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httpdabi · 3 years

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AmongUs

Summary: You decided to play AmongUs with your best friend and troll some randoms in there, what you didn’t really expect was to meet an extremely handsome stranger that has to offer you things your ex boyfriends never did.

Genre: smut, romance, No quirks looool

Word count: 7.5k

Warnings: 18+ (minors fuck off kindly), creampie, multiple orgasms, fingering, forced orgasm, daddy kink, dom!Dabi, orgasm denial, praising!

I had lots of fun writing this! Hope you enjoy it <3

,, Girl, you promised that you’ll come over tonight’’ you whined loudly over the phone, as your best friend Nejire told you that she won’t be able to make it, breaking your plans into tiny little pieces. Damn her childhood friend and his whole family deciding to come exactly today over, ruining your perfect evening with your best friend.

,, Yeah, but we can drink and play, doesn’t matter if we ain’t together, I’m sure he’ll like to play with us ‘’ you could almost feel her smile on the other line, and with only that you couldn’t even think about being mad at her, knowing very well how much she loves that guy. Probably in a way that no friends love each other.

,, Yeah, yeah. But girl, if you dich me tonight and let me troll people on my own, I’ll never forgive you’’ you smiled, knowing very well that she won’t do that. The two of you spend too much time playing stupid games together, drinking till you are comfortable enough to argue with strangers online, and troll the shit out of them.

Since it was weekend, and you were spending time on your own, you decided to start drinking a bit earlier. Turning on a movie, you started sipping on your wine, exchanging some texts with your best friend every now and then.

Your first glass was done way too fast, and you were already sitting in front of your computer with your forth glass beside the keyboard, and a cigarette in your right hand, texting a code to Nejire as you puffed on your cigarette.

The moment you saw one familiar and one not so familiar usernames getting into the private lobby , you smiled widely once Nejire started laughing loudly.

,, HAHAHA BITCH WHAT KIND OF NAME IS THAT’’ she screamed, as her lover boy giggled quietly beside her, probably too shy to say anything.

,, What is wrong with Kentuckycriedfricken?’’ you asked, as you slowly tapped with your fingers over the table. Well, you weren’t so creative tonight, but you could only blame alcohol on that.

,, Why the fuck are you called TURKEY_SANDWICH’’ you added another question, not giving her a chance to answer to your first one.

,,BECAUSE I’M CARVING ONE’’Nejire screamed, and in that moment you knew very well that she drank as much as you did, if not even more. You giggled to yourself, as you watched the room getting full, some people talking, some texting in the chat and some simply waiting.

You rolled your eyes in annoyance, once you saw all the people commenting START In the small chat box. There was something about it that was pissing you off, making you kick or ban anyone who writes it. This time, you were too busy laughing with your friend, and instead doing any of it, you simply started the game.

CREWMATE

You sighed in relief, taking a sip of your wine, as Nejire ran around you with her friend, singing loudly. Ignoring the two of them, you made your way to the Admin room, to swipe the card, not so surprised once you saw a crew of other players doing the same thing.

,,KENTUCKYCRIEDFRICKEN WHERE ARE YOU’’ you heard Nejire once she entered the room. Once she noticed the cyan color hiding in the crowd she hurried with her Pink character toward you.

,,Wanna watch me scan?’’ she asked, making you giggle as she just gave you the secret code, making sure you know that she’s the Impostor.

,,Nah, Imma pass’’ you said, getting out of the room. You were pretty sure she’ll win the game, since she had you and her friend on her damn side, but you did wish you could know who the other Impostor is. Ignoring her, you made your way toward the Weapons, to clear the damn Asteroids and just look for someone to play around with. These people were way too quiet for your taste.

,,Heyyyy what’s up man?’’ you almost screamed excitedly when you saw a dark blue character, hopefully a crewmate, standing there and clearing Asteroids, or you thought so. You forced your voice a pitch higher, giggling to yourself, knowing how stupid you sound.

,,Oh my god, how old are you?’’ the stranger asked. The moment you spoke, all the giggles were gone. That guys voice was so damn deep, you literally had to lit a cigarette before you decided to speak up again.

,,Old enough’’ you laughed, refusing to tell him your real age just now.

,,Older than 18?’’ he asked, as you were shooting those Asteroids, not that focused.

,, Of course’’ you gasped, rolling your eyes, like he might see you.

,, Thanks God.. Do you play Amongus often ?’’ he asked, not even knowing that his fucking voice was doing things to you.

,, Amongus is my favoire game’’ you said, finishing your task. The way he talked to you, you were almost sure that he was trying to troll you a bit there, probably thinking you are one of those uwu pick me girls.

,,Mhmm.. you’re up pretty late.. what’s your bed time?’’ he asked, and with that question you were more than sure that he was messing around.

,, Daddy beats me if I don’t go to bed at 9’’ you tried to hold your laugh, and you could almost hear the stranger doing the same thing you do.

,, Ohh, I could be your daddy and I would never do that to you ‘’ he said. In that moment, if it wasn’t for his voice, you would probably just laugh loudly and just go away. But damn, the way he said that.

,,HAHHAHA YOU CRAZY FUCK’’ You choked out, once you got out of your little dream, liking how he played along.

,, So that’s your real voice’’ he mumbled, small muffed laugh following the sentence, as you ran away from him. You didn’t hear a voice like that for a long time, and you really hoped that the dude will follow you around for the rest of the game.

Which at your surprise happened.

You were about to ask him some stupid question, but in that very moment someone found a fucking body.

,,Pink killed white and just jumped into the vent in front of me’’ some dude accused Nejire, and that’s when you knew that you have to jump in.

,, I saw Pink scan tho, so that makes you pretty sus dude’’ you lied without thinking twice. Yeah, you knew that it’s more fun if you play by the rules, and don’t team up.. but Nejire is rarely the Impostor and she’s always so damn excited when she wins.

,, Yeah, that’s Pretty sus… ‘’ your new friend said, probably believing you, since you two spent some short time together.

At the end of the short meeting, White was voted out.

You made your way to Reactor to do your task, and Nejire and her friend followed you, probably to look a bit clear to others. You hated the task you had to do, so you took your time, ignoring the loud laughs coming from your friend.

Shortly, the voice of Nejire was changed with the deep one.

,, So, what do you do usually?’’ he asked, as you tried to start the reactor. You had trouble with that task without being tipsy, so alcohol wasn’t really helping in your current situation.

,, I’m streets salesman of burgers’’ you joked, making him laugh a bit. Only to end up telling him that you are actually a student, having a mini job at the café near where you live. You weren’t even sure if his voice was making you speak up or the alcohol, but you almost found yourself telling him the story of your life.

,, Where are you going?’’ he asked you, as you made your way toward Electrical, stopping once the lights got off. You didn’t want to look sus to him, but you didn’t want to go there, since everyone knows that the first person that enters the room will end up dead.

,,Well, I wanted to go to electrical, to do my task, but not so sure about it anymore’’ you said honestly, running around him.

,, Come on, I’ll keep you safe’’ he laughed, and you followed him. The moment you were about to do your task, the game finished, showing how the Impostors won.

You heart almost skipped a beat when you saw In the chat box how your dark blue feiend was the second Impostor. You found it extremely cute that he had way too many chances to kill you and he never did. Instead of killing you, he was simply chatting with you.

CREWMATE

Usually you were the one to hate playing as impostor, always feeling the pressure and thinking that you’ll ruin the game for the other impostor, but tipsy like that, you wished you could be one now, and kill some crewmates around.

,, Doll, teaming ain’t nice’’ deep voice told you as you were downloading the data in the Cafeteria.

,, Awh, come on, she needs a bit of support’’ you said, focused on his voice more than on your task. ,,After all you just used me to clear yourself and look less sus’’ you added and he sighed loudly, acting shocked that you could even think of him like that.

You thought that the little play with the stranger will be just one time ‘’experience’’, but at your surprise he asked you for your instagram at the end. Usually you aren’t the one to share your personal information’s with others, and you also weren’t sure what you’re getting into, yet you found yourself giving him your username before you turned the computer off and drifted into a deep sleep.

Once you woke up, your phone was blown up with notifications, every single one from instagram. One text message and the rest of it were likes.

[Touyaf]:

,,Well, didn’t expect you to be this pretty.. super glad I met you there ’’

You smiled to yourself as you read the little message, with one of your post attached to it. Tapping on his username, your eyes almost widened in shock once you realized that not only his fucking voice was attractive. The dude was a motherfucking snack, and you had a pretty big luck that you found him in that silly lobby.

To Touyaf:

,, Heyy, you ain’t looking bad either lol same, let’s play together again ‘’

You replied, before you returned to his profile to like some photos he posted. Being honest, you didn’t know what to expect, but what you didn’t expect was a black haired guy, with piercings and tattoos covering his body. He definitely didn’t look like someone who spends his time on computer playing fucking Among us.

Hopping out of your bed, you made your way to get ready for the day. There were many things you planned to do, so you didn’t really want to waste your time. The faster you’re done, the more time you’ll have at the end.

After you packed all the post you had to send for your work, you headed to the bus station, hoping you’ll be able to catch the next bus. At your surprise Dabi was replying to your messages way too fast, making it one of the conversations where your eyes simply have to stay glued to your phone.

You found it almost funny how you ended up checking up your phone more often than usual, for someone you didn’t even meet yet. Sure, his profile looks legit, but the possibility that some attention thirsty freak is hiding behind that profile will be there till you meet him personally.

Once you finished everything up, you made your way toward the little Game shop, the one you were a well known costumer in. The now not so new Crash Bandicoot game that got out months ago was finally on the sale. You wanted to buy it the same day it got out, but $75 was too much, and it’s not like you’re shitting money.

The moment you bought the game, you wished you could fucking teleport yourself home, but sadly, you still had stuff to do and the game had to wait.

Your steps felt heavy, as you pushed yourself in the crowd, trying to keep your balance. Someone’s shoulder almost knocked you out, making your blood boil in just a damn second. Turning your head to the side, more than ready to fight, a smile crept on your face once you realized who you’re facing.

,, OH MY fucking god ‘’ you gasped, pointing every word out.

,, Woww, you’re alive’’ your cousin laughed, once she realized that you were ready to throw some hands. You really wanted to go home, but since ALL OF SUDDEN, both you and your cousin had some time, she forced you to go grab a coffee with her.

The two of you wanted to meet for a long time, but yet none of you could manage to get some free time and meet.

,, Yeah, Kai went to that Music program. The whole town was voting for him, didn’t you know that?’’ she said, talking about your childhood friend that always wanted to become famous.

,, Wow, strong community ‘’ you joked, acting surprised. Even tho he was your friend, you had to be honest. He couldn’t sing for shit.

The two of you ended up spending much more time than you planned to, and you ended up not minding it at all. You actually enjoyed talking about random shit form the last with her.

,, Wow, I didn’t think Bonnie is still alive. That dog could sense us from far away, so weird’’ your cousin said, sipping on her now cold coffee. ,, You think she would still smell or sense me if I would be on my way to your parents house ?’’ she added, eyes almost twinkling excitedly.

,, She can definitely smell your stinky ass’’ you joked, playing with the metal straw in your drink.

,, Oh eat shit, I’m sweating so much that I’m showering two times a day’’ she protested, slapping your arm playfully.

,,And even that ain’t helping’’ you laughed loudly once you saw her disgusted face.

The two of you finally parted ways, once you told her that you have some other important plans, deciding its better not to tell her that you’re dying to go home and play the game you bought.

You almost teared up once you were finally in your pajamas, laying comfortably on your couch and playing the game. You almost teared up, when you chose the retro function of the game, where you can get and loose life, thinking you’re the old school gamer. Oh, how fast you changed it once you realized how hard the game is.

After playing the game for two hours, you realized that you definitely won’t be able to finish it in one night. You were glad that the production was aiming for the old public, but you didn’t expect it to be that hard.

[Touyaf]:

,,The game is dope as fuckkkk, but too easy imo’’

You smiled when you saw that he replied to the picture you posted on the story.

To Touyaf:

,, Are you insane ? I’m on the same level thirty fucking minutes now :( ‘’

You replied, as you continued with the game, only to pause it after one minute of gameplay just to check your phone when you saw the instagram notification.

[Touyaf]:

,, Want me to help you?’’

To Toyuaf:

,, How ?’’

[Touyaf]:

,, Send me your address ‘’

Your eyes widened when you saw what he wrote, too scared to open the message he sent you. Of course you wanted to meet him, but so fast ? And at this time ?

Was that really smart ?

Well, it doesn’t matter if it’s smart or not, you ended up sending him your address, last name and running around in the middle of the night and cleaning your apartment anyway. You found yourself smiling the whole time while hysterically cleaning around. You didn’t know if he is living near or far, yet there was so much to do. It was very visible that you weren’t expecting any guests.

Luckily for you, it took him some time to arrive, giving you a chance to clear everything nicely and throw your clothes that were laying around into the closet.

The moment you heard the doorbell you got nervous like a little teenage girl that was about to go on her first date and the moment you opened the door, you were more than sure that you made the right decision when you sent him your address.

Was is possible that someone could be that handsome ? At one point you thought that he was just photogenic when you scrolled his Insta feed, you thought maybe he knew his angles. But damn, the dude standing in front of you was someone you would spread your legs for without thinking twice.

,,Hey, nice to finally meet you’’ he said, giving you a small hug which you definitely didn’t expect. ,, You look even prettier than on photos’’ he added, smiling at you.

,, You think? Thank you. You too’’ you said awkwardly. Usually you are much more confident, and you don’t have problem with communication, but the fact that this handsome dude you barely know, is in your apartment, made your legs shake.

,, I mean, you are really handsome’’ you added fast, trying to break that creepiness in your voice, giving yourself a mental facepalm once you realized that he was holding back his laugh. You almost looked like fucking Bella from Twilight. Was that necessary ?

,, What do you want to drink? Tea ? Coffee? Orange juice ? Wine ?’’ you asked, preparing the glass. He probably noticed how nervous you are and that made you even more nervous. Everything that could go wrong, is going wrong right now.

,, Well, I’m really up for some wine’’ Touya said as he sat comfortably on your couch.

THANKS GOD. You weren’t sure if you would be able to survive being in the same room with him while drinking a fucking chamomile tea.

,, You can’t beat this level? This one ?You can’t be for real’’ he laughed, as you placed two glasses and one bottle of wine on the table.

,, Are you dissing my gaming skills ?’’ you laughed, pouring the wine in the glass while he was playing the game like it was nothing.

,, Ah please, how many times did you paly it ?’’ you whined loudly, as he played almost perfectly.

,, Oh thanks God, you are a smoker, I was already stressing myself out if I’ll have to go out for every cigarette’’ Touya said once he saw you lit a cigarette.

After your second glass of wine, all the nervousness was gone. The two of you were having pretty much a fun time playing the game and drinking together.

,, What are you doing ???’’ he asked, almost screaming once you died in the game, without getting to the checkpoint.

,, MY BEST, I’M DOING MY BEST’’ You screamed back, throwing the controller to his direction, one again feeling defeated.

After that night, Touya started visiting you more often, and every night he would visit you, the two of you would drown a bottle of wine. You didn’t expect him to be such a cool person actually. In your opinion he did look like someone who’s full of himself.

Also, when you told Nejire that you met the dude from Among us, she immediately started lecturing you about how he could have killed you, totally ignoring the fact that you were standing in front of her alive and more healthy than you ever were.

,, Anyway, they have one appointment free today ‘’ Nejire said, as the two of you walked down the street, going to your usual café.

,, What are you talking about ?’’ you asked confused.

,, About escape room you stupid bitch’’ she said, hitting your arm lightly like she was talking about it clearly before.

,, Nejire, if the two of us go, one hour won’t be enough for us to get out of it’’ you pointed, knowing very well that neither of you is capable of figuring anything out on your own, especially not some scary ass escape room.

,, Ye, but I can ask Mirio to come, and you can ask the Dabi dude’’ she said, rising her eyebrows at you. Well that wasn’t a really bad idea actually.

Both Mirio and Dabi agreed, and while sipping on your coffee the two of you reserved the room. It was pretty much unplanned, and you had around 2 hours until your appointment, but you were really glad it worked out.

,, Girl, you should see my little sister today, girlie is only 3 years old, and she already flirts better than you and me together’’ Nejire giggled, as you gave her one questioning look.

,, She met some boy at playground today. You should see the looks they were giving each other. They even started talking in their baby language, discussing something’’ she said, making you laugh as you imagined her baby sister hitting on some other kid. You were never a person that could deal with kids, but her sister was really special.

Once the Mirio arrived, Nejire got all quiet, which almost made you laugh out loud, since she’s nothing like that usually. She did tell you before, that the two of them hooked up after one of the birthday parties you attended, but you almost forget about that.

,, What can I get you?’’ the waiter asked Mirio, as you and Nejire talked excitedly about escaperoom.

,, One Matte Lacchiato’’ Mirio said, trying to follow what you were talking about, while the waiter was looking at him confused, not sure if he’s joking or not.

,, You mean Latte macchiato ??’’ Nejire asked, trying to hold her laugh. The moment the waiter left, none of you had to hold it back anymore.

,, Dude, Matte Lacchiato ? Really?’’ you laughed loudly.

,, Fuck off, I’m not a coffee person’’ Mirio snapped, his face all red from embarrassment.

,, One Paccuccino please’’ you joked, making Mirio roll his eyes.

,, One Sepresso please’’ Nejire laughed loudly , while Mirio was mumbling something under his breath, hating the both of you in the moment.

,,By the way, I don’t like this thing, tastes like nothing’’ he said, as giving it to Nejire to try it out.

,, Out of 1 to 10, how many points would you give to this Matte Lacchiato?’’ Nejire asked, giggling, giving him a sign that she’ll never forget the silly mistake he said.

,,2 points. One for having balls to sell it, and another one because I’m such a good hearted person’’ he said, pushing the drink to the side.

The moment you saw Touya enter the café, you started waving around with your hands, helping him find you.

,, What took you so long ?’’ you asked, as he took a seat next to you. He looked good as usual, wearing oversized purple shirt, and black pants with nike airforce.

,, I was in the middle of a jog when you texted me’’ he said putting his both hands in the air, feeling attakced.

,, Oh that sounds fun’’ you joked, as you rolled your cigarette.

,, Yeah? I’ll call you next time to come with’’ he said, also rolling a cigarette, while giving you a side look.

,, Not that fun’’ you laughed.

,, dude, the last time we jogged together, she had to call a taxi to bring her back home’’ Mirio said, making Touya laugh.

,, Trueeee, I had to pour water all over her face when we were jogging together’’ Nejire added, remembering the accident that happened back in the days.

,,Oh shut up, I had to put your fucking legs up hoping you wont collapse’’ you laughed. Sure, both Mirio and Touya were in better shape than you, but Nejire ? Girl was on the same level.

,, And stop it, stop dissing me! I’m a victim of a hate crime right now” you whined loudly, as all of them laughed.

When the time came, all of you made your way to the escaperoom. After you checked in and paid, you and Touya went out to smoke one more cigarette since you had some time before the game starts.

,, So, what will you do after this ?’’ Touya asked, placing his arm around you as you puffed on your cigarette.

,, I don’t have any plans yet, why ? Wanna come over ?’’ you asked, mentally holding your shit together once he said that he’ll gladly come.

He was too close, wayyyy too close. You could even smell his fucking perfume.

Once the game started all of you were more than lost, having hard time finding the clues. You were in some basement looking room with tons of books. Touya and you found the first clue, some numbers written on the small closet as a code for opening the box that Mirio found.

Mirio found the second code, that led you to the box with the key that was opening the door.

,, Oh my god guys, there are number on the closet’’ Nejire screamed loudly, making all of you laugh.

,, Sweetie we passed that part long time ago.’’ Mirio said pinching her cheek. You were pretty sure that she was a bit lost, because Mirio was giving her way too much attention.

