought an oven so we could make cheesecake, because I just like you so damn much. And I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't mean for you to see Jackson. And I had to tell Mark because I had to spend all the money he gave me or else I would lose it."

Jinyoung shakes his head and hands, "wait don't tell me the story like this. Tell me from the beginning, from the very start till now."

And so I do.

By the end of it, Jinyoung and I are sitting on the couch with an awkwardly small gap between us. I don't know what was going through his mind now, but what I did know was that he wasn't happy.

"So what, you're going to keep doing this? What if he asks you to marry you for the sake of his mom?"

I furrow my brows, "Jinyoung, he wouldn't do that. And besides, I think he won't ask me to come over anymore."

"But if he does, will you go?"

"... I can't just leave him."

Jinyoung turns sour, "you most definitely can. You have nothing in writing."

"But he's like a friend now..."

He scoffs, "so you like this Jackson guy?"

I bitterly reply without turning to him, "it's like you want me to make a neon sign that I like you, Jinyoung."

When he doesn't give a sassy retort, I feel my insides grind in fear. I manage to turn to him and my stomach drops when I see he's staring at me, "do you mean it?"

I frown.

"Or are you just saying things I want to hear to get a pass?"

I feel my eyes glass, "what?"

Jinyoung scoffs out a chuckle, "are you an idiot, or are you an idiot?"

"... ... Jinyoung ..."

He sighs, "you still don't get it, do you?" Jinyoung diminishes the gap between us and casually wipes the tears on my cheek away, "I like you so much, you big idiot."

I just look at him, dumbfounded, not really knowing what to say, up until a thought popped up in my head, "is that why you were so upset?"

Jinyoung rolls his eyes, "what do you think?"

It may have been misplaced and untimely, but my stomach swirls in butterflies and I begin to feel giddy.

"You have to stop seeing him though."

I feel pulled back by his sudden statement.

"I don't want you going around with some guy that has so much leverage over you. Especially not because you wanted to by me an over for stupid cheesecake, the hell?"

I open my mouth to protest, but Jinyoung cuts me off, “you’ve done enough, pabo. Now, for my sake,” he grabs my hand, “don’t see any other guy, but me.”

My heart races. My breath hitches.”

Jinyoung clears his throat, “so, can I be your boyfriend?”

I can’t help but bite my lip and snort at him for asking like that. I, instead on answering, do what I have thought of doing whenever he pouts, or whenever he smiles, or whenever he’s stressed, or whenever he’s teasing me. I move forward and peck his lips, placing a chaste kiss and smiling back at him.

Jinyoung doesn’t seem to be surprised by this, and only pushes me back to plant a deeper kiss on my lips. We reposition, so that my torso is facing him and so is his facing mine. I wind up leaning on the arm rest of the sofa and Jinyoung’s hands are latching themselves on my body. He stops midway and inhales, “I want you to answer me though, just so it’s clear we’re on the same page.”

I pretend to think about it, “... I dunno, commitment seems a little too much. Why not just be kissing buddies?”

Jinyoung raises his upper lip and makes an annoyed sound. He then tickles me where he had his hands and I jolt and wither at the assault.

“Okay! Okay!” I scream, making him cease and narrow his eyes at me, “you can be my boyfriend, Park Jinyoung.”

Jinyoung scoffs, “ya, you think you’re so cool? It’s an honor for you to be my girlfriend.”

I forfeit another reply and only pull him close. Jinyoung reciprocates immediately.

My mind is already hazy when he pulls away again, “I want to hear you say it--”

“Shut up, Jinyoung.”

It’s kinda funny how Jinyoung and I go about now. I remember telling Mark about it during class and how much he freaked out because of it.

It was kinda funny.

Much like I has anticipated, an entire month had passed and I didn't even really think about Jackson. That was up until I got a call one night from no other than my sugar daddy himself.

“Hello?” I answer immediately

“Hey--” his voice is thick and low, “I know this is short notice, but can I meet you right now?”

I pull my phone away to check the time. I see it’s about 9:30pm. I pull my phone back, “I dunno, Jackson. I’m kinda scared to go out at this time.”

“What if I pick you up?”

I think of Jinyoung for a moment, then I reply to Jackson, “okay.”

By the time Jackson arrives, I had texted Jinyoung that I would go out with Jackson for one last time. He was hesitant, but he said that he trusted me more than anything.

I went into Jackson’s car and he immediately just drives once I get in. I barely even have time to put my seatbelt on. I look at him and see his face is dishevelled.

I decide not to speak up until he parks in a 24/7 supermarket’s parking lot.

“My mom passed,” Jackson says, immediately breaking down.

For a moment I am stunned, and I have absolutely no idea what to do. Jackson is gripping the steering wheel as he crumbles and weeps. I then have the decency to reach out to him and rub his back. I want to speak, to say something, but I just feel like I shouldn’t.

It’s Jackson that bursts out again, “the day you met her, she said she was really tired from being so happy. I stayed with her that night, watching her drama. I slept on the couch. When I woke up, she... she was stiff and... and-”

I cover my face with my hands, “Jackson...”

“It’s like she was just waiting for that moment and-- I- I feel like if you hadn’t met her then, she’d... she’d still be waiting... and it conflicts me so much.”

I begin to feel tears fall from my eyes as well.

“You know, at the very least she’s not suffering anymore, and you made her happy,” Jackson shudders, turning to me with bloodshot eyes. He frowns, lips quivering, “oh gosh, I’m so sorry. I’ve just made everything so depressing.”

“No,” I take his hand, “what you feel right now is normal. You’ve just had a great loss. I’m glad that I got to meet her and made her happy, Jackson.”

He chuckles, “don’t you resent me for doing something like this.”

I shake my head, “no. In fact, let’s stop this agreement between us okay. If you ever need me, just call me as a friend, okay.”

Jackson pulls his hand away to slap it on his face, “oh lord, as if I deserve that.”

“Jackson-”

“No... I shouldn’t take advantage of you.”

“You’re not!” I say, “I want you to be my friend. You can hang out with me, Jinyoung, Mark, and Nari. I think it would be good for you, especially now. I can take you to cheap restaurants and let you borrow two dollar shirts. You’ll finally taste boxed wine.”

He begrudgingly chuckles at that. I give a smile.

For a moment, he just heaves. Jackson settles and turns to me, offering a sad smile, “thank you... for everything.”

“Thank you too.”

#got7 #got7 fanfic #jackson fanfic #jackson wang fanfic #jinyoung fanfic #park jinyoung fanfic #got7 moodboard #jackson moodboard #jinyoung moodboard #jackson wang daddy #sugar daddy!jacksong wang #sugar daddy jackson #jinyoung fluff #jackson angst #got7 fluff #got7 angst

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bellaslilpapercut · 3 years

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Eclipse reread part 2! This is gonna cover a lot of chapters because I forgot to include stuff from chapters 4, 5, and 6 in part 1 (in my defense your honor, this book is very grating to read). Awayyy we go:

1. so chapters 4-6 really could have been one chapter tbh since the plot is: Bella ditches work at Newton’s Outfitters to hang with Jake and then writes some graduation invites with Angela. She pushes her rusty old behemoth as fast as it can go through driving rain but then hangs outside with Jake the whole time so I don’t really know where the rain went. She also manages to hear Jake gasp through her closed car door! Super sonic! Anyway, Bella insists that Edward is a good guy, Jake makes Bella hold his hand, Jake explains imprinting (yuck we can skip that), and then Edward drives threateningly past Bella while she’s on her way to Angela’s house. Angela reminds Bella that, at his core, Edward is a teen boy who is Totally Jealous of how Ripped and Sexy her 16 year old best friend is. Then Alice kidnaps Bella. Fun times!

2. During the imprinting convo it becomes very apparent that Meyer thinks the worst thing that can happen to a girl is getting broken up with. Somehow Leah got the “worst end” of the Sam/Emily/Leah fiasco despite Sam turning into a “monster” and Emily getting literally mauled in the face. What’s worse is later in the book, during the “Legends” chapter, when Bella wonders if Leah thinks Emily’s scars are a form of “justice.” Yea, Bella, that’s justice.

3. I love this Rosalie quote but hate the entirety of they way meyer writes her story. Others have mentioned it before but Meyer writes Rose's dialogue there as if Rose is an author and not like...a person telling a story. An easy fix would be to format Rosalie's story "flash back" style rather than have her narrate all the way through. Then you can include all the superfluous details of exactly what everyone's voice sounded like and all the excessive dialogue tags you want.

I also Violently Abhor this quote here:

Yea, meyer, the Hot Girl hates your self-insert because her stupid ass brother didn't have the hots for her. It just reads like weird middle school revenge fantasy "I only hated you because you were so Special!!!" Sure, sure. Also "all those females!" People don't talk like that @stephanie

4. I do love the scene when Bella “escapes” from Alice with Jake (I don’t know why i put escape in quotes, Alice could definitely murk Bella) but then that whole adventure ends with Jake telling Bella he’d rather she die than turn into a vampire. And yeah, fair buddy, but also you’ve known Bella for a long time. This should not be a surprise to you at all even a little bit. a) she mentioned it before, b) you knew she would never get over Edward even if your plan in NM had worked, and c) you’ve known that she’s fully obsessed with the Cullen’s since you started hanging out with her again. The last time you guys hung out she went on an impassioned rampage about how lovely and good and fantastic Edward is (footage not found) I really don’t know why you’re surprised that this hard-headed girl is prepared to commit to vampirism for him. She is not normal lmfao.

5. The legends chapter. Oh boy. Stephanie, Meyer, Smeyer. Honestly it might have been less offensive if she had just made up a whole new tribe to give these backstories to, for all that they have in common with real Quileute legends but actually that would still be offensive and terrible anyway. I don’t know how to describe this adequately but if you’ve ever seen G.I. Joe’s portrayal of indigenous people that’s exactly what meyer made Old Quil and Billy’s dialogue sound like. Just absolutely dripping with Mystical Native/ Magical Native trope from the content to the tone. https://mthg.org/ Because it can’t be plugged enough.

6. The legends chapter ends with this Wuthering Heights quote:

I have no qualms with it's inclusion, if you really want to push the Edward is Heathcliff and Bella is Cathy agenda, I don't believe it but fine, whatever. But those last two paragraphs are such a dumb way to end a chapter. Every chapter ending should make the reader want to turn the page: this makes me want to shut the book (actually I did take a long break after this lmfao). Anyway, just end the quote on "drank his blood," bold those three words, and end the chapter there. Don't go back and say "the three words that stood out were... Anyway it could have fallen to any page I believe in coincidence teehee!!" That's just annoying.

7. Okay guys I hate to say it but Edward does get a lil bit of ~character growth after the first few chapters. He comes home after having Bella kidnapped (she decides not to be angry, surprise surprise) and is all "so I've been thinking about it and you're right my Beloved Angel Face or whatever, please hang out with Jacob but also wear a helmet on your motorcycle my Beloved Dumb Idiot or whatever" (paraphrase). And he also says this in chapter 12:

Which is like, man I hate when I agree with Edward but I agree with Edward here. Now I know from MS that he only wants Bella to stay human because he's creating an Unfolding Drama in his head but this bit of dialogue is really sweet. And it's funny that he thought Bella didn't want to marry him because she just wanted to use him for immortality but it's also a Dark Reminder that he's literally only romantic with her because he can't read her mind and can't tell that she's just as obsessed with his looks as the other Teen Girls TM.

8. uuuh Jasper’s Backstory Time. This is so infuriating to read for so many reasons. So we know that smeyer got Jasper’s name from a confederate memorial/ listing (from a New Moon Q&A but the link isn’t secure so I can’t share) so I know that his backstory was always meant to be Confederate Soldier which makes everything else about his characterization just baffling. Again, he was the only Cullen that was genuinely kind to Bella besides Carlisle for the entire first book and he’s still incredibly kind during Eclipse (which is another issue I have though because no one mentions again that Jasper tried to eat Bella and they stand close to each other and hang out and Bella’s never like “this is scary, this dude tried to kill me” but i digress). The point is: smeyer knew he was going to be a confederate from book 1. She never addresses that this was bad, she never has Jasper mention that he regrets his role in the war, he is the only Cullen that’s actually capable of empathizing with humans anymore (Carlisle cares but I would not categorize him as empathetic), it just... None of these pieces fit together. This is a fraught and bloody history that smeyer throws in with no thought to how it might alienate black readers (though tbh she constantly emphasizes “white beauty” throughout the series so I doubt she cares) and the editors don’t question it either. No one, at any point in time, said “Hey, steph, you know confederates fought for slavery, right?” Every black american deserves reparations. White women and men who glorify the civil war should be the first to pay up.

9. I’m gonna jump back to chapters 9 & 10 here (target & scent, respectively) to say: no tension is being effectively built. I get it, someone stole your clothes. You’re annoyed because you have nothing to wear and Victoria is scary. But where is she? Where is the volturi? Move it along, please! This is one of the challenges of 1st person narrative because the author is stuck in the eyes of, usually, the person who knows the least. Meyer is not a talented enough author to make this interesting. Not to bring up THG again but Suzanne Collins really knew how to work 1st person. Everything that Katniss asserts with certainty throughout the series gets either confirmed or denied by the narrative, keeping it interesting. She assumes the worst of the people around her so we’re pleasantly surprised when people violate those assumptions. We’re kept on edge by how little Katniss knows and SC never gifts Katniss with more knowledge than she could be expected to have. Bella is constantly gifted with knowledge and her assumptions are rarely proven wrong. You can dig into the canon a little bit more, read the lexicon and the guide, and find all the examples of Bella being unreliable or making wrong assumptions. But within the narrative she is rarely incorrect. She doesn’t get opportunities to grow out of her false assumptions (while Edward does, at least in Eclipse). So to keep the Victoria debacle interesting, smeyer has to plant seeds like- during these two chapters- Bella thinking of Laurent and Victoria while the cullens discuss who could have been in Bella’s room. That just doesn’t cut it for me.

This is hella long and I’m only halfway through the book. I probably should split the second half into two parts as well but based on how talented smeyer is at stretching out the mundane, especially just before the climax, I probably wont need to.

#eclipse reread #saga reread #the twilight saga #twilight meta #twilight renaissance #long post

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hobbitsnapes · 3 years

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The Red Hoods Protègè chapter 19

Older Damian Wayne x ofc

(Photo made by my lovely friend @inspeech)

Summary:Red Hood has taken a young vigilante under his wing and subsequently changes Damians life forever.

Tags: @comic-nerd-dc @comic-brew @psychovigilantewrites @psych0crybaby

Her feet padded lightly against the floor, the sound the only noise in the room. Everyone was downstairs, from what she could hear there was an electrical issue with the computers that she totally didn’t tell them about last week when the screen went black by itself.