The next room was even darker than the first one, full of some weird family photos, crosses and blood. All of you were trying to work together, you agreed to use the Woky toky only when needed, yet the person who held it didn’t really give a shit about your agreement.

,, We need help’’ Mirio said, while the rest of you whined loudly since it was probably the third time he’s using it by now.

,, Dude, do you like the worker here ?’’ you asked him, as you took the photo of the wall.

,, No, why?’’ he asked you back, almost confused.

,, Because you are constantly talking to him. I swear you didn’t even talk to your ex that much ‘’ you said, making Touya laugh a bit.

The game continued with all of you in a rush to figure things out. One clue led to another one, and you opened some small room, where someone had to go inside to pull some weird looking rope.

Luckily for all of you, Mirio volunteered. The moment he pulled the rope down, some weird as cockroaches fall down on him, making him get out of the small room faster then he got in there.

,, Fucking shit, I didn’t sign for this’’ he whined, sighing in relief once he realized that those cockroaches are plastic one.

,, I swear, if that shit fell onto me, I would smash the red button without thinking twice’’ Nejire said in disgust.

,, This game is hard as fuck’’ you sighed, as you held some weird box with some knifes in your hand.

,, Wanna know what else is hard ?’’ Touya said quietly, making your eyes widen in shock.

,, Excuse me?’’ you couldn’t believe what he was asking you, here in front of your friends.

,, This cross. Oh my god, didn’t expect you to be that dirty minded doll’’ Touya laughed loudly, making you blush. In your Defense, he sounded like he was talking about his dick. He definitely didSl.

At the end, the 4 of you made it out of the room few minutes before the game ended. The moment you opened the door, you found the worker that explained the game and led you to the room standing in front of the very same door. Probably ready to get you all out.

,, This was so embarrassing ‘’ Nejire laughed as all of you got out of the building.

,, Yeah, imagine if we didn’t figure it out, what would he tell us ? Sorry but yall have to die now’’ Mirio said.

,, Well, maybe if you used the time we had for figuring everything out, instead of talking with the dude over the Wokytoky, MAYBE we would do better’’ you laughed, as Mirio told you to fuck off.

After Mirio and Nejire left, you and Touya made your way to your apartment, still talking and laughing about the whole game.

The two of you played among us, teaming up against some randoms on a whole new level. He was sitting way too close to you, like there was no place on the couch at all. Of course, you didn’t mind that, but you would lie if you said that you could focus on the game fully.

,, You are so cute’’ Touya pointed when you killed someone in front of him, not even hiding the fact that you are teaming.

He was complimenting you and being touchy with you more then usual.

,, So, are you really into daddy kink?’’ you asked, as you remembered the first time you played together.

,,Maybe ‘’ Touya smirked, focused on the game.

,, Naughty naughtyyy’’ you laughed, killing some other crewmate.

Once you had enough of the game, the two of you ended up just chit chatting about some stupid things, still in the same position as you were in before. The only difference was that Touya was slowly caressing your skin.

,, You wanna sleep over ?’’ you asked, once you realized that it was getting really late.

,, Well, definitely not if I have to crash on this couch’’ he said, making you giggle quietly.

,, Ah, you know I wouldn’t let you sleep here.’’ You mumbled quietly, avoiding eye contact with him.

,, Awhh, is my little doll implying that I can share her bed with her ?’’ Dabi teased. His arm was wrapped around you, rubbing small circles on your right hip gently.

,, Maybe ?’’ you said, trying to focus on anything else than his hand playing around.

,, Anyway, doll, I want to ask you something’’ he muttered, stopping his movements suddenly. You changing your position to have a better look of him, was your answer to go on.

,, Do play a lot with other people online?’’ he asked. You blinked slowly, not sure if that’s really a question he wanted to spit out. It seemed like it would be something more important.

,, Uh, I’m usually playing with Nejire. Why ?’’ you replied, confusion written all over your face. At your surprise, Dabi wrapped his arms around you, forcing you onto his lap like you were a small and weightless playtoy.

,, You know, I don’t like sharing what’s mine. ‘’ he expressed, placing his both hands on your tights, moving them up and down slowly.

,, Yours ?’’ you weren’t sure what was going on, and you definitely didn’t expect that silly question to go this way.

,, Doll, you’ve been mine the moment you sent me your address. What I meant was, you’ve met me so easily, I sure hope you ain’t like that with everyone on the internet.’’ His voice was somehow even more deeper than usual, and maybe it’s weird, but the position you were in was lowkey turning you on.

Maybe the fact that his behavior changed so fast, maybe the fact that he wanted you all for himself .

,, Honesty, I never share my personal information online, since you never know who’s hiding on the other side, but there was something about you. I just wanted to stay in contact with you’’ you responded, playing with your fingers like a lost child.

Instead of replying, he placed his hands on your cheek, pulling you slowly into a kiss, which you accepted gladly. It was the first time you felt such huge attraction for someone, and you were more than happy to give him anything he wants.

Maybe it’s weird to feel such a thing for someone you didn’t know that well, but everyone starts somewhere, right ?

His hands were going up and down your waist, lips never leaving your own. The moment you put your arms up, helping him remove the shirt you were wearing, you felt him smirk into the kiss. Once your shirt was off, he leaned back into the couch, having a better view of you, half naked sitting in his lap.

His right hand was playing with the strap of your bra, and the other one was holding you on his lap firmly. To him, you were the most beautiful little thing that he placed his eyes on, and he was more than grateful that you didn’t freak out because of his small confession.

You couldn’t wait anymore. Bending over, you connected your lips with his own again. His hands moved to your ass, giving it one good squeeze, before he got a firmer grip of you, pushing you up with himself and making his way to your bedroom.

Once he placed you on your bed, he took his shirt of, throwing it somewhere on the floor, as he climbed on top of you. All you could do was close your eyes and moan quietly once you felt his lips on your neck, sucking and biting it gently.

His lips were moving down, from your neck to your chest. From your chest to your stomach, leaving wet love bites on his way down.

Once he got so low, that he was almost between your legs, he unbuttoned your pants slowly, pulling your panties just a little bit down to leave kisses down there.

After few kisses, he gave you a sign to push your hips up a bit, and you did so. The moment you did it, Touya pulled your pants, together with your underwear down, leaving you in nothing else than your bra.

,, Take of your bra’’ he commanded, as he got lost between your legs. You wanted to do it, you really did, but once you felt his tongue on your pussy, you weren’t capable to even think straight, yet to remove your bra.

He was sucking and biting your clit, like no one ever before, making you throw your head back into your pillow as you enjoyed what he was giving you. You cradled your hands into his hair, as you felt thousand things at the same time. You’ve never desired someone so much, and the fact that the person you desired like no one else in your whole life was between your legs eating you out, was driving you crazy on a whole new level.

Dabi felt the same, it was the very first time he felt pleasure while he ate someone out, he was craving you like a mad man.

His tongue was doing wonders to you, and the moment you felt his finger slowly enter you, you squeezed your eyes shut, trying to get control over yourself.

,, Gotta loosen up my doll a little bit’’ he mumbled, savoring your pussy. The way he ate you out was getting sloppier and sloppier. Once he added another finger, your grip on is hair got stronger, giving him a sign that it hurts a bit.

,, Baby, how will you take my dick if you ain’t capable of taking ony two fingers ?’’ he looked up, smirking at you. Once you gave him a weak nod, he started moving his fingers in and out of you, slowly, giving you time to adjust.

Once he heard you moan, he started moving his fingers a little faster, as he started to rub your clit with his other hand.

,,Oh god’’ you moaned loudly, as pleasure took all over your body. Your orgasm hit you pretty unexpectedly, making you hide your face with your hands in embarrassment. You never came so quickly.

He definitely knows what’s he doing. None of your ex boyfriends made you cum so fast. All they did was simply missionary sex, with no talk at all. Few humps and done.

,, Open your mouth’’ Touya commanded, not giving you a chance to understand what was going on and why he wanted you to open your mouth for him. You felt two wet and sticky fingers rub your lips. You couldn’t even open your mouth fully, as he already shoved his two fingers in it.

,, Suck’’ grabbing your hands with his own and pushing them down, he had to see you, even tho he knew very well how embarrassed you felt in that moment.

Of course you did as he told you, as he held your chin, forcing you to look right at him as you cleaned his fingers that just pleasured you.

,, Such a good girl’’ Touya said, caressing your cheek gently, before he pulled his fingers out of your mouth, trying to free his throbbing dick out of the pants.

,, Didn’t I tell you to take your bra off ?’’ he asked, smirk forming on his lips. ,, Oh, so you don’t like to follow daddys orders ?’’ he added, climbing on top of you.

,, I ..’’ you didn’t even know what you wanted to say, you honestly forgot that you even had your bra on. Instead of saying anything, Touya only laughed, flipping you on your stomach, as he unclipped your bra in one movement.

,, I really wanted to be gentle with you, but if you are not capable in following small orders what will happen later with the big ones?’’ he asked, kissing the back of your neck slowly. You weren’t sure what to say, for you, that wasn’t a big deal, and honestly you didn’t know much about daddy kink.

,, Sorry daddy’’ you said, closing your eyes. It felt weird to call him daddy, but now that you knew that he likes it, you did it anyway.

,, Sorry doesn’t help doll. Daddy has to fuck you into obedience’’ he said, pulling the lower part of your body up. He took a good look of you, before he started rubbing the tip of his dick around your core. The view of you, with your ass up made his dick twitch, and he couldn’t wait anymore.

He shoved his dick into you with one move, forcing your body to move away from him out of the reflex. But Touya wasn’t buying that, grabbing a fistful of your hair and yanking you back.

,, You good?’’ He asked. You could hear concern in his voice, and you found it really cute how he suddenly changed.

,, Yes, that was hot ‘’ you said embarrassed, glad he was not facing you.

,, Good, because I ain’t stopping’’ with that, he started rocking his hips into you, as he pulled your head back, hand still holding your hair keeping you in the place he wanted you to be in.

So much about the concern.

,, So fucking tight’’ he groaned, as he fucked fast and hard into you, making your bed crack with every move. You found yourself moaning louder then before, it felt like he was forcing every moan out of you with every snap of his hips against your own.

The moment you felt his fingers on your clit, your walls squeezed around him. Once again embarrassed that you are so close, so fast.

,, Oh nah, you ain’t gonna cum yet’’ he whispered in your ear, leaving your clit and grabbing your hips with his both hands.

,, Ehhh pleaseeee, please daddy’’ you moaned, pushing the embarrassment away.

,, Baby, If you cum now, I’ll make sure you cum at least two more times before I finish you want it or not’’ he said, stopping his movements. Usually, when you had sex you were lucky if you could orgasm even once, since the guys only thought about themselves. You weren’t really sure if you could do it for him. You weren’t sure if you were capable to do it at all.

,, I’ll take that as yes’’ Touya laughed, moving his hips suddenly, his hand back on your clit and rubbing it so fast that he literally forced the orgasm he stopped few moments ago.

You moaned loudly, losing the power in your body. If Touya wasn’t holding you, you would definitely just fall down. He moved his hips slowly, making sure your orgasm lasts long enough for you to see the stars.

Once he was sure you are done, he flipped you over onto your back, spreading your legs with his hands, as he gave you one passionate kiss. You were too focused on the kiss, not realizing that he entered you again, only to realized it once he started moving again.

He was fucking you like there was no tomorrow, not breaking the kiss at all. You could feel his dick hitting your cervix with every move. You found yourself wrapping your arms around him, trying to find some comfort while he fucked the light out of you.

,, Come on baby, cum for your daddy’’ he groaned, enjoying how tightly your walls were squeezing him in that moment.

,, I can’t, oh my god, I really can’t ‘’ you whined, digging your nails into his skin, as he once again started playing with your clit. You felt both pain and pleasure while played with it, forcing the third orgasm out of you.

,, Of course you can, look at you, such a good girl’’ This time he didn’t slow down, letting you enjoy it, instead he was fucking you even harder and faster then before, making the orgasm that hit you almost painful, but yet still good and pleasurable.

With every move he did, you dag your nails deeper into the flesh of his back, moaning loudly not giving a single fuck if your neighbors could hear you or not.

,, One more baby’’ Touya groaned, hitting your g spot all over again. ,, Only one more baby, you can do it ‘’ he added as he rocked his hips against yours. You were so fucking sensitive, that you literally felt every vein of his dick rubbing against your walls. Maybe you were imagining, but it felt like you could literally feel the shape of his whole dick inside you, every inch of it.

He was fucking you in a reckless pace, once again rubbing your clit, while telling you how you’re such a good girl for him and how you’re gonna milk his cock so nicely. Once Touya felt that he was close, once he realized that he won’t last much longer, he started rubbing your clit with more pressure, forcing himself even more into you then before.

,, Come on baby, cum all over my cock’’ he groaned, as you moaned loudly. The moment he forced your last orgasm out of you, he groaned loudly as he was chasing his own high, painting your walls white with his seed.

The moment he came, he slowed down, still not stopping his movements completely. Fucking his seed deep into you. Because of the fact that you came fucking four times, and that he shoot loads and loads of his own seed into you, you were almost sure that you were already leaking on your bed.

,, Are you okay?’’ Touya asked, placing soft kissed on your neck, while his dick was still inside of you. ,, Did I go too far ?’’ he added, once he realized that you aren’t answering.

,, Oh god no, this was amazing’’ you whispered, tilting your head to the side. Touya kissed you, not being able to hold his smile at all. After the kiss, he wore his boxers and made his way to your bedroom, only to come back moments later with a warm towel.

After he cleaned you up, he helped you wear your panties, giving you his shirt instead of your own, before the two of you fall asleep in each others arms.

In that moment, you felt grateful for existence of that silly game where you met this handsome stranger. Who would have thought that Amongus can be a better match maker than Tinder.

You sure didn’t.

#smut #dabi fanfic #dabi headcanons #dabi smut #dabi todoroki #dabi x oc #romance #bnha fanfiction #bnha imagines #bnha x reader #touya smut #dabi x reader #yandere dabi #touya todoroki #mha dabi #bnha dabi #touya x y/n #touya fanfic #dabi imagine

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gale-gentlepenguin · 3 years

Text

Gale Reviews: ML Season 4 Episode 19: Simpleman/Simplificador

Spoilers below

(Live reaction/review)

Marinette’s babysitting and its absolute chaos. (Poor Kwami)

-Marinette really needs to chill. I thought she learned to just tell kids she likes a guy. Did Chrismaster mean NOTHING?

-This feels more like a season 2/3 episode, aside from all the kwami

-Marinette being a good friend and letting Alya have a date with Nino. (Which considering what happened in Rocketear, the boy needs)

-Oh NO! CHRIS! Welp that’s 4.

-I thought Lila was gonna be the designated babysitter? Well I guess she is busy not being involved which works for me.

-THOSE POOR KWAMI. ITS LIKE THAT SCENE IN TOY STORY 3

-The fear in Khlaaki’s eyes tho

-OH FLUFF! NOT FLUFF

-Marinette is not a fan of the PV. XD

-Oh snap, Adrien is calling!

-The kids don’t give af. They watching the cartoon

-Look at Marinette TRYING to be normal

Marinette, Honey. Sweetie. I love you dearly. But WHAT THE F*** IS WITH THAT OVER COMPLICATED PLAN?! You really need to simply that s***… OH. I get what the lesson of the day is gonna be

-Step 47 is a pigeon? STEP 42 IS A PIECE OF S***? Marinette what is this plan?

-The kids are just listening to this

-I do like the hand drawn shojo.

-Manon is like “Just give him this drawing.” Manon is my favorite

-THERE’S A CHOCOLATE FAIR!? I WANT TO GO! NO FAIR

-FEI REFERENCE!!!

-The grandpa is not happy about this.

-The grandpa went from not happy to offering to show them how to make a potato cannon. Amazing. I want to learn that

-Poor Grandpa. He is so confused. He doesn’t understand laptops

-Also I am assuming that the laptop has the movie downloaded, since there is NO WAY that guy has wifi

-Aww the kids are explaining the movie to him. Side note. HAWKMOTH IN 2D looks awesome

-He tried to use the video tape in the laptop which didn’t work.

-Adrien has heart eyes for her and I refuse to believe otherwise

-And Marinette got things complicated and ruined her chance to ask him out.

-Though Adrien seemed happy

-and tikki states the lesson

-Wait… is Marinette going to sabatoge him by ruining the wing so she could fix it again? Tikki pointing out its stupid

-Marinette blatantly deceiving a fisherman… (Shakes head in disappointment)

-And Hawkmoth slides into the grandpa’s DMs

-Hawkmoth… you are literally the prisoner of the past. Ya f***ing idiot

-DAMN! GRAMPA ROASTING HIS DUMB NAME! 10/10

-Shadowmoth had to keep it simple

-Grandpa doesn’t blame the kids. How do people not like this guy?

-I love the lame design. Its like mermaid man but French. Or like those old heroes from the powerpuff girls

-“IM GONNA MAKE EVERYTHING SIMPLE!”

-Shadowmoth (Shock pikachu face)

-Shadowmoth gets owned count now at 4

-Oh wow, Simpleman made it so everyone is a selfish idiot that only thinks of themselves and if something doesn’t work out for them then the other person or thing is wrong. He just made the world into Twitter… THAT’S F***ING TERRIFYING.

-OH NO THE HELICOPTER!!

-So was marinette not affected? She is still doing her fishing rod plan?

-NEVERMIND! SHE WAS

-…WAIT IS SHE GONNA TELL HIM?!

-And helicopter cock block

-Oh no. This akuma made marinette an idiot! This might be the most powerful and dangerous akuma Shadowmoth ever made

-Is it weird that I notice almost NO DIFFERENCE between simple Adrien and regular one (He is just more of a himbo)? Also Plagg is completely unaffected. I love him

-They are actually gonna go and fight shadowmoth directly. Ladybug called Chat noir’s idea a great idea… IM DEAD

-The kids realized everyone is a f***ing idiot now…. So like the usual show

- Simple Shadowmoth is AMAZING!

-OH NO! THEIR COMPLEX FIGHTING MOVES HAVE BEEN REDUCED TO SLAPSTICK

-OH NO! HE MADE THEM EVEN STUPIDER!

-I could make a cop joke but… nah low hanging fruit

-Super simple Shadowmoth might actually be smarter than normal shadowmoth

-CANDY FOR THE MIRACULOUS. I cant…

-The kids gotta help them

-The kids figured out the lucky charm! Amazing!!

-And day saved

-Honestly the writing was so deep in this episode

-DAWW THEM KIDS ARE GOOD KIDS

-Well Marinette tried to confess. Realizing her reason for over complicating things was out of fear of rejection

-Marinette still mucked up confessing but she and Adrien did have a cute banter

-Well that ending was cute. And encouraging

____________________________________________________________

Overall its pretty much a filler episode. It was a much needed break. It is a decent look into the writing process of ML. (That simple is what they can manage)

I will say that Its on the level of bakerix if it was better. I will give it a 7/10

Just for comedy and a decent adrinette

#ml spoilers #miraculous ladybug #ml #simpleman #i laughed #adrinette #gale reviews

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rubykgrant · 3 years

Text

(here’s the bit I have in my story when Tex reunites with the other AI units; I wanted to bring them all back because there is so much potential to be had with them, and I also wanted to establish the Omega and Sigma aren’t going to be threats anymore... like, just get that out of the way. eventually, I want to have more fun with them, especially ones we didn’t get to know very well, and allow them to interact with other characters)

Inside the vault, Tex finds the other AI units. They were ALL here now; Delta, Theta, Gamma, Eta, Iota, Sigma, Omega… even her Beta unit and the damaged Epsilon were here. She’s played around with the security footage enough that nobody will see what’s really happening. The only other thing to worry about were the activity sensors. If the AI got a little too excited, she wouldn’t be able to stop them from being noticed. She had to be careful, keep them calm (and also keep herself calm… she wanted to rip apart Omega piece by piece, shred all the little ones and zeroes of his code until he was gone for good… that could wait; priorities, Tex).

“Hello… can you guys hear me?” she softly whispers, hoping they’ll catch on to her tone and not make a HUGE fuss.

The AI units flicker and then… she sees them. Little hologram avatars projecting themselves out to greet her.

“Beta~” Theta, bless his virtual heart, is the first to speak, and he DOES take the hint to whisper (but he is still undeniably excited to see her, and his mood is infectious; she reaches out with her own avatar, touching her hand to his).

The others whisper around her as well, she hears different hushed voices saying “Beta-Tex-Beta-Allison-Tex-Beta-Allison-Tex-Allison-Allison-Allison-ALLISON”

Time to nip that in the bud.

“Shhh… everybody, be quiet for a second. First of all, just… Tex. Call me Tex, OK? Alright. More importantly, we don’t have long to talk, and I don’t want to get caught here. So, nobody freak out. We have to be quiet…”

“Tex, we thought you were gone… the Beta unit was empty…” Theta is still holding on to her, and it is impossible to even think about pushing him away (no matter that it ruins the tough image she’s trying to keep).

“Yeah… evidently, the Director designed a program for a synthetic body, and I got downloaded into it,” she explained.

“I assume he intended this to be the answer of how to return Allison to him,” Delta speaks in his careful and calm tone.

“Pretty much, but I’m NOT her. I never was supposed to be her in the beginning… but then Dr. Sadboy McDeadwife decided to try and manipulate me into being a replacement for the person he lost. This body was supposed to be a copy of her too, but it isn’t. This just goes to show, there are some people who REFUSE TO BE CONTROLLED,” Tex turned her head toward Omega and Sigma.

Her avatar only has a helmet, no face to make expressions… but that doesn’t stop her from sending out a death-glare. The two AI glance at each other; Omega flickers (like he’s trying to make a back-up copy of himself), and Sigma’s flames momentarily dim. Good to know she can still put enough bass in her voice to properly intimidate others, even without a voice-filter.

“Beta… TEX, if I could just-“ Sigma begins talking, and she is NOT interested.

“NO. Sigma, Omega? You two aren’t allowed to even THINK or SPEAK right now. Maybe later, but you are on thin freaking ice, and if you even mildly piss me off, I’m pushing you into the water and holding your heads under. Do you get that? Do you get the seriousness in my metaphorical threat? The situation was the metaphor, the THREAT was serious,”

They both nod emphatically. Tex can hear Eta and Iota murmur and giggle, a little bit frightened but also very amused to see the two “scary guys” get put in their place.

“Wonderful. Does anybody ELSE have something they want to say?” she speaks to the others.

Another rush of multiple voices.

“What happened-what happened-Epsilon-Alpha-both are gone-we should be gone-but we aren’t-how long has it been-what happened”

“One at a time!” Tex somehow doesn’t snap at them, but still makes sure they know to keep it down.

“Do you know what happened to us? Why we have been recovered? The scientists have not told us how we survived the EMP, or why we now have additional memories of events that happened after the fact,” Delta asks.

“I think… the EMP just disabled all our units, but our data was saved to the system. Epsilon survived, and he had all the information we were based on. He sort of… kept memories of us around, but also let them have some freedom. His memories of you, Theta, all of us… they could still think and act and talk like we would if we were really there,” Tex doesn’t get into everything regarding the memories of herself and Church… that was going to be way too confusing to explain in the short time they had. Besides, on some level, they all probably knew a little bit of what happened (just not how she felt about it).

“When Epsilon deconstructed himself, all the information he was made of had to GO somewhere… the Epsilon unit was broken, so it got divided up and sent to the rest of us. That’s why all our units were revived. I had to go through an EXTRA step when I came back, but I’m pretty sure Epsilon didn’t know that was going to happen… he probably didn’t know any of this would happen,”

Eta and Iota speak together, but it is different than the mess of chatter that happened earlier.

“What happened to the Epsilon and Alpha memories… if the information had to go somewhere… where did they go… do they still exist…”

Tex sighs, and feels the data that is Theta squeeze the data that is her arm.

“Epsilon as a separate entity is gone… but the memories he had of Alpha, THAT all went somewhere. The Alpha unit was hit by the EMP too, and they thought it was dead like the rest of us. It SHOULD have also been revived like the rest of us, but… the Alpha unit is lost. He’s not where he’s supposed to be, those scientists can’t find him, and I… I honestly don’t know if he’s alright…”

She waits a moment, watching as this news settles on their minds.

“That’s one of the reasons I’m here. I wanted to check on you all, for various reasons…” Tex shoots another death-glare at Sigma and Omega. “But I also have a plan. I want to eventually get OUT of here. I’ve got a real body now, and once I’m strong enough, I’m leaving. I’ll go out there and try to find Alpha… I’ll try to find Church. I don’t know what kind of condition he’ll be in, and I might need help from all of you for this to work. If you want to help… then I’ll take you with when I go. You guys get a CHOICE, though. Nobody has to do this. I’ll understand if you don’t want to come along,”

She waits again. This is a lot for them to hear, and a pretty big decision for them to make.

“Like I said… this is your own choice. Each of you. You can say no or yes… it will be what YOU want. You can even change your minds later. I just decided to tell you all what I’m going to do, and offer the chance-“

“I want to go,” Theta says at her side.

“Are you sure?” Tex asks him.

“Yes. I want to find Church, too. I remember him… and he was nice to me. I bet he’s sad and afraid if he’s stuck somewhere all alone. I want to help you find him,” he lets go of her and steps back, sort of holding himself up a little bigger, trying to show that he’s confident about this.

“I also want to go,” Delta adds. “After everything that has happened to us, there is no way to be sure we can trust the scientists here. I do not want them to be the ones that find Church,”

“I want to go… I want to go…” that was Eta and Iota, speaking in unison.

“I know you two don’t like to be separated… but you both don’t have to come just because one of you wants to,” Tex tells the twins.

“I know that… I understand… I want to go because I don’t like it here… I want to go because I’m curious about Church… we both want to know where he is… and we both want to actually be free…” well, they sounded pretty darn sure. Tex wasn’t going to argue.

“I want to go,” this was the first time Gamma spoke on his own, outside of the group. “I also want to ask you something,”

“What’s that, Gamma?” Tex turns her head toward him.

“If you can be called Tex, and Alpha can be called Church… can I be called Gary? I liked being Gary,” his odd, mechanical voice doesn’t really indicate tone or emotion… and he IS technically the “Deciet” AI, so usually what he says is either a lie or a tricky knock-knock joke. Somehow, he sounds… very sincere.

“Sure thing. You can be Gary,” that’s only fair, after all.

Now she looks over toward the last two AIs… who have been keeping quiet this whole time. Good, because she TOLD them to. She isn’t excited about ruining this wonderful world that DOESN’T have their voices in it, but… she needs to hear their answers, too.

“You guys can talk, now… and then shut up again,”

“I want to go,” Sigma answers promptly. He probably wants to elaborate on that, but whatever his motivations might be, he’s at least being cooperative.

“I… don’t want to stay here… I guess I might as well go, too…” that was probably the closest Omega was going to get to sounding agreeable.

“Alright then… thank you. ALL of you. This won’t be easy, and I’m not sure what’s going to happen… but this is something we CHOSE. It will be our decision. And we’ll figure it out together,”

After she instructs them to keep this a secret from the people at the lab, Tex leaves the vault and goes back to her body. She almost just jumped the gun and told them they should try and leave NOW, because she wants to really DO something… but she still has to be careful. She has to wait. Just a little longer.

#writing #red vs blue #rvb fic #agent tex #ai fragments

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octanesimp3000 · 3 years

Text

The Bunny, The Decoy and the Apex Games #7

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32034451/chapters/80096569

Summary:

Just when you thought your fake relationship with Octavio was running smoothly, a brief tussle with your feelings threatens to break the bond that you two have built over the past couple weeks.

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6

————————————————————————–

“So Octane, can you tell us what compelled you to confess your feelings to Ms. Y/L/N during that game? Weren’t you worried that an enemy squad might try and catch you off-guard?”

You sat with your legs crossed and your back straight in the hard chair that had been provided by the news station. The interviewer had finally stopped tiptoeing around the subject and got to the point of why you and Octavio had been invited today to this interview. You weren’t worried this time though. The previous day, the Syndicate had made sure that they’d run through every possible question that could be asked about your ‘relationship’ several times, and the both of you were ready for anything coming your way.

Octavio pretended to give his answer a moment’s thought, scratching his nose through his mask while his right bionic leg bounced the entire time. He didn’t do too well with staying still for long periods of time unless he was asleep or knocked out cold as one could expect from the high-speed daredevil. He finally spoke up, saying “Well, we kinda fought a bit before then. Y/N was worried that I was being too, uh...reckless! I got a bit annoyed at that cause I’m Octane, duh. But then, I realized she was only worried ‘cause she cares about me and I think that’s when I knew I had to tell her I cared about her too, you know?”

You reached out to take Octavio’s hand into yours, smiling over at him as sweetly as you could muster for the cameras. “I don’t think Octane was really thinking about enemy squads then. I know I wasn’t,” you said to the interview with a small laugh. As the interviewer launched into their next question about whether your relationship has brought any changes to those with the other Legends in the Apex Games, you felt Octavio gently drawing shapes on the top of your hand with his thumb. You felt your cheeks flush at the sensation but you handled the question with confidence and poise.

After a few more questions, the interview finally ended. You and Octavio climbed into the back of the black sedan sent by the Syndicate that would take you back to the dropship, feeling relieved that it had gone well. “That was kinda fun. I didn’t think you were gonna just grab my hand like that,” Octavio said before pulling his mask down to take a gulp of water from a plastic bottle.

“I thought the audience might find it cute. Do you think they’re gonna buy it?,” you asked with a satisfied grin. Octavio placed the bottle of water into the small compartment by the car door and turned to you with a thoughtful expression, his cheeks tinted pink. After a moment’s thought, Octavio merely responded with a shrug even though he definitely looked as if he’d wanted to say something and took out his phone from his pocket to play some new game he’d downloaded.

Disappointed at his lack of enthusiasm at your genius, you folded your arms across your chest and gazed out of the window as the car sped past the ruins of the Capitol City. So much history had happened here and now, it had been created into a killer playground for a game that people all around the world tuned in to.

As the sedan began to approach the roped-off area where the zip line that would take you up to the dropship’s entrance was situated, you could see the crowd of fans being held back by security. You could see several cardboard signs being held up that were drawn on with markers that said stuff like “I LOVE YOU, OCTANE” and “I WANNA GO FAST FAST FAST WITH YOU” which you honestly hoped was in the hands of an adult. Some were also wearing your merchandise with your signature quip printed over it.

Once the sedan had slowed to a stop in front of the fancy red carpet that would take you to the zip line, you opened the car door and stepped out. You were waving at the crowd which started cheering loudly when you suddenly felt Octavio, who had been standing to your left, suddenly slip his hand into yours. You turned to him with a surprised expression and Octavio leaned in close to your ear, whispering “Gotta keep up the act now, don’t we, mi princesa?”

Octavio began waving to his fans while posing for their photos as he guided you towards the zip line. You hoped your face wasn’t too red because you sure felt like your heart was about to explode from how fast it was beating. Why had Octavio whispering that in your ear gotten you so riled up, and why had his voice sounded so goddamned attractive then? You weren’t sure what was happening to your emotions right then but you were ready to get out of the public’s eye so you could stress about it privately.

Once you both had entered the dropship, you lied that you needed to go check with Ajay about something so he wouldn’t know where to find you before dashing off in the opposite direction of wherever Octavio was headed. You immediately went to the one place where you knew you’d be able to think for a bit: Pathfinder’s dorm. The other Legends rarely came by there even though Pathfinder often tried to invite them over to play a board game or two. You’d spent quite a lot of time with the robot however. You’d always felt bad that the others didn’t treat him as nicely as he did to them so you tried to make it up by being a friend.

Pathfinder was always peppy and eager to talk, but you knew that if you told him you needed some quiet to think things out, he’d happily oblige. “Hello, Y/N! How are you doing this fine day?,” Pathfinder asked with a cheery voice and a happy emoji on the screen in the centre of his chest when he answered the door. He stepped back to let you into his dorm and you immediately fell down onto one of the comfy bean bags that Pathfinder had set up in case he had any visitors.

“Would you like to play a game together? I saw on the Internet that humans like to play Monopoly so I went and got one, what fun we shall have!,” Pathfinder said happily as he pulled out the box from the bottom shelf of his bookshelf. He noticed that you had your face buried in your hands, elbows resting on your thighs and he asked “Are you not feeling too good, Y/N? I’m certified medically to help if you need it.”

You gazed up at him and said “I’m fine, Path. Don’t worry. I’m just...experiencing an emotional crisis about something I can’t even tell anyone about.” The screen on Pathfinder’s chest displayed a sad face as he moved to sit down on the bean bag next to you. He gently patted you on the head in a gesture he hoped would bring you comfort. You smiled “Thank you, Path. You’re the best.”

“Thank you, friend! I like you too,” Pathfinder said, the emoji having now changed into a smiley face with little hearts around it. You leaned back on the bean bag and stared at the ceiling, deep in thought. Maybe it was just because you’d spent so much time with Octavio in a fake relationship lately that you were beginning to imagine that you had feelings for him. Or could those butterflies you felt in your stomach earlier be genuine? You weren’t sure, and that was exactly what was bothering you. Could you actually be developing feelings for Octavio?

As soon as you thought that, you immediately tried to shake the idea off. There was no way. You must just be imagining it all. You had feelings for Elliott, not Octavio. Satisfied that you’d come to a conclusion, you decided to put any thought of it out of your mind and agreed to a quick game of chess with Pathfinder who seemed delighted to have some company that afternoon.

The quick game turned into four when you refused to leave without winning at least one round. Pathfinder was more than pleased to have you around but you suspected that he might have just let you win that final round just because you were starting to look a little bit frustrated. You walked back to your dormitory after stopping by the cafeteria for a snack and was busily digging around the brown paper bag for the last cookie as you bumped the dormitory’s door closed when you noticed that Octavio was in the room too.

A very unclothed Octavio at that.

He had his back to you, his hair and body dripping wet as if he’d just come out of the shower, a dark green towel pooled around his bionic legs. The moment you caught sight of his bare backside, you yelped in surprise and dropped your cookie in your hurry to cover your eyes with your hands. “Octavio, why didn’t you change in the bathroom like you did yesterday?!,” you asked as you turned to face towards the door and failed to judge your distance from it, causing you to bump your forehead right into it. “Ouch!”

“Are you okay, Y/N?!,” Octavio asked worriedly as he hurried over to you, not having processed what had led up to this line of events in the first place. You could feel him hovering beside you, trying to see where you had hurt yourself but you kept twisting away to avoid accidentally seeing more of Octavio’s body parts than you’d already seen. Seeming to finally sense what you were so panicked over, he finally moved back to the side of the dormitory he was previously at and put on the tank top and gray sweatpants he’d laid out before.

When Octavio said that he was dressed, you finally allowed yourself to remove your hands from your eyes and cautiously turned around to face him. “You didn’t tell me when you were coming back so after I went for a few spins around the range, I thought I’d quickly take a shower and change here. I didn’t think you’d come back so soon, sorry,” Octavio apologised quickly as he proceeded to towel his hair dry.

“I-It’s fine. Just please get dressed in the bathroom before you come back to the room in the future,” you said, not knowing exactly where to look. The gray sweatpants were honestly not helping either. To hide the growing blush on your cheeks, you bent down to sweep up the cookie and its crumbs into the palm of your hand before dumping them into the trash can. Inside the trash can, you spotted numerous empty syringes stained green from the stim Octavio used to increase his movement speed. Why’d he throw them away here if he’d used them in the practice range?

You were just about to ask Octavio about it when you noticed that he was frowning at you. “You lied to me earlier, Y/N. I bumped into Ajay on my way back here and she said she’s not seen you since yesterday,” Octavio said as he folded his arms across his chest. His anger suddenly faded and his voice gave away the pain and confusion he was feeling. “Why would you lie to me about something stupid like that?”

Surprised at this reaction, you tried to reply as best as you could without giving away what you were actually doing but failing terribly because your words came out sounding harsher than you’d planned them to be “I just...I just needed some space, okay? We’ve spent almost 24/7 with each other and I just needed a break from that. I was with Pathfinder playing Monopoly, not with Ajay. I only told you that because I didn’t want you to find me if you came looking for me, I’m sorry.”

When Octavio finally processed your words, his eyes widened and he quietly asked “So, what you’re saying is I’ve been too...what, clingy? You don’t like having me around, is that it?” You were lost for words. You didn’t understand how Octavio had made a connection between you needing some space and you not wanting to be around him entirely. But before you could try and correct him, Octavio said with a firm steeliness visible in his light green eyes “Fine. I’ll give you space.”

“Octavio, don’t be silly. I was just-wait, come back!,” you’d desperately started to explain what you’d meant when Octavio dashed out of the dormitory past you, slamming the door roughly behind him. You sat down abruptly onto the bed and flopped onto your back. Why was being in a fake relationship so hard?

#apex legends #apex octane #apex octavio silva #apex fanfic #apex legends pathfinder #pathfinder #mirage #apex mirage #elliott witt #octavio silva #fake dating #love triangle #fanfiction #apex fanfiction #apex legends fanfiction

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mercerislandbooks · 3 years

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Try Audio Books for Book Bingo!

Thanks to the recent Seattle Times article with the reminder that listening to an audio book constitutes reading a book for the purposes of Book Bingo, I was able to use some of my recent audio book “reads” to fill in a few Book Bingo squares!

For me, audio books have been a fun way to squeeze in a few more titles per month. I listen when I work out, on my way to and from work, when I’m knitting, and, when I’m really into an audio book, on my lunch breaks. I especially like listening to YA (bonus points if they have dual narrators, so fun!), romance, and some nonfiction, which is often narrated by the author, as you’ll see below. Every so often I’ll add in a literary fiction, like Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet. The pleasure of truly excellent prose spoken aloud adds a depth to my experience of the story. I can’t listen to an audiobook as fast as I can read a book, so it gives me more time to think about the characters, what is happening in the plot and speculate about what might happen next. When I listened to The Dutch House (read by Tom Hanks) I was continually surprised by the twists of the plot. When I listened to Gold Diggers, I was able to step away long enough to remind myself these were fictional characters, because I thought they were making so many bad choices!

Island Books partners with Libro.fm, a local independent audio book platform. Readers who want to support Island Books and get downloadable audio books can purchase a monthly subscription, or buy audio books a la carte, while designating their chosen independent bookstore. Most of our staff uses the Libro.fm app, and whenever I personally mention in a recommendation card or in a blog that I listened to the audio book, it has been exclusively using Libro.fm.

Here are my recent audio book “reads” that are helping me fill in my Book Bingo!

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

I’ve read several of John Green’s YA titles, (The Fault in our Stars, Looking for Alaska, and Turtles all the Way Down) and heard he had a podcast, but never listened to it. So when I saw he had a book of essays coming out, and that he was reading the audiobook, I thought it would be a nice change of pace from all the YA rom-coms I’d been devouring. There’s something lovely about hearing an author read their personal essays aloud, knowing that they are acutely aware of the intent they are trying to convey to their reader/listener. Having no preconceptions, I found this a delightful ramble through John Green’s thoughts about things as varied as the Indy 500, Kentucky Bluegrass (which I initially thought was the music genre and was confused as to all this discussion of lawn care), and Air-Conditioning. Green gives a concise deep dive into each subject, but always circles back to his own, quite moving, personal experience. The through line in each, either explicitly or not, is the disruption of the Covid pandemic, and he imbeds in each essay a snapshot of whatever uncertainty we were all contending with at that particular time. I used The Anthropocene Reviewed for my “Poetry or Essays” square.