She came across one of the shelves in the large family room, it held a large binder booklet. It was definitely old, having collected a layer of dust over it. She brushed it off to reveal a sticker on the cover. ‘Family photos’ it wrote. She examined the handwriting, from the looks of it, it was Alfreds. But it also looked a lot like her fathers. Upon further inspection it was alfreds, the writing was finer. She noticed the pen was lightly written onto the paper with more fluid lines and less indentation from the pressure of the pen. Her father had beautiful writing, but his was heavier. The lines were thicker, and you could feel the indentation of the pen whenever he wrote.

She picked up the large book, nearly dropping it due to the heavy weight. It wasn’t so heavy that it was a struggle, but definitely had more weight than she assumed.

She sat down on the couch, placing the book on her lap which she brought up onto the seat.

Opening up the cover, she spotted writing on the side of it. They were names, all in different handwriting.

The first name written was Richard, Jason, Barbara, Tim, steph, and finally Damian. Out of all of them, Damian's writing was the neatest. Almost looking like he typed it out and printed it. But she could feel the small amount of indentation when she ran her fingers over it.

The first photo was of a, family. There were only 3 people in the photo. The mother and father were crouched down on either side of their son. The mother had blonde hair that was pulled into a bun. The father had dark hair that was slightly curly. Both had wide smiles on their face that reached their eyes. In the middle was a boy, he had jet black hair, a small smile, and blue eyes. In front of the boy was a cake, with the number 8 in a large candle in the middle.

She felt a sinking suspicion that she knew who they were, and when she looked above the fireplace, her question was answered. There was a large photo of Tomas and Martha Wayne, with a young Bruce in between them. Her heart pulled slightly when she looked back down. Down at the happy family, with the young boy who had no idea what was to shortly come for him in months time. Her heart pulled further when she looked at the small boy. There was the eyes of an innocent boy who’s eyes shined with light and joy. Now his eyes were tired, empty. Even when she saw him happy, he lacked the pure joy and life that he once had. It was painful to look at, to see how different he had become.

She turned the page to see another boy. He looked an awful lot like Bruce, but it was obvious it wasn’t. He was older than the photo of Bruce, but still a young boy. He had a scowl on his face at the camera, which caused her to chuckle. Her laughter was cut when she noted the dark circles under his eyes. His overall demeanor screamed he was tired. She looked down at the corner of the page to see a small bit of writing. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw it was dick. She had only seen the man with a bright smile. Always looking so full of life, he looked like the sun shined out his ass every morning. It was shocking, seeing how angry he looked then. How she wished she could go back in time to tell the young boy how happy he will be. And how great he is to come.

She flipped the page to the next, letting out a laugh at the photo. She knew exactly who it was without thinking. With the bright strawberry blonde hair and the bright green blue eyes. It was hilarious to see, she was so used to seeing her father as a large, muscular man with scars on his face. He was a small, scrawny little boy with curly blonde hair.

“I see you’ve found the family photo booklet.” Alfred said, making her jump and turn around at the man. He had a small smile on his face, with a cup in his hand.

He walked over to her, sitting beside her and set his tea down onto the table. “That, was your father when he was adopted. He was overjoyed that day. I couldn’t help but take his photo.” He said, a fond smile on his face.

He flipped to the next page to see Tim. He was younger then, around the same age as the last few. His hair was short, almost a military length. It was odd, he didn’t have the dark runner eyes that he does now, and his hair wasn’t long like now. “This was, when master Tim became robin. He had finally convinced master Bruce that he need a robin after,” “I know, Tim told me all about it. It’s fine, if it wasn’t for what happened. I wouldn’t have met my dad, or any of you.” She said, looking over to him with a small smile.

The next page was turned, to a photo of Damian. She stifled a laugh at the photo. He was definitely very young here, no older than 11. But he looked like he had lived through 40 years. He had a tight scowl on his face, hard eyes that bore into the camera. Unlike dicks photo who looked angry and hurt, Damian just looked like an angry cat. But what she couldn’t get by, was his hair. Since she’s known him, he’s always had practically the same hairstyle. His sides are either short, or shaved. The hair at the top of his head was longer, and pulled back. Sometimes the longer hairs would fall into his face and be curly, but nothing like this. His hair was almost spiky. It wasn’t styled that was, it was obviously naturally that way. She couldn’t hold in her laughter anymore, throwing her head back against the couch. Alfred chuckled along with her, trying to stop his chuckles with his hand. “Master Damian, had that hair until he was 16.” Alfred laughed, causing her to laugh even harder.

They kept going through the booklet, laughing at some of the photos. But when they got through about 10 more, the photos stopped. She looked over to him, her head slightly tilted in question. “That’s it?” She asks, noting the book to have probably hundreds of more pages. “I’m afraid so, we stopped taking them a few years ago. We really only took them when the boys were younger, and when master Damian grew older, we just gave up.” He sighed, his head tilted down. She put her hand against his shoulder, causing the elderly man to look up at her. “Then I’m gonna start it up again. Just because they’re all grown up, doesn’t mean we can’t have more memories. I’m gonna fill this booklet up.”

As she walked down the hallway back to her room, she was tackled to the ground. The air was knocked out of her lungs when she hit, letting out a small yell when a heavy force was on top of her. She nearly threw whatever the threat was off of her, until she felt it’s tongue licking her face. She laughed out as Titus slobbered all over her, trying to get his drool away from her mouth. “Hey buddy, ohh I’ve missed you so much!” She cooed, scratching behind the dogs ears. He flopped off of her onto his back, raising his legs in the air. She rolled over on her side and scratched his belly, laughing at his tongue hanging out his mouth. “Oh yeaah you missed the scritches! You just love when I give you the belly scritches!” She cooed, continuing to laugh as she watched him.

She hadn’t seen much of the dog this whole time, with him always beside Damian and her actively avoiding him.

Titus got up and started licking at her again, wrapping his upper legs around her in a hug. She hugged the large dog back and laughed as he slobbered into her hair. She pulled back to look at the dog, watching as he abruptly stopped his kisses. “Wanna go for a walk?” She asked excitedly, laughing when he shop up from her lap and started jumping. He barked happily as she got up, watching as he bolted down the hallway.

She buttoned up her jacket, holding onto the bag of toys in her arm. She opened the door and watched as he ran out into the backyard, nearly running through the flowers.

She ran out after him, laughing as he ran even faster. They played tag for some minutes, nearly falling on her face a few times when he’d make a sharp turn.

She sat down in the grass, noting the small bits of snow on the ground.

She laughed as he pranced over to her, he had a large stick in his mouth that he showed proudly. He dropped it at her feet, looking up at her with big eyes. She picked it up and watched as he chased after it, watching as he cane back with it.

They played ratchet for a while, the large dog seeming to never grow tired with it. That was until she took out a plush toy, watching as he dropped the stick when she squeaked it.

They sat there in the grass as he Chewed up the toy, fluff flying everywhere. She scratched at his belly some more, watching as he nearly starts falling asleep. “Alright boy, let’s get inside.” She cooed, getting up with him and walking back.

Her phone shook in her pocket, startling her slightly. Grabbing for it and looking at the name, a smoky grew on her face. “Hey dad.” She said happily, hearing the slight chuckle at the other end. “Hey bubs,” he chuckled, causing her to slightly laugh. “What’s up? Need anything?” She asked. “No actually, i was just calling to ask how you’re doing.” A smile grew on her face at his question. “Everything’s going alright so far, what about you? Have you abd dick got any clue as to who broke into our apartment?” She asked, she heard his breath catch in his voice. “Uh, nothing yet honey. I’m sorry.” He said, she could hear the hesitation in his tone. She didn’t bother to point it out, knowing he’ll tell her eventually. “Now, why don’t you tell me how your weeks been, I’ve missed talking to you this past week.”

“And as if it couldn’t get worse that night, I nearly shot Roy in the asscrack when I thought he was one of the slippery bastards.” He laughed, causing her to chuckle back. “Well besides your uncle being a dumbass, what’s been going on with you? I know you told me about the party, but I know those idiots must’ve done something.” He asked. “It’s more shocking if they aren’t being idiots here. But besides that, I wouldn’t know.” She says. “Hm?” He asks, causing her to sigh. “I’m not really involved with them when they go out. And, okay there’s no way to transition this. But dad, I think I’m ready to go out.” She admits, hearing him let out a sigh. “I don’t know-“ “i know dad, it’s still scary but you gotta realize, my face has been on every cover of the news lately. They obviously know it’s me. They can obviously put two and two together and realize who everyone is now. And nothings happened. I’m ready dad.”

He sighs, pinching between his eyebrows. “Alright, but I need you to do one thing for me.” He says, his voice calm but stern. “What is it?” She asks. “Let me give you places to go. I don’t want you going out and messing with the big guys. While I don’t doubt how amazing you are, you haven’t done this long. And I know you’re not gonna go out with them. So please, stick to the smaller jobs for now. I’m not gonna be there with you like it’s always been.” He says, his heart panging inside his chest in fear. She sighs, “alright. Where should I go?” “I’ve been watching this group for a while, they’re a bunch of punks who rob small stores. They’ve never robbed any banks or anything bigger than a rite aid. But I was able to tap into one of their lines, and they’re looking to rob the bank that’s a block away from the old library.” “You mean citizens bank?” She asks. “Yes, tonight at 12 they’re looking to break in through the back. Be there by 11:30. No later than 11:40. I’ll hook your coms up to their line so you can listen in on them.” “Anything I gotta be worried about?” “Nothing, they’re 5 guys who call themselves, hear this, the red hoods. Real original.” He chuckles. “Alright, and don’t worry dad, I’ll be safe.” She chuckles. “You better. And remember, I’m always hooked up to your line so if anything happens, tell me and I’ll be there in a heartbeat.” “I know, and thanks dad. I love you.” “I love you to bub.”

The cave was quiet, apart from the waterfall streaming in the background. Everyone suited up quietly as they prepared to leave for the night. That is, apart from someone.

She would usually be down with them, usually by the computers or the training mats. It wasn’t completely out of the ordinary not to have her there. So nobody paid any mind to it.

Damian and Bruce walked over to the tumbler, Tim and dick in tow.

All their heads whipped around when they hear the start of a motorbike. Their hearts accelerating and minds perplexed on who it could be. Then they realized.

She had been hate for close to 2 months, they knew she’d eventually go out. But didn’t Jason say she shouldn’t? She was very well at listening to him, while she was strong willed, she always trusted her father's words. “Let’s not fuss about it. Let’s go.” Bruce says, climbing in with everyone behind him.

The grind was wet under her boots, having rained no more than an hour prior. The street was surprisingly quiet, usually every street was filled with people and cars even at this late of an hour.

She looked down at the watch on her arm, 11:20 it red. She parked her bike in a secluded spot, putting trash cans in front of it.

She walked to the back of the bank, the premis still vacant.

She pulled up jasons contacts on her arm, having had her coms upgraded recently. “Red, I’m here.” She reports. “Good, in the back there’s a locked door with a dial pad. Can you find it?” She looked around the door, spotting the dials almost immediately. “Found it.” “Okay good, the numbers are 11 23 64 88 108 and 47.” She dialed each of the numbers accordingly, watching as the light turned green before the sound of the lock opened. “I’m in.” “Alright, I’m hooking your coms up with theirs as we speak. Call again if anything happens.”

She sat on one of the hanging signs against the wall, making sure not to fall off. She had a clear view of the large room, able to watch and hear when anyone came through.

She looked down to her belt, all equipment ready. She tucked a stray hair behind her ear, snapping a hairpin over it.

Her coms light up and she hears in, the sound muffled by static slightly. “Alright, we go in, grab as much as we can, and run out. No going back for more. We pack as much as we can one round. And keep your guns trained, who knows if we’ll run into one of those freaks.” A man said, his voice was gruff, sounding like a heavy smoker. She heard 4 others agree with him, and the call ended.

She watched as each men walked in slowly, stifling a laugh as she watched them. They looked like your usual robbers, that is apart from the red ski mask and red hoods.

5 of them, the first man who must be the leader, was tall and broad. 3 men behind him, each the same height and relatively sane build. 2 men behind them, the men in the back were small, smaller than the rest. They both shook slightly with their guns in hand. They kept farting around the room, never bothering to look up.

She started climbing down, grabbing onto the sides of the walls to quietly get down.

She stayed behind the wall, eyes trained on the men. She’d wait for them to separate, knowing they’ll be easier without the group.

She watched as the second group went into one room, the others disappearing.

She held her breath as she got to one valt, watching as one tried opening the lock. One man was behind him, watching around the room. The other man was outside the room, eyes trained around the large room around him. Again, never bothering to look in a blind spot where she hid.

She spotted a box of tissues on a table beside her, slowly grabbing for it when he looked the other way.

She threw the box across from her, watching as his head whipped to the noise. He took his gun out and walked towards the noise, right beside her.

She waited until he walked by her, and watched as he bent down to the box.

She got behind him, holding onto him as he struggled. She immediately covered his mouth with chloroform, not even letting him yell out before she applied it. She watched as he slowly dropped to the ground, letting him go as he fell to the ground in a heap.

She dragged his body over to the same blind spot, making sure to secure the cloth around his mouth and nose.

She watched as the first man got inside the vault, waiting for him to get inside.

She pulled up her remote hacking and shut the vault, watching as the first man panicked as the door shut on him.

She ran up to the second man, jabbing her left hand into his lower right rib cage, making sure to hit his liver. He groaned out and clutched his stomach. She swung her leg and striked the side of his jaw, watching as he fell to his knees. She finished it with a large stomp to the top of his spine, hearing a large crack and his screaming, him falling to the ground paralyzed.

She hacked into the vault again, running in and spotting the man. She dodged his poorly aimed shots, running up to him, cocking his gun out of his hand. She jumped up on his thigh, swinging her body around him, crossing her legs around his upper body. She abruptly grabbed a hold of his head, rotating it harshly with her legs and cocking into the back of his neck. She watched as he fell to a heap on the floor, seeing his labored breathing and shaking.

She found the other 2 smaller men, watching as they both stuffed money into their bags hurley. She ran up to the one behind the other, covering his mouth with more chloroform, the other man turning around and yelling out when he spotted her. She ran over to him, punching up into his nose, hearing the crack. He fell back onto the ground, grabbing for his face. She hit him several more times, before hitting into the middle of his throat.

She heard nothing as she left the room, heart spreading up due to the silence.

A shot takes in front of her, nearly missing it. She turned her head to the last man, watching as he ran up to her.

She kicked into the side of his face, jumping up his thighs and swinging her legs around his throat. She pulled him down onto the ground, letting out a yell when he grabbed onto her foot, slamming her into the ground. He got on top of her, closing his fists around her throat.