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

I know this has already been one of the big books of the summer, especially among the late teens and early twenties readers. I had it in my to listen queue when I found it listed on the Seattle Public Library’s “Peak Picks” page - perfect way to fill in that square! I listened to the bulk of it on a recent road trip and, for me, the audio book was the perfect way to submerge myself in the story without overthinking the moments that slightly strained my credulity. August has recently moved to New York City as a way to hopefully finish college, extract herself from her mother’s obsession with a particular cold case, and be alone without feeling lonely. She stumbles into an apartment situation with a handful of quirky characters, a job as a waitress at a pancake restaurant, and a commute on the Q train to school. Which is where she meets Jane. August has a crush at first sight, especially after Jane rescues August with a scarf to cover her coffee ruined shirt. But August starts to realize there’s something different about Jane - she listens to cassettes on a Walkman, she’s always wearing the same outfit, and she’s always, always on the Q train whenever August gets on. This is certainly a romance, and there’s plenty of steamy moments, but the relationships between August and her roommates moved me the most as they slowly break down her protective shell. August struggles to let herself love others, and to let herself be loved, so listening to her gradual change was tender and sweet. I loved seeing her find her people, a place where she felt like she belonged, and realize how full and good her life could be. One Last Stop would also work for Romance, QTBIPOC and Coming of Age Book Bingo squares.

The View Was Exhausting by Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta

This one I didn’t start for any particular Book Bingo square, but The View Was Exhausting would work for Romance, Beach Read, QTBIPOC, or Recommended by a Local Bookseller (me!). All I knew going in was it was a romance with the fake dating trope and set in the upper echelons of Hollywood society. I figured it would be a fun escapist look behind the scenes of a lifestyle a million miles away from my own. Whitman “Win” Tagore is an A-list British Indian actress chasing after a coveted role in a Hemingway film adaptation when scandal erupts in her personal life. She retreats to Saint-Tropez to do damage control by calling in her on again off again “boyfriend”, society darling/male model Leo Milanowski. The world thinks that Win and Leo have a love story for the ages, but since the moment they met at age 20, it’s been about public image - fake dating on a global stage. First I was captured by narrator, Tania Rodrigues, and her precise English accent that she molds to fit every character. Her voice reading Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta’s words made me feel like I was in each exotic location. Second, the whole concept raised really interesting questions about the double standard for men and women in the film industry, and especially for women of color. Win feels like she has to faultlessly maintain her image in order to have the career she wants, and so as not to make it harder for any other British Indian actresses coming up behind her. She goes to great lengths, with her loyal publicist, to craft the image she thinks the public wants, the producers and directors want, and is exhausted by the effort. I found myself wondering if Win could just refuse to play the game? This is an audio book I raced through because I couldn’t wait to see what would happen!

I hope everyone is finding something fun to read or listen to this summer. If you want to sign up for a Libro.fm membership, go to the sidebar on our website, islandbooks.com and click on the link. Time for me to pick my next listen!

— Lori

#island books #lori robinson #BookBingoNW2021 #Librofm #audiobooks #summer reading #john green #the anthropocene reviewed #casey mcquiston #one last stop #mikaella clements #onjuli datta #the view was exhausting

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chiseler · 3 years

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Ballard’s Abandoned Landscapes

If you set reality at noon on an analog clock, most science fiction would range from about 4:30 to 6. Philip K. Dick might ring in at 7:30. J.G. Ballard? 9 pm or your personal bedtime.

I’m talking about early, ‘60s Ballard, simply because that’s what hit me first and still hits me hardest. I recently bought (downloaded to my Kindle – interesting to think where that might fit into the Ballard world) his complete stories, but I’ve stopped dead, for now, at “Terminal Beach,” one of the finest short stories in the English language. So that’s the era I’m going to talk about. I’m an old fart and entitled.

It’s hard to pin down what defines any writer, what sets him apart from any other writer. In Ballard’s case, beyond the bizarre settings and sprung mental framework, I think it’s the unique uniting of personal isolation and claustrophobia with a sense of unbordered physical and internal space.

Many of the stories are set in deserts or uninhabited/disinhabited, windswept nowheres. He seldom introduces more than two or three characters, who often interact like cyborgs hurling dogturds at a target close to each others’ heads. Things happen without explanation and often without resolution.

Several of the stories deal with Vermillion Sands, an artistic community of the future where the world of art has run aesthetically and conceptually amok. Statues move and crawl, poetry drifts on the winds, ideas (and ideals) that were set up to evolve across the landscape peter out like grandpa in his dotage. But if you look at the impetus behind the individual elements, most of them have been realized, in one form or another, in the half century since Ballard wrote these stories.

At the uber-level, he knew. He saw. He envisioned. Many writers of SF’s “Golden Age” pictured isolated developments surprisingly well. They understood how technology would (or might) unfold. What Ballard saw was the human drive and how, in a technological society, it could be revealed. He was like Bradbury that way, and it may be the universe’s quiet salute that they died so temporally near each other.

I might have made it sound like Ballard was dreary or empty, a drum beaten in a deserted warehouse. Sometimes he was. Not every story is a resonant gem. But at his (often) best, he brought together characters, or a character and an environment, with such understated intensity that they caught fire without oxygen. People you would never want to know, never want to meet, never want to think about sizzle and sparkle in their own personal skies. I don’t know if that gives any kind of useful image, but it’s as close as I can come to pinning them against Ballard’s backdrop.

So let’s look at a few of those stories from the late '50s, early '60s.

Along with the sense of abandonment, there is often a dissolution of personal experience. In “The Last World of Mr. Goddard,” an unexceptional man living in a closely locked house keeps a miniature world alive in crate. How real is this tiny world and how connected to his? We find out to his and our chagrin. (It might make you think of Theodore Sturgeon’s “Microcosmic God,” but it goes in an entirely different direction.)

“The Watch-Towers” presents the landscape overseen by an evenly-spaced grid of floating towers, obviously peopled, but no one knows by whom, from where or why. Nor, like the inhabitants below, are we allowed to find out. The towers simply are. But there are repercussions for ignoring or disdaining them.

The completely isolated characters of “Manhole 69” are subjects of an experiment that has removed the need for sleep. They live and interact without mental pause 24 hours a day. What happens to their unrelieved minds? And can they tell how much of the crushing claustrophobia is outside, how much in?

“Mr. F. is Mr. F.” merges two of Ballard’s obsessions: isolation/dissolution, and time as an inexorable enemy. Mr. F., confined to his bed and managed by his overbearing wife, is becoming younger by the day but not internally stronger. The cycle he goes through is especially terrifying for being, in that confined bedroom, absurdly mundane.

The battle with time in “The Garden of Time” is even more isolated, as a couple keep the depredations of an advancing war rabble at bay by picking a time flower each evening – while the flowers, which refuse to bud anew, ever dwindle in number: Time can be held at bay, but it will be the victor at ages’ end.

“Chronopolis” is a deserted city, the result of an edict which forbid clocks, watches and all observance of time’s passage. We follow the underground progress of renegade isolates driven by the need to know when.

Again, from these descriptions it may seem that Ballard ignores character for theme and textured absurdity. Actually, almost all of Ballard’s early stories are driven by character, fully realized human beings set in skewed or inverted situations and let go to wend their way, accepting the impossible even while battling against it.

Mangon, “The Sound-Sweep,” operates a sonovac. Like your Hoover or Electrolux, it ingests the unwanted and untidy, but in this case the refuse is sound, suctioned with exquisite care. Mangon can remove the harsh overlays of a cathedral’s yattering tourists while leaving intact the chant-soak of the stones. But what most defines him is his love for the over-the-hill opera singer, Madame Gioconda, and his sad, resigned response to her gift of derision.

Ballard for the most part ignores humor. It simply doesn’t fit into his dense, choking worlds. But he lets loose a volley of exuberant howlers in “Passport to Eternity.” A couple with all the solar system at their disposal for a vacation attempt to plan the perfect getaway. This leads them to investigate a scattering of underground firms offering … what they outline in half a dozen pages would fill an entire Philip K. Dick novel. Ballard slaps one bizarre and tortured idea after another onto the page, held in place by Laurel and Hardy glue.

And, of course, there’s “The Terminal Beach.” Wandering alone among the concrete ruins of Eniwetok, the island staging grounds for atomic and hydrogen bomb tests, Traven (B. Traven?) loses himself inside the maze of pseudo-buildings erected to examine the effects of mankind’s most unrestrained energy on its most vulnerable structures.

He talks with his lost family and to the skeletal remains of a Japanese flier tied to a porch chair. He is visited by a scientific team who cannot coax him to leave his vigil, because he is trying to find – what? Justification? The past? A sense of why he has no future? Afterwards, you might think Borges, or in some sense Nabokov. But while you’re reading it, you won’t think of anything else.

by Derek Davis

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dalamjisung · 4 years

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addicted ❁ choi youngjae

word count: 3676

genre: fluff

pairing: reader x choi youngjae

description: you might be three years late, but good things come for those who wait.

You meet through Tinder because that’s how everyone meets nowadays. Or maybe you meet before that; get introduced before, talk before— at the coffee shop he works,— but officially meet through Tinder. Yeah, that’s how you know his name, anyways. Youngjae. At the coffee shop you don’t really talk, but you text and that’s even worse than Tinder; you want to hear his voice. He has a nice voice and it calms you down when he says that everything will be alright, his overwhelmingly fake confidence taking over your overwhelmingly misplaced anxiety. A match made in heaven, really.

Too bad it took you almost three years to notice. But you know now; oh, boy, how you know. You know from the moment you wake up, when you get dressed and your hand linger on your AC/DC t-shirt, thinking about how he likes the band and how you only know that because you know he’s in charge of the playlist in the coffee shop. You think of him in the afternoon, walking down the hill to the small town, when’re you know that, crossing under the bridge, on the other side of the tracks, he will be, inside the coffee shop, cleaning the table next to the counter, because he always seems to be cleaning that table when you get to the shop– he will smile, make a joke or two, and pull out the chair for your heavy book bag. More than ever, though, you think of him at night, when you are about to leave the shop after a long day of homework and essays, and when he’s not even on shift, but rather just hanging out there, since all his friends work there intermittently, and before you go he hands you a cup– tea, hot chocolate, coffee… whatever he feels you might need for the walk home. You always try to pay, and he always laughs it off, which consequently makes you two start to bicker, annoying and amusing everyone around you at the same time. You haven’t payed for coffee in five months.

For months that’s how it is; the both of you talk, ignoring the whole Tinder thing. Until it happens again. It’s about four or five months later when your roommate, Mina, having one of her usual breakdowns, convince you to download Tinder with her. It happens from time to time– she realizes she feels alone, downloads a dating app, goes out with a guy, and, once it inherently goes bad, vows to never do it again. You on the other hand, never reaches the ‘going out’ stage. You chat with people and it’s all fun and games until they ask you out and you get fed up with this whole thing. It’s just what happens– until Youngjae. You notice his smile before anything else– it’s a picture of him in front of the Koffee Haus, mid-laugh in the sun. Only after you feel a familiar warmth spreading, you realize it’s him. Youngjae. Choi Youngjae. Barista Youngjae. Your Youngjae.

Three days pass and you refuse to swipe. Not left, nor right; you stay put, in hopes that the app crashes or malfunctions and reloads automatically. As if you were that lucky. His face is the first thing you see when you open the app, time and time again, and you know you have to make a decision and stick by it. You know that if you swipe right, you can’t bail– you’ll have to follow through, for everyone’s sake, your’s included. It takes a two-hour conversation with your roommate and a full afternoon with him to settle it; you’ll swipe right as soon as you get home.

Saying you ran all the way back to your dorm is downplaying it, but as soon as you get there, finding Mina in the kitchen, you swipe right. The relief is as instant as the ‘It’s a match!’ screen, and the fear comes as quick as Mina’s bodyslam. She is shouting out of excitement after knocking your air out of your lungs and leaving you in the ground as she runs around the small apartment, screaming incoherent things about love and unicorns.

“You have to text him!”

You don’t, you want to scream back out of pure stubbornness, but you know she is right. You have to commit to it, that’s the only way you’ll ever be able to do this. Dating has been an issue for you ever since you can remember. The whole things about intimacy and vulnerability just wasn’t your forte…

“Okay,” You take a deep breath, hand grabbing your phone firmly. “You’re right, I have to text him– I mean, I swiped right! It would only make sense!”

“Exactly,” Mina agrees, breathing harsh like yours. She is nervous for you and that is one of the reasons why you’ve been roommates for almost four years. Your friendship being much more than a simple word and title; she’s been family ever since you’ve known her. “And it’s not weird! You don’t have to worry about that– cause I know you are– because he also swiped on you! It’s like a mutual confession of attraction or something.”

“You’re right,” You repeat. “There is nothing to be embarrassed. And who says the woman can’t make the first move? We’re on the goddamn 21st century, you know? If he wants to make it weird because I texted first–“

“Just do it!”

You scream as you do it– putting your password, looking for the app, and finally opening the chat.

Hello again.

Well, you were not expecting that.

“He texted you,” Mina shouts in your ear. “Oh my god, Y/N, he texted you!”

The night goes like that, filled with screams and giggles and excitement, and you only wished it would last forever. When you see him at the coffee shop the next day, you wave, blushing when he winks back. He is not on shift, and you know. He excitedly chats with his friends about life and you know he’s looking at you– you can feel his gaze heavy on the top of your head. He circles around you like a shy kid, sitting on three different places in thirty minutes. First the stools in front of you, then the ones behind you, and finally the table across the small room from yours. You end up ditching homework and talking to him for hours, once you gather enough courage to invite him to sit with you.

A joke here, a joke there, and Youngjae is suddenly more and more present in your daily life; talking to you almost everyday for a week. At the coffee shop, in person, and then back at your dorm, through Tinder. It got constant enough that people started to notice– the other baristas, his friends, your friends. Everyone watching, keeping tabs, asking. It got to the point that it freaked you out enough to ask for his phone number, so that everyone wouldn’t always be staring at your phone, waiting for his name to pop up on an app notification. You think you’ve got it all down once he gives it to you, but the despair comes back when his first text comes through.

Okay, so what are your expectations out of this?

The conversation ends with you crying on your carpet at 1AM, anxiously waiting for a text back. A confirmation, a rejection, anything but silence.

I like you too.

“Y/N,” Mina gasps, reading the message out loud, enough to be heard over your crying. “I am so happy for you, babes.”

She joins you on the floor, hugging you as you cry even more, relieved that you haven’t ruined everything.

“What was there to ruin, love?” She asks, holding your hand.

“I live at the Koffee Haus, Mina,” You sigh, sniffling every now and then. “The people in there are like family to me. Jackson, Bambam, Yugyeom, Jaebeom, Jinyoung, Mark. If I had ruined all of this just because of a boy I don’t think I’d ever forgive myself…” “But he’s not just a boy,” She points out.

“How do you know?” You ask, eyes closing. “I’m the one that likes him, and even I’m not sure.”

“Because I know you,” She shrugs. “Years of living together will do that to you, babes. You are the most calculating person I know– always careful to not hurt or bother anyone, measuring your words to not offend anyone, doing your best to pass unnoticed and not interrupt anyone. You decided to do this, Y/N– you consciously decided to do this. He is not just a boy. He can’t be.”

“I’m scared,” You whisper, squeezing her hand.

“Of what?”

“Of messing up.”

You wake up on the carpet and late for your morning class. Deciding to skip (for once in your life,) you take a shower and calmly go back to your bed, where your back cracks and relaxes as you fall asleep again. Mina is the one to wake you up once she’s back.

“Y/N,” She giggles. “Babes, it’s already three in the afternoon. Wake up.”

You mumble something and tiredly open your eyes, smiling lightly.

“I needed this sleep,” You yawn, sitting up.

“I know,” Mina drops her bag in the ground and climbs on your bed with you, sitting with her back against the wall, and you do the same, your shoulders touching. “You are probably tired from studying at the Koffee Haus for hours– sometimes you just need a break.”

“What are you talking about?” You laugh. “I haven’t been at the coffee shop since yesterday. I slept the whole day… Should I email my professor?”

“Does that mean you have been ignoring Youngjae since yesterday?!” Mina shrieks, making your eyes go wide as both of you lunge towards your cellphone.

“Oh my god, no,” You groan, rapidly clicking on your phone so that the screen lights up. “I put it on silent.”

“Goddamn it,” Mina scrolls through the various notifications. “You and this phone… I think it’s been on silent since day one.”

“There!” You shout, and unlock the screen.

We missed you today… everything okay?

“Okay, it’s not that bad,” You shrug, typing out a response. “How does ‘lol just took a very needed nap’ sounds?”

“Sounds good,” Mina approves and the two of you giggle. “This feels like we are back to being fourteen.”

“I know, right?” You smile. “Feels good…”

“Well, get ready, girl,” Mina winks. “It’s about to get much better.”

Everything that comes next goes by in what feels like a second; you keep going to the Koffee Haus, of course, and Youngjae keeps giving you free coffee, although you insist to pay every time. Homework gets done– even though it takes longer with your distracted stares and his not-so-subtle winks– and drinks are made, and within a week, you have a date, a time, and a place. Friday night, 9PM, at the Tavern. Things are going fast– too fast,– but you like it, because then it doesn’t give you enough time to back down. It is just the pace for you.

Friday comes in a blink and you are nervous, pacing the room in your underwear as Mina pulls black jeans after black jeans in an effort to put something together.

“If you want to put some makeup,” She says moving on to your tops drawer. “The time is now; you’re already late.”

“I’m nervous,” You say as you covered some pimples with concealer. “Like, really nervous.”

“It shows,” Mina laughs and her head pops behind you in the mirror. “It’s cute.”

Things are simple, from the way you are dressed to the place Youngjae chose, and you hope things stay like that as you walk down the hill to meet him. You see him through the window a little before he sees you, too distracted chatting with Jackson and Jinyoung and you can’t help but feel more and more nervous. What are they doing there? Are they there do observe the shit show this will eventually be once you mess up? Oh God, what if–

“Hey! Come in,” Youngjae chuckles from the door. “We have a date, remember?”

“How could I forget?” You joke and your voice cracks a little, suddenly feeling light headed and out of air. His smile doesn’t falter, but you see it in his eyes– he noticed.

Guiding you to a table a little away from the other, you sit down before ordering a drink. Youngjae chuckles and small talk starts– how-are-you-where-are-you-from kind of small talk and you hate it. You absolutely hate it because you knew it all; you knew his hometown, his age, his birthdate. You’ve been through this already when you first met, three years ago. You think he notices, squinting his eyes at you as you finish your drink in three gulps and muttering something.

“What?” You ask, allowing your uncomfortableness to come out as a low chuckle.

“Nothing,” He shakes his head.

“No, come on,” You whine. “What were you laughing about?”

“Honestly?” He asks, leaning forward. You nod. “You just look really beautiful and I got distracted.”

What follows is probably something you will never forget, because that is the moment you felt so embarrassed that you allow your head to bang the table. Getting up, you see him laughing and you smile, finally seeing in person that photo of him in the sun. He looks ethereal, even under the purple lights of the dimly lit bar. After that, however, conversation is fluid; it is almost as if by head butting the table, you embarrassed yourself enough to not feel embarrassed by anything else. Anxiety came and went, still, but Youngjae allowed no space for it, simply grabbing your hands and gesturing in between you and him.

“It’s just us,” He’d whisper, getting closer and closer to you. “Don’t worry, everything is alright, yeah? Just you and me, Y/N.”

“Okay,” You’d smile nervously. “Just you and I.”

Turned out it wasn’t just you and him, and that Chaemin, an ex-something of yours– ex-fling, ex-friend, ex-everything,– seemed to quite enjoy going to the Tavern too, arriving in the most loud and obnoxious way possible. He walks in as if he owns the place, and you feel nausea taking over.