His hands let go as a gasp left him, looking down and seeing the knife in his gut. She drove the knife in further, throwing him off of her as he choked out blood.

She yanked the knife from him, watching as he struggled to cover the wound.

She waited until she heard nobody else, and started walking out the back, making sure to set off the alarm on her way out.

“I’m back, took a little longer than usual.” “Thank god, I was starting to worry for a bit.” He admitted, hand over his chest. “Yeah sorry about that, last guy was a little messy but I got it done. The police should be there any minute now.” She said, climbing back onto her bike. “Well just get back, you did good tonight bubs.” She let out a chuckle, “thanks dad, I’ll call you tomorrow, I love you.” “Love you too bubs.”

“That, was completely unclad for.” Bruce scolded, walking up to her when she got back. “What was? I didn’t do anything wrong?” She retorted, voice filled with anger. “What was wrong? You paralyzed 3, and killed one!” Damian yelled, walking over to her. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “Yeah and? We have different methods. But it’s totally okay if you give them permanent brain damage. Last I checked, you don’t run this place like you think you do. So both of you shut the fuck up and let me do my thing.” She yelled, walking away from them.

“You insignificant hard headed-“ “id watch what you say Damian. you have no leg to stand on. You’re nothing but an arrogant thick skulled asshole who thinks he runs the world all because he’s got daddy’s money. You think you can talk to people however you want but get angry when we say something back. Well while everyone is to much of a fucking wimp to say anything to tou, I’m not. I don’t care what you say to me. But I’m done with you thinking your shit doesn’t stink and that you can walk all over me and say whatever you want. It’s time you grow the fuck up for once. You act like a spoiled child. Say whatever insult you want to me, I know you’re just mad because you're still attracted to me.” She spat, watching as his face went from anger to disgust. “I don’t want-“ “oh that’s bullshit Damian and you know it. I see the way you still look at me. That night when you ‘accidentally’ went into my room and passed out, I watched as you stared at me. You think I don’t notice but I do. But you’re to much of a fucking hardheaded prick to admit it.” She said, turning around and walked away.

The walls shake as he slams the door shut, the picture on his wall nearly falling off. His heart is pounding in his chest as he paces around the room, pulling at his hair as his breathing hardens. Anger courses through him the longer he thinks about it. ‘I don’t find her attractive anymore? How could I?’ But as quick as he thinks this, memories flash of her. Her skin glistening with water droplets, her hands trying to cover herself but he could still see her-‘stop it’ he tries telling himself. But the harder he tries the more came to him, it’s like he’s purposely trying to touture himself without his control. He can still feel the supple skin of her thigh in his hands as he kissed her. The feel of her body shaking slightly under him as he grinds his hardening-‘STOP’ he screams into his head.

He puts his hand against the wall, his other hand clutched in his hair tightly. His body feels the same warmth as before, only now his heart tremors inside of him the harder he fights.

He clenches his eyes shut as he tries to rid his mind of her. Flashes of training, fighting, anything he can think of to stop the loop of her. But as hard as he tries, the desire to think more about her grows.

The fire deep inside him grows the longer he fights it, it’s as if each time he pushes it down, the stronger it grows.

He lets out a shaky breath as he tries even harder to rid his mind. His hand clutching his hair until a small gasp leaves him.

The feel of her hands pulling at his hair as his lips were on hers play in his mind. The feeling of himself being pulled into her as he moaned in her mouth when she pulled it even harder between her slender fingers. The feeling of her nails scratching his scalp sends shivers down his body.

He slams his hand against the wall, pushing himself off of it and walking to the bathroom.

(Warning: smut)

The screeching of the water falling down the shower drowns out the sound of his breathing. His body shaking slightly as he undressed himself. A faint moan leaving him when he pulls his pants down his body. His length bobbing up to his body almost immediately. He could feel the low grade heartbeat inside of it, his body screaming to relieve the pressure.

A shuddering gasp leave his body when the freezing water makes contact with his warm skin, his body arching away from the freezing temperature. His heart beating rapidly as he tries to steady his breathing. A shudder leaving him as he tries stepping under the stream again.

The fire inside of him won’t die out even now, only growing strong again.

The freezing theme didn’t even work to get rid of his erection, only growing painful due to the blood flow.

He steps out of the stream to the opposite wall, feeling like he’ll puke due to the cold temperature. His body warming up again when the water was no longer on him.

He shakes as he fights off the thoughts of her again. Anger bubbling up inside him. Why can’t he stop? Why is he being so weak, giving into his mind and body was foran to him. Rarely he would let his mind wonder if he chose not to. But even with fighting it, the stronger the desire to keep going intensifies.

His left hand fists against the wall as his right hand clutches together at his side. The want inside of him screaming to just do it.

He hadn’t done it in years, not since he was 16. Even then, it wasn’t even enjoyable. He had no idea why he wanted to do it, no desire for anything but to relieve himself. No images or feeling playing in his mind when he did it, only the feeling was driving him to let go. Nothing close to how he’s feeling now.

His battle breaking the harder he tries not to think of her, his right hand shaking. A shudder leaving him when a water droplet rolls down his neck. The memory of her warm lips wrapped around his neck as her tongue kicks the skin.

A moan leaves him when his hand finally closes around his painfully hard cock, a shudder leaving him as he grips it in his hand. He breath shaking as he thrusts into his hand slowly. “F-fuck.” He moans out, his breath growing as he thrusts harder. The fire inside him growing as he goes faster, his teeth clenching as he starts moving his hand to meet his fastening thrusts.

Moans slip past his lips as he shuts his eyes, the feeling indescribably different from the last time he did this.

Images of her underneath him as he grinds into her-no. Not her. He still tries fighting the urge to think of her as his thrusts grow rapidly, his heart beating faster as his stomach starts clenching. His length growing more pressure as he squeezes even harder around it. “Oh, fuck.” He groans out. The images of her body shaking under him as he slips his tongue inside her mouth won’t stop, even when he tries blinking his mind of anything, just focusing on the feel of his cock slamming into his hand.

His legs nearly giving out as they shake trying to hold himself up. Momentarily stopping as he sits against the wall and resuming. The cold water infighting him further when it hits his legs. His body shaking as he fights off the impending orgasm that’s growing inside him. His moans growing in volume as he spreads up. Anger bubbles inside him the harder he tries fighting the thoughts of her, only getting more difficult the longer he goes.

His thrusts growing sloppy as his orgasm grows closer, a layer of sweat bearing down his face. He can’t keep holding it off as he feels his body tightening up.

He breaks his resolve as images of her moaning out under him as he thrusts inside her core, a loud groan leaving him when the pressure breaks. Groans leave him as the dam breaks as tremors overtake his body as waves of euphoria take over his body.

His heart pounds rapidly in his chest as he breathes heavily, shaking as shocks overtake him. Throwing his head against the wall, a shaking breath leaving him. “Fuck.”

#damian wayne x reader #damian wayne fanfiction #damian wayne imagine #older damian wayne #Batman #batfam x reader #batfamily #damian wayne #red hood #damian wayne smut #Jason todd #dick grayson #Tim drake #dc #dc imagine #dceu

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lifeinahole27 · 4 years

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CS ff: “Walking the Tightrope” (Chapter 10/10) (au)

Summary: Killian’s daily routines are a matter of habit. When he wakes up late one morning, his routines all change for the better. Emma doesn’t care about routines, but she does care about Killian, no matter how reluctant she is to admit it to herself.

Rating: E (the content warnings matter this time!)

Content Warnings: Everything from the previous chapter applies as far as the Walsh business is concerned. Other than that, a very tame chapter.

A Special Thank You: My continued gratitude to my lovely friends, @captainstudmuffin and @phiralovesloki. And a heap of love to @captainswanbigbang for putting this together and helping me accomplish this.

A/N: So, this is the last main chapter. There is an epilogue which I will post on Sunday, and then this grand adventure will be wrapped up! Thanks for being with me on this ride and for any comments, reblogs, and likes. I’m thankful beyond words. <3

Find it on Ao3 & FFN!

-x-

Chapter 10: Snowshine

Walsh still looks exactly the same as the last time she was here. Emma tries her best to keep her stomach calm when all she wants to do is throw up on his face, projecting an outward cool that she doesn’t feel as he enters the room and looks up at her.

“What the - Emma? What the hell are you doing in my apartment?”

“Taking back what’s rightfully mine,” Emma says, gesturing to the box of pictures sitting on the bed beside her.

“Oh no, sweetheart. I would hardly call all of those yours.”

“Don’t call me sweetheart, asshole.”

Through all of this, James has been watching a progress bar load on the computer screen. With a noise of victory, he looks back to her.

“There you go, Emma. All done.”

“You brought David with you? Mr. Wouldn’t-hurt-a-fly?”

“Oh, buddy, believe me. You’re gonna wish I was David by the end of this. Good job hosting a whole website with a bunch of non-consensual photos on it. But shame on you for making it so easy to break into.”

“You have another brother?”

“Didn’t I ever tell you that David was an identical twin?”

At the little jingle that plays from the desk, he tries to push James out of the way. “What did you do to my computer?”

“Gave it a little tune up,” James tells him, crossing his arms with pride as a little unicorn marches into the center of the screen.

All three of them watch with rapt attention as the unicorn stands and waves, before squatting.

“Oh my god,” Emma says, bursting out in laughter as the unicorn defecates in the shape of an artfully written “fuck you” in rainbow colors.

After a couple seconds, the whole thing emits a screeching noise and shuts off with a loud pop.

“All your buddies that subscribed to your email list got something pretty similar. I mean, I don’t know if they’ll all open it but with the heading ‘Check out the brand new section!’ I’m willing to bet a lot of dudes are about to lose their computers.”

Walsh finally makes it around James, desperately trying to turn on his computer but nothing happens when he hits the button. “All of my business files were on there.”

“You kept all your shit on your personal computer? Wow. You’re even dumber than I thought.” James turns towards Emma on the tail of that thought. “You ready?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Emma responds, picking up the box of photographs and handing it over to James. They manage to make it out of the bedroom before Walsh must come to his senses, and he’s after them immediately.

His hand closes around Emma’s arm, and she spins around. On instinct, Emma swings as she breaks the hold. And while James misses taking a snapshot of that hit, he doesn’t miss the one where Emma knees him in the nuts hard enough to bring him to his knees.

“I have the perfect new image for the welcome screen on his trash web page,” James says as Emma backs away. He holds the phone out for her to see and she just barely stops herself from cracking up. “Here, take this. I’ll be right behind you.” He hands over the box, gently ushering her towards the door.

She doesn’t go far, leaving the door cracked just enough to hear what James has to say to Walsh.

“Here’s the deal, you Wizard of Oz-looking monkey piece of shit. All of the accounts for that website are completely wiped out. All that money you made off of people like my sister? That money is so far offshore that you’ll never be able to trace it ever again. Got it?”

“I’ll call the cops,” Walsh says weakly.

“You won’t. You have no evidence. And if you try to do that, or ever try to do this again, I will screw up your whole life. We’re in a digital age now, Walsh Whitney Covington. I have everything of yours now. Personal records, social media, bank accounts, the password to your pretentious little LinkedIn page that lists you as a connoisseur of wood, which… come on, man.”

“That’s all illegal,” he whines back, and Emma is mostly just enjoying the snivelling tone in his voice.

“Yeah? And? I’m sure Emma signed a consent form for those pictures you had posted of her, right? You had her sign away her financial freedoms for the profits on it, too? Don’t ever fuck with our family ever again or you’ll regret it.”

After a couple more minutes of silence, James exits the apartment and gives her a bright smile.

“Now, that was a fun afternoon with my brother. See? We should bond like this more often,” Emma says as they make their way out of the building and back down to where he parked his car.

“Yeah yeah, don’t get used to it. Jack would kill me if she found out this is how I spent my day.”

“You’re still with Jack?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? I did marry her, after all. She wanted to wait until she made partner to have a baby and so I switched gears and became a stay-at-home dad after she went back from maternity leave. It helps to have a super lawyer as your wife.”

“None of the words that just came out of your mouth are what I was expecting when I called you about all this.”

“Well, it’s not like I send out Christmas cards with updates on the family,” James says, a little resignation in his voice.

“Did you really take all the profits from the website?”

“And refunded the money you spent on that settee you bought there back before you started dating.”

Just as he says it, Emma’s phone dings with a notification. There’s a message from her bank saying there’s been a deposit into her account. Looking at the numbers, it’s way more than what she paid for the moderately priced item, but James shrugs.

“Maybe I got the numbers backwards in my head. Added an extra digit. Whatever. So you mentioned earlier that you have a boyfriend? You haven’t changed your status on Facebook.”

“You follow my social media?”

“Just because I don’t let any of you know about what’s going on in my life doesn’t mean I don’t check up on you.”

“Well, I’m supposed to be at a Christmas party for his company down in New York but someone insisted we do this today.”

He rolls his eyes as he opens his door and climbs into the driver’s seat. No sooner is she seat-belting in when another notification chimes on her phone.

“Did you seriously just buy me a plane ticket to New York City?”

“I’ll hand all of that over to David,” James says, indicating the box she placed in the backseat. “Besides, he and I are severely overdue for a brotherly chat.” Without another word, he starts a route for the airport.

“When was the last time you had one of those? When you were fifteen?”

“Something like that. Hey, text him and let him know what’s going on. I should be back there in about an hour but I don’t want him to worry.”

She shakes her head, doing as he asked and sending a message to David.

As they pull up outside the airport, Emma turns to James. “So, what do I still owe you?”

“Nothing. I got the cash he had stashed in his desk, all the money from his subscription side of the website, and free childcare for the evening after Jack gets home from the office today.”

“Did you tell David that yet?”

“No, but I will. And you know he will - he’s David. Go on,” he tells her when they arrive a short time later. “Enjoy the party.”

“Okay then. And hey, thanks for all your help. I couldn’t imagine doing that with anyone else.”

“Yeah, yeah. Hey, Emma?”

Her door is open and she’s just about to climb out when he says her name.

“It was nice seeing you,” he admits.

She leans in quickly and hugs him, noting how familiar yet utterly foreign it feels. “Come visit us sometime,” she tells him as she pulls away. She stands there until his car pulls away and he’s out of view before she walks through the doors.

Somehow, James managed to get her the perfect flight so she had enough time to get through security, although she looks suspicious as hell going in with nothing but her purse, if you ask her. It’s still considered early when she lands in the city, but with nothing else with her, she has to get party-ready with nothing but the money in her bank account. Thanks to James, there’s a little bit extra to play with in there.

Emma feels like she should be in some cheesy movie montage as she struggles to find everything she’ll need to get ready. Hair and makeup come first, and she’s thankful the salon isn’t far from a decent looking clothing shop or else her charges in cab fares alone would’ve gotten out of hand.

The dress she finds is perfect - a sleek, black number that doesn’t fit too tight but that doesn’t hide her shape. It’s similar enough to the dress she was planning on wearing to this, the one she borrowed from Ruby as a first-date possibility but put aside in favor of the soft pink she wore instead. She admires the whole look in the mirror as the shop attendant helps her clip tags after Emma pays. She buys two pairs of shoes - a cute pair of cutout ankle boots and a pair of flats - in anticipation of the point in the party where she’ll want to feel her toes again.

It’s only once she’s fully satisfied with the total picture that she heads out, making sure everything she wore down here is tucked securely into the weekender bag the attendant helped her pick out.

This time, she opens the rideshare app for a little more comfort, and then it’s off to the Manhattan Penthouse to finally get to where she wants to be.

-x-

Tucking away the knowledge that Robin just gave him, Killian settles into his seat with only a lone glance at the empty chair beside him. He has Henry on his other side, and the rest of the Mills-Hood family in the remaining seats. They’ve not even begun when he receives a sharp, bony elbow to the side.

“Hey,” Henry whispers as he leans close. “Isn’t that Emma?”

He turns his head, glancing in the direction Henry is pointing, and his breath catches. Sure enough, Emma is standing there in a black dress that surely should be illegal to look so good in. Her hair and makeup are all done, and she’s scanning the room. It takes another elbow to his ribs for Killian to finally stand up, waving over his girlfriend and attempting to wipe the surprise off his face while he does.

“Hi! Sorry I’m late.”

“You’re just in time, actually. I’m so… don’t get me wrong, Swan, but I never expected you’d be able to make it.” He leans forward, pressing a kiss to her cheek and taking a moment to soak up her closeness.

“Yeah, well, sometimes when you make a deal with the devil to take down satan, you get what you want faster than you expected,” she says, and while he doesn’t fully understand, he knows he’ll get the full story later.

He pulls out her chair for her, pushing it in as she sits. “I do believe we all know one another,” he says to the table at large. “I’d told them to cancel your meal, so excuse me while I get that turned around.”

“Emma! I’m so glad you’re here!” Henry who’d been sitting on his right, beams from ear to ear as he slides over to talk to her.

“Hi Henry. Everyone. Glad I could make it.”

Hearing her voice and the animated conversation that sparks up between her and Henry immediately calms his nerves for the evening, and he hastens to find one of the caterers so he can return to the table.

By the time their dinner is served, he’s noticed no less than four times Henry has pulled out his iPod to jot down something in his notes. He smiles as he watches it happen, watches the gears turn in the lad’s head and the magic take root. He manages to keep it in his pocket for the entirety of the meal, but he’s pretty sure that was due to a questioning look from Regina right as the salads were placed in front of them.

With the rest of the table occupied with their desserts, Killian takes a moment to lean over, keeping his voice low as he whispers in her ear. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Me too,” she says, a satisfied little smile on her face. There’s been a peace evident on her face since the moment she walked in, and he’s intrigued but enjoying it. She was never too tightly wound to begin with, apart from the times she got stuck in her own head. This, he assumes, is due to the business with her ex being all wrapped up.

After the dishes have been cleared, Killian rests in his seat for a bit. There’s still a lot more networking he’ll have to do, but for now he takes the time to relax as he and Robin discuss strategy for announcements. He’s in the middle of helping figure out the order when Emma’s hand creeps onto his thigh. His words falter for a moment, and he can see Emma’s smile get just a little wider.

When her hand travels a little higher, he reaches down, knowing full well that his ears and cheeks are both bright with flush, and takes a moment when Robin is asking Henry a question to fully turn to her.

“Have pity on me,” he whispers, pulling her hand to his lips to place a kiss on the back of it, and she laughs quietly, turning her palm to link her fingers with his.

“Just this one time,” she concedes, settling in with their hands clasped.

-x-

Walking into the venue, Emma is momentarily overwhelmed. She forgot that the Storybrooke office isn’t the whole team, and that a lot of the authors would be there, so there’s just a sea of people as far as she can see across the space. But then Killian stands up, her eyes finding his as he waves her over.

And it’s halfway between where she is and where he’s waiting that it hits her full in the gut: She is in love with Killian. She is so in love with that man that she can hardly stand it. He has never once looked at her differently or placed unrealistic expectations on her - he never set out to hurt her.

There, with the lights of the chandeliers glittering overhead, and the backdrop of the city getting dusted in snow, Emma realizes that she is looking at the man she wants to spend all of her time with if she can. Her heart squeezes, even as she smiles and accepts the kiss he places on her cheek as they settle in.

It’s the first time she’s ever been to a party like this, and she has to think it’s going pretty well. While Killian is occupied with his duties, Emma offers to watch Roland so Regina can go with Robin as he makes rounds to greet everyone. Emma follows him as he drags her from one end of the penthouse to the other, eager to show her anything and everything he can.

By the end of the night, her feet hurt and she’s all too happy to get her belongings from the coat check room so she can slip on the flats she bought. She’s leaning against the wall, innocently trying to pry her feet out of the booties when Killian comes up behind her, his hand warm through the material of her dress and his voice hot in her ear.

“Are you trying to kill me tonight?”

“I’m just trying to change my shoes. It’s not my fault your eyes automatically go to my ass when you approach me.”

He looks affronted when she turns to look at him, a smile hiding behind the expression.

“Besides,” she says, “I just can’t wait for you to get me out of this dress.”

“I’m ordering us a car right now.”

It’s amazing; she knows he prefers the quiet and solitude of their little town, but he performs so well in the city - like he was built to live here - and she loves that he chooses not to. They’re both on their best behavior in the car, but Killian purposely sat on her left so his hand can rest on her knee. Rather than spiking that part in her that’s always game for another round of sex, though, it reignites her thoughts from when she entered the party and she stares at him in the dark as the city lights pass them by.

When he notices, he turns to her with a peaceful look on his face, and they smile at each other. “What?” he asks, his fingers tightening once.

“Nothing,” she replies, taking the moment to rest her head on his shoulder for the rest of the journey. “Tonight was great.”

Back at the hotel, they at least manage to settle a bit before Killian follows through with her request, with both of them sighing as the dress slips from her shoulders and drops lightly to the floor. They take their time, slow and languid, savoring each moment with each other.

“I know I’ve said this plenty of times, but I am so happy you were able to make it,” Killian tells her as their skin is still cooling. She needs to go wash the makeup from her face but she’s not quite sure her legs will function in order to do so.

“Me too.” She stares at him, her eyes roaming his face and sinking into the wonder that has been the last three months of her life, thanks to this man.

“What is it?” he asks, his expression serious as he tries to figure out what she’s thinking.

“I… want to thank you for everything. You went into this without knowing and you still haven’t pushed me to talk about what happened or anything and so I just… wanted to say thanks.”

His smile falters, still there but just a touch disappointed that the words weren’t the ones he was expecting after she set it up to be something else, and she knows how it feels. Her thumb strokes along his cheek, pushing at his smile briefly as she leans in to kiss him.

Maybe next time, she thinks as she moves to the bathroom to clean up before climbing back into bed. Outside, the city keeps moving on as their world slows for sleep.

-x- December 21: Saturday

As usual, Killian is the one that wakes up first. He sets about ordering breakfast and jumps in the shower in the interim. Emma is awake and sitting up in bed when he comes back out, and he leans over the bed to kiss her good morning.

“David texted me that he’s on his way home. He has everything we took from Walsh and he’s going to drop it off at my place.”

“That’s certainly good news. Even better news is I have coffee and breakfast being delivered soon.”

She chuckles at that. “Perfect. I wish I had more clothes with me, but I suppose yesterday’s will be fine.”

“My luggage is yours, love. I always pack extra just in case, so help yourself.”

Which seemed like a good idea, until Emma walks out of the bathroom after her own shower in one of his button up shirts, the sleeves rolled up to her elbows and her supple form filling out the garment better than he ever could.

They eat breakfast in bed, the curtains flung open wide to let in the weak, winter sunshine. As they graze their food, Emma books her ticket for their return to Storybrooke, crowing in victory when she scores a seat on Killian’s flight.

“I’ll text David and see if he can pick us up,” Emma tells him when they’re getting ready for their outside adventure, pulling her hat securely over her ears and wrapping her scarf around her neck.

They brave the cold to hit some of the popular winter activities in the city, taking in the Christmas markets and strolling Fifth Avenue. In the early evening, they meet up with Robin, Regina, and the two boys again to enjoy dinner together. With the pressure from the night before long gone, they talk instead of the upcoming holidays.

It’s clear that Henry is willing to keep the magic alive for Roland, asking the younger boy what he’s planning on asking for Christmas when they go to see Santa after the meal is over. When Killian catches Henry’s eye a short bit later, the lad smiles and gives him a thumbs up.

After dinner, they set out on their own again to see the Rockefeller tree in person. They stand there, watching the lights twinkle and the skaters on the rink until neither of them can feel their toes and their noses are bright red.

Sinking into their hotel bed that night, Killian makes sure to set his alarm, but Emma grabs for it before he can set it down.

“Just wanted to double check. Wouldn’t want to miss your alarm or anything,” she says, that smile hidden in the corner of her mouth.

“Cheeky woman,” he says quietly, making sure to kiss her hard and lovely before they each burrow under the covers.

There’s another message from David waiting for Emma when they wake up letting her know they’ll be there to pick them up. Thankfully, with no luggage, their disembarking process is much faster and they’re able to get out of the departure door right as David and Snow pull up.

While they go their separate ways when they get back to town, he and Emma have a standing appointment for later in the afternoon to take everything that was acquired from Walsh’s apartment to send it off properly, as she did with her uniform.

He sets to work on a mission, unpacking his bag and stripping off his dirty clothes to throw everything in his hamper. There’s still time before he meets with Emma, but since he’s been out of town since Friday, he’s behind on his weekend duties and he knows he’ll feel better if he takes the time to do it now rather than waiting. He throws his clothes in the wash, opting for warmer clothes for their task ahead. Instead of sitting around and waiting for the machine to be done, he takes the time instead to pack a picnic of sorts for the task ahead of them. Those items and a blanket all go into a tote bag he got from the last publishing conference he attended.

Shortly after his laundry is folded and put away, Emma breezes through the door with a large box in her arms.

“Ready?”

“Aye, just let me grab my keys.”

He locks the door behind them on their way out, and then they make their way to the beach closest to his flat. There’s a fire pit that was built ages ago, large stones surrounding it and a fresh pile of logs that Killian would place money on betting that David set it up for them.

As he sets to work lighting the fire, he hands Emma the tote to start unpacking their items. She hums happily as she finds the soup, and again when she opens the second thermos that has the hot chocolate. He’s just finishing with his task when he turns to see her pouring the drink into each mug he brought, and raises an eyebrow as she tips a generous amount of whiskey into each one.

She shrugs when she sees his look. “Believe me, I’m going to need it,” she says after a sip to taste-test.

They stay on the beach much longer than most people would in December, with fresh snow occasionally falling around them. But they make sure each individual picture makes it into the fire. As delicately as they can, they remove them from the box, and he hands a stack face-down to Emma for her to fold each picture so he can feed it into the fire.

She sets the thumb drive on the rocks around the pit, making sure to give it a solid stomp before throwing that in as an afterthought.

“I’m sure it’s terrible for the environment but I need that thing wiped from existence.”

When each item has met its demise, including the box it was all packed away in, Emma puts out the fire using every precaution he’s sure David taught her.

Back in the comforting warmth of his place, Killian pulls out every blanket he owns and waits for Emma to come out of his bedroom from getting changed into pajamas. He piles them on top of her, going to change his own clothes before joining her on the couch. He holds her while she processes the whole thing - some anger and tears, some relief, until she falls asleep on Killian’s shoulder and he has to shift around until they can both stretch out.

He doesn’t fall asleep until long after she does, whispering a quiet “I love you” against her hair before he finally falls asleep, as well.

-x- December 23: Monday

They’re still on the couch when Emma wakes up, if only just barely. She’s facing Killian, her back pressed against the couch, with Killian’s arm looped over her waist. She’s just opening her eyes when she hears his gasp and then he’s teetering off the edge. Now wide awake, she peers down to see Killian wincing on the floor.

“Are you okay?”

“Just peachy, love,” he grumbles, rubbing his head where it smacked on the floor. She’s stifling laughter when he leans up and kisses her softly. “Good morning to you, my sweet couch hog.”

“We could’ve moved at any time. Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“Because I love you and wanted you to rest more than I cared about my own comfort,” he responds, only realizing as he finishes speaking that he may have said too much. His eyes, wider and brighter blue than she’s ever seen them, meet her steady gaze.

“I love you, too. But that’s a little dramatic of a reason for why you’re now on the floor.”

“I’d go to the ends of the earth for you. Or time. This time just happens to be on my remarkably uncomfortable area rug.” She can’t help the laugh that slips out this time and she runs her hands through his hair. Hangover be damned, she loves this man so much.

“Thanks again for last night. I was a bit of a mess,” she says, even though it feels like a vast understatement to what she actually was the day before. He waves his hand to dismiss her words.

“Sometimes, we just need to throw a mini-rager and burn a bunch of illegally obtained pornographic materials. You sure we’ll never need any of that as evidence in case there’s some kind of criminal investigation?”

“James was pretty clear with Walsh about what would happen to him if he tried to pursue legal action. Not only that, but every picture on the website has been removed and the only thing that pops up when the site is unlocked now is a picture of Walsh clutching his junk with an expression of pain on his face.”

“I wish I could’ve been there to see you make that hit,” Killian admits, pushing up off the cushion to stand. “Come, love, let’s sail away to the kitchen where I can recite dirty poetry to you and make you breakfast.”

She laughs as she takes his hand, because while he doesn’t recite dirty poetry, he does make her breakfast and convince her to play hooky with him for the day. And when he takes her to bed a short time later, he infuses her skin with the words of his love over and over again.

It’s the first time in years he doesn’t stick to any kind of routine at all, and they’re both perfectly okay with that.

-x-

Epilogue

#captain swan #cs ff au #captain swan ff #sarah writes ff #csrt

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capricornus-rex · 4 years

Text

Two Sides of the Coin (10)

Chapter 10: Unread Pages of an Open Book | Jidné Sheedra x Cal Kestis

Summary: Hell-bent on exacting revenge and retrieving the Holocron, the dreaded Darth Vader is now on the hunt for the young Jedi Knight, Cal Kestis. Under the assumption that he still possessed the artifact, while fueled by the intrigue of the boy’s strength and skill with the Force, the dark lord hires the bounty hunter, Jidné Sheedra, to track him down and have him delivered alive. However, the task becomes a trial for young Jidné, as she faces a conflict that tests her beliefs of a scarred past she had hidden for so long.