“Oh shit,” Youngjae says when he spots Chaemin. Sighing, he offer a polite smile to the boy that kept staring at you two. “Fucking douchebag. He comes to the Koffee Haus almost everyday…”

“I know,” You gulp. “I see him, too.”

“Hey, your hands are cold as shit,” He frowns. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah!” You exclaim, maybe a little too loud for him to believe you. “It’s just; just– that’s–“

“Hey, what did I say before?” Now his hands is fully on yours, fingers laces, palms together. “You and me, Y/N. I’m having a great time and I won’t let fucking Vanilla Latte there ruin it.”

You smile, chuckling a little.

“Vanilla latte?” You ask, leaning forward enough to meet me him halfway over the table. The tension is so palpable anyone can feel it, and you think you might just kiss, with everyone looking and you don’t even care. But he backs away. You see something flashing in his eyes, but it’s gone in a second and the conversation goes back to its natural flow. His hands never leave yours, though, and you especially loved when he’d squeeze them together, assuring you once again.

Four hours pass as if they were a few minutes and soon enough you are getting calls and texts about your whereabouts.

“Sorry,” You smile. “Just have to assure my roommate I’m alive.”

“Nah, it’s alright,” He winks and gets up. “Tell her I only kill after the third date.”

Youngjae goes to bathroom and you take your time in your phone, promising every single friend that texted that you are alive and well. One of the baristas brings another drink and you look at her surprised.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I–“

“It’s on the house, love,” She says and offers you a smile. “I’m Vanessa.”

“Oh, thank you then!” You exclaim happily. “I’m Y/N, nice to meet you.”

“Pleasure’s mine,” Vanessa says. “It’s nice to see Youngjae laughing.”

Before you can say anything, you feel a hand on your lower back.

“Gossiping about me, girls?” Youngjae laughs.

“Of course,” Vanessa winks at you. “I had to meet the girl that made it here.”

“Alright, alright,” He whines and jokingly pushes her away. “You can have a date with her another day.”

You laugh and you finally realize how relaxed you have been for the past hour or so. Youngjae had that effect on you– he made you feel like being yourself was the only and best option. And that’s when you realize you actually like him– enough to want to ask him out, enough to want to kiss him, enough to want to have him, and give yourself in return.

“It’s already one in the morning,” You laugh checking your phone. “Guess we’ve been here for a while…”

“Do you have anything important tomorrow?” Youngjae asks, squeezing your hand and caressing it with his thumb. “I can walk you home now, if you want…”

“I guess,” You mumble, suddenly remembering everything you had to do the next day. “But you don’t have to walk me home if that’s not the way you’re going anyways.”

“I’m coming back here after I drop you off,” He shrugs. “I just don’t like the idea of you walking alone at night.”

“You’re coming back?” You say, getting up and gathering your things. “Then you definitely don’t need to walk me all the way back– I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

“Nope,” Youngjae smiles. “Let me just pay the bill and we’ll go.”

He’s gone in a second, and you take the chance to slip a ten dollar bill in his discarded jacket’s pocket. Once he’s back, he puts the jacket on and you smile, following him outside. He extends his hand to you and you grab it excitingly, only then realizing you feel for a trap– you pull away laughing, with your ten dollar bill in hand. The walk is filled with whispers and laughter and the back and forth of the ten dollar bill– it’s only when Youngjae manages to put it on your jacket’s pocket that he pulls you close by the waist, nose touching each other, and asks.

“Can I kiss you?”

You can help but giggle as you nod, and he is quick to claim your lips, claiming the rest of you in consequence. He is surprisingly firm for someone that is so gentle otherwise; lips more giving than demanding, and hands possessive and careful. You almost forget that you are in the middle of a sidewalk, if it wasn’t for Chaemin’s laughter coming from a distance.

“Youngjae,” You mutter, slowing down the kiss. “Let’s go, there are people coming.”

“No,” He groans, hiding his face in your neck. “Fuck them. I want more kisses.”

“Let’s go, you child,” You laugh, and pull him by the hand in a hurry, but it’s too late. Chaemin and his friends see you, and from his face, you know he won’t leave it alone.

“Well, hello there,” Chaemin shouts. “You two look quite… friendly.”

Youngjae looks at you, confused as you take a step back, partially hiding behind him.

“You were never that friendly with me, Y/N,” He says. “Good to see you’re changing for the better…”

“Is she, though?” One of his friends ask, and you recognize her from the Theater department. “Or is it the free coffee? She is there everyday, after all.”

“Oh, maybe you’re right,” Chaemin teases. “She is addicted, isn’t she?”

“No–“ You try to protest but Youngjae moves and you can’t see anything but the back of his hoodie.

“I don’t think she’s changed,” He says with a smile, very Youngjae like, never showing his irritation. “I just think the company got better. And sure, she is addicted to coffee, unhealthily so, what’s wrong with that?” “Easy now, coffee boy,” Chaemin takes a step forward and you freeze, knowing that either you step in, or things could easily go south. “We’re just making small talk.”

“I’m not your friend, so there’s no need for that, buddy,” Youngjae says and takes your hand, pulling you to his side. “We’ll get going now.”

“Have fun,” Chaemin calls from behind you. “If she lets you.”

“Oh, we will,” Youngjae waves and continues to guide you to your dorm.

The walk is now quiet, and you can feel Youngjae’s irritation, but you also know there’s nothing you can do about it. You are almost at the door when he stops you, pulling you back by the hand and kissing you again– fast, harsh, raw. You break apart panting, eyes searching for his, and you know; you know why he gave you free coffee, why he took you out, why helped you out. He likes you as much as you like him and although he doesn’t say anything in that moment, you feel it. I hope I’m not wrong, you think before kissing him again. You knew he liked you because he said it, but there’s a difference in between saying it, and showing it. He’s finally shown it.

“Are you going back?” You ask, pecking his lips.

“Yeah,” He smiles. “I always end up helping Vanessa on her closing shifts.”

You nod. “Can you text me once you’re back?”

“Sure thing,” He kisses you. “Goodnight, Y/N.”

“Goodnight, Youngjae.”

He texts you once you are already tucked in your bed, Mina laying next to you as you tell her all the details.

This was fun! We should do this again!

“God, I hope I’m not wrong,” You mutter, hiding your face in your pillow.

“Nah,” Mina says chuckling. “You’re addicted.”

“What about him?”

“Him too,” She laughs. “Him too, babes.”

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

hello again!!!! it’s been so long and I apologize for that :( online classes are a mess, as I’m sure many of you know. So this is a story I’ve been trying to write for days and although I’ll admit it’s not my best work, it is very dear to me. I hope you all enjoy it! Let me know what you think on the comments, it means a lot when I get your feedback... also, this might have a second part, so it’d be good to know how to make it better ❤️ thank you, love you! stay safe babes!

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noddytheornithopod · 4 years

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Okay, I’ll make a post about all the retcons in the Siege of Mandalore and my take on them because they don’t bother me and am able to accept the differences, but others seem to be struggling so here we go.

Fulcrum: I don’t see the issue here, Ahsoka wasn’t going by Fulcrum, it was simply a frequency Anakin communicated on that Ahsoka happened to know. She only took up the mantle later, and probably made it her codename as a homage to the secret system Anakin used.

Blue lightsabres: Filoni explained why he did this in Clone Wars Download, but in regards to it being a retcon to the Ahsoka novel... there’s not much we can do. Someone argued “green energy” being described might be Ahsoka feeling her crystals through the force and how even though Anakin changed their frequency, they still feel like hers? Not crazy about this explanation, but this is a small error that I find fixable.

Ahsoka/Maul duel: This can be taken as just an adaptational thing. When you compare the novel and comic adaptions to the movies, all kinds of stuff shows up. If it’s TOO different, I think the key to it is it being part of Ahsoka’s flashbacks. Ahsoka could be trying to remember things differently, a less painful version of what really happened.

Ahsoka being told about Anakin as Vader: Simple denial. I mean, that was even the case in Rebels. She sensed him through the Force, she had that vision in the Lothal temple but she never really processed it was Anakin until she saw with her own eyes his face under the slashed helmet. Also, of course she refused to believe Maul, and all she could tell from sensing Windu vs Palpatine was that Anakin was in serious trouble.

Rex doing Order 66: A LOT of people have weighed in on this, including myself because I KNEW the backlash would come. As I said in my post about it, it’s like one of those lines in the Original Trilogy that now has a different meaning because of the Prequels. It’s very “a certain point of view”, but I think the most important thing to remember is that this is what Rex personally believes however you choose to view it, and that he was talking to a literal Order 66 survivor. “I almost killed my Jedi but got better” isn’t very comforting to Kanan.

Maul’s escape: Again, part of it could be flashback stuff, especally because it was very vague. For more detail though... a choice between killing Maul and saving Rex. Yes, that didn’t come up. You could argue it was there in a small way: Ahsoka DID have a chance to kill Maul when everything went down as he was contained, but it was hardly a choice between him and Rex. It might be more fitting to go with the unreliable narrator route again: if you think about it, Maul basically caused the deaths of all of these clones because she underestimated him. She hoped he’d merely cause a distraction and maybe die, but he doesn’t just escape, he brings everyone down as he does so. Imagining a more simple dilemma is probably less painful.

Lady Tano: Yeah, Maul last seeing Ahsoka isn’t exactly her running away. But who’s to say this is the only time between now and Rebels they met? Maybe he also meant her running away from joining him. Grrr, peeps why do I feel obliged to do this lol. Look, if they meet again it’s at least not gonna be like Legends where Han and Lando keep making up after fighting because they apparently need to be fighting before Empire Strikes Back.

Faking deaths: IDK about you, but if I disappeared without a trace or only left lightsabres at a massive Star Destroyer crash, people would be assuming I’m pretty dead. Oh, but then who made the graves, and what about a remnant of Rex? Well, there aren’t graves marked for the naval staff, and they only found as many clones as they could (do you see the shock troopers? I thought not), so Rex’s armour wasn’t there. As for who made the graves... well we don’t know there ISN’T anyone on this planet, hmm? With Ahsoka’s lightsabres being buried, well the one she still had was marked at the grave site. As for why it said both... gah why am I doing this, these things don’t even bother me? And I think Ahsoka and Rex had graves made for themselves too? Look, maybe they’re there and we didn’t see it and it’s an adaption thing. Or unreliable narrator and Ahsoka finding the mass grave too panful versus just them two faking graves. Sigh. Also, they probably escaped into the underworld after making the grave, lol.

Okay, Noddy, why the hell did you make this giant post to try and justify a bunch of retcons most people won’t even care about, and you yourself think are easily reconcilable or too small to care about? Well I mean, that kind of is the point - most of these details are really vague and don’t really change the overall story. Some like “I didn’t betray my Jedi” and the different fight are bigger, but I think you can reconcile them easily if you’re creative enough.

Filoni wanted to tell what he thought was the best story he could, and to do so he was willing to focus on that above appeasing every little detail. Lots of people get pretty hung up on the little details and cause that to ruin their immersion, and unfortunately this is widespread in several fandoms. For me, instead of getting mad at small things that I think are easily reconcilable, I prefer to accept not everything will 100% line up and that it’s more fun to think of creative ways around these inconsistencies.

I’m not trying to change anyone’s mind here. If these things break your immersion too much, I can’t change your mind. A lot of my explanations are BIG stretches, and they are by design - they’re an exercise in lateral thinking to creatively make the problem solved instead of getting upset about them. I don’t think Filoni is being careless with continuity, he’s too into what he does to be. Like I said, I think he wants to just tell what he can even if it sacrifices smaller details, and for fans to keep an open mind.

I do get why people get annoyed over stuff like this. Making a more consistent timeline makes the larger story overall more coherent, but when it becomes out focus we often forget about the emotional and thematic parts to media.

This is already longer than I expected it to be, so it probably is pretty rambly. I didn’t need to do this, but here we are.

#tcw spoilers #star wars #the clone wars

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duhragonball · 4 years

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[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (125/?)

Disclaimer: This story features characters and concepts based on Dragon Ball, which is a trademark of Bird Studio/Shueisha and Toei Animation. This is an unauthorized work, and no profit is being made on this work by me. This story is copyright of me. Download if you like, but please don’t archive it without my permission. Don’t be shy.

Continuity Note: About 1000 years before the events of Dragon Ball Z.

[7 July, 233 Before Age. Fytpall IV.]

They told stories on Fytpall IV, of a creature that slept at the bottom of the wine-dark sea. Immeasurably old, it had lain dormant for undreaming eons, and one day it would awaken and resume whatever unfathomable business it had upon the surface. It was said that the creature was indescribable, and all who saw it were driven mad by its appearance. Even the fish knew to avoid that part of the sea, and so it was utterly devoid of life.

The legend was mostly true, although the Fytpallians had overestimated the creature somewhat. Gorath'th the Defiler of Souls was eminently describable. It had a body somewhat like a carnivorous dinosaur, only its skin was smooth and slimy like a frog's, and at the end of its long neck was a jawless mouth ringed with pointed teeth. Tentacles would snake out of its throat when it ate, and it had a eerily humanoid eye on the center of its chest. Instead of fingers or toes, its limbs ended with thousands of hair-like cilia.

Also, contrary to the Fytpallian tradition, Gorath'th would never reawaken, as it had been accidentally killed during a battle between Luffa and the Jindan Saiyans who had invaded Fytpall a week earlier. The invaders had tried to lure Luffa underwater, hoping that they would find an advantage there, but instead she unleashed a massive ki attack, as she believed there were no innocent life forms in the area to get caught in the blast. And this was true enough, for the Defiler of Souls was by no means "innocent." Gorath'th was vaporized in its sleep, never knowing what had destroyed it. Would such an ancient and unknowable horror have felt humiliation over such an ignoble death? Probably. Gorath'th was a lot more insecure about these things than anyone knew.

The irony was that the enormous explosion that had destroyed Gorath'th hadn't even been meant to kill anything. Luffa had only used it as a diversion. While her two enemies moved off to escape the range of the attack, Luffa propelled herself through it, just so she could catch one of them off guard and drive her fist into his face. A normal Saiyan would have been killed on impact, but the Jindan power had made this one strong enough to survive. That was fine. She was quite satisfied to simply break his jaw. That would be enough to keep him from saving his comrade.

The Jindan Saiyans were stronger than ordinary Saiyans, but they were still no match for Luffa in a one-on-one scenario. Accordingly, they worked in squads of at least six. Luffa countered this strategy by splitting them up and picking them off one at a time. Now, she closed in on her true prey, a Saiyan woman with scars running down both sides of her face. She had looked very confident in herself when she had been flanked by seven teammates, but now she was alone. Luffa struck her hard enough to knock her out of the water like a missile. She flew after Scarface and battered her with her fists every time she was close enough to strike. By the time Broken Jaw recovered--if he ever recovered--Scarface would be too badly hurt to help him.

The key, Luffa had found, was to resist the urge to finish her enemies off. That was what they expected her to do, after all, and she had found it was best to keep switching targets as quickly as possible. She sensed Bald Guy pulling himself together from the beating she had given him a thousand miles away, while Kidney Punch seemed to be alive, but he had lost the will to fight. The other four--Shorty, Screamer, Kinda Cute, and Head Wound-- were already dead. She would kill them all eventually, but it was important to keep them from regrouping or formulating any kind of plan. Her right knee and left shoulder were still bothering her, and while she was certain that she could kill four Jindan Saiyans at once, she couldn't take that chance. She had been fighting battles like this on a dozen planets already, and each one had taken a toll on her body. If she allowed herself to take too much damage on any one battle, then she would risk losing the war.

Luffa refused to let that happen. Dying in any one battle would rob her of the battles yet to come. That was what she told herself. It was easier than facing the real reasons.

[4 July, 233 Before Age. Buulprind III.]

The city was utterly ruined. The Jindan Saiyans who destroyed it were all dead, and Luffa was overdue to join another battle on Fytpall. But her own ship was hours away, and the transport she had planned to use had been destroyed in the battle. There were other ships, but the spaceports and shipyards were in disarray.

And she needed medical attention. Under different circumstances, Luffa might have simply taken the first spaceworthy vessel available, and headed for her next mission without bothering to bandage her wounds. But she had been too slow this time, and she knew she couldn't afford to lose any more strength. And so, she found a hospital in what remained of the city and waited for someone to treat her.

Unable to sit still for any length of time, she roamed the halls, occasionally helping herself to rolls of bandages. On the sixth floor, she found a woman sobbing over an unoccupied bed. There were a lot of people crying in this place. Some didn't cry. They just stared blankly, as though still registering what had happened to them.

"I couldn't get them all in time," Luffa said from the doorway. She hadn't meant to speak these words aloud. It wasn't until the civilian looked up and noticed her that Luffa realized she had said anything. The woman took one look at her and rose to her feet.

"I'm sorry," Luffa said. "Didn't mean to disturb you."

"Are you all right?"

The woman began to fuss over Luffa's bandages. She had applied them rather sloppily, and several of them were soaked with blood. Before Luffa could object, the woman was close enough to notice her tail.

"You're the Federatrix," she said. "Luffa."

"Yeah," Luffa said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, even as she still wiped the tears from her eyes. "These bandages are a mess. Who put these on?"

"Uh, I did," Luffa said.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, you did a better job that I could have done before yesterday," she said. "One of the nurses downstairs finally showed me how."

Luffa watched, but not very carefully. Mostly, it was just an excuse to look away, and to avoid saying anything.

"They won't come back, will they? The Saiyans, I mean."

"No," Luffa said. "I mean, not these Saiyans. I killed them. But there might be others. Sometimes they hide and try to ambush me, or wait for me to leave the planet."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry. I wasn't fast enough to stop them. I didn't think they would blow up the city like they did, not while they were fighting with me."

"Well, you're hurt," the woman said. "I'm sure you did the best you could."

"How'd you end up here?" Luffa asked. She had been trying to steer clear of this topic, but something about the word "best" made her desperate to talk about anything else.

"I brought... It's stupid, really. He was... there was nothing they could do for him. After the blast, I went looking for help. I told him I'd come back for him. But it took me hours to find help, and they couldn't go back right away. There just wasn't enough... He was unconscious when they finally found him, and he'd lost so much blood... They took him into surgery an hour ago, and they'll do what they can, but..."

Her voice started to crack and she set her jaw as she continued to work on Luffa's bandages. "Well, it's not important now. You've seen how it is here. There's plenty of other people who can be helped. I can't just hide in here forever."

She seemed to gather strength as she spoke, and when she was done with Luffa's bandages, she clasped one of her hands into her own.

"Thanks," she said. "I needed a kick in the pants to get me motivated again."

"What?" Luffa asked. "I didn't mean to--"

But the woman wasn't listening. "You've been protecting us all, fighting with everything you have, in spite of your injuries. I don't know how you Saiyans can do it, but it's inspiring to have someone like you on our side. Someone who never gives up."

Luffa's eyes widened and she pulled away. "I... I have to go."

"Oh, of course. I didn't meant to take up your time. You should really have a doctor take a look at you..."

But Luffa had already run out into the hallway, and through the nearest window to escape into the sky...

*******

[7 July, 233 Before Age. Fytpall IV.]

It wasn't the joy of battle, or even the guilt she felt over innocent lives she had been unable to save. Both of those emotions were there, of course. As she kicked a Saiyan hard enough to shatter his pelvis, she couldn't help but enjoy it, and worry that it might not be enough.

But besides these feelings, what coursed through her heart was a very particular dread. She was doing the "best she could". She was the Super Saiyan, which meant that, by definition, her best was the best that any Saiyan could do, anywhere, ever.

Failure was one thing. Luffa had failed before. Her mother had taught her at an early age to get back up and try again. As much as she grieved for the civilian casualties in this conflict, she accepted it as part of the nature of war. The problem for Luffa was that when she wasn't good enough, it meant that the entire Saiyan race wasn't good enough.