Also tagging @silver-is-in-too-many-fandoms @berenilion @stellar-trinity @queen-destenie @sweeetteaa @calgasm @justtinfoley @peterwandaparker @ayamenimthiriel @calsponchoemporium @cal-jestis @superwarsofthrones

Also in AO3

Tags: Fem OC, Jidné Sheedra, Force-Sensitive! Fem OC, Bounty Hunter! Fem OC, Jedi! Fem OC

Chapters: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 | Previous: Part 9 | Next: Part 11 | Masterlist

10 of ?

Jidné checks her homing beacon, the blue light’s brightness weakened and the beating slowed down, signaling the Mantis’s departure from Ombari. She’s climbed up to the mesas of the badlands, situating herself at a vantage point, a silhouette of a ship flying away from the planet caught the corner of her eye.

“May the Force be with you,” she uttered, supposedly for Cal, but the humid wind carried her words into its nothingness.

Cal surely made true to his promise. In a newfound sense of adrenaline and determination, he skimmed through the temple in Ilum, easily cutting through the enemies lurking there until he could find a second kyber crystal for the waterproofing modification. Despite his child-like excitement, he kept in mind to be patient for the call of the kyber.

“Beee, chirp trill!” BD-1 initiated as Cal had found his way into another part of the cave that he’d not been in last time.

“Jidné? What do I think of her?”

The little droid perched on the boy’s shoulder sang a string of whistles and beeps, conveying his own thoughts on the girl—Cal roughly translated it to somewhere along the lines of “I really like her! Kind of her to help us out!”

“Yeah, buddy, I like her too,” the redheaded Jedi concurred, as he punched a wall of ice with his climbing claws.

By the time Cal had arrived to Ombari, it was already afternoon and the sun blazed its strongest at that hour—compared to the morning blizzard that welcomed him back in Ilum. Jidné was alerted of his arrival when the homing beacon returned to its usual constant state—the light grew bright and the rhythmic beeping became livelier again.

“Cal,” Jidné uttered while staring at the blue glowing circle sitting on the palm of her hand.

Meanwhile, back in the Mantis, Cere—as well as the rest of the crew—had been noticing Cal’s new eagerness of things. In a Jedi’s perspective, she wasn’t surprised to learn that Cal wanted to have his saber modified into a waterproof design, though it intrigued her on where he was getting such ideas. The better question being: who gave him these ideas?

Cere watched the boy frisk his entire person to see if he still had his handy tools on him, Cal barely paid attention or responded to anything the older woman has to say—not out of rudeness, but simply out of haste.

“Cal, a word, please?”

That request seemed to have paused Cal from checking himself for the third time in a row.

“Something up?”

“It looks like Ombari has a lot to offer you,”

Cal scoffed, slightly puzzled, “Heh. Erm… I guess? I mean, it’s a quaint town—nice locals, good food, Greez might like the marketplace for a change.”

Cere gave up with the subtexts and went straight to her point.

“You seem like you found someone interesting,” she implied.

“Yeah, I suppose I did,”

The woman bobbed her head to the side, prompting Cal to elaborate on his new acquaintance. Cal told Cere—along with Greez and Merrin—about Jidné. He introduced her to them verbally as a fellow Jedi, he narrated their first meeting in the jungle when he helped her out with the pack of Bashiji cats, followed by the hot pursuit of the bounty hunters—he added her Force ability as well, which piqued Cere’s interest in the same fashion as Cordova would—and their skirmish with another pair of Haxion Brood bounty hunters earlier this morning.

When asked on who her mentor was, Cal couldn’t answer. Instead, he reasoned that he hasn’t exactly brought up that topic yet as it might make Jidné uncomfortable.

“Well, you’ll get to meet her soon… I hope,”

However, Cere’s next query would pause him from what he’s doing and stop him in his tracks.

“Do you trust her?”

There was a split second’s worth of silence from Cal’s end. His eyes shifted from Cere to the floor, panning the interior of the Mantis for the right words.

“Of course, I do,”

“Off to meet her, I see?”

“Yeah, she promised to help me modify this,” he waved his saber hilt in his hand as he headed out.

Cere watched the redheaded boy leave the ship and disappear into the forest. Merrin approached and stood by the woman’s side, watching the now-empty view of the forest where they’re landed in.

“Do you think that girl can sense his… fondness of her?”

The former Jedi chuckled with her arms crossed, “If there’s one thing Cal is bad at: it’s hiding his emotions and being so… direct. Alright, now make that two things.”

“I strongly agree,” the Nightsister parroted Cere’s posture, now both ladies watch the silhouette of the smitten boy shrink into the distance.

Cal made his way to the badlands, even if he and Jidné didn’t exactly agree where they’d meet once he comes back, he simply followed his instincts—which were strongly sure that she’d be around there. He pulled up the hood of his beige poncho, protecting himself as he trekked under the blaze of high noon.

The boy and his droid stood underneath a withering tree whose branches were thick enough to cast a shadow to shield them from the heat. BD-1 gave Cal a lead by scanning a sampling of the plant Jidné traded to the vendor.

“Chirp, trill. Bee!”

“Puffreeds,” Cal translates. “This is what Jidné had in her hands earlier.”

Following the river had brought him to the other side of the lake—away from the island where he and Jidné fought off the Haxion Brood hunters—and searched for puffreeds.

From Cal’s back, Jidné appears out of nowhere. She quietly comes into Cal’s vicinity and watched him survey the area as if searching for someone. She cleared her throat to get his attention and he spun around a bit too strongly that he lost his left foot’s balance when he faced Jidné, the little blunder drew out a giggle from the girl.

“Hello there,” she greeted casually.

“I figured I’d find you here,” Cal straightened himself up and tugged the hem of his shirt that crumpled underneath his armor in front of the girl.

“Did you now?” cooed an amused Jidné.

“Of course,” he cleared his throat. “I got the kyber crystal. I didn’t wanna make you wait.”

“I’ve told you that I don’t mind waiting. But,” she sighed, then flopped her arms to her sides. “I kept my promise: I waited.”

A smile curled along Cal’s lips, he fished out the new kyber crystal from his pocket as he approached Jidné; he cupped her hands and let her cradle the kyber in the palm of her hand. It fits perfectly at the center of her palm, she slightly angled her hand to let it roll up and down.

“Just the perfect size. You ready to fix this in?” she beamed as she continued to study the clear, flawless crystal.

“I was hoping that you don’t mind if we do it in our ship,” Cal gazed at her fondly, almost as if he’s pleading her to come with this time.

Jidné found the allure of Cal’s eyes, only to realize that he was standing a little bit too close; she bit her lip, her genuine smile was quickly replaced with an anxious one as she contemplated on her response.

“Sure, why not?”

Why did I say that!? She scolded herself in her mind.

“Great! Come on!”

Cal snatched her hand, she had returned the tiny crystal to him before letting him drag her towards the direction of the Mantis. They jogged across the badlands, they kept running even though they’re both out of breath. With her free hand, Jidné concealed her homing beacon into the back of her belt—the beeping pace become more rapid, she hoped that it wasn’t loud enough to reach Cal’s earshot.

The silver fin that she first spotted only through her binoculars grew in size as they got closer. The trees that blocked her view once now revealed it before her behind their wide trunks. The exit ramp unfurled when its motion sensors picked up Cal’s presence and he invited her into the ship. Cal found the three gathered around the dining table.

“Jidné, this is everyone—Cere, Merrin, and Greez! Everyone, this is Jidné,”

During his introduction, the three of them moved away from the table and gravitated towards the girl—who shyly raised her hand and weakly waved at them.

Her voice was almost a whisper, “Hi.”

Greez pointed at the girl, “What’s that? That’s a probe droid behind her! You brought an Imp?!”

Jidné—and ID-3—were startled by the Lateron’s exclamation that she didn’t act fast enough to explain.

“That is ID-3, he’s reprogrammed and he’s with her,” Cal explained.

“Ugh!” Greez clutched his chest with his two right hands. “For a second there, I thought you blatantly brought the enemy to us!”

“Don’t worry, I trained ID-3 not to alert the Imperials until I say so,” Jidné joked. “Don’t you, ID-3?”

The hovering droid beeped, playing along with his owner, of course. When the girl and her droid saw the Lateron’s next reaction, she quickly followed up that she was kidding—reassuring the gray creature that ID-3 is completely out of Imperial commission, thus sparing him from a cardiac arrest.

Cere’s eyes examined the girl from head to toe, she smirked in a teasing manner as she rolled her eyes to the side—to Cal.

“So, you must be the girl that Cal keeps talking about,” the older woman blurted.

Jidné turned her head to Cal for confirmation, his beaming grin subsequently reduced into just a display of his clenched teeth. His initial reaction warranted a single, small chuckle from Jidné, not even Merrin covering her mouth with her hand spared her from releasing a nasal chuckle.

“Right, well, if you’ll excuse us: we have some modifications to do,” Cal stood behind Jidné, clasped his hands over her shoulders, and then shepherded her into the engine room until Cere stopped them in their tracks.

“What modifications?”

“Waterproofing a lightsaber,” Jidné directly answered on both of their behalf.

Cere’s smile melted as well, that sentence was enough a stimuli to bring memories of her prime into mind.

The mood went from jolly to somber. The three of them were reminded of that day; however, Cere was particularly interested with the girl’s knowledge of the lightsaber modification.

“W-Where…? How did you—?”

“My master,” Jidné politely cuts in her reply. “She taught me how. Though, I know she learned it from another Jedi—at least, through his Holocron.”

“Master Fisto,” the woman uttered out of memory’s impulse, her head hung low and scanned the floor. Shortly after, she faced the girl again. “Who was your master?”

Jidné took a deep breath, it’s been a while since she uttered her late master’s name. She puffed out her chest, it was her way of honoring her master, even at the mere mention of her name.

“Her name is Nomara Anesh,” her expression stiffened at the sight of Cere gasping as a reaction. “Do you know her?”

“Yes,” Cere breathed. “She was a Seeker, too. Like me.”

A silence loomed around the ship that only the hum of the air through the ventilation shafts spoke.

“I’m sorry,” there was a heaviness in Cere’s delivery of that very small phrase, though those words carried a great burden for everyone who’s experienced what they have experienced.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. None of us kind of knew what was coming,” Jidné somberly replied.

“Then perhaps that was our fault,”

“Perhaps…”

Cal spared Jidné from further gloom, he kept his hands on her shoulders and gently escorted her into the engine room until he’s shown her the workbench.

“Jidné, are you alright?”

She sniffled, “Yeah, I’m okay. They seem nice.”

“They like you alright,”

The two youngsters traded glances and awkward chuckles, which seemed to be a constant in their interactions—as well as the bashful smiles that they miserably fail to hide from one another just by looking the other way. Jidné began her instruction; she went out of her way to open the hilt of her saber until Cal is shown of the cross-section to see what goes where.

“Now since you got a dual saber, we’re gonna have to halve the crystal,”

“So that’s why you said it was the perfect size,”

Using the Force, Cal carefully meditates on the crystal until it neatly split into half; afterwards, Jidné coached him on the rearrangement of the parts to give way for the second crystal to make the modification work. To lighten up the mood, Cal bantered with Jidné as they worked, bringing up topics and questions initially revolving around the modification; the Jedi girl switched between replies, her own questions, and actual instructions.

“Did you go with the other kids who were about to have their Gathering?”

She shakes her head, “Not really. My master and I flew to Ilum, but I went through the caves by myself. Did you knew about this back then?”

“I’ve heard from the masters, I even asked my master if I could modify mine,”

“Did he allow you?”

“Yeah, he once promised me that…”

Jidné paused from tinkering, hinting at Cal who trailed off in his words and watched his expression soften, apparently reminiscing that exact scenario in his head.

“He promised that once we were done with a campaign we’re in, he’d help me with my saber,” he scoffed, Jidné sensed contempt or perhaps regret. “It never happened.”

“Sorry,” she murmured.

“Don’t worry, I’m okay, Jidné,”

“Good to know,” she blinked and focused her attention back to his opened lightsaber. “Um… see that space below the energy channels? That’s where we’re gonna put the secondary crystal’s chamber.”

Cal grunted, “The copper wires bounce off even if I press them.”

“Here,” Jidné pressed down the ends of the wires with her fingernails. She managed to crack a joke. “Don’t try to shock my fingers with your soldering gun now!”

The boy chuckled, and then winked.

“I’ll be careful. I promise.”

All of a sudden, the trauma and the memories seem lighter to talk about—like a badly needed heart-to-heart with someone who truly understands.

It took them less than a few hours to finish. Never have they ever been this close with each other—physically speaking. Their fingers brushed together when one helped the other with a certain part, their foreheads literally touched whenever Jidné would point at a tiny portion of the saber and Cal had to lean closer. Keeping their eyes on the saber distracted one from catching a glimpse of the other.

When Cal ignited his saber for testing, it was nothing special, the true quality check lies literally in the waters. Jidné had her arms crossed while leaning against the bannister of the engine hatch as she watched Cal study his saber even though the changes were internal, she nodded her head sideways, pointing at the door.

“Shall we mosey on over to test it?”

“Let’s,”

Jidné excused herself and headed out first, as she got out of Cal’s room, she took a breather and massaged her cheeks, she felt the warmth on her face and simply brushed it off as the heat that the engine radiated. From the dining table, she wandered to the lounge after the galley, it was a scene of leftover leisure: the hallikset rested on the middle corner of the sofa and a small potted plant sat on the center of the table. But something more interesting than a guitar and a plant caught the corner of her pretty eye…

A small pile of green, crystalline shards scattered on the floor, sitting at the foot of the table.

Jidné’s head panned discreetly but briskly around the ship, she knelt down and picked up the biggest shard she could find. She brought it closer to her face for examination, the texture was familiar but she only had a foundationless assumption.

Her shoulders jumped when she heard Cal call her name and his footsteps approach. She tucked the shard into her jacket’s inner pocket before he could appear out of his bedroom.

“Ready to go?”

“Yeah, and you?” Jidné shifted back to her calm demeanor.

“Come on then,”

Jidné felt her lungs constrict while she followed Cal in the lead. They were so indulged with fixing up his saber that they didn’t realize they’d reached dusk. The girl was immensely fascinated at how the painted sky gleamed in front of the setting sun; she kept her head up as they hiked through the forest, staring at the colored clouds as they go along.

“Jidné, over here,” Cal beckoned.

Both of them found a water hole that ended the line of the stream, the pair knelt by the bank and Cal unclipped his saber from his belt.

“Go on,”

Cal hesitated to dip the hilt into the water. He coaxed himself with deep breaths and pivoted his elbow so the emitter faces downwards. The saber in his hand sank into the water until his forearm was submerged. His thumb pressed the switch and the blade hissed out; bubbles foamed and rose to the surface when the rod of light flashed underwater—both youngsters had their jaws dropped open, initially startled at the bubbles, and then they retained their stiff postures until it occurred to them that it worked. Their eyes met and exhaled laughs blew out of their rounded mouths.

The boy hoisted his saber—blade still ignited—out of the water; he gave it a slow, gentle swing and it was functioning as it normally would. Their modification was a success!

“It worked…” Jidné uttered.

“It worked!!” Cal parroted, only louder and more celebratory in tone.

A bottle full of laughter was released from their bellies, but Cal’s was louder.

“We did it!!” the boy exclaimed in a child-like radiance, taking her hands into his and giving it a tight squeeze.

He had his eyes stuck to hers, looking into the earthy brown irises where the sunset’s light reflected. He absentmindedly smiled, her small hands still caged within his gentle grasp. When Cal snapped back to reality, he pulled his hands away from hers slowly and cleared his throat—once again failing to recompose himself after acting like a child in front of Jidné, as a matter of fact, she was endeared whenever he does that.

“I seriously could not thank you enough,”

“It’s nothing, Cal, really,”

A pause. Cal took the time to study Jidné’s features better; he could feel himself closing in, but not of his own volition, it seemed like his body was controlling him instead of the other way around. Only an inch stood between his lips and Jidné’s, the girl could’ve sworn she felt her heart stop. The deed was hindered by a hand on Cal’s chest.

Jidné bit her lip and spoke in a hush, “I should go. It’s getting late.”

She could feel Cal’s chest pull away from her fingertips.

“Right…” he murmured. The distance between them grew.

“So, I’ll see you around—like always?”

She flashed a coy smile, “You always seem to have a way of finding me.”

“Or you finding me,”

Jidné chuckled as she stood up, dusting the soil and grass that stuck to her clothes.

“Good night, Cal.”

“Good night, Jidné.”

What was I thinking!? Jidné screamed in her mind as she sprinted through the badlands on the way back to the Scarab.

You are such an idiot, Jidné Sheedra!! IDIOT!!

Even if she scolded herself as harshly as the biting cold that blanketed the desert in the evening, she found herself in wheezing giggles—confusing her lungs between catching air to breathe or to laugh—her speed fluctuated as she brought her hand to her lips and regained speed when she put it back down.

“Yeah, I’m a fucking hell of an idiot!!” she screamed gleefully in the expanse of the empty desert.

The animals, the plants, and the nocturnal birds circling the evening sky bear witness to Jidné’s proclamation.

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thegame-r-boy · 4 years

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One Bolognese “Nerdshow 2020” pizza, please! - First foreign convention in 2020!

Yesterday me and my girlfriend @aquamoon33 went for a foreign trip with a van from the Slovenian Anime group Animov’, from the Slovenian coastal capital Koper to the unique three times (comics, videogames [YES!!!] and pop fiction) convention Nerdshow 2020 in Bologna, Italy.

This is the path that we made for that Saturday. Me and my girlfriend had quite a jolly time during the trip with the van to Bologna. It was the first time I actually enjoyed the ride, because I had my newly bought iPod Nano 4 gb (got it only for 20 €!) and we played some Mario Kart 8 Deluxe each on our Nintendo Switches. Time went by very fast.

This is how it looked like inside the (green) van.

Yes, we played some Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and the time went very fast by!

At the convention! We went there at punctualy 8 a.m. in the morning and came to Bologna at 12.30 p.m. We got ourselves our tickets, which weren’t that cheap (13 € for one day!) and said when we will have to be back at around 4 hours later, at 5 o’clock. Unfortunately, it was strictly forbidden to takes pictures inside of the room(s), therefore, if you want to find out more, just look at their FB page. They have some quite nice photos! When we got inside the convention, we first went through the first, comics zone. There were really a lot of stands and people around! And we were quite impressed by the fact that these stands had past and next generation games (for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Gameboy, GBA, Game Gear, Mega Drive, PS1, PS2, Dreamcast and Saturn games). We felt really like home when we went throught the games. And not only that, they also sold old consoles that were used and expensive (160 € for a Dreamcast or 140 € for an NES), but still. they were there! Awesome!

My girlfriend playing Sonic 2 on the Mega Drive. But the level of awesomenes went literally through the roof, when we came to the last section of this convention, namely the games zone. This is what I miss in our Slovenian country! They had ALL of the consoles to try out - from Atari 2600 up until the original Xbox and Playstation! You could just get there, sit down and play whatever game was in. But you could also play the original arcade versions of those games or try out virtual reality stuff. And not only that - the stands that were there were also selling their old/new school games and even used consoles! Heck, they even had some Nintendo Switches with the game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on it!! This was pure heaven for ourselves!!! ^^

Made quite a lot of kilometers for that day - this place was huge!

Time went by fast, so at 5 p.m. o’clock (actually at 6 p.m., because one of our travelling buddies was taking his time...), we decided to leave the convention and after about 10 p.m., we came back to Koper. Me and my girlfriend were soooo hungry - you just forget to eat when you can play your favourite games - that we went straight to a Mcdonalds store in Koper and ate very well. I got really a bargain of games from that convention. Cool Boarders 3, Test Drive 6 and Ridge Racer Revolution for the Playstation 1, Plok for the SNES, Sonic The Hedgehog 2 for the Master System and Resident Evil 4 for the Gamecube console - everything costed me only 50 Euros! That IS very CHEAP!! Cheap in price, but wholesome in nostalgic memories! There were some games that had a hefty price tag (Super Mario Bros. 3 for the NES for 40 Euros?!) and even some Japanese games (I almost bought Chrono Trigger in the Japanese language by accident, hehe). All in all, it was a really great convention, something you don’t see in Slovenia!

All the great games I got for a very cheap, almost bargain price! But still, there will be some things I will change for next year, when me and my girlfriend are coming back to Nerdshow 2021: 1.) I will drive us both with my car! 2.) We will start very early in the morning (at about 5 or 6 in the morning), so we can get a free parking space! 3.) We will take quite a lot of cash with us, so we can buy ourselves some nice retro consoles.

We will definitely come back, on our own! 9.5/10 The Good: - Very open convention. - Sooo much stands and stores. - Celebrities from Star Wars and Avengers Movies. - Quite a lot of Cosplayers. - A whole square of convention just for games. - Nintendo consoles and games. - Many retro-nostalgic and next generation games.

The Bad: - Knowledge of Italian language and being careful to not buy a Japanese/Italian game - Some quite hefty prices.

#conventions #italy #Nerdshow #Bologna #Games #Nintendo #Switch #TheGame-R-BoySays

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technohumanlation · 5 years

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Whumptober Day 10

The ever so lovely @whumptober2019 made a list of prompts to complete every day for the whole month of October and I’m giving a shot at it this year!

As always read what you can handle and do not read if you are squimish to any of the warnings.

Unconscious

Warnings: Violence, swearing

Characters: Tina Chen, Chris Miller, Connor

Tina sneaked away from the precinct as soon as she could. Right under Chris' nose as well. A wave goodbye and the excuse of going home early had him not suspecting a thing.

There was a case that Chris wanted to tag along with her because he knew it would be dangerous. Tina refused stubbornly. It would be too obvious if they both sat there like she was now. So she went alone. Tina Chen sat at a table in a pizzeria named “Two Brothers” right on the corner of a troubled neighborhood. A deal between two gangs was going down before her, possibly a change in hands regarding a red ice distribution. The place was mostly empty. A few people sat in dusty booths and heavily polyurethane-coated tables.

They gnawed away at too greasy pizza, including herself. Tina had to if she were to fit in.

Tina’s two targets, Mr. Lawrence Lombardi and the man who simply went by Grigero, sat at the table and spoke in low murmurs sipping on cheap wine and dining on expensive meat. Lawrence was a jolly fat looking, middle-aged, an Italian man who was more hair gel that part hair. Grigero was clean, pretentious in his motions, and quiet and reserved. He kept a few Cuban cigars in the breast pocket of his dusty suit jacket.

Every so often, an explosive laugh would come from Mr. Lombardi. Grigero's humor was dry and curt. His lips were scarred, and never did they move much.

Tina looked down to her plate, taking a bite of the lukewarm pizza. She held a local newspaper down at the table, making it look like she was reading it when, in fact, she was listening in.

“Excuse me a moment.”

Tina had to fight back the breakneck impulse to look up at Mr. Lombardi. The sound of a wooden chair skidded across the tile. Slow footfalls of dress shoes.

Tina's heart raced as he made his way over towards her table. She casually flipped to the next page of the newspaper.

“Excuse me miss, I’m afraid I haven't seen you here before." His voice was low and smooth. Sweet like honey, yet prying like a needle.

She looked up and feigning surprise. She blinked her beautiful dark eyes and smiled. "Oh, just new to the neighborhood. Wanted to grab a bite to eat.” Her words were practiced and comfortable. If there was anything the woman was good at, it wasn't cracking under pressure. She had nerves of steel, a backbone of rigid hardwood, and a mind sharp as a blade. Tina Chen was a disciplined officer. A woman of the law.

“It is rude to eavesdrop, I'm afraid."

An easy laugh. “I wasn’t, I promise.” She countered.

But the air suddenly grew tense. The other people in the booths and seats stopped their own conversations to look her way. Her heart pounded in her throat. Her expression betrayed nothing. She was right in the center of the bee’s nest.

Fuck.

“And to lie.” He chuckled. “Especially being an officer yourself. What has our city come to?”

“Excuse me?” She creased her eyebrows together.

“We are closed on Sundays for ah, how do you say, staff meetings, but since you are ‘new to the neighborhood', we thought it would be polite to entertain you for a fraction of time."

Gregero’s lips upturned into a flick of a smile as he picked at his teeth with a toothpick.

Jesus fucking Christ. She was so stupid.

She was now glad that she had come alone. If Chris were here, it would have made it worse. Maybe they would have been dead a long time ago...

Movement made her snap out of her thoughts as motion caught her peripheral.

Two men came up from behind her table and gripped her by under her arms. Before they could drag her away to do god knows what, she was up onto her feet, forcing firm blows to their faces and legs. She turned to face the next lackey but in doing so, received a firm fist to her face. A bitten grunt left her. Tina fell into a table and crumpled to the floor

"My men are traditional in every way, but when a woman strikes first, we are allowed to strike back. I apologize.” Lombardi sounded genuine in his apology. Almost.

She reached under her jean jacket, pulling out her handgun as she rose to her feet. Tina took a firm stance where she was, pointing it directly at Mr. Lombardi's head. “I would be disappointed if you didn’t.”

Mr. Lombardi widened his eyes, but his expression softened to humor. “My, my, you are a fiery one.”

“Hands up, tubby. Your buddy too." Her voice raised. "Anyone makes a move, and your boss is dead meat."

Mr. Lombardi chuckled. “Detroit police never fails to humor me. If I could, I could say you were trespassing."

“This is a public building, you left the neon blinking. You attack me first, self-defense." She bit, flicking an eyebrow. "I can play that game too."

Mr. Lombardi set his jaw. He gripped the gun, twisting her wrist. For a fat man, he could move quickly. Years of running from the police did that for a man of his age and stature.

A firm blow cracked against her jaw. The butt of her own handgun came crashing over her head, and she fell to the floor.

In her blurring vision, Tina saw shiny leather dress shoes and the clattering of her gun on the ground, the clip being tossed away.

A chuckle and Mr. Lombardi’s foggy voice was the last she heard before darkness took her over. “Night night, princess.”

Officer Tina Chen woke up shivering, a gasp being ripped from her lungs. Her body was cold and stiff. Her hands and face burned on the cold floor, and she was quick to sit up away from it. She looked around. Meats and sausage hung from hooks. The shelves were lined with ice and solid bricks of unknown foods.

She was in a freezer. Left to die, her slow death. She panicked, patting at her pockets and...shit. Everything was gone. Her gun, her badge, her fucking wallet too.

But most importantly... "Fucking scumbags." Her cell phone was gone. She couldn’t contact anyone.

Slowly, Tina stood on her feet and took a step forward. Her body was aching and protesting against her very will, but she wouldn't give in. Not yet.

She made her way towards the door, and of course, as expected, it was locked. She pounded on the door, taking a deep gasp of painful cold air.

“Let me out, you fucking dickheads!" She cringed as her jaw protested in pain. Nothing. The whirring of the freezer units above continued to drone their song.

She tightened the jacket around her body and wrapped her arms around her chest. If the will was strong, the body would follow after.

But the will could only last just as long as the body as well.

Tina couldn't keep track of time. But she knew it dragged on. Her body began to become stiffer, the joints in her hands locking and growing painful. Her skin took on a pale color, and her lips were starting to turn blue. She lost feeling in her feet just a few moments ago. Her drying eyes were drooping closed.

Each breath was less and less painful only because they were becoming smaller and shallower.

Slowly Tina slid down the wall and sat on the ground. Her body was shivering violently, little crystals had accumulated on her eyelashes. Her hands and feet were numb. Her body's aches became more painful...she felt so tired.

Oh, so fucking tired. She was always expecting to go out with a bag. A glorious firefight or at least get run down at a traffic stop as she joked with Gavin all the time. But no. Here she was in a fucking freezer. Her lithe body falling victim to man-made elements.

Her eyes drew closed, and she snapped them open.

In the end, she was glad that Chris wasn't here with her. Shit, he just had a kid. A little boy. Sweet little Damian. His wife was beautiful too. They were such a sweet family. And her…? Well, guess she wouldn't find the woman of her dreams. But maybe if she closed her eyes, she could have imagined what it would have been like.

Her own perfected life.

Yeah, she rather liked that idea. Tina closed her eyes.

Her head bowed forward as she slipped into unconsciousness.

Tina Chen's heart rate began to slow, and her vitals dropped. Connor alerted the unit as they made their way into the storefront. He kept behind Chris as he scanned the room for any threats

But of course, the cats found out where the mice were hiding. The front was empty now. That didn't mean Chris would lower his gun. "They booked it a long time ago..."

Something in the corner of his eye was detected as re-constructions were created. Connor broke away from him to crouch down at a table with overturned chairs. Nearby on the floor was Tina Chen's standard-issue glock. Just five feet away was the clip of ammo.

The re-construction threw away his doubts.

“She’s here.” Connor turned to look over his shoulder.

Chris nodded firmly. The android was by his side once again, keeping his gun trained in front of himself. Other officers spanned out to the lobby and bar over in the far corner.