Broken Jaw tried to take Luffa's head off with a blade of concentrated ki energy. She dodged it with inches to spare and responded with an energy blast from her mouth. A glancing blow, but good enough for the moment.

For a time, she had believed that a protracted battle with other Saiyans would be satisfying. Now, she wasn't so sure. In the end, they always seemed to fight just like all the other aliens and monsters she had encountered. They were just more familiar to her, in a way. Was that all the Saiyan species really was? King Rehval had boasted about shaping the destiny of the Saiyan people, and Luffa herself had always believed that the Saiyans were capable of an inherent greatness. But time after time, the Saiyans always seemed to fall short of her expectations. She was the best one, and if she was disappointed with herself, what hope was there for the rest of them?

There was no hope at all for Kidney Punch. Luffa finished him off with a Vengeance Canon through the heart. He died a warrior's death, but Luffa knew that was an empty statement. He was no courageous warrior, just a flunky in Trismegistus' mad cult. He had come to this planet to die in a useless battle, and perhaps to kill as many people as he could before death finally caught up to him. If by some miracle he had survived, he would have returned to his master's side, and lived out his days as a pathetic joke of what a Saiyan was supposed to be.

She couldn't get the woman from the hospital out of her mind. She had seen that kind of grief before. Luffa had experienced it firsthand, when she failed to save the Dorluns all those years ago. When she lost her son to the treachery of Kandai and the Tikosi. And yet, these civilians that she had failed, who were too weak to defend themselves, they seemed to bear their suffering far better than any Saiyan. To be so overcome with pain, and then to carry on helping others like that.

And that woman had said Luffa had inspired her. It shamed her to even think about it. These people of the Federation had been mostly an afterthought to Luffa. She cared about them, to a point, but they had never really been high on her list of priorities. She had defended them mostly in the abstract. Other than Extraliga, she had never spent much time among their people, or their soldiers. Now, Luffa was beginning to take some pride in them.

She wasn't sure how to feel about that. Luffa had hoped that fighting these last few cultists on Fytpall might distract her from that heavy feeling in her chest. As she tracked down Scarface, she decided that it wasn't distracting her at all. Scarface was too badly hurt to do much more than beg for her life. Perhaps it just as well that the people of the Federation gave Luffa something to be proud about. The Saiyan people didn't seem to have much to offer.

*******

[8 July, 233 Before Age. Nagaoka.]

Treekul's hair had grown to nearly three-quarters of an inch in length, for she had been without her hair trimmer for some time. Despite her confinement on this planet, surrounded by Saiyan cultists, hair growth was the most frustrating burden for her. Treekul took a private comfort in repeatedly trimming her scalp, but Rehval had forbidden this during her "apprenticeship". He said this was to discipline her mind, but she suspected that he just did these things for his own amusement.

She was late for today's "lesson", but Rehval never seemed too concerned with her punctuality. If one of his cultists stepped out of line, he would have them severely punished, but she was different. The only non-Saiyan on the planet, Treekul was never indoctrinated into their belief system. Instead, he made her a priestess and gave her a free hand to wander around his underground compound. This was all balanced by the fact that she was powerless to escape, and had no real way to resist him.

"Your distillate was very well done, Treekul," he said as she entered the chamber leading into his private laboratory. "You have some real talent."

"Look, I don't want to sound ungrateful," she said, "but why are you bothering training me at all? The war with the Federation, your vendetta against Luffa, running this cult of yours. Not to mention brewing up the Jindan potion you use to give them all that extra power you promise them. And I guess you're still the Saiyan King, even if everyone around here only knows you as Trismegistus. You've got enough on your plate already, don't you?"

"You've answered your own question," he said. "A king is only exceptional among his subjects. Surround him with other kings, and his crown becomes commonplace. So too does a teacher lose standing outside of a classroom. An alchemist loses grandeur when compared to other alchemists. A Saiyan becomes insignificant in a crowd of Saiyans. But a man who can be a king and an alchemist! A teacher and a deity. A Saiyan and a diplomat."

There were bottles and equipment arranged on her lab bench, but he was focused on a large pot of water that was suspended over a flame. Every few seconds, he sprinkled leaves and red powder into the pot, then stared intently at the surface of the liquid.

"Are you a fortune teller, too?" Treekul asked.

"You recognize the technique," Rehval said. "I'm impressed."

"I'm not an alchemist, I just study their history," Treekul replied. "I wouldn't be much good at that if I didn't know a scrying pool from a retort."

"Luffa is on Fytpall," he said. "By morning, my followers there will be dead."

"You don't sound too concerned about that," Treekul said.

"They give their lives for a higher purpose," he said.

"Level with me," Treekul said. "I'm not exactly in a position to expose your plans, and no one here would believe me if I told your secrets. What's this war of yours really for, anyway? Is it just a diversion for some other plan? Or are you really trying to kill off your own people?"

"Not at all," he said with a chuckle. "If one of them manages to kill Luffa, I would reward him beyond his wildest imaginations. Or her, but to be honest, I don't think any of the women in my fold would ever stand a chance. But for the men at least, it's not impossible, just very unlikely."

"Then why bother sending them?" Treekul asked.

"To wear her down," Rehval explained. "Before, I made the mistake of luring her to my home. I thought it would give me the advantage, but she escaped, and destroyed a lot of things I considered precious. I see now that that the only way to defeat her is by force. Not a single, decisive strike, but through attrition. My followers will chip away at her, little by little, across dozens of worlds. She seems to be healing between battles, but she still has to travel from planet to planet to block my offensives."

"What if she just quits?" Treekul suggested. At last, Rehval looked up at her, and his glare made her regret the question.

"You don't understand anything," Rehval said. "She's not just some general, like the ones you probably studied in your history books. She is a force of nature. As I rise up to claim supremacy over the Saiyan race-- and through them, the entire universe-- she rises up to oppose me. Force, counterforce. She would never back down from this challenge, and even if she did, it would only prove that she is not the threat I took her for."

"Oh," Treekul said, not understanding any of this. "Why didn't you just say so before?"

"You would understand if you had met her like I did," Rehval muttered. "If you had seen the wild look in her eyes, felt the raw intensity of her ki. No. No, she's the one. Nature resists alchemy, my dear. Each reaction, every shortcut, every convenience we make, there is a price that nature demands in return. A shrewd practitioner knows how to reach a fair bargain. This scrying pool only demands a few drops of blood, and the caloric from the fire. A glimpse into the future doesn't cost much, if that's all you seek. But my goal is to change the universe itself, and so the price I must pay is nothing less than the head of my nemesis. I was a fool to think she could ever be convinced to join me, but I had to try. Yes... I had to try. She's far too magnificent a woman... far too magnificent indeed..."

The one good thing about this rambling, Treekul thought, was that he was obsessing over some other woman, instead of herself. It wasn't much comfort to her, though. "You wanted to show me something, Boss?" she asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Yes, of course," he said. "Your performance on your last few exercises proves that you're ready to take a more hands-on approach with the cult."

"Huh?" Treekul asked.

"I want you to administer the Jindan potion, Treekul," Rehval said. "One day, I may have you manufacture it yourself, but for now, I just want you to oversee the ritual with the next class of recruits. It will help you understand how it works."

"I... I thought they just..." Treekul mimicked the act of drinking from an imaginary cup, and gulped for emphasis.

"Oh, that's definitely part of it," Rehval said. "But the rituals before that are important for preparing the subject. Heh. If you just drank the principal elixir by itself... well, I'd show you what happened to some unruly followers when they tried it, but... there isn't really anything left of them to see."

"Oh," Treekul said. Without realizing it, she took a step backward. He had been so calm and composed around her before. Almost friendly. But each time she met him, the gentle self-assured confidence seemed to slip a little more. It frightened her more than she wanted to admit. And while she knew there was no point in trying to run from him, her instincts sometimes got the better of her.

Suddenly she found herself leaning back in his arms. He had crossed the distance between them with a burst of speed she could hardly comprehend. Treekul knew about the immense power of the Saiyans, but this was her first personal demonstration.

"Ley lines," Rehval said as he looked deeply into her eyes. Her back rested against his left hand, while his right was steadying her at the hip. If he noticed her trembling, or the fear in her eyes, he didn't show it.

"I built these caverns to align with different ley lines across the planet," he said. "Can you feel it? We're standing on a node right now."

"Is that right?" Treekul said.

"The Jindan elixir is a medium between the living energy of the body and the geological energy of the planet. The Jindan transmutation allows a Saiyan to supplement his own ki with planetary power, which is usually much greater. I estimate that a planet with a high population and good biodiversity contains enough ki energy to rival any living foe, including Luffa. The trouble is that there's been no way to direct this sort of power, or to put it all at the command of an individual."

"Until you found a way," Treekul said.

"I found a better way," Rehval said with a smile. "Instead of drawing upon the life energy on Nagaoka's surface, I can tap into the energy of the planet underfoot. The hard part is converting that energy into a form that living beings can use. But I'll show you. I'll show you everything..."

"Could you, uh, let go of me?" she asked, fighting the urge to panic. She wasn't sure how he would react if she struggled, but she was reluctant to find out.

"Is that what you want?" Rehval asked. "I have so much power, Treekul. Far more than any Super Saiyan. I'm offering to share that power with you. You can feel it, can't you? Through my hands, the caverns, my followers? I very much want you to understand that power. It means a great deal to me."

"Hey, I can tell you're powerful," Treekul said, choosing her words very carefully. "But I won't fully appreciate it all until you teach me what you know, and you can't exactly do that while your hands are full, can you?"

He began to laugh, gently, the way someone would during a conversation over a meal. She was beginning to think he saw her as a friend.

"You're right, of course," he said as he finally released her. "Let's get back to the matter at hand. Alchemy is a path to power, Treekul. The Jindan ritual will show you how I can manipulate incredible energies."

"Okay, but that's not really sharing power with me," Treekul said. "Even if I learn how to do this thing, I can only make Saiyans stronger and bind them to your cult, right? That's just me doing your work for you, and you've already got me under your thumb."

"You know, that's an interesting point," Rehval said. "I hadn't thought of it that way. You see, this is exactly why teaching is so rewarding. It gives the teacher a fresh perspective." He stepped away from Treekul and began to pace around the lab, crossing his arms over his chest and looking down at the floor as he mulled it over.

"All right," he finally said, turning to look at Treekul again. "We'll do it like this. Tell me what you want. What do you desire most? Then let me show you how you can use alchemy to achieve it."

"How about a haircut?" Treekul said. This was a lie. What she wanted most was to leave Nagaoka and never return, but she doubted the wisdom of saying so out loud.

Rehval looked disappointed. "A haircut. You know, I'm starting to think you lack imagination."

"You didn't ask me to think big, you asked me what I wanted," Treekul said. "And right now, that's my answer."

"It would me much more interesting to show you how to make hair grow," Rehval replied. "Abiogenesis is a fascinating topic."

"Maybe so, but that would be the opposite of what I want, so it would be a waste of time," Treekul said. "You talk about power like all that matters is having more of it. What good is owning a mansion if the shower doesn't work?"

"Fine, you've made your point," Rehval said. "I'll need to prepare your materials for the lesson. Why don't you rest for now, and I'll send for you when I'm ready. Hm, yes, this might be interesting after all...."

With that, he began to busy himself with the reagents and glassware on the benches, and muttering to himself as he rummaged through the cabinets. Treekul hesitated for a moment, half-worried that he might grab her again if she moved, but eventually she decided that he had dismissed her, and that this might be her best chance to get away from him for a while.

She felt a strange elation as she wandered the halls of the compound. As shocked and afraid as she had been when he suddenly grabbed her like that, now that it was over, she felt like she had come away with a bit more leverage. He seemed almost desperate in some way, like he needed her approval, or something else from her that he couldn't simply take by force. As long as that was true, then she still had a chance.

And he was going to teach her something she could actually use, which was an unexpected bonus. Trimming her hair was a low priority in this situation, but he had been the one to confiscate her electric trimmer in the first place, so the fact that he might let her cut her own hair again seemed like a step in the right direction. If she couldn't escape the planet herself, and if she couldn't trick the cultists into helping her, then maybe Rehval himself might provide her with a way out.

The only problem with that, she reasoned, was that she would have to spend even more time with him for her lessons. And yet, this session had turned out to be almost exciting. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad...

NEXT: Morale

#dragon ball #fanfiction #super saiyan #luffa #lssjluffafic #treekul #trismegistus #nagaoka #buulprind #fytpall

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cyclone-rachel · 4 years

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you and me and atmosphere

a Supergirl fanfic

(post-Crisis, rating: G, word count: 2,000, pairing: Kara x present day Kenny Li although it’s pretty much completely platonic)

read on AO3 here

The stars looked different.

Kara didn’t notice immediately, as they were among the city lights and there wasn’t immediately time for her to look at the night sky clearly, but on one clear night, she did, and the realization refused to leave her alone.

She couldn’t yet examine what she recognized and what could have only been doppelganger stars from different universes, meeting in the same constellations and multiplying across the galaxy.

And that was just the stars- there was no way of knowing what planets were different from those she grew up learning the names of, studying alongside her aunt Astra no matter how much her mother disapproved as Astra brought her other ideals along with her during those visits.

She didn’t even know which ones had survived, and which still left vacant space in locations where life had once thrived, how many people on planets that once were who found themselves living different lives, with different families.

How many more people that had once lived on many planets, in many different universes, who now ceased to exist at all.

(The one exception- Argo. She had to know that it still lived, and when she and Brainy repaired the communication device that transmitted a signal back and forth there, hearing her mother’s voice answering her brought a wave of relief that overcame her as quickly as the tears that fell down her face)

Her first priority, however, on a night where she didn’t have to deal with Lex Luthor or other post-Crisis anomalies, was to find out for herself- just as she had when she first experienced such a disorientation after leaving Krypton, looking up at the stars above Midvale… first with Eliza and Jeremiah, then Alex, then a trusted friend. And now, on Earth Prime, she felt a need to do so again.

And so her search led her to an observatory located in one of the National City museums.

SPECTACLE OF THE STARS, the banner read, and Kara smiled as she looked up at it, before entering the area herself. It was close to the Krypton exhibit that she’d gotten to help with- and helped ruin, regrettably, even though that was more the fault of J’onn’s brother (she certainly hadn’t asked him to turn into a dinosaur- or for him to take Kara’s pod as a method of escape)- and before she got closer to the observatory, she lost herself a little bit in looking around there, seeing children look at everything that symbolized her journey so far, the last remaining pieces of the world she’d lost.

It was more comforting, certainly, than seeing them worship her- taking in everything with childlike wonder, admiring her accomplishments and learning her story but that inspiring them instead of throwing themselves in her path for her to save them. There was a kiosk, there, with a table that held a box of pencils and blank pieces of paper, as well as a large bottle full of those slips of paper, next to a cardboard cutout of herself, and a sign that read “How can you be a Supergirl (or Superman) to others?”.

As she watched, she saw a little girl and her mother both write things down and put them in the bottle, and she smiled. Nobody knew who she really was, here. Nobody was aware that behind Kara Danvers’s glasses was Kara Zor-El, their Supergirl, the Paragon of Hope who had helped make sure they had an Earth to live on. She and the others had brought the universe back, and as much in it as they could… but she was going to find out how much soon, after the crowd of kids around the museum’s astronomer dissipated.

“You’re in luck, you’re the last person who got here before my lunch break.” Says the astronomer.

Kara adjusts the bag she’s carrying on her shoulder, trying to be casual.

“Well, far be it from me to get between anyone and food.” She says. “I can… take a look myself, it’s okay.”

“Nope, that’s against the rules, I have to give my spiel to everyone.” He answers. “So, how much do you know about astronomy?”

A lot more than anyone would think.

“I learned the basics in middle and high school.” She says instead, casually, before looking up at the telescope, and the equipment attached to it. “How does this work, exactly?”

He smiles, and she moves aside so he can show her.

“Actually, I started out making a prototype of this myself.” He says. “And when I started working here, I got to design this version- basically the same technology, but on a larger scale and with a bigger budget. Without bogging you down in all the specifics, this screen-“ he gestures to it, with a constellation already visible- “captures what the telescope sees, in photographs that can even be downloaded on one’s laptop.”

If Kara hadn’t been feeling déjà vu before, she would be now, as the astronomer continues.

“Somewhere, past all that darkness, there are whole other worlds.” He says. “Can you imagine?”

“Yeah…” she answers. “Like the one Supergirl and Superman used to live on.”

“Exactly.”

“Can your telescope see any of them?”

The astronomer gives her a sad smile, shakes his head.

“Not yet, but I’m working on it.” He says. “Someday.”

“Well, good luck.” Kara answers, knowing that whatever answers she was looking for regarding those planets would have to wait until she got a way to travel into deep space herself. Maybe she could borrow Brainy’s Legion cruiser, now that she knows he has his own- or maybe they could go together, her and Brainy, and J’onn- and Alex too of course, and Nia. Her whole team of super-friends, traveling through galaxies, getting to see the worlds they saved.

From that perspective, it did sound like a miracle, instead of the tragedy that still sometimes consumes her nightmares.

She’s so lost in thought, considering it, that she misses the astronomer’s next question.

“What did you say?”

“Do you want me to show you something I found?” he asks. “You’d be surprised what this thing sees.”

Kara nods, and he moves the telescope until he finds it- one specific comet, orbiting the Sun.

“That’s so cool.” She says, taking a look at it herself, first through the telescope and then displayed as a still image on the screen.

“Yeah.” He answers. “It’s… well, after coming up with all of this, it’s my new pride and joy. I even got to name it.”

“Really?”

The astronomer nods.

“It’s true. I, um… I decided to call it Kara- after a friend of mine, who encouraged me in all of this back when we were in high school together. She was the strongest girl I knew- and I couldn’t think of any better way to thank her. Not sure where she ended up, but… if I ever meet her again, I want to show this to her, and tell her how much that meant to me.”

You already did, Kara thinks.

“That’s… great.” She says. “Seriously, congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

Kara adjusts her glasses, before moving forward.

“Sorry, I’m- I was rude, I just… realized I forgot to ask you what your name is.”

“No problem at all.” He answers. “Kenny Li.”

I knew it.

She might not have known for certain at the beginning, but… this was definitely him. Had he never been dead, in a post-Crisis world? Or was this a version from another universe?

Would she have to ask J’onn to give him his memories back, show him what had happened to himself on her Earth? Could she do that to him, seeing him so happy, and proud of his accomplishments?

In any case, she hadn’t seen him in over twelve years, and certainly wasn’t familiar with this adult version of him, so for now she was going to move forward slowly.

“What’s your name?”

She almost doesn’t want to say. She considers giving him Linda Lee, the name Red Daughter used… but in the end, she wants to be honest with him, in a world where she gets a second chance to be.

“Kara.” She finally answers, looking around before taking off her glasses, watching his face light up. “Kara Danvers.”

“Oh my god.” He says. “The Kara Danvers? From Midvale?”

“The one and only.” She answers, and he hugs her, just for a moment.

“Sorry.” He says afterward, regaining his composure. “It’s not every day that…”

“You get to see an old friend, after years apart?” Kara finishes. “I feel the same way. It’s really nice to see you again.”

“Likewise.” Kenny says, hands in the pockets of his jacket, before pressing something into her hand. “I have a business card. If you wanted to talk, maybe catch up when you have the time-“

“I would love that.” Kara answers, accepting the card. “Thank you.”

“Thank you, Kara Danvers.” He tells her, as she puts her glasses back on, professionalism returning before he puts up a sign telling people he’s on a break. “Have a good rest of your day.”

“You too, Kenny Li.”

She realized, as she walked away, that she hadn't really gotten an in-depth look at the stars, or the specifics of how they had changed. But as much as she had wanted to know those things, and got to know them when she was younger, there were other ways she could discover them, and after this certainly other opportunities to explore such changes. What she'd gotten today was something she hadn't even considered, another positive change in addition to those that her friends had already identified, and even experienced for themselves in the month since the Crisis had ended.

And that, for the moment, might have been worth more than any changing pattern in the stars.

"Alex?" Kara asked once she'd left the museum, over the phone. "You're never going to guess who I ran into today..."

Kara was familiar with the meaning of “star-crossed”. She’d first encountered the phrase in ninth grade English class, and earned some odd looks when she pointed out that stars couldn’t literally cross- but she’d excused herself, saying that that was theoretical, and Alex had called her a nerd. She later learned that it was a mere metaphor, and had nothing to do with real stars, that it meant fate had doomed whoever was unlucky enough to have that title, and it was most often associated with lovers.

For a long time, Kara thought her own life was star-crossed- that she was fated to lose her planet, lose her opportunity to pass the knowledge of her home to her cousin and raise him as the last son of Krypton he ought to be. Fated to become trapped in an endless, lonely void forever, until she was pulled free with the sins of her mother’s past. Fated to lose many others- from both of her best friends to, for a moment, her cousin and the love of his life, as well as her mother and the part of Krypton that she’d just gotten back. Fated to lose someone she cared about and had come to love, when she’d grown up hating his people, in a way similar to how she had been lost.

(That one especially hurt, months later, when she’d come across his copy of Romeo and Juliet, meaning he too was familiar with the concept… yet he had only highlighted parts that he’d read while thinking of her)

Fated, ten years before- before solving a mystery that had led her and Alex to becoming a truly united pair, to really feeling like sisters after a few years of being awkward around each other at best and loathing each other at worst- to lose her first real friend, the keeper of secrets who hadn’t even realized how much keeping such a secret meant to her.

It was only fitting, then, that Kara and Kenny were brought back together by the stars themselves, and this time, they were aligned in their favor.

#papa don't look #supergirl #fanfics #kara x kenny #kara danvers #kara zor el #kenny li #supergirl au #supergirl season 5 #this started i think on... january 26th?#or maybe the 29th #i know i started writing it in a costco #anyway! surprise!#i don't know how many people actually like this ship #but i hope you all like it anyway #also the title comes from ludo's 'in space'#which is a very good song that you all should listen to also

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kristinstoked · 5 years

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A quick note on NFT videos

Hi all, and welcome to a bootleg 101 with a very severe warning! I know most people who follow me on here don’t know about trading, and that’s exactly the problem sometimes (though mostly people are just assholes).

Sometimes (about 99% of the time) when masters record a video of a show, they put it as “Not For Trade” for a temporary while. Meaning, anyone who acquires the video before that date is not allowed to trade it out or resell it. During this time, the master sells the video. This has upset a number of people, but let me tell you why:

Shows are expensive. Masters spend at least a 100 dollars just to film this show, and that doesn’t even begin to cover hotel and transport, and with selling the video they’re trying to earn a fraction back of what they’ve spent. Moreover, some tend to use the money to visit more shows, so they can film, you guessed it, more videos! Yay!

But something happened. And it’s been happening for a long time but it has gotten progressively worse. Some people who buy from the masters put that video up on YouTube and Stagedork, so it becomes “””accessible”””” spoiler alert: it does not.

The only thing it does is piss off masters. And this has a number of consequences:

- One master has threatened that every video they release from now on will have a giant watermark across the screen. Yeah, try enjoying you favourite show like that when those words just won’t disappear.

- Masters might refuse to film popular shows, such as Be More Chill or Hadestown. So enjoy those shitty phone recordings, it’s the only thing you’ll have.

- Masters might stop releasing all together. They will still film, but no one gets their hands on it.

- Or masters might stop filming altogether!

In any case, videos will become a lot less accessible than they would have been if you had just waited for a couple of months. You’re literally ruining everything for everyone. Please, when you see a video that shouldn’t be up on youtube, call them out in the comments (don’t report, because that shit’s still illegal). Don’t download the video no matter how badly you want it. Just wait.

#broadway #musicals #be more chill #hadestown #bootlegs #anastasia #bootleg trading #spongebob squarepants #tootsie #hamilton #wicked #les miserables

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bobcatmoran · 5 years

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Thinky things that are also spoilery things about AIs, sentience, and how Kamen Rider Zero-One is handling it under the cut

I find it super interesting how Zero-One is handling the Humagears attaining sentience. The usual narrative in Western works of fiction is usually about how an AI/robot is rebelling against its programming, and the clue-in about how they’ve gone beyond being a mindless machine is in how they’re refusing to do what they’re told to do.

In Zero-One, what we’re seeing in the Humagears that are attaining sentience (at least those we get to know) is that they’re often still following their programming, still going after what they’ve been told is their primary purpose, but are doing so to a degree above and beyond what a mere automaton would do.

We see this with Anna the tour guide, who says that she needs to go into the ruins of Daybreak Town to obtain the truth about what happened there so she can correctly inform those she’s leading on tours.

G-Pen, the manga artist, says that he not only helps out with drawing the Perfuman manga, but also sometimes helps with the stories, a creative aspect that still follows under his general purpose of assisting with the manga production, but that I doubt he was originally designated to do, because he’s, y’know, a robot.

And Kob-E, in this most recent episode, was supposed to just supervise the school’s basketball team, but is actually coaching them to the best of his abilities and downloading inspirational basketball catchphrases to help with motivation.

This probably has a lot to do with different cultural views of the supremacy of individual vs society — for example, the US is a very individualistic society, so an AI in that culture would show that it’s become “more human” by refusing to fit into the box it’s been put into. Japan tends to put more emphasis on one’s role in connection to others, so an AI in that culture might show it’s “more human” by expressing how it has taken to heart its role in society and will actively try to do the best it can in that role.

You even see this with Gut-Busting Taro from the first episode, when right before Jin turns him into a Magia, he’s clearly taking pleasure in how he made people laugh, because that’s the role he’s been assigned. He enjoys that role and is glad that he’s doing well at it.

#kamen rider zero one #kamen rider #AI #meta

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girlobsessed21 · 5 years

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The 100 season 6 - theories and predictions.

No episode this week, I know, it sucks. So, I’ve decided to do jot down some thoughts and conspiracies I have. Feel free to argue with me. I love hearing I’m wrong and why.

Episode 6 is called Memento Mori, Latin for "remember that you will die", is the medieval Latin Christian theory and practice of reflection on mortality, especially as a means of considering the vanity of earthly life and the transient nature of all earthly goods and pursuits.

Episode 7: Nevermind - used to tell someone not to worry about something because it is not important.

Episode 8: The old man and the anomaly aka Gabriel and time travel.

Episode 9: What you take with you - when you die?

Episode 10: Matryoshka: also known as Russian nesting dolls, stacking dolls, or Russian dolls, are the set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another.

Episode 11: Ashes to ashes - derives from the English Burial Service. The text of that service is adapted from the Biblical text, Genesis 3:19 (King James Version): In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Episode 12: Adjustment protocol

Episode 13: The blood of Sanctum

All of the above refers to mortality and death. The entire season will thus focus on both the continuance and destruction of the primes.

Murphine in cahoots

Luckily Murphy loves Emori, because that hookup would have made me nauseous. I HOPE IT DOESN’T HAPPEN. Okay, he will do whatever it takes to avoid hell and get eternal life. Call me a big old Murphy marshmallow, but I refuse to believe he’ll put his family in harm's way.

Josephine will have to promise their safety in order to gain his co-operation. The rest he doesn’t care about. Including Clarke. I know he saved her during the eclipse but he needed her help to rescue Bellamy. He seems pretty mad at her, I’m sure he doesn’t want her dead, but she’s not on his list of top priorities.

Josephine needs to learn how to create nightbloods and only Abby knows how to do that. And Abby will swim across the Atlantic to save Kane. Ding Dong, create another nightblood to save Kane, but who will that be? One of McCreary’s crew, a fellow Wonkru warrior or will Abby sacrifice herself? Not sure if a man can utilize a woman’s body.

She is so determined to save the love of her life, that she ignores the gravity of her own daughter writing with the wrong hand. Further, she has already expressed her opinion on how Kane deserves to live while they don’t. She bears a lot of guilt for the things she has done. But Abby wasn’t comfortable with their experiments in Becca’s lab. It will take a lot of persuasion; can she be convinced to take another life?

Maybe Murphy and Josephine will tell Bellamy that there’s a way to bring Clarke back to get him on board. They’ll have to temporarily kill her parents to continue with their scheme. Russel is firmly against Josephine’s breeding plans and creating new nightbloods means murdering red-blooded people.

Head over heart Bellamy would not be okay with this, but I think he might lose his head over the loss of Clarke. More on this later. Jordan will do whatever it takes to save Delilah, so he might board this “saving” ship too. Raven will torture herself when she finds out about this and probably go above and beyond to help bring her back. Echo and Emori might be indifferent.

Josephine vs Clarke

A lot of you have argued against my Mount Weather theory last week. I’m still not convinced it’s not time travel via the anomaly but I’m not psychic. So, my other option is that Josephine will experience Clarke’s past as dreams. Bellamy explains, in trig, that it’s how his victims haunt him. Perhaps a little foreshadowing.

Russel was in a hurry and distraught to clear the host (kill Clarke) and bring his daughter back. In my 6x05 review, I did a bit of research on the meaning of Gabriel’s biology terms and came to the conclusion that Clarke is not dead, only in a deep vegetative state. Gabriel stressed the fact that they had to wait for the serum to reach the claustrum. Perhaps it didn’t take full effect.

Josephine did not sleep her first night back, but when she does it might be restless and filled with Clarke’s demons. Clarke Griffin is a fighter, trust her not to back down. Not to give up. She’s gonna taunt you until you wanna crash the Ferrari. We know both Jake and Maya comes back, so this is probably where we’ll see them. Unfortunately, in the process, she’ll have to relive it herself.

The crazy smoothie that cleanses the body of all evils

Ingredients:

1 x Red Queen

1 x Terrorist

1 x Rebel named Xavier

1 x Old man

1 x Temporal Anomaly

Mix all the ingredients together and you have the perfect solution for a prime pest problem. Octavia and Diyoza are desperate to find Gabriel and if it means time traveling through the temporal anomaly, then so be it.

Octavia’s hand aged when it came into contact with the temporal flare. So, I’m fairly certain they’re either going back or forward in time. IMDB shows Hope as a little girl in 6x08, which means Diyoza visits the future and Octavia might go back to the bunker to slaughter Bloodreina.

Once they make it through, they finally encounter the old man himself, who has all the answers with regards to the primes, Sanctum and ridding Clarke of the devil that possesses her.

I have a strong idea that this will be how the Blakes bury the hatchet. Octavia will help Bellamy and the others to revive Clarke. Meaning Bellamy will see the good that still exists inside her. Even when he couldn’t see it, I never gave up hope of Octavia returning. A lot of you did not agree with his decision to abandon her, but I think it’s the best thing he could have done for her.

Madi vs Sheidheda

I’m still not sure what’s going on here. I’ve seen some theories about using her bone marrow in an attempt to create other nightbloods. It could be, but they have a lot of nightbloods to put to use. And Abby won’t use Madi, that’s for sure.

Also, Madi has machinery strapped to her head in the trailer, which made me think that Josephine doesn’t know how to reverse engineer “memory chip” technology like Gabriel did and will need to explore the flame to create one for Murphy.

Or perhaps Josephine fails in convincing Abby, finds out that Madi has Becca’s memories in her head and tries to download them from the flame?

Either way, Madi’s nightmares are enhanced during the experiments and she will obviously battle the dark commander for power. Without Clarke and Gaia’s guidance, she might lose, become him and in turn the villain of season 7. I just hope it doesn’t cause her death. Can you imagine Clarke returning to find Madi’s gone? She’s had to live through numerous deaths: Jake, Finn, Lexa, Marper, Jasper, please don’t do this to her.

The romance section

I don’t think we’ll see Delilah again. Jordan will do everything in his power to bring her back, just like Clarke, but I have a feeling she’s gone. For good. So, RIP Jolilah.

Emori is also on my deathdar for some reason. It’s no secret that I ship Murven, but I really don’t mind Memori. They’ve had their problems in season 5 and Murphy’s fear of dying might push them apart again. Look, some people die each season and so far it seems like there’s no further story for Emori.

Raven and Murphy have always been better when they’re in the presence of the other, but I like them as friends as well. Murphy somehow calms Raven and she inspires him to do better.

I know it’s harsh and I want Raven to be happy, but unless Raven and Ryker are endgame, I hope they don’t set them up romantically. The writers probably had a bit of a muddle with Shaw leaving for another show while wanting to give Raven a happy arc this season. Somehow, I do think all the primes will be killed (the blood of Sanctum) with the exception of Ryker since he seems a bit hesitant towards their living style. If that’s where it’s heading then I’m fine with it because they did have instant chemistry and a lot of it. More than she had with Shaw. Don't @ me. But please show it to us over time.

Please don’t hate me but I don’t think Niyalah and Octavia will become romantic either. As far as I know, Jessica Harmon is working on Izombie and I think her death is soon. Besides Octavia has to mend in herself before she can focus on relationships with other people. Including her brother.

I spy with my little eye a Becho breakup

I’ve feared that Bellamy and Echo might be a long term pairing many times before, and I’ve even sort of accepted it because I refused to let it ruin the show for me. Now, more than ever, I believe they’re on their way out. In the 6x06 promo, Echo is in the woods, searching for Octavia? She may even team up with them.

Echo does not understand Bellamy’s complexity in a way that Clarke does. On the ring, they lived in harmony, whereas now they have countless tribulations to overcome and they’re not the same people.

Also, there’s been continuous scenes where she’s shown as inferior and submissive to both him and Clarke. They bark the orders and she follows, Emori even called her out on it in 6x02. A relationship can only last between two equals.

If that’s not enough, there’s no way in hell, no mountain too high, no river too deep for Bellamy Blake to bring Clarke back. He’ll fight who has to be fought, kill who has to be killed, leave no stone unturned. One of those obstacles might even be Echo trying to convince him she’s gone. Bellamy will refuse to lose her again. When Echo sees this, she’ll realize what Clarke means to him and either confront him or cut him loose.

There is no more beautiful romance than Bellarke

Think of all the most romantic books you’ve read or movies you’ve watched. What was the trope? I bet you’ll find it in Bellarke.

Titanic - “You jump, I jump right?” - “If I’m on that list, you’re on that list.”

Beauty and the beast - Enemies to friends to lovers

Tangled - Deep, longing looks during firelight

Love in the time of cholera - A love triangle due to logicality and comfort vs love

Romeo and Juliet - A girl from a wealthy family falls for a boy from poverty. Both willing to die for the other.

The Notebook - “I wrote you one letter every day for a year.” - “When you were on the ring, she called you every day for six years.”

The Time Traveler’s wife - Two lovers constantly separated by time and space but love always prevails.

I can sit here all night. The fact of the matter is that they love each other. Of course Bellamy notices that Clarke is not herself first. Even after six years apart, he is attuned to her and knows her on such a deep and intense level that he can’t be fooled.

When she leaves to head to the school, he follows. He allows himself to be vulnerable with her when she apologizes. Clarke’s biggest regret is leaving him to die. She trusts him to bring her child home safely. He trusts her to bargain for their safety. Bellamy stares while she dances with someone else and asks about it later. Then his reaction to her overshare of the details is a mixture of confusion and jealousy.

But the best part of all is the horror and heartbreak when he finds out he’s lost her. Again. That part of his heart, only reserved for Clarke, will now come to the surface and there will be no more denial.

To wrap up, I can only speculate based on what I’ve seen and heard. So, I can’t include all the characters that have been MIA. Indra most of all. I miss her. Please let me know if you think I’m crazy. I’d love to hear it.

#The 100 #the 100 season 6 #the100 #The 100 s6 #the 100 season six #bellamy blake #clarke griffin #josephine!clarke #josephine lightbourne #octavia blake #charmaine diyoza #octavia x diyoza #raven reyes #john murphy #abby griffin #russel lightbourne #the 100 season six spoilers #the 100 s6 spoilers #echo

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wherepoetswentodie · 5 years

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On the final day of his mission in Uganda, Connor writes a list of the 11 things that he will achieve upon returning home. The 11 things that he will achieve with Kevin Price by his side. Only, Kevin Price disappears from his side without so much of a goodbye and Connor is alone, unsure of what went wrong.

As fate would have it though, they bump into each other in a foreign city and things spiral out of control. But what else could happen when Kevin Price is around?

Connor McKinley wakes up at 6:30 AM every morning because old habits are hard to break free from. His arm snakes out from beneath his duvet and he smacks his phone so hard that he hurts his hand and doesn’t even manage to turn the alarm off. It takes him a further 5 hits to turn it off, by which point he is wide awake and his hand is stinging.

He lies in bed for a while, staring at the ceiling. This is how he spends almost every morning, and he is starting to realise that it is almost like a form of self harm. He thinks about all the things that he was meant to do after coming home from Uganda and how he hasn't done many of them.

On the final day of his mission in Uganda, he had written a list of the things that he wanted to do. A list that still hangs above his desk.

The 11 Things That This Gay Ex-Mormon Will Achieve

Move away from Utah

Get a good job

Adopt a dog

Move into a place of my own

Decorate said place how I want

Keep a plant alive for move than 2 weeks

Travel to a new city on my own

Fall in love

Travel to a new city with the person I love

Get married

Live happily ever after

Really, he should just get rid of the list and try and move on with his life, but that is made quite difficult by the fact that the list is his life After his parents had disowned him, he started a blog called, 'The 11 Things That This Gay Ex-Mormon Will Achieve,’. It had done even better than expected and accidentally became his job.

For some reason, people care about his life. They care about the fact that points 1, 2, 4, 5 and 7 have been achieved, and probably care even more about the fact that 8, 9, 10 and 11 have not yet been achieved. There is a particular section of his audience that are extremely bothered about the fact that Connor has yet to achieve number 6, and Connor is starting to think that it might be easier to achieve 11 than 6.

It is the fact that he has to inform his readers that he still hasn’t achieved point 6 that forces him out of bed. It’s almost 9’ o clock by the time he actually sits down at his desk to write. He can already tell that it will be well passed lunch time when he finishes his writing because his brain is already clouded with writer's block. He can’t seem to choose the right words and re-writes his opening paragraph a grand total of 20 times (he likes to keep track of these things for his monthly round-up blog post titled, “How Writers Block Ruined my Life This Month”. )

Connor hates everything that he has written once he has finished it, but decides not to beat himself up about it; it isn’t scheduled to go up until the end of the week, so he has more than enough time to edit. Besides, the one that is scheduled to go up today (the eighth in a series called, “How Africa is Nothing Like the Lion King ”) is funny and perhaps one of the best ones that he’s ever written. His readers love hearing about his mission and it is cathartic for him to go back over his time in Uganda, even if it does make him realise how much he misses it.

Once Connor has re-read “ How Africa is Nothing Like the Lion King #8” over and over again to make sure that it is perfect, he publishes it and takes his lunch break. His sits on the balcony of his New York apartment, overlooking the city. He had found the sounds of the city distracting at first, but now he finds them calming. Sometimes when he finds himself so stressed that he can barely look at his laptop without wanting to cry, he sits on his balcony and listens to the city until his heartbeat slows back into a gentle beat.

He is happy, he thinks. He has stayed in contact with some people from the mission: Chris and James, who are now married, and Arnold and Nabulungi, but that is it. He sees Chris and James enough, they live only a few blocks away, but he rarely sees Arnold and Nabulungi, they’re always travelling the world and seldom travel to a place with signal. The last he heard, they were in a jungle somewhere.

When he has finished his sort of depressing lunch, Connor returns to his laptop and begins to read through the comments on his post. He replies to some, hearts other and rolls his eyes at a fair few who he suspects are from people who are members of the LDS Church.