Chris, Connor, and two officers made their way into the kitchen. It was just as greasy as the pizza. It smelled of old kitchenware and half cleaned dinnerware.

The android followed his construction and found where Trina had been dragged to after being knocked unconscious. The streaks in the grease upon the floor led him to the freezer.

“Officer Miller! Over here!" Connor's voice ran from an alcove to the side.

Quickly he made his way towards his voice.

The freezer door was bolted shut with a bar through the handle. His expression fell as he raised his handgun, gripping it firmly. "Fucking hell..."

He positioned himself to breach.

Connor slid the pipe from the door handle and opened the door. Immediately Chris stepped in and pointed his glock into the cold. “DPD Hands where I can-!”

His voice was cut when his eyes fell onto the prone body of officer Tina Chen.

“Damn it...” He holstered his weapon. “Tina!” Chris launched himself forward and fell to his knees by the woman.

Connor was by his side, pressing his fingers against her neck. "She is alive and breathing, but her temperature is ninety-two and dropping." Chris was still by her side, holding her hand in his. He, too, was frozen in place. Luckily Connor was the one to leap into action. He hooked his arms under her own, startling Chris.

Getting her out of the freezer was the first step, seeing the nearby stove was a last-minute idea that could save her life.

Connor turned to look over his shoulder and called for an officer. "Call for backup we need paramedics now."

“Already called it in, boss.”

“Good. Chris hold her." He instructed curtly his LED swirling a frantic yellow. He passed her to the officer, who was glad to hold her.

Quickly he shucked off his jacket, laying it on the floor. He took Tina from his hands, placed her on his jacket, and wrapped her tightly. He moved to the oven and turned it on. With a rattle, it came to life, the coils glowing from black to orange at a slow and languid state.

“I need your jacket.” He ordered. Chris obliged with swift and hectic motions and draped it over her.

“This wouldn’t have happened if I went with her. Stupid. Tina...” He berated himself.

“We have to keep her warm. I’ll keep track of her vitals” Chris held her hand between his own, rubbing them vigorously.

“Bastard left her to die like that...” He was thinking through his thoughts out loud.

The android flicked his eyes down to his hands before taking her other hand to fold under the jacket. For the sake of Tina's comfort, he parted her hair, brushing it back. "She will pull through."

“I know it's just- shit, she's like a sister to me, man. Not the first time she did this hero stunt stuff. Always going on about how I gotta family, and I'm more important."

Connor noted how his voice cracked. “Just glad I went with my gut feeling.”

The heat from the oven was reaching temperature. Already had the ice crystals that formed on her eyelashes melted. Connor pressed a hand to her stomach and nodded in approval. “She’s warming up. Her temperature is slowly climbing.”

“Good." Chris continued to hold her hand, rubbing it every so often.

A few moments later, commotion made them both look up. Paramedics had arrived and shouldered their way into the kitchen. Connor listed off all of her symptoms and vitals to the two women and allowed them to do their work.

He stood next to Chris, watching as they worked over her and lifted her to a gurney. Connor placed a hand on Chris' shoulder in comfort. She would make a full recovery, but for extra precaution, she would spend the night at the hospital in case sickness set in.

It was later on that night when Chris came back from getting a coffee, she awoke. “Hey, there she is.” He was quick to stand bedside.

Tina Chen blinked away the blurriness in her vision and smiled drunkenly upon the outline of a familiar face. “Hey there, daddy.” She rasped.

Chris’s shoulders visibly fell in relief upon the smile and spirited comeback. “Shit, when I tell Damian to not call me that, he can go to you and ask you why his childhood was malnourished.”

Tina chuckled, but the smile and sound were ripped away when a weak coughing fit went wracked her body.

Chris frowned. They had told him something would settle in her chest. When the fit was over, he watched in pity as she sank into the pillows heavily with ragged breath. Her eyes stared past him for a moment as she regained her strength.

When she made no indication she would talk, he did. Just to fill the silence he had been listening to for the past 8 hours. “They got you good.” He gently prodded at the bruising along her jaw and cheek.

Tina shook her head. “I got them better.:

Chris sat down in the chair next to the bed and crossed his arms. He wasn’t convinced. “You’re a terrible liar.”

“Yeah,” she paused nervously. “So I’ve discovered.”

“What?”

“Never mind.”

“Why did you do this without me, Tina?” Chris blurted out. Anger rose in his voice. He didn't like the fact he was scolding her just out of her sleep. But he was scared, and he thought he almost lost her. To think he could have lost his partner. His friend... “I thought I told you we’re in this together.”

She furrowed her brows together. She wrangled enough temper to have her voice match his annoyance. “And I told you, you have a family to-”

He wasn’t having none of it. “They know what I do. They know the risks. Just because you have no one to go home to doesn’t mean that no one looks out or cares for you!”

Tina visibly flinched.

The room went quiet, and it felt just as painful as the burn in her chest.

“Guess Gavin rubbed off on me?” She attempted.

“Tina...” He warned.

The woman raised a hand to card through her hair. She frowned upon the IV line that dangled from her arm. "I love you like a brother Chris. I thought...I thought I could protect you, ya know?"

“By getting yourself killed in a suicide mission? Not only did you almost die, but you also fucked the case." He placed a hand on her arm, squeezing it gently. “You can’t, Tina. Not like this. You can when you are by my side. That’s what partners do.” He gently scolded.

Dark eyes stared into those that looked back at her this way before. A small smile came to the corner of her lips. “Your dad voice is kicking in.”

Chris took his hand away to lift it into the air in exasperation. “Shit Tina, I’m serious."

She reached out for it and held it weakly. "I know. Thank you, Chris. Honest."

He rolled his eyes and looked away before they fell back on his partner. “Yeah, someone gotta do it.”

She clutched his hand, pressing a kiss to it. “Fowler's going to be so mad.”

“He already is." He quickly retorted with heat. He enjoyed the way she reacted. A good talk from the Captain always set her gay ass straight. For a little bit, anyhow. Tina thunk her head back into the pillow with an exasperated groan.

#whumptober2019 #no.10 #unconscious #violence #swearing #DBH #tina chen #chris miller #Connor #detroit become human

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bennettish · 5 years

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15 Questions, 15 Mutuals

Tagged by @helpls !

1. Are you named after anyone?

No, I named myself! I went through every masculine name in a 600-page baby name book, and it was the only one that jumped out. I like my name a lot.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Last night.

3. Do you have kids?

No, not unless my dog counts.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Nope! People sometimes don’t realize I’m being sarcastic, so I just avoid it. Sometimes I’ll be sarcastic around my friends, but that’s about it.

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Listen, I’m queer as fuck. Whenever I see a person, the first thing I’m doing is looking at their hair, their fashion, etc. and asking myself “is this someone I can trust?” Sometimes stereotypes go awry, but they can be useful tools for people to find each other, communicate, and relate.

6. What’s your eye color?

Green!

7. Scary movie or happy ending?

Happy ending. Always the sappiest, happiest, sweetest endings.

8. Any special talents?

Whenever I go to the dog park, the little dogs always gravitate toward me and climb up in my lap. So my special talent is befriending small dogs.

9. Where were you born?

Washington state.

10. What are your hobbies?

Reading, writing, movies, and lately? Cooking! I’m literally obsessed with learning to cook. I’m reading cookbooks for fun & cooking whenever I can. It’s so relaxing and fun.

11. Do you have any pets?

Yeah! A dog named Egg. She’s my buddy & I love her, and she recently had an allergic reaction & her face puffed up a lot. I was terrified. I literally don’t know what I would do without her.

12. What sports do you play/have played?

Soccer! I played for years until I hurt my knee in my freshman year of high school. Then my team broke up, so I didn’t feel like going back. I had a lot of fun & I still miss it sometimes.

13. How tall are you?

5’2”, unfortunately. I’m a short dude.

14. Favorite subject in school?

In high school it was definitely English because I love reading and writing, but in college? Any psychology or sociology class about Gender just fucked me up. I loved studying that stuff, and those classes really helped me learn more about myself and my identity.

15. Dream job?

Any job where I can do good work with people I enjoy. The more that time passes by, the more I realize that it’s never been about what I do, but about doing something that connects me with other people and makes me feel valuable. And that can come from a lot of different jobs! This mindset has really freed me from feeling down on myself, especially because I grew up with this belief that I would never be happy unless I was the most successful person in the Perfect Job Specifically For Me. And that’s just an unhealthy way of viewing things, so I feel a lot better now :)

I’m tagging @kristines-galaxy-of-blackholes @seren-dippy-tea @shelvesofselves @petalsofivory @zeromorph @crimsoncroft @baphometprince asdfghjkl this isn’t going to be 15 @guacayole @backtothestation

Feel free to answer if you want! If not, no pressure, I just think ask games are fun asdfghjkl

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thorne93 · 6 years

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Lost and Found (Part 2)

Prompt: Imagine finding a lost dog, but it’s not just anyone’s lost dog. Who will show up at your door to claim the pup?

Warnings: maybe language, lost dog…

Word Count: 1423

Note: (This is a repost because the original link to this part is broken) My precious doggie went missing on 6/10 and no one has spotted her or turned her in to the local shelters or anything. I miss her so much, but it inspired this fic. Text msg in Italics. Thanks to my darling beta @like-a-bag-of-potatoes

Tags: @amarvelouswritings @blackwidow-romanoff

~~~~~~~~

Of course he knows who the fuck he is. Real fucking smooth, Y/N. Just then, you remembered all the memorabilia in your house that featured him. Even your phone. Your fucking background was a picture of Sebastian Stan. You had a Marvel cover, a giant Winter Soldier poster, several Captain America posters and photos on your walls, every movie Sebastian was in on blu ray and DVD, several figurines of him. Thankfully most of that was in your nerdy ass bedroom which he couldn’t see from this angle, but if he stepped inside, he could probably see the larger than life banner of him.

You stared at his extended hand for an awkward amount of time before taking it and saying, “I know.” You shook your head angrily. “I mean, hi, I’m Y/N.”

While you were standing open-mouthed as if you were catching flies, Chuffy was jumping all over Sebastian in his white shirt, light blue jean jacket, and dark jeans.

“Hey there, buddy!” he said so happily as he hugged and petted the pup while kneeling. You couldn’t believe this. Sebastian Stan was at your door, at your apartment, you’d touched his hand, he smiled at you…How were you still breathing? Maybe you weren’t. Maybe you were dead and this was Heaven.

“Thanks so much, I hope he wasn’t too much trouble,” Sebastian said as he stood up and looked at you with that amazing grin that had caused your heart to stop just on video and photos alone, but now in person? It made you woozy.

“I–Yeah–Huh? Yeah. The dog,” you said, clearing your mind. “Yeah, no he was great.”

“I’m so sorry. I was away filming and my dog sitter said he got off the leash and bolted. I didn’t get back into town until today.”

“It’s no problem. I was happy to look after him.”

“Well thank you so much. Really. What do I owe you?” he asked suddenly, reaching for his wallet.

“What? Nothing,” you said, waving it off.

“Please, for the care and food you gave him,” he offered sweetly and you thought your heart was going to hammer out of your chest. How could he not hear that? That voice. Those eyes. That hair. He was wearing your absolute favorite haircut on him.

“No, I mean it. I was happy to do it.”

“Are you sure? I feel bad,” he informed with that signature puppy dog face.

“You would, wouldn’t you?” you said out loud. You meant to say it in your head, because he was always so sweet during interviews, it didn’t surprise you that not getting to repay you made him feel guilty. But he wasn’t supposed to hear your fangirling.

“I’m sorry?” he said, leaning forward.

“Oh, nothing. Yeah, I mean it. Happy to do it.”

“Well, thanks so much again, I really appreciate it. Come on, bud,” he said as he clipped the leash on his collar. “Well, we’ll get out of your hair, have a good day.”

You wanted to say something, like, “No, stay.” “Please come back.” “Want to go for coffee?” “Take me here and now.” You know, anything you had ever fantasized about shoutin out to him, but you stood there speechless. You nodded and “mhmmed” but that was about it. He smiled again at you and waved as he walked away.

Once he was out of site, and your jaw and brain worked again, you realized your phone had landed on the floor, luckily unscathed. You remembered you had been talking to Ida and called her back.

“Dude, what the he–”

“Sebastian Stan,” you said as you cut her off.

“What?” she demanded as if you were nuts.

“Sebastian. He was the dogs owner!”

“Are you sure it wasn’t a look alike?” Ida prodded.

“No, it wasn’t a god damn look alike. Sebastian Stan was just at my apartment. And I didn’t invite him in. Why?! What’s wrong with me? Oh my God, Ida, what did I just do?”

She laughed on the other end.

“I’m glad my physical, mortifying pain gives you so much pleasure.”

“Oh, don’t be such a drama queen,” she said once she got done laughing.

“I sounded like a total fucking idiot,” you said, the heat finally rising to your cheeks after it had all drained from your body.

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad,” she assured.

“I dropped the phone,” you said flatly, trying to make it clear how stupid you were.

“So?”

“When he said his name, know what I said? ‘I know’.” You waited then repeated it. “‘I know’! Whos says that? I could’ve just had a magical fan moment and instead I made a complete fool of myself.”

“I’m sure he sees that all the time,” she assured.

“Yeah, at cons and interviews. Not when he comes to pick his dog up.”

“Well did he at least offer a reward?”

“Yeah, but I declined.”

“You could’ve told him you knew one way for him to reward you,” she urged, an innuendo extremely clear in her voice.

You smiled a bit, she was always on the same page as you. “Yeah, I had thought of that. I let that chance get away too.”

“Well, at least you got to meet him. Oh, I gotta go Y/N, last patient of the day just showed up.”

“Alright, see ya.”

You hung up and tried to get over your nerves that were still fully alive inside your body, battering around. You decided to start dinner and just forget all the bad parts. You had actually spoken to Sebastian Stan. There, that was one good part.

Then your phone buzzed halfway through the meal. You thought it was Brad or maybe Ida, but when you saw the unsaved number in your phone, the same number that had called earlier, had sent a text, your stomach dropped and anxiety ran free in your body.

“Thanks again for taking care of Spinee for me. I was going crazy not knowing where he was.”

Sebastian Stan just texted you. He had your number. You had his. Was this real? How was this real?

Okay, Y/N, don’t say anything stupid. Don’t say anything flirty. Don’t say anything dipshitty. Just be yourself. Pretend it’s Ida.

“No problem. And Spinee? I just called him Chuffy.”

You had put a smiley face but then realized that seemed too forward. God damn, why did it have to be Sebastian Stan?

Almost immediately, you got the response, “Chuffy?? Nah, he’s my fierce protector. He needs a strong name…Chuffy? Really? Lol”

Sebastian Stan just sent you an “lol”. This had to be the Twilight Zone or Punk’d or something. How could you make him laugh? How was he being his cute and adorable self with you, of all people?

“Looked like a Chuffy to me, lol. But Spinee works too. I know it’s hard to lose a pet, so I’m just happy I could help,” you sent back, biting your lip and feeling giddy.

“Oh no, you lost a pet? I’m so sorry.”

“I’ve lost several. I used to rescue with my family, growing up. But the most recent was my old Rottweiler. I lost him a few months ago. He was really old. But still…”

“Oh, I know. It’s like losing a family member. What was his name?”

You froze. Should you show exactly how nerdy you were? Well, you didn’t want to lie to him…

“Okay, but don’t laugh,” you sent.

“I’m not making any promises I can’t keep.”

“Haha, fair enough. His name was Marvel.” Talking to him (well, texting) wasn’t nearly as hard once you just pretended he was a normal guy…kind of.

“Hahahaha. That’s great!”

“I’m glad you think so, some people thought it was stupid.”

“No, you should always name your dog after something wonderful!”

You grinned like an idiot down at your phone as you finished dinner.

“Well thanks, I’ll mark you down as the first person to not think I’m a dork.”

A few minutes later you got a text back. “Well I’ll stop taking up your time. Thanks again. Goodnight!”

You suddenly panicked, thinking you’d said something wrong. You read and re-read your message about a hundred times, dissecting every letter and punctuation mark. Maybe he was busy. Maybe you’re an idiot. Maybe he was just texting to be nice and when you got boring he left.

You sighed, texting Ida that he had been texting you but then stopped. She replied back with, “It’s a start.”

#lost and found #sebastian stan #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan fic

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kayminkoh · 4 years

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[Book Review] The Institute

by Stephan King Personal rating 8/10

Personal Note

The author leaves the reader with a sensitive choice of morality, whether the purpose of the institute is rightful or wrongful. Whether a small sacrifice should be made for the chance of a greater good or if unjust actions are rendered wrongful no matter the bigger picture. The author takes effort to get the reader at personal levels with each main character. The author makes the pain of the characters real and personal to the reader. The author creates a thrilling story that takes the reader into the character's perspective, making it feel like a 3D perspective view movie. I felt the bottom of the fence raking against my legs and I felt blood dripping from a place of my body where my earlobe should have been, I saw the donut crumbs on the train that the freight manager left behind and felt hunger.

Strengths

Flawless balance between descriptive and narrative text to let the imagination and story progress fluently.

Longest book i’ve read in my life. 561 pages with relatively lots of words in one page.

Weaknesses

The book seemed unnecessarily slow at the start especially with narration around a sub character. When the sub-character is reintegrated into the story at the end, I could barely remember his character. Considering the two months it took me to read this book (my mind was on other things and other books), I took 59 days reading 30% of the book and once the action started it took me the next 24 hours to finish the remaining 70%.

Plot Summary

*Spoiler Alert. Anyone who intends to read the book already should not go any further.

Characters

Main Character: Luke Ellis (super smart kid)

Main character Friends: Kalisha (Luke's first friend in first half), Avery(Super strong TP), Tim(Local friendly cop),

Institution members: Julia(in charge), Stackhouse(2IC), Maureen(caretaker)

Story (Short reminder version)

Thousands of kids are reported missing every year. Out of those reported missing some Kids ranging from 10 to 14 are kidnapped (and their family often murdered in the process) and taken to a secret institution hidden away surrounded by forests somewhere in Maine. These kids are not taken at random, they are subjects of particular interest that are being monitored by a secret organization. Nobody knows that these few children are actually incubated by their paternal figures until they are ripe of age. How they were discovered and how the institution knew? All babies are given a test at birth called BDNF(Brain-derived neurotrophic factor) and in rare cases, babies with exceptionally high BDNF levels experience supernatural events. Hearing voices or experiencing objects move as if, in the presence of a ghost. Eventually we find out that they possess some form of either telekinesis or telepathy.

Luke wakes up one morning and finds himself in his own room. Everything is normal.. but strangely, the window is not where it is supposed to be. Overnight he has become a victim of one of these kidnappings and lost his parents in the process. He is now part of ‘The Institute’. The place seemed like a school for kids, there are caretakers, a cafeteria, a playground with a trampoline…. Just not doctors that randomly call upon kids to put needles in them and forcefully make them focus their eyes at hypnotizing videos until they pass out. This particular hypnotizing video consisted of swirling colorful dots that made some throw up, pass out or die. Despite the agony of being a test subject, the security makes sure the kids are in line and go through the procedure without resistance. The staff would electrocute young kids with zap sticks if any slight disobedience is apparent. Security cameras are everywhere, kids can't go home. They have no home if anything.

While the kids are stripped of their freedom, the internet, their rights and safety, the institute is relentless and emotionless. I assume the institution calls it motivation when the head manager Julia appears and says that the kids are serving a valuable purpose for the country and the world. At first, you would think the institute was a place of research, where they are trying to contain telekinesis and telepathy powers to create a psychic army to dominate the world, but gladly, the author provides a better story than that.

Fresh kids arrive at the institute in relatively constant frequencies and new arrivals naturally become acquainted with one another and get along. What also was constant was the rate at which kids were removed from this new home. The Kids find out they are in a sector of the institute called ‘front half’ and although not said aloud very much, becomes familiar with the word ‘back half’. Not one of the guests knows exactly what the back half is but there is a bad feeling that one gets from rumors and listening to the staff’s thoughts through telepathy. What became obvious was that when the testing was done on an individual and you have been sitting comfortably for a couple or few days, one knows. The men in red are coming for you to remove you from the front half, and take you to the back half one is never to be seen again.

The youngest of the institute Avery, age 8, comes in not long after Luke’s arrival. Avery was unusually young to be taken by his parents but one could see why he was here already. He could read minds like listening with his ears and send thoughts like speaking. The strongest telepathic the institution found in a few decades. He cries and wets his pants but luckily finds himself around some compatible people to make his substitute mommy or daddy figures. Avery has trouble sleeping at night and finds himself seeking his parent buddies to sleep together with. At night he would come find Kalisha, a TP girl of color who was the longest staying resident in the front half and inevitably, when she was taken away to the back half, Avery looked to Luke.

One day there was a heavy storm and consequentially, not so long after, a small trench was discovered under the playground fence. The security didn’t know yet and for the first time in a long while, Luke thought of hope; A way to escape this hell of an institute. With the aid of a special caretaker called Maureen who Luke had helped out with her personal issues, Luke escaped during the night. He had 3 things Maureen had secretly provided for the mission. 1, a knife to dig and to take care of something on Luke. 2, a USB. 3, some information on directions. During the night Luke went out and made the trench deeper and got through, and when the time came to remove the tracking tag on his earlobe, the young brave boy did it. Like a Saw movie, he cut a large portion of his earlobe off, threw it over the fence and dashed for it. Following the instructions he got, Luke landed himself on a train. Where was he going, what was his plan, was he going to make it?

Meanwhile back at the institute in the morning, a Janitor finds Julia saying it's urgent. Julia followed to see what he had found, imagining a clogged toilet. To everyone’s surprise…. It wasn’t the earlobe… yet... but, Maureen was found dead. Suicide by hanging in the toilet of an empty dorm. Her tongue poking out and a small message on the mirror that started turning the mentality of the institute on its head, ‘hell is coming’. The institute didn't know exactly what, but they were scared, Julia not knowing what exactly is happening did start to doubt the security systems and security measures that have been gradually weathering over time. She knew how dusty the cameras were and how laid back everyone had become with familiarity of the work. This realization was good for the institute but for the matter at hand, She was one day too late.

Avery was trying to cover up the trench Luke left behind. He was caught by the now highly alert security and was tortured, the poor tiny boy. Avery eventually leaked some information about the escape and panic made its way to the privately operated institution. The information that Avery provided was a good start for the institute, however, the help was not sufficient to avoid further punishment. Avery was dunked multiple times into a water tank, till he fainted, and was brought back to reality, and was dunked again, and repeated…. As the final punishment Avery was thrown into the Back half.

The runaway situation was a chess game. A game the smart boy Luke was best at. Luke would repeatedly mention having at least 3 moves, each with three moves the opposition can take and be ready for the right reaction. The institute had spies all over the region so they had a good home land advantage on locating Luke. First of all, they thought Luke was going to go as far away as he possibly can. And they were right. From looking at train schedules and their dedicated locations the institute was able to get a good idea as to where Luke was going. The game was just starting when Luke was caught in the freight of mattresses and lawn mowers. Thankfully not by one of the institute spies who called themselves the uncle of a lost boy, but by a friendly freight manager who may or may not have believed Luke's story, but was convinced from the blood soaked clothes and desperate conversation with Luke that he had to leave the kid alone in the train instead of taking him to local authorities to report a lost kid.

There were uncles at every stop, so Luke couldn’t simply get off when the train was parked. When Luke got off the train he tried to get off early to avoid any attention but he ran into a signpost and knocked himself out. The people at the train station all saw Luke and helped him get to a safe place. Between the local folks there was one that was a spy for the institute and called the institute right away. The institute departed with Julia leading as soon as the report came in but luckily, Luke had about 8 hours before they arrived at the station. Luke had 8 hours to convince the locals what he had seen and where he was the last few months.

It seemed 8 hours was enough, especially with the USB Maureen prepared. The USB contained footage revealing the back half and also the A ward which was revealed to be the next place kids were transferred to after being in the back half.

Meanwhile, when Avery landed himself in the Back half he learnt what the purpose of the institution was and also realized there was a ward A where one was taken to and never to be seen again. The purpose of the institution was to make globally threatening targets kill themself by means of long distance telepathy that was achievable only when the kids in back half all focused at once and with an additional boost they called the ‘hum’ that was coming from the kids in ward A. There was something strange about the kids who stayed longer in the back half, they were slowly losing their strengths and minds. At meal time, the fresh back half members would eat but the veteran back half members would drool and not eat at all, as if their mind has been brainwashed, or perhaps didn't have a brain to wash at all.

Back at the station where the townsfolk were watching the USB footage, Maureen concludes what the A ward was, it was the children at the institute who had given up their minds to the psychic power; they had gone over the mental wall and could not return to their bodies. What was left of them was their bodies, and the pure power they possessed that let out a ‘hum’. They ran around like lunatics, had no clothes on, banged their heads rhythmically or repeated saying the same phrases infinitely. They were broken. And when their bodies did not eat, they eventually died, and were taken to a special furnace for cremation. A death known to no one. Probably a better place to be than be consumed by power and not able to return to one's body.

When the Locals all agreed something had to be done, Julia and the kidnapping murderers had arrived and a massacre broke loose. Both locals and the institute took fatalities but Luke and the friendly police officer, Tim, survived and were able to out smart and capture the overly unstable, emotional and desperate Julia. When Stackhouse, who was second in charge after Julia was at the institution, received the call he had feared but somewhat expected. A deal was made with Luke to have Julia back and the secrecy protected in exchange for the kids in the institution.

When Luke, Tim and Julia arrived at the institution, Stackhouse was outside with both his hands in front as instructed by Luke. When the car was close enough, Stackhouse suddenly put one hand up and the hiding crew open-fired at the car. There would be no trouble if Tim and Luke were dead and if that meant Julia had to die as well, it was judged to be ‘worth it’. But being the smart boy Luke was, Luke and Tim were in the back seat against the floor while Julia was forced to drive the car seating at the front taking all the bullets thrown by her own team. Luke and Tim survived. But the game was not won yet.

It turned out, there was no need to win anything by force from Luke and Tim’s side. There was an explosion and an unbelievable event that distracted everyone there. You see, Avery being the most powerful TP, figured out how the ward A kids used their powers and realized that they respond to a strong TP Force. The Ward A kids attached themselves to any familiar power and enhanced it. The kids in back half, the ones still with their minds intact put their hands together and made their way out. They made the staff kill each other, and electrocute themselves to death, slap one self till they were out etc. When they came to a dead end due to security lock down that Stackhouse had previously ordered. Avery, felt power coming from the kids of ward A but also felt power coming from far far away. As if there were institutions all around the world. While in his time at the dead end, he fell asleep and dreamt of answering a series of phones that hung up after saying ‘can you hear me?’ the phones got bigger and bigger as he answered each one and when he woke up. One of the mindless Ward A kids had written on the wall, ‘ Answer the BIG phone’. Knowing that he might be consumed by the power when the big phone was picked up, he said his goodbyes to his friends and answered the phone. He said ‘i can hear you’ and a rumble started along with powers that were never witnessed before. The building’s security did not matter anymore because the whole building started vibrating and elevating. When the broken building lost its integrity the other kids escaped to the playground, and looked at what was happening. The whole building was levitating above and was moving toward the adjacent administration building. When the buildings were vertically aligned the levitating building fell and demolished both structures killing any who remained in them. The institution was done for. At Least this branch was.

During this event Stackhouse and his crew had forgotten about who they shot at, why that shot at them and were in shock. Luke and Tim captured this opportunity to reverse the tide and took control of the situation. The institution members were tied up and the surviving kids were reunited. The surviving kids all stayed with Tim for a while and were let go one by one, Tim let one child go at a time to where their family or closest family was. Telling them not to say anything about anything, and they don't remember or just don't know. It was judged that it was for the world’s best interest that no such institute existed.

Before Luke was to be introduced back into the real world. A person in a suit visited Tim and Luke. He said that they have caused a big mistake and now the world is on a death timer. The man was the boss of all the institutions. Mentioned a power that Luke had only guessed existed and that was future predictors. The man's job, the institution's purpose was to remove global destruction scale threats before anyone realized it would threaten life on Earth. Whether it may be the development of gas that could take out a whole race, a leader who would release multiple nukes upon the world, Hitler, who shot himself… (The institutes doing?). However, Luke was not persuaded because there was always a chance that the future could change, the many variables that could lead to an alternative path. Luke had done his research on suspicion and the conclusive factor was that the further away an event was the more subject to variations and change it could have been, and this man in the suit was talking about 10~15 years ahead. Luke and the Suited man both knew that the most accurate future readings were made 10 minutes, or just before the event. While the man’s approach to this was ‘why take a risk’ Lukes approach was why sacrifice children for a chance of a risk that might not happen anyway. This makes one think. Because of the frustration of interfacing a kid and how this kid was stabbing at all the right things the suited man had no intention of mentioning first, he casually took out a smoke. He was not allowed to smoke as weird powers prevented the cigarette from coming in reach... ‘Why smoke if you know how you will end up?”... Speechless, the man in the suit got back to his car and left.

#bookreview #stephanking #theinstitute #shortversion #reminderversion #spoilers

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