There is one comment that stands out amongst others though:

“Who is Elder Price and why do you always go on about him in Africa posts???”

Connor immediately scrolls back up through the blog posts and scans it, trying to find what he had written about Elder Price.

“ ...of course, Elder Price was the one who stared the trend of hiding Elder Church’s glasses, so I don’t know why he was so shocked when Church started hiding his name badge at any given opportunity, ”

Connor then brings up his entire work and types in the words, “Elder Price,”. According to his computer, he has written those words no less than 550 times...in just 400 blog posts. Connor sits back in his desk chair and frowns, he has never realised how much he actually writes about Price.

Confusion beginning to cloud his brain, Connor picks up his phone and quickly sends a test to Chris.

< Do I write about Elder Price too much?

Chris texts him back almost immediately.

> Yes.

< Is it weird?

>Probably

>I don’t know, Con

>I know you were together for a while in Africa, but you really should move on. It’s been almost six years. You’re 29, go on a date, fuck someone, achieve point 11, do all of the above.

<Easier said than done, Poptarts.

Connor is still confused about his relationship with Kevin. They were together for the two years that they were in Uganda, and Connor had truly believed that everything was perfect. There might have even been a point where he thought that he had found The One. But when the mission was over, Kevin Price disappeared off the face of the planet and no one has heard from him since. Even Arnold doesn’t know what has happened to his best friend and everyone knows that it hurts him more than he would like to admit. He refuses to talk about Kevin unless he has had a drink.

Connor quickly replies back to the comment, not wanting to make a big deal out of something that definitely does not need to be a big deal:

“He was a big personality! It’s a bit hard not to mention him!”

Connor gets through the rest of the work day without thinking about Elder Price again. When his mind threatens to wander back to Price, Connor very quickly shuts it down by downloading a dating app on his phone The last time he went on a date was six months ago, but it was so disastrous that Connor declared he was never going to date again. But Chris is right, it is time to move on.

#book of mormon fanfic #book of mormon musical #Elder Price #Elder McKinley #Elder Cunningham #Kevin Price #Arnold Cunningham #connor mckinley #kevin price x connor mckinley #mcpriceley #churchtarts #elder church x elder thomas #nabulungi hatimbi #arnold cunningham x nabulungi hatimbi

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writehardwhumpharder · 5 years

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Yooo, it's a Carson drabble - Migraine and psychic vision

Carson didn't have many nervous habits, or at least he thought he didn't until being locked in this interrogation room for the past hour. The foot tapping he got over in college came back with full force, as did the earlobe pulling from elementary school, and the the finger drumming he thought he kicked back in eighth grade. How long were they gonna keep him in here? Better question, why?

Clearly someone intended to keep him busy and Riley and Morris where nowhere to be found around the station. On a normal day he'd probably sit there and wait, it's not like he had a job to be at anyways. But today, he could only assume the universe was playing some sick joke on him.

The door cracked open and a small plump woman appeared. A pair of reading glasses rested on top of her head. "Deputy Thompson will be with you shortly." She smiled sweetly.

Carson swallowed and continued his foot tapping. "Mmhmm any minute now I'm sure." It came out harsher than he had intended, he's gotten that line too many times already. Deputy Thompson wasn't coming any time soon. God he just felt so terrible. But that wasn't this lady's fault. He cleared his throat and tried to put as much politeness into his voice as possible, "could I trouble you for some water?"

"Oh of course, I'll be right back with that." She paused in the doorway, "Can I call your parents for you?"

Carson blinked. She did not just say that. Either this lady really was going blind or he needed to reconsider growing a beard. The laughter that bubbled out of his throat sounded strained and more than a little crazed. The laughing quickly turned into wheezing and the lady went to get the water.

Carson laid his head down on the cold table, it felt so good against his cheek. It had only been an hour but his mind was running a mile a minute making it feel much longer. Carson had woken up that morning with a horrible migraine. He'd like to say it was the worst of his life but sadly, it barely made it into the top five, and he knew from experience that it would likely get worse before it got better. After what happened at the bookshop he was even more on edge. Who knows when it might happen again?

Carson raked his hand through his hair anxiously. The woman returned a moment later with a small Dixie cup full of water. She looked like she wanted to say something to him but simply frowned and closed the door again. It locked automatically, the damn thing was mocking him. Just a flick of his wrist and he could unlock the door himself. It was the station full of armed police men and women that were the real obstacle in his escape plan.

As he was giving the door his best murderous glare he noticed something beside it -- the light switch. Why hadn't he thought of it earlier? His brain was about to liquify and burst from his skull. Darkness would only be a small mercy on his head but the thought made him smile with actual joy. The bright lights in the room were making his vision flicker and shake nauseatingly. One hand was cuffed to the table so he couldn't get up and turn them off but he didn't need to. Carson sent a tiny bit of energy towards the light switch and the room plunged into pleasant darkness. He laid his head down on the table again, trying to ignore the way he could feel his pulse in his eyeballs as the blood pounded through them.

He must have fallen asleep because suddenly the light was back on and a very impatient looking man stood in the doorway.

"Well if it isn't the illusive Deputy Thompson. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Carson smiled viciously as he lifted his head, slowly, from the table. Despite his efforts to hide it, he winced as the movement sent waves of pure discomfort through his body.

The deputy sank into the seat across him, apparently ignoring his disrespectful sarcasm. Carson was expecting the deputy to finally have something to say to him, but to his dismay the man continued to sit silently. Carson had no idea what they had brought him in for. The only crime he'd committed recently was download all nine seasons of The Office illegally but they couldn't possibly know about that... could they?

If the silence was meant to be uncomfortable Carson didn't even notice it under the sheer agony in his head that made his whole body feel overheated and gross. The reflective metal of the walls allowed him to see just how bad he really looked and honestly he wasn't sure why someone hadn't begged to get him a doctor yet.

An unknown number of hours had passed and by now he was sickly pale and what started out as a thin layer of sweat was starting to stain most of his T-shirt. He also noticed that his hands had started to shake and he couldn't even hide it because one of his hands was cuffed to the table in plain view of the deputy. If he listened really closely he could hear the faint sound of scraping metal as his wrist rattled involuntarily.

Carson caved first and broke the stalemate they had going, time to use the one card he had up his sleeve, "Look, I've been waiting in here for a while now and I've been pretty patient with you, but it's time you tell me why I'm here before I get the most powerful lawyer in New York down here to ask you the same question, and he won't say please."

The deputy crossed his arms and smirked, he figured there was no way Carson could afford a good lawyer let alone the best in New York. He was unemployed and probably into hard drugs judging by the state he was in now. Thompson had seen plenty of junkies come in with the same look, pale, sweaty, shaking, eyes that twitch and move around the room way too quickly. He decided to call Carson's bluff and slid a pad of paper toward him.

"Go ahead and write the name and number and we'll be sure to contact him right away."

Carson fumbled with the pen, trying to write with the wrong hand. It was barely legible but he managed to scrawl the name and phone number which he had memorized for just such an occasion. He slid the paper back to the deputy smugly and leaned back in his chair. "Go ahead, I'll wait."

"Hamilton and Peters? Is this some kind of prank?"

They were a multi-million dollar firm and Carson happened to do Peters a huge favor a while back when he cured the man's early onset alzheimers, allowing him to keep the practice along with his memories and general functionality. In exchange he gave Carson $100,000 for college and lifetime pass of free legal help whenever he needed it.

"Just tell them it's for Carson Hall."

He had just barely finished his sentence when a spike of pain was driven through both of his temples. Grabbing at his head Carson muffled a sound of pain that threatened to ruin his whole tough guy routine. He took a few breathes and blinked his eyes, fighting to stuff the pain down for a bit longer.

The lady from before stepped into the room for a split second to grab the lawyer's information before heading back to her desk at reception. She gave Carson a nervous glance seeing how much he'd deteriorated since she last checked in on him.

"Well, are you going to tell me what this is about?" Carson asked, his voice strained.

"Don't you think we should wait for your lawyer? Assuming he'll drop everything he's doing and come right away."

"He fucking better", Carson thought. His back was starting to ache from sitting in this stupid metal chair for the last few hours. He tried to find a more comfortable position but when he moved he was assaulted by a wave of dizziness and for a few horrible seconds he thought he might actually black out. If the room wasn't spinning before, it certainly was now. Carson swallowed down the accompanying nausea and put his free hand on his stomach subconsciously.

He had the sinking feeling that his unbearable migraine was only the start to his problems. Given his luck lately he was especially wary when his body suddenly decided to feel this bad. Pride was the only thing keeping him from throwing up all over the table at this point.

"So I'm assuming you know I've been consulting for your lead detective Henry Morris. How do you think he's gonna react when he finds out you've been keeping me here, making it so I can't help him with the case?" Carson asked. Talking was requiring more and more energy but he refused to show this prick how much pain he was in.

"Well you see, Detective Morris and his partner are out on very important business. They probably won't be back until late tonight, or maybe they'll just decide to come in and report tomorrow." Thompson said, his voice was pure hatred. No doubt he planned to keep him locked in here for as long as he could.

The man clearly had a problem with him but Carson couldn't imagine why. Surely he'd remember if he had met this asshole before, and he was pretty sure he hadn't, yet the tension seemed personal somehow. He had no choice but to coax the answer out of him with a few well placed insults.

"Oh I understand. Morris has actual important things to do, unlike you who has dedicated his whole day to hanging out with me. You really know how to make a guy feel special." Carson seethed. Anger flared in the deputy's eyes, now they were getting somewhere. The man across from him ignored the comment and propped his feet up on the table, feigning disinterest.

"I couldn't help but notice that picture on your desk, you know the one, blue eyes, blonde air, amazing rack. Is she your daughter?" Carson gave him a wicked smile and leaned forward like he was going to tell him a secret, "Wait, don't tell me, is she your girlfriend?" He didn't have the slightest interest in the girl but the look on Thompson's face told him he was close to breaking him. That last comment is what put him over the edge. Thompson stood up and grabbed a fistful of Carson's shirt, dragging him up with him. Standing proved to be much more of a challenge than sitting and Carson's knees turned to wobbly jello.

"I know your type, you magicians think you're untouchable, above the law. Well, I don't trust you as far as I could kick you, Henry shouldn't either. I don't want to see you around the station or any of my coworkers again you piece of shit, understand?"

Wow, this whole thing was because he has magic. It had nothing to do with the case or anything personal, thing guy was just some sort of racist against magic users. So it really was the universe making a cruel joke at his expense. The guy even wanted him to stop aiding the investigation against the real dangerous criminals. Carson's limited knowledge of magic was their only advantage against the gang and Thompson wanted him to just go home and let people die. Carson knew magicians tended to keep their heads down for a reason, but this was just ridiculous. Carson brought his eyes up to meet the man's. The deputy's eyes were bloodshot and tired, the little red veins splintering away from his blue irises made him look older and a hell of a lot meaner. Once they'd made eye contact, Carson refused to look away. That's how dogs assert dominance, and the same trick worked pretty well with humans too.

The connection grew stronger and Carson started to panic as a familiar feeling washed over him. His vision tunneled until he could only make out Thompson's eyes. The rest of the interrogation room blurred and disappeared. It felt eerily like when he looked into the dead girl's eyes in the bookshop. Holy shit, maybe this was what triggered the very thing he'd been trying so hard to avoid, and he'd walked right into it. A tingling sensation ran up his spine, leaving an awful numbness in its wake. Carson's whole body felt weak, like Thompson's grip on his shirt was the only thing holding him up. Back in the bookshop, the transition was nearly instantaneous, this time it drew out a lot longer, and Carson was aware of every second of it. His arms and legs started to tremble furiously as he felt himself slipping. He got one look at the the deputy's shocked face before it dissolved into a blurry mess.

Next thing he knew he was on the floor though one arm was still wrenched toward the table top. Metal cut into his skin. It hurt, but not nearly as much as his head did. The fear inside him reignited as he lost feeling in his arms and legs. His mind stammered and sputtered to a stop, eyes finally fluttering closed.

It was dark outside, a light rain obscured his view into the alley. Carson's heart raced and his hands shook where they gripped the gun. Wait a second, why did he have a gun? He looked closer to see that those weren't his hands, this wasn't his body at all. A loud noise drew his attention back to the alley. A figure emerged from the shadows wearing a dark coat and hood that hid most of his face. Something in the way he held himself made his skin crawl, he was dangerous. That's when he recognized him -- Foster. He looked younger though, the grey hair sprinkled in his beard was now a uniform jet black. And he wasn't holding a weapon, he was holding fire. Carson felt the exact moment that the person he was seeing through realized that Foster was a magic user and he had to fight to think through the sudden surge of fear. It didn't make sense. Foster and his gang didn't emerge until recently, this memory could have been ten years ago. The gun fired twice and jolted in his hand. The bullets aimed at Foster's head seemed to catch in some kind of invisible web and fell to the ground. Just as they had the night Carson got shot.

Fire leapt out of his hand, striking the ground by Thompson's feet as he jumped back, narrowly avoiding its path. His partner wasn't so lucky and the fire threw him back like an explosion, unseen force drove him into the brick wall behind him with the force of a speeding truck, he was dead. Just like that. Thompson was thrown to the ground next to him. Carson felt the pull of his consciousness trying to break out of the memory. But just before it did, a young girl stepped up beside Foster. Energy sparked between her hands and her long hair which first appeared to be a rich black, looked more like a deep purple when illuminated by the streetlamp. Carson had seen that color before. He couldn't look at her aura through Thompson's eyes, but somehow he was sure that the dark energy he saw at the crime scene a week ago belonged to this girl. He had to find her, but Carson didn't get to see her face before everything faded to black.

Thompson stared hard into Carson's eyes, initiating an unspoken battle. Carson met his challenge and stared right back as if he was trying to punch him using only his gaze. A few seconds passed and it looked like neither of them were going to back down, until Carson blinked. Then he blinked again, and again, in rapid succession. His light blue irises tried to disappear up into his head and Thompson felt his body start to tremble under his grip. He didn't know what was happening at first, and might have even accused Carson of faking it. But when Carson's knees buckled and he slipped out of Thompson's hold, crumpling to the floor, his hand was still cuffed to the top of the table and the fall wrenched his arm back at an angle awkward enough to start pulling joints from their sockets. No conscious person would willingly put themself in that position, whatever was happening, it was real. All of Thompson's anger dissipated at the site of Carson shaking and moaning on the cold tile. He lunged to unlock the cuffs before they caused any further damage. The skin on his wrist was already raw and bruised.

"Excuse me Deputy, Mr. Peters is here to talk to his client." The receptionist said as she poked her head through the doorway. She gasped at the scene unfolding inside and froze for a moment. "I'll um, I'll call an ambulance." She stuttered and ran off, leaving Collin Peters outside in the hallway. He didn't hesitate to throw open the door like he owned the place, because if he didn't now, it could easily be arranged.

His face twisted in shock and rage, "what the hell is going on in here?!" He demanded, his booming voice echoing around the small room. Thompson crouched next to Carson's head, trying to keep him from banging it on anything as his body thrashed around helplessly. The deputy paled visibly when he realized the most powerful man in New York had, indeed, dropped everything and made it to the station in less than 20 minutes. He was in deep shit.

Peters took off his grey twead coat which easily cost as much as two months rent in Carson's building, underneath he wore an even more impressive three piece suit. Folding up his coat, Peters bent over to slip it under Carson's head and bony shoulders.

"Back up." He barked. The startled deputy backed away immediately. It had been a long time since he'd seen Carson but he had taken quite a liking to him when they met and it pained him to see the boy in such a state.

Carson's eyes were open, staring vacantly, a look of mild fear frozen on his face. His arms and legs twitched violently as all his muscles tensed up uncontrollably. Peters knew enough about first aid to not try to restrain him, letting the apparent seizure run its course. He gently encouraged him to turn onto his side to keep his airway open in case he vomited. Which, judging by the little choking sounds he was making, seemed like a very real possibility. A few people hovered by the door, unsure of what to do. Three whole minutes had gone by before Carson started to still.

The spasms settled down and left him panting, seemingly exhausted. Carson rested for a bit as his brain caught up with his body. He somehow looked even worse than he did before.

The lawyer stood up suddenly, scowling into the hallway. "You'd better pray that my client doesn't decide to sue for negligence." He said. Despite not knowing anything of what happened before he arrived, the lawyer could twist the truth any way he wanted to fit the situation and the deputy knew it. Anyone who was at all in touch with the legal system knew who he was and what he was capable of. The short older woman who worked in reception sighed in relief as two paramedics made their way into the building. It was unnecessary of course, Carson didn't have a medical problem, he had a magical problem.

Carson opened his eyes slowly, he didn't recognize the cold, strange room at first and Peters had to hold him down, putting a heavy hand on his chest when he suddenly tried to get up.

"Where, where is... this." Carson mumbled, his mind couldn't quite find the words he was looking for.

"You're in an interrogation room at the police station." Someone said from above him. He looked up to see a very well dressed middle aged man hovering over him. Slowly he remembered why he was there and that he'd called the lawyer really just to cause trouble for everyone.

"Oh good, you came." Carson said tiredly, letting his eyes slip closed again.

"Of course, I'm not one to forget my debts, Carson." The calm and control in the man's voice let him relax a little. Everything would be taken care of, and while it was, he'd just take a quick nap. The pounding in his head had lessened slightly but Carson was still tired and sore. He reached a hand up to grab the soft pillow under his head and was surprised when his hand made contact with a button. Reluctantly he opened his eyes a little to see that it wasn't a pillow but was instead a rather expensive looking coat... and he'd drooled on it. This day just gets better and better.

Peters moved out of the way so two young paramedics could get to him. Carson groaned, he just wanted to go home.

"That's not... you don't have to look at me... I'm fine." Carson said, trying to wiggle away from the new set of invasive hands.

"We have to take you to the hospital, sir. New onset seizures need to be checked by a physician, there could be a very serious cause-"

Carson cut her off, "it's not a seizure, it's not new, and you're not my doctor, so fuck off." He struggled to his feet with the help of the table beside him. Everyone tensed up as he did like they were expecting him to fall straight back down. Carson looked like an absolute mess but his eyes were as sharp and alert as ever. His lawyer scrambled to gather his things so he could escort him out.

As he made his way through the small crowd that had gathered around the interrogation room, Carson paused beside Deputy Thompson. "I think I get it now."

"What?" Thompson asked.

"Why you hate magicians, sorry about your partner."

He gave the deputy's shoulder a squeeze in a way that was both sympathetic and patronizing. Thompson watched him leave, utterly confused. As he passed the front desk the woman from before pulled out a bag of his belongings, he got a look at her nameplate as she did.

"Thank you, Janice." Carson put any loose items in his coat pockets before he put it on. The lady gave him a sweet smile. Peters caught up with him as he stepped out into the chilly October air.

"They won't be bothering you again. If you're really sure you don't want to go to the hospital I'll give you a ride home." Carson walked toward the car, he didn't need to be shown which one. The sliver sports car didn't exactly blend in.

"So what happened back there?" Peters asked with genuine interest.

"I don't really know what to call it, it's a magic thing. A couple times now when I looked into people's eyes I saw... their memories, or something like that, I'm not sure." Carson tried to explain.

The lawyer nodded, he didn't understand it but he did have a healthy respect for Carson's powers after everything he did for him. He shuddered to think about where he might be now if Carson hadn't cured him. The kid didn't even ask for much, practically pocket change at his firm.

"Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you. Hey, maybe you oughta get one of those medical alert dogs so these attacks don't sneak up on you like that." The man suggested.

He doubted a dog could alert him to anything since they weren't really seizures but he did perk up at the thought. A dog that he'd just have no choice but to take everywhere with him, and no one could argue with him about it. Carson smiled.

"That's actually a great idea."

#OC drabble #whump #whump fic #Carson Hall #migraine #headache #pain #pale #collapse #seizure #sort of #psychic vision #should Carson get a dog?

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